Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 286 Enemies from outside the sky
On August 8th, 2108 of the Han calendar, inside the rainforest of Pengzhou, a black leopard crouched stealthily in a tree. However, after a convoy of cars drove by on the road below, the leopard disappeared into the shadows.

These cars are not in the style of old-fashioned cars from this dimension, but rather resemble Hummers. They are products summoned by the superhumans of Dongshu who "see the future".

In the previous generation, the superhumans of Dongshu who could "see the future" had always been guarding the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the Dianlu region.

However, fifty years ago, he left Dianlu and came to Pengzhou. It was on that occasion that Dongshu lost the superpower of "seeing the future".

The last "seeing the future" superhuman in Eastern Shu established a vast scientific organization in Pengzhou and discovered some super pyramid complexes.

The camera follows the direction the convoy is traveling, passing through the rainforest where various branches obstruct the view, and arrives at the pyramid controlled by the people of Dongshu.

At this moment, after being injected with electrical energy, this mysterious pyramid, developed by the Eastern Shu, sent a radio wave into outer space.

However, this radio wave did not cross space in a conventional way. Instead, it touched a certain area outside the lunar orbit and then disappeared.

Forty light-years away from the solar system, a cratered celestial body, which looked like a half-destroyed spaceship and a half-junk man-made object, sensed the call and quickly merged into a spatial ripple directly in front of it. The direction in which the ripple contracted was towards the solar system.

After the Taotie Festival was launched, the entire planet seemed to sense a crisis. First and foremost was Longzhou, which was closest to Pengzhou.

Meanwhile, in the north, Jemint (Xie Ming) donned a burlap denim vest and hurried to his newly built "Other Shore" monitoring station. This monitoring station was surrounded by rows of steel antenna arrays.

In the underground base, he wore a monitoring headset, from which came a "hissing" sound, while a needle next to him drew zigzag lines on a piece of paper, resembling a heart rate graph.

The experts nearby recounted, "We deciphered the frequency band, and most of the content seemed to be meaningless 'roaring'."

This expert's team studies orcas. Orca language is extremely verbose, frequently using phrases like "baka" and "uru-sai." Therefore, he believes that the more advanced a creature is, the more "redundant" its communication will be to accommodate emotional expression. In this regard, the expert suggests establishing communication channels.

Xie Ming avoided his suggestion and nodded: "Are you sure the unrest originated in the south?"

The expert said, "Yes, the specific fluctuations originated from the Pengzhou Plateau. As for the cause, we are still investigating; it could be a geomagnetic flare, or it could be a problem with the ozone layer."

Xie Ming: "You don't need to guess. I will send someone to investigate."

After leaving the experimental base, Xie Ming took a deep breath, then pulled something out of place from his jeans—a cell phone. He opened a game on the phone, watched the "Taotie has arrived" storyline refresh, and muttered, "So the villains are in the south."

Xie Ming opened other "apps" on his phone and began importing the script. Note: Unlike Xuan Chong, who brought a novel, Xie Ming downloaded an app.

After the message "Taotie has arrived" appeared, Xie Ming opened the Pinduoduo app and accessed the online shopping window.

The official interface features live streams from various merchants selling their wares; these merchants operate across different dimensions. The interface is divided into sections for "Medium Magic, Low Technology" and "Low Magic, High Technology."

For example, if you refresh the page to a certain "online shopping page for magicians," a merchant named "Little Dragon Girl" is selling a batch of high-quality "dwarf" and "elf" slaves. And there is a top-rated positive review.

This buyer, nicknamed "Pudong Lady," gave it a five-star review: "Dwarves can repair steam-age vehicles, and elves are familiar with musket-age tactics—both are the kings of value for money! Fantastic! The shop is beautiful."

However, the negative reviews section below, filled with mocking comments like "The dwarves don't know the metal formula ratio parameters" and "The elves got killed by snipers," are three-star negative reviews.

Xie Ming skipped over these unreliable options, checked his balance, and swiped the interface to the proper "Steam Age of Black Technology." The buyers here were all "punk-style" buyers. After thinking for a while and confirming the dimensional energy attribute, Xie Ming ordered a batch of diesel-powered combat machines.

