Chapter 255: A New Look (Part 1)
A single sentence from World made Liu Sheng’s thoughts wander.
“There are other surprises.”
“Oh, World, why be so polite, preparing so much!” Liu Sheng said casually.
“Don’t you like it?” World seemed confused.
“…I like it. That was just a polite remark.”
“Oh, I don’t understand you humans. You want something but say you don’t, and you think you’re very impressive but say you’re trash like fish and shrimp.”
“It seems your study and understanding of human nature are still insufficient,” Liu Sheng said, shaking her head.
“First, follow me to the Divine Hall.”
Following World’s instructions, Liu Sheng brought Ling Xiaoshu into the Divine Hall.
As soon as they appeared, it immediately caused a sensation.
“Grand Divine Official!”
“The Grand Divine Official has come out of Cultivation!”
“Grand Divine Official! Long time no see!”
“Grand Divine Official, I heard you went into seclusion to Cultivate. Everyone has missed you terribly!”
Everyone devoutly bowed, and cheers rose and fell, spreading rapidly. Even many people in the city came to the temple just to catch a glimpse of the Grand Divine Official, who had not appeared for a long time.
Those Divine Officials who had been with Liu Sheng for a long time, such as Yanran Divine Official, Dawn Priest, and Shikang Divine Official, came forward with teary eyes, as if Liu Sheng were some kind of wicked woman who had abandoned them—no, a wicked Divine Official.
Liu Sheng quietly asked in her mind: “In their eyes, how long have I been gone?”
“A full year and more.”
Why so long?
Liu Sheng was surprised in her heart.
But she had no time to investigate, because the crowd surrounding her began to chatter, telling her about recent events: whose old hen laid eggs, how beautiful the new house built in the countryside was and they wanted to invite the Grand Divine Official to see it, and how the cooking oil in the canteen had been changed and wasn’t as tasty, and so on.
It was a chaotic mess. Finally, Liu Sheng couldn’t listen anymore, so she asked Dawn Priest to introduce everything to her one by one, while the others could only follow silently behind.
“Now the temple has been completely expanded, and even small temples have been built in three villages outside the city. This way, when the common people worship Earth Mother, they don’t necessarily have to come to the city, which is much more convenient.”
Coincidentally, the two stood before the god's face in the Divine Hall.
Liu Sheng looked up and found that the originally vague and featureless god's face had undergone many changes.
The blank god's face now had facial features, and her face somewhat resembled Liu Sheng. Her body was carved with many winding tentacles, and in the god's face’s hands, one hand held a ball, and the other held a tree.
Liu Sheng looked at the god's face, while others looked at her, then at the god's face, and all exclaimed: “The Grand Divine Official must be the Incarnation of Earth Mother, so strikingly similar.”
This made Liu Sheng a little embarrassed.
“Is this the surprise you gave me?” Liu Sheng asked World helplessly.
“Consider it one of the surprises. Do you like it?”
“…I like it.”
And Little Tentacle expressed particular fondness. With this god's face, it could clearly feel that the Power Of Faith it absorbed was purer and stronger.
Perhaps after absorbing several more “New World” years, it could advance again.
Afterward, Dawn Priest continued to lead Liu Sheng.
“By the way, what happened to the academy? It’s gone?” Liu Sheng asked.
At this moment, they walked towards the hall that was originally used as an academy in the temple.
In her memory, the hall had two large, open windows, making it spacious and bright, and one could hear the sound of reading as soon as they approached. Now, there was no sound of reading, no Xuezis, only rows of desks and chairs.
Dawn Priest explained: “The Xuezis in the academy will grow more and more numerous, and gradually it won’t be able to accommodate them all. Moreover, we found that it’s better to divide them by learning level for better individualized teaching. However, this means one hall isn’t enough, so we moved the academy outside the temple and built a separate academy.”
Liu Sheng nodded slightly, indicating that this consideration was indeed reasonable.
Upon hearing Liu Sheng’s praise, Dawn Priest’s face flushed, and she became even more excited.
“This hall is now exclusively used for activities, such as inviting physicians to teach the common people about health preservation and offering free clinics, or inviting artisans to teach those who want to learn a craft to make a living. Occasionally, elegant gatherings and social events are also held here, with all expenses covered by the temple, which is also considered a benevolent act for the people.”
Liu Sheng was a little surprised: “Is this your idea?”
Dawn Priest nodded somewhat shyly.
“Very insightful!”
Liu Sheng felt that she, as the Grand Divine Official, could almost retire behind the scenes. She hadn’t expected Dawn Priest to be such a talent, truly capable of great responsibility in the future!
“It’s also what you, Grand Divine Official, taught us. Our temple cannot be high above, waiting for the common people’s offerings. We must consider what the common people need; only then can they truly and sincerely believe in us and believe in Earth Mother,” Dawn Priest said earnestly.
Yanran Divine Official added from the side: “This year, Dawn has been very diligent, pondering day and night what the common people need, and asking around everywhere. Later, after holding several such beneficial activities, she found the effect was very good, and everyone liked them very much.”
“Yanran Divine Official too, thankfully she was here,” Dawn Priest rarely showed a gentle smile. “I cannot leave the temple, nor am I good at communicating with people. She helped me run around, communicating with the county yamen about building temples, repairing academies, and other matters, and she also helped me promote these affairs everywhere and recruit people.”
The two exchanged smiles, still holding Xiaoya’s hand together.
Liu Sheng nodded. With these two major left and right arms, her path to retirement and focusing on scientific research was not far off.
…
Leaving the temple, everyone excitedly suggested accompanying Liu Sheng to tour the city to see the changes, and then to the countryside to see the new look of the farmland. But Liu Sheng smiled and politely declined their kind offer.
“You all continue with your work. I’ll walk and observe.”
Having finally escaped the crowd’s encirclement, Liu Sheng remembered the question she had been holding in her heart.
“Speaking of the time flow rate…”
“I set it,” World admitted.
Liu Sheng then asked in surprise: “Are you saying that the time flow rate here can be adjusted?”
“Yes, in the New World, the time flow rate can be set by the creator.”
The creators, of course, were Liu Sheng and World, the ultimate authorities.
Liu Sheng’s heart filled with joy, thinking of all the things that could be done this way.
Thinking of this, Liu Sheng quickly realized.
“You accelerated time to… test your new algorithm!”
“Exactly. In the process of creating with the new algorithm, many settings and mechanisms need to be tested and verified. By accelerating the time flow rate, the verification cycle can be greatly shortened, quickly accumulating a large amount of data and experience, thereby rapidly discovering problems, verifying solutions, and continuously improving the design of the New World.”
World’s explanations were always such serious long-winded discourses, but thankfully Liu Sheng always liked such logical and clear texts.
So, when she had nothing to do, she would read journal articles and the like to relax. Once she read a well-organized, logically complete good article, it was like giving her brain a… to use a more fashionable term, a “massage.”
“Massage, this word originated from the federal language and has undergone variations through Chinese internet dissemination. Please do not use it in Tang Country.” The language-loving Liu Sheng popped out again, only to be slapped away by Liu Sheng.
She was still wondering if her preferences had been incorporated when World was programmed.
“That must be the case.”
World heard her thoughts and once again replied earnestly.
“Moreover, one is influenced by their surroundings.”
Little Tentacle also nodded silently. No wonder it liked reading more and more. It was forced at first, but now it couldn’t help it, how annoying!
“Next stop, the New Academy.”
Liu Sheng nodded; World’s arrangement was exactly what she wanted.