Chapter 102: A Fine Drizzle
Chapter 100 of "The Great Ming in the Box" kicks off with thrilling moments: Solar Vehicle No. 2 was Li Daoxuanâs improved creation, refined after incorporating lessons learned from... Read more!
Solar Vehicle No. 2 was Li Daoxuanâs improved creation, refined after incorporating lessons learned from Solar Vehicle No. 1. He redesigned both its power and loading systems.The vehicle measured five centimeters long. In the late Ming setting, it expanded to ten metersâroughly the size of a modern bus. It featured a bus-like carriage body, with solar panels mounted on the roof.
Sunshades were installed to shield the solar panels, operated by two long sliding rods. Inside the carriage, Zheng Daniu could use these rods to open or close the sunshades at any time, thereby controlling the vehicleâs power.
Being significantly larger than its predecessor, Solar Vehicle No. 2 was also easier to modify. It now included a brake functionâa simple plastic clip. Gao Chuwu needed only to step with his foot to jam a tire.
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu spent several days relearning before they could skillfully operate this larger vehicle.
Over twenty villagers from Zhengjia Village boarded Solar Vehicle No. 2, including Zheng Daniuâs parents. None knew why the Deity wanted them to see Zhengjia Village, but the Deityâs command was absolute. They obeyed without questionâgoing was enough.
Gao Chuwu: âDaniu, Iâm ready. You can open the sunshades now.â
Zheng Daniu: âWe killed someone last time driving. Letâs go slower this trip.â
The two fools had effectively received a harsh lesson in traffic safety after their fatal accident. Their driving style became far more cautious. No longer daring to race along the public roads, they now cautiously set Solar Vehicle No. 2 in motion, heading toward Zhengjia Village.
Watching the âbusâ depart, Li Daoxuan tapped the âZhengjia Villageâ tag outside the diorama box. The view inside instantly shifted to the sky above Zhengjia Village.
He took out a medical nebulizer, aimed it above the village, and switched it on.
The straight-line distance between Gaojia Village and Zhengjia Village was just over nine âliâ (approximately five kilometers). Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu maintained a steady speed of around 40 km/h, safely transporting the villagers towards their homelandâŚ
Long before arriving, a villager pressed against the window called out: âAh! Everyone, look! Look at our village!â
The villagers rushed to crowd by the windows to look outside.
Their familiar home! Little more than a month ago, theyâd left this small village that had nurtured and raised them. Now, seeing it from afar felt both deeply familiar and strangely alien.
The view was distant, hazy â like seeing it through a fine drizzle!
Wait â it wasnât hazy. There really was a fine drizzle.
Zhengjia Village was completely enveloped in a curtain of white misty rain.
Tears instantly filled the villagersâ eyes.
âLook at the sky!â someone shouted.
Everyone looked up. Above Zhengjia Village hung a familiar patch of low cloud â the very cloud that always appeared when the Deity manifested. A dragon head emerged from its center, spraying rain and mist downward onto the village below. Content orÄąginally comes from NovŃlFŃre.net
So this was how the âfine drizzleâ had come.
âThe Deity invited the Dragon King to Zhengjia Village!â
âThe Deity is merciful!â
âOur familyâs fields⌠we can plant them!â
The villagers were ecstatic. âStop! Stop the vehicle now!â
Zheng Daniu drew the sunshades closed, and the bus halted. A group of villagers leapt out and sprinted through the rainy mist towards their village, laughing wildly as they ran.
Gao Chuwu: âHah! They always call us fools, but theyâre the fools. Why run when they could have stayed on the bus?â
Thwack! Zheng Daniu flicked Gao Chuwu sharply on the forehead, making him yelp, clutch his head, and crouch down defensively in pain.
After a long moment, Gao Chuwu finally straightened up. âDaniu, why hit me? Arenât we best friends?â
Zheng Daniu: âYou just called my parents fools. Even best friends deserve a flick for that.â
Gao Chuwu: ââŚâ
Fine. He could take the hit. That had been wrong. Calling Daniu a fool was fine between friends, but insulting his parents? Yeah, that deserved a flick.
They shook hands and reconciled. Still best friends.
They watched as the Zhengjia villagers sprinted at least one âliâ (over 500 meters), reached their own fields, threw themselves to the ground with a thump, clutched handfuls of the now slightly moistened soil, lifted their heads, and laughed toward the sky.
Although theyâd been happy living in Gaojia Village, this moment was undeniably a far greater joy.
Points of light scattered and rose from their bodies, melting into the diorama box.
When their lives had been saved back then, each person provided only a tiny fraction â maybe a hundredth â toward the Rescue Index. But this time, just over twenty people added eight full points to the box all at once.
Li Daoxuan stared at the Rescue Index approaching 400 points on the box, deep in thought. There was still much mystery surrounding this Index, but he was gradually understanding its significance.
After their joyous outburst, the twenty-plus villagers returned to Solar Vehicle No. 2: âChuwu, Daniu, take us back to Gaojia Village! We need to plead with the Deity to let us return to Zhengjia Village to live!â
âNo. I forbid it.â
When they returned to Gaojia Village and crowded around Gao Yiye, eagerly expressing their desire to move back, Li Daoxuan rejected them outright.
âI permit you to work your fields there by day. But once the work is done, you must return to Gaojia Village to rest. Staying in Zhengjia Village long-term is far too dangerous.â
Li Daoxuanâs words puzzled the villagers. âReporting to the Deity, Wang Erâs rebellion ended long ago. All other rebels dispersed. The new county magistrate is distributing congee to aid the people! Chengcheng County is surely safe now!â
âNo. Itâs far from safe.â
Li Daoxuan sighed deeply. He had no desire to elaborate further.
The villagers exchanged confused glances. Gao Yiye lowered her voice conspiratorially. âWhat Iâm about to say next is just from me, okay? Not the Deityâs message. You canât see the Deity, but I can. Just now, while he spoke⌠I saw profound sorrow in his expression. It was as if he mourned for all the suffering people under heavenâŚâ
The villagers: ââŚâ
Gao Yiye whispered, âHe must know something. But itâs Celestial Doctrine, forbidden knowledge for mortals like us. Disclosing it might be a burden too heavy for our mortal existence.â
Her words shocked the villagers. Thinking carefully, the Saint Lady made perfect sense. The Deity was divine! He knew five hundred years into the past, five hundred years into the future, and every detail in between. If he said Zhengjia Village was dangerous, then danger certainly lurked. They should simply heed his command.
Instantly chastened, everyone declared solemnly: âWe obey the Deity! We wonât move back! Weâll go by day to work, and return to Gaojia Village immediately afterwards!â
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu grinned broadly. âWeâll drive you back and forth every morning after sunrise.â
The villagers considered this. That actually worked well. They could get up early, have the two young men drive them to Zhengjia Village, farm together helping each other, then all ride back together after work. There really was no need to move permanently after all.