Xiao Fan: (´･_･`)
Knock, knock, knock! Early in the morning, a knocking sound echoed at Xiao Fan's door, more like someone was banging on it!
"Xiao Fan! I know you're in there! Open up!" The scolding voice of a middle-aged woman, Xiao Fan was all too familiar with this voice. This person was probably the last person Xiao Fan wanted to see, but he had no choice.
Because the person scolding outside the door was the landlady, Mrs. Zhang. And the reason for her anger was quite simple—Xiao Fan had already missed paying his rent for a month.
"Mrs. Zhang, you're up so early?" Xiao Fan opened the door a crack, wearing a smiling face.
"Don't try to sweet-talk me! What about the rent for August and September? If you don't pay by September 1st, move out immediately!" Mrs. Zhang said unceremoniously.
"You said there's still a week, I'll definitely have the rent ready. Please be assured," Xiao Fan replied, but he knew in his heart that he only had 200 yuan now. The rent for one month was 2000 yuan (quite low for North Qing City; usually, a single room in the city center costs at least 4000 yuan per month), and he needed at least 3000 yuan to cover it.
"Xiao Fan, my rent isn't high. I've clearly told you – one more week, the last week!" Landlady Mrs. Zhang said before leaving.
Xiao Fan: o(︶︿︶)o
One more week, and he needed at least 4000 yuan to get through this difficult time. However, for Xiao Fan, who was currently unemployed, this was an extremely challenging task.
Just then, a news notification popped up on his phone: "At a recent auction, a micro-carving artwork was sold for a high price of 15,000 yuan. Micro-carving art may lead a new wave of collecting enthusiasm!"
Xiao Fan looked at the micro-carved Chinese zodiac animals on his phone and couldn't help but come up with an idea. What if the little people in the ecological box were to make wood carvings? Wouldn't that be considered micro-carving directly?
After all, Xiao Fan could send rice from the real world into the ecological box, so things inside the ecological box should also be able to be taken out.
Thinking of this, Xiao Fan approached the ecological box. At this moment, inside the ecological box, the villagers of Shule Town were still marveling at the miracles of the Lord of Heaven. Overnight, a magnificent city was built, completely transforming the original Shule Town.
"Oh my, is this still Shule Town?" a male little person walked out of his house and exclaimed.
"This city gate is more magnificent than Gaochang, probably even more magnificent than the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an," said Gao San Shi Wu in amazement.
"Gao San Shi Wu, have you been to Chang'an?" Gao San Shi Wu's wife sarcastically remarked.
"No, I haven't been, but our Shule Town is almost the same now!" Gao San Shi Wu said somewhat embarrassed.
"And that mansion, I've never seen such a beautiful house. Rockeries, ponds, green trees, and brick-and-tile houses... I want one too," a male villager looked at the mansion in the center of Shule Town and sighed.
"Nonsense, dreaming of beauty. That was given to the Saintess by the Lord of Heaven. It has nothing to do with you, Zhao Liu," a female little person said.
"Everyone, the Lord of Heaven has also left us a lot of materials. After completing the city, we can build our own houses," Yao Xi said, pointing to the three large mountains behind.
In addition to the magnificent city wall, Xiao Fan left behind some things — wooden boards, iron wire, and sand and stones. Although these materials seemed like scraps to Xiao Fan, they appeared as three mountains to the little people. The little people continued to collect these materials to further build the city.
Lu Yang, the valiant Colonel of the Swift Cavalry, was still recovering from his injuries. The construction work was supervised by Gao Cunzheng and Yao Xi. The villagers of Shule Town were enthusiastic, continuing the construction work.
"Yao Xi, Yao Xi," Xiao Fan called out to the girl from outside the ecological box. She was busy with work at the moment.
"My Lord of Heaven, do you have any commands?" Yao Xi immediately responded to the Lord of Heaven.
"I want to ask, are there any craftsmen among the villagers of Shule Town? I would like to ask them to make something for me."
"Craftsmen? Gao San Shi Wu and Zhao Liu are craftsmen. Zhao Liu is a carpenter, and Gao San Shi Wu is a blacksmith. What orders do you have, my Lord of Heaven?" Yao Xi thought for a moment and replied.
