Li Daoxuan was enjoying a dry pot of river fish when the ship returned.
Seeing his little people still bouncing around alive and well on deck, Li Daoxuan exhaled in relief. Every time his charges left his sight to go gallivanting, this nanny-Tianzun worried himself sick. Watching them come back alive was better than any entertainment.
Though Xing Honglang's expression clearly said the trip hadn't been all sunshine and grain sales.
Just then, Bai Yuan hurried forward: "Chief Xing, congratulations on your safe return! The immortal ship's maiden voyage went well, I hope? Any difficulties on the road? Your expression looks—"
Xing Honglang sighed: "Shanxi is in terrible shape."
Bai Yuan: "?"
The two stood on the dock and discussed what had happened in Shanxi. Li Daoxuan, naturally, heard every word crystal clear.
So Wang Jiayin had already declared himself king. The man truly didn't know when he was courting death. As a Ming dynasty person, how could he not know the story of the Ming founder?
Stockpile grain broadly, delay claiming kingship, don't be the bird that sticks its head up—that was the true kingly way.
Getting a bit of power and immediately rushing to proclaim yourself king, then drinking and feasting—it only showed you had the air of a country bumpkin about you. No wonder this fool didn't live long. Though who knew if history would still follow its course with Li Daoxuan as a variable.
Xing Honglang said: "Master Bai, I want to rush back to Gaojia Village as soon as possible."
Bai Yuan: "Oh? Eager to marry Gao Chuwu?"
Xing Honglang's face flushed crimson in an instant: "Absolutely not! I'm not eager at all. I was forced to marry him. Right now I'd rather not go back—that way he can't pressure me."
Bai Yuan: "Still talking like that? Careful or the Tianzun will say he'll execute him again."
This scared Xing Honglang badly. She quickly looked up at the sky and performed a deep bow: "Tianzun, don't take it seriously! Please don't take it out on Chuwu."
Only then did she add: "I want to get back to Gaojia Village quickly and discuss with Manager San whether we can requisition more grain to relieve Shanxi... ahem... to trade with Shanxi for salt."
Hearing her correction, Li Daoxuan sighed inwardly: Relief is relief—you're not wrong. You don't have to call it trading for salt. I understand!
Besides, trading for salt really was necessary.
Gaojia Village's chemical plant had already begun construction. Once completed, it would need vast quantities of salt for alkali production. Industrial alkali production operated on an entirely different scale than handicraft methods. The demand for salt would be absurdly huge.
Gaojia Village would definitely face another salt shortage soon.
Of course, whether alkali or salt, Li Daoxuan could simply "bestow" them directly.
But directly bestowing things wasn't healthy for development. He preferred the little people establish their own supply chains.
It was time to give Shanxi a helping hand and get the Shanxi people desperately opening salt pools and producing salt.
Xing Honglang hurried off toward Gaojia Village.
Li Daoxuan didn't follow by shifting his viewpoint. Instead, he opened his model cabinet and rummaged around until he found the other ship Cai Xinzi had custom-made for him.
This was an inland transport vessel. Slightly shorter than the first warship, it had a flat, no-nonsense layout with no superstructure or cannons. Only a small pilothouse at the bow contained the controls and ship's wheel.
Though smaller than the warship, without cannons and superstructure it was much lighter. Its cargo capacity actually far exceeded the warship's. In reality, these flat-deck ships could be loaded with cargo containers and still not capsize. They could transport massive quantities of goods in a single trip.
Li Daoxuan couldn't be bothered typing out explanations to Bai Yuan. He simply placed the cargo ship directly into the box.
At that moment, the sailors on the warship had just dropped anchor. They were stretching and planning to go ashore for some rest. Bai Yuan had seen Xing Honglang off and sat in Qiachuan Fort pondering the Shanxi situation.
Suddenly, they saw clouds part in the sky. Another massive ship slowly descended from above.
Bai Yuan: "The Tianzun bestows another immortal ship!"
The sailors rejoiced: "A new ship! A new ship!"
But when the vessel touched water, everyone froze in unison: "Huh? No superstructure? No cannons either?"
"Looks like a fishing boat?"
"You idiot! When have you ever seen a fishing boat this big? It's a cargo ship."
"But does a cargo ship need to be this enormous?"
Bai Yuan suddenly understood: "Transporting ordinary goods certainly wouldn't need such a large cargo ship. But we're going to relieve Shanxi in the future—we'll need to transport massive quantities of grain there. Shanxi has millions of people. Without a large cargo ship, how could we possibly help them all? And it's not just Shanxi—there's Henan, Hebei... who knows how many suffering common people waiting for us to act righteously on Heaven's behalf. A ship like this is absolutely necessary."
Now the sailors understood.
Bai Yuan laughed heartily: "Excellent! Time to start a second round of recruitment. This time we're not recruiting combat sailors but logistics personnel. Fellow villagers—anyone who wants high wages but fears the front lines can enthusiastically sign up for logistics duty!"
This announcement had an outstanding effect.
Especially among the fishermen living near Heyang Dock. Hearing about high income without combat duty, how could they not rush to join?
Li Daoxuan watched Bai Yuan send people aboard the cargo ship to learn how to operate the new vessel, ready to reach in and rescue anyone if needed. Once they'd figured out the cargo ship, he finally switched his view back to Gaojia Village.
Xing Honglang hadn't returned yet.
Li Daoxuan was about to find Gao Yiye and have her relay that he intended to bestow large quantities of grain to relieve Shanxi when his gaze suddenly caught a familiar figure: Gao Sanwa.
The boy clutched a thick stack of papers in his arms, skulking furtively below the Watchtower, looking like he wanted to go up but didn't quite dare.
Li Daoxuan's curiosity piqued: Eh? What's this kid up to?
Gao Sanwa wasn't small anymore. Back in the seventh year of Tianqi, he'd been an ignorant troublemaker—a little hellion. Over three-plus years he'd grown up, going through the full childhood experience: replacing characters with pinyin, skipping class, getting spanked...
He'd completed nearly every mischievous childhood rite of passage, then gradually matured. This year he'd turned sixteen.
Still, his sneaky-thief nature remained. Skulking around below the Watchtower, he looked genuinely ridiculous.
Li Daoxuan thought: This child is a bit mischievous, but not the type to do evil. He's surely not here to steal from the village storehouse, right? So what exactly is he doing?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a figure emerged behind Gao Sanwa—none other than Shansier. He grabbed Gao Sanwa by the scruff of his neck and boomed: "Halt! Gao Sanwa, what are you doing skulking around the Watchtower? Don't tell me you're planning to draw a mustache on the Tianzun's sacred image! Let me tell you—other pranks might be tolerated, but if you scribble on the Tianzun's image, that's an unforgivable crime!"
Some sins are measured not by intent but by whose face gets the mustache.