Chapter 45: Heavenly Garment Workshop (1)

Early in the morning, Granny Hao’s family had not even finished eating the steamed buns they had been allotted before they hurried off in a panic to the foreman to look for work.

There were five people in Granny Hao’s family. The other four were Granny Hao’s son Hao Fugui, her daughter Hao Jinhua, her son-in-law Chen Dalang, and her granddaughter Hao Xiaobao.

Those chosen as human sacrifices had never been strong slaves to begin with, and among this batch of slaves, Granny Hao’s family could even be counted among the weakest.

Granny Hao was advanced in years and could no longer do hard labor. She could only do light work such as weaving rattan mats.

Hao Fugui’s body had been crippled long ago by his master’s household. He could not carry heavy loads or walk far, and after running for just a little while, he would be exhausted and panting.

Hao Jinhua had once been forced by a slave owner to bear children, ruining her health. Whenever the weather turned cold, her waist and back would ache. Only her son-in-law Chen Dalang was able-bodied, but unfortunately, he was short, sallow, and thin, with less strength than Granny Hao.

As for her granddaughter Hao Xiaobao, she was only eight years old, so there was no need to mention her.

If it had been anyone else, they might have tried all sorts of ways to avoid heavy work, but Granny Hao’s family was not like that. They were people accustomed to hardship. They would rather be harsh on their own bodies if it meant earning a little more silver and grain.

These past few days, they had heard the slaves who arrived earlier talk about how hard they had worked and how they had saved up for a house. Inevitably, that idea had taken root in their hearts too.

They were old or useless, but their granddaughter was still so young, with her whole future ahead of her. It did not matter if they were a little more tired or suffered a little more now. As long as they could save up for a house in Zhaoge, even if it was a smaller one, their Xiaobao would not only have a place to stand on her own in the future, but they would also have a place of their own to grow old in. How wonderful that would be!

Once they started working, they worked until it was nearly noon.

There was no extra land left inside the valley, so they were now doing construction outside it. The sun in the desert was vicious, but fortunately, after the spiritual vein was installed, Zhaoge’s flowers, grass, and trees grew extremely fast. Every day when people got up, the grass had to be cut once, and the trees also shot up by a large stretch each day. The fastest-growing tree had already spread out a wide canopy of shade. There was also a lake not far away. Granny Hao and a group of old, weak, women, and children sat beneath that shade, weaving rattan mats while chatting about household matters.

Granny Hao had little experience, but she had still lived through more than half her life. On the first day she came to work, she already knew that the standout figure here was that old woman surnamed Cai.

Granny Cai was about the same age as Granny Hao. Her family also had old ones and young ones, and their household had three fewer people than Granny Hao’s! But they were lucky. They had entered Zhaoge early. Now, she and her granddaughter not only had a house in Zhaoge’s inner valley, they had even started a business making straw rain capes. It was said that during the earlier stretch of heavy rain, her family had made quite a bit of money!

Granny Cai was a decent person. Although she had arrived earlier than them, she did not look down on them. It was just that sometimes she liked to show off. “It hasn’t rained these past few days, but our Nannan is still at home making straw rain capes. Nothing to be done about it. There are still a few rain capes ordered by several stewards that haven’t been finished yet! If Steward Lu hadn’t said they were short on people and asked me to come teach you all, I wouldn’t have been able to leave the house right now. My family used to come from the same background as yours, so I’m happy to do these good deeds too. It’s just that Steward Lu is too polite. He said he couldn’t let me work for nothing, and when I go back, he’ll choose a few good strips of cured meat and send them to my house.”

Everyone gathered here was a newly arrived slave. Although Zhaoge distributed food every day, it was all steamed buns and rice porridge. There was no rich meat or fish. Hearing the words cured meat, they could not help swallowing. So someone nearby quickly began currying favor with her. “Granny Cai, your family’s business is doing so well, yet you still took time to teach us. That’s accumulating merit! Your family will definitely have good days ahead!”

Seeing this, Granny Hao also hurriedly racked her brains and said a few nice words.

Granny Cai smiled from ear to ear. After all, who did not like hearing good things? Since she was in a good mood, she was even more willing to teach these newcomers.

“If we’re talking about Zhaoge, the ones that can really make money are still the Artifact Refining Workshop and the Medical Workshop. But there are now more than ten thousand people in the valley. Just food alone burns through quite a lot of silver every day. No matter how much money the Artifact Refining Workshop and Medical Workshop can make, they still can’t support this many people. The fact that each of us can fill our bellies now is all thanks to the master paying out of his own pocket to subsidize us.”

Granny Hao joined the others in showing gratitude. They were genuinely grateful. With their old masters, it had already been a blessing from the heavens if they were not treated like livestock. But their new master treated them as human beings and even supported them. They could not say any other auspicious words, so they could only press their palms together and bow to the heavens, praying that their new master would live forever and always be their master.

