The Great Ming in the Box-Chapter 77: Third Ladys Merit
After finishing his moment of pride, Thirty-Two finally got down to serious business.
The village still had plenty of matters to handle; it truly needed restoration in every aspect.
Li Daoxuan reached out and parted the building blocks surrounding the labor offenders. Over a hundred labor offenders emerged timidly.
They weren’t yet aware that a deity protected Gaojia Village, utterly baffled by how such massive walls could suddenly encircle them, then automatically open a gap to let them out.
In any case, sheer panic was the only appropriate response.
Thirty-Two stood before them, loudly announcing: “All you labor offenders, listen well! Starting today, you’ll work to atone for your crimes…”
To themselves, the labor offenders thought: Working, huh? After fighting all last night and getting no proper sleep, our bellies are empty. Now we have to work? Looks like we’re in for brutal treatment today.
Just as they finished this thought, Thirty-Two boomed: “Your first task is to cook. People of Gaojia Village don’t have time to tend to your meals, so you’ll only cook for yourselves.”
Upon hearing this, the group of labor offenders was dumbfounded.
Their first task… was to cook their own meal?
This didn’t sound like punishment. It sounded like a reward.
Stone and mud! In this severe drought, if you can fill my belly, I’d call you dear father! Yet you call this “using labor to reform one’s sins”?
Soon after, villagers of Gaojia Village lent them pots, bowls, and utensils. These offenders went to gather dried wood from the hillsides for firewood, fetched water from the big pond, set up cooking pots, and began boiling water.
A servant from the household of Thirty-Two pushed forth a giant grain of white rice as large as a millstone — this single grain weighed over a hundred pounds. He tossed it before the group: “This is your rice. Divide it yourselves.”
Seeing the grain, the labor offenders froze in disbelief.
“This… what on earth is… this?”
“Is it rice?”
“B-b-b-b-b-big rice.”
“Why is it so enormous?”
The servant scoffed mockingly: “Ignorant fools! This is divine rice bestowed by the Deity. A single grain is enough to feed a hundred of you. Hurry up and thank the Deity!”
The labor offenders had no idea who this Deity was. Didn’t matter. Food was food, so they offered thanks.
With overlapping voices, they thanked the favor, then used borrowed chisels and hammers to break the giant rice grain into small fragments. A few pieces went into each pot, cooked into a thin gruel. Each person devoured two large bowls.
Full stomachs brought instant, immense relief.
Even with Zheng Yanfu and Zhuang Guangdao, they rarely had full bellies. Though they’d stolen official grain, they dared not eat their fill, needing to conserve provisions for a long guerrilla campaign in the mountains against the officials.
Each meal only gave them a half-full feeling at best.
This was truly a long-awaited, satisfying meal.
Once fed, strength returned.
A thought of escape flitted through someone’s mind: Now that I have energy, maybe I can run fast enough to escape?
Yet a hand touched their now-full belly, causing hesitation.
After escaping… where could I ever find full meals?
Ah, forget it. Better to behave and accept the labor reform.
After tidying up the pots and pans, the labor offenders headed up the hillside to chop trees and cut wood. They were to make doors and windows for all the rooms in the Gao family’s enclosed residence—no small task with over two hundred rooms. Just the door panels would require more than two hundred pieces, and even more windows would be needed, keeping them busy for quite a while.
With a group of labor offenders “freely” crafting doors and windows for their homes, the villagers of Gaojia saved much time. The women continued weaving cotton cloth at an accelerated pace, while the men split their efforts: some hammered armor plates, others molded pottery jars, and some carved sculptures…
Having experienced two consecutive bandit attacks on Gaojia Village, they now understood that laziness wouldn’t do. Protecting themselves required speedily equipping every village man with a set of armor—an urgent priority.
Both inside and outside the village, a scene of bustling activity unfolded.
…
At noon, the sun blazed fiercely.
Li Daoxuan held a bowl of sour-pickle pork rice noodles and sat beside the scenic box.
Now, not only the village but also the northern hillside bustled. The labor offenders, busy felling trees and crafting doors and windows, spread across the slope amid an atmosphere of intense effort.
Li Daoxuan repeatedly tapped the buttons labeled “north, south, east, and west” outside the box, shifting the view to observe each tiny figure at work and allowing the external camera to capture more interesting scenes.
After a few taps on “north,” he suddenly felt something amiss.
Hmm?
A large stone at the edge of his vision hadn’t been there moments ago—it had appeared abruptly.
Pausing a fraction of a second, he swiftly realized: the view had enlarged again.
First, he checked the value outside the box; it remained 330, unchanged. Then, he compared it with a video he’d recorded of the hillside tens of minutes earlier.
The scenic box’s view had extended outward roughly ten meters. Ten meters seemed minimal, almost unnoticeable—yet it revealed an additional large stone.
Tapping north, south, east, and west confirmed each direction’s view had expanded by ten meters.
This ten-meter expansion might have been too slight, increasing 330 by a tiny decimal fraction rounded off and hidden by the box.
When did the expansion happen?
Unknown!
But why it happened wasn’t hard to guess.
Li Daoxuan silently reflected: “Seems Third Lady made headway in Chengcheng County during the past tens of minutes.”
…
Meanwhile, in a side hall of the City God Temple in Chengcheng County.
Third Lady wore a dark-blue cloth Daoist robe, her hair coiled in a Daoist bun. Combined with her slightly rounded face and cross-legged seat on a cushion, she truly resembled a kindly devotee.
Her personal maidservant stood a pace behind her, holding a medicine jar, akin to a guardian acolyte.
A man clad in patched garments knelt before Third Lady, kowtowing desperately: “Thank the Deity, thank the Deity! After taking the divine medicine granted by the Deity, my son’s fever dropped swiftly—his little life is spared at last. Thank the Deity.”
Third Lady smiled kindly: “Since it’s saved, all is well. The Deity would surely rejoice knowing this. Do you understand how to conduct yourself henceforth?”
The man kowtowed fiercely: “I dare not forget the Deity’s teachings. From now on, I’ll devote myself wholly to goodness, aiding others in my power.”
“Excellent, you may leave!” Third Lady waved a hand.
The man exited effusively grateful and met an old woman wailing at the temple entrance, clutching a little girl.
Curious, he asked: “Old elder, why do you weep?”
The old woman sobbed: “My granddaughter suffers from dysentery for days without improvement, wasting away daily. I’m impoverished—unable to afford physicians or medicine to save her. I’ve come to beg the gods at the City God Temple.”
The man adopted a solemn expression: “Old elder, do you not know? In the temple’s side hall, a devotee acts under Dao Xuan Deity’s decree to alleviate worldly suffering without charge. Poor folk like you who cannot afford treatment should visit that devotee. Seek divine medicine from Dao Xuan Deity—it may grant your granddaughter a flicker of hope.”
The old woman brightened joyfully: “Which side hall? My vision is feeble—I fear I cannot find it.”
The man replied: “Enough. I’ve vowed wholehearted goodness—might as well aid you fully. I’ll guide you there…”
Chapter 77: Third Ladys Merit
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