Chapter 96: Ning Yuchan's Request and the Petty Old Qi (Seeking Subscriptions)

When Xu Jin arrived at the newly purchased residence, his younger sister Jiang Er and his father Xu Dajiang were sweeping up fallen leaves. His father was fine, but his younger sister Jiang Er seemed to have been working for quite a while; her small face was flushed red from exhaustion, and her bangs were dampened by sweat.

"Dad, let's hire two servants and a cook today," Xu Jin said.

This two-courtyard residence, including the rooms and the front and back courtyards, was over a thousand square meters. If they relied on little Jiang Er and his father, they wouldn't have to do anything all day; just doing the cleaning would be enough.

As Xu Jin expected, as soon as his words fell, his father Xu Dajiang directly opposed it. "How can that be? You have to pay at least two taels of silver a month, and you have to provide meals. With that silver, we can save it for you to marry a wife, and we also need to save a dowry for Jiang Er.

We have hands and feet; we don't need to hire servants."

"Dad, then in a few days when my colleagues come, should I let them help clean the house?"

"Also, when they come, there will be at least seven or eight people, and at most twenty or thirty. Should we just call a restaurant to send over a banquet when the time comes?"

Xu Dajiang: "..."

Xu Jin's words left Xu Dajiang stunned on the spot; this was indeed a big problem.

"Dad, Jiang Er will be fifteen years old after August. I plan to let Jiang Er sign up for the August Star-Pointing Season to see if she can cultivate. So, for the next month or so, I'm preparing to hire a female tutor for Jiang Er to continue teaching her to read and write.

To cultivate, one cannot be illiterate.

So we still have to hire a servant and a cook," Xu Jin said.

"This..." Xu Dajiang was still a bit hesitant, for one reason: he was used to frugality and felt the pain of spending silver.

"Dad, not to mention my monthly salary, now we can collect 70 to 80 taels of rent every month. And if Jiang Er succeeds in star-pointing, she will also have a monthly salary."

Xu Jin's words successfully convinced Xu Dajiang.

Seventy or eighty taels a month; taking out ten taels for hiring expenses still left them with 60 or 70 taels to save, which was also okay.

"Good, then I'll go hire two people this afternoon. Sigh, it's my fault; I forgot that you are already an official," Xu Dajiang blamed himself.

Xu Jin smiled.

Although he could decide these things in one word, he ultimately had to convince his father. Now that earning silver was easy, but when they were poor before, that silver, the silver for star-pointing and medical treatment, was all squeezed out by his father Xu Dajiang bit by bit, from every small place, through frugality.

Who dared to say frugality was bad?

"Jiang Er, have you prepared the things I asked you to prepare?" Xu Jin asked.

"Brother, I already prepared them yesterday, but Dad..."

Very quickly, Xu Jin arrived at the side room where the things were piled, only to see the floor filled with packaged gifts.

"Isn't this too many?"

"Brother, Dad asked me to buy them, saying I should buy four portions."

Xu Jin had previously thought about buying some gifts when he went to see Ning Yuchan this time.

He had to thank Ning Yuchan.

If it weren't for Ning Yuchan's intervention, it was uncertain whether Jiang Er could have been saved intact.

He didn't expect to buy so many; they filled an entire room.

Wouldn't this require a cart to pull?

Sending gifts by cart was not only flashy, but Ning Yuchan definitely wouldn't want them.

Xu Jin looked at his father with great surprise; he had been so stingy before, but now he was so generous.

"Dad, why buy four portions?"

"Didn't you say that those who participated in the rescue also included the Academy Head, the Proctor, and the Commandant? Plus your teacher, shouldn't you prepare four portions?"

"No, Dad, how could the Academy Head and the others look down upon these three melons and two dates of mine?"

Slap!

Without any hesitation, Xu Dajiang slapped Xu Jin on the back of the head.

"You brat, you don't know anything. The village head of our Xu family village is rich enough, right? I sent a chicken, and his face smiled like a chicken's butt." Speaking of this, his father Xu Dajiang's tone changed. "Jin'er, your Academy Head has his own, but what you send, no matter how much, is your heart.

You don't ask them to remember your good, just don't call you an ungrateful wretch. After all, they saved your sister, right?"

Suddenly, it was as if a bolt of lightning flashed through Xu Jin's mind; some things from his previous life were suddenly understood.

