"Meat! Tianzun has bestowed meat upon us!"
Gao Yiye's cry spread through Gao Family Village like lightning, instantly electrifying the entire settlement. People dropped whatever they were doing and rushed over in a frenzy, their exhaustion forgotten.
"It's chicken!"
"Chicken breast! Even though it's unbelievably huge, this is definitely chicken breast. I cannot be mistaken."
"Such an enormous piece of chicken breast… could it have come from a divine bird?"
"It must be a celestial chicken from the heavens."
The villagers could not even remember the last time they had tasted meat.
Years ago, during seasons of good harvest, a few families in the village had raised chickens. But as the drought worsened year after year, people could barely find enough food to keep themselves alive, let alone spare grain to feed livestock. One by one, the animals disappeared. Gao Family Village had long since become utterly barren of life, devoid of livestock and poultry alike, until the only living beings left were the starving villagers themselves, their hollow cries echoing through the empty land.
Now, the sudden appearance of meat sent waves of overwhelming excitement through every single person present.
Gao Chuwu immediately ran to fetch a knife, his movements filled with urgency and anticipation. He was already eager to cut off several large chunks and bring them home for a proper, satisfying meal.
Gao Yiye quickly spoke, her expression solemn and serious.
"Tianzun has spoken. Because we have grown accustomed to eating plain food for so long, we must not consume too much meat all at once. Otherwise, our stomachs will not be able to endure it. We must eat it in moderation. Chuwu Ge, especially you, must be careful."
Gao Chuwu scratched his head, wearing his usual simple and honest grin.
"Huh? There's even a rule like that?"
The Village Chief stepped forward, his aged face filled with gravity.
"Tianzun is clearly referring to simpletons like you. Eating too much meat all at once could make you seriously ill. In severe cases, it could even cost you your life. We absolutely cannot give you too much at once. Otherwise, you would definitely devour everything without restraint."
Gao Chuwu immediately protested.
"Hey, hey?!"
Ignoring his protest, the Village Chief continued issuing instructions in a firm voice.
"Each adult will receive one liang of meat to take home. Children will receive half a liang. The remaining meat will be sliced into thin strips and hung to air-dry, so it will not spoil."
At this moment, a middle-aged villager stepped forward, his face filled with concern.
"Village Chief, we don't have enough salt. If the chicken is hung to dry without salt, it will rot. Instead of letting such precious meat go to waste, wouldn't it be better to eat it all immediately? I would rather die from diarrhea than watch such fine meat spoil before my eyes."
Gao Chuwu immediately echoed his words, nodding vigorously.
"Yes, yes! Village Chief, I'd rather die from diarrhea than let it go to waste!"
Above them, Li Daoxuan could not help but chuckle softly when he heard their desperate reasoning.
He did not retrieve the extra meat or return it to his refrigerator. Instead, he walked into his kitchen, grabbed a bag of salt, and without hesitation poured out a portion of it directly in front of Gao Yiye.
A soft rustling sound descended from above.
The villagers instinctively lifted their heads toward the sky.
Before their eyes, pure white salt began pouring down from the heavens.
The crystalline grains, enormous from their perspective, resembled massive chunks of ice as they crashed onto the ground one after another. The falling salt quickly piled up, forming a small mountain before them.
Gao Yiye did not even need to listen for Tianzun's voice this time.
She simply opened her hands and spoke calmly.
"Did you truly think your little thoughts could escape Tianzun's notice? Abandon the foolish dream of gorging yourselves all at once. Now that Tianzun has bestowed salt upon us, properly cure the meat."
"So much salt!"
"Salt is incredibly precious!"
"Tianzun has given us this much!"
"We will not need to buy salt for a very long time!"
Overwhelmed by gratitude, the villagers once again dropped to their knees, repeatedly bowing toward the sky.
That day, everyone in Gao Family Village became extremely busy.
The men gripped their knives tightly and began cutting the enormous chicken breast into long, slender strips. Others took the massive salt crystals and painstakingly crushed them into fine grains. Each strip of chicken was thoroughly coated in salt until its surface became evenly covered in white.
Afterward, they carefully hung the salted meat strips in well-ventilated areas, allowing the dry air to gradually remove the moisture.
