Early the next morning, the little diorama box came alive.
The arrival of a hundred new residents brought a lot more life to the village.
The newcomers wandered around like they were seeing some exotic spectacle for the first time, strolling back and forth, gasping and pointing with embarrassing levels of awe.
"This round iron house is incredible. How was it even built?"
"And what is the deal with this huge pond? We have had three years of drought. Even the rivers are almost dry. Why does Gaojia Village still have a pond this big?"
"Chicken jerky! This whole area is covered with hanging chicken jerky!"
The newcomers got an education in shock, fast.
This was exactly what Shan Shi'er wanted. He deliberately did not rush over to greet them first thing in the morning. He did not assign them any work. He let them wander freely. Let the village's "divine objects" scare them straight. That way, when he finally gave them orders, they would be much more obedient.
Once their heads were spinning from everything they had seen, Shan Shi'er gathered them together.
"The village urgently needs all kinds of skilled workers. Especially blacksmiths. If you know how to work iron, step forward. You get an extra two liang of flour per day."
Three middle-aged men jumped out immediately, so happy they were stomping their feet. They never imagined their mediocre skills could earn them extra flour.
Shan Shi'er said, "You three. You have hammers, anvils, that sort of thing at home, right? Go back and bring them here. From now on, you follow Master Li in the village. Whatever needs forging, you do what Master Li tells you."
The three men nodded obediently.
Shan Shi'er turned to the rest of the newcomers. "The rest of you. Your first job is to build a temple for Dao Xuan Tianzun."
Li Daoxuan, watching from outside, did not know whether to laugh or cry.
The village had a hundred things to do. It was practically a wasteland waiting to be rebuilt. And you want to build a temple first? What useless nonsense is this?
He was about to call out to Gao Yiye to intervene. Then a thought struck him.
In the Civilization games he used to play, building a new city did not start with proper buildings. It started with a shrine. You expanded city borders through cultural output. And early religious buildings were also cultural buildings.
Sure, that was just a game mechanic. But game designers do not pull things out of thin air. Probably. They must have researched it. History, or something. There was probably truth in it.
Ah, screw it.
A strange feeling rose in Li Daoxuan's chest.
His gut told him not to interfere with Shan Shi'er. This chaotic approach of his might, in some other form, bring benefits.
Li Daoxuan gave up on calling Gao Yiye. He kept watching from the sidelines.
Shan Shi'er said, "Anyone who knows masonry, step forward. Extra one liang of flour per day."
Several middle-aged men stepped out, their faces bright with joy.
"You three, lead the others in building the temple…" Shan Shi'er paused mid-sentence. Something had just occurred to him. "Among you, does anyone know how to sculpt?"
"I do!" Two middle-aged men raised their hands immediately. Thanks to the blacksmith and masonry examples, they had figured it out.
If you had a special skill, you got extra flour every day. So do not hide. Step up.
"The City God Temple in the county seat. That life-sized City God statue was carved by me."
"I have also carved a Guanyin statue."
These two were experienced hands.
Shan Shi'er was overjoyed. "Excellent. The rest of you, go haul stones and cut wood. Build the temple. You two sculptors, come with me."
He led them to Gao Yiye. "Miss Yiye, I brought two sculptors. Please describe Tianzun's appearance so they can make a statue of Dao Xuan Tianzun."
Gao Yiye said, "Huh? This… I need to think carefully…"
Li Daoxuan found this amusing.
He deliberately lifted the lid of the diorama box and moved his face above it, looking down.
Gao Yiye saw him immediately. A young face appeared faintly in the clouds. Regular features. Kind eyes. Handsome.
She murmured, "Tianzun is very young. He does not have a long beard. His features…"
The two sculptors quickly memorized every word.
Before long, they dug up two lumps of yellow clay from a nearby ditch. Following Gao Yiye's rough description, they shaped a young man's head first. Then they began fine-tuning.
"Here… the eyes should be a tiny bit bigger…"
"The nose bridge a tiny bit higher…"
"The lips curve up slightly. Tianzun is not fierce. He is kind and gentle."
"The ears are a tiny bit too big."
In less than four hours, Li Daoxuan's face was carved out.
He held a magnifying glass against the glass and examined it closely. The face was incredibly lifelike. But Gao Yiye, when describing his appearance, had clearly mixed in some personal feelings. She gave him a makeover. Long hair instead of short. Eyes slightly bigger. Nose bridge slightly higher. Gaze slightly more dignified.
All those tiny adjustments added up. He looked 32 percent more handsome. 300 and 20 percent more majestic. He had gone from an ordinary modern young man to the imposing, ageless Dao Xuan Tianzun.
Once the head was done, the body was easy.
The two sculptors worked together. They used a large amount of yellow clay to make a body seated cross-legged, wearing Daoist robes. The right hand held a dust whisk. The left hand supported a Taiji Bagua diagram.
Finally, they installed the head.
The majestic Dao Xuan Tianzun was complete.
Li Daoxuan held the magnifying glass and examined his own statue from every angle. He was satisfied. Extremely satisfied. He wanted to reach into the box, pull it out, and put it in his display cabinet.
The craftsmanship was far more detailed than any Gundam model or plastic soldier. Less than a centimeter tall, yet the eyes, strands of hair, fingers, every detail was incredibly fine.
"Wait a second."
Li Daoxuan turned to look at his model display cabinet. His eyes locked onto a two-centimeter-tall plastic model that had cost him 288 yuan. He looked back at the Dao Xuan Tianzun statue. Then back at the plastic model. Then back at the statue.
He compared them again and again.
The model he once treasured, the one he had paid 288 yuan for, was now compared to the Dao Xuan Tianzun statue. In terms of craftsmanship, it was a pile of shit. No exaggeration. It really was a pile of shit.
If that pile of shit could sell for 288 yuan, how much could the Dao Xuan Tianzun statue sell for?
Heh. I have an idea.
Li Daoxuan spoke. "Yiye, tell those two sculptors I am very satisfied with their work. There are some things I want them to do next. If they do well, they will be richly rewarded."
After saying this, he pulled up an image on his computer and hit print.
Soon, a sheet of A5 paper slid out of the printer. On it was a printed image of Sun Wukong as Supreme Treasure from A Chinese Odyssey.