Chapter 787: Holding On To Your Roots
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Since this recursive cycle is so powerful, let’s get the cycle started at once, Mr. Rich Boss…” Sir System goaded.
Fang Ning nodded as he heard this. “You’re right, but you’re are the only one who can complete this task. Your System s.p.a.ce is the key to boosting productivity…”
“Hmph, you took half a day for your repeated inspections and it turns out, in the end, you were only bragging. You didn’t do anything and now I’ve to take responsibility for everything?” Sir System sulked.
“Why, this is the greatest meaning of the act of seizing…” Fang Ning remarked c.o.c.kily.
“I’m gonna kill you.” Sir System was furious.
“If you kill me, you won’t live either.” Lying down in the lounge, Fang Ning said firmly. “Alright, I’ve already taught you the method. Go find Zheng Dao and let him be in charge of adjusting these production lines. We have only one goal, that is to increase the output of all kinds of pills for the nurturing of malevolent spirits.”
“So silly of me. Really, I knew you probably would rouse yourself, but you only did it for three minutes…” Sir System commented displeasedly.
“Don’t be so discontented. I can boost your efficiency by a significant degree by only rousing myself for three minutes. That’s good enough.” Fang Ning was too lazy to move.
He had just finished running for one round and had already prepared himself mentally. His fear of the deities of the Upper Realm had been reduced by half.
Nowadays, Sir System had tons of property. As long as they were distributed reasonably, experience points were nothing to be worried about.
Even if the deities of the Upper Realm were to come down, their powers did not simply come from nowhere. They still had to face limitations from this area.
Earth, no, the universe here had just started to change from the material to the mysterious. The collected power within the mysterious side was limited.
The deities could not wield power that was as effective as the time when the Upper Realm was at its prime. This could be witnessed from the bodies of Ru Shou and the arhats. (TN: Ru Shou, which is the actual name of the Golden G.o.d in Chinese mythology, is the G.o.d of punishment. A snake lives in his left ear and he rides on two dragons.)
Sir System had a unique rule where he could upgrade his strength through farming experience points. No one else could compete with him in this regard and he was the only one in the universe with this ability.
Hence, he rested peacefully.
…
Meanwhile, Vigilante A returned to the farm villa and found Zheng Dao.
“Butler, we currently have lots of property under our name. We need to sort through everything and pinpoint the development priorities…”
Following that, Sir System relayed Fang Ning’s a.n.a.lysis to Zheng Dao. The development priority was naturally the production of pills, especially manufacturing the Yin Attribute Pills.
Of course, Sir System did not consume those things. They were for the malevolent spirits.
Although Zheng Dao did not fully understand the circ.u.mstances, he did not ask too many questions. Instead, he took down the details in a small notebook.
Sir System’s Alchemy lab was highly efficient, but despite the presence of ten or so threads, it still was not enough for the Alchemy industry which utilized modern production a.s.sembly line technologies.
Sir System’s forte laid in the manufacturing of high-grade pills. After all, the Dragon Clan Honey-flavored Pill was already world-famous.
“Alright, Venerable One. In my next stage of work, I shall prioritize this task and try my best to coordinate the manufacturing process and increase production of the Yin Attribute Pills. There’s only one problem…” Zheng Dao was suddenly unsure of himself.
“Just speak your mind.” Vigilante A encouraged.
“According to my years of experience in managing webstores for pills, the market for the Yin Attribute Pills is very small. If we were to ma.s.s produce these pills, it would be very easy to result in a ma.s.sive stockpile. The stock won’t be s.h.i.+pped out, which translates to zero cash flow. In the end, the production stages will come to a standstill.” Zheng Dao had pointed out a compelling issue.
“Dammit, Mr. Rich Boss, you’re incredibly lazy! You didn’t consider these important details for me.” Sir System chided angrily.
“Hmph, you’re so silly. Old Man Zheng’s just feigning ignorance. Can’t we just split them into two parts? One part will fulfill the market’s requirements and the other will fulfill yours. This guarantees the products manufactured from both parts will reach a dynamic balance of payment.” Fang Ning was dazed.
A good thing that he had played countless simulation and idle games. This sort of problem did not stump him.
Thus, Vigilante A told Zheng Dao about this and the latter nodded.
Zheng Dao naturally knew about the solution to this problem, but as the supervisor, he could not make decisions on his own. He had to gain the approval of the master first.
“Right, Mr. Rich Boss, don’t you always laze around at home. Go have a look at the herb garden in the Draconic Arcane Realm. Just now, Chong Daqing sneaked in again together with Ren Ruofeng. It’d better not eat my herbs. The Whitestone people are too honest to watch over it and Tom the Cat has gone farming in the Morality City.” Sir System had had enough of this and tried to give Fang Ning some work to do.
“Huh, why is it here again? I’ll go then.” Fang Ning was stunned for a moment, then slowly heaved himself up.
Sir System’s words reminded him of the storage of experience points. There was someone else, and that was Daqing.
Although he still was unsure how long it was until the insect’s next full meal, it still was a thought.
