The sky above Gao Family Village was clear.
Ultimately, Dao Xuan Tianzun's most cherished place remained Gao Family Village itself.
As summer arrived, the villagers of Gao Family Village enjoyed a great privilege, one that no other place could experience.
Ice!
Dao Xuan Tianzun bestowed a colossal block of ice from the heavens, placing it directly on the open ground in front of the village fortress. The people of Gao Family Village happily gathered around the massive ice block, discussing how best to savor this wonderful gift.
Gao Laba approached with a meticulously clean small mining pick. With a resounding clang, he chipped off a piece of ice. His son, Gao Shan, immediately brought over a basin of flat Happy Fat Water.
Gao Laba placed the ice chunk into the Happy Fat Water, and then, father and son gleefully shared it, sip by sip.
"That's a rather uninspired way to eat it," a mass-produced Dao Xuan Tianzun emerged from the side. "Yiye, let me show you a truly refreshing method. First, figure out how to shave the ice into a fine slush, then mix it with fruit…"
Gao Yiye tilted her head. "Slush? How can we make ice into slush?"
"Shave it!" Li Daoxuan laughed. "Right now, you can only use ordinary tools. But if you dare to imagine and experiment, specialized ice-shaving tools will eventually be invented."
Gao Yiye hesitated. "But to invent a specialized tool just for a snack, wouldn't that be a bit…"
Li Daoxuan burst into laughter. "Technological innovation isn't just for weapons. Applying it to food is incredibly important too. Our primary challenge right now is the contradiction between the people's ever-growing material and cultural needs and our currently underdeveloped productivity. Therefore, striving to invent things that can elevate these material and cultural needs is also crucial, wouldn't you agree?"
Everyone nearby chuckled. "If Dao Xuan Tianzun says so, it must be true! Someone go ask Mister Song Yingxing if he can invent a machine to shave ice into slush."
Song Yingxing, who was actually on the other side of the ice block, poked his head out when he heard this. "Of course! I've already thought of several methods just now."
The crowd's laughter grew even merrier. "Quick, have Li Da get to work and forge those tools!"
Just then, a scholar dressed in a literati's robe hurried over from a distance. It was Shi Kefa. His gaze was frantically searching through the crowd, and when he spotted Dao Xuan Tianzun, his eyes instantly brightened.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun is here! Excellent! I was truly worried you might have gone off to explore other places, and I dared not trouble the Saintess by having her ring the bell for such a minor matter. I was utterly conflicted."
Li Daoxuan asked, intrigued, "Oh? What matter brings you to me?"
Shi Kefa pulled a document from his robes, his face a picture of embarrassment. "An appointment decree has arrived from the Ministry of Personnel. It promotes this humble official to Right Vice Commissioner, tasked with guarding Anqing, Chizhou, and other areas, and supervising the Jiangbei army."
Li Daoxuan was utterly bewildered.
Without a modern map, Li Daoxuan honestly had no idea where Anqing and Chizhou were located. His mind was a complete blank.
To avoid ridicule, he quickly cut the connection, returned outside the box, and swiftly consulted his phone. He discovered that Anqing and Chizhou were situated along the Yangtze River, south of Hefei, quite close to Nanjing.
In later generations, this territory would fall under Anhui Province's jurisdiction, but during the Ming Dynasty, it was directly administered by Nanjing.
Once he understood the location, Li Daoxuan quickly reconnected.
"Transferred so far?" Li Daoxuan questioned.
Shi Kefa sighed. "Indeed, it's quite a distant transfer. Once this humble official takes up the post, it will be difficult to return to Gao Family Village for further learning. I truly don't know what to do."
At this, Shi Kefa seemed a little dispirited. "This humble official doesn't wish to go, and I'm quite torn, so I wanted to ask for Dao Xuan Tianzun's guidance."
"Go, of course you must go," Li Daoxuan declared without a moment's hesitation. "Such an important position! If you don't take it and a corrupt official does instead, wouldn't the common folk of Anqing and Chizhou Prefectures be plunged into utter misfortune?"
Hearing this, Shi Kefa's spirits lifted. "That's true. Although this humble official is untalented, I am certainly better than a corrupt official. At the very least, I wouldn't oppress the good people. I can strive to ensure peace and tranquility for the residents of Anqing and Chizhou."
