Chapter 262: Side Story

Side Story: "Jia Lie the Puppet" (Part 1)

"Golden light shines, red light hides, everyone's love is in their hearts. Rain in the east, sun in the west, little puppet Jia Lie is busy." The little puppet, dressed in a neat and well-fitting outfit, walked in the large courtyard of the Craftsman God Church in Kendall City.

His father was currently discussing future promotional matters regarding the God-Bestowed Puppet with the Church Priests. Previously, at the Kendall City Harvest Festival, the God of Crafts had possessed a high-ranking Church Priest and had personally evaluated several artisan works offered up this year.

Among them, the most favorable outcome for the Kendall City Craftsman God Church was that the puppet work by the Carpenter Long De had been blessed by the deity with miraculous vitality and intelligence.

Although for the deity, it might have just been an occasional act of interest, for the Church, it was powerful proof that their Kendall parish was favored by the deity.

Although several other craftsmen also received guidance from the deity on the spot, for one thing, the deity's evaluation of one of them was relatively ordinary; although the Long Sword the other party forged was the greatest masterpiece in Kendall City to date, in the deity's assessment, it was still just a rather clever piece of work.

Therefore, this blacksmith had already received the Church's support and immediately left for the Province Capital to exchange knowledge and study. Of course, all the expenses for this exchange and study trip were covered by the Church. This was a direct decree from the deity; for a local church, that was a great piece of good fortune they could only dream of.

Churches in other regions could not even beg for such an opportunity to receive direct instructions from the deity.

Another Armor Craftsman was also a bit difficult to handle; for one thing, the other party was not a local, but a young Armor Master who had come to the area due to the employment of the Kendall Baron. Moreover, the deity's evaluation of him was not good, though a future direction was still provided. Due to the bad timing, Kendall's winter was not convenient for crossing the deity-guarded border between Humans and other races, so the other party was waiting for the right moment, waiting until after next spring to set off for the north to seek an opportunity to further his skills.

Of course, what excited everyone the most this year was the birth of that Heroic Artisan. Unfortunately, although this matter gave the Kendall Craftsman God Church a great deal of face, by this time that Heroic Artisan and his entire family had already been taken away by the Church Knight Order directly under the Craftsman God Church, who had arrived quickly. One could imagine that actual promotional and publicity matters were handled by higher-level or even several-levels-higher Church superiors.

In the future, people might only know that this craftsman, whose creations would influence the entire human world, came from a small, remote place called Kendall City.

As for the rest, it would have nothing to do with the Kendall City Craftsman God Church at all. Of course, the local Church leadership would naturally have a bright future for having cultivated and supported this Heroic Artisan, but it would not have much to do with the local Church as a whole.

So, in the end.

It was still only Jia Lie the puppet, who had received the deity's favor and blessing at the time, and its creator, the Carpenter Long De, who were now receiving strong support and promotion from the Church this year.

Their story would be turned into a tale, set to music and sung by a renowned Bard invited by the Church, so that more places would know about this matter, and know that Kendall City was a place favored by the God of Crafts.

Jia Lie the puppet, walking inside the Church building, was always surrounded by a circle of people; those people were sent by the Church to serve the little puppet, mainly out of fear that it might be hurt by the various small animals kept by the people in the city.

Although it was a God-Bestowed Puppet, the little puppet was, after all, just a finely crafted wooden work. It had only just received the deity's blessing and its Spirit was newly born; it did not know how to protect itself, so it needed people around to protect it from being damaged by small animals and children.

Little puppet Jia Lie was over fifty centimeters tall and very exquisite as a whole, with many movable mechanical joints inside, so when it ran in the Church's large courtyard, from a distance it really looked like a human child of a few years old.

Unlike a human child, because it was made of wood and had a lot of space inside its body, its weight was unexpectedly light. The little puppet, wearing exquisite clothes, especially liked to show off. At this moment, it ran onto a platform, dancing while opening its mouth to sing in a childish, little-kid voice.

The young Novice Priests watching over it all clapped happily.

"Wooden house, wooden horse, Jia Lie the wooden puppet boasts."

"Surrounded by brothers and sisters, praised and cared for, so happy."

"Father, Father, where are you, Jia Lie is singing and dancing."

"Dancing and singing, praised by others, but not as good as a word of praise from Father."

The young Priests around laughed and said one after another: "Little puppet, you're missing your father again."

Little puppet Jia Lie sat down on the platform and hummed a song with a smile. Seeing it quiet down, the young Priests found places to sit nearby and started chatting.

