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...
Dawn was breaking.
Frost dotted the somewhat monotonous courtyard, where a young man, his face full of resentment, was sweeping the public area with a large broom. There were plenty of large Young Dragon skins flakes, broken scales, beast phlegm spat out, and most of all, remnants of cheap wooden stakes and straw men.
"I thought I wouldn't have to do this rough work after coming here. Big Horn, you're really underperforming. Why can't you just knock down that Big Wolf Sprite so we wouldn't have to clean the courtyard?" Li Shaoying complained while recalling the dragon fight from the day before.
The opponent was a Wolf Spirit Young Dragon, which in theory should not have been as strong as his own Horned Calf Young Dragon, yet his Horned Calf Young Dragon was unbelievably clumsy during the fight, getting played the entire time.
"We need to work harder. Next time, we must regain our honor!" Li Shaoying continued to mumble to himself.
"Creak!"
The courtyard door opened, making a hefty noise, and Li Shaoying, somewhat surprised, looked over at the entrance.
Who would get up so early?
Is there actually someone so diligent and hardworking that they finished morning training before the sun is even up?
Soon, Li Shaoying saw Zhu Minglang coming back from the outside. From his steps, one could tell he was tired, and his face was full of confusion.
...
Back in his room, Zhu Minglang took off the large bamboo basket from his back.
He went around to the back of the house and saw the Little Crocodile Spirit lying on the sand, biting into some slightly stinky stone-spotted fish at a pace that showed he was having a tough time swallowing them due to the smell.
Zhu Minglang gave a wry smile.
Alas, the little guy seems to know we're poor and is willing to gulp down even the unpalatable food.
"Little Black Tooth, look what I've got?" Zhu Minglang placed the large bamboo basket in front of the Little Crocodile Spirit.
As the basket tilted, out rolled some plump, greasy Large Meat Silkworms, and the Little Crocodile Spirit's round eyes lit up at the sight!
It sprinted over, firstly swallowing the few Large Meat Silkworms that had fallen out. Then, its head plunged into the basket like a starving pig, wiggling its plump rear and tail while eating with gusto.
After a binge, the Little Crocodile Spirit was finally full. Not a single one remained in the basket, and with a face of contentment, it crawled beside Zhu Minglang and slurped a big, wet tongue across him to show its affection.
"No, no, no, I stink all over. I need to take a bath," Zhu Minglang pushed away the sticky Little Crocodile Dragon.
The Little Crocodile Dragon didn't mind at all, still cuddling up until its drool had anointed Zhu Minglang's face, then it contentedly returned to its own pool.
Zhu Minglang got up too, planning to get rid of the smelly stone-spotted fish first, but the Little Crocodile Dragon seemed reluctant as it watched him.
Little Black Tooth's intelligence was not low.
It seemed to understand that Zhu Minglang had been busy all night long just to exchange for that basket of silkworms. It planned to keep the stone-spotted fish, thinking it could make do with them if it got hungry again.
"Don't worry, there will be food for the next meal. By tomorrow morning, you will see another large basket, even bigger than today's. We don't need these anymore," Zhu Minglang comforted the Little Crocodile Dragon.
The Little Crocodile Dragon seemed overjoyed upon hearing this, offering its adorably hideous head for Zhu Minglang to pet.
"You go back to sleep. When you wake up, we'll have to train. Just to let you know in advance, I am a heartless devil when it comes to training," Zhu Minglang said.
"Woof woof!" The Little Crocodile Dragon responded, eager to grow stronger as well.
After the bath and lying down, despite feeling extremely tired, Zhu Minglang couldn't fall asleep immediately.
Cleaning the Reserve Dragon Storage Hall all night just for a basket of silkworms wasn't sustainable. He would have to go again tonight, ensuring the Little Crocodile Dragon's food for tomorrow, but this couldn't go on.
