CHAPTER 55: HIRING JESSICA

Early the next morning, workers from the home decor shop visited Ray's house.

After showing them around, Ray chose a few of the best decorations based on their recommendations and asked them to decorate the house.

He paid the full fee of 100 low-grade spirit stones for their work and materials while asking them to do the job carefully.

While leaving the house in their care, Ray took Lily with him to visit Jay's house to inform them of their location and ask if she could work with them as the gardener, since Ray had selected several spirit plants as decoration items for his rented house.

If no one takes care of them, they will die in a few days, leaving a bad taste in his mouth for wasting money on decorating the house without maintaining them.

As soon as Ray and Lily arrived at the house, Jay sprang forward to hug them. He then pulled Lily along to play, giving Ray the cold shoulder for not playing with him the day before.

Ray gave a small wry smile and asked Lily to play with Jay while he spoke with Jessica in private.

"Hello madam for disturbing you again," Ray greeted Jessica as she watched Jay dragging Lily to play and show her his collection of beetles.

"No, it's not a bother. I'm happy Jay found someone to play with. I've been so preoccupied with cultivation that I've mostly neglected him and haven't allowed him to go outside," 

"Your arrival has given him a friend, and I can finally relax from the stress of managing Jay's daily activities," Jessica said.

"So, sir, what do you want to ask me? You don't have to hesitate. If I'm in a position to help, I will try to help you," she declared after seeing hesitation on Ray's face.

"Well, I rented a villa in the city, and it has several spirit plants that were planted today. I don't know how to manage them properly, so I'm planning to hire you as the gardener if you're interested. The cost of hiring will be up to you." Ray explained his purpose.

Jessica was stunned; she thought Ray was just a regular cultivator who had come to the city to make a living. She never imagined he was wealthy enough to afford a villa.

She thought for a second and suggested that "if it's just taking care of them, you can hire low-level spirit cultivators as they can be hired cheaply, but hiring senior cultivators like her will cost more."

"Low-level spirit cultivators can be hired for some broken spirit stones, but her salary will be 10 spirit stones for an acre per month, and most senior spirit plant cultivators will select land and grow spirit rice as no one will hire them for such high price," Jessica explained.

Ray thought for a moment and said, "No, I want to hire you. I've known you since I arrived here, and there are quite a few delicate flower plants that need a senior cultivator's care. Your expertise is exactly what I need, so please decide and let me know."

"I understand that cultivating spirit plants is a challenging task and requires expert assistance, so I'm willing to hire you for 10 low-grade spirit stones per acre for one month."

"Why don't you come to my house, assess the total labor cost, and then let me know?" Ray concluded.

Jessica thought for a few moments and said she would visit his house now since she was free. She began tidying up her house so she could follow him back to his villa for the survey.

Ray happily accepted her demands and started guiding her to his villa with Lily and Jay following them.

When Ray had just reached the villa the decor staff started unloading the decoration stuff that they had brought.

 Jessica was fascinated by the various spirit plants in piles in the garden and immediately started checking their conditions.

Upon checking, she found the plants were slightly wilted due to malnourishment and needed to be transplanted immediately to ensure their healthy growth.

She and the decor staff quickly sprang into action, transplanting them in the front and back gardens respectively.

Within an hour, they had successfully transplanted the plants, and Jessica quickly conjured spells to summon spirit rain and nourish them thoroughly.

The spirit plants, nourished by the spirit rain, immediately grew vigorously, and flowers began budding on the trees.

Jesicca who had done a great amount of work in just an hour came back tiredly and sat on the bench in the garden.

Ray came from inside the house carrying a few glasses of juice. He handed them to the workers and Jessica, who were resting.

After drinking the juice, the workers thanked Jessica for helping and Ray for supplying the juice. They then sprang forward to complete the rest of the work in the house.

"Mr. Ray, I agree with your hiring, but it might cost more than just 10 spirit stones. The back and front gardens together cover 2 acres of land, and there are some delicate spirit plants that might require a spirit array formation to stabilize their conditions and help them grow."

"I think it will cost you a total of 20 spirit stones as a hiring fee to hire me for the month," Jessica said with hesitation.

Ray listened to her words and happily agreed to hire her. He asked her to list the supplies needed to maintain the villa and care for the plants, so he could buy them in the evening and have them arranged by tomorrow.

Jessica listed several types of arrays, including small spirit-gathering arrays, temperature regulation array disks, and spirit insect detection arrays.

Ray noted the required arrays in a small notebook and asked Jessica to return them the next morning so he could arrange them in the house by then.

He thanked her for her help and sent her home with Jay.

Ray then visited various shops to purchase the arrays in bulk, according to the size and quantity specified by Jessica.