…on the other side of the ocean…

Xuan Chong is busy coordinating the work of the bricklayers to complete the construction of the "Hru Xiaofu Buildings" around the factory before winter arrives.

Why choose this option? Because it's cheap and quick to build. Of course, some reinforcements were made, such as thickening the exterior walls to ensure warmth in winter, and installing metal ladders outside the windows of each household—to ensure escape in case of fire.

As for whether this ladder could be the key for thieves to climb up, it's possible.

However, there are no blind spots between buildings in the factory compound. A thief trying to climb the wall openly! This thief is indeed a bit too arrogant.

In the Xuanchong plan, as long as the dormitory area was built by themselves, it would provide the workers with the key material means to break free from clan ties.

Because once there are places for young people to stay in the factory area, they can genuinely choose not to go home.

In the current clan-based environment, young people have no home and are forced to live under the roof of others.

The scene that Xuan Chong was familiar with in his previous life, where "elderly people raise chickens and ducks in their hometowns, hoping that their sons will bring their grandsons back to visit them," does not exist in the present day!
Right now, within the clan, old geese are pecking at children, and dogs are chasing after babies! The elders in the clan are all leisurely smoking their pipes.

The old man from the clan said, "We can't just slaughter the dog and stew the old goose, can we?"

The reason why clans have such a strong voice is that they use the ownership of "fields and houses" to control the young and strong.

Now that the factory has the capability to create "new permanent assets" and needs to eliminate the influence of clans, improving the living conditions of the laborers must be the top priority.

In any reform, it is often only after it has succeeded that a grand narrative, "from top to bottom," is adopted to guide the process.

In the initial stages, it often starts from the bottom, like a nanny, removing the traditional "burden" from each ordinary participant, so that the young and strong in the reform system can have spare energy to gather into a force for change.

For example, Shang Yang's order to cut grass was not intended to provide the top echelons with a huge amount of food resources, but rather to free the lower classes who participated in cutting grass from the burdens imposed by the old aristocracy. As a result, these thousands or even tens of thousands of young and strong Qin laborers used their strength to support Shang Yang's reforms.

The vassal kings in other regions made a mistake: in their pursuit of surpassing the Central Plains, they set ambitious goals and treated the able-bodied people like cattle and horses. They constantly feigned concern for the people and put on a show of what they perceived as benevolence.

For example, the feudal lord of Ezo Island has recently become obsessed with "pardoning the dead," and rarely executes prisoners who have committed heinous crimes, instead making the best use of them.

Such behavior cannot "bestow favors universally." Therefore, the statement that "the people did not follow" was merely the self-pity of this Buddhist prince.

…A slave-owning mentality is an obstacle to industrialization…

The brick houses were completed within two months. Inside, every family moved in and had heating connected. Xuan Chong thoughtfully included recessed wiring channels, in preparation for renovations twenty years later.

Xuan Chong downloaded information from the Lin Group and learned about the future direction of technology.

Electrical equipment has advanced rapidly in the past twenty years; regarding the supercritical control of steam in thermal power generation, Xuan Chong saw that the team of scholars under Lin Group had already established a "research project" and were working on tackling the materials challenges. This pace of technological breakthroughs was similar to the research and development of "nuclear fusion super-toroids" in Xuan Chong's previous life.

Therefore, the Dongtu factory dormitory plan must take into account the old city renovation 20 years from now.

In the workers' new life movement, water supply facilities were ordered from the south to meet the water needs of several thousand people.

In addition, canteen staff were specially sent to the south to learn how to cook canteen dishes.

These various expenses baffled even the Dongtu Prince's family, who controlled the funds. The "wasteful" money spent on these items exceeded 30% of the steel mill's original investment.

The ordinary villagers in Dongtu, despite lacking understanding of the situation, were still making wild guesses.

Some well-informed people said, "The Crown Prince came back from the southern navy. He's used to life in the south and isn't used to the harsh cold of the north, is he?"

As a result, people in the East began to discuss "what kind of life do people in the South have?" The most typical conclusion was that "people in the South can sunbathe on the street every day."