"Good, that's excellent! Please bring them over; I have something for them."
"No problem, my Lord of Heaven, please wait a moment."
After a while, Yao Xi summoned Gao San Shi Wu and Zhao Liu. Zhao Liu had just coveted the mansion of the Saintess, thinking that the Saintess was displeased with him. He felt uneasy. Gao San Shi Wu was a straightforward person, wondering why Yao Xi wanted to see him.
"Yao Xi, no, Saintess, I was just joking earlier..." Zhao Liu's expression was somewhat panicked.
"No, it's the Lord of Heaven who wants to see you."
"What?" "What?" The two men were astonished.
The two male little people looked at each other, surprised that the Lord of Heaven would want to see them?
As Xiao Fan couldn't directly communicate with the little people inside the ecological box, he conveyed his thoughts and requests to Yao Xi, who then relayed them to the two craftsmen.
"The Lord of Heaven wishes to commission a statue from you, each person's size, with a theme of your choice. Once completed, the Lord of Heaven will reward you." Yao Xi gestured as she spoke, but the specifics of what to make and how were left vague, as Xiao Fan himself had no particular idea.
"This..." Gao San Shi Wu was somewhat hesitant. He was a rough person and had no creative ideas. Still, since the Lord of Heaven had ordered it, he would unquestionably follow the divine oracle.
On the contrary, Zhao Liu was quite clever. He had some ideas, "Saintess, does the Lord of Heaven want a statue of himself? It's not difficult, but we don't have good materials."
"Materials? The Lord of Heaven asks, what materials do you need?" Yao Xi relayed.
"Well... What should we carve? If it's a statue for the Lord of Heaven, stone would be the best. If there's a good piece of stone, that would be even better..." Zhao Liu rubbed his chin, pondering.
Little did he know that right after he finished speaking, there was a thunderous crash. A small piece of Shoushan stone, about the size of a little person, landed right next to Zhao Liu, kicking up dust and pebbles and causing him to fall flat on his stomach.
Zhao Liu lay on the ground, dumbfounded. The divine power of the Lord of Heaven was truly vast, delivering a high-quality Shoushan stone in an instant.
"Apologies, the Lord of Heaven says, oops, I slipped just now, hope I didn't hit you," Yao Xi apologized.
"No, no problem. I dare not mind," Zhao Liu was utterly scared.
"Oh, by the way, the Lord of Heaven asks if you can finish it by tomorrow?" Yao Xi continued.
Zhao Liu was even more dumbfounded. Carving a statue, especially one person-sized, would take at least ten days or half a month, even for one person. How could two people finish it in just one night?
"Alright, since the Lord of Heaven has commanded it, even if I, Gao San Shi Wu, am worked to death, I'll still complete the task for the Lord of Heaven!" Gao San Shi Wu declared heartily.
"What?!" Zhao Liu felt like he was going to faint.
...
It was nighttime, and the villagers of Shule Town had already entered the realm of dreams. Only Zhao Liu and Gao San Shi Wu were busy working on the open ground.
As the night passed, Zhao Liu was exhausted, and Gao San Shi Wu, the seven-foot tall man, could hardly stand up.
Beside them, a delicate statue stood, crafted exactly according to the Lord of Heaven's instructions. The face of the statue was shaped by Yao Xi to resemble the Lord of Heaven, and the attire depicted the Buddhist garb from the Western Pure Land. The posture of the statue was designed by Zhao Liu and Gao San Shi Wu, with the left hand forming a lotus seal symbolizing the Lord of Heaven's compassion, while the right hand held thunder and lightning, representing the Lord of Heaven's supreme divine power.
When Xiao Fan saw this statue, he was amazed. It was incredibly exquisite, and he couldn't believe they had created it in just one night.
The two little people were completely exhausted and had already gone to rest. Xiao Fan approached cautiously, using his fingers to retrieve this masterpiece from the ecological box.
Indeed, the statue of the Lord of Heaven could be taken out!
Xiao Fan: (ﾟoﾟ;;)