Chapter 396: Running Low on Alkali
Padi Tu began to sense something was amiss. "Huh? That's not right. Isn't he the man Mr. Bai recruited from Heyang County?"
"How could he be protecting your Zhengjia Village?"
Zheng Gouzi replied, "He's from Wangjia Village."
A bead of sweat traced a path down Padi Tu's temple. "Wangjia Village? Not... *that* Wangjia Village, surely?"
Zheng Gouzi affirmed, "Precisely that Wangjia Village!"
Padi Tu gasped, "Even your village's leader calls him Big Brother? You're from Zhengjia Village, and your leader is Zheng Yanfu, right? He's Zheng Yanfu's Big Brother, from Wangjia Village... Ahhh! Could it be, he's Wang Er of Baishui?"
Zheng Gouzi chuckled, "Heh heh, Master Rabbit, you may be foolish, but you're not entirely dull-witted."
Padi Tu let out a wail, suddenly turned, and dashed straight towards Wang Er.
When Padi Tu had first beaten up an official, left his village, and assumed the alias Padi Tu to "practice chivalry and uphold justice," it had all been to follow in Wang Er's footsteps.
With a look of profound embarrassment, Padi Tu rushed to Wang Er's side, then plopped down and bowed. "Big Brother Wang," he pleaded, "forgive this fool for foolishly failing to recognize your greatness earlier. I offended you, so please, beat me soundly!"
Hearing this, Wang Er knew Padi Tu had recognized his true identity. He shook his head with a faint smile, helping Padi Tu to his feet. "No need for this! My identity cannot be spread around, or it will bring trouble to Gao Family Village."
Padi Tu was startled. He quickly glanced left and right, then stood upright, daring not perform any more grand gestures of respect. He turned back to Wang Er, his face filled with admiration. He longed to serve Wang Er tea and water, but alas, he had neither at hand, unable to offer even a small gesture of devotion.
"I... I..." Padi Tu stammered, "When I left the village, I just wanted to follow Big Brother Wang and conquer the world! To this day, that ambition hasn't changed."
Wang Er shook his head, his tone bleak. "Conquer what world? My ambitions for conquering the world were all misguided. Master Rabbit, you must cherish the present. Here, this is the true world."
Here, this was the true world.
Those words brought Padi Tu to a sudden realization.
That's right. Although he hadn't followed his admired Big Brother Wang for the past few years, serving the Heavenly Lord was excellent as well. Here, there were no corrupt officials who abused their power, no landlords who oppressed the common people, no ruthless villains who killed like flies...
Here, he had already accomplished much, putting his simple sense of justice into practice!
Wang Er reached out and clapped him heavily on the shoulder. "I truly wish I could be you."
With that, he walked past Padi Tu, disappearing into the distance.
Padi Tu turned his head, watching Wang Er's retreating figure, unable to tear his gaze away for a long time.
Suddenly, Bai Mao came up from behind and deliberately bumped into Padi Tu.
"Thump!"
Padi Tu tumbled onto his rear once more.
Bai Mao let out a loud laugh and followed Wang Er away.
Padi Tu sat on the ground for a long while, then suddenly broke into a grin. He felt relieved, truly relieved.
Any regrets he might have held about not following Wang Er now dissipated like smoke.
Padi Tu's guess had been correct!
After Yi Zhangqing returned to the prison, a large group of labor reform prisoners immediately crowded around her. "Young lady," one asked, "after they captured you, did they torture you?"
"Did they mistreat you?"
Many of these labor reform prisoners had, in one way or another, lost able-bodied men in their families to the Gao Family Village Militia, so they had secretly approved of Yi Zhangqing's actions. Seeing her captured, they were genuinely worried for her safety.
She was a young woman, and women who committed offenses often suffered a more tragic fate than men.
Seeing their concerned gazes, Yi Zhangqing couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. "Thank you all, I'm fine. Gao Family Village didn't do anything to me, they just added ten years to my sentence."
Yi Zhangqing clutched her head with both hands. "I... I spoke with the Heavenly Lord... What the Heavenly Lord said seemed very reasonable, and my mind is in a mess right now..."
The labor reform prisoners exchanged glances, and only after several seconds did one speak. "Young lady, please, tell us what the Heavenly Lord said as well."
A seed planted by Li Daoxuan in the labor reform camp began to quietly sprout and grow...
Early in the morning, as Li Daoxuan was eating Dragon Wontons, he saw someone vigorously pounding on the gate of Gaojia Fortress. It was a woman, Chun Hong.
Chun Hong was the first of the four female secretaries to be dispatched for a task, managing the Heavenly Lord Fabric Manor, an industry entirely controlled by women.
Though it was just a small storefront within Gao Family's commercial district, it connected to almost all the women in Gao Family Village. And these women, in turn, could influence the men in their families, making the Heavenly Lord Fabric Manor's influence unfathomable.
Chun Hong, from a pitiable girl who had fallen into a life of degradation, had transformed in a flash into a high-ranking leader in a powerful department. Her life, truly, had been utterly transformed.
Now, having shed her past opulence, she no longer wore alluring clothes, but had returned to simple cloth garments. With a graceful yet composed air, she appeared utterly proper.
Her new demeanor naturally attracted some suitors, but believing herself undeserving, she didn't interact much with them, maintaining an extremely low-key and unadorned presence.
Consequently, Li Daoxuan hadn't paid much attention to her for a long time, so seeing her urgently pounding on the fortress gate now was quite a surprise.
The sentries on the fortress wall hastily opened the gate and let her in.
Chun Hong then jogged all the way into the council hall.
At that moment, San Shier was in a meeting with a group of advisors. Initially, he alone managed all the affairs of Gao Family Village, but as matters became increasingly numerous, Tan Liwen was brought in. However, soon even one Tan Liwen wasn't enough, so he recruited more advisors.
Gao Family Village's administrative department was no longer just one or two individuals, but a large group of people. This group now had divisions of labor, with each person managing their own area: commerce, agriculture, road construction, and so on.
San Shier was now far busier than Liang Shixian.
Because Liang Shixian managed the 'traditional' Chengcheng County, there wasn't much to oversee beyond agriculture. But San Shier managed the 'emerging' Gao Family Village, with all sorts of strange new things constantly developing. The Heavenly Lord would also occasionally give him a new task, leaving him unable to grasp its essence for days.
And now, sure enough, here came another new task!
Chun Hong ran up to San Shier, urgently declaring, "Steward San, we have a major problem!"
San Shier asked, "What's wrong? Are hooligans causing trouble at your fabric manor?"
Chun Hong retorted, "It's nothing like such a minor issue."
San Shier pondered, "What other kind of trouble could a fabric manor possibly have?"
Chun Hong exclaimed, "We're running out of alkali!"
San Shier's mind went blank. "Alkali?"
Chun Hong confirmed, "Yes, alkali!"
San Shier was greatly puzzled. "It's a fabric manor! Why would you need alkali?"
Tan Liwen and the other advisors also asked in astonishment, "Exactly! What do you use alkali for?"
Chun Hong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "A bunch of grown men, and not one of you understands textiles! Alkali is essential for many steps in the textile production process. Before, when everyone wove cloth by hand, the process was slow, and the alkali supply was sufficient. But now that the steam engines are running, goodness gracious, the weaving speed is unbelievably fast, and our village's alkali supply has completely run out."
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