Young Master Bai grinned mysteriously. "I didn't study it thoroughly—just a quick peek. But even that glimpse made the whole world transform before my eyes! Everything I saw became different. Hehehe! That book is true celestial scripture—it explains all worldly mysteries. Mastering it would make us truly invincible."
Third Young Miss brightened. "Then let's finish elementary mathematics quickly! No more sneaking—we'll read that divine book openly!"
Young Master Bai chuckled. "Just the final chapter. Let's persevere!"
Watching the two adolescents' enthusiasm, Li Daoxuan felt pleased. Young Master Bai will likely become Gao Village's first physics student. The "Physics Class Representative" title naturally falls to him.
Soon he'll "impart celestial skills," teaching other children physics.
But that burdens him excessively—still an adolescent, teaching both physics and mathematics risks exhaustion.
Once Young Master Bai becomes "Physics Class Representative," we need a separate "Mathematics Class Representative." His gaze settled on Third Young Miss.
Twelve years old, a girl—can she shoulder this responsibility?
Ancient women generally avoided public exposure, constrained by so-called "feminine virtue" and criticism. Making her a "teacher" might pressure the girl considerably, but... if she accepts, the Tianzun's "celestial decree" will support her. Anyone criticizing her would face village-wide rebuke.
Decision made!
Li Daoxuan withdrew his focus from the Scholars' Well to the village outskirts.
Suddenly, activity near the wheat fields caught his attention. Most of Gao Village's original forty-two villagers gathered at the field edges.
Even Old Village Chief—recently enjoying leisurely retirement—stood at the field today.
Villagers surrounded him as his withered hand tested a wheat ear, plucking a grain to chew. His face lit with joy: "Ready! Harvest time."
Raising his cane, Old Village Chief laughed loudly: "Three years! Three years! Gao Village finally grows grain again! Children, tomorrow we harvest wheat!"
"Tomorrow we harvest wheat!"
Gao Village natives cheered, then Zheng Village folk joined: "Our Zheng Village wheat also harvests!"
Mid-May, first year of Chongzhen's reign—the two villages first blessed by "the Tianzun compelling the Dragon King to bring rain" finally entered harvest season.
Celebratory atmosphere swept through everyone.
Later villages receiving rain and planting sorghum clenched fists in anticipation: Your joy now; our sorghum harvest brings ours come autumn.
Newcomers—refugees, short-term laborers, Qingjian folk—gazed enviously, then rallied: Our short-term labor earns comparable income. Why feel inferior?
In Gao Village, no official exploitation exists—only the Tianzun's protection. With diligent hands, we'll prosper.
Early next morning, Gao and Zheng villagers commenced harvesting. Men, women, elderly, children bent into wheat fields, wielding sickles.
Gao Sanwa skipped school today, harvesting with a sickle. Teacher Wang charged into the field wielding a ruler: "Gao Sanwa, you rascal! Return to class!"
Gao Sanwa yelped, dodging through tall wheat: "Teacher, don't strike! I'm helping my family! If harvest delays and rain ruins the crop, our year's yield is lost!"
Teacher Wang's beard bristled. "Fool! No rain for years! Without the Tianzun compelling the Dragon King, could you plant crops? Fear what rain? Leave work to parents! Return to class!"
Turning to Gao Sanniang: "Third Mother! Discipline your child! Literacy brings greater future prospects than field labor! Prioritizing farmwork over education harms him!"
Gao Sanniang startled, rushing into the field to seize Gao Sanwa's collar, tossing him to Teacher Wang, then heading toward Short-Term Labor Village: "We'll hire help for harvest—wages negotiable..."
As this commotion settled, Cheng Xu mustered the militia, counting—then frowned: "Where's one of the Three Fools? And Zheng Gouzi, that Zheng Village rookie? Where are they?"
Gao Chu Wu raised a hand: "Instructor He, who are the Three Fools?"
Prone Rabbit: "Obviously the three dumbest militia members! Zheng Da Niu and Gao Chu Wu definitely qualify, but the third? Someone as brilliant as this rabbit certainly isn't the third."
Everyone side-eyed Prone Rabbit silently.
Just then, Zheng Da Niu arrived, huffing.
Seeing him, Cheng Xu relaxed slightly: "Three Fools assembled. Where's Zheng Gouzi?"
Zheng Da Niu reported loudly: "Instructor, Zheng Gouzi's father summoned him to Zheng Village for harvesting at dawn. I delayed persuading him to train."
Cheng Xu erupted: "No report, no leave request, skipping training for farmwork—what of military discipline? Everyone, right turn! March! To Zheng Village—deal with that fool!"
The hundred-plus militia formed a column, marching toward Zheng Village.
Li Daoxuan, currently eating preserved egg and pork congee, thought: Zheng Gouzi's blunder proves serious—different from Gao Sanwa skipping school. Though not formal military yet, the militia will transition eventually. Unreported absence violates fundamental discipline.
Let's see how Cheng Xu handles this.
Adjusting the diorama's view, he followed the militia. Six li of cement road posed no challenge for trained militia—soon reaching Zheng Village.
They immediately spotted Zheng Gouzi—the rookie wielded a sickle, helping parents harvest.
Cheng Xu thundered: "Zheng Gouzi! You rascal! Unauthorized absence—what punishment awaits?"
His roar shook the fields.
Zheng Gouzi froze mid-motion, turning—then startled so severely his sickle dropped.
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[Historical & Cultural Context]
The harvest scene captures a profound Ming agricultural reality: after years of drought, a successful harvest represented not just food but restored cosmic order. Peasants perceived crop failure as "heaven's displeasure" (天怒); bounty signaled divine favor. Old Village Chief's emotional declaration—"three years!"—references actual Shaanxi droughts from 1627-1629 that killed over half the population in some counties.
Teacher Wang's conflict between education and farm labor reflects Ming social mobility tensions. While Confucian tradition valued scholarship above manual labor, famine conditions forced pragmatic compromises. His insistence that "literacy brings greater prospects" echoes late Ming debates about practical versus classical education—a tension Li Daoxuan's curriculum uniquely resolves by blending both.
The militia's disciplinary response highlights evolving military norms. Ming peasant militias often dissolved during planting/harvest seasons—farmers first, soldiers second. Cheng Xu enforcing year-round discipline represents a professionalization trend seen in late Ming "household troops" maintained by gentry like Qi Jiguang, who insisted soldiers remain separate from agricultural cycles.
Zheng Gouzi's predicament embodies the farmer-soldier identity crisis. His name "狗子" ("Dog-child") reflects rural naming traditions (using humble animal names to ward off evil spirits), yet he now inhabits a role requiring discipline antithetical to traditional village flexibility. His dropped sickle symbolizes this clash between old and new loyalties.