When Shan Shi'er and Mrs. Shan returned to their residence in the county seat, they discovered that every single belonging inside the house had been stripped clean.
Following the rampage led by Wang Er of Baishui a few days earlier, every home in the wealthy district had been ransacked without exception. The entire street lay in ruins, with several houses burned down to heaps of charred timber.
Shan Shi'er was generally a decent man who often spoke up for the common folk, yet his home could not escape the fate of being plundered. The front door had been kicked off its hinges, and everything portable had been hauled away, leaving the interior completely bare.
Several other good-natured families he knew had suffered the exact same fate. When rebel armies swept through, nobody stopped to distinguish between good people and bad. With eyes bloodshot from killing, they had no patience for screening anyone. Exploitative rich men got the blade, philanthropists who repaired roads and bridges got the blade, and modest, low-profile citizens got the blade all the same.
Mrs. Shan thought it over carefully. "I might as well not stay at home at all. I'll go and lodge directly at the City God Temple."
Mrs. Shan continued, "I used to visit the City God Temple regularly to burn incense and donate Daoist robes, rice, and flour to the priests. If I bring a generous sum of silver today, the priests will surely be delighted to let me stay."
Shan Shi'er chuckled. "That's certainly true. With money in hand, is there anything in this world that cannot be done?"
Mrs. Shan patted the jars holding the divine medicine. "Once I move into the City God Temple, I'll put on a Daoist robe and use the divine remedies bestowed by Tianzun to treat poor commoners who can't afford medical care. Doing so fulfills our duty to save the world."
Shan Shi'er frowned slightly. "I'm just worried the priests in the temple might object..."
Mrs. Shan smiled confidently. "The City God is a Daoist deity, and Tianzun is a Daoist deity as well. Since we belong to the exact same Daoist lineage, why would they refuse? I've never heard of a temple dedicated to Yuanshi Tianzun forbidding visitors from burning incense to Taishang Laojun."
Shan Shi'er nodded. "Fair point."
His eyes darted sideways before he let out a low, scheming chuckle. "Put some real effort into saving as many impoverished folks as you can. If you run into people who can no longer survive here, persuade them to relocate to Gaojia Village. Our settlement is still in desperate need of manpower."
Mrs. Shan rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I needed you to remind me of that?"
With their plan settled, the couple headed straight to the City God Temple. Sure enough, as long as silver was offered, securing lodging proved to be a piece of cake. The Daoist priests warmly welcomed the "Golden Sugar Daddy" into residence. Wait, no. The "Golden Sugar Mommy."
Having settled his wife, Shan Shi'er turned his attention to his own mission. He walked over to a private school on the east side of town.
To be accurate, it did not qualify as a formal private academy, but rather a makeshift home school. Lacking any official accreditation, it was run by an impoverished scholar who couldn't even afford a wife. He had simply set up a few wooden desks inside his own house and recruited a handful of neighborhood children as students.
The scholar wore a faded blue Daoist robe patched along the hem. The moment he spotted Shan Shi'er, his face lit up with pleasant surprise. "Master Shan! Ever since Wang Er of Baishui caused that uprising days ago, your daughter hasn't attended class. I grew terribly worried and even went to your residence to check on you, only to see... alas... it gave me quite a fright."
Shan Shi'er cupped his hands. "Thank you for your concern, Teacher Wang. My family managed to flee the county seat and take refuge in Gaojia Village. My daughter is still staying there and dares not return to town."
Teacher Wang returned the bow. "As long as everyone is safe, that's all that matters. That rebel Wang Er is truly detestable for interrupting your daughter's education. Whenever she returns to the county seat, I'll devote my full effort to catching her up on all her missed lessons."
Shan Shi'er shook his head. "My daughter likely won't be returning to the county town for a very long time."
Teacher Wang let out a heavy sigh. "Ah!"
That single sigh carried a wealth of disappointment. Losing one student meant losing a vital stream of tuition income. The patches sewn onto the hem of his robe were no mere decoration. Teacher Wang's livelihood was genuinely rough.
Shan Shi'er shifted his tone. "Teacher Wang, the reason I came to see you today is to ask a huge favor. I'd like to invite you to reside temporarily in Gaojia Village to oversee my daughter's studies. You'll be handsomely compensated."
Teacher Wang quickly shook his head. "That... I'm afraid that would be improper. I still have several other students under my care. If I leave for Gaojia Village and abandon them, my conscience simply couldn't bear it."
Truthfully, he had zero desire to step outside the city walls. Everyone knew what chaos reigned out there. Rebels were running rampant and murdering travelers at will. The county magistrate was dead, Patrol Inspector Cheng Xu had curled up like a frightened turtle, and the Governor of Shaanxi refused to lift a finger. Stepping outside meant risking his neck.
Shan Shi'er knew it was time for silver to do the talking.
Reaching into his bundle, he pulled out a fist-sized chunk of solid silver and set it squarely on the wooden table.
The instant that block of silver appeared, Teacher Wang visibly shrank by half a head. "Eh? Master Shan, what... what is the meaning of this?"
Shan Shi'er smiled smoothly. "Asking you to travel dozens of li to Gaojia Village involves considerable hardship on the road. How could I not offer proper compensation for your trouble? Consider this silver a token of appreciation for your efforts. As for your remaining students, I'll personally visit their families and refund their tuition fees in full."
Teacher Wang grew visibly agitated. "How could I possibly allow that?! Although the tuition those families paid is modest, having accepted their trust, I must see my duty through to the end! How could I abandon my pupils halfway just because you offer more money? Master Shan, such behavior goes entirely against the teachings of the sages and disgraces our scholarly integrity! We men of letters possess our brushes, our principles, and our fists, and we shall never..."
Shan Shi'er reached into his bundle once more and slapped down a second chunk of silver, even larger than the first. The two massive blocks sat side by side on the desk, gleaming with a blinding metallic radiance.
Teacher Wang stopped mid-sentence. "I'll go!"
---
Meanwhile, back in Shuangqing City.
Li Daoxuan carefully carried a large cardboard box over to the side of his diorama tank.
Gently lifting the lid, he revealed a miniature Hakka Walled House. His custom-ordered Hakka compound had finally been completed.
This model was scaled down proportionally from the famous Chonglin Shiju residence. It measured 0.54 meters in length and 0.64 meters in width, with perimeter walls rising 4.5 centimeters high. Inside, the compound contained 262 rooms, 9 halls, and 18 interior courtyards.
While real Hakka walled houses lacked a base chassis, the scale model Cai Xinzhi built for Li Daoxuan required structural support. The bottom was mounted onto a thick, sturdy composite board fitted underneath with a set of electric motors, an electronic control system, and two rows of large tires measuring six centimeters in diameter.
The interior partition walls inside the compound were crafted from thin sheet metal to save space. However, the roof and exterior walls were built differently. Because Li Daoxuan proved to be a demanding client who repeatedly altered his specifications mid-production, throwing in bizarre requirements for sun protection and lightning proofing, Cai Xinzhi constructed the roof and outer walls out of heavy composite panels coated with a waterproof sealant.
Taking on this single custom commission had easily cost Cai Xinzhi a loss of at least five hundred yuan.
---
Author's Notes:
1. Chengcheng County houses a grand, impressive City God Temple located at the western end of West Street. Originally built during the Tang Dynasty and repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries, the surviving structure dates back to a Ming Dynasty reconstruction. Covering a vast area, it was rated a AAA-level scenic tourist site in 2013. Readers living nearby are welcome to visit. Back in Chapter 34, when the two sculptors were introduced, their dialogue mentioned that one of them had sculpted a City God statue for this very temple.