Granny Cai had not finished speaking yet. Now that Zhaoge did not lack water, she liked talking even more. When she got tired of talking, she drank a mouthful of water drawn from the well. This water was sweet!

“You all have to remember what I’m telling you! There are more people here now, and the stewards are afraid they won’t be able to manage everyone properly, so the requirements are stricter than before. Anyone who slacks off or plays tricks will be driven out.” Seeing that they were listening seriously, Granny Cai continued, “You all know what jobs are available in the valley now. Light labor like ours, carrying water and weaving mats every day, only earns three meals and three copper coins.”

She reached out and pointed toward the bustling construction site in the distance. “Over there, those doing heavy labor get ten extra copper coins on top of three meals a day! And then over there…”

Granny Cai pointed even farther away, where people were reclaiming land. “The stewards said that area will be marked out as fields for growing medicinal herbs. If it succeeds, the Medical Workshop won’t need to go outside to gather herbs in the future.”

Someone asked, “Then what will happen to the original herb-gathering children?” This woman’s son had only been selected yesterday to be an herb-gathering child, and she had been delighted about it. Now that she suddenly heard this, her face went a little pale.

Granny Cai waved her hand. “Even without herb-gathering children, they’ll still need apprentices to process medicinal ingredients. Don’t worry. Since your child has become an herb-gathering child, once he becomes familiar with medicinal herbs, he won’t lack work in the future.”

Only then did the woman smile.

Granny Cai looked left and right. Remembering something, she said again, “Someone has already taught you where dirty water should be drained, right? I’ll remind you again now. The master of our Zhaoge loves cleanliness, and the stewards are watching too. If they see anyone’s family pouring dirty water outside, throwing filth outside, or even letting their little children relieve themselves outside and ruin our Zhaoge’s cleanliness, the stewards won’t let it go lightly.”

Granny Hao suddenly remembered that she had spat at her doorway last night. Her heart immediately tightened, and she carefully asked, “How will the stewards punish it?”

“Punish?” Granny Cai snorted. “The stewards patrol every day. If they see it the first time, they won’t say anything. They’ll only write it down in the register. But if they see the person do it three times, that person will be chased out and sent back wherever they came from. Don’t count on luck either. The master of our Zhaoge is a Golden Core Perfected One. If his elder self wants to see what every person here does each day, no one can escape his notice.”

Granny Hao’s face went pale with panic. Just as she was worrying that the spit she had spat yesterday had already made Zhaoge’s master dislike her, she heard Granny Cai continue, “But you don’t need to worry too much either. Chief Steward Qiu said that the master understands we used to be slaves and don’t understand civilization, so we need to be educated. As long as we carefully follow the rules from now on and no longer do such uncivilized things, then after one year, that original mark in the register will naturally be erased.”

Only then did Granny Hao let out a long breath. Her heart was filled with boundless relief, and she murmured several times that once she went back, she must warn her family members and teach everyone at home to be that thing… civilized, civilized!

While Granny Hao was muttering to herself, the sound of a gong rang out in the distance. The stewards were distributing the meal.

Everyone got up one after another and lined up to receive food. Now that Zhaoge was building a city, the amount of work was large and would take a long time, so communal cauldrons had been set up again.

For Granny Hao’s family, mealtime was the only time all day when they could gather together.

Her granddaughter Xiaobao was helping Lanlan hand out bowls and serve food. When she saw her grandmother, she gave a sweet smile, revealing a mouth with missing front teeth.

Before long, the family had gathered, but her son Hao Fugui was still slow to arrive. Her daughter Hao Jinhua worriedly said, “Don’t tell me he worked so hard he forgot the time?”

Her son-in-law Chen Dalang kept his head down, shoveling rice into his mouth. Smacking his lips, he said, “What’s there to worry about? Could thieves rob him here?”

As they were speaking, someone suddenly ran over and shouted, “Hao Fugui’s family, hurry over! Hao Fugui fainted!”

…

Someone had actually worked at the construction site until he fainted! This matter quickly drew attention inside Zhaoge. When Chief Steward Qiu Ping’an personally hurried over to look, the man had already been carried into a ward in the Medical Workshop.

There was not yet a resident doctor inside the Medical Workshop, so Old Uncle Fan, who ran a small clinic in the valley, was invited over to examine him. Hao Fugui’s family stood anxiously at the side.

Once Old Uncle Fan finished his examination, Qiu Ping’an hurriedly asked, “What happened to him?”

