Xingzhuo Courtyard's Daily Life (Part 2)

In the bathhouse, Xingzhuo relaxed his slightly weary body.

He closed his eyes and began to calculate his current monthly income.

The earnings from the Dessert Shop and the Barbecue Shop were skyrocketing every month.

From an initial monthly take of 100,000 ryo, it had surged to one million ryo per month.

The clan was already preparing to help him open branch stores, and the issue of equity had only been settled in the last two days.

Elder Qiyan's intention was to give him only 20% of the shares for the branches.

However, by holding tight to the recipes and the "copyrights," and with the tacit approval of his father, Hyuga Tianren, he managed to negotiate the shares up to 40%.

This was already an inflated share.

After all, he wasn't putting up money or labor for the branches; he was merely providing a recipe and sending someone to supervise.

Therefore, being able to secure such a high percentage was entirely due to his status as the future clan head.

In truth, Xingzhuo was happy to see the clan's income soar.

After all, only when the clan had money could the clan members receive their share.

Take this for example: his monthly resources used to be only 100,000 ryo.

Ever since the incident with the Sarutobi Clan, his clan resources had increased to 300,000 ryo.

However, he had his own expenses to cover.

Not to mention himself, he had to be responsible for the cultivation resources of Yun Fei and Lian, and Ziyin, as his chief financial officer, also required a high salary.

He also had to hire people to handle the various chores around the small courtyard.

What's more, there was now Kenshi, who could also be considered a genius, so his cultivation resources had to be kept up as well.

Calculating all this, he didn't know how much time had passed, but he suddenly realized that no one was speaking in the bathhouse.

He looked up.

At this moment, Yun Fei was lying in the bath, relaxing and staring at the ceiling.

Kenshi was following suit, though his frame was already half-grown, making his posture look slightly cramped.

Xingzhuo sighed helplessly.

That guy Kenshi still couldn't let go.

So, he swam over and took the initiative to spread the other's legs, forcing him to stretch out his body to achieve a state of forced relaxation.

After another bout of awkward silence, Xingzhuo coughed twice and took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Kenshi, what was your monthly income before?"

Kenshi was stunned for a moment, but replied promptly:

"Before the Dessert Shop, I only had a monthly clan subsidy of 50,000 ryo."

"After I started at the Dessert Shop, the clan subsidy increased to 70,000 ryo."

Hearing Kenshi's answer, Xingzhuo's eyes widened in surprise:

"What? Only 70,000?"

Kenshi nodded, looking at Young Master Xingzhuo with some curiosity.

Was there a problem with 70,000?

Xingzhuo gritted his teeth and said:

"On top of the clan subsidy, I gave you an additional 100,000 ryo, totaling 150,000 ryo. That old guy Hyuga Qiyan actually only gave you less than half of that?"

Kenshi lowered his eyes slightly, seemingly having accepted this as the norm.

But Xingzhuo felt that this atmosphere had to change.

"From now on, keep taking the clan subsidy, and I will provide you with fixed cultivation resources and 250,000 ryo every month."

Hearing the young master's words, Kenshi raised his head in confusion.

He felt as if he had heard something he couldn't quite understand again.

"Is it not enough? That's the standard I set for Yun Fei and Lian."

Kenshi suddenly realized what he meant and stammered:

"It's enough, it's enough. It's a lot."

Watching Kenshi's stuttering appearance, Xingzhuo suddenly felt a bit mischievous and teased:

"Kenshi, you're already sixteen. If you go to Windy Street to see the ladies every month, 300,000 ryo might indeed not be enough."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Kenshi was stunned for a moment. Once he understood the young master's words, his face turned bright red, to the point where he almost fainted.

"Hahahaha!"

Hoshishaku laughed heartily as he steadied the boy.

Yun Fei, standing to the side, couldn't help but chuckle as well.

Hoshishaku felt that this Hyuga Kenshi must be just like the future Hyuga Hinata—someone prone to shyness, perhaps even pathologically so.

Having discovered this, he felt he had found himself a new source of amusement.

He decided then and there: he would tease this child whenever he had the chance, just to add a little fun to his daily life.

At the same time, it would keep the boy from dwelling on any unpleasant thoughts.

The three of them soaked for over an hour before leaving one after another.

Mostly, it was because Hoshishaku kept catching Kenshi and teasing him with suggestive jokes.

The result was that two of them were constantly laughing happily, while the third kept oscillating between fainting from shyness and being on the verge of doing so.

The next day was essentially the same as the one before.

Everyone ate breakfast together, then Ziyin went off to work, while the other four began their training.

However, Young Master Hoshishaku seemed to have a penchant for defeating others; he would actively challenge people to spar with him, only to win with overwhelming force.

They took a collective break at noon, and in the afternoon, they followed their routine of going out to inspect the shops.

Today was Lian's turn to work, so she accompanied the Young Master, while Yun Fei stayed behind to train with Kenshi.

When evening finally arrived, Kenshi fidgeted his way into the bathhouse.

And as expected, he was once again targeted by the Young Master for teasing.

The only difference from yesterday was that he no longer fainted.

Hoshishaku felt that this particular form of entertainment wouldn't last much longer.

Another new day dawned.

Today was the turn of Kenshi, who had just finished his sick leave, to be on duty.

However, the schedule today was different from before.

Because Hyuga Hoshishaku was going to the Senju Clan Grounds to study Sealing Technique.

After finishing breakfast as usual, Hoshishaku took Kenshi with him to the Senju Clan Grounds.

Yet, contrary to what Kenshi had imagined, once the Young Master arrived at the Senju clan's territory, he acted even more freely than he did back at the Hyuga Clan Grounds.

It was as if he had returned to his own home.

This left Kenshi once again mired in doubt.

Have I been dreaming since a few days ago?

Of course, it was no dream.

Because of Hoshishaku's temperament and disposition, combined with his status as Tobirama's disciple and Yuto's close friend, he had quickly become familiar with everyone.

That was why coming to the Senju Clan Grounds felt just like coming home.

"Yo, Lord Hokage is here too! When are you going to teach me Wood Release?"

"Master, aren't you supposed to be working? Without you, Konoha would grind to a halt in no time."

"Yuto, why are you still sleeping in? Get up and study with me!"

"Lady Mito, we're learning the Four Symbols Seal today, right? I'm so excited. Just three more sealing techniques, and I'll be able to learn the Flying Thunder God."

Half an hour later, Hoshishaku dragged Yuto, who was still rubbing his eyes, to sit down across from Uzumaki Mito.

Mito looked at her youngest son's lazy appearance and didn't find anything wrong with it at all.

She ruffled the hair of both children, had someone bring over some snacks and tea, and then began the day's lesson.

"The Four Symbols Seal is where sealing techniques start to become truly profound."

"Its principle relies on the cycle of the four symbols to seal a certain power for a long period of time..."

On the other side, Kenshi was not idle either.

He snacked on the treats brought by the servants while sitting in an adjacent room, pondering the Taijutsu Scroll the Young Master had given him.

He, too, was fully immersed in absorbing the knowledge.