Chapter 434: Setting a Benchmark
Chapter 429 of "The Great Ming in the Box" opens showing suspense: Zhao Sheng sprang up abruptly, pointing skyward, âLook there, the Deity himself is roasting you... Continue the adventure!
Zhao Sheng sprang up abruptly, pointing skyward, âLook there, the Deity himself is roasting you now.âThe Old Doctor wore an awkward expression, âI beg your pardon, Deity. Iâll write more clearly next time.â
He swiftly scribbled two more characters, âNow, this should be legible, right?â
Li Daoxuan and Zhao Sheng both stared intently, utterly confused by the indecipherable scribbles.
The Old Doctor beamed proudly, âThese are the characters for âLicorice Root.â I wrote them perfectly straight.â
Zhao Sheng: (âŻďźďźżďźďźâŻâ§â§ (flipping a table wildly)
Li Daoxuan: (âŻďźďźżďźďźâŻâ§â§ (flipping a table wildly)
Rational discussion with this nonsensical Old Doctor was futile. Zhao Sheng, completely bewildered and holding the unintelligible prescription, received medicine from the young assistant. Packaged into an enormous bundle, he walked out of the clinic.
Li Daoxuan had merely been enjoying the spectacle, but seeing Zhao Sheng sparked an idea. To preside over matters at the ancient ferry dock in Shanxi, Zhao Sheng might just be the ideal candidate.
Most ordinary scholars lacked physical fortitude and couldnât identify basic crops.
And they were downright timid!
Take Principal Wang at the school, for instanceâhis bravado was minimal. Operating within places like Gaojia Village or Chengcheng County, he managed some courage, knowing the Deity watched over him from above. Yet, should he venture into Shanxi territory, Principal Wang might cower daily, too fearful to even step outside.
Individuals like Thirty-Two and Tan Liwen werenât much better; they all possessed timidity to varying degrees.
Zhao Sheng, however, was different!
He had rebelled onceâdriven to it, admittedlyâbut had commanded three thousand insurgent troops, marching from Qingjian County all the way to Gaojia Village. His journey was arduous, and he endured countless trials.
Though physically frail, his spirit was anything but weak.
Moreover, his character proved commendable enough. He was someone Li Daoxuan could trust beyond his immediate sightline to hand the responsibility for âthe common peopleâs lives.â
âFine, Iâll just pick him. Only⌠this asthma issue is bothersome⌠sigh, thereâs no choice. Heâll have to tough it out through his illness.â
Li Daoxuan began searching for Gao Yiye, needing her to relay instructions.
HoweverâŚ
Searching for her proved fruitless once more!
Gaojia Village sprawled vast, teeming with small figures. Locating tiny Gao Yiye proved a monumental challenge. At this moment, Li Daoxuan suddenly grasped why religious figures wore such peculiar garbâthe stranger their attire, the easier it was for deities to spot them from the heavens.
Take a cardinal in his bright red robes, tossed into a crowd: that striking red made him impossible to miss.
With his mind full of such odd musings, Li Daoxuan scoured the village meticulously. His gaze finally found Gao Yiye within the Gaojia Business Circle.
She was actually seated inside the bookstore⌠reading!
And it wasnât her own illustrated book, âDao Xuan Deityâs Demon Elimination Tale,â she perused. Instead, she held a comic book titled âBreaking the Skyââan unusual name. Li Daoxuan focused and recognized it as the âunderdog storyâ Gao Sanwa had presented earlier. Apparently, it was now printed and circulating.
Gao Yiye seemed deeply engrossed. Her cute, delicate brows furrowed slightly as she plunged entirely into the story. Her expressions shifted from tension to intense satisfaction. When the plot reached its climaxâwhere the disdained underdog finally triumphed, defeating all adversariesâGao Yiye couldnât contain herself. She burst into happy laughter.
Li Daoxuan shifted his âfocusâ nearby. He noticed many others within the bookstore reading the same book, all bearing expressions of deep concentration.
This wasnât confined to the bookstore; readers absorbed the story throughout the Gaojia Business Circle.
Patrons in teahouses, taverns, Laba Rice Noodle stalls, Fresh Water Hele shops, braised duck vendors⌠all nibbled, sipped, and fervently discussed this comic bookâs plotline.
One middle-aged man held his copy, turning to a nearby child, âLittle brother, youâre from the school, right? You know how to read? Could you tell me what this sentence means? Oh, having words in this comic bookâitâs not so friendly for an illiterate like me.â
The child looked carefully and said, âTimes change; donât look down on me. I will become powerfulâŚâ
âWow!â the middle-aged man said, âSo thatâs what he meant. It sounded really satisfying.â
âIt really proves that books need some words for the story to be more exciting.â
After scanning the street, Li Daoxuan was delighted: âItâs a hit! Gao Sanwa, kid, youâre a hit! This is bound to make a fortune.â
He still remembered that Thirty-Two and Gao Sanwa had agreed the money from this book would be split equally, with half going to the bookstore and the other half to Gao Sanwa.
Based on what he had just seen, the book had sold at least several thousand copies.
Even if Gao Sanwa got just ten coins per copy, he would still get tens of thousands of copper coins.
And it wasnât over yet; the book could surely sell many more!
People from Chengcheng County and Heyang County would definitely buy it too.
Thinking this, that guy Gao Sanwa was probably going to make a huge windfall.
Li Daoxuan secretly laughed to himself: âGreat! By setting up a benchmark of âan author earning big money,â it would inspire more people. Theyâd learn from Gao Sanwa and dive into creation, so then literature, art, comics, and such fields could all blossom.â
He looked forward to that day coming soon.
Xing Honglang led a large group of salt craftsmen, dragging their tired bodies, heading towards the ancient ferry dock.
One salt craftsman was already tired and thirsty from walking. He wiped the sweat off his face, feeling a bit anxious. This woman surnamed Xing seemed open and generous, but her promises were too good to be true, so the salt craftsmen didnât quite dare believe her.
Ah, when people are oppressed for too long, they become distrustful of good things.
After suffering under the authorities for so long, selling salt for only two coins per catty, they couldnât believe anyone would pay ten coins to buy it.
This mindset was not strange at all!
One salt craftsman couldnât help but ask, âBoss Xing, Boss Tie, weâve walked over a hundred li already. How much longer till we arrive? Transporting this cargo so far, about the wagesâŚâ
Xing Honglang turned around and laughed, âDonât worry about the wages; Iâll pay half a jin of flour per li traveled, how about that?â
That salt craftsman thought to himself, half a jin per li, for a hundred li thatâs fifty jinâtheyâre giving me so much flour? ThatâŚwas too amazing, but the more amazing it was, the less he dared believe it.
While they were feeling uneasy, Xing Honglang laughed and said, âWeâre here!â
The salt craftsmen looked up and saw they were by the Yellow River. This place was familiarâthe ancient ferry dock, where theyâd helped salt smugglers transport salt before. But the ancient ferry dock had changed a lot now: a huge wooden fort had emerged by the river, with several watchtowers built inside.
The salt craftsmenâs first reaction was: âThere are officials garrisoned here!â
Only where officials were stationed would they build a proper fort and make everything look so formalârebel bandits and salt smugglers never did stuff like that.
This startled the salt craftsmen. Damn! If the officials caught them, they really couldnât explain it well. After all, they couldnât say the salt tax office official had released them.
The salt tax office official wouldnât admit it anyway.