Night settled over Gaojia Village, and the place entered what Li Daoxuan called its usual "screensaver mode."Except now, thanks to his divine meddling, the "screensaver" wasn't completely static—two villagers patrolled the crude earthen wall beneath dim oil lamps, circling like extremely underpaid NPCs.
Still, it was boring enough that even the most dedicated deity would look away.
Li Daoxuan did exactly that.
He tossed the computer aside, flopped back on his bed, and unlocked his phone with the righteous lethargy of a man who had spent all afternoon playing omnipotent god in a micro-civilization.
Just as he opened WeChat, Cai Xinzi messaged:
"Daoxuan, I talked with that client for hours. Finally closed the deal."
Li Daoxuan: "Yo? How much did that old moneybag cough up?"
Cai Xinzi: "Well… he thinks our 'Supreme Treasure' carving is a masterpiece—but the character Supreme Treasure is too childish for his market. Too 'toy-like,' he said. So he only bought it for 8,888 yuan… as a networking gift."
Li Daoxuan paused.Ah yes, the classic businessman maneuver: Praise your product, then insult it, then lowball the price.Truly, ancient or modern, merchants are descendants of the same ancestor.
Li: "So if we change the theme, we can sell for real money?"
Cai: "Exactly. Buddhist and Taoist statues sell as proper 'art.' Not toys."
Li Daoxuan laughed."I carved Supreme Treasure for fun. If they want gods and immortals, I can do gods and immortals. What's the price?"
Cai: "Normal theme, no spoofs. A 1-centimeter statue as detailed as your Supreme Treasure… he'll pay 48,888 yuan."
Li Daoxuan nearly choked from joy."That's enough to build twenty Hakka tulou!"
Cai Xinzi:"You little demon. I build an entire half-meter enclosure with more than 200 rooms and charge you 2,000… but you carve a 1 cm doodad and someone throws 50k at you. I should hit you."
Li: "Hahahaha!"
Then Cai dropped the bomb:
"Client wants something smaller. Like… five millimeters."
Li: "..."
Cai: "Too hard? He'll pay 228,888 yuan."
Li:"Why do you people underestimate me? Ask him if 5 mm is too big. I can do 1 mm."
Cai: "What the—?!? 1 mm?? That's smaller than a rice grain!"
Li:"The master who carved my Supreme Treasure is a literal micro-carving legend. 1 mm is nothing."
Two minutes later—
Cai: "He agreed. If the detail is half of Supreme Treasure… he'll pay 1,288,888 yuan."
Li Daoxuan sat upright like a cultivator sensing a heavenly opportunity."Deal."
Cai:"You two are insane. What does he even want carved?"
Li: "Yes, what?"
Cai: "Statue of the Supreme Laojun."
Li: "A one-millimeter Taishang Laojun… for what, exactly?"
Cai:"To make an 'icon inside a bead.'"
Li Daoxuan: "What in the Daoist multiverse is that?"
So Cai explained:
A bead carved hollow from sandalwood or jade, inside which sits a tiny divine idol sealed in special liquid, viewable through a miniature window.A portable god-in-a-marbled-snowglobe, basically.Pilgrims pay for piety; businessmen sell "piety" with markups higher than Ming salt taxes.
Li Daoxuan: "Damn. That's actually… impressive."
Cai:"Normal craftsmen can only put paintings inside. But your micro-carving can put a 3D statue inside. Suspended. Rotating."
Li Daoxuan pictured it and immediately understood:This was not merely a craft.This was a religious-level scam—ahem—cultural premium.
Cai:"He'll charge 300 yuan per bead. Probably more."
Li laughed."Whatever he sells is his skill. As long as I get my 1.15 million share, the rest is your commission."
Cai Xinzi sighed dramatically:"Daoxuan… You are truly a righteous and generous man. In ancient times you'd be like Chai Jin from Water Margin—showering heroes with money, not caring whether they're useful or not."
Li Daoxuan smirked.If only you knew.He had spent half a month dumping wealth into tiny villagers, and now every small person in Gaojia Village practically worshiped him.
Being a "righteous philanthropist" was pretty fun, honestly.
Days Later — The Village's New "Elite Class"
Time flowed on—tick, tick, tick—another handful of days vanished.
In Gaojia Village, the hottest celebrities—after Gao Yiye and San Shier—were now the two sculptors.
Since delivering multiple statues for "Heavenly Lord Daoxuan," they'd been awarded:
two massive slabs of pork tenderloin,
sacks of flour,
rice,
rapeseed oil,
and a huge snow-white lump of pork lard.
In a drought year, this was more precious than gold, jade, or an emperor's empty promises.
They bartered the supplies for daily necessities and even hired several villagers to help build roofed huts for their families.
Thus, the two sculptors became the first immigrants to own actual roofs.A historic achievement in rural housing development.
Meanwhile…
Zheng Daniu: Hardworking, Dedicated… and Still Broke
Poor Zheng Daniu—who chopped wood day and night like a wuxia character grinding for EXP—did not get rich.
Oh, he received rewards, yes.But every time, he demanded only one thing:
Fat House Happy Water.
Delicious. Joyful. Completely unexchangeable.
Villagers' opinion was unanimous:
"If it's free, sure, I'll take a sip. But if I have to trade my grain? I'd rather starve politely."
Zheng Daniu didn't care.
He drank his entire basin of Happy Water, sighed in bliss, hacked another tree, and drank another basin.
An eternal cycle of labor and sugar addiction.
The Temple of Heavenly Lord Daoxuan — Completed
And finally…
Amidst laughter, bartering, smoke from bacon racks, and the faint bubbling of illicit Happy Water—
The Temple of Heavenly Lord Daoxuan was completed.
A shrine built by starving villagers, reward-chasing sculptors, and one sugar-dependent lumberjack.
A feat of architecture powered entirely by faith…and pork.