Why was there a senior student who had no strength in terms of real ability, no technology in terms of technique, and no diligence in terms of hard work, but in the end, was the most valued and helped by the mentor, and even personally recommended to publish a paper and participate in projects, living a life of constant success?

At that time, Xu Jin got up earlier than a chicken and slept later than a dog in the laboratory every day, doing all kinds of experimental data until he was exhausted, and in the end, he was just average under the mentor.

At that time, he was truly stupid.

When he went home for the Spring Festival, his parents asked him to bring some local chicken and mountain pork for the mentor, but he shook his head like a rattle, saying the mentor's income was over ten million a year and he didn't lack those things.

The mentor didn't lack those three melons and two dates of his, but he lacked that heart.

That senior student who was valued by the mentor was said to have even stayed up all night to serve the mentor when the mentor's father was hospitalized...

Only until this moment did Xu Jin understand this principle.

Big figures don't lack your gifts, but they lack your heart.

"Dad, I understand."

Subsequently, Xu Jin picked up a carrying pole himself, loaded with more than a dozen gifts carefully selected by his father, and headed straight for the Academy Head's residence. The things were not expensive, thirty or forty taels of silver, but they were heavy in heart.

"Eh, Xu Jin is here?"

"Coming is coming, why bring gifts?" The servant in Academy Head Dong Zhao's courtyard welcomed Xu Jin in.

"Academy Head, if it weren't for your intervention that day, my sister would probably not have been saved. My father didn't dare to see you, but he insisted that I come to express his gratitude," Xu Jin said.

Hearing this, Academy Head Dong Zhao laughed. "This is my duty; what is there to thank? When you have time, invite your father to my small courtyard for tea."

"Hmm? You've broken through to the sixth layer of Meal of Mist?" Suddenly, Academy Head Dong Zhao's expression changed slightly.

"I remember you pointed stars for eighty-three days? Breaking through to the sixth layer of Meal of Mist so quickly, could it be that you successfully engraved the Great Gathering Star Pattern?" Academy Head Dong Zhao suddenly realized something.

"Replying to the Academy Head, I successfully engraved it and broke through last night."

"Hmm?"

Dong Zhao nodded, then waved his hand. "Go. I have accepted your heart. Cultivate well; the Autumn Exam is imminent, and I hope to see your performance."

Xu Jin left.

Subsequently, he followed the same method and went to Commandant Tian Zhang's house.

Regarding Xu Jin's heart, Tian Zhang did not refuse and encouraged him again.

"By the way, regarding your participation in the suppression of the Baidou Divine Sect this time, the National Academy has already calculated the merits; you have been recorded with two great merits!

According to the rules, with two great merits, you, this Star Patrol Guard Captain, can be promoted to Deputy Banner Master.

However, the minimum cultivation requirement for you to be a Deputy Banner Master is the Star Forging Realm.

I have already made a note; once you forge a star, you will be promoted to Deputy Banner Master of the Star Patrol Guard," Tian Zhang said.

This news obtained from Tian Zhang made Xu Jin quite happy.

He was promoted again, but he had to wait until he broke through to the Star Forging Realm to be promoted, and it was still a Deputy Banner Master.

A Deputy Banner Master was a subordinate official of the Banner Master, with treatment one level higher than a Captain and one level lower than a Banner Master. Xu Jin only knew that the monthly salary of a Deputy Banner Master was 100 taels of silver.

Just this point alone was worth being happy about.

Star Forging shouldn't be far away, right?

Then in a month or two, Xu Jin's fixed monthly salary income could increase by another double to 100 taels.

Subsequently, Xu Jin went to see Proctor Cao Chun. Cao Chun, who usually had a straight face, showed a faint smile when he saw Xu Jin. Similarly, he also discovered Xu Jin's cultivation problem.

In addition to surprise, there was another round of encouragement.

Finally, Xu Jin carried the gifts to see Ning Yuchan, but Jiang Er had put the most thought into Ning Yuchan's gifts.

She even packed many snacks; there were more than a dozen kinds of melon seeds, candied fruits, and dried fruits.

Xu Jin felt this was inappropriate, but Jiang Er said that Teacher Yuchan was only twenty-something years old; wasn't it normal to eat some snacks?

"What are you doing? I am your teacher; solving problems for students is my duty as a teacher. Why send gifts?" Among the four people he sent gifts to, Ning Yuchan had the biggest temper; she almost scolded Xu Jin.

After experiencing the training, Xu Jin had grown again.