The work was exhausting, and their bodies were weak from prolonged hunger. Yet every single villager worked tirelessly, smiles never leaving their faces.
That evening, thin streams of smoke rose from every household in the village.
For dinner, every family prepared the same meal.
Chicken and vegetable porridge.
The precious one liang of chicken meat each family received was minced into extremely fine pieces, then slowly simmered together with white rice until the porridge became thick and rich. They even added cabbage leaves to enhance the flavor.
The result was a meal that possessed perfect color, fragrance, and taste.
It was nourishing, gentle, and deeply satisfying.
Gao Chuwu devoured five large bowls in succession before finally stopping.
Even Gao Yiye, with her delicate frame and small appetite, managed to finish two full bowls.
Watching this scene unfold, Li Daoxuan, a modern man accustomed to abundant food, found himself subconsciously swallowing.
Without hesitation, he picked up his phone and ordered a bowl of chicken soup rice for himself, simply to calm the sudden craving.
As he ate, he opened his banking app and examined his remaining balance.
He still had over twenty thousand yuan in savings.
However, after today's expenses, that amount no longer felt secure.
Customizing the Hakka Walled House alone had already cost him two thousand yuan. If he truly intended to continue helping these miniature people in the future, money would inevitably flow out like water.
He fell silent, seriously considering the matter for several seconds.
Then he opened QQ.
He found an old contact he had not spoken to in a very long time. After a brief pause, he clicked on the profile and sent a message.
"Hey bro, it's Li Daoxuan. You asked me half a year ago whether I wanted to take on freelance work. I refused back then because I was young and foolish. If you have any design jobs now, I'm willing to accept them. The price is negotiable."
The contact responded almost immediately.
"Haha! I've been waiting for you to say that! Perfect timing. I have a job right now. A game company needs character concept art urgently. Four character illustrations, five days deadline. Three thousand yuan. Interested?"
Li Daoxuan replied without hesitation.
"I'll take it."
Morning arrived.
Shuangqing City welcomed the dawn of a brand new day.
Li Daoxuan stretched widely, letting out a long yawn as he rubbed his temples and climbed out of bed.
For five consecutive days, he had worked until two in the morning, pushing himself to complete the character designs required by the game company. After reviewing his submission, the client had pointed out several minor issues. He revised them according to their feedback, only for the client to ultimately decide that his original version had been better.
The job was finished.
Three thousand yuan had been transferred into his account.
Only after confirming the successful payment did he finally allow himself to sleep peacefully.
He slept deeply, like a log, without stirring until morning.
During these five days, completely focused on earning money to support his "family," he had neglected the miniature people inside the box. He had only provided food at regular intervals and refilled the LocknLock container with fresh water each day, without carefully observing their situation.
Now that he was finally free of obligations, he decided to properly spend time observing his tiny dependents.
However, the moment he sat down beside the diorama box, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.
All the miniature villagers had gathered around the pond, whispering nervously among themselves.
Li Daoxuan quickly closed his window, silencing his room.
Then he lowered his head and pressed his ear close to the box, barely able to hear their faint, mosquito-like voices.
"Someone stole water. Look at the pond. The water level dropped so much overnight."
"Yes. And look over here. So many footprints. A large number of people must have come to steal water last night."
Li Daoxuan narrowed his eyes and focused carefully.
Sure enough, the water level inside the LocknLock container had noticeably dropped.
In reality, the container was only twenty centimeters long. But inside the miniature world, magnified two hundred times, it had become a massive pond ten zhang in length.
Yet despite its enormous size, the water level had fallen by a full two chi overnight.
These water thieves were incredibly bold.
Or perhaps, there were simply far more of them than expected.
Li Daoxuan followed the chaotic footprints with his gaze, tracing their path as they extended outward from the village.
However, the tracks soon reached the boundary of the diorama box.
Beyond that point, they disappeared into darkness.
His brow furrowed deeply.
The greatest limitation of this mysterious box was its restricted field of view. He could only observe this small portion containing Gao Family Village. Everything beyond it remained completely hidden, shrouded in impenetrable darkness.
He had no way of knowing what existed outside.
This was an enormous disadvantage.
He absolutely had to find a way to expand his field of vision within this world.