The interest in discussing the south, young and old alike, stemmed solely from the fact that "Xuan Chong studied in the south." This was similar to their past discussions about Liu Dang's formation; such discussions were a form of unconscious "totem" worship, a desperate attempt to find a "central" force to resolve everything in the darkness and cold.

How should "new quality production" be developed?

Even if Xuan Chong listened attentively to this kind of discussion within the clan, which was in the form of "totem worship," he would not receive any constructive suggestions.

Within the various branches of the clan, it was basically a matter of seniority; whoever had the most seniority was the one to listen to. The play "Teahouse" depicts this: when a certain lord entered, everyone around him stood up, cupped their hands, and said, "Lord XX, please tell us what you have to say."

There is a familiar word that can describe this kind of conversation: "chatting".

Xuan Chong criticizes: Rambling conversations are useless for "efficient discussions"; they're not exchanges, but ultimately a test of "who's superior." And to determine "who's superior," one must ultimately invoke "authority" to legitimize their words. Xuan Chong suddenly understands why Russian experts "love alcohol": men's guard is lowered after drinking, and the saying "in vicarious speech" suggests they can disregard hierarchy and engage in frank exchanges based on their knowledge. This allows the rambling conversations to continue. Oh, and those people in the Wei and Jin dynasties who watched people take Five-Stone Powder also enjoyed "pure conversation" meetings.

After research, Xuan Chong designed a new social system that could replace clan-based social interaction while also connecting with the local customs of Dongtu. For this reform, Xuan Chong selected a small team, known for "coal mine screening," to pilot the program.

We hold a life discussion meeting once a week.

During the discussion, each person gave a concise 100-word speech. The group leader then compiled everyone's speeches, and after everyone signed their approval, the group leader submitted a final report.

Xuan Chong's every "sudden idea" caused the selected groups to complain bitterly.

However, as the heir apparent, Xuan Chong's days in Dongtu were still long. Therefore, the groups selected as pilot projects all pretended to be "enthusiastic" in their work.

…Copying homework…

Rumors about Liu Haoxing's penchant for wasting money spread throughout Dongtu. Even investors from the south came to audit his accounts.

Xuan Chong patiently explained to the southern investors: "The money is not being misappropriated for a life of luxury, but rather to ensure the efficiency of personnel production."

Xuan Chong had the working group prepare a report of tens of thousands of words.

For example, “Regarding the dormitory building, we calculated the situation where workers leave the dormitory at 8:00 AM to go to work in the factory and return at 6:00 PM.” Xuan Chong listed the “controllable standard of workers’ entry time” and the fit with the production plan for investors.

As someone who has "entered the Dao," Xuan Chong compiled and listed the relevant data of the seven steel plants built in Jiangnan over the past twenty years, such as the construction period of the plants, the scale of industrial output, and even the efficiency of the workers, using formulas.

Most businessmen simply cannot obtain the data from certain factories in Jiangnan that these formulas reference!

This is business information that Xuan Chong obtained through his relationship with Xu Xi and Qin Tianyi.

The merchants sent the formula to their steel mill by telegram, and after checking it, they found it to be completely correct and thus approved Xuanchong's plan.

Therefore, the original audit turned into additional funding – this additional funding was not directly given to Xuan Chong, but was used for personnel training and planning at Dongtu.

For merchants from the south, there are three main risks in the investment process.

1: Uncontrollable interference with the local area.

2: The construction period cannot be determined.

3. Unaware of where the funds are going.

If investors can lock in a key figure with money, making the project controllable, they are willing to invest an additional 20%.

If a timeline for each step of the project can be clearly defined, and there is even an "accelerator button," investors will be willing to increase their investment by 50% in order to hold onto that "accelerator button."

If every detail of the project and every flow of funds could be confirmed, investors would double their investment and then insert personnel to review the funds at each stage. This is because controlling all the risks is tantamount to controlling the company.

Xuan Chong assured investors that the No. 2 work area would be able to start trial production before winter, specifically in October, before local temperatures drop.

The workers, organized by the new life, or more precisely, the young and middle-aged laborers of Dongtu who were motivated by a standard of living far exceeding that of their clans, are actively and proactively contributing to the steel plant.