"You solving problems for students is a teacher's duty, but I, this student, sending a little heart to the teacher to thank her for her teaching grace, is also normal."

"Glib-tongued! With this time, it would be better to break through to the sixth layer of Meal of Mist earlier. You must know that the sixth layer of Meal of Mist is a very important..."

Ning Yuchan glared at Xu Jin. She was just lecturing Xu Jin when suddenly her apricot eyes widened, and a pair of apricot eyes instantly became flashing with starlight, her gaze falling on Xu Jin as if it were substantial. "You've broken through? When did this happen?"

"Teacher, it was this morning." Xu Jin made it up on the spot; breaking through this morning was less frightening than breaking through the day before yesterday.

"So fast? I remember you said you broke through to the fifth layer of Meal of Mist on July 5th; it's only been twelve days until today. This speed!"

Ning Yuchan, who knew the details, was truly shocked.

How long did the first-place star-pointer of this session, Yue Daqi, take to break through from the fifth layer of Meal of Mist to the sixth layer?

A full thirty-five days.

Lu Xianbing and Ren Xiaoxiang also took about thirty-five days.

If Xu Jin had taken twenty-something days, Ning Yuchan wouldn't have felt surprised; she would only have felt it was normal.

Because such situations existed; like her back then, she only took twenty-eight days to break through from the fifth layer of Meal of Mist to the sixth layer.

But Xu Jin only took twelve days.

What kind of ghostly speed is this?

Even the Grand Master's personal disciples wouldn't be this fast, right?

Looking Xu Jin up and down, Ning Yuchan asked again, "Tell me honestly, when did you successfully engrave the Great Gathering Star Pattern?"

After speaking, Ning Yuchan hurriedly added, "Think clearly before you speak. If you dare to lie to me, don't call me Teacher in the future."

Xu Jin raised his head in astonishment.

She had become smart; she was afraid Xu Jin would fool her.

"Six days ago," Xu Jin said.

Ning Yuchan's apricot eyes widened again, and she immediately calculated a precise time.

Xu Jin successfully engraved the Small Gathering Star Pattern on June 24th; six days ago was July 11th, seventeen days to successfully engrave the Great Gathering Star Pattern.

This speed...

This talent...

Many disciples in the Academy hadn't even succeeded with their Small Gathering Star Pattern yet.

Xu Jin's Great Gathering Star Pattern had already been successfully engraved for six days.

Ning Yuchan stood up, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled; her chest heaved violently, giving Xu Jin, who was sitting there, a mountain-like sense of oppression.

"Not bad. Your talent should have been masked by your previous heart disease, but this is also a good thing; it can even be said to be a blessing in disguise," Ning Yuchan said.

"A blessing in disguise?" Xu Jin didn't understand.

"You will understand later."

"That day on Chiba Island, I saw that your actual combat ability was very strong, so I had an idea, thinking that you might not be able to catch up with this Autumn Exam. But I didn't expect that you were already at the sixth layer of Meal of Mist. With the cultivation speed you've shown, at most in about half a month, you will be at the peak of the seventh layer of Meal of Mist. You will be able to catch up with this Autumn Exam; maybe you can help." Ning Yuchan said.

"Autumn Exam? Teacher, are you talking about the assessment in a few days?

That shouldn't be difficult for me, right?" Xu Jin said.

"No, the scale of the Autumn Exam is very large. It's not just our Jin Shan Academy; disciples from every Academy in the entire Chen Guo must participate in the Autumn Exam."

Suddenly, Ning Yuchan stopped, pondered for a long time, and then said, "Xu Jin, there is one thing I didn't want you to know before, because I thought your combat power was good, but there wasn't much opportunity. But now, I think you still have a chance."

"Teacher, please speak."

"The Academy Head's cross-county intervention this time to rescue your sister and a group of abducted girls actually put him under enormous pressure. He succeeded, but he also offended the immediate superior, the Dean of the Yanzhou Academy, severely. I'm afraid he will target the Academy Head in this Autumn Exam.

And your Autumn Exam results this time are crucial to the Academy Head.

I hope you can intensify your bitter cultivation recently, and when the Autumn Exam comes, at least qualify!" Ning Yuchan said.

"Teacher, I will work hard. But for exams, it depends on strength; how can one be targeted?" Xu Jin didn't understand.

"The rules of the Autumn Exam are complex; you will know when the time comes! And if you can qualify for the Autumn Exam, then Star Forging won't be much of a problem, and it's possible to forge a mid-grade or even high-grade star core!" Ning Yuchan said.

