8mi Chapter 29, can it still be changed?
Chapter 29, can it still be changed?
Think about this Steward Qiu; he has never withheld the Peiyuan Pills that Huo Erdan and he deserve in the past.
Wang Yan hurriedly returned the greeting very politely: "Senior Brother Qiu, you're too kind. You used to take good care of me and Erdan."
Manager Qiu's smile widened even more: "Not at all, it's my duty. Here's what you'll do: you and Huo Erdan have both learned how to solidify paper before, so from today onwards, you don't need to cut paper anymore. Just go to the paper-solidifying pool to solidify paper! After you've finished for an hour, you can go to the Temple of Divine Practice to continue learning to write the character 'divine'."
This task involves casting a divine spell with the words "condense paper" added to the paper pool, causing the liquid pulp at the top of the pool to solidify into a thin layer of paper. Once the other spirit sprouts have cut away the paper layer, the next layer will solidify.
It requires no physical exertion. After the body's internal energy is depleted, you can rest for a while to recover. It is much easier than cutting paper, which requires skill, or lifting things onto shelves, which requires strength!
Typically, this process is carried out by second-level spirit buds who have connections or good talent, taking turns.
Wang Yan smiled and looked at Huo Erdan, who then saw excitement in Huo Erdan's eyes: "Let us make the paper? Great!"
"Follow me!" Steward Qiu said with a smile, leading them through the level-two spirit sprouts that were still moving and drying cardboard, toward a newly opened paper-forming pool in the distance: "We've had a lot of work these past few days, so we built this new pool. It's only open today, so it's yours to keep it."
Wang Yan glanced at the other empty paper pool next to him, and his heart stirred again.
The pulp pools at the paper drying yard have remained the same for hundreds of years, but unexpectedly, two new ones were built this morning?
The task of drying paper is so heavy that even the grassroots paper drying fields are being overcrowded.
Then, Steward Qiu reminded him with some unease, "Junior Brother Wang, you haven't practiced for a while. Why don't you give it a try first?"
"Okay!" Wang Yan quickly climbed up the half-person-high paper pulp vat with a half-meter-wide edge, looked at the vat full of paper pulp that had just been poured in, and had a thought.
In his mind, he arranged the divine script that the original owner had learned, "to quickly solidify the surface of the pulp into a bark as thick as a mulberry leaf," together.
It's simple and unpretentious, nothing wrong with it.
It just lacks any artistic conception.
Dozens of powerful energies rapidly emanated from between the eyebrows, drawing in the surrounding天地玄气 (heaven and earth's profound energy) and converging into the sparse pulp within the pool.
On the surface of the pulp, visible water vapor evaporation and solidification can be seen.
These Xuanqi paper sheets are important carriers for making first- and second-order Xuanqi divine runes, and they require a high degree of uniformity in Xuanqi.
"I need to ensure that the power of this divine text is evenly distributed on the pulp so that it can be condensed into a Xuan Qi paper that satisfies the inner disciples as quickly and effectively as possible."
After waiting for half a cup of tea, looking at the thin layer of cardboard in the pulp vat, Manager Qiu nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, the skills haven't been lost! Erdan, you follow Wang Yan to do it, I'll call someone over to cut the cardboard now."
A few dozen breaths later, Zhang Erbao, the second-level spirit sprout whom Wang Yan recognized, and his partner Ma Sanni were summoned over by Steward Qiu.
Zhang Erbao, shirtless, called out from a dozen paces away, his voice tinged with envy: "Wang Yan, aren't you and Huo Erdan cutting paper anymore?"
Seeing the other stewards looking at him strangely, Steward Qiu said with great composure, "Wang Yan has the talent of divine script. The master of the Divine Script Hall personally instructed him that he and Huo Erdan would only need to do odd jobs for one hour each. So, he and Huo Erdan will be in charge of this pool from now on. You two should cooperate well with them."
Zhang Erbao exclaimed enviously, "Wang Yan, you're amazing! Erdan, you're really lucky to be living with Wang Yan! Hey, you guys have to be faster at forming paper than you're at cutting it, otherwise, we probably can't keep up!"
"It'll probably be slow at first; we'll get used to it before we can go fast," Wang Yan said realistically. "Come on, let's get started! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest!"
"You can rest, but we can't!" The quiet Ma Sanni said with great envy, "Erdan, you're so lucky to be paired with Wang Yan. You can even skip half of the chores."
"That's because we worked well together!" Huo Erdan said smugly. "Alright, hurry up and cut it. After you're done, I'll try it!"
&
Cutting cardboard requires skillful use of the whole body.
The process of solidifying the pulp requires meticulous observation; the pulp cannot be solidified too long, and the microstructure must be evenly distributed...
After several attempts, Wang Yan and Huo Erdan stabilized their speed and evenness.
As two other familiar Level 2 Spirit Sprouts carried a large wooden plank to take over from Zhang Erbao and Ma Sanni to cut paper on the surface of the pool, Wang Yan looked around.
Many of the Level 2 Spirit Sprouts who were cutting paper and moving wooden frames were sweating profusely from the heat, their faces flushed, and they had taken off their upper clothes, running around the field shirtless. Their youthful faces showed signs of fatigue.
"Body training is very hard."
The original owner of this body, and myself yesterday afternoon, were just as tired and exhausted when cutting and carrying paper to dry under this sun. After a while, our hands and legs ached.
At my most exhausted moments, I truly wished that the level two spirit buds responsible for condensing the paper could extend the time it took to condense the paper.
However, it was through this daily process of cutting paper and moving wooden boards that the original owner's physique became strong and powerful.
After much deliberation, Wang Yan decided not to adjust the divine text on the solidified paper for the time being.
"This is Erdan and I'm doing this kind of easy menial work for the first time, so we can't mess it up. We don't need to get top marks, but we can't fall to third place either!"
"I'm not sure which words are more suitable, so I'd better play it safe for now! Otherwise, if we delay the formation of the blank talisman paper and affect Steward Qiu's task targets, he won't be so kind as to let us solidify the paper tomorrow."
Wang Yan calmed down and, relying on his senses, slightly adjusted the angle of the divine runes to allow the profound energy to seep more evenly into the paper.
Wang Yan stopped when his internal energy was exhausted and gestured for Huo Erdan to come forward and cast a spell.
Wang Yan jumped into the paper-forming pool, walked a hundred paces, and found Steward Qiu inspecting the wet paper scraps in the drying rack.
"Could you give me a small pulp box so I can put some pulp in it? I want to try modifying the divine inscriptions and conserve some mystic energy."
I think that if I try it alone during my break, it won't affect the tasks in the main pool.
Butler Qiu was taken aback, a hint of disbelief flickering in her eyes, which looked somewhat tired from the sun: "This... can be changed?"
Wang Yan said very sincerely, "I already have some ideas, but I'm afraid to try it in a large pool because I'm worried about wasting too much and affecting the quantity of finished products. Could you make me a much smaller one?"
"This..." Butler Qiu's eyes darted around slightly, then suddenly lit up. He slapped his sweaty forehead and said, "It seems there really is one. Come with me!"
Wang Yan's eyes lit up, and he quickly followed up: "Butler Qiu, has anyone tried this before?"
"Yes, now's the perfect time for you to try!"