Chapter 17: Borrow
After leaving the alley, Wang Zijia hurried towards the street where he worked. Along the way, he noticed that the city was in quite a mess, with many places still being cleaned up after the chaos of the previous night.
It seemed that the magical explosion caused by the monster with a sheep's head before its death wasn't a simple self-destruction.
After a while, Wang Zijia arrived at the warehouse and found that there weren't many people working there today.
Before he could even take over his shift from the night shift disciples, he was suddenly stopped by the steward.
"Steward, do you have any instructions?" Wang Zijia asked cautiously.
"You'll go to the front hall to work for a few days. There's a shortage of manpower up front, and we're waiting for reinforcements from the sect," the steward instructed him.
"Huh... A shortage of manpower up front?" Wang Zijia was surprised. Wan Yu sect was not a small sect, and Wan Yu pavilion was not to be trifled with, they had always been fully staffed, usually no spare manpower available.
"Well, steward, you see, I..." Wang Zijia hesitated for a moment, his tone awkward and hesitant, showing signs of reluctance. Although he didn't express it directly, his intention to change positions was clear. After all, there was no profit in working at the warehouse unless he was put in charge of managing and registering goods instead of moving them, it would be more beneficial for him.
The steward was taken aback for a moment, then said in confusion, "What are you thinking? There's a shortage of city patrol personnel, so some strong cultivators were temporarily transferred to help out."
"Oh!" Wang Zijia suddenly realized and stopped saying more, preparing to go to the front hall.
"You really don't know how lucky you are. I heard that the shopkeeper wants to marry you into his family. You have such a good opportunity, but you're still thinking about those miserable positions in the front hall. You..." The steward laughed and scolded him.
Wang Zijia's face immediately turned red with embarrassment upon hearing this, and he hurriedly left for the front hall without saying goodbye.
Watching Wang Zijia leave, the steward shook his head and muttered, "Old Wang is so stingy. How did he raise such an introverted kid? If he really enters the outer sect, he'll not only compete for food with others but also suffer heavy losses if he's not careful!"
...
"Aunt Liu, I'm here to take over the shift!" After a while, Wang Zijia arrived at the front hall's talisman area and said to the lead sister, Liu Xiangying.
Liu Xiangying looked to be in her thirties, still beautiful and charming, like a mature woman who had retained her youth.
But she was almost the same age as his father.
"Hey, little brother Zijia, I heard you've become a talisman master? No wonder your father has kept you hidden for so many years. It turns out you're a little genius. We're counting on you to make a fortune!" Liu Xiangying looked at Wang Zijia for a moment and said with a smile.
'Well, there are no secrets in Wan Yu Pavilion! At least among colleagues, there are no secrets!' Wang Zijia thought to himself, feeling a bit sarcastic, but once again showing a shy expression on his face, fully embodying the image of an introverted chubby boy!
"Alright, you go take over junior brother Qian's shift and watch the counter. With your personality, we can't let you greet guests." Liu Xiangying paused, then said, "Do you know the prices of various talismans?"
"Aunt Liu, I've been working in the warehouse for over half a year, and my father has been teaching me for many years. I know almost everything in the warehouse. After all, if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to handle the goods." Wang Zijia replied with a smile.
"Okay, that's settled then!" After arranging Wang Zijia's tasks, Liu Xiangying hurriedly left, seemingly also in charge of other areas.
The first floor of Wan Yu Pavilion was quite similar to a large shopping supermarket in his previous life. Counters were divided into different areas, each containing various items.
The only difference was that these counters were enclosed, and customers couldn't simply pick up items.
And Wang Zijia's job was similar to that of supermarket employees. He was responsible for his own area, explaining the goods to customers if they asked. If there were no customers, he could roam around.
Usually, the business at Wan Yu Pavilion was booming, especially in the talisman area, followed by the pill area.
But today, it was a bit quiet.
Bored, Wang Zijia looked around the nearby areas, mainly focusing on the spells area next to the talisman area.
High-grade first-tier spell "Wind Blade" for 1100 silver coins;
Middle-grade first-tier spell "Thousand Feather Illusion" for 800 silver coins;
High-grade first-tier spell "Fireball Explosion" for 1300 silver coins...
Looking at the various spells, Wang Zijia couldn't help but feel envious. Being poor, all he could see was money.
Because it was difficult to copy extraordinary spells and they were disposable, unlike copying books, the price of spell manuals was always high.
For ordinary cultivators, buying a spell manual was like buying a house in his previous life—it required saving up for decades and borrowing money from everywhere, ending up with a pile of debt.
Many cultivators even had only one basic spell. If they didn't know a certain spell, they would have to rely on talismans for combat!
Fortunately, low-level talismans were cheap, otherwise, he would just be a martial artist with no power!...
...
The entire day was slow, and Wang Zijia idled away his time. He wandered around most of the front hall's areas, and Liu Xiangying didn't even scold him when she saw him.
In the evening, as it was almost time to finish work, Wang Zijia returned to the warehouse.
When he found Xu Chenglin, the latter was sitting in the rest area of the pill warehouse, looking exhausted. He sighed and said, "Where did you go, kid? You made me handle the workload of three people alone. You've almost worn this old bone out."
"Uh, I went to the front hall to work." Wang Zijia stiffened, his expression strange as he said, "Old Xu, wasn't there much business today?"
Xu Chenglin's expression also froze for a moment, looking at the introverted and straightforward kid in front of him, speechless.
Was this about whether there was business or not? Wasn't it about me, an old man, doing the work of three people? How could I not be tired? If I'm not tired, won't I have to do this every day as the steward in the future?
Xu Chenglin was speechless for a while. Finally, he didn't bother arguing with this inexperienced kid, and said, "What do you want from me? Don't tell me you want to buy some strange pills again?"
"No!" Wang Zijia paused for a moment, then stopped talking, feeling conflicted.
He had something to say, but he didn't know how to express it clearly.
"Why are you hesitating? Is there something you can't say?" Xu Chenglin looked at Wang Zijia and said.
"I want... I want to borrow some money!" Wang Zijia finally spoke out after hesitating for a long time.
Xu Chenglin was stunned and said in surprise, "Your father is so stingy, he barely spends any money. He should have saved up some money for you..."
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and said, "If you want to become a talisman master, it's not just a matter of money. Since you have some understanding of talisman crafting, consider taking the path of being sponsored by the sect. You can't afford it on your own!"
Sponsorship by the sect: You can receive materials without paying, but when you sell talismans, you need to give a 20% discount. Every loss in the early stages will be recorded, and when you become proficient in spells and start making a profit, you'll need to repay more at a discounted price. It's almost like a loan!
Moreover, this record won't last forever, and if your talent isn't enough, the sect won't keep sponsoring you.
(End of this chapter)