Chapter 63: Moving to a New Home
Li Daoxuan meticulously inspected every part of the Hakka Walled House, even prying at it with his hands from the inside to ensure its structural integrity. Every wall section and iron plate was firmly assembled, guaranteeing it wouldn't easily collapse.
People would be living inside, after all. If the house were unstable and collapsed, crushing the miniature inhabitants, it would quickly turn into a disaster movie.
Once he confirmed its stability, Li Daoxuan picked up the remote control and nudged the joystick. With the speed set to 'Gear 1', the Hakka Walled House began to glide across the floor at an extremely slow pace.
Gear 1 was incredibly slow, covering a mere dozen or so centimeters per second.
For Li Daoxuan, this speed was perfectly adequate.
Once this model was placed into the Ming Dynasty box, its paltry dozen centimeters per second would translate to a hundred kilometers per hour in that world, a speed already on par with a modern tank.
With everything confirmed, it was time to place it into the diorama box.
Li Daoxuan lifted the lid of the diorama box and peered inside. The miniature villagers were going about their usual business: some forging armor in the blacksmith's shop, others weaving cotton cloth. A few sawed wood for furniture, some meticulously wove bamboo baskets, and others molded clay into pots...
Those who lacked specific skills and only had their physical strength hadn't had much to do in the past few days. They sat cheerfully chatting in the open space at the center of the village.
The moment he spoke, through the hole in her ceiling, he saw Gao Yiye leap up from her loom, frantically trying to hide it.
But she immediately remembered that the divine being knew all, and concealment was useless. So, she lowered her head pitifully. "Your will be done, Heavenly Lord... You know I was weaving... You... aren't angry, are you?"
No, not angry. In fact, he found her quite endearing.
Of course, he couldn't say that out loud. Li Daoxuan sidestepped the issue and went straight to the point: "Gather all the villagers, and have them retreat to the village edge, into the corners. Within fifty zhang of the central open space, leave no one."
Gao Yiye quickly assented, then ran out of her house, loudly proclaiming the Heavenly Lord's command.
The villagers quickly put down their work and followed Gao Yiye to the village corners, leaning against the city walls, bewildered as they stared at the open space in the center.
Li Daoxuan mentally measured the central open space...
The space wasn't large enough. The villagers' thatched huts were unfortunately in the way.
Although the fields currently had nothing planted, merely an expanse of cracked yellow earth, once autumn arrived, these farmlands would become vital tools for production and absolutely could not be easily damaged.
So, naturally, the thatched huts within the village had to be demolished.
Well then, the first batch of "displaced residents" was about to be created.
Li Daoxuan leaned down and said, "I am now bestowing upon you a magnificent new house. To do so, your old homes must be dismantled. However, each family will receive compensation for the relocation. Do you have any objections?"
The villagers paused, slightly startled by his words, then immediately broke into joyous shouts. "As the Heavenly Lord wills it!"
"Very well. I will first move your houses aside, taking care not to damage your belongings."
With that, Li Daoxuan reached in and scooped up a villager's thatched hut, along with a large patch of earth beneath it.
All the villagers watched, eyes wide, as an entire house, complete with the ground it stood on, lifted into the air. It arced across the sky, flew to the hillside outside the village, then gently descended and settled there.
Gasps of astonishment rippled through the crowd!
"The Heavenly Lord's magic is unmatched in power!"
"Oh, look, my house is flying too! It's going outside the village..."
One after another, the village houses soared away.
Soon, the central area of the village, with the exception of the "Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord Cave" shrine, was completely cleared of buildings.
As for the Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord Cave... that, of course, also needed to be cleared!
However, this Daoist temple had been painstakingly built by the miniature people. Demolishing it directly would likely hurt their feelings. So, Li Daoxuan simply declared, "This temple is well-built. I shall take it to the heavens for my enjoyment."
Hearing that the Heavenly Lord was pleased and would take their temple to the heavens, the miniature people believed their temple was greatly favored by the Heavenly Lord. They immediately erupted in cheers.
Li Daoxuan picked up the Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord Cave. He took it out of the diorama box and placed it on his own desk. "Tsk, you know, it actually makes for a rather pretty handicraft," he mused. Inside, there was even a one-millimeter statue of himself, a miniature set of tables and chairs, prayer cushions, and so on. He could probably sell it for a good price later.
Alright, the buildings in the center of the village had all been cleared. It was time to place the Hakka Walled House.
The villagers looked up. They saw the clouds part in the sky, and an immensely colossal structure slowly descend.
When the structure was high above, the villagers couldn't make it out clearly. But once it settled on the ground, everyone finally understood: it was an enormous fortress-like residence, over thirty zhang (108 meters) long, over forty zhang (128 meters) wide, with walls three zhang (9 meters) high.
Strangely, beneath this fortress were two rows of massive black wheels, each four zhang (12 meters) tall. These giant wheels propped up the entire structure, lifting it more than a zhang above the ground.
The villagers stared, dumbfounded. "A house... with wheels?"
Li Daoxuan was also a little bewildered. "Damn it," he muttered, "adding wheels really does make it look odd. The house is more than a zhang off the ground. Do the villagers have to climb up and down a ladder just to get in and out?"
"That's far too inconvenient!" he thought. "Should I temporarily remove the tires and reattach them only when it needs to move?"
After a moment's thought, he had an idea!
Just bury the lower half of the wheels into the ground, that would work.
He reached into the diorama box and dug two long trenches in the ground, just wide enough for the two rows of wheels. Then, he lowered the Hakka Walled House, and the wheels slid perfectly into the trenches...
This way, the Hakka Walled House's composite pressure-plate chassis was flush with the ground. He scooped some mud and sand, filling and compacting the gaps around the foundation. After giving it a shake with his hand, it felt good—solid and steady.
The Hakka Walled House: installation successful!
Although the villagers couldn't see his hand, they were awestruck by the sudden appearance of large pits in the ground and the disturbed earth. This immense structure seemed to fly back and forth, as if being manipulated by a giant pair of hands, leaving them to click their tongues in silent awe.
Li Daoxuan instructed, "Yiye, San Shier isn't here. So, you and the Village Chief will handle these matters. Allocate one living quarter to each family."
Upon hearing Gao Yiye's relay of the message, the villagers rejoiced!
Especially those who had migrated from other villages, they had never had proper housing. Most had been huddled in the corners of the city wall, and it wasn't until the Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord Cave was built that they had a little time to themselves. Their plan had been to build a temporary shack for shelter before autumn, and figure out permanent housing later.
Who would have thought the Heavenly Lord would be so benevolent, bestowing upon them such a magnificent great castle? Every family would receive a room!
"We offered the Heavenly Lord a single temple," they murmured, "yet the Heavenly Lord granted each of us a house!"
The villagers cheered loudly.
Li Daoxuan interjected, "Don't get too excited too soon. These houses don't even have doors or windows yet. You'll have to build all of those yourselves."
The villagers cheered: "The Heavenly Lord is merciful!"
"May the Heavenly Lord bless us!"
"Long live the Heavenly Lord!"
"You idiot!" someone hissed. "Are you cursing the Heavenly Lord to live only ten thousand years by shouting 'Long Live'? Immortals are eternal!"
"Ah, this humble one deserves death!" the first villager stammered, then quickly corrected, "Heavenly Lord... boundless longevity and good fortune..."
Below, a chorus of praise and adoration erupted. As for minor details like doors and windows, compared to the monumental task of building houses, they were easily handled. They posed no challenge to the diligent working people; no one considered it an issue.
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