That morning, Zhou Ling unusually slept in, only leaving his room when his parents were having breakfast.
With the year-end approaching, his master had given them a few days off as well.
"Ling'er, why didn't you sleep a little longer?"
Seeing her son, Li Ru ladled him a bowl of Spirit Porridge and asked with a smile.
Zhou Ling had originally wanted to tell his parents about his breakthrough and make them happy.
But after thinking it over, he decided there was no rush. He would wait until he passed the assessment in half a year, then give them a real surprise.
"I made plans to visit the Flower Market with Xin'er today! Yuan Hu is coming with us too!"
Zhou Ling replied.
Li Ru nodded and said with a smile, "Huzi is steady and clever. Your father and I discussed giving him two more Spirit Stones at the end of the year."
"Starting next year, we'll raise his monthly pay to five Spirit Stones."
"Mm!"
Naturally, Zhou Ling had no objection to that.
These days, Yuan Hu earned part of his income at the wine workshop, but he actually made even more selling Magic Artifacts for Zhou Ling.
Every month, Zhou Ling drew artifact designs for the Workshop. With the surplus artifacts, he could also refine one or two Mid-Rank Magic Artifacts.
He had Yuan Hu sell those too, paying him one or two Spirit Stones for each Mid-Rank Magic Artifact.
All told, he could earn several Spirit Stones a month.
That was far more than an ordinary apprentice could make!
As the family of three ate, Zhou Shan had already finished his meal and began talking about his trips into the mountains again, as though reminiscing over bitter days and savoring the sweetness of the present.
"Old Li