"Meat! Tianzun has bestowed meat upon us!"
Gao Yiye's cry rang through Gaojia Village like a thunderclap.
The village came alive. Baskets hit the ground. Chores were abandoned. Everyone rushed toward her at once.
"It's chicken!"
"Chicken breast! It's enormous, but I'm sure it's chicken breast. I know that texture!"
"Such a huge piece... Could it have come from some divine bird?"
"It must be a celestial chicken from the Heavenly Palace!"
No one in the village could remember the last time they had tasted meat.
Years ago, when the harvests were still good, a few families had managed to raise chickens. But as the drought grew worse year after year, people struggled just to find enough food for themselves. There was no grain left over to feed livestock.
One animal after another disappeared.
Eventually, Gaojia Village became a place where not even chickens or dogs could be found. For miles around, the only living creatures left were starving villagers with hollow eyes and emaciated bodies.
Now, the sudden appearance of such a large piece of raw meat made grown men weep. An old woman dropped to her knees and pressed her hands together, muttering prayers. A child reached out to touch it, then yanked his hand back as if burned.
Gao Chuwu immediately ran off to fetch a knife. He was already planning to cut off several large pieces and carry them home for a proper feast.
Gao Yiye quickly stepped in front of him, her expression solemn.
"Tianzun has spoken," she announced. "Our stomachs have been accustomed to plain food for far too long, so we must not eat too much meat all at once. Otherwise, we could become sick. We have to eat in moderation. Brother Chuwu, that warning applies especially to you."
Gao Chuwu scratched his head.
"Huh? There's actually a rule like that?"
The Village Chief stepped forward and gave him a stern look.
"Tianzun is obviously warning simpletons like you. If someone who has been eating poorly for years suddenly stuffs himself with rich food, he can develop severe diarrhea. Given how weak our bodies are, that could kill someone faster than starvation. We cannot hand you a huge portion and expect you not to eat the whole thing in one sitting."
Gao Chuwu protested helplessly.
"Hey, hey! Why are you looking at me?"
The Chief ignored him and began issuing instructions.
"Each adult gets one liang of meat. Children get half a liang. The rest will be cut into strips and hung up to dry."
A middle-aged villager stepped forward, his face filled with anguish.
"Village Chief, we don't have enough salt. If we hang the chicken up without curing it, this heat will make it rot. Rather than watch such precious meat spoil, shouldn't we just eat it all now? I'd rather die from diarrhea than watch good meat turn into rotten garbage."
Gao Chuwu nodded vigorously.
"Exactly! I'd rather die from diarrhea than waste it!"
Above them, Li Daoxuan chuckled. He had no intention of taking the meat back. Instead, he walked into his kitchen, grabbed a bag of salt, and returned to the box. Without hesitation, he tore it open and poured a generous portion directly in front of Gao Yiye.
Shhh-shhh.
The villagers looked up in astonishment.
Pure white crystals came pouring down from the heavens. To them, each grain was enormous, almost like chunks of ice crashing to the ground. In just a few moments, the salt had piled up into a small, glittering mountain.
This time, Gao Yiye did not need Tianzun to give her any further instructions. She raised both hands and calmly announced,
"Did you really think those little schemes of yours could escape Tianzun's notice? Stop dreaming about stuffing yourselves. Now that we have salt, cure the meat properly."
"So much salt!"
"Salt is incredibly precious!"
"Tianzun has bestowed all of this upon us!"
"We won't have to worry about buying salt for the rest of our lives!"
The villagers dropped to their knees one after another, kowtowing toward the heavens. Tears streamed down their dirt-streaked faces.
That day, the entire Gaojia Village became busy.
The men sliced the enormous chicken breast into long, thin strips. Others used stones to crush the huge salt crystals into fine powder. Each strip of chicken was thoroughly coated in salt, then hung beneath the eaves, where the dry wind could slowly draw out its moisture.
The work was exhausting. Their bodies had been weakened by years of hunger, and even simple tasks left them breathing heavily.
Yet every villager wore a smile.
For the first time in years, they were not merely struggling to stay alive.
They were preparing for tomorrow.
That evening, cooking smoke rose from every household in Gaojia Village.
Every family prepared the same dinner: chicken and vegetable porridge.
The precious liang of chicken was minced into tiny pieces and simmered together with divine rice until the porridge became thick and fragrant. A few shredded cabbage leaves were added as well, bringing a little extra flavor to the meal.
Gao Chuwu devoured five large bowls in one sitting.
Even Gao Yiye managed to finish two.
Watching the villagers feast through the little box, Li Daoxuan found himself swallowing involuntarily.
He picked up his phone, opened his food delivery app, and ordered himself a bowl of chicken soup rice.
While eating, he opened his banking app. He still had over twenty thousand yuan in savings. After today's expenses, that no longer felt secure. Customizing the Hakka Walled House had cost two thousand. If he wanted to help more of these little people, money would flow out like water.
He opened QQ and found an old contact he hadn't spoken to in six months.
"Hey bro, it's Li Daoxuan. You asked me half a year ago about freelance design work. I refused back then. If you have any jobs now, I'm willing to take them. 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 illustrations, five-day deadline. Three thousand yuan. Interested?"
"I'll take it."
---
Morning arrived.
Li Daoxuan stretched and let out a long yawn, rubbing his throbbing temples as he climbed out of bed.
For five straight days, he had worked until two in the morning, pushing himself to finish the character designs. After submitting them, the client pointed out several minor problems, so he revised them one by one.
Then the client told him the original version had actually been better.
The job was finally done, and three thousand yuan landed in his account.
Only after confirming that the payment had arrived did Li Daoxuan finally allow himself to sleep.
During those five days, he had barely paid any attention to the miniature people. He still delivered food and refilled their water every day, but he had not taken the time to actually observe what was happening inside the box.
Now that he was free, he sat down beside the diorama box.
Something immediately felt wrong.
All the miniature villagers had gathered around the pond, talking among themselves with anxious expressions.
Li Daoxuan closed his window, shutting out the noise from outside, then leaned down and pressed his ear against the glass.
"Someone stole our water. Look at the pond. The water level dropped overnight."
"Yeah. Look at all these footprints. A lot of people came here last night."
Li Daoxuan narrowed his eyes.
The water level inside the Lock&Lock container had indeed dropped noticeably.
In the real world, the container was only twenty centimeters long. But inside the miniature world, magnified two hundred times, it had transformed into a massive pond more than ten zhang in length.
And overnight, the water level had fallen by half a chi.
These water thieves were certainly bold.
Or perhaps there were simply far more of them than he had imagined.
Li Daoxuan followed the tangled trail of footprints with his eyes. They started from the village and continued outward, all the way toward the edge of the diorama box, before disappearing into the darkness beyond his field of view.
His brow furrowed.
The biggest limitation of this mysterious box was its restricted field of vision.
He could only see the area around Gaojia Village. Everything beyond that remained hidden from him.
Who were these people?
Villagers from a neighboring settlement? Refugees fleeing the drought? Bandits?
He had no way to tell.
This inability to see beyond Gaojia Village was becoming a serious disadvantage.
I have to find a way to expand my field of vision.