Li Daoxuan carefully inspected every part of the Hakka walled compound model. He even gave the structure a few firm pushes and tugs with his hands, making sure everything was securely assembled. Every wall panel and every metal plate was firmly locked into place. Nothing was going to come loose and collapse at the slightest disturbance.
After all, people were going to live inside this thing. If the structure suddenly fell apart and crushed the inhabitants, what was supposed to be a divine gift would turn into a full-blown disaster movie.
Satisfied with its structural integrity, Li Daoxuan picked up the remote control and nudged the joystick. He set the speed to first gear, and the Hakka compound began crawling across the floor at an exceedingly leisurely pace.
First gear was painfully slow. The model could only travel a little over ten centimeters per second.
But that was more than fast enough for Li Daoxuan.
Once transferred into the miniature world of the Ming Dynasty, that same speed would translate to roughly 100 km/h. Not bad at all. It could give a tank a run for its money.
With all the checks completed, it was finally time to put the model into the box.
Li Daoxuan lifted the lid of his diorama box and peered inside. The villagers were carrying on with their usual routines. Some were forging iron armor in the smithy, others were weaving cotton cloth, while a few were sawing timber to make furniture. Nearby, someone was weaving bamboo baskets, and another was busy shaping clay into pots.
Those without any particular craft skills, possessing little more than a pair of strong arms, had found themselves with nothing much to do over the past few days. They were sitting in the open space at the center of the village, happily chatting away.
Li Daoxuan directed his attention toward Gao Yiye's house.
"Yiye, inform all the villagers. We have some work to do."
The moment his voice rang out, he saw Gao Yiye spring away from her loom through the hole in her ceiling. She hurriedly tried to cover it up, clearly hoping to conceal what she had been doing.
Then she remembered something rather inconvenient.
The deity knew everything. There was no point trying to hide it.
She lowered her head miserably. "As you command, Tianzun! You... you already know I've been weaving cloth. Are... are you angry with me?"
Angry? Quite the opposite. I actually think you're rather adorable.
Of course, Li Daoxuan couldn't possibly say that aloud. Instead, he neatly sidestepped the question and got straight to the point.
"Gather everyone and have them retreat to a corner of the village, preferably along the perimeter wall. The central area, within a radius of fifty zhang, must be completely empty. Not a single person is to remain there."
Gao Yiye quickly acknowledged the order, rushed out of her house, and loudly announced Tianzun's command.
The villagers promptly put down whatever they were doing and followed her toward the edge of the village. They gathered against the perimeter wall, staring at the empty central ground with puzzled expressions.
Li Daoxuan examined the available space.
It wasn't enough.
The villagers' thatched houses were taking up too much room.
He could put the new structure outside the village, but that would damage the farmland. True, the fields were currently nothing more than expanses of cracked yellow earth, with not a single crop growing on them. But once autumn arrived, those fields would become essential to the village's livelihood. He couldn't simply wreck them.
That left only one option.
The thatched houses inside the village would have to be moved.
Well, congratulations. Gaojia Village was about to produce its first batch of relocation households.
Li Daoxuan lowered his head and addressed the villagers.
"I am about to bestow upon you a beautiful, spacious residence. To make room for it, your old houses will have to be removed. Every household will receive compensation for the relocation. Does anyone have any objections?"
The villagers were momentarily stunned. Then their faces lit up with delight.
"We humbly await Tianzun's decision!"
"Very well. I shall move your houses first. I will do my best to preserve your belongings and avoid damaging anything."
With that, Li Daoxuan reached into the box and grasped one villager's thatched house, lifting it together with a large chunk of the earth beneath it.
The entire village watched in stunned silence as a house, along with the ground beneath its foundations, rose into the air. It traced an arc across the sky before gently descending onto a hillside outside the village.
"Whoa!"
"Tianzun's divine powers are truly unmatched!"
"Look! My house is flying too! It's going outside the village!"
One after another, the houses rose into the sky and were transported beyond the village walls.
Before long, the entire central area had been cleared, with the exception of the Dao Xuan Tianzun Cave.
Naturally, that structure had to go as well.
However, the villagers had worked hard to build that shrine. Simply picking it up and moving it elsewhere might leave them feeling a little heartbroken. Li Daoxuan decided to spare their feelings with a convenient explanation.
"The temple is quite well constructed. I shall take it up to the heavens and keep it there for my own enjoyment."
