Chapter 736: Custom Solar Power
The poor artillery battalion, despite its formidable deployment, ultimately could send only five large cannons to the front lines, meaning only five artillery squads could participate in actual combat.
Thus, the artillery battalion held a cruel and fierce drawing of lots.
Those who drew lots for the expedition cheered with wild abandon, while those assigned to stay behind stood silently, disheartened.
Next, the troops set off. A thousand arquebusiers, guarding five cannons and five artillery squads, advanced toward Wangjia Fork in northern Shaanxi.
Li Daoxuan knew this contingent would take several days to reach Wangjia Fork, so he didn't need to constantly monitor them for now.
Ending the co-sensing, he returned outside the box.
He saw the avatar of "Queen of a Thousand Faces M" constantly flashing on QQ, so he quickly clicked to open it.
"Xuanzi, the first episode of our short drama 'Mu Guiying' is getting a really good response, you know."
Li Daoxuan replied, "What are you talking about? I don't see many people watching it. Clicks are low, and comments are sparse."
Li Daoxuan responded, "I see! You're the expert, so your word goes. What's the plan now?"
"Queen of a Thousand Faces M" replied, "Next, I'll expedite production of the remaining episodes, and then we'll start running advertisements."
Li Daoxuan said, "Alright, I'll leave it to you then."
"Queen of a Thousand Faces M" was clearly excited. "We're going to make a fortune this time, truly. With the buzz around just the first episode, I'm sure we'll strike it rich. Just you wait and see."
"We're going to make a fortune this time!" Lao Nanfeng rubbed his hands together, looking at the ledger handed to him by his hired strategist.
The strategist's face was alight with excitement. "The 'Mu Guiying' movie box office is incredible! Every day is a full house, every day is pure profit. The key is, this 'movie' thing doesn't require actors to perform live; it can be played repeatedly, from morning till night, dozens of times. If real actors had to perform like that, they couldn't keep it up all day."
Lao Nanfeng chuckled, "While the Divine Mirror is wonderful, it also needs its 'celestial energy' replenished. Every night, the Dao Xuan Tian Zun must take the Divine Mirror back to the heavens to recharge it, otherwise, it won't work the next day."
As it turned out, Li Daoxuan's customized tablet computer used a small screen and a large battery, allowing it to last a full day, but it had to be taken out of the box to charge every night.
Doing this every single night was quite a hassle!
Lao Nanfeng continued, "The Dao Xuan Tian Zun has to manage the suffering of all beings under heaven; His duties are immense. How could He come every night just to replenish the celestial energy of our Divine Mirrors? This movie won't be playing for much longer. Once the Dao Xuan Tian Zun's enthusiasm wanes, it certainly won't be shown daily. Only when He remembers to recharge these Divine Mirrors will we be able to play them a few times."
The strategist nodded in agreement.
The speaker spoke without thought, but the listener took it to heart.
Li Daoxuan, who had been "observing" their conversation, began to ponder: *This seems to be a problem. I'm currently quite enthusiastic, so I remember to charge the tablets every day. But judging from my experience playing mobile games, performing the same tedious tasks day after day eventually leads to going AFK. Charging these tablets will be no different; I probably won't keep it up for long.*
No, this won't do!
He needed to solve the tablet charging problem once and for all.
The tablets inside the box needed to be able to charge without his direct intervention.
The only method he could think of was solar power.
With the great drought in the late Ming Dynasty, the skies were clear for miles, making solar energy abundant.
Li Daoxuan opened the internet, performed a quick search, and soon found a vendor selling "photovoltaic power systems." "Hello, do you accept custom orders?" he typed.
The vendor replied, "Of course, dear customer. Most of our products are custom-made, as every client's power requirements are unique. So, each item is tailored to ensure your satisfaction."
Li Daoxuan typed, "I want to custom-order a small photovoltaic power system, a very small one. Also, it needs to be easy to install, something an amateur like me can easily set up just by following the instructions, without your technicians needing to get involved."
The vendor responded, "No problem, installation is guaranteed to be simple. How small exactly do you need it? Is it for a single household?"
Li Daoxuan replied, "It's to charge one tablet computer."
"Pfft!" The sound of the vendor spitting blood onto their screen seemed to travel through the internet cable. "Dear customer, you might as well just kill me now. I can't make something like that."
Li Daoxuan asked, "Oh? What's the smallest you *can* customize?"
The vendor explained, "The smallest is still for a household, capable of powering a TV, refrigerator, washing machine, and a whole host of other home appliances."
Li Daoxuan said, "Alright then, I'll order one of those to charge my tablet."
"Drip! Drip!" The sound of the vendor breaking into a cold sweat seemed to transmit through the internet cable. "Dear customer, wouldn't that be just a *little* bit... wasteful? Our cheapest system costs at least twenty thousand yuan. If you spend twenty thousand yuan just to power one tablet, well, that's, that's..."
"Only twenty thousand?" Li Daoxuan was overjoyed. "I'll take fifty sets to start."
"Dear customer!" the vendor instantly replied, "Fifty sets is no joke!"
"No joke," Li Daoxuan confirmed. "I'll pay the deposit and sign the contract. Let's start with fifty sets for the first batch, and there might be more later."
He planned to place one tablet in each town he controlled. That meant each town would need one photovoltaic system, so fifty sets was just a trial run.
The vendor was ecstatic. "Dear customer! I'll draft the contract right away!"
With the photovoltaic systems sorted, Li Daoxuan's attention returned to the box.
Lao Nanfeng was counting his earnings when Chen Qianhu walked in from outside, a look of profound grievance on his face. Beads of water clung to his hair, and several patches of his clothes were soaked. "Brother Nanfeng, I just got yelled at in the street again."
Lao Nanfeng asked, "What? Why?"
Chen Qianhu grimaced. "A group of kids chased after me, shouting for Xiao Tianzuo to die, and one of them even shot me with a bamboo water gun."
Lao Nanfeng burst out laughing.
The strategist chuckled.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but chuckle as well.
As the primary villain in 'Mu Guiying,' Chen Qianhu had played the role of Xiao Tianzuo perfectly. His portrayal was so brutal, vicious, and utterly deranged that he had now become a public enemy.
Of course, the adults were sensible; they wouldn't attack an "imperial official" over this. But children didn't care—they just aimed their bamboo water guns straight at Xiao Tianzuo and fired.
Chen Qianhu lamented, "I never imagined this movie would have such an impact. Back then, with those traditional operas and Daoist chants, the common folk never reacted this strongly."
Lao Nanfeng laughed. "Because it's so realistic!"
Chen Qianhu said pitifully, "Forget it, I guess it's just my bad luck. Next time, I'm absolutely refusing to play a villain... By the way, Brother Nanfeng, the common people of Puzhou City are suddenly enlisting in large numbers. Many have voluntarily joined the New People's Militia recently. Just now, someone reported that the New People's Militia has recruited two thousand new soldiers in a short amount of time."
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