Applying for Night Shift

"Elders, can Guang-Er apply for the collection tonight?" Yang Guang made an application for a night shift work. But to get that chance to work at night, he'll need at least an elder to be responsible for him.

"Do you have an elder's recommendation?" the elder in the Servants Office asked.

"Yes. This is the approval token from Elder Qi Rui." Yang Guang took the token belonged to the elder that taught them about the Qingxin Grass last week.

During this period, his performance and attitude when working caught Elder Qi Rui's attention, thus it allowed him to try and apply for the chance to work during the night.

Of course, this kind of chance doesn't come that easy, because each elder can only be responsible for three book-servants.

"Alright. It is indeed a token that belonged to that damn old Qi. Come inside through the side door. I'll brief you about the responsibility and work for those working at night." the elder placed a sign on the counter stating a change of shift.

Another elder will come to take over his position soon. Following the elder into a private room, Yang Guang remains standing on the entrance without the approval from that elder to come in.

"Enter," the elder smiled.

"No wonder Elder Qi Rui fancies this young lad. Although that old fellow looks easygoing and fun to talk with, he's a pain when it comes to choosing a disciple to represents."

"Who are the two other kids under his care? Let me think... Ah, I remembered!"

"Liu Da-Yang and Liu Da-Bing. Those twin brothers!" the elder flicked his fingers, completely forgets that Yang Guang is also inside the room.

"Elder?" Yang Guang stares at the weird elder talking to himself.

"Sit down. Let me brief you about the work during the night shift."

"Since Elder Qi Rui belonged to the first zone, you'll be assigned at that area automatically. Zone 1 separates into five sections, the ten-days, half-month, full-month, quarter-year, and yearly."

"You've worked in the ten-days section before, but that's during the morning. At night, your responsibility is different because there's no need to feed the dews to the plant, and there's nothing else except weeding, sowing, and planting new crops."

"During the night, we've got to defend the crops from cultivation beast and also controlling the time the plants graze under the moonlight." the elder explains the work one after another. But his last sentence confused Yang Guang.

"Elder, junior thought the plant must be given as much chance as it could to bath under the moonlight. This is helpful for their growth as taught by the Herbalism Manual." Yang Guang debates. This action grabs the elder's attention further.

"Good lad! Know what to ask when something different from your beliefs came into question. You're correct about the topic taught inside Herbalism Manual, but listen well to this elder's answer!"

"Book exists to bring you the knowledge, but the experience is what leads you further. What you know might be correct to a mere Azure Jade Grass, but would that work for the Dragon Whisker Flower in the half-month section and the Full-Month section's Three-Flavors Firefruit?"

The elder picked two kinds of herb to test Yang Guang's knowledge about it.

"Dragon Whisker Flower, a fire-element herb that can be refined into Bai-Long Pellet. Even during the morning, some senior brothers placed glossy surface metal plates to increase the heat surrounding the section. I'm sure their quality would be affected if we did not cover them during the full moon."

"As for the Three-Flavors Firefruit, they're one of the active ingredients to concoct the San-Wei Pill. Hot in nature, and needed to be separated from other plants because of their heaty nature. This is also a plant that is known as a solitary plant because of its characteristics."

Yang Guang read out everything he memorized from the Herbalism Manual. But recognizing the plant itself doesn't mean he knows what to do. If the elder did not take them into this discussion, how long would it take him to catch his mistake?

"Elder's teaching is indeed profound. It seems Guang-Er is overconfident with himself for merely remembering what's written inside the book." Yang Guang stands up. He immediately makes a bow to the elder to express his apology.

"Then, what about Shadow Insect and Wooden Core Beetle? How would you handle them?" the elder continues with the next question.

"This..." Yang Guang is caught unprepared.

A Shadow Insect is invisible at night. Although small, the size of about the head of an adult packs the strength comparable to Yang Guang. With the body strength of 400jin and defensive power also at 400jin, the Shadow Insect is a killer during the night.

As for the Wooden Core Beetle, it was only a cultivation insect with the size of an adult's palm. Their body strength of merely 200jin also not an issue to be bothered. But in exchange for that, a Wooden Core Beetle could bear at least 900jin force in defense.

Two Cultivation Insect, one that could kill you before you found them, and another one that could defend against all your attack while happily chewing the herbs. They're indeed trouble for Yang Guang's current strength.

"Forgive Guang-Er for not able to give an answer to this question. Perhaps even ten Guang-Er is not possible to defeat one of them." Yang Guang apologizes again.

"Not giving an answer is the correct answer. The Shadow Insect gives out a pungent smell whenever they pass by, and the Wooden Core Beetle is very loud as they eat. If you notice one of them, quickly scream for help."

"Scream?" Yang Guang jaw dropped by knowing this method.

"Hahaha! You might not believe it now, but trust me, screaming is the best way to scare the bugs." the elder laughed.

"Elder's meaning is..." Yang Guang patiently looked at the elder.

"You can work at night. Your salary is based on the number of contributions and whatever you've got during the night. You may also work in the morning if you wanted to earn a little more." the elder replied.

"Thank you, Elder!" Yang Guang bowed slightly lower as he was given a favor at this moment.

"Hahaha! You should get there a little earlier and look for your fellow senior brothers. Their name is Liu Da-Yang and Liu Da-Bing. Working with fellow brothers of the same elder is the safest in the meantime." the elder added.

"Guang-Er understands!" Yang Guang replied.