Mediocre Task
"The two of you, shouldn't you be focusing on something else instead of keep competing with one another?" Tong Xun's mother said and ordered the servants to bring the other dishes into this room. From how it looks, the family would have their dinner here instead of their usual dining room today.
This was the first time Yanglin enjoyed the warmth of a family eating together after coming to this world.
It was a pleasure, especially to someone that hardly had a piping hot dinner served on top of the dining table. If this meal were compared to what Xia Xuan-Xuan usually eats with her mother, the difference was between heaven and earth.
There was nothing much for Tong Wansi to ask in regards to Yanglin's background. Furthermore, it's not like his parents' identity was a secret to the people born and growing up in this village. Almost everyone knew that Yanglin's parents passed away when he was still young, and Madam Xia adopted him after that.
Yanglin prepared to excuse himself after dinner. He knew that Tong Wansi would try to extend his goodwill by offering him a room to sleep. Still, Yanglin felt that it would inconvenience them if he kept bothering the family any further.
"Take this. Just treat it as a gift for accompanying us today," Tong Wansi said and gave a pouch filled with 50 Foundation Pills. The element it had might not suit Yanglin, but he could exchange or use these as a currency.
To a cultivator, money is a must if he wants to keep improving. Having some extra is always better than not having anything. And since Tong Wansi's intention is to let Yanglin get started a step ahead of the others, it would be improper to keep rejecting the goodwill.
It seems that there's a guest in his broken hut as it was brightly lit at night. If he was the same Yanglin as yesterday, he would be biting his fingernails right now. The cost to keep the brightness is equivalent to spending a Foundation Pill for a candlestick.
But the Yanglin right now was someone with fifty spare Foundation Pills in the cloth wallet hanging on his waistbelt.
He smiled when the one waiting for him was someone he knew very well. It was Xia Xuan-Xuan. As usual, she was staying here with a plate of dinner that already turns cold.
"You're home? Where have you been today?" Xia Xuan-Xuan asked.
"I was invited to have dinner with the Tong Family today. His father expressed his gratitude towards me and gave me a pouch of Foundation Pills before leaving." Yanglin said and unhooked the cloth wallet from his belt.
Sounds from marbles hitting at one another appeared when Yanglin placed the wallet on top of the table. He had a feeling that Xia Xuan-Xuan might be asking for a few pills from him, but he found no reason to be stingy with her.
Based on how Madam Xia was taking care of him after his parent's death, this was the least he could do to repay Xia Xuan-Xuan's mother for all the care she gave to him. As someone with two lifetimes of experience, Yanglin knows that favors don't always come in money or gifts.
Sometimes, favors come in the form of food, care, and speech. There's no limit on how it would look until one received it.
"I guess your cultivation speed would be much faster with so many Foundation Pills. Congratulation." Xia Xuan-Xuan's reply is somewhat unexpected to Yanglin. He thought she would be happy to see so many Foundation Pills on the table, but it evidently not the case here.
"Since you've returned, I guess I'll be going back to my place now." she looked moody while saying what she had in her mind before leaving.
"Xia Xuan-Xuan, wait." Yanlin stopped her from leaving. His hand went to the string that could be tightened to keep the wallet closed and gave it a pull to tighten it up.
"Please give this wallet to your mother. Can you ask her to keep on my behalf? Please tell her she may use it if she needs to buy food or anything else for the house." said Yanglin as he placed the wallet in her hand.
His generosity got Xia Xuan-Xuan by surprise. But the latter looked like she was still in shock as she got back to the house and told what Yanglin said to her mother. A few louder and debatable tones then appeared as they continued to talk.
Then, the house returned to its silence as Yanglin sat on a meditating posture. It was time for him to refine some extra Foundation Pills before he went to sleep.
To his surprise, the Reliance System was not responsive to his call. This situation made him meditates quietly at his own pace and produce a few batches of Blood and Clarity Foundation Pills.
Unsure at what time he fell asleep, it was already morning when he opened his eyes again. He might have nothing to do right now. Still, he eventually has to find some work to do while accumulating some wealth before he is chosen to become a disciple in the Guang Ming Sect.
Stepping out from the broken hut he's been living in for a while now, Yanglin felt it should be the time for him to get a job to do.
It was a must to visit the village's request board to see what kind of work he could actually do and the reward for accomplishing what the assignment asked for.
Most of the assignments can be repeated endlessly. It was apparent that these kinds of tasks would be paying a little to nothing in rewards. But they would be the perfect assignment Yanglin could go for until he solidified his cultivation as an Early-Layer cultivator in Spirit Foundation.
Because any task that required him to go further outside of the village has a strength limit of at least an Early-Layer cultivator. Some even need a Middle or Late-Layer cultivator to go and return safely.
"Let's pay the Chief's office to get something to do." Yanglin smiled before closing the door and walked to his first destination.