In fact, on the day this batch of slaves was sent in, Old Uncle Fan had already helped examine them one by one. But with so many people, how could he possibly take each person’s pulse and diagnose them carefully? At the time, he had merely checked whether they had any external injuries. As for poor complexions and weak bodies… every slave was like that, so Old Uncle Fan had not paid close attention.

Now that he had examined this patient, Old Uncle Fan could not help getting angry. “This man suffered internal injuries in his early years and never recovered properly. His body already showed signs of illness. Not only did he fail to rest and recuperate properly, he even forced himself to do heavy labor. If he didn’t faint, who would?”

As he spoke, he had a medicine boy dissolve a packet of Qi-Replenishing Powder in warm water and feed it to him. After Hao Fugui woke up, Old Uncle Fan scolded him harshly from the first word.

As a doctor, what Old Uncle Fan could not bear most was people ruining their own bodies.

However, whether it was Hao Fugui or his family, they could only smile bitterly. Hao Fugui said weakly, “It was always like this before. I just thought I could tough it out and it would pass. Next time, I definitely won’t faint.”

Old Uncle Fan rolled his eyes at that. He was unwilling to speak to this patient any longer and said to Qiu Ping’an, “This man’s body is too weak and can’t withstand the strength of medicine. He can’t even take too much Qi-Replenishing Powder. He still needs to drink medicinal decoctions and slowly recuperate.”

Qiu Ping’an listened carefully, then said, “Uncle Fan, why don’t you come to the Medical Workshop and see patients here? Look, it really won’t do without a doctor!”

Old Uncle Fan shook his head repeatedly. Because his daughter Fan Huilan was working for the Immortal Master, he was also somewhat familiar with the situation in the Medical Workshop. He said, “I haven’t even reached the third level of Qi Refining, and my medical skills are average. How could I be qualified to be the doctor here? Trading companies come and go. If people saw, wouldn’t they laugh? Once you recruit a good doctor, it would be more suitable for me to come over and lend a hand.”

Besides, there were so many people in Zhaoge now, but he was the only doctor. He was so busy seeing patients at home every day that he had no spare time to come to the Medical Workshop. He only hoped the chief steward could recruit a few more doctors to lessen his burden.

After sending off Old Uncle Fan, Qiu Ping’an turned to face Granny Hao’s family, and his expression darkened. After serving as steward for so long and managing the everyday affairs of more than ten thousand people in the valley, Qiu Ping’an now carried a certain presence. When his face darkened, he was especially frightening.

He pointed at Granny Hao’s family and said, “You’re called Hao Fugui, right? From now on, you don’t need to go to the construction site. Slowly recuperate first… Hao Jinhua, you don’t need to carry sand either. Go to the Medical Workshop and help wash medicinal ingredients…”

Qiu Ping’an gave a series of instructions, arranging lighter jobs for this family.

Hao Fugui hurriedly rolled off the bed, saying that he did not need to recuperate and could continue working after a short rest. Hao Jinhua also said that she still wanted to go back and carry sand.

Qiu Ping’an waved his hand. “There’s no need to be afraid. Our Zhaoge has a Poverty Relief Office. As long as it confirms that disability, illness, or weakness is real, the Medical Workshop will issue extra medicinal ingredients to help with recuperation. Jobs can also be assigned to lighter work first. The wages will only be two copper coins lower than heavy labor, until your bodies recover.”

As long as one kept a healthy body, there was no fear of not making money. Even slaves understood this principle. Even if the money was less, if they could nurse their bodies back to health, that would still be a great gain!

Granny Hao’s family had been working so hard partly because they wanted to earn a house, and partly because they were terrified of being driven out of Zhaoge. They had never imagined this place would treat them so well. For a moment, they all froze. Only after a good long while did they come back to their senses, kneel on the ground, and thank him over and over.

Qiu Ping’an avoided their kneeling bows and pointed toward the small residence. “If you want to kneel, kneel toward there. Without the employer’s approval, I couldn’t make this decision either.”

Granny Hao’s family hurriedly knelt and gave thanks toward the small residence.

Seeing them like this, Qiu Ping’an also felt somewhat emotional.

This sort of situation had not appeared among the first batch of slaves who came to Zhaoge. After all, Zhaoge had nothing at the time. Although the slaves were somewhat uneasy, they had not been this terrified. But the timing of the second batch of slaves’ arrival was a bit too coincidental. On the first day, they saw the neat and orderly beautiful houses inside the valley. On the second day, the employer brought in a spiritual vein, completely transforming Zhaoge.

With the spiritual vein, Zhaoge immediately became an oasis yearned for by everyone. Every day, who knew how many practitioners fought tooth and nail to get in. There were no small number of people like Granny Hao’s family, terrified and afraid of being driven out.

“We still have to recruit a few more people. It would be best to explain the rules again in batches. Many people are illiterate and have poor memories. We have to break it down and explain it to them…” Qiu Ping’an noted the matter down and soon went off to busy himself with something else.

