Zhou Zheng accepted the space ring with a cold expression, swept it with his divine sense, and found a mere twenty Open Heaven Pills inside. He let out a disdainful snort, tossed the space ring onto the ground, and flicked his sleeve. "No trouble at all. I'm leaving!"
Under normal circumstances, Zhou Zheng would have been happy to accept twenty pills as a tribute. But today was different — compared to the rewards Yang Kai had received, what were twenty Open Heaven Pills worth? They were nothing more than pocket change.
"Steward Zhou, Steward Zhou—" Old Fang hurriedly picked up the space ring and chased after him.
A good while passed before Old Fang finally returned, sighing and muttering. From the look on his face, it was clear things hadn't gone well.
When he got back, he found Yang Kai examining the Open Heaven Pills in the space ring, grinning so wide his mouth nearly reached his ears. Old Fang's frustration flared and he pointed at him. "You — why did you have to offend him for nothing? You could've just tossed him a few benefits just now and been done with it."
Yang Kai sneered. "If sending gifts earlier would have worked, I wouldn't have minded giving up a little something. But we both clearly sent generous gifts before, and he still stood by and watched us suffer. Why should I hand him any free benefits now?"
Old Fang stomped his foot. "He's the orchard steward, after all! Better to spend money to smooth things over than to cross him lightly. If he makes your life miserable down the road, can you handle that?"
"Whatever comes, I'll deal with it," Yang Kai scoffed. "He may be a steward, but he can't cover the sky with one hand. I may be a menial worker, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of him."
"Ugh!" Old Fang sighed. "What's done is done. No use talking about it now."
He sat down and had a drink. Seeing Yang Kai still grinning mischievously, he couldn't help but ask, "Just how much did the Venerable reward you this time? Why are you smiling like that?"
"See for yourself." Yang Kai tossed the space ring over.
Old Fang caught it, swept it with his divine sense, and gasped. "This much?"
Though he hadn't counted the exact figure, there had to be at least four or five thousand Open Heaven Pills in the ring! For a menial worker, that was an utterly staggering number.
He had expected the Venerable to be generous, but he hadn't anticipated anything close to this — a few hundred or a thousand pills would have already been extraordinary.
Yang Kai said, "Five thousand. Though I'm not sure whether Zhou Zheng skimmed any off the top."
Old Fang shook his head. "Unlikely. This came directly from the Venerable. A lowly orchard steward wouldn't dare tamper with it — if the Venerable found out, he wouldn't get off lightly. No wonder he turned up his nose at those twenty pills I offered earlier. So that's why…"
Yang Kai grinned. "Now you understand why I played dumb? If I'd split profits with him, how much would have been appropriate? With his appetite, anything less than a thousand pills wouldn't have satisfied him. Since he showed no mercy earlier, why should I hand him a thousand pills for free?"
Old Fang nodded. "Fair point. Give too little and he'd still hold a grudge; give too much and you'd be taking too big a loss. Better to just ignore him."
"Exactly!" Yang Kai took back the space ring and chuckled.
Old Fang was green with envy. Five thousand Open Heaven Pills handed over just like that — no menial worker in all of Seven Limbs Earth could compare. He'd seen workers who made the greatest contributions receive at most sixty-odd pills as a reward. Five thousand pills was enough for a menial worker to save up for several hundred or even a thousand years without spending a single coin. Adding Yang Kai's previous earnings, it was no exaggeration to say he was now the wealthiest menial worker in all of Seven Limbs Earth.
And how long had he been here? Less than three months!
"Old Fang, don't you think this reward is a bit much?" Yang Kai suddenly furrowed his brow. Although the fourth-grade Open Heaven material was worth a hundred and fifty thousand pills and Yang Kai had played a major role in acquiring it, such an extravagant reward was still somewhat surprising.
"Too much is a bad thing now?" Old Fang looked stunned. "First time I've heard anyone complain about getting too much. If you think it's too much, why not split half with me? I certainly wouldn't mind."
Yang Kai pretended not to hear.
Old Fang sighed again. "Still, with this happening, I'm afraid you won't be able to get away from this patch of land." As a menial worker, the ideal was to manage as many fruit trees as possible — that meant more supplementary income and more opportunities to earn merit.
Of all the menial workers in the Menial Quarters, not a single one complained about managing too large an orchard. They all wished theirs was bigger.
"Doesn't matter," Yang Kai said lightly with a chuckle. "I don't rely on it anyway."
Old Fang considered this and realized it made sense. Yang Kai had his own way of making money now, quite unlike an ordinary menial worker. The size of his orchard made no real difference to him — if anything, a smaller orchard meant less work and a more leisurely life.
In all his centuries of working here, this was the first time he'd seen anyone treat the menial worker's role with such ease and nonchalance. He couldn't help but be impressed.
The following days passed without incident. People kept coming by to sell Green Fire Silkworms to Old Fang, and Old Fang accepted them all, handing them over to Yang Kai to feed General Sichen, who in turn continued to produce Open Heaven Pills.
Old Fang walked around with a beaming smile every day. In all his centuries, he hadn't lived as comfortably as he had these past two months.
A few more days slipped by. Yang Kai was lying beneath a fruit tree, basking in the sun, when he suddenly opened his eyes and looked off in one direction.