Li Daoxuan had long noticed a problem.

Gaojia Village lacked “organizational structure.”

In fact, Gaojia Village wasn’t truly an organization at all—just scattered individuals. Aside from the Village Chief, whose seniority granted him some authority, others had no hierarchy; they all existed independently.

Whenever Li Daoxuan gave them food, the villagers simply divided it haphazardly, took heaps home, left an extra portion for Gao Yiye, and that was it.

They lacked comprehensive resource management.

When Thirty-Two and Li Da first arrived in Gaojia Village, no one hosted them. It took Li Daoxuan’s personal instruction before Gao Yiye arranged their shelter and provided food.

Frankly, this was slightly irritating.

Such matters shouldn’t require his personal attention.

With Thirty-Two here now, things abruptly changed.

Earlier, Thirty-Two had persuaded Wang Er to leave. Now, Third Lady resolved the issue of “summoning him.” Both troubles vanished swiftly, sparing Li Daoxuan considerable effort.

Recalling the forum debate he’d read earlier—especially the argument on the fourth floor—that person indeed made sense.

In the coming days, his priority should focus squarely on “recruiting more capable people.”

…

After Third Lady’s scolding, the villagers scattered, returning home to resume sleep.

The blacksmiths, Li Da and Gao Yiyi, gathered at Gao Yiyi’s home, planning to forge a bell overnight. A true bell would be impossible in one night, so they settled for a simpler version—essentially a large iron tub.

They lit the furnace and got to work. Li Da instructed Gao Yiyi techniques as they labored. He had no fear of teaching a rival; he’d already vowed never to touch a hammer again once free.

“I’d rather starve to death or leap from a cliff than be a smith again!”

Early in the morning,

before dawn, Third Lady marched Gao Yiye to bathe.

The village had only the “big pond” for washing. Daytime crowds ruled it out, but before daylight, while villagers still slept, they could bathe swiftly in near-total darkness.

Of course, they knew nothing of the night-vision-enabled camera outside the glass case, recording their surroundings 24/7. If they knew…

Ahem!

That guy on the forum might’ve been overjoyed.

After bathing, Third Lady presented a snow-white robe—thick, luxurious fabric—clearly costly.

Her clothes hung loose on Gao Yiye’s frame, overly spacious, but it didn’t matter. Since she didn’t labor in fields, awkward fit just meant moving slower.

Gao Yiye stuck out her tongue. “I’m so hot!”

It was July—midsummer drought. The heat was brutal. Thicker fabrics only intensified the discomfort.

“You have to endure the heat,” Third Lady murmured, smoothing creases from the robe. “We must honor the Great deity. After inviting him today, inquire reverently about his formal title. No more chaotic worship. Once we know his divine name, we can build him a shrine and cast a golden statue.”

Gao Yiye nodded meekly. “Understood.”

Third Lady retrieved her cosmetics and meticulously applied them to Gao Yiye’s face…

Li Daoxuan was startled awake by the sound of a ‘bell.’

Last night he had been browsing the military history forum, researching historical records from the late Ming dynasty, and accidentally stayed up until two or three in the morning before finally going to sleep. Naturally, he couldn’t wake up early.

It wasn’t until a jarring “Clang! Clang! Clang!” filled his ears that he shook his head and sat up groggily.

The scenic box now sat right next to his bed, adjacent to his computer desk. The ‘bell’ noises drifted out from inside it.

Shaking off his drowsiness as his mind slowly cleared, he remembered the events of the previous night. That sound like someone beating a broken bucket was most likely the villagers ‘summoning the heavenly god.’

He rolled over in bed, crawled to the edge, and craned his neck over the scenic box to peer inside.

Oh, the little people seem lively today!

Forty-two villagers from the village, plus Thirty-Two’s entire family of three along with a maid and servant, and the newly arrived blacksmith Li Da—forty-eight people in total—were now arranged in a huge formation. It looked like a high school class preparing for a flag-raising ceremony.

Gao Yiye stood right at the front. Clearly positioned center-stage for the sake of the entire village’s future happiness, she wore pristine white robes and had her hair done up in a complex style peppered with hair ornaments. Already young and beautiful, the added makeup made her truly breathtaking, a feast for the eyes.

Put in modern terms, this appearance would classify her as a goddess. She’d have had at least a battalion of ‘nice guy’ admirers, a company of simps, and a platoon of rich heirs chasing her. Even Principal Wang might have sent some meme DM like, “What drip entered your veins? Nights filled with thoughts of you.”

Li Daoxuan found it amusing: Not bad! This girl gets prettier and prettier. Looking like this, it makes me want to flip her skirt and… Heck, crap. That idiot on the forum is rubbing off on me.

He saw Gao Yiye raise a cup aloft with both hands, making a gesture like offering a toast to the sky, though her movements were awkward—clearly cobbled together last minute. First, a toast to the heavens, then pour the ‘wine’ (which was actually water) onto the ground, before kneeling down…

The remaining forty-six people knelt down after her.

Gao Yiye began reciting a prayer, probably one written overnight by Thirty-Two and Third Lady for her to memorize. Her delivery was clearly rough, stuttering, sometimes butchering a single phrase three different ways.

Li Daoxuan wasn’t interested in hearing this mystical chant, so he tuned it out. Finally, after what felt like a while, she finished and shouted, “We dare to ask the Great deity’s divine name, so that we may build a temple and create your statue!”

“Li Daoxuan.”

He answered, playing along with their game.

Gao Yiye heard his voice and instantly beamed, turning to Third Lady and exclaiming, “The Great deity answered me! His name is Li Daoxuan!”

“Dao Xuan?” Hearing the name, Third Lady was elated. This clearly denoted a Daoist deity! She herself was a Daoist believer and had actually worried the Great deity might be a Buddhist Bodhisattva. That would have been so embarrassing she might as well have lit incense for Embarrassment’s mother.

Now it was basically confirmed as Daoist. Without another word, Third Lady thudded her forehead onto the ground in a kowtow and loudly declared, “We pay tribute to the Dao Xuan Deity!”

Gao Yiye followed suit, thudding her own head down. “We pay tribute to the Dao Xuan Deity!”

The remaining forty-plus people promptly followed, everyone chanting in unison: “We pay tribute to the Dao Xuan Deity!”

Li Daoxuan was delighted. Fun, entertaining. He’d gone from being the nameless Great deity to being the Dao Xuan Deity! He had a proper title now.

Felt a little strange, though.

Gao Yiye started speaking again, haltingly. This was probably also a script prepared by Thirty-Two, who seemed to have prepared different versions for either Daoism or Buddhism.

She was reciting the Daoist version now. First, thanking the Dao Xuan Deity for bestowing the city wall upon the villagers. Then she explained that guards were needed at night, requiring lanterns to be lit all around the perimeter, and for that, they needed a lot of oil. They begged the Great deity to kindly bestow some oil or something similar.

Playing house was actually pretty fun.

As she stumbled through her request, Li Daoxuan picked up his cooking oil canister, poured a minutely-sized portion—a full lid’s worth from a mineral water bottle—into the lid, and gently placed it before Gao Yiye.