Chapter 81: Ten Thousand a Session. Interested?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: Ten Thousand a Session. Interested?
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, evening had arrived. I had no choice but to end my flight practice; after all, the facility had limited operating hours. If I wanted to practice more, I’d have to come back tomorrow.
Senior Sister Tu Qingxue told me I could come by whenever I had time. As long as the place was open, she was usually there.
I acknowledged her offer, but I knew I still needed to coordinate with the senior sisters at the Baking House. I couldn't just stop showing up for my shift all day because I was trying to get a license, especially since I’d only been working there for a few days.
It would be incredibly unethical to just disappear without saying anything.
Besides, neither side had fixed hours, so it was better to plan my schedule properly.
By the end of the afternoon, I had been practicing "Stationary Hovering." This wasn't even part of low-altitude flight training yet; it was a preliminary exercise for flying in general.
I have to say, practicing this for an entire afternoon really drained my mental power, and the mana consumption wasn't exactly low either.
Even though my Mana Source could constantly recover, the consumption rate of an alchemical product wasn't as negligible as something like a Cleaning Spell.
I felt like half a day was about my limit. But that worked out perfectly—practice for half the day, work part-time for the other half. Perfect!
It also gave me a convenient excuse for why I wasn't practicing all day long.
After mulling it over, I headed back to my villa. The next morning, I arrived at the bakery.
"Senior Sister Tang Yihan~ Senior Sister Ying Shiqian~ You’re both at the shop so early?" I greeted them warmly.
While there were a few customers in the morning, Senior Sister Ying Shiqian should have been able to handle it alone.
Had Senior Sister Tang Yihan decided not to go research new dark cuisine today?
"Mm, Xiao Han, you're early today too. You had so much free time yesterday—did you go somewhere fun?" Tang Yihan asked as she busied herself packing a cake into a box.
"Yesterday... hehe, it wasn't really 'fun' per se. Remember how I mentioned I wanted to get my flight license? I went to give it a try yesterday." I followed her lead and explained. I had been wondering how to bring up the fact that I wouldn't be able to work full-time for a while.
"You actually went?" Ying Shiqian leaned over. "When Tang Yihan mentioned it, I thought you were just joking."
"Yes. The tuition for a flight license isn't cheap. Do you need any financial support from us?" Tang Yihan asked, quickly connecting the dots.
"I'm alright for now. Sister Bai helped me get everything sorted. Thank you for the concern, Senior Sister."
"Well, you certainly have a wonderful older sister. She even came by earlier to ask us to look after you."
"Yeah, Sister Bai is the person who treats me best in the world. I'll go change now and come help out in a bit~" I said simply, then headed to the back to clock in and change into my uniform in one fluid motion.
Today was going to be another busy day.
"By the way, Senior Sister... about what I said earlier, regarding the license... I might need the afternoons off for a while..." I leaned in close to Senior Sister Tang Yihan and whispered.
"I understand. Go ahead and focus on that; it's not like we're forcing you to be here." Tang Yihan didn't see any issue with it and readily agreed to my request.
"That's great! I'll get my license as fast as I can and come back to help!" Hearing her official response, I finally felt at ease. I promised to be quick; even though the bakery didn't strictly need me to function, I had received a lot of kindness here. It was only right to remember that sentiment.
As I busied myself, time passed and the flow of customers thinned out, leaving only the occasional online order.
At this point, I was quite bored. I had lent the books I’d borrowed from the library to Tan Han, which left me with nothing to do. I could only tidy up the front of the shop. Even if there weren't many customers, we had to maintain appearances.
While I was sweeping, someone I didn't expect walked into the Baking House.
"Tan Han? I didn't expect to see you here," I said, slightly surprised.
"I am a member of the Baking House too, isn't it normal for me to be here?" Tan Han’s usually cold expression softened into a rare, faint hint of warmth. "Are you always here?"
"Yeah. I'm a member of the club, but I'm also a part-time employee here. The paid kind," I explained with a nod.
"Paid... are you short on money?"
"Very... extremely short."
I nodded again. Looking at Tan Han, she didn't seem like someone who lacked funds. She was probably some sort of young lady from a wealthy family.
"In that case, I have a high-paying part-time job. Would you like to hear about it?"
"Eh?" I snapped my head up, the Cleaning Spell in my hand faltering. Did I just hear the words "high-paying"?
"What? Want to hear the details? I want to hire you as my meditation teacher." Under my astonished gaze, Tan Han stated her request.
"Eh? But... I'm a freshman just like you. Wouldn't your money be better spent on a senior or even a teacher?" After a moment of hesitation, I decided I shouldn't take money I didn't earn in good conscience.
The main thing was, I didn't even know how to teach. My method probably wasn't replicable anyway. It was better to find an excuse to turn her down, even if it meant losing out on the cash...
"Meditation is a very... mysterious state. Perhaps it is more like an instinct. The seniors might not be able to explain the process of going from zero to one to someone who has never meditated before. You are the only person I know who has successfully meditated recently. Your thoughts and experiences would be a great inspiration to me."
Tan Han spoke a long string of words as if she were trying to persuade me. She made me sound so impressive that I almost started believing it myself.
"But... this..."
"It doesn't matter. Even if what you say doesn't help me at all, I will still pay you. What do you think?"
"This..." I have to admit, I was tempted! This was basically free money.
She was probably even richer than Shopkeeper Xia Li.
"I don't have much of a concept of money. How does ten thousand per session sound?"
"Ten thousand?" My eyes widened. How many days of full-time work would it take to earn that much?!
"What? Is it too little?" Seeing my expression, Tan Han’s voice wavered with uncertainty. "True. After all, these are your personal insights. For a genius who succeeded on their first meditation attempt, such insights are indeed worth more than ten thousand..."
"Wait! No! No, ten thousand is enough! It's definitely enough!" I hurriedly interrupted her. At this rate, she was going to raise the price, and then I really wouldn't be able to take the money with a clear conscience!
"So, you agree?"
Tan Han looked at me, appearing quite satisfied. The corner of her mouth even twitched upward slightly, as if she had me right where she wanted me.
Such a simple girl is hard to find these days. She’s already feeling guilty over just ten thousand? Tan Han suppressed her barely visible smile and spoke with a look of pleasant surprise.
"Then you'd better not back out."
"I... well... okay then..." With Tan Han putting it that way, I found it impossible to refuse.
Sigh... why did I have to be so greedy for that ten thousand...