"What's your idea?"
Tuoba Guoyun was surprised. He turned to look at Chen Shaojie.
Chen Shaojie felt that the problem was not actually that hard to solve. He said, "Senior, we just need to assign a reference number to each vestment and make a record of who worked on which vestment. If something were to happen, we can easily find the person responsible."
"A reference number?"
Tuoba Guoyun stared at Chen Shaojie. "You mean an imprint, right? Reference number...is that what people in your hometown call it?"
"No, I mean a reference number."
To Chen Shaojie, an imprint was something like a QR code... He explained, "It's like bookkeeping. We assign a reference number to each vestment. For example, the vestment made by the first person would have the number 1 on it, the vestment made by the second person would have the number 2 on it, and so on and so forth. This way, every vestment will bear a number.
"After a vestment is manufactured, we immediately record its number as well as its embroideress in a record book. If anything were to happen to a vestment in the future, we can find out who's responsible for it right away. It's simple and efficient."
Tuoba Guoyun gave it some thought and nodded. "Wonderful. This way, we'll easily know who's responsible for a problematic vestment. The culprit will naturally have to worry about getting exposed and won't dare to sabotage the vestments so blatantly anymore."
After fully understanding Chen Shaojie's suggestion, Tuoba Guoyun could not help staring at Chen Shaojie in amazement. "Not bad, kid. You sure come up with a lot of weird ideas. It's worth the steep price I pay to poach you from the Hall of Learning."
Excuse me, weird ideas?...
This was clearly a moment of genius...
Under Tuoba Guoyun's appreciative gaze, Chen Shaojie adjusted his pose so that his young and promising image could be more deeply imprinted in the big shot's mind.
At the same time, hearing that the big shot had paid a steep price to poach him from the Hall of Learning greatly satisfied Chen Shaojie's ego. He could not help wondering what the "steep price" was. "What price did you pay, Senior?"
"In order to get you to the Jing Yun Hall, I promised the chief of the Hall of Learning not to ask for anyone else from them for a whole year."
Whenever Tuoba Guoyun recalled this matter, he felt truly miserable. He cast a sidelong glance at Chen Shaojie and told him, "From now on, you must do the work of 10 people in order to make my sacrifice worth it."
Damn…
Another miscalculation...
If he had known, he would never have mentioned it. He had brought the pain upon himself.
Chen Shaojie could not keep up his pose anymore. He tried to change the topic. "You should use a material that is hard to remove to write the reference number on a vestment to prevent others from altering it or exchanging a vestment for another."
Tuoba Guoyun was indeed more concerned with the Embroidery Pavilion problem. He quickly forgot about the matter with the Hall of Learning.
He thought about it and said, "I heard there's a kind of fish monster from the East Sea whose blood is extremely difficult to rub off of clothing. The Vast Storage Hall may have some. I'll use it for the reference number."
After a short pause, he added: "But there are not many places to write a reference number on a vestment. If the reference number is too small, it won't be easily readable."
That's because you're using the traditional way of writing numbers; of course they occupy a lot of space...
(TL: Traditionally - like way back in ancient China - the characters for 1234 are 壹贰叁肆. The modern characters are 一二三四. See the difference?)
Chen Shaojie quickly remarked "I have an idea", then gave a brief explaination of Arabic numerals. They were easy to remember and did not occupy much space. There was no better numerical system than that.
Tuoba Guoyun immediately saw the benefits of Chen Shaojie's set of "code". He laughed. "Good, good. It's amazing how you can come up with one weird idea after another."
After a slight pause, he said, "Okay, from tomorrow onwards you will be coming to the Embroidery Pavilion to oversee this matter."
But boss, I don't want to work overtime...
Chen Shaojie was at a loss.
He had not finished his induction training in the Hall of Learning yet. Why would he come here?
Besides, he had not even officially joined the Jing Yun Hall yet. Sharing some ideas was no big deal, but Tuoba Guoyun actually wanted to station him here now? The feeling was like "I'm not yours yet, but you already want my body". This overbearing way of doing things was really inethical.
But before he could voice his refusal, he heard Tuoba Guoyun say, "If this matter is performed well, I can award you 100 merit points. How about it?"
100 merit points?
Chen Shaojie's eyes lit up, and his heart skipped a beat.
The Qing Yu Immortal Sect had its own set of "currency", which ar the merit points.
Besides the three Grain-Avoidance Pills that will be given to each person every month, everything else had to be redeemed with merit points. Even upgrading your own cave required merit points.
The reason new disciples would be assigned to work in different halls, besides to let them familiarize themselves with the affairs of the sect, was to let them earn merit points.
Only after earning enough merit points could they go to the Scripture Depository at the end of their induction training period and redeem a suitable technique to start formal cultivation.
The better the technique, the higher the amount of merit points required.
If a disciple did not have enough merit points, they either had to keep earning more or settle with lesser techniques.
Therefore, merit points were very important.
According to Chen Shaojie's investigation, a newbie's pay ranged from about 20 to 50 merit points in the beginning. However, very few could actually earn 50 merit points. The norm was usually around 30 merit points.
Now, the big shot was actually promising him a reward of 100 merit points so casually. Chen Shaojie's thought on it was: "since you can afford to pay that price, my body is yours".
Of course, even though he had already decided to sell his body, he must do so in a composed, reserved manner.
"How long do you plan to have me stay in the Embroidery Pavilion, Senior?"
This question was crucial. It was an elementary math problem.
If the period was one month, then it would be considered a high-paying job. Two months, it would still be alright. Three months, it would not be that attractive.
Four months... there was not much to say about it. Leave the job for someone who's actually willing to do it.
Tuoba Guoyun thought about it and replied, "This matter must be resolved within half a month, or we will be in big trouble."
100 merit points for half a month of work?
Sold!
Chen Shaojie said bluntly, "Senior, I can come to the Embroidery Pavilion, but I'll need some manpower. Can I ask for a person from the lower court?"
"The lower court?"
Tuoba Guoyun's brows furrowed. "Who do you have in mind?"
"House A Class 2, Wu Fulai."
Chen Shaojie answered without hesitation.
Tuoba Guoyun could not wrap his mind around it. "Jing Yun Hall has plenty of staff. You can have anyone you want. Why would you ask for a disciple from the lower court?"
Chen Shaojie replied unhurriedly, "The numerical system I told you about, I've previously used it in the Book Depository. Senior Brother Wu Fulai is already very familiar with it. Considering how urgent the situation is, sending him here to help me is the most efficient way."
It was a valid reason. After giving it some thought, Tuoba Guoyun nodded. "Okay, then. You can just come here straight away tomorrow. I'll send someone to get Wu Fulai here to be put under your charge."
"Thank you, Senior!"
"Do a good job. Don't let me down."
'Don't worry, Senior. For those 100 merit points, I'll do my best!' Chen Shaojie thought in his mind.
Besides, to him, a small problem like this would not take much effort at all.