Chapter 16: Adapting
The rooms where the laborers lived were naturally not good. They slept on heated brick beds that ran the length of the room from head to foot. Opposite the beds were a row of wooden cabinets, and nothing else.
Hua Changxi glanced at the dormitory. The spots further inside were already taken, leaving only the area by the window available.
After quickly laying out her bedding and changing into her blue laborer uniform, Hua Changxi went out to find Du Ruo.
“Steward Du, my family doesn’t know I’m living in the Labor Department. I’d like to request leave to have someone send a message home.”
Du Ruo looked at Hua Changxi in surprise. “Who are you going to see? Do you know anyone in the Medical Affairs Department?”
Hua Changxi viewed entering the Labor Department as entering a workplace where elders would look after newcomers, making it more friendly for those just starting out. She smiled and said, “I have an elder who is a pharmacist on Ninth Street.”
Upon hearing this, Du Ruo indeed paid more attention to Hua Changxi and asked curiously, “Since you have such connections, why are you here as a laborer?”
Hua Changxi smiled. “My elders are quite busy, and I can’t trouble them for everything.”
Du Ruo didn’t ask further and nodded. “Then go and come back quickly. If you don’t finish washing two hundred medicinal herbs, you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Hua Changxi smiled in agreement and then quickly left the Labor Department.
Outside the apothecary shop at number twelve, Ninth Street, Pharmacist Xu came out and saw Hua Changxi dressed as a laborer, which made him drop his jaw. “Jiu Niang, you…”
Hua Changxi smiled. “Uncle Xu, I’ve joined the Medical Affairs Department and am now a laborer in the Labor Department.”
Pharmacist Xu listened, somewhat distressed. “Didn’t I tell you that if you couldn’t become an apprentice this year, you could try again next year? Why did you go and become a laborer?”
He knew too well how much work there was in the Labor Department every day. How could Jiu Niang, a young woman, endure it?
Hua Changxi smiled. “Uncle Xu, I have my reasons for entering the Labor Department. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Pharmacist Xu sighed as he looked at Hua Changxi. “Your family didn’t stop you!” He paused. “Although the Labor Department is a place for hard and tiring work, the internal affairs are also complicated. If you encounter any trouble in the future, be sure to come to me.”
Hua Changxi smiled and nodded in agreement. “Uncle Xu, I have to start my duties today. I didn’t know I’d be living in the Labor Department. After you finish your shift, could you trouble yourself to go to the Hua Family shop and deliver a message for me? Tell my Third Brother that I’ll come home as soon as I have a day off.”
Pharmacist Xu listened and shook his head. “I really don’t know what you’re trying to achieve by going to the Labor Department to suffer. Don’t worry, I’ll tell your Third Brother.”
Hua Changxi thanked him, listened to a few more instructions from Pharmacist Xu, and then returned to the Labor Department.
When Hua Changxi returned to the Sixth Bureau, she found Du Ruo and received her assignment.
“These two carts of medicinal herbs are what you must wash clean today.”
Du Ruo led Hua Changxi to the two carts of medicinal herbs, gave her the tools for washing them, and then went about her own business.
As the Third Steward, she also had a daily task of washing 400 medicinal herbs.
The layout of the courtyards in each bureau of the Labor Department was similar. They were divided in half by a five-meter-wide artificial ditch, and all the laborers washed medicinal herbs on the banks of the ditch.
Many laborers, to speed things up, would roll up their pant legs and stand in the ditch to wash.
Hua Changxi looked at the medicinal herbs she had to wash. They were all for Martial Artists. Seeing no special precautions were needed, she rolled up her pant legs like the others and stood in the water to start working.
Pure Body Technique Great Accomplishment: Washing Medicinal Herbs 256/1000
Pure Body Technique Great Accomplishment: Washing Medicinal Herbs 257/1000
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Watching the numbers change, Hua Changxi’s lips began to curve upwards.
Not far away, Du Ruo occasionally glanced at Hua Changxi. Seeing that she worked nimbly and washed the medicinal herbs quickly and cleanly, she finally felt at ease.
