novelhk 045 Big and Small Matters
045 Big and Small Matters
Li Min wants to donate grain.
Ten thousand catties of millet.
In modern society, that's equivalent to the yield of a few acres of land.
Converted to the late Han Dynasty, that would be approximately two hundred shi (a unit of dry measure).
It's worth about 60,000 coins, enough for her to buy an ordinary house and one or two beautiful maids and strong servants in Gandan City.
But Li Min didn't want a house, nor beautiful maids and strong servants; what she wanted was a place to be admitted to the Sky Courtyard.
Currently, tens of thousands of players have registered. There are 3 Class A talents, 286 Class B talents, and over 8000 Class C talents.
The second-class talents, namely [A] and [B], as well as the more than twenty people who won a hundred times in the arena today, have all been recruited into [Sky Academy].
The rest belong to [Sky Outer Court].
Although the Sky Courtyard is currently just an empty plot of land and all plans have not yet been implemented, its potential cannot be ignored.
Therefore, Li Min offered grain in exchange for twenty-one places.
In her little group, there wasn't a single one who could be rated [B]. There was, however, a crazy woman with considerable fighting prowess; she won her first hundred matches today and was admitted to the [hospital].
Lu Xiuxi and the others dared not make a decision, so they came to consult Dean Li.
Li Yu waved his hand and said, "Agreed!"
Ten thousand catties of millet is a heavy load that [Sky Institute] urgently needs.
But it's just a meal that all the players can eat to their hearts' content. Even with the blessing of Grandpa Liao's [Yinglong Porridge], it will only last for three to five days.
But what Li Yu valued was not the food, but Li Min and her small group.
[Sky Academy] was regarded by Li Yu as a "tool" that would eventually be discarded after it was used up.
Influenced by his experiences both within and outside of dreams, Li Yu still felt a strong connection to the Sky Courtyard. He didn't want it to simply vanish after his departure.
Therefore, he recruited Lu Xiuxi and Li Hua, and also agreed to recruit Li Min and her small team. With these people laying the foundation, and with some rising stars joining in, they should be able to keep [Sky Academy] afloat.
After carefully instructing Li Yu on several tasks, including "acquiring [fragments], [scrolls], and [props]", "finding clues about his parents", and "secretly observing Ma Xiaojiao's movements", Li Yu opened the [Sky Academy Stele].
With the establishment of the Sky Courtyard, Li Yu, the "blueprint village head," gained the power to appoint and dismiss officials such as "field officials, village gatekeepers, squad leaders, and platoon leaders." As long as the residents of the courtyard met the corresponding conditions, they could take office.
如[田典]需要「[内政]≥20、[智力]≥20」，[里间门]需要「[武力]≥20、[智力]≥20」，[什长]需要「[武力]≥15、[智力]≥15」，[伍长]需要「[武力]≥10、[智力]≥10」等等。
As Magistrate Liang had previously stated, the [Sky Court] needed to coordinate with the townships and counties. The information on officials such as the [Field Clerk] and [Neighborhood Gatekeeper] should also be reported to their respective townships and counties in order to gain the approval of the Han court and receive certain benefits.
Lu Xiuxi's [Internal Affairs] is not yet unlocked, and his [Intelligence] is only level 11, which does not meet the requirements for [Field Manager]. Li Yu first appointed him as [Squad Leader] and "Oral [Neighborhood Manager]", and after he participates more in [Academy] affairs, his [Internal Affairs] is unlocked and he meets the requirements for [Neighborhood Manager], he will be promoted to a full-fledged position.
Magistrate Liang and his officials, both high and low, have already left, leaving only the [village assistant] of Moshang Township at [Giant Python Pavilion] to handle various matters related to [Sky Academy].
Li Hua, Li Min, and several others were assigned the positions of squad leader and platoon leader by Li Yu based on their [martial arts] and [intelligence] levels. Then, he dumped all the miscellaneous tasks, such as managing the [courtyard] and liaising with the [village officials], onto them.
The important matters are my responsibility; the minor matters are yours to handle.
Feeling relieved, Li Yu planned to leave. The newly appointed squad leader, Li Min, asked for instructions: the 10,000 jin of millet stored in Gansu County by her small team should be transported back, and how.
Li Yu flicked his hand—
Anything less than a thousand bushels of grain is a minor matter; do not seek him out. Instead, go and find the three hundred or so official members of the [Sky Academy].
Having said that, he led the donkey away.
In half a day, the players built several wooden houses in the [Sky Courtyard]. The largest one became the [Village Committee Office], and the rest were prepared to be used as a [Kindergarten], [Elementary School Classrooms], [Hospital], [Canteen], etc.
