Gao Yiye said to Gao Sanwa, “Lift the sunshade just a little. Don’t pull it up too much. The Solar Vehicle goes faster the more sunlight it gets. I don’t want to end up like Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu—those fools crashed into a wall on their first drive.”

Gao Sanwa chuckled, “I don’t want to be a fool either. The Deity himself called them ‘two fools.’ Chuwu and Brother Daniu will never shake off that label now.”

Gao Yiye replied, “Exactly. Once labeled a fool, you’d have to pay double the bride price to find a wife.”

Gao Sanwa grinned, “Why pay a bride price? Wouldn’t it be better to keep the food for myself?”

Gao Yiye rolled her eyes. “What does a kid know? Alright, let’s go.”

Gao Sanwa gently lifted the sunshade just a crack.

Amid the severe drought, sunlight was never lacking. That cursed sun hung in the sky daily. As soon as the sunshade lifted, the Solar Vehicle gained power and slowly rolled forward.

The movement of the sun chariot was big news in Gaojia Village.

Villagers working in the autumn wheat fields turned to look. Labor offenders felling trees on the hillside, still crafting doors and furniture, also swiveled their heads.

Dozens of eyes locked onto the sun chariot.

They’d hoped to see whether the two fools would crash today, but instead spotted the Saint Lady in the driver’s seat, with Gao Sanwa controlling the sunlight behind her.

Villagers gasped, “Whoa! What’s happening? Isn’t Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu driving today?”

“Why is the Saint Lady operating it?”

“Sanwa’s up there too?” Gao San Niang scrambled onto the fortress wall, shouting, “Sanwa! What are you doing? Is this the Deity’s decree?”

Gao Sanwa panicked, “Shh! Shh! Mom, don’t yell! I’m supposed to be in class at the study well. If the teacher hears, he’ll know I skipped!”

His reply echoed back—now the whole village knew he’d ditched school.

Gao San Niang fumed, nostrils flaring. She grabbed a rattan stick and charged out from the Fortress.

“Yiye-jie, I need to speed up!” Gao Sanwa cried, “Mom’s coming!”

Gao Yiye laughed heartily, “I’ve learned how to steer. We can go faster now.”

“Great! Escape then!” Gao Sanwa pulled the sunshade higher. Solar Vehicle No. 1 whooshed forward, carrying Gao Yiye and Gao Sanwa onto the sole cement road outside the village, racing toward Zhengjia Village.

Gao San Niang couldn’t possibly catch up. She stomped her feet, screaming, “You’ll come home tonight! Just wait till I serve you bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat!”

Gao Sanwa yelled back, “Meat tonight? Wow! Awesome! Mom, wait for me to eat—don’t finish it!”

The whole village burst into laughter.

The vehicle raced down the cement road. Solar Vehicle No. 1 was the crudest prototype—no cabin, not even a windshield. As it accelerated, the headwind swept Gao Yiye’s long hair behind her.

A rush of exhilaration surged through her, tempting her to shout with joy.

Too long restrained!

Yet I’ve always been the most mischievous girl in Gaojia Village—hahaha!

Watching the girl speed along, Li Daoxuan’s heart swelled with contentment. A smile touched his lips. So it seems what I truly crave is others’ happiness—not their sorrow.

Perhaps saving others isn’t just about rescuing them. Maybe I’m also saving myself—trapped in endless, joyless, high-speed modern life.

Could my own happiness be included in the Rescue Index too?

Li Daoxuan took a bite of his Leshan skewered chicken. Whoa! Spicier than expected. Lost in deep thoughts earlier—had to stop. Overthinking risks diving into philosophy, and philosophy is a sure path to madness.

To maintain one’s mental health, it’s best not to dwell too deeply on any matter.

Eat a skewer!

Just as he stuffed a chicken gizzard skewer into his mouth, he suddenly noticed a group of shabbily dressed people walking along the official road. They were coming from the southwest direction, and that direction led to the county town.

Li Daoxuan thought to himself: Could it be that new craftsmen had arrived? Hey, when it came to craftsmen, more was definitely better.

However, he soon realized he was mistaken. These people were clearly not craftsmen. They walked up to the gate of Gaojia Fortress, and no craftsmen from inside the fortress came out to greet them, meaning there was no introducer.

The sentinel on the fortress wall immediately focused on them: “Halt! Who are you?”

Currently, Gaojia Village would not casually allow strangers into the fortress. Wandering around the village was fine, but entering the fortress was not allowed.

At the sentinel’s shout, the group immediately cowered into a frightened cluster and dared not move.

The one who seemed the youngest and bravest among them raised his hand and loudly said: “Excuse me, is this Li Family’s Fortress of Gaojia Village?”

Everyone in the village had long been instructed by Thirty-Two that when facing unfamiliar strangers, they should refer to it as Li Family’s Fortress. Therefore, the sentinel nodded and replied: “That’s right, this is Gaojia Village, Lord Li’s family fortress.”

The newly arrived group immediately got excited: “We finally arrived!”

“We found it, Gaojia Village’s Li Family Fortress.”

“Great!”

The sentinel sensed something unusual; he stared wide-eyed at the group, not daring to look away, while another sentinel quickly ran off and called Thirty-Two over.

Thirty-Two peered over the wall: “Who are you? What brings you here? I am the steward of the Li Family. You can say anything to me.”

The group of shabbily dressed people raised their heads and started babbling all at once: “We are from Cao Village, Shi Village, and Dai Village near the county town. We suffered from a drought disaster and had no food, so we went to the county town to beg. But the gruel provided by the county magistrate was too thin; it was just enough to prevent starvation, yet we still couldn’t eat our fill. We heard from a candy-selling gentleman that Lord Li of Gaojia Village is a kind-hearted family…”

Hearing this, Li Daoxuan thought: So they came to beg for food.

Thirty-Two had the same thought. He was about to have the idle helpers bring some food for the group when he heard them continue:

“The candy-selling gentleman said that in Gaojia Village, there’s a type of long-term laborer called ‘labor offenders.’ As long as we work hard, we can eat our fill every day. So we came here. Please, Steward, take us on as labor offenders.”

Li Daoxuan: “Pfft!”

Thirty-Two froze.

Clerk Tan Liwen beside him, the two sentinels, and several idle helpers couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

Seeing them laugh, the group below panicked, thinking they were being looked down upon by the Li Family’s servants.

“Lord Li might be a kind lord, but it’s easy to see the Yama Wang, yet the little demons are troublesome. Servants love to bully people; with them laughing like this, the job is probably doomed.”

The group hastily urged: “Steward, we work very efficiently and with all our strength. Whatever you assign us, we can get it done perfectly. How about letting us be ‘labor offenders’ for three days first as a trial? If you’re satisfied, then we can become long-term labor offenders.”

Li Daoxuan laughed so hard that the grilled chicken skewer fell out of his mouth, dirtying the floor. The mighty Deity, prostrating on the ground, used a paper napkin to wipe the floor, orz!