After finishing his moment of triumph, Shansier got down to business.
There was still much to be done in the village. Truly, a hundred things awaited revival.
Li Daoxuan reached down and nudged aside the Lego blocks surrounding the "reform-through-labor convicts." The hundred or so convicts inside timidly shuffled out.
They still didn't fully understand that Gaojia Village was under the protection of a "deity." They had no clue how that enormous wall had suddenly appeared to encircle them or how an opening had just as magically appeared to let them out. In short, they were thoroughly awed and fearful.
**Shansier** stood before them and announced loudly, "You convicts, listen well! Starting today, you will atone for your sins through labor..."
The convicts thought to themselves: *So we have to work? We fought all night, barely slept, and our stomachs are empty. Now we have to work on top of that? Today's going to be brutal.*
Just as they thought this, they heard **Shansier** declare, "Your first task is to cook. The people of Gaojia Village have no time to cook for you. You'll have to prepare your own meals."
The convicts were dumbfounded.
Their first job was... to cook for themselves?
That didn't sound like reform-through-labor. It sounded like a reward.
*Holy mother of stone tablets!* In this great drought, if you can feed me until I'm full, I'll call you my own father. And you call this "labor to reform our sins"?
Soon, the Gaojia villagers lent them pots, bowls, and ladles. The convicts went up the hillside to chop down dead trees for firewood, fetched water from the large pond, set up their pots, and started boiling water.
**Shansier's** family servant pushed over a single, millstone-sized grain of white rice—this one grain weighed over a hundred pounds—and tossed it before the group. "This is your rice. Divide it yourselves."
The convicts stared at the giant grain, utterly bewildered.
"What... what is this... thing?"
"Is it rice?"
"B-b-b-b-big rice!"
"Why is it this huge?"
The servant laughed and scolded, "You ignorant fools! This is divine rice bestowed by **Dao Xuan Tianzun**. A single grain is enough to feed a hundred of you. Hurry up and thank **Dao Xuan Tianzun**!"
The convicts still didn't know who **Dao Xuan Tianzun** was. Whatever. If someone gives you food, you give thanks.
They offered a jumbled chorus of thanks, then used borrowed chisels and hammers to break the giant rice grain into smaller chunks. They put a few pieces into each pot, cooked it into porridge, and each devoured two large bowls.
With full bellies, their spirits instantly lifted.
Even when following Zheng Yanfu and Zhong Guangdao, they hadn't eaten their fill. Though they had looted official grain, they dared not eat freely, needing to save it for the long haul while hiding from government troops in the mountains. They had survived on less than half a stomach's worth per meal.
This was truly a feast they hadn't seen in a long time.
Full and energized, a few couldn't help but entertain thoughts of escape. *Now that we have strength, if we make a break for it, we might get away...*
But they hesitated, patting their newly full bellies. *Where would we find a full meal after escaping?*
*Forget it. Better to reform through labor obediently.*
After cleaning the pots and bowls, the convicts headed up the hillside to chop trees and lumber. They needed to make doors and windows for every room in the Gaojia walled village. This was no small task—over two hundred rooms. That meant over two hundred door panels and even more windows. They'd be busy for a while.
With a group of convicts "freely" making doors and windows for their homes, the Gaojia villagers found themselves with more time on their hands. The women redoubled their efforts weaving cotton cloth. The men continued their tasks—forging armor plates, making pottery jars, carving sculptures...
Having experienced two bandit attacks on Gaojia Village, they now understood that laziness wouldn't cut it. Protecting themselves was paramount, and the urgent task was to outfit every man in the village with a set of armor as quickly as possible.
Inside and outside the village, a scene of bustling activity unfolded.
***
Noon. The sun beat down fiercely.
Li Daoxuan sat by the diorama box with a bowl of pickled vegetable and shredded pork rice noodles.
Not only was the village lively now, but the northern hillside was also a hive of activity. Convicts making doors and windows were spread across the slope, creating an atmosphere of intense labor everywhere.
Li Daoxuan kept tapping the "North, South, East, West" buttons on the side of the box, adjusting his view to watch the little people busy at work, ensuring the external camera captured more interesting footage.
After tapping "North" a few times, he suddenly sensed something was off.
*Huh?*
This large rock at the edge of his vision... he hadn't seen it there a moment ago, but now it suddenly appeared.
After a split-second of confusion, he realized: **His field of view had expanded again.**
He first checked the numerical value outside the box—still **330**, unchanged. Then he compared it with a video of the hillside he had shot tens of minutes earlier.
The box's field of view had expanded outward by about **10 meters** in each direction. Ten meters wasn't much, hardly noticeable, but it was enough to reveal an extra large rock.
He tapped the directional buttons again. Sure enough, the view had expanded by 10 meters in every direction.
*Perhaps the 10-meter expansion was too small, so only a tiny decimal was added after 330, and the box rounded it off without displaying it.*
*When did it expand?*
*No idea.*
*But why it expanded wasn't hard to guess.*
Li Daoxuan thought to himself, *"It seems that, just in the past tens of minutes, Third Madame has made progress in Chengcheng County."*
***
At the same time, in Chengcheng County, at the City God Temple, in a side hall.
Third Madame wore a plain blue Daoist robe, her hair tied in a simple Daoist bun. Paired with her slightly plump face, she looked quite like a benevolent lay Buddhist as she sat cross-legged on a prayer mat.
Her personal maid stood a step behind her, holding a medicine jar, resembling a Dharma-protecting attendant.
A man in patched clothing knelt before Third Madame, kowtowing fervently. "Thank you, **Dao Xuan Tianzun**! Thank you! After taking the divine medicine **Dao Xuan Tianzun** bestowed, my son's high fever broke quickly. His little life is saved. Thank you, **Dao Xuan Tianzun**!"
Third Madame smiled benevolently. "Saved is good. **Dao Xuan Tianzun** will surely rejoice upon hearing this. Do you know how you should conduct yourself from now on?"
The man kowtowed again. "This humble one dare not forget **Dao Xuan Tianzun's** teachings. From now on, I will strive to be good and help others to the best of my ability."
"Very good. You may go." Third Madame waved her hand.
The man offered a thousand thanks and left. At the temple gate, he ran into an old woman clutching a little girl, wailing loudly.
The man asked curiously, "Old mother, why do you weep?"
The old woman cried, "My granddaughter has diarrhea. It's been days without improvement. She grows thinner by the day. My family is poor. We can't afford a doctor or medicine to save her. I had to come to the City God Temple to beg the gods to spare her life."
The man put on a solemn face. "Old mother, perhaps you haven't heard? In the side hall of this temple, there is a lay Buddhist carrying out the will of **Dao Xuan Tianzun**, relieving the world's suffering without asking for a single coin. Poor folks like you, who can't afford treatment, should go to that side hall and seek that lay Buddhist. Ask for the divine medicine bestowed by **Dao Xuan Tianzun**. Perhaps there is still hope for your granddaughter."
The old woman was overjoyed. "Which side hall is the lay Buddhist in? My eyesight is poor. I fear I cannot find it."
The man sighed. "Never mind. I've sworn to be good and do good deeds. In for a penny, in for a pound. I'll take you there myself..."