The moment the massive Hakka Clan Fortress was set down, the outer walls, made of those Lego bricks, became completely redundant.
The fortress itself came with its own ten-meter-high perimeter wall. Suddenly, the old seven-meter-high Lego fortifications were entirely surplus to requirements.
Worse, when that wall was first constructed, it had encroached on some prime farmland. With September creeping up and the autumn sowing on the horizon, that acreage needed to be freed up ASAP to be ready for use.
Li Daoxuan reached into his container and scooped up the Lego bricks. The Pepsi-Cola can, which had served as temporary housing for Li Da, was also retrieved. He wasn't in a rush to move the large pond made from a Lock & Lock container, so he left it lying next to the Clan Fortress to keep the villagers supplied with water.
Gao Yiye and the Village Chief started handing out the housing assignments.
The village had a population of a little over one hundred and fifty souls. Divided by traditional family units (including three generations under one roof), there were only about forty households. But Dao Xuan Tianzun was merciful, allowing every "married couple" to count as a separate household.
That meant grandparents counted as one unit and got an apartment. Parents counted as one unit and got an apartment. Unmarried kids stayed with their folks. But crucially, any child who had come of age, even if they hadn't tied the knot yet, was eligible for their own flat.
With this generous decree, the one hundred and fifty villagers only occupied sixty-four rooms in total. They had empty rooms for days.
Gao Yiye, as the esteemed Saintess, was assigned the penthouse suite: the top floor of the tallest structure at the very back of the Clan Fortress. This place, called the Lookout Tower—a three-story, fortress-like structure overlooking the entire compound—would let her stand on the balcony and easily gaze up when speaking to Dao Xuan Tianzun. The building's architecture was a dead ringer for a classic gate tower atop a city wall.
Once the paperwork was done, the villagers wasted no time. It was a mad dash to move all their gear from their old shacks into their new, plush accommodation. Door and window openings were temporarily covered with cloth curtains.
An atmosphere of pure, buzzing excitement—a "hot and bustling" vibe—swept through the entire village.
...
Shansier was back!
He was leading a cohort consisting of a scholar (a newly hired schoolmaster), a bunch of young guys including Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu, and two sculptors. Of course, the infamous bandit, Baishui Wang Er, and his men were the armed escort. They arrived outside Gao Family Village in a hurry.
Mr. Wang (the scholar) was a walking anxiety attack. He had a story of suffering to tell!
He had pocketed Shansier's silver, thinking he had hit the jackpot. Moments after leaving the city, however, Shansier had veered off into a forest grove. Out stepped a crew of hardened, scary-looking dudes, led by none other than Baishui Wang Er—the public enemy number one whose face was plastered on every wanted poster!
Mr. Wang nearly had a meltdown. Wait, am I being hustled into a bandit camp?
Terrified and trembling, he didn't dare utter a peep, obediently trailing the group, not even entertaining the thought of a jailbreak.
His mind was racing: Why would these rebels rope me into their gang? Are they trying to make me their strategist? Their "Wise Star" Wu Yong?
"Hard pass!" he thought. "I'm a clean-living man! I refuse to become a bandit. Wu Yong's ending was utterly tragic, after all."
I'll play along for now, a bit of 'empty words and feigned compliance', and the moment I get a shot, I'm booking it back to the city.
Lost in this cinematic drama, he'd been trekking for ages, from dawn until noon. Hot, exhausted, and about to hit a wall, he suddenly heard Shansier say: "We're here. Huh? The village looks different again."
Wang Er was equally confused. "Seriously? Your Gao Family Village never stays the same. The first time, no walls. The second time, a seven-meter wall. Now, for the third time, it's a colossal fortress!"
Shansier didn't need a brain to know Dao Xuan Tianzun had been doing some divine renovations, but that wasn't for Wang Er's ears.
He smiled and clasped his hands in a respectful gesture toward Wang Er. "Worthy Hero Wang, you've done your part. You can leave the rest to us."
Wang Er returned the salute. "Then I'm heading back to the mountain."