Fang Ning headed for the neighboring Draconic Arcane Realm and soon reached the herb garden.
Sir System was right. Chong Daqing was crouching at the stem of the old ginseng and digging the soil.
“I keep thinking that you’re already ripe. Let me have a piece of your root, won’t you?”
Chong Daqing’s words stirred the old ginseng, causing it to shake violently and its leaves to sway wildly.
“Oh, does this mean you agree?” Chong Daqing continued to use its limbs to shovel the soil forcefully.
Fang Ning rolled his eyes when he heard this. This was bullying someone who could not speak, plain and simple!
At the same time, there was a cherubic little girl squatting beside the old ginseng. She said cautiously, “Little green insect, I think Grandpa Ginseng is saying that it can’t give you its root.”
Whereas, Ren Ruofeng was standing beside the little girl. A compa.s.sionate smile was etched on his youthful face, which looked rather odd.
“It’s impossible, Hong Hu. I used to sing so many songs for it, and it’s because of this that it can grow properly. We share such a good relations.h.i.+p, so how can it not give me a ginseng root in return?” Chong Daqing ignored the girl and kept digging at the soil.
“Ahem…” Fang Ning stepped into the herb garden, reminding Chong Daqing that the master was here.
Fang Ning showed his true ident.i.ty when he appeared in the Draconic Arcane Realm. After all, his fiancée, Liu Yao and her family sought refuge here.
“Oh, it’s you. Hold on, once I’ve gotten my hands on a ginseng root, go make me a bowl of old chicken and ginseng stew. I bet it’ll be delicious.” Chong Daqing ordered haughtily.
When the old ginseng heard this, it rocked even more violently and its leaves nearly fell off.
“Uh, Sir, do you know why the old ginseng is so reluctant to give in? I don’t think losing one piece of root will cause any harm… Daqing did help it a lot.” Fang Ning was also in doubt.
“Rubbis.h.!.+ You’re indeed foolish.” Sir System seized his chance for revenge. “You never cared about the old ginseng. Don’t you know that it’s about to evolve?”
“Oh, that explains it.” Fang Ning realized at once.
He hastily walked forward, grabbed and lifted Chong Daqing.
The old ginseng instantly calmed down and its leaves shook slightly, showing its grat.i.tude.
“Hey, Chef Fang, what the h.e.l.l are you doing? Put me down!” Chong Daqing squirmed and yelled.
“Sigh, the old ginseng isn’t stingy. Do you know that it will evolve soon?” Fang Ning soothed the insect patiently.
“Of course, I do. How else would I come over at this time to get a bite of that root?” Chong Daqing lifted its head and retorted.
“Wow… you do have a point there.” Fang Ning was out of words. “It’s because of this very reason that it’s so fearful. Don’t you understand that after you cut off one of its roots, it will be short of a limb after it has evolved…”
“Being short of one limb is still a good thing. If anything goes south, he will become an eunuch ginseng… a lifetime of cultivation won’t save him from such a mess.” Sir System mocked.
“Eh, your imagination is more vivid than mine, but that could be the truth. Why else would the old ginseng be so terrified? This is the true meaning of ‘holding on to your roots’…” Fang Ning agreed wholeheartedly.
“It is.” Sir System was absolutely sure.
Meanwhile, Chong Daqing hung its head in despair. “What should I do then? Don’t tell me I spent two years of my life for nothing?”
Ren Ruofeng was amused by this as he watched them. This little insect did have an unusual personality.
“Wait for it to evolve. After that, the ginseng roots that will become beard and hair can be given to you for your consumption.” Fang Ning had an idea.
At this moment, the old ginseng’s leaves waved up and down again, as if he were saying “This is acceptable”.
“Hmm, that sounds like a good idea, Chef Fang. Fine, I’ll wait for a little longer for it.” Chong Daqing immediately brightened up.
“It’s even better this way. Problem solved.” Fang Ning let out a long sigh of relief. He finally had the attention to greet Ren Ruofeng and the little girl.
Naturally, he knew about the little girl’s relations.h.i.+p with Ren Ruofeng. Not many people in this world knew about that. He and Sir System were two of the minorities.
“Elder Ren, are you here to visit Hong Hu again?” Fang Ning greeted courteously. He knew about their secret, but he could not point it out openly.
“Yes, her mother has joined us at the Truth Department and I have to be responsible as well…” Ren Ruofeng replied in a rather exaggerated manner.
“Hmm, that’s true. You all have fun, then. I still have some matters to attend to. See you later.” Fang Ning said cheerfully.
“Okay, as you wish, Mr. Fang.” Ren Ruofeng smiled.
Then, Fang Ning turned around and left. The voices of two humans and an insect could be heard behind him.
“Little green insect, here’s a slice of cake for you. Brother Ren gave it to me…”
“Good, you’re such a good girl. I’ll sing a song for you.”
“Nice, nice, please sing it now.”
“Okay, I just learned a song about tending to flowers. I’ll let you listen to it.”
“Alright, I’ll listen well.”
“A… Little… Flower… La… La… La…”
“…”
“…”
“Sounds good, doesn’t it?”