Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Then how did the Linmen they always mention come about?"

[I guess the other fungi that climbed up saw the content about 'Linmen' and started reading it too. What should I do?]

"What else can we do? Drive them out. They're right about one thing at least—this Tower of Babel wasn't built for them. They seem to think our forum is a temple."

"Let me warn you, they're formidable. Judging by their combat prowess yesterday, they're no match for the slimes of the Novice Village. They also clearly understand: you're a creator, not a benevolent deity. The world you created has nothing to do with them; they're merely the remnants of that world. So, even though they're harbouring the Linmen, they'll likely draw their swords against you without hesitation."

"What they think has nothing to do with me. For now, I just need to restore the forum. Send a Bean over and I'll talk to them first. If they leave this so-called 'temple' on their own, then fine. If they dare to resist, I will use a higher level of power."

A new discussion group has been created.

Including Shangluo, there was Fu Yuanshan whom he called; his uncle Zheng Yin, another celestial being of the Jinyiwei, who was called by Guoxing; and Master Jinghai from Wudang Mountain who came to Yujing with the Wudang team, who was called by Lu Liang.

The four celestial beings were waiting in the discussion group.

"If they don't know what's best for them, I'll show them the power of the 'gods.' This is a force of creation that comes from beyond this tiny teapot, a force that can destroy everything. We can destroy this teapot in a snap of a finger. If they truly understand, they'll know that I, the so-called 'Maker,' have no mercy on them. After all, I'm a cold and ruthless Outer God. Well, these bastards, they better learn a little wisdom in assessing the situation."

Chapter 382: Get off work

"Ah, it's time to get off work again. Today's income is 400 wen, and the expenses are 0! 0 again~~"

Although the main reason was that today's work location was within walking distance, she really had no other expenses.

"By the way, where does Shangluo's ice cream cone come from? Tsk, just consider it my treat."

She still made a note below the 0.

"The notebooks here are written vertically. I don't even know where to buy horizontal notebooks. It's so troublesome to write our numbers vertically. Should we learn Aurora numerals? Forget it, we'll just have to make do with this."

Sitting in the staff lounge, she began to tally up the day's accounts. She pulled out two wallets, one white and one brown. The white one was hers, and the brown one was for the money Shangluo allocated to her daily.

Both wallets are now bulging with money saved.

"Today I spent two ice cream cones. In Shangluo, the spending is... It hasn't started yet, but you can record it in advance."

I have bought everything I need, and the only thing left to buy today is food to make steamed bread for him.

"Let me see what I want to buy. Rice flour, millet flour, corn flour, soybean flour. Why is it like buying animal feed?"

From the first day, she felt that this looked like feed, but Shangluo loved it, so she had no choice.

To buy things like bean flour and rice flour, you could just go to the state-owned store near your home. You couldn't buy these things at regular stores, so you had to go to a grain and oil store. Considering the weight of these things, Phaethon simply bought them near home. While the prices at the state-owned store weren't the cheapest, the quality was definitely worth the price, and they always issued invoices.

"He's already eating feed, so he should be eating better feed."

Carrying two large bags of various rice and bean flours, she glanced at the clock hanging on the street. It was already 4:15 in the afternoon.

"By the way, is he coming back for dinner? Do you want to ask?"

She thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. I have something important to do today. Let's make the steamed bread first."

Carrying two bags, she walked out of the state-owned supermarket.

"Wait a minute! Little girl, stop!" A familiar voice rang out beside me. It was the police who were waiting here. They had been waiting here several times because Phaethon always walked around the street during class time.

Just as she was about to run, a hand grabbed her wrist:

"That's it!"

"Yes, Director, it's her!"

Phaethon looked back and saw that a female police officer wearing a wide-brimmed hat had grabbed her wrist.

She subconsciously wanted to shake it off, but she was holding two large bags of rice flour and bean flour in her hands and couldn't shake it off at all.

"Come with me to the station."

A greyhound named Ah Huang followed beside, wagging its tail happily - it had chased the animal several times but failed, and this time it finally got its revenge.

Five minutes later. At the police station at the end of the street. A bronze plaque read "Jiangning Patrol Branch Police Station No. 81" hung on the door.

