Chapter 206: Temporary Worker Slots + 3
Shang Yue was thoroughly ashamed.
This was his fourth time coming here, but the only time he had done any proper work was yesterday.
To ask his benefactor for more supplies again was truly brazen and shameless.
However, Lu Bo and the two groups returning to their hometowns were about to set off, and they could not remain at the mine mountain for long either. To prevent a small remaining group of soldiers who had gone out to procure supplies from suddenly launching a counterattack, they had to retreat into the deep mountains as quickly as possible.
His face turned a dark red, filled with deep remorse. “Could our benefactor support us with some more supplies? After we make our way tonight and enter the mountains tomorrow, I will come to do labor and will definitely repay everything we owe one by one…”
As Shang Yue spoke, he felt that this was still inappropriate.
The supplies his benefactor gave were things he could never repay in this lifetime.
Because, by relying on these supplies, he and so many of his suffering brothers were able to survive.
Shang Yue wished he could pull out eight hands for himself so he could rush the work to repay the debt.
Jian Xingxia, on the other hand, did not dare to underestimate any of the temporary workers. After all, even the utterly useless scholar had given her a pleasant surprise yesterday. For someone like Shang Yue, it was already good enough that he could stay alive.
Shang Yue had arrived late; he cut a batch of bamboo, split the bamboo strips, and only worked for a little over two hours.
His wage was two yuan and fifty cents.
Jian Xingxia returned to the old house, heated up a few buns to fill Shang Yue’s stomach, and then gathered some razor blades, matches, and dried vegetables. She tied them securely into a tall bundle with straw rope and handed it over to Shang Yue.
“Your wages for today can only cover these things. You can’t take any more than this.”
Jian Xingxia was still feeling the sting of that one-thousand-yuan fine even now. Not counting this debt against Shang Yue’s head was already a testament to her benevolence and kindness.
Shang Yue, however, was moved to tears of gratitude. “Thank you for your assistance, benefactor!”
Traveling late at night, they very much needed these things for self-defense, hunting, striking fires, and illumination.
Jian Xingxia waved her hand, telling Shang Yue to leave quickly.
Right now, when she looked at Shang Yue, she just saw a giant walking one thousand yuan, which made her feel annoyed.
The most infuriating part was that this fellow had still not brought his job satisfaction score up to 95 points. It kept fluctuating day after day, hovering right around 50 points.
One look at the system’s inner voice interception revealed that this guy’s heart was still half wishing to live and half wishing to die.
He wasn’t all that much happier just because he had obtained a job; it was merely because his nature was pure and honest, making it impossible for him to watch everyone else die together.
Day after day, Jian Xingxia was utterly exhausted from all this, so she went back to sleep early as well.
……
The next morning, Jian Xingxia, who hadn’t harbored much hope, opened her virtual panel to take a look and was instantly dumbfounded.
[Detected Current Villa Reputation in another world +1, recorded.]
[Detected Current Villa Reputation in another world +3, recorded.]
[Detected Current Villa Reputation in another world +17, recorded.]
……
[Current Villa cumulative Reputation in other worlds has reached 100, rewarded Temporary Worker Slot * 1.]
[Current Villa cumulative Reputation in other worlds has reached 100, rewarded Temporary Worker Slot * 1.]
[Current Villa cumulative Reputation in other worlds has reached 100, rewarded Temporary Worker Slot * 1.]
The previous messages filled several entire pages, followed by three of the later notifications.
Watching the continuous stream of “Reputation +1” messages still popping up, Jian Xingxia felt her heart thumping wildly.
“What is going on here?”
Staring at the 300+ reputation messages, Jian Xingxia suddenly remembered the matter of the Long Life Tablets that Shang Yue had mentioned yesterday.
Could it be… because of the Long Life Tablets?
Jian Xingxia bounded out of bed with a loud thud, startling Da-hua into flapping its wings frantically.
