The shock Yecheng gave Fang Shuo went far beyond the cement building and glass windows of the registration desk.
Holding a wooden plaque inscribed with his name and a strange number, he followed the leader out of the cement building, finally catching his first real glimpse of Yecheng behind its towering city walls.
He froze in his tracks, unable to take a step forward.
As far as the eye could see, neat rows of houses lined both sides of the street.
Every single household had glass panes set into their window frames, reflecting the morning sun in a glittering, flowing sea of light.
The roads, paved with some unknown material, were spotlessly clean. There wasn't a single fallen leaf, a drop of dirty water, or any of the beggars that were so ubiquitous in Chaoyang City.
Pedestrians bustled to and fro. Though some were dressed better than others, everyone was, without exception, neat and presentable. Even the old man selling candied haws on the street corner didn't have a single patch on his clothes.
Restaurants, bookstores, tea houses... row after row of shops stood side by side.
The streets bustled with lively chatter.
Fang Shuo stared in a daze.
Was this supposed to be the impoverished Yecheng? Why did it look even more prosperous than Chaoyang City? No, even the imperial capital at the foot of the Emperor couldn't match a fraction of Yecheng's bustling vibrancy.
After all, even the imperial capital had beggars.
Yet Yecheng had none.
Was he dreaming?
Just then, a lively discussion nearby caught his attention.
Under an old scholar tree by the roadside, a dozen or so young men and women in student robes had gathered, debating something in loud voices.
A crowd of commoners had gathered around them to listen.
“I don't think the third clause of the new decrees issued by the governor's estate yesterday is fair,” a delicate-looking female student said, waving a sheet of paper in her hand. “The Divine Lady taught us that everyone is equal. If everyone is equal, why is land only distributed to the adult males of each household?”
“Exactly! We think it's unfair too,” a peasant woman chimed in naturally, as if discussing government policies was a daily habit. “If land is distributed based on the number of adult males, wouldn't someone like me with only three daughters suffer a huge loss?”
“Precisely!”
A male student beside her nodded. “We have already drafted a joint petition and will submit it to the governor's estate tomorrow.”
The gathered commoners wiped away tears, thanking the students. “Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, how would we simple farmers and peasant women ever know how to write such things?”
The students quickly moved to help up the commoners who had fallen to their knees.
“Please get up, everyone! Mr. Shen and Mr. Ye at our academy always teach us to use the knowledge we gain to help the people.”
“Besides, if our joint petition is adopted by the Governor, it will help us when we take our examinations at the governor's estate in the future. This is mutually beneficial.”
As the students departed, Fang Shuo couldn't help but step forward to stop a passing commoner, asking in a low voice, “Excuse me, brother, but if you do this, will the government actually listen to you?”
The commoner sized Fang Shuo up. Seeing his ragged clothes, he didn't show any disdain, instead grinning warmly. “First time in Yecheng, right? We people of Yecheng are all believers of the Divine Lady, and our rules are different from other places. Take the decrees from the governor's estate, for example—if the commoners feel a policy is inappropriate, they can submit a joint petition to voice their opinions.”
“If the suggestions are reasonable and benefit the people's livelihood, the governor's estate will not only adopt them but also reward us with silver!”
Fang Shuo felt as if he were listening to a fairy tale.
“How is that even possible? This goes completely against the Laws of Great Yong!”
He had never heard of such a thing. Ordinary commoners could actually submit a joint petition to force the governor's estate to alter its decrees?
In Chaoyang City, such a concept was utterly unthinkable.
Even after a long moment, he still couldn't wrap his head around it.
The commoner didn't seem surprised by his reaction. “The Divine Lady said the Yong Dynasty brought about its own ruin. We people of Yecheng stopped being subjects of the Yong Dynasty long ago. We are all subjects of the Divine Lady now!”
He patted Fang Shuo on the shoulder. “Work hard at the coal mine, young man. And don't forget to give thanks for the Divine Lady's grace in your heart at least three times a day.”
With that, he turned and walked away, shaking his head.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, “The Yong Dynasty oppressed and exploited the people for so many years. I don't know what's wrong with these outsiders, still clinging to it.”
