Chapter 32: Chapter 32, Level

After the misunderstanding with Yu Hui was resolved, Hua Changxi went to the warehouse to collect medicinal herbs, and the variety of herbs she received continued to increase.

"Sister Changxi, you only take a few stalks of each kind. Don't you find it a hassle?"

Yu Hui looked at Hua Changxi in confusion. One had to know that when other laborers came to collect herbs, they practically wished they could take only one type back to make cleaning easier.

Hua Changxi shook her head. "I don't find it a hassle."

Yu Hui asked again, "Is there some intention behind the way you collect them?"

Hua Changxi glanced left and right. Seeing that no one else was paying attention, she whispered, "The Medical Bureau has a vast variety of herbs, many of which I haven't even encountered outside. Now that I've come across them, of course I want to study them thoroughly."

Yu Hui: "Laborers aren't allowed to damage the herbs. How are you going to study them?"

Hua Changxi pointed to the herbs on the cart. "For herbs with extensive root systems, I'll pinch off a small section of the root to taste. If it's a herb with many leaves, I'll taste the leaves. This way, I can understand the medicinal properties without damaging the herbs."

Yu Hui rubbed his chin. "Collecting them this way is too much trouble. How about this: when Wan Xiaozhou, Li Meng, and I are on night watch, you can come to the warehouse to study."

"But we have to agree on one thing beforehand—you are not allowed to damage the herbs. Otherwise, we'll both be in deep trouble."

Hua Changxi's face lit up instantly. "Brother Yu, don't worry. I promise I won't cause any trouble for you."

Seeing Hua Changxi's excited expression, Yu Hui smiled and added, "Tomorrow is payday. After you finish breakfast, don't come for herbs first; go to the Internal Affairs Office to collect your silver. If you go late, you won't know how long the queue will be."

When coming to the warehouse for herbs, the only people queuing were the laborers from the Third Bureau.

However, when going to the Internal Affairs Office for silver, the queue included all the laborers from the First and Second Bureaus as well.

Hearing that they could collect their wages, Hua Changxi was also very happy. "How much silver can we get?"

Yu Hui looked surprised. "You don't even know that?"

Hua Changxi gave a sheepish smile. "I was too embarrassed to ask." Primarily, her relationship with her roommates wasn't great, and no one had told her.

Yu Hui didn't press the matter and began to explain. "All the Head Managers receive a monthly wage of ten taels. The Second and Third Managers, as well as the laborers, have monthly wages that are divided by gender."

"For males, the Second and Third Managers receive eight and five taels respectively, and male laborers receive three taels per month."

"For females, the Second and Third Managers receive five and three taels respectively, and female laborers receive two taels per month."

"As for the three eunuchs who manage the Laborer Hall, I don't know how high their monthly wages are."

Hua Changxi asked, "Why are the wages for men and women different?"

Yu Hui laughed. "Of course they're different. Men put in much more physical effort than women."

Hua Changxi: "But the amount of herbs the male and female laborers are responsible for cleaning every day is clearly the same."

Yu Hui: "Male laborers are sometimes assigned other tasks, like transporting herbs to the medicinal estates or valleys. Female laborers can't do those."

Hua Changxi gave an "oh" and said no more.

On the thirtieth of October, before the sky had even fully brightened, a long queue had already formed at the Laborer Hall's Internal Affairs Office. By the time Hua Changxi arrived after breakfast, she couldn't even enter the courtyard.

"Qingluo, come quickly! I've saved a spot for you all."

Standing at the courtyard entrance, Hua Changxi heard Wang Yunchu's voice from inside. She turned her head and saw Lu Qingluo pulling another young lady quickly into the courtyard.

As the two passed through the gate, they saw Hua Changxi and both froze for a moment.

Wang Yunchu, who was standing near the front of the queue inside, also saw Hua Changxi. However, she didn't call out to her; instead, she turned to speak to Sister Shi and the two others queuing with her.

Sister Shi and the others also looked at Hua Changxi but remained silent.

Hua Changxi quickly averted her gaze. Looking at the bustling Internal Affairs Office, she thought for a moment and decided to head to the warehouse to collect herbs first.

Seeing Hua Changxi leave, Lu Qingluo looked at Wang Yunchu and the others. "Is it not a bit bad of us to act like this?"

Wang Yunchu snorted. "What's so bad about it? Given how Hua Changxi usually acts like she doesn't want anything to do with us, isn't it normal that we don't call out to her?"

She paused. "If she takes the initiative to come over, would we actually refuse her?"

The group didn't discuss it further, quickly moving on to happily chatting about what they would buy with their wages.

On the other side, Hua Changxi finished cleaning all five hundred stalks of herbs and took them to the Second Bureau to hand them in. When she returned to the Internal Affairs Office, there were still many people inside.

Hua Changxi glanced at the sky; seeing it was nearly noon, she went straight to the dining hall for lunch.

