Chapter 241: Buying Books Includes Grain
Chapter 237 of "The Great Ming in the Box" opens introducing characters: Li Daoxuan looked at the scene before him with a mix of amusement and exasperation.Two... Find out more!
Li Daoxuan looked at the scene before him with a mix of amusement and exasperation.Two carts of grain had been completely snatched away.
Ground Rabbit was also hoisted up by other soldiers from the militia.
He probably knew he had done wrong, his head hanging low.
Two militia soldiers beside him stared at him with odd expressions.
Zheng Gouzi lightly punched him: âYou lad, now youâve gotten me in trouble too.â
His tone wasnât fierce, and the punch wasnât hard.
He could guess what Ground Rabbit was thinking.
Mr. Wang and Gao Yiye walked up to him.
They also looked at him with peculiar expressions.
Ground Rabbit raised his head: âMr. Wang, Saint Lady, this rabbit made a mistake and violated orders. Punish this rabbitâthis rabbit can accept any punishment.â
Mr. Wang wore an odd expression and seemed uncertain what to say.
Gao Yiye listened to the Deityâs instruction before speaking with a strange smile.
âAlright, then behead him.â
Ground Rabbitâs face changed dramatically: âHuh? Itâs that severe?â
Gao Yiye glanced sideways: âDidnât you say you could accept any punishment? Intentionally destroying military provisions is no minor crime.â
Ground Rabbit was drenched in sweat: âItâŚitâŚjust nowâŚseeing the common folk suffering so terriblyâŚthis rabbit truly couldnât help itâŚâ
Gao Yiye sighed softly: âBut what good would giving them two carts of grain do? How many people could two carts of grain save?â
Ground Rabbit: ââŚâ
âSaving people requires proper methods.â Gao Yiye said: âIâm not speaking my own words nowâthese are the Deityâs direct instructions. Currently, the fastest way to rescue these common folk is to first spread the Deityâs glory. Only then can the Deity personally intervene and grant them grain. Only that can save every last commoner in this city. Itâs absolutely not something you can achieve with a sneaky trick like overturning one or two carts of grain.â
Ground Rabbit lowered his head: âThis rabbit knowsâŚbutâŚcouldnât hold backâŚâ
Mr. Wang shook his head: âThe Deity had actually already ordered us to overturn two carts of grain while you were pushing the cart over. You just acted on your own before the command arrived.â
Ground Rabbit: âEh? Eh? Eh?â
Mr. Wang continued: âThe Deity is compassionateâhow could he refuse to save the common folk? By acting recklessly without waiting for the Deityâs orders, did you believe the Deity lacked mercy or was unmoved by these refugees?â
Ground Rabbitâs sweat poured down as he thumped to his knees: âI was wrong.â
He didnât even use his usual âthis rabbitâ catchphrase this timeâreplacing it with âIââproving he sincerely wasnât joking around.
Li Daoxuan smiled faintly.
Although this man was habitually bold and unruly, known for his reckless mischiefâeven ranked by Cheng Xu as one of Gaojia Villageâs three idiotsâcloser observation revealed he possessed many admirable qualities.
Last time when taught Army Combat Techniques, he refused to keep it to himself, risking missing the lesson entirely to call his comrades and study together.
Now, risking severe punishment, he deliberately overturned grain carts just to help refugees.
He was someone willing to sacrifice his own interests for others.
Such integrity was truly precious.
Li Daoxuan spoke up: âLet him stand up. Deduct half a year of his military pay. Additionally, after returning, punish him by copying the three major disciplines and eight points of attention one hundred times.â
Gao Yiye said: âStand upâŚâ
Ground Rabbit stood, head still drooping.
Gao Yiye glanced sideways: âThe Deity has forgiven youâwhy still wear such a bitter face?â
Ground Rabbit replied: âLosing the pay is acceptable. But copying that a hundred timesâŚitâs too difficult! This rabbit would rather run around Gaojia Village a hundred times.â
For a semi-literate like him, writing was far more exhausting than running.
Mr. Wang scolded jokingly, âIf it werenât difficult, could it even be called a punishment? Obey obediently, or be careful the Deity really cuts your head off.â
Ground Rabbit was so frightened he didnât dare speak.
After that minor hiccup, the transport team continued onward. Before long, they arrived at Chengcheng Bookstore. The grain was hauled into the backyard and piled up. The comic books were moved into the front hall and displayed on the shelves.
Just as they finished setting up and began selling, the old soldier from the city gate arrived with a huge entourage. He brought his elderly wife, son, daughter-in-law, grandson, as well as numerous aunts, uncles, elderly female relatives, and even the neighborâjust about everyone possibleâto buy books.
Before purchasing, one last question had to be confirmed: âIs it true you get two liangs of flour for buying a book?â
âOf course itâs true!â Mr. Wang smiled. âBut everyone is limited to buying only one copy.â
There was a loud commotion as the soldierâs entire family surged forward. Even the baby held in someoneâs arms counted as a person eligible for a copy; a book was bought for the infant too.
Everyone walked home happily, carrying a book in their left hand and a sack of grain in their right. Halfway there, they couldnât resist flipping through the book to see what strange thing it was that actually came with two liangs of flour.
âItâs âDao Xuan Deityâs Demon Elimination Taleâ! Seems like a story about an immortal subduing demons and monsters.â
âEver heard of this Dao Xuan Deity?â
âNope!â
âMe neither.â
âHey? I think I have!â one of the poorest relatives spoke up. âHeard about it a while back. This Dao Xuan Deity was giving out medicine free to poor folks, over at the side hall of the City God Temple. But no one in our family was sick, so I never went.â
âAh, I see.â
âWell, the book didnât cost us anyway, and you donât even need to read to look at it (comic), so letâs see what itâs all about.â
âWe did pay for this book.â
âNo no, the book is free! What we paid for was the flour.â
âHahaha, what cheap flour this was!â
The group returned home in high spirits. Having bought grain at low prices today, finally tonight they could eat just a little fuller than usual.
News that Chengcheng Bookstore was selling grain cheaplyâno, wait, selling booksâspread like wildfire. Since each person was limited to one book, everyone naturally dragged along friends and relatives to seize the benefit. Soon the news spread through the county town like a virus.
Little did they realize, Li Daoxuanâs approach was what was called the âPinduoduoâ tactics. By recklessly gathering more and more people to pull in benefits, the common folk would spontaneously advertise for him.
The first batch of two thousand comic books sold out in just half a day.
Those who missed out were extremely disappointed, deeply annoyed for failing to âseize the woolâ (benefit).
However, within a few days, another two thousand books and a large grain transport team arrived. Quickly, this second batch of two thousand comic books also sold outâŚ
This strange comic book became a bestseller overnight.
Though most buyers were there for the flour, once they had the book at home, they inevitably opened it. They wanted to see who this big sucker was who handed out grain in such a way.
Not until they looked inside did they realizeâthis wasnât half bad!
The story was actually quite good!
So they read it. After all, in this year of the great disaster, farming was impossible, commerce was crippled, and common folk had virtually nothing to do. Having a weird book to flip through was still better than lying around dazed.