Fang Shuo turned to his guard with a dazed expression.
“Ah... Ah Zheng, isn't this treason? Is that Divine Lady actually a rebel leader?”
Before the words had fully left his mouth—
Smack!
A bowl struck him squarely on the head.
A large lump instantly swelled on his forehead, and crushed ice mixed with some sticky, white, unidentified substance splattered across his face.
“Bad guy! You're not allowed to speak ill of the Divine Lady!”
A six- or seven-year-old boy rushed over, his chubby body blocking Fang Shuo's path.
He kicked hard at Fang Shuo's shin. The kick lacked strength, but the child's expression was incredibly fierce.
“I'm going to tell my dad to beat you to death!”
The boy's face was flushed red with anger as he delivered another kick.
Just as he was about to kick again, a large hand grabbed him by the collar. “You little brat, if I don't give you a thrashing for three days, you start looking for trouble. Who taught you to bully outsiders?”
Seeing the boy's father arrive, Fang Shuo felt as if he had found a savior and opened his mouth to complain.
However, the boy beat him to the punch, crying out, “Dad, this bad guy insulted the Divine Lady first! I heard him! He just called her a rebel leader. The teacher at school taught us that rebels are bad people with wicked intentions!”
The man let go of the boy, rolled up his sleeves, and marched toward Fang Shuo, raising a fist the size of a mallet.
“The Divine Lady's benevolence toward us mortals is as heavy as a mountain! How dare you show her disrespect and slander her? I'll thrash you within an inch of your life!”
Seeing that Fang Shuo was about to be beaten, Ah Zheng was just about to step in to protect his master when someone grabbed the man's arm.
It was the guide who was taking them to the coal mine.
The guide placated the angry man gently. “Take it easy, brother. They just arrived in Yecheng and don't know our rules yet.”
The man's fierce expression terrified Fang Shuo, who instinctively shrank behind Ah Zheng, quiet as a mouse.
“Fine.”
The man glared at him, warning, “Kid, you better remember this. If I ever hear you slandering the Divine Lady again, I'll beat you to a pulp even if it gets me thrown in jail!”
Only after the father and son had walked away did Fang Shuo peer out from behind Ah Zheng, wiping his face with trembling hands.
Wait, is this sweet?
He tentatively licked his fingers.
It really was sweet! In fact, it tasted exactly like the imperial tribute ice cream he had tasted once as a child!
Wasn't this a delicacy reserved solely for princes and nobles? How could an ordinary commoner in Yecheng afford to eat this?
And that little brat actually wasted it by throwing it at him?!
He remembered that one summer, his mother had brought him a single bowl of ice cream. He had taken one bite and fallen utterly in love with it.
If it wouldn't have melted, he would have hidden the bowl away to savor it as slowly as possible.
On a nearby rooftop.
Yun Shu and the little fox sat side by side, holding bowls of ice cream as they watched Fang Shuo below. His face was cycling through a colorful palette of emotions.
The little fox sighed with emotion. “Host, if only we needed faith points instead of Shock Value. The people of Yecheng and Xindu City alone would have maxed it out by now!”
It had realized that everyone in Xindu City and Yecheng, from the elderly to the very young, had become absolute die-hard fans of its host.
But that was only natural.
Who didn't want to live a good life?
Just like the fox itself—once it had tasted sweet ice cream, it had no desire to ever go back to eating those bland, dry pastries.
These commoners had suffered for so long. Now that they finally had a good life, they would only cherish it more, firmly dedicating their loyalty to Yun Shu, the one who had brought them this prosperity.
“System, it is not me they believe in,” Yun Shu said, a faint smile playing on her lips in the morning light. “It is the communism I have introduced to them.”
“The more they understand it, the more they support it.”
She gazed at the sun slowly rising on the horizon, its golden light washing over Yecheng's city walls inch by inch.
“This is the charm of communism.”
With that, she stood up.
“Let's go. To the coal mine.”
The girl and her system vanished from the rooftop.
From beginning to end, no one had noticed they were ever there.
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