As he spoke, he sighed again. "Anqing and Chizhou are simply too far from here. Gao Family Village's advanced machinery cannot be utilized in Anqing."
That was undeniably true.
Gao Family Village was indeed a thousand li from Anqing, separated by the expanse of Henan Province. Henan, currently overrun by bandits, made it impossible for merchant caravans to pass safely, meaning supplies absolutely could not get through.
Hmm? Wait a moment.
Li Daoxuan suddenly remembered that Anqing and Chizhou both bordered the Yangtze River.
In ancient times, cities situated along the Yangtze or Yellow Rivers inherently possessed formidable transportation capabilities.
If he were to dispatch cargo ships, they could sail from the Yellow River's mouth into the sea, then along the coastline to the Yangtze estuary, and finally upstream on the Yangtze to reach Anqing and Chizhou, bypassing the perilous Henan.
Li Daoxuan told Shi Kefa, "Please wait here for a moment. I'll go back and conduct some research."
When he said "go back," to Shi Kefa's ears it meant "return to the heavens." He thought to himself that Dao Xuan Tianzun was going back to the heavens to retrieve some divine artifact. How incredible.
Li Daoxuan, with a swift movement, reappeared outside the box. He pulled out his phone.
"Hello, is this Cai Xinzhi?"
A girl's voice answered from the other end of the line. "Daddy's getting scolded by Mommy, Uncle. Please wait a moment."
Li Daoxuan was speechless.
Right. Cai Xinzhi had long since married and had children after striking it rich with Li Daoxuan in the micro-sculpture business. His kids were already old enough to answer the phone for their dad.
Li Daoxuan chuckled. "Cai An'yi, what did your dad do to get scolded by your mom?"
The girl on the phone giggled. "This morning when he left, Mommy told Daddy to buy seven or eight potatoes on his way back. Daddy came straight home after work and forgot the potatoes, so he's getting scolded."
Li Daoxuan roared with laughter.
After a moment, Cai Xinzhi's voice came through on the line. "Well, old brother, what brings you to call today? Just now, my wife was disobedient, so I taught her a lesson. My hand still aches from it. She knelt and begged for mercy, and only then did I let her off…"
Li Daoxuan hummed. "Understood, understood. You're truly the master of your household, aren't you?"
Cai Xinzhi puffed out his chest proudly. "Isn't that obvious? I walk around the house like I own the place."
Li Daoxuan retorted, "And when exactly are you planning to go buy those forgotten potatoes? I know. You're currently jogging to the supermarket to get them, not at home at all, which is why you dare to speak with such bravado."
Cai Xinzhi fell silent.
He had been found out. The conversation could not possibly continue.
Cai Xinzhi quickly changed the subject. "Is there anything you needed from me?"
Li Daoxuan asked, "I wanted to know if there's a type of ship that can sail from the Yellow River, out into the ocean, and then from the ocean into the Yangtze River?"
Cai Xinzhi laughed. "Of course there is! A river-sea vessel, the famous Legendary Sun. You mean you've never heard of it? It's 239 meters long and 36.6 meters wide. It has the shallowest design draft among global LNG carriers of its class, with a unique draft of less than 8.5 meters, allowing it to navigate both rivers and seas with excellent seaworthiness."
Li Daoxuan exclaimed, "What? Two hundred thirty-nine meters long? With an eight point five meter draft? That's far too massive! It wouldn't be able to navigate the Yellow River, would it? Are there any smaller ones? Medium or small river-sea vessels?"
Cai Xinzhi chuckled. "Of course there are! All the models you request are one to two hundred scale. Even a Legendary Sun class ship would be over a meter long as a model, too big! It would take up too much space at home. I also think you should go for a medium-sized vessel. Something around seventy meters long, with a draft as shallow as two to four meters. I'll make it for you as a one to two hundred scale model, about thirty-some centimeters long, and it'll still need motors, solar charging, and internal controls for driving, right?"
"Exactly!" Li Daoxuan affirmed.
Cai Xinzhi declared, "Minor issue. I guarantee I'll fast-track everything you need and deliver it to you within a week."