Chapter 93: Providing Them with Work
Luo Leg Hair never imagined that, upon his arrival and without having accomplished anything, he would be given such a beautiful house. The dwelling was sturdy and solid, its roof and outer walls made of some unknown material that looked like thick planks but was far more resilient. The inner walls, to his utter astonishment, were crafted from massive iron sheets.
It was ten thousand times better than the dilapidated wooden shack he used to live in in the county town.
"Li Da, is this incredible house really for me?"
"Of course, it is," Li Da chuckled. "I have one too, exactly like yours."
Luo Leg Hair protested, "But I haven't done anything for the Heavenly Lord yet."
Li Da corrected him, "Just call him 'Heavenly Lord.' Adding 'Lao Ye' at the end sounds strange. If His Venerable Self hears you, he might issue a divine reprimand."
Luo Leg Hair gasped.
He had never heard of a deity issuing a divine reprimand to scold someone; it was truly unprecedented.
Li Da leaned in, lowering his voice with a chuckle. "There are two young lads in this village, Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu, whom the Heavenly Lord directly admonished. He called them 'two fools,' and now everyone in the village calls them 'fools.' That's the consequence of a divine reprimand, so make sure you don't follow their example."
Gao Yiye glanced at his empty room. "There's no furniture in here right now, so you'll have to sleep on the floor for a couple of nights. Soon, I'll send some labor reform prisoners to help you cut trees and make some."
"Labor reform prisoners?" Luo Leg Hair echoed.
Gao Yiye explained, "Those who commit crimes or act wickedly are taken by the Heavenly Lord for Labor Reform, where they cleanse their sins through hard work."
At these words, Luo Leg Hair's heart skipped a beat. He quickly bowed and said, "Rest assured, Immortal Maiden, I am a law-abiding man."
Gao Yiye shook her head. "Don't call me Immortal Maiden; it sounds strange."
Li Da chuckled nearby. "Everyone calls her Lady Saintess, but... she's not very fond of that title either, so many still refer to her as Miss Yiye."
For a while, Gao Yiye had tried to maintain a dignified demeanor, even striking poses, after listening to Mrs. San's advice. But ever since Li Daoxuan personally told her to be herself, she had reverted to her lively and spirited self, no longer putting on airs of solemnity. Now, she possessed much more vivacity, and the villagers had started calling her Yiye again.
She much preferred it this way!
Luo Leg Hair observed her expression and cautiously ventured, "Miss Yiye, although the Heavenly Lord wishes me to make paper, there's nothing here. I lack the tools and materials. How should I begin?"
Gao Yiye smiled. "Just tell us what tools and materials you need. The Heavenly Lord is listening from above."
Luo Leg Hair jumped, startled. He looked up at the sky, seeing nothing, a shiver running down his spine. He hesitantly said, "My specialty is making bamboo paper. First, I'll need a large vat to ret the bamboo pulp."
"A large vat?" Li Daoxuan casually picked up a plastic bottle cap, filled it with water, and placed it into the Craftsman Well.
Luo Leg Hair was still gazing at the sky when suddenly, a strange red object descended from above, landing with a splash in the Craftsman Well. It was indeed a large pool, already filled with clean water.
The others seemed unperturbed, merely bowing towards the sky before returning to their tasks.
But Luo Leg Hair was so terrified that he collapsed with a "thud", his legs turning to jelly, unable to stand up for a moment.
Gao Yiye burst out laughing. "Don't be afraid! Now that you have a large pool, what else do you need?"
Luo Leg Hair could barely speak. "I need... I need bamboo... lots of... bamboo... and lime... lime..."
Bamboo was easily managed. Li Daoxuan instructed Gao Yiye, "Assign a labor reform prisoner. Their future labor reform task will be to provide bamboo for the paper mill."
Gao Yiye responded with a clear, crisp affirmation.
Next, came the lime!
Li Daoxuan could simply go downstairs, grab a handful of lime from any construction site, and effortlessly provide Luo Leg Hair with a small mountain of it.
However, he recalled something important: lime was different from food.
During the severe drought, food was a problem the 'little people' couldn't solve on their own, so his providing it to help them was perfectly fine.
But lime was something the 'little people' *could* produce themselves. There was no need for him to provide it; instead, assigning people to make lime would create employment opportunities for them.
"Yiye," Li Daoxuan said, "ask around the village, who knows how to make lime?"
This task certainly didn't stump the villagers. The three leading masons who had stepped forward during the construction of the Daoist temple knew how to make lime.
During the temple's construction, their "specialized skills" had earned them many extra rewards, which they had thoroughly enjoyed. But afterward, with no work to do, they had been idle, missing those "extra rewards" and relying solely on the basic provisions from the Heavenly Lord to fill their stomachs. This left them with a slight sense of regret.
Now, the moment they heard that lime was needed, the three men jumped up, yelling enthusiastically at the sky, "Heavenly Lord, we know how to do it! Please, entrust this task to us!"
Seeing their eagerness, Li Daoxuan knew his earlier consideration had been correct.
Everyone needed to fulfill their self-worth. If they felt they had no value, they would lose their spirit.
"Very well," he thought, "the three of you will make the lime."
Once the lime was settled, things like mallets, pounders, and wooden frames were even simpler. The ancient world had no shortage of carpenters, and any villager could manage basic woodworking. All these tasks could be assigned to the labor reform prisoners.
The paper-making operation was thus arranged and set in motion...
----
In the early morning, Li Daoxuan sat before his computer, amusing himself by editing short videos.
Inside the box beside him, peace and quiet reigned. The medical nebulizer continued to mist water into the diorama, enveloping the fields outside Gao Family Village in a gentle drizzle. A group of tiny figures dug and hoed here and there, making final preparations for sowing the autumn wheat.
He finished editing the recently recorded paper-making video, adding text: "A paper artisan, using ancient methods to create bamboo paper..."
After editing, he clicked upload. Oh, and he had to remember to attach the shopping cart link.
Just then, his QQ messenger flashed. It was a message from "A Barrel of Pudding" at the toy factory: "Mr. Li, regarding what we discussed last time, about manufacturing various miniature ancient toys—we've already produced the first batch of samples. I'm sending you some photos to take a look; the physical items will be shipped soon. You can consider whether they're marketable."
Soon, a large batch of photos arrived.
Li Daoxuan fixed his gaze on them and grinned. This toy factory was truly entertaining! They had indeed produced a collection of ancient-themed gadgets: 1:200 scale replica plastic houses, small castles, watermills, windmills, horse-drawn carriages, toy catapults, battering rams, and repeating crossbows...
The assortment was dazzling, an overwhelming feast for the eyes.
What was most amusing was that many of these items actually had firing functions. For example, the toy catapults, just like the one Li Daoxuan had bought previously, could launch small stones using the plastic's inherent elasticity. The toy repeating crossbows were similar: equipped with a very thin rubber band, they could actually fire miniature plastic arrows.
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