The villagers were overjoyed and hurried to the center of the village to collect their shares of meat.
In the past, the village chief would have overseen the distribution, but the villagers would still have scrambled to divide the meat among themselves. Once they were done, they would dump any leftovers at Gao Yiye's door and leave. There was little order, and some would even sneak an extra portion.
But ever since Shan Shi'er arrived, Gaojia Village had gradually become more organized. The villagers no longer fought over the meat. Instead, they looked to Gao Yiye and Shan Shi'er, waiting for them to oversee the distribution.
Gao Yiye stood to the side, maintaining order through her authority as the Saintess. Her presence reminded everyone that Tianzun was watching, and even the troublemakers thought twice about acting up.
Shan Shi'er handled the practical side of things. He waved a hand and began issuing orders.
"Gao Chuwu, cut the meat. Bring a scale and weigh out the portions."
"Gao Laba, two liang of pork," Shan Shi'er announced. He wrote the man's name on a piece of paper and marked it off once the meat had been collected.
"Wang Ergou. Collected."
"Zhong Datou. Collected."
"Zheng Aniu. Collected."
"Gao Sanwa. Collected."
One by one, the villagers in the queue received their shares. Only after everyone else had been served did Shan Shi'er distribute portions to Gao Chuwu, Gao Yiye, and his own family. The people in charge took their shares last, putting on a show of noble restraint.
Finally, it was the two sculptors' turn.
They had been waiting impatiently, watching everyone else receive meat while they were left empty-handed. They couldn't help feeling aggrieved. Why were the Saintess and the Advisor making them wait until last?
Gao Yiye beckoned them over, and they hurried to her side.
"Saintess, what are your orders?"
"Tianzun has decreed that all the remaining pork is yours," Gao Yiye told them.
The two sculptors froze, their eyes widening as they turned to stare at the leftover meat. Even after more than a hundred villagers had each received two liang, the remaining piece was still as large as two washbasins. It must have weighed several dozen jin.
Gao Chuwu grinned and brought his cleaver down, splitting the enormous tenderloin in two.
"Here. Half for each of you."
The sculptors stared at the meat in disbelief.
"Th-this much? All for us? Everyone else only got two liang!"
"Tianzun says he's very pleased with the Victorious Fighting Buddha statue you carved," Gao Yiye explained. "This meat is your special reward."
Overcome with joy, the two sculptors dropped to their knees and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Thank you, Tianzun! Thank you, Tianzun!"
Shan Shi'er lowered his voice, his expression serious. "From now on, you two must work even harder for Tianzun."
The sculptors nodded vigorously. "Of course! Of course! This humble one will do his very best!"
In the past, when wealthy patrons hired them to build temples or carve statues, they were lucky to receive a few meals or a handful of copper coins. They had never been given a piece of pork this large.
And even if they couldn't eat it all themselves, they could always trade some with the other villagers. In a year of famine, nothing was more valuable than food.
There was just one problem: fresh pork wouldn't keep for more than a couple of days.
The two men exchanged awkward glances.
"Could we perhaps...?"
Shan Shi'er smiled and handed them two bags of salt. "Here. Salt it and smoke it to make cured pork."
Delighted, the sculptors thanked him, grabbed the bags of salt, hoisted their pork onto their shoulders, and hurried back to their temporary huts.
"Wife! Eldest son! Second son! We're rich! Hahaha! We're rich!"
Before long, they had piled pine branches in an open patch of ground behind the village and started smoking the meat. The smell was irresistible, and the surrounding villagers watched with undisguised envy.
They craned their necks, each thinking the same thing:
When will I earn enough merit serving Tianzun to receive a reward like that?
That was human nature.
When there's nothing to eat, you're grateful for even a single bite. But once you have enough, you start wanting more than everyone else. And that desire drives you to keep climbing.
Of course, some people would rather just lie flat.
Take Zheng Daniu from Zhengjia Village, for example. He wasn't jealous of the sculptors smoking their pork. He'd already eaten his fill and even received two liang of meat. Patting his round belly, he felt perfectly content.
Everyone's full now, anyway. What's the point of working so hard? Why bother climbing any higher? Wouldn't it be better to just lie down and take it easy?
Except...
That Happy Water he'd drunk last time had been so good. He wanted another sip. Too bad he'd run out.
Damn it! So much for lying flat. I want Tianzun's reward! I want another taste of that Happy Water!
Zheng Daniu sprang to his feet, grabbed his axe, and dashed out of Gaojia Village. The sun was still shining faintly over the forest. He plunged into the trees and searched frantically. Before long, he actually found a thick, sturdy tree.
He swung his axe.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With a full belly and energy to spare, he soon brought the tree down. He cut off the best section, a thick trunk more than two meters long. It was too heavy to carry, so he dragged it, rolled it, and levered it down the mountain.
At last, he hauled the log over to Gao Yiye, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Saintess! Saintess! Look what I brought back from the mountain! This would be perfect for carving the next statue! See? I'm useful, right?"
Gao Yiye had no idea whether the log would be useful, but she tilted her head and listened to the heavens. A moment later, a smile spread across her face.
"Zheng Daniu, you've done wonderfully. Tianzun has praised you."
Zheng Daniu was overjoyed.
"Tianzun says he can reward you with some—"
Gao Yiye hadn't even finished speaking when Zheng Daniu hurriedly interrupted her.
"I... this humble one... would like to make a request."
Gao Yiye blinked. "?"
Zheng Daniu swallowed nervously. "I don't want meat. I just want... just one sip... another sip of that Happy Water. Just one sip!"
Gao Yiye was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Tianzun says that's no problem. Do you have a washbasin at home? Go and fetch it."
Zheng Daniu was from Zhengjia Village and had arrived with nothing to his name. But in just a couple of days, he'd managed to make himself a wooden basin. As soon as he heard Gao Yiye's words, he rushed home, grabbed the basin, and set it on the ground.
From Li Daoxuan's perspective, the washbasin was a mere three millimeters across. Pathetically tiny.
He used a needle to draw a little cola from his bottle, then gently pressed the syringe plunger, letting a single drop fall...
That one drop filled Zheng Daniu's washbasin to the brim. The excess spilled over the edge.
"It's full! It's overflowing! So much! Oh no... the extra Happy Water is soaking into the ground! Heavens above! It's seeping into the earth!"
Shan Shi'er shouted from the side, "You've got a whole basin! So what if a little spilled over? What are you crying about? Get out of here!"
Li Daoxuan chuckled to himself. Then he confirmed two things:
First, there was a forest not far outside the village, just beyond the edge of his field of vision.
Second, in the future, he could ask the villagers to bring their own containers whenever he gave them something. That would save resources and keep him from wasting so much with a single careless move.