They only needed to protect the little puppet's safety within the Craftsman District; once outside, Carpenter Long De would naturally look after his proudest work.

Soon, Carpenter Long De and the Priests discussed some arrangements for future work and promotion. Due to the fact that Jia Lie the puppet was naturally loved by children, the Priests felt that having the carpenter and the puppet conduct promotion among the children in the city was the best approach.

The situation might not be obvious at first, but as time went on, through the stories of the puppet and the carpenter and personal contact, the children in the city would have an increasing inner inclination toward the profession of craftsman and the God of Crafts in the future.

When the time came, they would naturally lean toward the Craftsman God Church at various opportunities. The more young people who joined the Craftsman God Church, the fewer young people there would be for the Agricultural God Church, which competed with them to be the number one church in Kendall City.

Moreover, the land around Kendall City was limited. As the population increased, if the new generation of young people wanted a stable job, joining the Craftsman God Church would be the best choice in the future.

In addition, the friendship between the Craftsman God Church and the Kendall Baron family was very good; since the founding of Kendall City, it had always received strong support from them. And the Craftsman God Church had also always provided strong help to the Kendall Baron's rule.

Although the annual flooding around Kendall City resulted in a great deal of suitable farmland and fertile soil, which naturally gave the Agricultural God Church an advantageous position, making them the number one church in Kendall City year after year, their Craftsman God Church would not admit defeat. They would seize every opportunity to let more people join them, have Faith in the great and merciful God of Crafts, and become the number one church in the area.

Holding the light little puppet Jia Lie, Carpenter Long De said goodbye to the young Novice Priests who had been helping to watch over the puppet, and the two returned to their newly moved-into home.

Originally, Carpenter Long De and his family lived on the side of the Kendall City slums near the Craftsman District. Although it was a slum, Long De was actually not short of money. He was very skilled at making puppets, and the children of many wealthy Merchant families in the city liked the toy puppets he made, so he had always been well-off in terms of assets.

Living in the slums was mainly because it was close to the workshop in the Craftsman District where he worked, making it very convenient to travel back and forth. It was just that his wife didn't like it there very much, because it wasn't as if the family didn't have enough assets, so why not move to a decent house in the wealthy district?

The houses there were clean and spacious. Carpenter Long De and his wife had several children, and they really needed a larger place to raise those active and mischievous children.

Before, Long De could still put his wife off a little, but ever since the Harvest Festival, his puppet work had been blessed by the great God of Crafts and turned into a living, spiritual puppet. He had become a celebrity in Kendall City and definitely could not continue living in the slums.

And so, not long ago, the Church hired some people to help Carpenter Long De begin the big move for his family.

Their family moved from the wooden house in the slums facing the Craftsman District to a three-story brick house in the wealthy district. He had his own money, so he declined the Church's direct help, but because there were too many things in his private home workshop, he had to accept the help of the people the Church kindly hired to assist with the move.

His wife and children all liked the new home. He himself didn't have any particular feelings about it; his heart was only filled with various exquisite puppets, and where he lived didn't actually matter to him.

Carrying the little puppet on his head the whole way, amidst Jia Lie's giggles, they returned to the new home. His wife was preparing dinner, and all of Long De's children heard their father return and crowded around to be held.

In the past, the children didn't really want to be held by him; they preferred being held by their mother. When he wanted to hold them, the children would dislike him for being covered in wood shavings, complaining that he was prickly, and wouldn't let him hold them.

Ever since little puppet Jia Lie was blessed by the deity and joined his family, these little things of his also wanted to be held by him.

Putting down the little puppet, Long De picked up a boy and a girl, one in each arm, and his youngest son grabbed his neck from behind, clinging to his back.

The little puppet was led by the hand by his eldest son, and they went giggling to the dining room of the new home to help his wife cook.

"Oh my, why have you all come over, big and small? The kitchen is still a mess. Everyone stay in the dining room, dinner will be ready soon." Long De's wife was busy preparing dinner in a flurry, and now that so many people had flooded into the kitchen, it was even more chaotic.

Long De himself didn't know how to cook at all. His clever hands could make the most exquisite puppets, but he was completely helpless with a pile of food. Before he separated from his family, he always ate the food his mother cooked.

After marrying his wife and becoming a formal Craftsman, he separated from his family. For one thing, his status was higher than his older brother's, and for the sake of future family property inheritance, he had to separate. For another, his wife's family was also a decent local family, and he felt embarrassed to keep squeezing in with his family after marriage, so he moved out at that time, and later borrowed money from the Church to buy a wooden house in the slums near the Craftsman District.