Not long after Granny Hao’s family left, Liang Maocai limped into the Medical Workshop.

He found Shi Dahai, who was sorting medicinal ingredients, and spoke to him quietly for a while. At first, Shi Dahai was still very pleasant, but as he listened, his expression changed. “What do you mean?”

Liang Maocai had no choice but to say it again. “I just saw that an extra Heavenly Garment Workshop appeared beside the Artifact Refining Workshop. I heard they’re short on people. Can you help me out? I promise, as long as I get this job, there’ll definitely be benefits for you in the future.”

Shi Dahai refused him directly. “Brother Maocai, I’m telling you the truth only because we used to know each other. If you want to enter the Heavenly Garment Workshop, you aren’t qualified.”

Liang Maocai could not help getting anxious. “I’m capable enough to be a clerk under Ma Sishi, so how am I not qualified to enter the Heavenly Garment Workshop?” Today, Liang Maocai had personally witnessed the scene of the Heavenly Garment Workshop rising from the ground. His heart was filled with endless yearning. He also knew that since the Heavenly Garment Workshop had only just been built, it must be short on manpower. That was why he came to Shi Dahai, hoping to use this old acquaintance’s connection to enter the Heavenly Garment Workshop.

He believed he had seen things clearly. In the past, Shi Dahai had only been a slave. Now he had a position in the Medical Workshop, with generous wages and respect from others. Ma Hongxuan, Lu Wuxing, and the others had once been nothing more than odd-job workers, but now they were not only stewards of Zhaoge, they also had bright prospects in cultivation. It was said that they could receive three spirit stones every month. If he could enter the Heavenly Garment Workshop, he would eventually have a chance to meet that Immortal Master. In the future, maybe Shi Dahai would have to come begging him instead!

But Shi Dahai said, “I heard Chief Steward say that the employer values the Heavenly Garment Workshop very highly. Anyone who wants to enter must be above the third level of Qi Refining. Besides, you were able to work under Ma Sishi because the Poverty Relief Office gave you extra consideration. Otherwise, with so many practitioners outside fighting to get in, this position wouldn’t have fallen to you. Also, we in Zhaoge don’t encourage crooked practices like looking for back doors and climbing connections.”

After saying this, Shi Dahai ignored whatever expression Liang Maocai had, lifted a basket of medicinal ingredients, and left.

In the past, he had respected Liang Maocai very much. He felt that this older brother, who was a few years older than him, could read, was smart, and had strong opinions. He was much better than Shi Dahai. But now, looking at him, this Brother Liang had a little too many strong opinions. And it seemed he was not as good as Shi Dahai remembered.

So when Chief Steward said people could change, this was the state of mind he meant!

Shi Dahai thought to himself: I seem to have become smarter than Liang Maocai now!

He was in an excellent mood. He worked even more seriously and even received praise from the Left Envoy of the Xuanyuan Guard, leaving him utterly delighted.

…

Chi Yixuan was also utterly delighted at this moment.

After planting the spiritual vein, Zhaoge’s spiritual qi had flourished. The nourishment brought by the omnipresent spiritual qi affected every aspect of the land, and even the soil had changed somewhat. The life-bound artifact said that if the spiritual vein contained an earth spirit, Zhaoge’s soil could become even better. Chi Yixuan could not imagine how much better it could become. He felt that Zhaoge’s current soil was already very fertile.

As the master of the spiritual vein, he had become more and more familiar with it, and his control over the spiritual vein had grown increasingly effortless. He controlled the spiritual vein and infused spiritual qi into the area planned as farmland. The soil there gradually changed. He also ordered people to build surrounding walls, then construct houses and drying grounds beside it. Just like that, a stretch of spiritual fields that could be used to plant spiritual grasses and spiritual herbs was born.

Congratulations. Your territory now possesses its first batch of yellow-grade spiritual fields. You have obtained five thousand points.

Chi Yixuan had gradually worked out the pattern. Although the spiritual fields had not been unlocked in the game, their function was roughly the same as the Medical Workshop and Artifact Refining Workshop. They could also produce products above yellow-grade and bring long-term development to Zhaoge, so the reward was likewise five thousand points.

As for civilian medical clinics, restaurants, and the like, although they could provide convenience to Zhaoge’s citizens, promote Zhaoge’s commercial development, and benefit Zhaoge as a whole, they could not produce anything above yellow-grade, so they only rewarded one thousand points.

He had just finished inspecting the spiritual fields, then went to look at the construction site. Seeing that the nursery and other buildings that would be able to bring him points in the future were under vigorous construction just like the city walls, he turned and went to look at the newly built Heavenly Garment Workshop.

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