Get Rewards by Fulfilling Others' Wishes

Chapter 107: Chapter 81: Stop! Stop! I’m Getting Squeezed Dry

Liu Qi was right. The savviest way to handle this was to simply allocate the pills to the local Prefects and let them distribute them as they saw fit. I would only need to provide some token supervision.

That way, I’d get the credit and earn a favor from the local officials to boot.

At worst, I could do what Yongzi did. He may have distributed them himself, but he gave them directly to the local Junior Officials. While that limited the space for shady dealings, it didn’t end with him offending anyone.

But doing it my way—giving everything to the common people—was indeed a thankless task.

Truthfully, he’d had his doubts about this ever since accepting Kan Luotang’s wish; he just hadn’t fleshed them out.

Still, he had no intention of backing down.

Farming Insight Points was one thing.

Fulfilling his promise to Kan Luotang was another.

This meant he was destined to see it through.

There was no room for compromise.

’In all of the Great Yu, the only ones worth my effort to maneuver around are that Old Deng, Zhao Huan, and that little auntie from the Demon Sect, Gu Xiangzhu.’

’Everyone else is just a bunch of pushovers.’

’Anyone who gets in my way...’

’I’ll crush them!’

"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Liu!"

"Not at all, Your Highness!"

When Liu Qi saw that he didn’t press the issue, he knew Zhao Ci must have understood the intricacies involved. He couldn’t help but say with feeling, "Your Highness’s benevolence is something I deeply admire. If you succeed, it will surely be a blessing for the people of the Northern Three Prefectures. Since Your Highness has already made up your mind, then do good deeds, and don’t worry about the future!"

[Liu Qi’s Current Wish]: That on his trip to the Northern Three Prefectures, Zhao Ci can deliver all the pills into the hands of the common people. Wish Completion Reward: Insight Points +100, Aura of Clemency x1.

Oh?

’It wasn’t just empty pleasantries!’

Zhao Ci was surprised. He had assumed it was all just for show, but it was actually Liu Qi’s heartfelt wish. ’Looks like the Great Yu still has some capable ministers who truly care for the people,’ he thought.

He smiled and cupped his hands. "Then I’ll take your auspicious words to heart, Lord Liu. The Xingyu Pill Association has been going all out recently; we’ll have the pills ready in seven days. The other Pill Workshops have deeper roots, so they should be even faster. Do you know when we might be able to set out?"

Liu Qi thought for a moment. "The Ministry of Revenue received this assignment a few days ago and immediately notified the Prefects of the Northern Three Prefectures. But the population there is vast; compiling a list of suitable commoners is no easy feat.

As for when the census will be complete, I am not entirely certain.

If Your Highness wants my advice, I would suggest going as soon as possible. Arriving in the Northern Three Prefectures early will also help spur the local officials to complete their lists more quickly."

His words were quite restrained.

But the meaning was perfectly clear.

The local officials wouldn’t see any benefit from compiling this list, so bureaucratic foot-dragging was inevitable.

If he waited for them to finish before heading out, God only knew how long that would take.

It was more than kind of Liu Qi to give him this warning.

Zhao Ci rose, smiling as he cupped his hands. "Thank you for the advice, Lord Liu. I’ll take my leave now."

"Take care, Your Highness!"

Liu Qi rose to see him off, his eyes following the carriage from the Tenth Prince’s Mansion until it disappeared into the distance.

Shaking his head with a small smile, he turned and went back into the Government Office.

He was only a minor Junior Minister; for many things, all he could do was hope others would see them done.

...

After leaving the Ministry of Revenue Office, Zhao Ci headed straight for the Xingyu Pill Association.

Or more precisely, to Xiang’s Pill Workshop.

All of the Xingyu Pill Association’s Alchemists were currently concentrated at Xiang’s Pill Workshop.

After all, the Xingyu Pill Association’s core competitive edge rested on two things: pure alcohol and Xiaozhuli.

Alcohol production was now sufficient to supply the entire Pill Association, but there was only one Zhu Li. As a result, every Alchemist of any renown had been gathered at Xiang’s Pill Workshop.

Upon arriving at the Pill Workshop, Zhao Ci went straight into the Alchemy Room.

He passed through the entryway and pushed open the inner door, only to be hit by a suffocating wave of heat.

The vast Alchemy Room housed a full one hundred Pill Furnaces, an Alchemist seated before each one. They were clearly operating at full blast.

It was now time for the Closed Furnace Quenching Pill step.

Zhu Li was lounging on a recliner, her palm sizzling as flames erupted from it, transforming into individual sparks that shot toward each Alchemist’s fire.

The whole operation showed off her flair as the queen of the assembly line.

But this queen of the assembly line wasn’t in good shape.

She was slumped listlessly in the recliner, her face pale.

Zhao Ci was all too familiar with that particular complexion.

In his past life, after his first time meeting up with a female player in person, they hadn’t been apart for seventy-two hours straight. His face had looked just like this afterward.

’Holy shit! She’s completely drained!’

Zhao Ci’s heart clenched, and he rushed forward. The moment Zhu Li finished distributing the flames, he blurted out, "Oh, my dear Tributor Zhu, that’s no way to perform alchemy! You’re working yourself to death!"

The moment she saw Zhao Ci, Zhu Li instantly perked up, waving a small, fair fist. "How can you say such a thing? Standing before you is the sole daughter of the Patriarch of the foremost Alchemy Clan, the number one Alchemist of the Xingyu Pill Association, and the Chief Mansion Official of the Tenth Prince’s Mansion!

To put it bluntly, I’m carrying the entire Xingyu Pill Association and the Tenth Prince’s Mansion on my back right now!

Pushing myself too hard?

Only useless people run from pushing themselves!

Get to work!"

[Zhu Li’s Current Wish]: To achieve unparalleled merit, fulfill her father’s long-held dream, and help Zhao Ci win first place in the inter-mansion competition. Wish Completion Reward: Insight Points +10,000, Awakenable Constitution: Fire Virtue Body.

Ten thousand Insight Points, plus a top-tier fire-element constitution, the Fire Virtue Body.

The reward was nothing short of extravagant.

However, the wish would be just as difficult to fulfill, requiring at least several years of hard work to achieve.

Zhao Ci: "..."

He suddenly felt his eyes grow hot, and his tear ducts had an overwhelming urge to take a leak.

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