Chapter 499: This Official Can Achieve It
Chapter 494 of "The Great Ming in the Box" unveils: All waited respectfully to witness how the Deity would arrange their dwelling places.Gao Yiye raised... Continue the story!
All waited respectfully to witness how the Deity would arrange their dwelling places.Gao Yiye raised both hands and proclaimed loudly, “The Deity has arrived!”
As her words fell, clouds in the sky parted. Two colossal golden hands descended together, with one clutching an enormous iron plate. The hand scraped the iron plate across the ground, carving out a road that led to the entrance of an adjacent valley.
Next, the colossal hand slammed into the valley. With a thunderous roar, the valley floor was compacted into solid, level ground. In that brief moment, another human-habitable valley was completed.
Yet clearly, the Deity remained unsatisfied!
Perhaps the newly formed small valley couldn’t house thirty thousand people, for they needed not just living space but also room for textile and dyeing factories.
The golden hand then targeted yet another neighboring valley. With another earth-shaking slap, the valley floor was flattened. The massive metal plate scraped the ground once more, extending a new road.
The process continued…
Soon, three new valleys stood completed. Together with the original, they formed four distinct valleys. Four roads converged, resembling the pattern of a lucky four-leaf clover.
To prevent escape attempts or beast intrusions, colorful walls descended successively from the sky. In moments, all four valleys were encircled, forming a massive “Reform-Through-Labor City.”
This display wasn’t just witnessed by the newly arrived thirty thousand elderly, weak, women, and children—the original ten thousand labor offenders also saw it all.
The heavens-shaking divine power left everyone trembling.
Even those harboring escape thoughts now felt all such notions crushed by terror.
Finally, the Deity lowered a multicolored fortress from the sky, positioning it at the central intersection of the four roads extending from the valley entrances.
Gao Yiye climbed to the fortress summit and declared, “The Deity rewards good and punishes evil! Those who committed crimes shall be punished according to the severity of their deeds. The most wicked, deserving death, have already suffered divine retribution. You remain alive to witness all this because your offenses do not yet warrant death…”
“By the Deity’s mercy, your lives are spared. You shall labor with all your might to atone for your sins. The day your reform ends marks your rebirth!”
The rebel band in Guyuan under Old Nan Feng’s command responded first: “We shall cleanse our hearts and reform ourselves!”
Their leading sparked the other labor offenders into chorus: “Reform ourselves!”
Amid this fervor, the thirty thousand newcomers settled into acceptance. Guided by the Militia Soldiers, they divided into three groups and entered separate valleys to settle.
The Deity showered down stacks of temporary plastic houses—later to be replaced by cement versions, though that is another tale.
Seeing these troublesome thirty thousand subdued so swiftly through “carrot and stick,” Shi Kefa inwardly clicked his tongue in amazement. He glanced skyward with indescribable emotion.
Gao Yiye had already plunged deep into the masses with numerous Militia Soldiers for grassroots work. Finding no one to converse with, a wistful Shi Kefa led his thousand men dejectedly away.
As they walked, a subordinate suddenly cried out, “Look at the sky ahead!”
Shi Kefa looked up: The Deity was flying over!
Of course, the Deity wasn’t truly flying. Li Daoxuan, gloveless, supported a silicone Deity statue as he moved. People saw only the hovering statue.
It landed gently not far ahead of Shi Kefa. The invisible hand retracted skyward as sensory connection activated. The silicone Deity’s expression twisted unnaturally, its mouth stretching into a stiff, eerie smile: “Shi Kefa. We meet again.”
Shi Kefa hurried into a deep bow. “This humble official pays respects to the Deity!”
Li Daoxuan chuckled. “Well? Did you find any interesting sights here?”
Shi Kefa sighed deeply. “The Deity’s largesse has broadened this official’s horizons immensely. Yet with such boundless divine power, why not spread this gift throughout the whole world?”
Li Daoxuan retorted, “Is this world yours or mine? Since you govern it poorly, must I shoulder all concerns? I give what pleases me. Never demand what I withhold!”
Shi Kefa fell silent.
The argument held merit. Shi Kefa bowed again. “This official spoke rashly.”
Li Daoxuan’s smile widened abruptly. “Still… I’ve already given you much.”
Shi Kefa: “???”
Li Daoxuan pointed at Shi Kefa’s head. “I placed them inside here.”
Shi Kefa felt nothing amiss until that gesture. Suddenly, an itch crept into his mind—as though something truly took root there.
Reflecting deeply on what he’d witnessed in Gaojia Village, understanding dawned. He bowed once more. “This official comprehends!”
“Good!”
Li Daoxuan grinned. “My stance remains: Report everything you’ve seen and heard here to the Imperial Court freely. As an Imperial Guard, that is your duty. I bear no grudge. Yet consider carefully what should be reported… and what should not. Else… the Imperial Court may face needless troubles.”
With a swoosh, Li Daoxuan soared upward and vanished.
Shi Kefa bowed toward the sky until the Deity disappeared. Lowering his gaze, his heart felt laden with unshakeable weight.
Much of what he’d witnessed remained incomprehensible, yet it left him profoundly shaken.
Chaotic thoughts erupted like blossoms in his mind.
He sorted through them repeatedly.
Finally, he resolved: The Deity’s affairs would remain unreported. No sense inviting the Imperial Court to label this a cult and launch a suicidal purge.
The soaring food yield in Gaojia Village, however, deserved reporting. The Saint Lady had said mortals could now produce celestial fertilizer. He would procure a bag from the Gaojia Business Circle, present it to the Imperial Court simply as an invention by local smiths, and urge replication nationwide.
If the Ming Dynasty’s food yield could rise, wouldn’t prosperity follow?
Enough grain would solve all problems.
The Ming Dynasty’s restoration felt within reach.
Rushing with pride, Shi Kefa straightened: This official was still young. This official could achieve it.