The moment the villagers heard that Tianzun was pleased enough with their work to take the temple into the heavens, they erupted into cheers. They had no idea their painstakingly constructed shrine was about to become a decorative item on someone's desk. As far as they were concerned, Tianzun genuinely loved their handiwork!
Li Daoxuan reached down, picked up the Dao Xuan Tianzun Cave, and lifted it out of the box before setting it on his desk.
Tsk. He had to admit, it was actually a rather attractive piece of craftsmanship. Inside stood a one-centimeter-tall statue of himself, accompanied by a set of miniature tables, chairs, prayer cushions, and other furnishings.
Not bad. He might even be able to sell this thing for a decent price someday.
With the buildings in the center of the village finally cleared away, the stage was ready for the arrival of the Hakka walled compound.
The villagers looked up.
The clouds above seemed to part, revealing an enormous complex of buildings slowly descending from the heavens.
At first, it was so high above them that they couldn't make out its details. But as it approached the ground, its enormous dimensions became clear.
It was a gigantic fortified residential compound, more than thirty zhang long, roughly 108 meters, and over forty zhang wide, approximately 128 meters. Its enclosing walls stood three zhang high, or about nine meters.
But there was something rather strange about this magnificent structure.
Two rows of enormous black wheels were mounted beneath it, each wheel standing four zhang, or twelve meters, tall. The wheels supported the entire compound, leaving its base suspended more than one zhang above the ground.
The villagers stared in complete bewilderment.
A house... with wheels?
Li Daoxuan was equally dumbfounded.
Damn it. Adding those wheels really does make the whole thing look weird.
The compound was now sitting more than three meters above the ground. How were the villagers supposed to get inside? Would every household need to build a ladder just to enter its own room?
That would be ridiculously inconvenient.
Perhaps he should remove the wheels for now and reinstall them whenever he needed to move the building.
He thought about it for a moment.
No, wait. There was a much simpler solution.
Just bury the lower half of the wheels underground.
Li Daoxuan reached into the box and dug two long trenches into the ground, each one precisely positioned to accommodate a row of wheels. He then lowered the Hakka compound into place, allowing the enormous wheels to slide neatly into the trenches.
Perfect.
The base of the compound, made from pressed composite panels, now sat flush with the ground. Li Daoxuan gathered some soil and sand, filled the gaps around the foundation, and firmly packed everything down.
Finally, he gave the entire structure another shake with his hand.
Solid.
Very solid.
The Hakka walled compound was successfully installed!
Although the villagers couldn't see his enormous hand, they could clearly see the sudden appearance of two gigantic trenches and the earth being dug up around them. The colossal building had descended from the heavens, and now it seemed to be shifting and settling into place as though manipulated by some invisible giant.
The sight left everyone speechless with awe.
Li Daoxuan turned his attention toward Gao Yiye.
"Yiye, since Shan Shi'er isn't here, you and the village chief will handle things for now. Assign one room to every household."
After Gao Yiye relayed Tianzun's instructions, the villagers erupted in jubilation.
The happiest among them were those who had migrated from other villages. Until now, most had been living in miserable makeshift shelters along the perimeter wall, without proper homes of their own. They had intended to build temporary huts before autumn arrived, then figure out a more permanent solution later.
Who could have imagined that Tianzun would be so generous as to provide them with an enormous residential compound, complete with a private room for every household?
We offered Tianzun a temple, and Tianzun gave every household a proper home in return!
The villagers burst into enthusiastic cheers.
Li Daoxuan interrupted their celebration.
"Don't get too excited just yet. These rooms don't even have doors or windows. You'll have to make and install all of those yourselves."
The villagers responded with even louder cheers.
"Tianzun is merciful!"
"May Tianzun protect us!"
"Long live Tianzun!"
One villager immediately turned toward the person who had shouted the last phrase and scolded him.
"You idiot! Why are you wishing Tianzun a long life of only ten thousand years? Are you cursing him to live for just ten thousand years? Immortals are supposed to enjoy eternal life!"
The poor fellow was horrified.
"Ah! This humble one deserves death! May Tianzun enjoy boundless longevity and fortune!"
The village was soon filled with one wave of praise after another, along with the occasional theological correction.
As for the missing doors and windows, nobody was particularly concerned. Compared with the monumental task of building an entire residence, making a few doors and windows was child's play.
The hardworking villagers were perfectly capable of handling that themselves. Nobody considered it a problem worth worrying about.