The police station was small, occupying only a single storefront, and its jurisdiction was limited to this small area. There were five people in the station, one of whom usually sat downstairs to receive guests, while the others sat upstairs to rest. There was also a seat reserved for Ah Huang on the first floor, where he would sit when he had nothing else to do, with his gleaming stainless steel basin beside him.

Behind the screen on the first floor, Phaethon sat at one end of the chair, the director sat opposite her, and several other police officers in the station stood beside them.

"You really don't have to go to school?"

All of Phaethon's documents were on the table. They were checked in five minutes.

Her documents were incredibly complete. She had a residence permit for the Jinnei region, a work permit from the Ministry of Industry, a residence certificate from Jiangning County, Freemasonry health insurance, and the work ID card Yanqiu had given her. She even brought her own ID card from Rome, and all of them were on the table.

According to her document, she does not need to go to school now. As long as her employer does not fire her, she can move freely during her stay.

"can I go now?"

"Okay, okay." The director nodded. "But, little sister, you came all the way from Rome to visit us. What on earth are you doing here? You're actually here to work? But at your age, shouldn't you be in school? Are you having any difficulties? Also, you have all the necessary documents, so why were you running away before?"

“Because I’m in a hurry to go to work.”

"You came all the way here just to work? Are you short of money?"

"Originally, I had enough. But I owed my employer a lot of money. Until I paid it off, I could only work as a maid in his house and earn money to pay it off."

"Your employer?" The director glanced at the registration information on the table.

"You're living with the Shang family, right? So you're in debt to them in Yangzhou? I saw their children just moved back."

"Yes. It's right there." Phaethon nodded. "Ah, I owed a lot of debts. My father paid them off for me, but he mortgaged my important things with him. So I will definitely work hard to get the collateral back."

"Okay! Ambitious little sister! I just want to remind you."

She pointed to the bag next to her.

Two bags of rice and flour were placed on the ground nearby. Ah Huang sat beside them, not even sniffing at them, and even the dogs wouldn't eat them.

"In that bag, there's cornmeal or something like that. Is that a problem?"

"There's a problem. According to Jiangning County regulations, raising chickens is prohibited within the city walls. If you violate the regulations and don't dispose of them within the deadline, we have the right to confiscate and destroy your chickens. So, talk to your employer quickly and cut them up for soup or braised chickens, but don't keep them anymore."

"But that's not for raising chickens, it's for people to eat."

"Food for humans?" Several policemen were stunned.

"This is for people to eat?" the director asked. "Who told them to eat it?"

"It's my employer. He said he must eat this."

"You owe him a debt, so he lets you eat this every day?"

"no no."

"Wow, wow, wow~~" The policeman next to him had already shed tears, "I'm so sorry you have to work so hard. Ah Huang and I were waiting for you at the door, wanting to catch you in the act. We thought you were just a student skipping classes, but we didn't expect that people still have to work so hard these days. Ah Huang, cry with us~~"

Ah Huang tilted his head and looked at him. This was obviously not part of the police dog's training, so he couldn't cry.

"Alas." The director shook his head. "Our colleague is quite emotional. That's why he was so excited when he saw you not going to school that he waited for you several times. I didn't expect to hear such an inspiring story. You haven't had dinner yet, right?"

"Ah, I didn't eat it."

"Then eat and go back."

"But I still need to steam steamed buns when I get home."

"We'll take you home! What's wrong with a meal? How could your employer be so rude? It's just a debt, is there any need to go through all this trouble? Don't worry, we'll make sure you go home well-fed today. It's time for dinner, too. Come, put your ID away."

Chapter 383 Reception

She folded up Phaethon's ID and handed it to her, then led her upstairs—Phaethon didn't refuse. Since they were already here, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a free meal, saving them some money.

There is a big rice cooker under the window on the second floor, and dinner for five people is in it.

"Our dinner here is rather simple. But we will make sure you are well fed."

The director pressed the caliper and turned on the rice cooker.

A rich aroma of oil, rice, soy sauce and ham wafted out.

Phaethon took a look and saw that it was pitch black and he couldn't tell what was inside.

"This is."

"This is our dinner tonight. We're busy so we're having this. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's glutinous rice with soy sauce, steamed with Chinese sausage and bacon."

"Oh!" Phaethon's eyes lit up, "Is this the legendary rice dumpling?"