Seeing his wife busy in the kitchen, and that the whole family, big and small, had to be fed by the food his wife made alone, Long De felt embarrassed and quickly asked his eldest son to go in and help his wife.

Never mind helping to cook, surely he could at least watch the fire on the stove, right?

His eldest son was already ten years old and stood as tall as the dining table. At this age, other people's children should have already been exposed to the preliminary skills and knowledge of farming and other work. Since their family was doing well, Long De planned to let his eldest son become an apprentice under other craftsmen when he was older. After all, the life of an apprentice was very hard, and Long De, having been through it, naturally didn't want his children to suffer the hardships he had once endured.

The eldest son, who had been playing with a wooden horse with Jia Lie the puppet, gave little puppet Jia Lie a triumphant look and said loudly: "I'll go help Mother watch the fire on the stove."

Little puppet Jia Lie knew that its brother was teasing it for not being able to touch even a bit of flame, because it was made of wood, so little puppet Jia Lie was also very distressed about not being able to help its mother.

It also wanted to go in and help its mother cook, make a fragrant dinner for everyone, and receive its father's praise and appreciation.

So, taking advantage of the time when its father was looking after his other brothers and sisters, the little puppet slipped into the kitchen with light, pattering footsteps.

Long De's wife, who was chopping tubers, took a piece of fat meat handed to her from the side. She was just about to slice the cured fat meat and put it into the pot to cook, when she turned her head and saw that the one handing her the food was the little puppet, who had delivered a large piece of fat meat to her by balancing it on its head.

"Why did you run in here!" Long De's wife screamed loudly. When she turned her head just now, she saw the little puppet, which wasn't even as tall as the cutting board, helping her pass ingredients, while her eldest son, who had been helping her, was watching the fire on the stove.

The attention of the whole family was drawn by this scream.

Seeing that the family was all looking at it, a smile appeared on the little puppet's wooden face:

"Mother, Mother is busy cooking, the little puppet comes to help a lot."

"Fat meat cut up and tossed in the pot, Potato and dried vegetables stewed in meat soup."

"Although fire is very dangerous, both people and puppets fear being scalded."

"Big brother does not fear the stove fire, the little puppet also wants to help."

Long De's wife looked troubled, and several other little ones were giggling and wanting to come over to help their mother cook. Knowing that this bunch of little ones would only cause trouble, Long De still brought them out one by one and firmly arranged them on wooden chairs, letting them stay quietly.

The little puppet was also shooed out; Long De's wife really dared not let this little puppet, who was afraid to touch fire, come in to help, so she had to let her husband keep an eye on the puppet.

As a result, in the end, only the eldest son helped her cook the meal.

The little puppet felt very regretful about not being able to help its mother, and when it was time to eat, the whole family began to eat after offering a Prayer to the God of Crafts. The little puppet, which did not need to eat, had no choice but to hold a small wooden spoon and an empty bowl, pretending to be eating together with them.

Long De saw the little puppet pretending to eat and looking very distressed. He thought for a moment and said to Jia Lie, the little puppet, that it could try making some fake wooden food; as long as it was painted, it would surely be exactly the same as real food.

Afterwards, when the whole family was eating, the little puppet could put those wooden foods into its mouth, letting the small wooden foods fall into the space inside its belly.

Hearing this idea from its father, the little puppet was very happy, and the other children also clamored for the little puppet's wooden food.

The little puppet happily danced on the chair:

"Whether the food is real or fake is not important, I know Father's love. Bread, meat chops, big fish soup, Mushroom and Bean roasted flying bird."

"Meat dog, meat pig, big meat cow, the crowing Rooster goes cluck-cluck."

"Pine nuts, acorns, and big Squirrel, made into a pot, the taste is wonderful."

"Barbecued or stewed jumping frog soup, fragrant and delicious, quack-quack."

Long De listened to the things the little puppet mentioned; although he had never eaten many of them, he wanted to eat them very much as soon as he heard about them. He looked at his wife, and his wife was also very troubled; she did not know how to make those things, and if Long De wanted to make all these things into wooden food shapes, he would have to eat them at least once. Although she was also a bit tempted by the food the little puppet mentioned, she hesitated a lot when she thought about how it would definitely cost a large sum of money.

In the end, amidst the noise of the children clamoring to eat the food the little puppet sang about, this boisterous dinner was finished.