Once the two idiots got started, they completely lost their minds with excitement.
Gao Chuwu kept turning the steering plow left and right, testing the solar car's handling.
Bit by bit, he grasped the rhythm—how much to turn at what speed, how sharply he could cut a corner without flipping the thing.
Slowly, he stopped overturning the car every ten seconds.
Meanwhile, Zheng Danio experimented with how much to raise or lower the light curtain, learning exactly how bright the sunlight needed to be for different speeds—when to accelerate, when to slow down.
Originally, the fields around the village were filled with crops and unsuited for joyriding.
But thanks to the devastating drought, everything was just cracked yellow earth—perfect terrain for playing with a car.
The two idiots played the entire day.
By the time the sun sank toward the west and the light grew weaker, the car finally sputtered to a stop.
"Ah? Oh no!" Zheng Danio shouted.
"No more light! Dao Xuan Tianzun said the car runs on sunlight—if the sun's gone, it won't move!"
Gao Chuwu panicked.
"This is bad! We're still fifty or sixty zhang from the village! What do we do? Leave the car here and walk back?"
Zheng Danio shook his head so hard his hair flew.
"If we leave it here and someone steals it? A divine car like this—if it gets stolen, I might as well die!"
Gao Chuwu nodded gravely.
"True. If it got stolen, I'd die too. We have to take it back."
They looked at each other.
Then said in unison:
"Push it!"
"Yep. Push it!"
The two idiots were all muscle these days—eating meat every day had bulked them up.
They rolled up their sleeves, showing off shiny muscular arms, and shouted:
"Heave-ho! One, two, three—PUSH—!"
It moved!
…or so they thought.
Of course it didn't move.
A six-meter long, five-meter wide, three-meter tall car—wheels or not—was not something two idiots could push.
After half a day of straining, the car hadn't budged an inch.
Both of them were drenched in sweat and wobbling like overcooked noodles.
Then they heard laughter from the hillside.
They turned.
A group of labor prisoners were lounging there, relaxing after finishing their day's work.
Once their labor hours ended, they were allowed half an hour of free time before going back inside the colorful Lego wall enclosure to sleep.
Nobody dared escape—there was nothing to eat outside.
Gao Chuwu shouted,
"HEY! You labor guys! Come help us push the car!"
The prisoners hissed dismissively.
One bold fellow said,
"Our labor is finished for the day. Dao Xuan Tianzun decreed we get half an hour to rest. We're not pushing anything for you."
Gao Chuwu gaped.
"Huh??"
Zheng Danio tapped his chin.
"I've got an idea to make them help."
Gao Chuwu blinked in confusion.
"Huh??"
Zheng Danio said,
"They get fed after labor, sure—but they have no rewards, right? They have nothing."
Gao Chuwu nodded.
"Right, nothing at all."
"Perfect," Zheng Danio said.
He cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting toward the hillside:
"Anyone who helps me push the car gets one liang of dried chicken strips!"
The prisoners—who had been laughing—froze instantly.
They all stopped moving. As if someone had cast a time-stop spell.
Thirteen blinks of total silence.
You didn't actually blink thirteen times to count that, right?
Suddenly—
A prisoner shot to his feet.
"I'LL HELP!"
Another jumped even higher.
"ME TOO!"
With a thunderous roar, over a dozen prisoners charged downhill.
They pushed from the back, pushed from the sides, even tied ropes to pull from the front.
With that many people, everything changed.
The giant solar car zoomed toward Gao Fort's gates in no time and stopped neatly beside the entrance.
The prisoners stared eagerly at Zheng Danio, terrified he might go back on his word.
Zheng Danio grinned.
"Relax. I don't lie."
He went home and grabbed a whole handful of dried chicken strips.
Zheng Danio was strong, hardworking, and always involved in major tasks—cutting trees, fighting, escorting Shansier to the county, saving Wang Er.
He'd earned reward after reward.
At first he asked for soda, and Li Daoxuan gave it to him—until he decided the guy was drinking too much.
Too much of anything isn't good.
So the rewards shifted to random items and food. Zheng didn't care for most of them, so they piled up at home—until now, when he finally found a use for them.
Each prisoner received one liang of dried chicken meat.
They treated it like a priceless treasure.
They hid it carefully in their ragged clothes—some in sleeves, some against their chests, some tucked in belts.
To ordinary villagers, it wasn't a big deal.
But to these penniless prisoners, it was massive wealth.
Not only meat—salted meat!
One strip gave them meat and salt both—nutritious and delicious. Practically heavenly.
"Two, uh… respected brothers."
The prisoners immediately softened their voices and smiled sweetly at the two idiots.
"From now on, whenever we have free time, feel free to command us. Anything you need done, we'll do it. Perfectly!"
Zheng Danio laughed.
"Great! If the car won't move again tomorrow, I'll call you guys to push it."
The prisoners brightened instantly.
"Absolutely! Agreed!"
They showered the two idiots with praise—calling them the smartest men in the world—before happily returning to the colorful enclosure, walking with such swagger you'd think they'd just become nobles.
Those dozen men had instantly become the richest of all the prisoners.
In a drought year, carrying salted chicken meat on you?
How could you not strut?
As they walked away, Gao Chuwu scratched his head.
"Huh? Something feels… weird. What is it?"
Zheng Danio frowned.
"I feel it too. Something weird. But what?"
Gao Chuwu suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Ah! I know!"
Zheng Danio's eyes widened.
"What? Tell me! I still don't know!"
Gao Chuwu said,
"I drove all day and forgot to eat."
Zheng Danio threw an arm around his shoulders.
"Chuwu, you're a genius. You reminded me—my stomach's empty! No wonder something felt wrong!"
"Come to my place," Gao Chuwu said proudly.
"I've still got tons of smoked meat. So much I can't finish it."
"Hahaha! Let's go!"
And the two idiots marched off, spirits high and stomachs growling.