Half an hour later, Xu Jin left Ning Yuchan's small courtyard.

Ning Yuchan told Xu Jin three extremely important goals at the current stage.

First was the internal assessment in two days, requiring Xu Jin to kill his way into the top three of this session's disciples and activate the Star-Picking Token to participate in this year's all-Academy disciple assessment.

Then, Xu Jin must obtain a top-ten ranking in the all-Academy disciple assessment to have the qualification to participate in the Autumn Exam.

When he left, Ning Yuchan also taught Xu Jin two Golden Chapters, namely the 'Refining Gold Chapter' and the 'Connecting Gold Chapter', corresponding to the cultivation method for the seventh layer of Meal of Mist, as well as another basic Star Art—'Star Rope'.

The reason she taught Xu Jin new Star Arts was because during the Great Battle on Chiba Island, Ning Yuchan discovered that Xu Jin had at least three Star Arts that could be cast instantly.

With the talent to successfully engrave the Great Gathering Star Pattern in sixteen days, it was not surprising that he could comprehend Star Arts to Great Completion and instant casting.

Only when he left, Xu Jin felt a bit awkward.

Nothing else, he needed Ning Yuchan to help him cover up a lie.

"You lied to the Academy Head? Saying you successfully engraved the Great Gathering Star Pattern one day ago?"

Ning Yuchan knocked Xu Jin on the forehead with a chestnut, knocking Xu Jin until he was buzzing with pain.

"Why didn't you lie to me too?"

"Hey, you are my teacher!"

"Hmph! I know what to do."

After Xu Jin left, a smile appeared on Ning Yuchan's tense, pretty face.

Closing the courtyard door, Ning Yuchan looked at the gifts Xu Jin sent, showing surprise and joy one after another.

"Pine nuts? This brat knows how to pick them."

In the courtyard, Ning Yuchan happily took out a plate of pine nuts and melon seeds and started cracking them, along with dried fruits, her small mouth chattering.

Don't look at her as the Chief Instructor; in fact, she was only twenty-three years old.

At night, Xu Jin was bitterly cultivating the newly learned Star Arts and Star Patterns, and Old Qi came over as usual, guiding Xu Jin for a while.

However, the more he guided, the more depressed Old Qi became, and his tone became more and more severe.

In the end, the more he taught, the angrier he became, even having the urge to hammer this brat.

In the evening, he went to Tian Zhang's place to drink a few cups of wine, and Tian Zhang chatted about Xu Jin.

He naturally cared about Xu Jin's affairs.

He hadn't told anyone about taking Xu Jin as a disciple.

But Tian Zhang said that Xu Jin came to find him during the day and even sent gifts, saying he was a good child who knew etiquette and gratitude, and the Academy could focus on cultivating him in the future.

But the problem was, there wasn't one for him!

It had been half a day, and Old Qi was getting more and more depressed the more he taught.

But this matter was hard to vent.

If he really vented it, wouldn't that mean he was petty?

Xu Jin had long discovered Old Qi's emotional changes.

The Mingji Star Pattern wasn't cultivated in vain.

But Xu Jin just held it in; he wanted to see how petty Old Qi could be.

Until he was about to leave after cultivation, looking at the corners of Old Qi's mouth that were drooping, Xu Jin knew that Old Qi was really good to him, but also really petty.

"Teacher, wait a moment."

"Hmm?" When he was about to leave, being called by Xu Jin, the originally unhappy Old Qi was suddenly a bit expectant.

"Teacher, I saw your clothes were worn out, so I bought you a few sets of clothes, shoes, and socks. See if they fit. If you have any to change, put them here after you change them, and I'll help you wash them." Xu Jin didn't say one thing: helping to wash was certain, but it was estimated that his sister would take action.

Old Qi opened the package and looked; there were four sets of clothes, shoes, and socks, from inside to outside, and even new hairpins, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other small items.

In an instant, Old Qi's eyes turned a bit red.

He had been drifting for twenty years...

The next instant, Old Qi hugged the bundle and disappeared without looking back, fearing Xu Jin would see.

"Barely, I'll make do with it!"

Only this sentence came from the wind, and Old Qi disappeared completely.

Xu Jin, however, laughed; he had seen Old Qi's previously drooping face and the lightness after receiving the gift.

Petty Old Qi, haha!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 97 =====