Chapter 202: When Did I Ever Eat Mushrooms

In the clip-clop sound of hooves, a fast horse charged into Gaojia Fortress.

On the horse was a house servant of Bai Family Fortress, who dismounted and handed an urgent military report to Thirty-Two.

Thirty-Two unfolded it and looked; it turned out to be a military report sent by Bai Yuan.

Inside, it detailed the matter of Dian Deng Zi Zhao Sheng coming to Bai Family Fortress to beg for grain, and said that he had, on his own initiative, given ten stones of the Deity-granted food to the bandits; about this, he wanted to ask for the Deity’s instruction on whether he had acted appropriately.

Thirty-Two dared not delay and hurried with the military report to the watchtower.

Soon, Gao Yiye stopped her painting and stood with Thirty-Two on the watchtower’s third-floor balcony.

Li Daoxuan was just by the box, eating preserved egg and lean pork congee; seeing the two looking very serious, he put his face against the box, and immediately Gao Yiye below saw him.

“The Deity has arrived!” Gao Yiye turned and said to Thirty-Two: “Quickly report it.”

Thirty-Two read the military report carefully.

After listening, Li Daoxuan fell into silence.

He opened the computer, input Dian Deng Zi Zhao Sheng, and searched for information.

Soon, Zhao Sheng’s information came out, but historical records had very little information; with just a few sentences, they summed up his life story. It didn’t say whether Zhao Sheng was a good person or a bad person, only that he was framed for rebellion and forced to revolt.

Moreover, even if the historical records said he was a good person, would you dare believe he was really good?

Judging a person through history, you could still get betrayed and die countless times.

Li Daoxuan considered for three seconds, then clicked the X; that historical material was not worth looking at.

Better to return to the box.

“Thirty-Two, go call a few drivers, and transport some more food to Bai Family Fortress.”

Thirty-Two, hearing this, couldn’t help but be a bit surprised: “Your actions are unusual this time; are you going to help the bandits?”

“It’s not helping the bandits, but helping refugees.”

Li Daoxuan sighed inwardly: If Zhao Sheng had not lied, and the three thousand people behind him were all good-hearted people unwilling to rob other common folk, then these three thousand must be saved.

If he deceived Bai Yuan and deceived me too, just to get some food to fill the bandits’ stomachs so that they could gain strength and go robbing more common folk, then sooner or later I would reward him with a falling-from-the-sky palm technique.

Ordinary people fear being deceived because, after being deceived, they pay a huge price that is either economic or to their lives; deceived once, they can become badly scarred or even lose their lives.

But Li Daoxuan was different; not to mention ten stones of food, even one hundred stones of food was like him just grabbing a pinch of flour, costing him mere pennies.

Economically, he would basically suffer no losses!

And regarding his life, it was even more impossible for him to suffer harm!

So he was not afraid of being deceived.

Paying a small, almost insignificant cost to see clearly one person, or rather to see clearly three thousand people, was worth trying.

“Transport two more carts of food to Bai Family Fortress,” Li Daoxuan instructed. “Additionally, write a letter to Bai Yuan, telling him to try to have more contact and chat more with Zhao Sheng. If those three thousand people are truly good common folk who were forced into rebellion, then bring them down the mountain and send them to Gaojia Village; I will settle them.”

Thirty-Two quickly performed a deep bow: “The Deity is merciful.”

Li Daoxuan: “Instruct Bai Yuan that a wary mind towards others is necessary; when contacting Zhao Sheng, he must not relax vigilance. If the other party suddenly turns hostile and attacks, he must ensure he has sufficient time to react and not fall into the bandits’ trap.”

Thirty-Two: “Understood!”

Thirty-Two hurriedly went off to compose a book.

Li Daoxuan looked down at Gaojia Village, pondering to himself.

If Zhao Sheng’s troops were fully absorbed, it amounted to over three thousand people, while Gaojia Village itself only had a bit over a thousand people. If three thousand outsiders suddenly flooded in all at the same time, it could easily cause indigestion from taking on too much too quickly, destroying the hard-earned spirit of Gaojia Village.

It appeared necessary to provide these people with another settlement.

They didn’t need to farm and could all work as laborers, so farmland needn’t be assigned to them, allowing their settlement to be located on barren land without issue.

Li Daoxuan immediately recalled that “valley where the god and the monster fought”.

Recently, every night, he had displayed “Army Combat Techniques” to the militia for one hour, and he had finished the entire series. Cheng Xu had already mastered it, so next, Cheng Xu would gradually teach it to others.

Then this valley could be put to use.

With simple planning, filling the valley with plastic houses could easily accommodate three thousand people.

Then came the issue of the laborers’ daily commute distance to work.

The small valley was a full six li away from Gaojia Village, too far for everyone to cover on foot comfortably.

But the public sun chariot couldn’t handle transporting three thousand people back and forth!

It seemed necessary to deploy a more advanced, awesome form of transportation.

Actually, Li Daoxuan had already been scheming about this transport long ago, but back when the population was small and everyone lived together, he hadn’t brought it out.

Now, with more people and dispersal to another section to live, this great item would certainly come in handy between the two sections.

He opened a website and searched for “electric small train”, immediately stumbling upon a heap of chaotic equipment.

Li Daoxuan chose a model featuring “freely connectable tracks” and using “AA batteries”.

He specifically checked that tracks could be bought separately, so of course, he swiftly placed multiple orders for extra tracks. One small train with a fifteen-meter track section, when transported to the late Ming era, spanned six li, exactly connecting Gaojia Village to the small valley.

After placing the orders, he still needed modifications.

The next day, the small train arrived. Li Daoxuan promptly grabbed it and headed for Cai Xinzi’s toy shop.

“Old Cai, I’m here again for toy modifications.”

Cai Xinzi was sitting behind the store counter once more, sipping a bottle of Nutrition Express. Spotting Li Daoxuan, she beamed and stood up: “Haven’t seen you in ages! What’ve you been doing lately?”

Li Daoxuan handed her two small train engines: “I’m playing with these and need modifications.”

Cai Xinzi stiffened at the word “modifications”, flustered: “What strange tinkering are you up to now?”

“This time it’s simple, I swear.” Li Daoxuan chuckled: “I need to add a resistor to the power system to cap its speed under ten centimeters per second.”

Cai Xinzi said: “No biggie. The engine’s decently sized, easy to work on, way better than that tiny solar car you brought before.”

Li Daoxuan: “Also, we must tweak the switch, relocating that roof toggle into the engine. Make the switch slicker, needing a feather touch to flip. Plus, add a brake latch so once power cuts, it snaps onto the wheels instantly, allowing quick deceleration to a full stop.”

Cai Xinzi squinted: “Why’s this mod so easy? No sweat whatsoever. Didn’t eat any mushrooms?”

Li Daoxuan spread his hands: “When have I ever eaten mushrooms?”