Early in the morning, Mr. Wang got out of bed.
He had eaten very well last night, even enjoying long-missed meat and sugar, which left him full of energy today. He glanced back at the half-room stacked with various foods, then felt for the two fist-sized pieces of silver hidden under his pillow.
He had food, and he had money!
For a moment, Mr. Wang felt as if "life had reached its peak."
Since he had accepted payment, he should handle the work. Master San had treated him generously, so he would dedicate himself to teaching his daughter. He opened the small bundle he had carried from the city, which contained the Four Books, Five Classics, Hundred Family Surnames, and other essential texts.
Mr. Wang confirmed his materials were complete, patted his face, and summoned his spirit before walking out of his small room.
Outside was a large courtyard, one of the Nine Halls and Eighteen Courtyards of the Hakka Clan Fortress. As soon as Mr. Wang stepped into the courtyard, he saw Shansier and Gao Yiye standing before him with eight or nine children. Master San's daughter was naturally among them, and several young men stood behind the group.
These were all the villagers who were willing to learn to read and write.
Mr. Wang was stunned. "Oh?"
Master San smiled. "Mr. Wang, please bear with us and teach these people as well."
Mr. Wang was a bit bewildered. These were the children of farmers; was Master San truly so selfless that he would pay for other people's children to study?
However, whatever his motivations, the tuition he had received was more than sufficient to teach a hundred times the number of children. He cupped his hands and laughed, "I will naturally do my utmost."
"Then let us begin the lesson—"
Just as Mr. Wang began to speak, Gao Yiye suddenly interrupted. "Ah, apologies, Mr. Wang, please wait a moment. Dao Xuan Tianzun has spoken. His Holiness says that before the children begin their reading and writing lesson, they must first do morning exercises to move their bodies. That is the scientific way."
A massive question mark slowly appeared above Mr. Wang's head. What did "scientific" mean?
Gao Yiye spoke loudly to all the children. "Everyone, turn around and face the 'Lookout Tower'."
The Lookout Tower was the tallest three-story building in the Hakka Clan Fortress, and it was also Gao Yiye's residence. She lived on the third floor, which was "the place closest to Dao Xuan Tianzun," allowing her to overlook the entire fortress from her balcony.
The children all obediently turned around, and even the young men turned with solemn expressions to face the Lookout Tower.
Then, they saw a strange, rectangular metallic object slowly descending from the clouds, hovering directly above the Lookout Tower. This rectangular object was thirty meters wide and over fourteen meters tall—quite alarming.
Mr. Wang jumped in shock. "What is that thing?"
This object was, in fact, Li Daoxuan's cell phone. He had placed the phone horizontally, extended it into the container, and suspended it above the Lookout Tower. Then, he pressed a finger on the screen, the fingerprint unlocked, and the phone screen immediately flashed to life.
Mr. Wang gasped aloud. "Ah! That object is glowing!"
Gao Yiye said, "That is Dao Xuan Tianzun's Divine Mirror, used to teach the children the art of strengthening the body. Everyone, watch closely."
Appearing on the phone screen was a group of children, wearing strange clothing, standing in a formation with serious expressions.
Then music began: "Now beginning the Seventh Set of Broadcast Calisthenics, first group, stretching exercises... One, two, three, four... Two, two, three, four..."
Gao Yiye shouted, "Dao Xuan Tianzun commands that all students follow along!"
The children quickly followed the movements on the screen. However, this was their first time learning it, so their movements were far from standard. They were a jumbled mess of awkward twists and turns, with some even getting their left and right directions wrong, and one motion sending the person next to them tumbling to the ground.
The scene was chaotic.
In fact, it wasn't just the children who were in disarray; people all over the Hakka Clan Fortress were following along, creating chaos everywhere.
After a while, the video finished, and "Dao Xuan Tianzun's Divine Mirror" began to rise, flying back into the clouds until it disappeared.
Everyone stopped moving.
Gao Yiye said clearly, "This is the first time; it doesn't matter if you didn't do it correctly. Dao Xuan Tianzun has not blamed anyone. From now on, before every lesson, everyone must perform the Seventh Set of Broadcast Calisthenics."
Everyone shouted in unison, "We respectfully obey Dao Xuan Tianzun's decree!"
Mr. Wang stammered, "Oh? Eh? Wait, wait, wait! What just happened? What is going on here?"
Shansier patted Mr. Wang's shoulder and laughed. "Our Gao Family Village has always been under the care of a Celestial Immortal called Dao Xuan Tianzun. We can witness the Divine Manifestation of the Tianzun anytime, anywhere. You just saw it, and you will see it often in the future."
Mr. Wang insisted, "The Master said: A gentleman does not speak of strange happenings, feats of strength, rebellions, or spirits!"
Shansier replied, "The food and silver you received were not actually mine. They were rewards from Dao Xuan Tianzun."
Mr. Wang immediately changed his tune. "Ah, Dao Xuan Tianzun truly is a kind and benevolent Immortal!"
Shansier stood stiffly, finding the situation extremely awkward.
After a good moment, Shansier recovered from his stiffness. "Alright, I'll leave the rest to Mr. Wang. I have so many things to attend to. Being away in the county for two days, a lot of messy business has piled up here in Gao Family Village. Things are chaotic everywhere. Plus, there are some people who are slacking off and stealing cotton. I need to go scold those scoundrels."
When he mentioned "stealing cotton," Gao Yiye's face flushed immediately. She nervously took two steps back, thinking: Oh no, I'm going to be scolded. Master San was away from Gao Family Village for two days, how does he know I stole the cotton?
But then she heard Shansier say, "Miss Yiye, the cotton used to be stored in a small, dilapidated shack, and people kept coming to steal it. I want to move the cotton into the Lookout Tower, storing it on the second floor. The third floor is your residence, and the first floor is the ancestral hall. We will enshrine Dao Xuan Tianzun's sacred image on the first floor. This way, absolutely no one will dare to steal it. I don't believe anyone would dare walk past the Tianzun's sacred image to steal things. What do you think?"
Gao Yiye felt a chaotic wave of embarrassment: Oh no, you're actually asking me? If you store the cotton right under me, won't that just let me steal as much as I want? Ahhh!
You can't be doing this on purpose, right? You must be asking me on purpose!
Shansier had no idea about the elaborate inner drama of Gao Yiye. "Miss Yiye? What is wrong? Just say the word."
Gao Yiye hardened her heart, deciding to go all in on the embarrassment. "Fine! Put the cotton on the second floor."
Having received the Saintess's approval, Shansier waved at the villagers. "Everyone, come over! Move the cotton! Carry it all up to the second floor of the Lookout Tower. From now on, all the supplies Dao Xuan Tianzun grants us will be stored on the second floor of the Lookout Tower. The first floor holds the Tianzun's sacred image, and the third floor houses the Saintess. Let's see who dares to steal cotton from the second floor now!"
The villagers responded, "We wouldn't dare steal! We wouldn't dare!"
Shansier laughed and scolded them. "You say you wouldn't dare? I was away for two days, and a huge hole was stolen out of the large cotton bale! Do you think I'm blind?"
The villagers swore, "We truly wouldn't dare! The gods are three feet above our heads. We wouldn't dare mess around!"
Shansier: "Then where did the cotton go?"
The villagers: "We don't know either!"
Shansier: "Hmph! Dao Xuan Tianzun will deal with whoever stole the cotton."
Gao Yiye listened to their conversation, beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead.
Just as the commotion was settling, the villager standing guard on the fortress wall suddenly shouted, "Ah, someone is running over from the mountains! They're stumbling and staggering, as if they are injured."