Because she had cured several women in the dining hall, Hua Changxi was very popular there. In addition to the standard communal meals, she occasionally received special side dishes.

By the time she finished lunch and went to the Internal Affairs Office, there weren't many people left.

After queuing for a while, Hua Changxi received two taels of silver, but she didn't leave immediately. "Accountant, I entered the Laborer Hall on the twenty-first of September. I haven't received my wages for September yet."

The accountant looked at Hua Changxi. "They've already been collected."

Hua Changxi: "That's impossible. I haven't come to collect them."

The accountant grew impatient. "Go back and ask your manager. Next!"

Hearing the pressure from the person behind her, Hua Changxi could only step aside and quickly return to the Sixth Bureau. She found Du Ruo at the end of the ditch. "Manager Du, the accountant said my September wages have already been collected, but I haven't collected them. What's going on?"

Seeing that Hua Changxi was determined to get an answer, Du Ruo did not hide it. "Your September wages were six hundred wen. Manager Leng went and collected them."

Hua Changxi: "But she didn't give them to me." She paused. "She probably forgot. I'll go find her now."

Hearing this, Du Ruo and Wang Yunchu, who was standing not far away, looked at her as if she were an idiot.

Seeing their reactions, Hua Changxi knew there was definitely something fishy going on. She turned to go find Manager Leng.

Seeing that Hua Changxi was serious, Du Ruo rushed forward to stop her. "Do you truly not know, or are you pretending not to know?"

Hua Changxi frowned. "What do you mean?"

Seeing her like this, Du Ruo sighed. "You've never worked a job before, have you?"

Hua Changxi: "No, this is my first job."

Du Ruo: "Every laborer must hand over six hundred wen in 'respect fees' every month. This has been the rule of the Laborer Hall for many years."

Hua Changxi's eyes widened. "Respect fees? Respect to whom?"

Du Ruo did not answer, but Wang Yunchu provided the clarification for Hua Changxi: "To the managers, of course."

Hua Changxi fell silent. After a moment, she looked at Wang Yunchu and the others. "Working from dawn till dusk just to earn two taels a month, and yet you have to hand over nearly a third of it in respect fees? Has no one protested?"

Wang Yunchu glanced at Du Ruo and said quickly, "People have protested, but in the end, they were all kicked out of the Laborer Hall."

Seeing Hua Changxi's indignant expression, Du Ruo, not wanting her to cause trouble, advised, "Even after paying the six hundred wen, you still have fourteen hundred wen left. That is already more than what most jobs outside pay."

"One must learn to be content and not dwell too much on immediate gains and losses."

"If you want to continue working in the Laborer Hall, you must follow its rules."

Hua Changxi let out a frustrated curse. "Bullshit rules."

Seeing her like this, Du Ruo's tone turned cold. "If you're so capable, then change these bullshit rules. If you aren't, then stop making a scene."

Hua Changxi felt extremely aggrieved, but she also knew she couldn't fight the rules of the Laborer Hall. With a dark expression, she prepared to return to her room.

"Wait!"

Du Ruo called out to her. "You haven't paid this month's respect fee yet."

Hua Changxi took several deep breaths before taking six hundred wen from her newly received wages. After handing it to Du Ruo, she left without looking back.

Seeing that Hua Changxi actually dared to give Du Ruo attitude, Wang Yunchu said to Lu Qingluo and the others with a look of wonder, "With Hua Changxi's terrible temper, it's a wonder her family felt safe letting her come out to work as a laborer."

Lu Qingluo looked at Hua Changxi's retreating figure with a hint of envy. "Changxi's family must spoil her very much; otherwise, she wouldn't have developed such a personality."

Having had her wages docked, Hua Changxi was too upset to focus on her cultivation, so she went to the warehouse to find Yu Hui.

"Brother Yu, do you have to pay respect fees?"

Yu Hui could tell Hua Changxi was in a bad mood and guessed what had happened. Since there was nothing to do at the moment, he began to chat with her.

"Paying respect fees to the managers is a long-standing rule in the Laborer Hall."

"Laborers hand over six hundred wen every month: one hundred wen for the Third Manager, two hundred wen for the Second Manager, and three hundred wen for the Head Manager."

"And the Head Manager doesn't just keep it all; he also has to pay respect fees to the eunuchs above him."

"It's the rule; we can only follow it. The first time you pay, everyone feels uncomfortable, but you get used to it eventually."

"The benefits in the Laborer Hall are still much better than jobs outside. Even when working elsewhere, you still have to pay respect fees."

"So, sister, try to let it go. No matter where you go, these are the rules."

Hua Changxi: "But these rules are unreasonable."

Yu Hui shrugged. "That's just how the world is. What can you do?" He lowered his voice. "I'm telling you, it's not just the Laborer Hall; the Apprentice Hall and the Disciple Hall follow the same rules."

