When Yuto woke up again, Ganyu was nowhere to be found. Not only that, the campsite was surrounded by Qingxin, Violetgrass, Mint, Berry, Sweet Flowers, and Jueyun Chili, in such quantities that Yuto was astonished.
It seemed that Ganyu had taken advantage of his sleep to scavenge all the nearby medicinal herbs, ingredients, and even spices. It had to be said, the efficiency of a qilin was much higher than that of a human. In just one night, she had completed several days' worth of work for him and Qiqi.
Yuto checked and found that the quantity of the most crucial Qingxin and Violetgrass had far exceeded his goal. It seemed that he and Qiqi could return home today, without the need for more strenuous mountain climbing.
When Qiqi woke up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, a look of disappointment appeared on her face as she saw that her favorite Cocogoat was gone.
Yuto ruffled her small head and comforted her, "Don't be disappointed. Ganyu is always in Liyue. We can go visit her when we have time."
Qiqi nodded vigorously, then began to help Yuto pack up the gifts scattered on the ground.
Taking everything was definitely impossible. Yuto and Qiqi's herb baskets couldn't hold so many items. They could only choose the more valuable medicinal herbs. As for common items like Mint, Berry, and Sweet Flowers, they had to be strategically abandoned.
Their herb baskets were packed to the brim. Although Qiqi looked like a child, the physical enhancements from her zombie body allowed her to easily carry items seven or eight times her own weight.
This meant that Qiqi's herb basket contained much more than Yuto's. If an uninformed person saw them like this, they might think Yuto was abusing Qiqi as child labor.
Just as Yuto and Qiqi embarked on their journey home, Ganyu, who had left last night, had already returned to Liyue and her post. However, this time, all her colleagues noticed that Ganyu seemed to have undergone an indescribable change.
When Ganyu walked into the Ministry of Civil Affairs' finance office and demanded that the staff pay her salary for over three thousand years as the Tianquan's secretary, the entire Ministry of Civil Affairs was shocked.
If Ganyu's demand for salary was surprising enough, her subsequent request—to work from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, five days a week, with two days off—made people wonder if Ganyu had been tainted by something. This was too unlike the old Ganyu.
Although her requests were consistent with the working hours of normal Ministry of Civil Affairs personnel, she was Ganyu, a half-human, half-qilin beast with qilin blood flowing through her veins, who had diligently worked for Liyue for over three thousand years. Now, suddenly making this seemingly very reasonable request, how could it not make people curious about what had happened? Had Ganyu encountered something during her day off yesterday?
This matter quickly spread among Liyue's high-ranking officials, including the current highest leader of Liyue, Tianquan Ningguang. When Ningguang, who was in the Jade Chamber, heard this news from Baixiao, her usually calm face showed a hint of shock and confusion.
Since the Ministry of Civil Affairs is an official department of Liyue, even the lowest-level internal staff enjoyed above-average salaries and benefits in Liyue. Moreover, Ganyu's position was the secretary of the Tianquan. This secretary was not the secretary of a single Tianquan, but the secretary for the entire Tianquan, which was a truly high-level position.
Calculating at a monthly salary of two million Mora (equivalent to a real-world monthly salary of twenty thousand), the annual salary would be twenty-four million Mora (real-world two hundred forty thousand). Three thousand years of salary would amount to a staggering seventy-two billion Mora (real-world seven hundred twenty million).
This was only the official salary. If one added the appropriate benefits, overtime pay, and interest accrued from delayed payments, the figure would be even more enormous. However, Ganyu did not seem to mention these things.
The immediate payment of Ganyu's salary for over three thousand years meant that the required Mora had become an astronomical figure. The finance department simply could not produce such a sum and dared not approve it privately, so they could only report it to Ningguang in the Jade Chamber. Even the wealthy Ningguang was astonished when she heard this figure.
She turned to ask her secretary Baixiao, "Do you know where Ganyu went yesterday and whom she met?"
"Lady Ganyu had the afternoon off yesterday. Someone saw her leaving in the direction of Jueyun Karst, so she probably went to her master's place. As for what exactly happened, we don't know yet."
"Her master? Cloud Retainer? She has always been at odds with the humans of Liyue Harbor, only tolerating them because of the Emperor. Did she say something to Ganyu that led to this request?"
"Hmph! That immortal bird is too wicked."
"Don't talk nonsense! True Lord Cloud Retainer also contributed to the construction of Liyue Harbor back then and is a hero of Liyue. How can you speak ill of her like that? However, Ganyu has worked diligently for Liyue for so many years. Seeing her always looking half-asleep, my heart aches for her. I have repeatedly advised her to remember to rest, but she never paid attention. Now that she has changed her mind, it can be considered a good thing."
"Then, Lady Ningguang, the working hours and vacation are easy to discuss, but the salary amount is truly too large. Our financial budget simply doesn't have that much money to give to Lady Ganyu."
"Don't worry about that. You can negotiate with her about paying in installments over several years. Given Ganyu's character, she certainly isn't asking for so much Mora for pleasure. Besides, if Ganyu hadn't brought it up herself, we would have overlooked that Ganyu has been silently and selflessly dedicating herself for so many years, and we haven't given her the proper compensation."
"But hasn't it always been this way for so many years?"
"Always being this way, does that make it right? How about you three try to take over Ganyu's work and see how long you can last?"
"No, no, no, I'll go arrange it right away."
"Wait."
"Lady Ningguang, is there anything else?"
"Ganyu's working hours are shortened, but her workload hasn't changed. We need to arrange more people to take over Ganyu's work. Additionally, just in case, have Yelan investigate Jueyun Karst to see if she finds anything."
"Yes!"
Baixiao hurriedly withdrew. Ningguang slowly walked to the window, looked out, and gazed towards the northwest. Since the Jade Chamber hung high in the sky, Ningguang could clearly see the peaks of Jueyun Karst. While playing with the pipe in her hand, she stared at Jueyun Karst, lost in thought, and murmured,
"Liyue, after all, is the Liyue of humans. It still relies on people."
Ultimately, the Ministry of Civil Affairs reached an agreement with Ganyu. Ganyu's salary would be paid in monthly installments, with principal and interest, over five years. Ganyu thus directly became a top wealthy woman in Liyue. This news caused all her colleagues in the Ministry of Civil Affairs to develop a previously unprecedented impression of Ganyu.
And this news also began to gradually spread throughout Liyue Harbor.
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