6kv Chapter 32 A sumptuous dinner!
Chapter 32 A sumptuous dinner!
Chapter 32 A sumptuous dinner!
It was already late at night when they returned to Shrek Academy.
Under the crooked old locust tree at the entrance of the courtyard, Zhao Wuji was dozing off against the trunk.
Hearing footsteps, he suddenly opened his eyes and saw the figures of Flanders and the other two. He immediately stood up.
"How is it?" Zhao Wuji asked.
Flanders didn't answer, but simply took a cloth bag from his pocket and tossed it over.
Zhao Wuji caught it, tore open the bag, and froze.
A bag full of gold soul coins.
They were stacked neatly, shimmering with an alluring luster under the moonlight.
"How much did this sell for?" Zhao Wuji's voice was a little dry.
"Forty-six thousand three hundred," Flander said calmly.
Zhao Wuji opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
Shao Xin poked his head out of the kitchen, still holding a spatula. Li Yusong and Lu Qibin also came out of their respective rooms; they were clearly still awake, waiting for news.
"Forty-six thousand three?" Shao Xin's voice rose several octaves. "You sold that many candies?"
"Your candy beans sold for nearly 40,000," Oscar couldn't help but interject. "Teacher Shao Xin, you have no idea, the people at the auction house went crazy bidding on your candy beans! A bottle of candy beans started at 1,000 gold soul coins and eventually sold for over 8,000!"
Shao Xin froze on the spot, almost dropping the spatula in his hand.
He had spent most of his life making candy, never knowing that something he made casually could be worth so much money.
"Dean Flander, this—" Shao Xin looked at Flander, his lips trembling slightly.
Flanders waved his hand, interrupting him.
"Don't get excited. Today is just the beginning; there's much more money to be made in the future." He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "But let's not talk about that today. Shao Xin, what else is available in the kitchen?"
"There's also some rice and pickled vegetables—"
"Stop with that." Flander pulled a handful of gold soul coins from his bag and handed them to Shao Xin. "Go to the village and find a hunter to buy two chickens, a fish, some eggs, and some vegetables. Let's have a good meal today."
Shao Xin took the gold soul coin, his eyes slightly red.
Having been at Shrek for so many years, this was the first time Flander had ever asked for more food.
Half an hour later, a sumptuous meal was placed on the table in the canteen.
Braised chicken pieces, steamed fish, scrambled eggs, garlic-flavored greens, and a pot of milky white bone broth.
A large bowl was filled to the brim with fluffy white rice, and there was plenty to go around.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar sat at the table, staring wide-eyed at the dishes on it.
"What are you waiting for? Eat!" Flander picked up his bowl and took a piece of chicken.
Everyone immediately sprang into action.
Ma Hongjun picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth. It was fresh, tender, and smooth, melting in his mouth.
Teacher Shao Xin's culinary skills are indeed top-notch, but in the past, even the most skilled cook couldn't make a meal without ingredients; no matter how good the skills were, they couldn't overcome the poor quality of the ingredients.
Now that we have money and better ingredients, the taste has immediately improved.
Oscar, his mouth greasy with food, mumbled between bites, "Teacher Shao Xin, with your skills, if you opened a restaurant in the city, we wouldn't need to auction off candy beans anymore—"
"Eat your food." Shao Xin smiled and put a chicken leg on his plate.
Zhao Wuji drank three bowls of soup in one go, patted his belly, leaned back in his chair, and sighed contentedly.
"Flander, this is the first time in all these years that I've eaten so heartily."
Flanders ignored him, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
Although Li Yusong and Lu Qibin ate politely, they kept adding rice to their bowls.
The two veteran Soul Emperors have been suffering in this wretched place with Flander. They've never said anything, but their bodies tell a different story. If they can eat well, who would want to eat poorly?
Ma Hongjun put down his chopsticks and looked at the people at the table, a feeling he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him.
When he read the original novel in his previous life, Shrek Academy impressed him as poor, dilapidated, and miserable.
Flanders was stingy, Zao Wou-Ki was rough, and the students often went hungry.
But at this moment, what he saw was not poverty.
They are a group of people with strong beliefs who, after a long period of perseverance, have finally seen hope.
After dinner, Flanders called everyone to his office.
In the center of the worn-out desk in the office sat the cloth bag containing the gold soul coins.
The bag was opened, and the gold coins gleamed in the candlelight.
Flander explained the profit-sharing plan—
Shao Xin received 20%, approximately 9,200 Gold Soul Coins.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar each received 10%, and 4,630 gold soul coins each.
The remaining 50%, or 23,150 gold soul coins, will go to the academy's public account and be used for students' daily cultivation resources.
When Shao Xin heard that he had been allocated more than nine thousand gold soul coins, he was completely stunned.
"Flander, this is too much—I—"
"Not much," Flander interrupted him. "You made the candy beans. Without you, we wouldn't have earned a single penny. It's only right that you take 20%."
Shao Xin opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more. He carefully put the money away, his eyes red, unsure whether it was from gratitude or heartache for all the years he had worked for nothing.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar each received their share.
Oscar held the bag of gold soul coins, his hands trembling, as if he were holding a fragile dream.
"Hongjun, we—we're rich!"
Ma Hongjun nodded.
"We have money now."
37
Zhao Wuji, watching from the side, couldn't help but snort: "You two little brats, getting this excited over just a few thousand gold soul coins. Once you go out and earn your own money, tens or hundreds of thousands of gold soul coins won't be enough for you."
Flanders glared at him.
"Say less."
Zhao Wuji shut his mouth, but he couldn't stop smiling.
As night deepened, everyone returned to their rooms.
Ma Hongjun lay on the bed, still clutching the bag of gold soul coins in his hand, not letting go.
Oscar lay on the bed next door, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
"Hongjun, would you say I've become rich?"
"I guess so."
"Four thousand six hundred and three — if my parents knew that their son earned so much money at the age of eight, they would be terrified."
Ma Hongjun remained silent.
He looked at the crack in the roof, through which moonlight streamed in, casting a thin white line on the wall.
Four thousand six hundred and three, that sounds like a lot.
But compared to Shrek Academy's future expenses, this amount of money is far from enough.
The medicinal herbs for the medicinal bath, the procurement of materials for the soul beasts, the upgrading of training equipment, and the future students' food, clothing, housing, and transportation—everything costs money.
Forty-six thousand gold soul coins are enough to last for a while, but not enough to last a lifetime.
Auctioning off candies and sausages is just the first step.
As Shrek's reputation grows, as Flander and Zhao Wuji become stronger, and as he and Oscar mature, there will be more and more ways to make money.
Not urgent.
Take it one step at a time.
The next morning, before dawn, Ma Hongjun woke up as usual.
He got dressed, opened the door, and saw Flanders already standing in the yard.
The morning breeze ruffled the hem of Flander's clothes, making his back appear more upright than usual.
Good morning, teacher.
"Good morning." Flanders turned around, glanced at him, and said, "You didn't squander yesterday's money, did you?"
"no."
"Um."
Flander nodded: "Money is for spending, not for saving. Don't hesitate to spend when you need to, but don't waste it when you should. You're still young, and you don't need money much right now, so save it for later when you need it."
Ma Hongjun nodded.
Flanders turned around and looked at the eastern horizon.
The sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn; the sun was about to rise.
"We're doubling the training volume today," Friend said.
Ma Hongjun took a deep breath.
"good.
""
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