As a steward, she didn’t want to take on a burden who couldn’t work.
With Hua Changxi’s speed, she could finish washing two hundred medicinal herbs in one or two hours. However, she knew that as a newcomer to the Labor Department, it was not good to stand out too much. Although she really wanted to advance Pure Body Technique to Perfection, she deliberately slowed down her pace.
During this time, Hua Changxi secretly tasted each type of medicinal herb she washed.
Hundred Herbs Annotation Great Accomplishment: Taste Hundred Herbs 565/1000
As noon approached, while Hua Changxi was still engrossed in washing medicinal herbs, someone walked past her and called out to her.
“It’s time for lunch. Go eat first.”
Hua Changxi straightened up and looked at the person speaking. Just as she was about to thank them, the person quickly walked away with several others.
Hua Changxi got out of the water, put on her shoes, and followed the group to the canteen behind.
After lunch, everyone rushed back to the ditch to continue washing medicinal herbs, not resting for a moment.
No matter how she dawdled, Hua Changxi still managed to wash the two hundred medicinal herbs clean. Seeing that everyone else was still diligently working, she didn’t go to Du Ruo to ask for more tasks. Instead, she placed her hands in the water and secretly practiced Control Water Technique.
“Changxi, have you finished washing your medicinal herbs?”
Du Ruo suddenly appeared.
Hua Changxi stood up. “Steward Du, I’ve finished washing the medicinal herbs you assigned me.”
Du Ruo inspected the medicinal herbs Hua Changxi had washed. Each one was very clean, and there was nothing to fault. “Since you’ve finished washing, come with me to deliver the medicinal herbs to the Second Department.”
Hua Changxi was surprised to see Du Ruo personally pulling a cart and quickly went to her two carts, pulling one of them.
It was a bit strenuous when she first started pulling, but it got a little easier once the cart started moving.
Only then did Hua Changxi truly understand how tiring the tasks in the Labor Department were. Fortunately, she had started cultivating; if it were her previous physical strength, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to pull the cart.
As Hua Changxi quickly followed Du Ruo, she didn’t notice that the other female laborers around her were all looking at her in astonishment.
Female laborers had less strength, so when delivering medicinal herbs, they would send them in small batches. Among the female laborers, there were fewer than ten who could pull a full cart like Hua Changxi.
Du Ruo was also startled by Hua Changxi and stammered, “Changxi, you have quite a bit of strength.”
Hua Changxi then noticed the cart Du Ruo was pulling. The medicinal herbs on it were not piled high, and she smiled sheepishly.
Du Ruo looked at her with envy. “Having more strength is good. With more strength, you work faster, and if you work faster, you can sleep early at night. I finally understand why your family sent you here to be a laborer.”
Hua Changxi smiled sheepishly and asked, “Steward Du, why do we have to send the medicinal herbs we wash clean to the Second Department?”
Du Ruo explained, “Our Labor Department is responsible for the initial processing of medicinal herbs sent from various places. After the medicinal herbs are washed clean, they still need to be processed.”
“The First Department and the Second Department are responsible for processing medicinal herbs. Only after the medicinal herbs are processed will they be sent to the Medical Affairs Warehouse for storage.”
Hua Changxi listened carefully. Before long, the two arrived at the Second Department.
Someone at the Second Department was responsible for receiving the medicinal herbs. When receiving them, they had to record the type and quantity of the medicinal herbs. After recording, it was considered complete once Hua Changxi and Du Ruo signed.
“Remember, next time you come to deliver medicinal herbs alone, you must watch the people at the Second Department count the herbs, don’t let them make mistakes.”
“If they record fewer, and you don’t complete your daily quota, you will be deducted money when you receive your monthly salary at the end of the month.”
Hua Changxi: “Thank you for the reminder, Steward Du. I’ll remember.”
Afterward, Hua Changxi went to the Second Department three more times, not only bringing all her medicinal herbs but also helping Du Ruo pull two carts.
All the medicinal herbs she and Du Ruo were responsible for processing were handed in, and her first day’s assignment in the Labor Department was finally completed.