However, these self-built structures without [blueprints] are not recognized by the [system]. They cannot contribute to the [Sky Courtyard]'s attribute panel; instead, due to their poor spatial design, the [Traffic] attribute decreases by 1 point.
Outside the jurisdiction of [Sky Courtyard], Lu Xiuxi and others have roughly divided the area into several zones, including [Residence], [Trade], [Water Source], [Farmland], and [Searching for Relatives].
In the residential area, hundreds of shacks and dozens of wooden houses have already been built.
Li Yu looked up and saw retired old men gathering firewood to start a stove, company employees cooking porridge, schoolchildren chasing each other naked, and young men returning injured from leveling up in a game, greeted by women with tears in their eyes.
In the [trade zone], the [tofu pudding stall] was already set up. The shouts of vendors hawking their wares rang out again, along with—
"Building a Strong Foundation for Chinese Civilization, Jointly Building Tomorrow: Guo Xingyu's Han Dynasty Clerical Script Training Class Awaits You!"
Are you still troubled by your inability to communicate with NPCs? Are you still feeling intellectually deficient because you can't understand JianShu (a Chinese writing platform)? The third [Liang Erqun Classical Chinese Language Training Class] is now open!
"One-on-one tutoring, bilingual instruction in both Han Mandarin and Modern Standard Mandarin! Guaranteed to learn, money-back guarantee if you don't!"
"High-quality [Moonlight Scroll] for sale, trade only, not for sale, seeking only weapons!"
"Buying [fragments], [scrolls], [animal hides], [props]—get out of here, you middlemen!"
"Level 25 swordsman seeking a group [Tiger Hill Guild]".
"A paper donkey is being sold at the [Bat Cave], anyone want to join?"
"..."
Li Yu's journey was quite interesting, as he observed and explored along the way.
Among the bustling crowd of players, one can occasionally spot the local inhabitants.
Some curious players, curious about what [Sky Academy] was, came to watch; some were tempted by the various foods and utensils made by the players and planned to buy some to take home; some were even "paid" to work and teach in various training courses.
From afar, Li Yu spotted Wang Bin in the crowd.
His relationship with the players seemed to have improved considerably; he was surrounded by them, and his smile was somewhat reserved.
A player standing nearby was carrying several pieces of wood, it was unclear what he was going to do with them.
Li Yu shook his head.
This brother-in-law, please don't lead the players astray.
……
After leaving Sky Courtyard and Giant Python Pavilion, Li Yu went straight back to Chenwang Lane.
First, go home and enter [Fanghu].
[Ding Gu] was pulling a bone horse and practicing "how to quickly jump backwards" by the small pond.
Li Yu offered some pointers, and it almost fell into the pond.
Got it!
Li Yu turned and left.
After instructing [Snake Princess] to set up the cauldron and cook, Li Yu went to [Black Horse Ant Nest].
The Thirteen Ants have gone off to patrol somewhere.
[Xuan Jiu Ba Wu] was still pressed under the rocks, especially his big black buttocks, which were pressed down so tightly that even [Dui Dui] couldn't knock them.
Li Yu looked around before realizing that he had been so focused on taking a bath that he had forgotten to catch the fish fry.
After eating the porridge, Li Yu finished reading the Spring and Autumn Annals he had borrowed earlier, and carrying it along with his family's armor, went to the Wang family.
Wang Zhang had returned home, and upon seeing Li Yu, he couldn't help but ask about Wang Bin.
Li Yu recounted the scene he had witnessed to him and asked, "Is it still permissible for Brother Zijun to remain at [Sky Courtyard]?"
Wang Zhang said, "That unfilial son has little talent; in your [Sky Academy], he'll probably only cause trouble."
Li Yu smiled and said, "No."
In the eyes of today's players, [yellow-grade] soldiers are still a rarity, but if used properly, they can be quite useful.
Wang Zhang sighed and told Li Yu to keep a closer eye on things.
Li Yu agreed.
He returned the [family heirloom armor] with both hands. The steward accepted it. Wang Zhang remembered the [eyes of the Corpse-Swallowing Python] that Li Yu had pawned for a loan of 100,000 coins, and ordered the steward to fetch it and return it to Li Yu.
That 100,000 coins can be considered as Li Yu's "care fee," and it doesn't need to be repaid.
Li Yu thanked him and then went to his study.
Before he could even sit down, Little Sparrow came rushing over.
[Red Donkey Paper] has absorbed too much water and can't come out!