A large banner was hung on the factory building: "The ironworks is my home, I love the factory as I love my home."

…Migratory birds spread their white wings and began their southward flight, and frost began to form in the evening…

Xuan Chong finished his masonry work and picked up his books again. During this holiday, he also settled things with Su Ming.

Su Ming, who had just entered the examination hall, knew that he had transmigrated, but he did not know that Xuan Chong was his lord in his previous life. However, he felt a deep sense of gratitude.

Following the system's strategy, Xuan Chong, like a talent scout, discovered Su Ming, a poor student, and provided him with financial support to study hard. He also wrote a letter of introduction to help him become a student of a famous teacher.

Given the current moral climate in China, Su Ming must repay this kindness in the future.

Xuan Chong gritted his teeth after seeing Su Ming's results in the Xiucai examination.

Xuan Chong: "Holy crap, are there really child prodigies in the world with photographic memories?"

Su Ming, a student who had no father since childhood and only studied for a few months after being sponsored, achieved near-perfect scores in the mock exams in alchemy, mechanical crafting, physical education, and even criminal law (theory).

Seeing the virtuous, Xuan Chong, after recovering from Su Ming's grades, felt a sense of frustration about his recent "lack of effort" and "distraction."

It is worth mentioning that Xuan Chong was unaware that the people he summoned, due to their "characteristics," had "mature learning mindsets" directly instilled into their brains when they studied for the imperial examinations.

No matter how powerful the characters in the "novel" are, they are all subordinate to Xuan Chong, his student.

Xuan Chong knows the origin of the world Su Ming traveled to, as well as the attributes the system added to him, while Su Ming knows nothing about Xuan Chong.

This "subordinate" relationship is commonly seen in the figures that are summoned or influenced by the "students'" "recess items".

Xu Xi and Qin Tianyi's "sports field" and "musical score" can also establish a "subordinate" relationship with some groups in the plane.

Ordinary "students" wouldn't compete with their "subordinates," and basically, free time travelers wouldn't either—Pu E didn't compete with Zhao Cheng.

"Subordination" is generally a kind of obsession. In a certain aspect, because one is an obsessive person, one has an obstinacy that is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

However, the "subordination" will gradually weaken as the number of times one travels through time increases, while the "student" will grow.

Most students will not make a direct comparison with their "related subjects" with those whose "obsessions have not been dulled by five trials".

However, there are also some who can't let go of their thoughts.

For example, now that Xuan Chong has witnessed Su Ming's excellence, he grits his teeth and starts working on the "Science" exam questions.

…Math teacher: Stop! Back to the math exam…

After September, snowflakes began to fall. Just as Xuan Chong had been reading for an hour, he suddenly sensed something and looked up at the sky.

Outside the planet, a broken meteorite suddenly appeared between the Earth and the Moon system, then abruptly changed direction and hurtled towards Earth.

As evening fell, just as Xuan Chong was reminiscing about "the sunset glow and the flock of seagulls flying together, the summer waves and the sea and sky merging into one color," it seemed as if the heavens were also condemning this shameless plagiarism of poetry. A large meteor, as bright as the sun, streaked across the sky, appearing rapidly from the east, sweeping across the entire sky, and hurtling westward.

Half an hour later, a huge glow appeared in the west. Of course, the glow was not produced by a meteorite hitting the ground, but by the reflection of a large amount of dust that had broken up in the sky.

At this point, Xuan Chong, who was on the boat, could read the words on the newspaper without an electric light.

Xuan Chong looked at the rosy clouds in the northern sky and murmured: The Tunguska event?

Xuan Chong then deployed the torque system and began measuring the asteroid's trajectory to determine its impact point.

This world is destined to be turbulent; tutoring in Chinese is not allowed during math class.

Ten hours later, Xuan Chong's communicator rang. It was someone with a Lin Group code name, demanding that he report to Weihai immediately!
Left with no other choice, Xuan Chong once again suspended his pursuit of the imperial examinations.

Xuan Chong: This is so annoying! There are always troublemakers hindering my studies.

(End of this chapter)