Jian Xingxia hastily opened the window, letting Da-hua fly out through it.
While the other chickens, ducks, and geese lived in the pens at night or slept in the wild fields, only Da-hua—perhaps carrying the duty that came with the “Security Bundle”—insisted on sleeping in the room with Jian Xingxia.
Fortunately, Da-hua constantly basked in the sun during the day, so its body was warm, fragrant, and didn’t smell bad at all; it was also extraordinarily reassuring.
After letting Da-hua out, Jian Xingxia couldn’t help but spin around the room in her excitement.
“This is great, this is wonderful!”
She had temporary worker slots again!
She had been worrying recently because too many temporary workers were needed, there were so many tasks to handle, and having only two temporary worker slots a day simply wasn’t enough to schedule everyone.
Now, she suddenly had three more slots. Although they were only reward slots and not part of the base slots, it was still fantastic news.
Taking advantage of the time before opening for business, Jian Xingxia quickly called everyone over.
Lin Sanniang and Fatty Aunt went without saying; they were permanent employees. Lin Sanniang would come whenever she received a summons, while Fatty Aunt came before mealtimes and left after them.
With the 2 base temporary worker slots plus today’s 3 reward slots, Jian Xingxia could invite the whole gang over.
She called Da-hei and Shang Yue first.
She hadn’t invited Da-hei yesterday. Five days had passed on Da-hei’s side this time, and another batch of vegetables had matured, all of which he harvested and brought to Jian Xingxia.
Jian Xingxia also knew by now that if she let Da-hei sell them locally in the Great Yu Dynasty, he would refuse.
Only when Jian Xingxia accepted his vegetables would Da-hei be happy and feel at ease being “exiled,” and no strange thoughts would appear in his inner voice interceptions.
Shang Yue told Jian Xingxia that they had covered half the distance yesterday and were resting during the day to prevent being seen.
It was perfect timing for Shang Yue to come over during the day.
Hearing this, Jian Xingxia told him not to rush. “The work can always be finished. You should rest first; it won’t be too late to work after you’ve rested well.”
Shang Yue was grateful, but after sleeping for only an hour, he climbed back up to work.
His reason was that having worked in the mines for so long, he used to rest for only four hours a day, and he couldn’t even sleep comfortably back then, as he had to prevent rats and bedbugs from biting him.
Now inside the mountain villa, a thick straw mat was spread over the floor, and there was even a small blanket to cover himself with. The surroundings were incredibly safe, with only the sounds of Da-hei clearing the wilderness nearby.
Because Shang Yue was anxious to repay the kindness, he only slept for an hour, but he felt it was still more comfortable than when he used to sleep for four hours.
No matter what Jian Xingxia said, there was nothing she could do, so she ultimately gave up.
Everyone had their own path, and she couldn’t constantly act like a nagging nanny.
A-feng and Tao-ya arrived as well.
A-feng brought a new batch of bamboo wares and was highly looking forward to the mountain villa resuming business.
“Grandpa and Grandma said that after working at the mountain villa for three days, I’ve actually grown fatter! There’s even meat on my face now; Grandpa and Grandma are so happy!”
“The medicine I brought back is excellent too. Grandpa’s leg is much better; he can already walk on the ground using a crutch now.”
“The seeds I brought back are great as well. Grandma picked some to plant, and they’ve all sprouted!”
Tao-ya was even more delighted—only a few days had passed since her last visit, and the Villa Mistress Sister had called for her again.
Since Lin Sanniang had become a permanent employee, the Great Liang Dynasty now had an anchor for its time flow. Now, even if Jian Xingxia waited a few days before calling Tao-ya over, the time between the two worlds remained synchronized.
Therefore, from Tao-ya’s perspective, although the Villa Mistress Sister said several days had passed on the villa’s side before calling her again, for her, the waiting time was actually shorter than when the Villa Mistress Sister used to call her every other day in the past.
