Longzang

Chapter 603 A Real Piece of Cake

When a person is in dire straits and could die at any moment, and suddenly finds themselves in a paradise where they have obtained the food and clothing they have always dreamed of, their emotions will fluctuate greatly, and they will receive good fortune.

At this time, should we give them dignity? No, we should teach them obedience, let them know that as long as they are obedient, everything will be fine, and that being a good child will lead to simple happiness, which is the easiest way to gain good fortune.

Let the refugees think for themselves. Putting aside whether they have the ability, those who like to think independently not only lack luck, but are also a source of instability. They not only do not believe in the savior themselves, but also persuade those around them not to believe.

This conclusion was reached by Wei Yuan after reading a large number of historical books and some missionary scriptures passed down from the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land. In short, if you want good fortune, you can't let them think; simple-minded refugees are the best refugees.

Wei Yuan stood up abruptly and immediately assigned Renjian Yanhuo a series of tasks: design a room for an ordinary person to live in, preferably in an apartment building. Such a simple task received feedback in an instant, with more than a dozen design proposals provided.

Wei Yuan immediately rejected overly simplistic and elegant designs, recalled the style of the Wei family compound from his childhood, and then selected the closest one. You can't ask refugees to imagine a royal palace; what truly moves them is the grand mansion of a local landlord.

So Wei Yuan picked a rather old-fashioned design—a complete set of heavily lacquered mahogany furniture—and handed it directly to Yu Zhizhuo, instructing him to quickly arrange for several sets to be built in Zhike Town. Yu Zhizhuo didn't quite understand, but Wei Yuan needed it urgently, so he made the arrangements immediately. This kind of work was far too simple for a master craftsman of his caliber, so he immediately broke down the tasks and assigned them out. In less than a day, ten sets were built in Zhike Town.

Immediately afterwards, the first batch of more than 30,000 refugees arrived.

The moment they stepped into the azure sky, the refugees felt an immediate surge of energy, their bodies bursting with vitality, and many of their ailments and hidden dangers vanished. The sky was exceptionally blue and vast, and the sunlight was exceptionally warm and gentle. Surrounded by such a world, they didn't even feel so hungry anymore.

Then a tall archway appeared before them, and hundreds of fully armored soldiers guided the refugees in several groups to pass under the archway. The soldiers told the refugees that only official residents of Qingming who had reached the commoner class were qualified to pass under the archway, and the refugees naturally accepted this, taking it for granted.

As they passed the archway, some cultivators were distributing small steamed buns to each of the refugees. These small buns weren't even enough for a single bite, but the cultivators kept saying that after registering to join the Azure Netherworld, they would receive a large steamed bun.

Next came the registration at the drill ground. After registration, each person would receive a wooden tag and a large steamed bun, with their name written on the tag.

These refugees were all going to join Qingming, which saved a step in the process. Everyone was taken to the next place to take a bath.

Wei Yuan had already ordered his men to dig four large pits, pour cement into them, and pre-install water inlet and outlet pipes. The water in the pits was three feet high, and since the weather in the Witch Domain was hot, the water did not need to be heated.

The refugees were forced to strip naked and then be driven into the water to bathe. The water had a strong medicinal smell, and after they entered, the clear water quickly turned into a murky soup.

Each large pit could hold four or five hundred refugees at a time, and each stick of incense could clean up two thousand refugees. After each batch of refugees left the pit, they would be given a new set of clothes. In order not to get their new clothes dirty, the refugees washed themselves very carefully.

After each batch of people had washed, the water in the four bath pits would be changed. The clothes that the refugees took off would be piled up in one place and burned. However, to Wei Yuan's surprise, after only four or five batches of people had washed, three of the water pipes in the four bath pits became clogged.

This made Wei Yuan realize once again the unreliability of meticulous engineering. He simply left dozens of Dao Foundation Establishment warriors behind, washed them, and then used Daoist magic to flush away the dirty water before bringing in fresh water. This godlike method unexpectedly brought Wei Yuan a lot of good fortune ahead of time. The refugees, now dressed in new clothes, lined up in ten rows to visit the homes of the commoners in Qingming.

The ten newly built mansions, filled with the rich style of the Wei family compound and bearing the distinct personal touch of Wei Youcai, left the displaced people dizzy with admiration. They all remarked that the mansions of well-known wealthy families in their hometowns were just like these.

These houses were all divided in two by a central avenue, through which the refugees walked, passing between the houses. At that moment, a soft, bubbly female voice echoed in the air, saying, "In Qingming, as long as you become an ordinary commoner, owning a house like this is not a dream..."

Wei Yuan was engrossed in watching from mid-air when he heard Cui Yu next to him say in a sarcastic tone, "It's not a dream, it's a fantasy."

Wei Yuan glared at him angrily: "Why are you trying to sabotage me?"

Cui Yu pointed downwards and said, "Are you sure you can provide one of these courtyards, which are ten zhang square, to every commoner?"

"The courtyard is just a backdrop, as are the gardens and the main hall," Wei Yuan said calmly.

To be precise, everything in the courtyard is just background, like the blue sky and white clouds in an Outer World advertisement; only that small side room is real.

Upon leaving the residence, monks distributed a bowl of steaming medicinal soup to each refugee, followed by a meat-filled fried dough. Then, someone led them to cultivate land, subtly and overtly implying that the land they cultivated might one day belong to them.

The keywords "in the future, possibly" were automatically ignored by the migrants.

One by one, the refugees, their heads filled with painted cakes and their hands clutching real cakes, were led to kneel and give thanks before Wei Yuan's statue. This step drew the attention of the cultivators of Taichu Palace, but Wei Yuan, thick-skinned and counting the ever-increasing amount of green energy, couldn't stop smiling and didn't care about such petty worldly prejudices.

This last step wasn't Wei Yuan's own idea. It happened when he was setting up a series of rituals to welcome the refugees. The Peacock Monk appeared out of nowhere and said to Wei Yuan, "If King Buddha wants to gain good fortune, the simplest and most direct way is to erect a statue, guide the refugees to kneel and worship, and let them know who they should thank. This way, they can gain good fortune the fastest and the most."

When it comes to harvesting good fortune, the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land is, after all, a professional, with a lineage spanning at least tens of thousands of years. Therefore, Wei Yuan took the Peacock Monk's opinion quite seriously, but also felt rather ashamed, and insisted that the Peacock not call him King Buddha.

The peacock said, "If the King Buddha doesn't like it, then your Great Joyful Bodhisattva is fine too. Oh, it's also fine if we don't put up your statue, but we can put up a few images of the Great Joyful King Buddha. In the end, you will be the one who receives the good fortune."

Wei Yuan felt that it would be better to display his own statue.

(End of this chapter)