"Even the pharmacists and physicians in the streets preceding the Medical Bureau have to flatter the ones in the streets ahead of them."

This was the first time Hua Changxi had heard of such a thing. "What, even the physicians and pharmacists of the Medical Bureau are ranked?"

Yu Hui: "Of course. The first street of the Medical Bureau is where the Director and other officials have their offices. After the second street, you find the clinics of the various pharmacists and physicians."

"The Medical Bureau doesn't usually treat patients; most pharmacists and physicians are engaged in researching new medicines and medical techniques."

"With so many pharmacists and physicians, how are the herbs, medical tools, and personnel allocated? It all depends on which street they are located on."

"The pharmacists and physicians on the second and third streets have the highest status. Herbs, disciples, and apprentices within the Medical Bureau are prioritized for them."

"Naturally, their alchemy and medical skills are also the highest. Only they refine the medicines used by Rank 8 and Rank 9 martial artists."

"By the way, the pharmacists on those two streets are also responsible for researching new medicines."

"Next are the physicians and pharmacists on the fourth and fifth streets. Their medical skills are quite good; Rank 7 martial artists rely on them for their pills."

"Then come the sixth and seventh streets, responsible for refining and developing pills for Rank 4 to Rank 6 martial artists."

"Finally, there are the eighth and ninth streets, responsible for researching medicines for Rank 1 to Rank 3 martial artists and ordinary people."

Hua Changxi: "I feel like the ranks of the pharmacists and physicians are determined by the ranks of the martial artists."

Yu Hui: "Your intuition is correct; that is exactly how it is. Do you know what one of the Medical Bureau's primary tasks is?"

Hua Changxi: "What?"

Yu Hui: "To provide the necessary medicines for the cultivation of all martial artists in the entire Great Jin."

"Otherwise, the Laborer Hall wouldn't be this busy. Do the math yourself—how many herbs does the Laborer Hall have to clean and process every month?"

"These herbs, along with the pills refined by all the pharmacists and physicians across the nine streets, are eventually sent to the Imperial Martial Academy in the capital and various local martial academies."

"Of course, all the medicinal herbs from the nine provinces of Great Jin are also escorted to our Medical Bureau."

Yu Hui glanced toward the warehouse entrance. Since it was payday, the several guards were feeling relaxed and had gathered together to gamble.

"Come on, a batch of herbs arrived from Jiaozhou yesterday that you definitely haven't seen. Since you like tasting herbs, I'll take you into the warehouse."

"Thank you, Brother Yu."

The irritation Hua Changxi felt from having her wages docked vanished instantly.

Upon entering the warehouse, Hua Changxi's gaze immediately fixed on a pile in the corner—discarded herbs that had been abandoned due to improper storage or severe damage during transport.

Hua Changxi walked over and began picking through them. "Brother Yu, many of these herbs could still be used. Are they all being thrown away?"

Yu Hui shook his head. "They aren't thrown away. The amount of discarded herbs in the Medical Bureau every day is countless. We in the Laborer Hall are actually quite lucky; the amount of discarded herbs in the Apprentice and Disciple Halls is massive."

"These discarded herbs are collected by designated merchants. These merchants have significant backgrounds and deep connections; it's said they all have powerful patrons backing them."

He lowered his voice. "I'm telling you, some of the low-quality pills sold in outside pharmacies are refined using discarded herbs from the Medical Bureau."

Hearing Yu Hui's words, Hua Changxi felt a surge of interest in the discarded herbs. After a moment of thought, she whispered to Yu Hui, "Brother Yu, the Qi-Blood Pill for Rank 1 martial artists, the Bone-Strengthening Pill for Rank 2, the Viscera Pill for Rank 3, the Tendon-Clearing Pill for Rank 4, the Marrow-Washing Pill for Rank 5, and the Shackle-Breaking Pill for Rank 6—I know how to refine all of these."

With every type of pill Hua Changxi mentioned, Yu Hui's expression grew more shocked. When she finished, he grabbed her arm in excitement.

"Sister, you're not lying to me?"

Hua Changxi smiled at him. "Brother Yu, you have experienced my medical skills firsthand."

Yu Hui's face flushed with excitement. Having come from a beggar background, he had dreamed of becoming strong so he would never be bullied again. Unfortunately, even after being accepted by Eunuch Yu as a father figure, the silver he earned was not enough to support his martial arts training.

"Sister, I'll tell you the truth. There is no official tally for the discarded herbs in the warehouse; however many are taken, they are gone. As long as we are careful, it won't be a problem if I use some."

Hua Changxi smiled. "Brother Yu, let's cooperate. You provide the discarded herbs, and I'll provide the skill. We'll split the profits from the refined pills fifty-fifty."

Yu Hui wanted to become strong so badly that he nodded immediately. "Deal."