All the women in Gaojia Village became excited. Since the Deity descended and blessed Gaojia Village. The men of Gaojia Village took on various tasks: today helping at the blacksmith shop with work, tomorrow building the city gate, the day after building a Taoist temple… But for the women, it was awkward; there was nothing for them to do. Now, with a sudden large pile of cotton as big as half a house, the women’s excitement was understandable. “The weaving machine at home can finally be brought out for use.” “Mother of Sanwa, you are an expert in tailoring; now you can put your skills to use.” “Yes, yes, if I can help the Deity, perhaps I might receive some blessings too.” The women noisily chattered around the cotton pile as big as half a house, chirping away so loudly that even with ears strained, Li Daoxuan struggled to make out what they said. The women fell silent instantly. After two seconds of silence, with a buzz, they started chattering again. Li Daoxuan: “Pfft, hahahaha.” Thirty-Two took a deep breath and shouted: “If anyone speaks again, I won’t give them cotton!” Whoosh! Instantly, it was so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Li Daoxuan laughed so hard he nearly rolled on the ground. Indeed, only through self-interest could one control others; authority was false. Just like a company boss wanting to control employees, the only way was to grant or dock pay, for no other methods worked. Thirty-Two said: “The Deity wants you to turn this cotton into cloth, then cooperate with the blacksmiths to make armor. I won’t waste words on nonsense. In short, the family that does more work, produces better cloth, and quickly helps the blacksmiths make armor will get extra cotton, so she can make two outfits for her own.” These words worked; the women were overjoyed and rubbed their hands eagerly. Thirty-Two had them line up; each carried a large clump of cotton back to weave into cloth and submit quickly. For each woman who came to get cotton, he glared and fiercely threatened: “Don’t forget the Deity is watching you. If anyone steals the Deity’s cotton, for instance weaving two feet of cloth yet turning in only one foot, they will surely suffer divine punishment.” He well knew the habits of some rural women—they liked tiny gains. Without scaring them, plenty would be stolen. A few women indeed planned to hoard cotton; frightened by Thirty-Two’s glare, they glanced up at the sky and felt guilty, thinking: There are gods above all heads. Serving the Deity isn’t like serving any ordinary master; I better be honest. One woman took the cotton and stepped aside; the next came forward. Thirty-Two was about to give her a batch of cotton but suddenly felt something wrong. Looking closer, it was Gao Yiye standing before him. Thirty-Two: “!” Get full chapters from novel-fire.ɴet Gao Yiye, her face slightly flushed, said: “I… also know weaving cloth.” Thirty-Two: “Pfft! Miss Yiye, what are you joining in for? You’re the divine envoy of the Deity; why come to weave cloth? It’s downright disgraceful.” Gao Yiye said: “Weaving cloth helps share the Deity’s burden; I want to serve the Deity too. I’ll weave with graceful motions, so as not to harm the Deity’s dignity.” Thirty-Two rested his hand on his forehead, dizzy, dizzy… Li Daoxuan watching this laughed uncontrollably. Thirty-Two sighed deeply: “Like one lost after drawing a sword.” Gao Yiye said in surprise, “Third Lady, what do you mean by suddenly reciting a poem?” Thirty-Two said, “It’s nothing, I was just randomly sighing.” Li Daoxuan could indeed understand what he was sighing about. That vast Gaojia Village had previously been Li Daoxuan’s sole worry; it was mentally exhausting. Now it had become Thirty-Two taking it on, with no one else to share the burden. Even Gao Yiye, as the Saint Lady, acted recklessly. Naturally, it left him feeling completely bewildered. The thing Gaojia Village lacked most was still talent! But how could talent be so easily obtained? In the vast Liangshan Marsh in “Water Margin,” those who could manage reading and writing could be counted on one hand. Wu Yong, just a lowly scholar, became a military advisor. This showed how scarce talent was in that era. Li Daoxuan thought to himself: Talent must be cultivated oneself. At that moment, Third Lady came over, bringing her daughter and a maid. She had been packing these past few days, preparing to return to the county town to “spread the Dao Xuan Deity Teachings.” There were quite a few things to get ready. She walked quickly to Thirty-Two’s side and whispered softly, “Scoundrel, I’ll be heading to the county town in a couple of days, but our daughter can’t go with me—it’s not as safe there as Gaojia Village.” Thirty-Two nodded. “That’s only natural.” Third Lady whispered again, “You’re busy with serious matters, and I won’t be in the county. Who will teach her reading and writing, or womanly virtues and needlework?” This question made Thirty-Two freeze. After his wife left, how would their daughter’s education be handled? Womanly virtues and needlework were one thing, but reading and writing absolutely couldn’t stop. Otherwise, if their daughter grew up illiterate, what would become of her? Thirty-Two crouched down, holding his head in frustration. Li Daoxuan was reminded of something by the two of them. He spoke: “Yiye, go and speak a few words to Third Lady on my behalf.” Gao Yiye heard the voice from the sky and quickly looked up. She saw the Deity’s face faintly appear in the clouds, so she saluted deeply, ran over to Thirty-Two and Third Lady, and began acting as a messenger. Li Daoxuan said, “Third Lady, when your wife returns to the county town in a couple of days, you’ll be escorting her back and going to the county yourself, correct?” Thirty-Two responded promptly, “I do plan on returning briefly, but I’ll only stay a short while—merely one or two days at most—then come straight back to Gaojia Village to handle affairs for you.” Li Daoxuan said, “I want to ask: Is it possible to hire a teacher to come to Gaojia Village?” Thirty-Two stiffened. He froze for a long moment before lowering his head, slightly ashamed. “Reporting to the Deity, teachers are very prideful. Persuading them to come teach in this mountain hollow, over thirty miles from the county town, would be extremely difficult.” “Prideful?” Li Daoxuan said. “How prideful exactly? Try offering more money.” Thirty-Two sighed. “Scholars, you see… they don’t bend for mere dou of rice… Even with large sums, they might not agree.” “A dou of rice obviously won’t work,” Li Daoxuan said. “Show him this and see if he bends.” With that, Li Daoxuan pulled out a pure 999 silver necklace from a drawer—it was for men, and extremely thick. Back when he was a rebellious teen playing non-mainstream, he’d worn a ridiculous leather outfit, dyed his hair, and paired it with this big silver chain, making himself look like a rogue fighter. Later, after leaving that phase behind, the silver chain became useless, even a dark secret. He took off a small clasp from the necklace, a silver ring about one centimeter in diameter, and placed it before Thirty-Two. Thirty-Two felt a dazzle before his eyes. A massive silver ring, its diameter taller than a person, appeared before him. Made of fine silver, it glittered blindingly, enough to blind anyone. Thirty-Two, Third Lady, Gao Yiye, and everyone around who saw the silver ring all gaped, their mouths wide enough to swallow a kiwifruit, and they were unable to close them for a long time. Though they had seen the Deity produce many large foods, this enormous chunk of silver shocked them all over again—it was silver, not a grain of rice or a piece of pork, but silver. Li Daoxuan said, “Now tell me, will he bend?” Thirty-Two stammered, “He’d break his own waist with a stick.”