Shansier pulled a bag of salt from his pouch. "Hero Wang, you wouldn't take silver last time. Take this salt. Money is useless when you're cooped up in the mountains, but this salt... well, it's non-negotiable."
Wang Er couldn't help but lick his lips. Shansier was dead-on. The rebels were seriously running on empty when it came to salt. They'd hit a government convoy last time, so they were 'propped up' for grain, but salt was a massive headache. Go too long without salt, and people can't hack it.
No time for false modesty. He took the salt bag, clasped his hands again, and gave a genuine bow. "I owe Gao Family Village another favor. No need for flowery thanks. Just know that if you ever need me, send a runner up the mountain, and I'll be there."
With that, they parted ways. Wang Er and his crew vanished back into the wilderness.
The moment he was gone, everyone else was fine, but Mr. Wang's entire body went slack, as if his skeletal structure had suddenly evaporated. He crumpled to the ground.
Shansier looked back, astonished. "Mr. Wang, what in the world are you doing?"
"I... I thought Master San had tricked me into a life of crime with mountain bandits," Mr. Wang gasped weakly. "Only now that Wang Er has gone do I realize that's not the case. I'm so relieved, I just... can't 'prop up' my legs anymore."
The group stared, then burst into laughter.
"Mr. Wang, what a wild goose chase your mind led you on," Shansier said, helping him up. "We're all respectable common folk here. We wouldn't dream of taking up arms! Come on, Gao Family Village is just ahead. Once you're inside, you'll see why it truly deserves to be called a 'Shangri-La'."
The group soon walked to the outskirts of Gao Family Village.
As soon as they entered his field of view, Li Daoxuan could spot them. His tiny people had been gone two days, and he'd genuinely missed them. When a child travels a thousand miles, the 'mother' frets, and he was keen to check them out.
He immediately zeroed in on the man in the light-blue robes behind Shansier—that must be the schoolmaster. He watched, grinning from ear to ear.
Gao Chuwu was the first to make a ruckus. He pointed at a dilapidated thatched hut on a nearby slope. "Whoa! Isn't that my place? Why is it up on the hillside?"
He broke into a sprint, bolting towards his old home. Just as he reached the doorway, it opened, and his middle-aged parents were carefully hauling out the family's large wooden bed.
The three met face-to-face in the doorway.
"Dad! Mom! What is going on? Why did our house get moved onto a slope?" Gao Chuwu cried out.
Gao Chuwu's dad let out a hearty laugh. "Dao Xuan Tianzun gave everyone in the village brand-new homes! See? They're all inside that big fortress over there. Your mother and I are moving the furniture now. You're back just in time, son! Tag your mother out. We'll move this bed, man to man."
Gao Chuwu quickly took his mother's spot, and father and son hauled the bed off at a fast clip.
As they ran, his dad kept laughing. "Son, you've got your own place, too! Dao Xuan Tianzun said every adult villager, married or not, gets their own apartment. The Chief put your room right next to ours. Heh-heh-heh. Go set up your bed in your own bachelor pad later!"
Gao Chuwu smiled goofily. "Really? My own room? Does this mean I can finally get a wife?"
His dad roared with laughter. "You're a bit of a dope, who'd marry you?"
"I might be a dope, but I'm strong!" Gao Chuwu shot back. "I help Dao Xuan Tianzun with all the heavy lifting, and I get tons of rewards. I'll have enough cash to lock down a bride!"
"Your rewards are here!"
Gao Yiye shouted from the distance. "Chuwu Ge (Big Brother), Dao Xuan Tianzun said you did a stand-up job escorting Master San back and forth! Your prize: five jin (2.5 kg) of white sugar, fifty jin (25 kg) of flour, and ten jin (5 kg) of pork, hah..."
The last 'hah' was because Dao Xuan Tianzun had specified the goods were for getting him a wife, and Gao Yiye couldn't help but laugh, cutting off the last part of her announcement.
Gao Chuwu was ecstatic. "Wait! Seriously? That much? Cha-ching! Mom, can you start scouting me a wife? I'll use all this loot as a dowry!"