The task of clearing the Blue Dew Anthills was much easier than Zheng Qing had imagined.
All that was needed was to use a hoe to flip and smash the small mounds, a few inches high, and then collect them into designated baskets. If the Hundred Herb Gardens of the school didn't require it, often, they wouldn't even need to bother collecting the fertile soil.
For some students with superior magic skills, they could completely command their hoes or shovels to work on their own, sparing the esteemed magician's hands from labor.
Old Hemingway never restricted this but rather strongly supported it.
In his words, "Only by applying what one learns can one justify being a scholar of the First University. If one cannot even command a hoe, they might as well drop dead of exhaustion by the lake."
Though roughly put, there was reason in his words.