"Well, strictly speaking, not really, but it does look a lot like zongzi filling. There's no place to cook in this police station, so we usually order takeout or just make do with this. Eat more. It's not fancy food, but there's plenty of meat. Oh, and by the way, someone go and chop up a duck."

"No, no, no, there's no need to butcher the duck. I'll just eat it. You can't cook the duck without a pot."

"Oh, right, you're from another place, so you don't know. This is Yingtian dialect. 'Cut' means to cut a duck. Come on, come on, sit over here and eat first. The braised dishes are next door, and they'll be here in two minutes."

Half an hour later, Phaethon was full.

"Hurr~" The sticky rice had soy sauce, bacon oil, and even lard. Her mouth was covered in greasy splatters from eating it before she left. It was greasy, but it was truly delicious. She'd finished several bowls without realizing it.

At the door on the first floor, Ah Huang was also eating duck butt, which was left over from the roast duck upstairs.

"Are you really not going to be sent back? Your employer is difficult, isn't he?"

"No, no." She stood at the door, carrying the rice and flour. "Thank you. But you really don't have to send it. Actually, he's not that mean. This steamed bread is for us to eat together."

"Huh? Not one, but two?" The director was stunned for a moment. "So both of them are so miserable! Next time if you're hungry, don't hesitate to bring him along for a meal. We don't have much good food here, and our budget is tight, but it's okay to treat the neighbors to a meal occasionally. More people means more chopsticks. How can a girl eat these things all day long? She should eat more oily food."

"Yeah. I'll remember that next time."

Phaethon wrote down the recipe. It was indeed very convenient and time-saving. It was perfect for two busy people. And judging by Shangluo's previous taste, he seemed to like it.

After waving goodbye to the director, she turned a corner and finally arrived at Shangluo's house.

"Ah~~"

After entering the room, she placed the two bags on the coffee table. She was so full from eating that she sat on the sofa for a while before getting up.

"Get started, start steaming the steamed buns."

She opened the bag—

Suddenly, the phone rang. It was a landline.

"This is a business, who are you looking for?" She picked up the receiver.

Yanqiu's voice rang out from the other end of the line: "Phaethon! Come quickly! There's good news!"

"What is it?"

"Guo Xing invited us to dinner at the Jinling Hotel! Come quickly!"

"Ah, well, I don't have to go, right?"

"Guo Xing said he absolutely had to meet you. You're my advisor, and you're still working in Shangluo, right? He said he'd treat you to a meal no matter what. Hey, why are you being so polite when we're at the Jinling Hotel? He ordered a lot of dishes I wouldn't normally order! What a huge grouper! A whole one!"

It was a whole grouper, arranged like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, next to the turntable. This grouper wasn't the main course; the main course was Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, a must-have dish for any Guoxing dinner.

"Although Jinling Hotel does not specialize in Fujian cuisine, the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall here is very authentic. Miss Phaethon, right?" Zheng Shijie asked.

"Ah yes, it's me."

"Not to your taste? I remember you Romans love rich-flavored seafood too. Lan Fang's fish sauce is quite popular there."

"Ah, that's right. I'll eat more later, more." Lan Fang's fish sauce was a premium seasoning in Rome, and stews with it were traditional main dishes at Roman court banquets. They used to make their own fish sauce, but now they've switched to Lan Fang's.

There were five people sitting around the table.

Zheng Shijie sat at the innermost seat, and next to him was Zheng Yin - his features and eyebrows were similar to Zheng Shijie's, but he looked a generation older.

Fu Yuanshan was sitting on the other side, holding the menu and ordering food.

Yanqiu and Phaethon sat across the table from the other two, quite far away from them. It was mainly because the three of them had to drink, but they didn't.

"So, what are you doing here? I remember my nephew didn't invite you." Zheng Yin glanced at Fu Yuanshan who was ordering food next to the table.

"Tsk, we're all colleagues, so what's wrong with eating your meal? We're preparing for battle tonight, so we should stay in the same position so we can respond in time."

As the aces of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, both of them were invited to appear in Shangluo tonight.

"You talk like you're out to slay a demon, but it's just a little thing in a teapot. Hey, stop staring back at me! Aren't you afraid of gout from eating so much?"

"You talk as if your family is short of money for food."