Bai Qi might wake up at any time, and honey was far more valuable than silkworms, not something to be exchanged for doing these assorted tasks. Meanwhile, maintaining the Little Crocodile Dragon's food was already taking up most of Zhu Minglang's time...
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The Little Crocodile Dragon would grow even bigger, reaching two or three meters in length. Its appetite would increase by several folds, and Zhu Minglang knew that no matter how much menial work he did day and night, it wouldn't be enough to satiate it. Where would he find the time for training?
"When I came back from the Reserve Dragonsn Storage Hall, it seemed like the academy assignment board had a rewarding task available. I'll take a short nap and try it before noon."
Within the academy, some tasks were published for students or Dragon Shepherds to take on. Raising dragons and young dragons entailed considerable expenses, and those students without any backing had to either work a job to sustain themselves or rely on these academy assignments for income.
Among these were the lucrative tasks of dragon hunting.
There were also tasks that purely sold labor for hard-earned money, such as looking after young dragons, Juvenile Spirits, and cleaning the Dragon Caverns.
Zhu Minglang had talked with the old man from the Reserve Dragonsn Storage Hall; he could help look after Juvenile Spirits at night there. The new slave workers would clean the hall since they didn't understand the habits of Juvenile Spirits and young dragons. He, as a genuine student of Dragon Taming, was qualified for the job.
One whole night's work could be exchanged for two baskets of Large Meat Silkworms.
The old man needed Zhu Minglang tonight, so if he pulled another all-nighter today, he would have resolved the next two days' food issue.
He needed to find another task with a higher reward in the next two days to prepare the honey.
"Sigh, it's been a long time since I had such a planned life!" Zhu Minglang sighed.
Although the future would be harder, life had become something to look forward to.
...
Zhu Minglang didn't sleep for long, as there wasn't enough time, and naturally, reducing his sleep was appropriate.
He had to make use of time to prepare the food for the Little Crocodile Dragon and Bai Qi.
At the dining hall, he randomly stuffed some food into his mouth and then hurried to the academy assignment board to see what tasks he could take on.
"Sss, there are even battlefield assignments, attacking cities... Those must be for Dragon Shepherds, the academy really has a wide reach," Zhu Minglang said with a headache as he looked at the complex assignment board.
The rewards for going into battle were extremely exaggerated; one could actually receive a quarter of that city's taxes!
If Bai Qi hadn't degenerated, Zhu Minglang might have given it a try.
Owning the taxes from a city could exchange for several mountains of meat silkworms... Eh, why am I measuring in meat silkworms, that's so unambitious.
"Fish monsters in Li Chuan Lake are beginning to overrun, mating and crying out at night, laying rock-hard eggs on the shore that not only severely affect the aesthetic of the academy and Li Chuan Lake but also the arrogant fish monsters that attack fishermen in the town, truly nefarious..."
Zhu Minglang read out this particular assignment.
Clearing out the Spotted Blue Fish Monsters!
It was an awkward task.
Dragon Shepherds with True Dragons disdained doing such things as clearing out Little Demon Spirits. Little Demon Spirits all have their own ways of escaping and instincts to hide from stronger beings. With a Dragon Son handling this task, it would be quite time-consuming and the rewards were not high.
Among Juvenile Spirits, they need to learn how to survive in water and have sharp hunting skills. Many young dragons might not be up to the task, and it's possible to get surrounded and killed by a swarm of Fish Monsters.
Fortunately, the Little Crocodile Spirit was an expert at hunting fish species!
Afternoon was the designated training time for the Little Crocodile Spirit, strengthening its body with the waterfall's currents while hunting down these Stone Spotted Fish Demons was killing two birds with one stone!
"It lasts for half a month, so Little Black Tooth now has a clear direction for training. If we complete it successfully, we'll even get a piece of Gold Sand," Zhu Minglang said with a smile on his face.
Training and earning money at the same time!
Getting this piece of Gold Sand would greatly relieve the food crisis!
I'm taking on this task!!