A Lavish Dinner!

By the time they returned to Shrek Academy, it was already deep into the night.

Beneath the old crooked locust tree by the academy gates, Zhao Wuji was leaning against the trunk, dozing off.

Hearing footsteps, he suddenly opened his eyes. The moment he saw Flender and the other two, he immediately stood up.

"How did it go?" Zhao Wuji asked.

Flender did not answer. He simply pulled a cloth bag from his robes and casually tossed it over.

Zhao Wuji caught it, pulled open the mouth of the bag, and froze.

It was filled to the brim with Gold Soul Coins.

They were stacked in neat rows, gleaming enticingly beneath the moonlight.

"How... how much did they sell for?" Zhao Wuji's voice was a little dry.

"Forty-six thousand three hundred," Flender said blandly.

Zhao Wuji opened his mouth but could not say a single word.

Shao Xin poked his head out from the kitchen, still holding a spatula. Li Yusong and Lu Qibin also emerged from their rooms. Clearly, none of them had slept; they had all been waiting for news.

"Forty-six thousand three hundred?" Shao Xin's voice rose several pitches. "The Candy Beans sold for that much?"

"Your Candy Beans alone sold for nearly forty thousand," Oscar could not help cutting in. "Teacher Shao Xin, you have no idea—when those people at the auction house saw your Candy Beans, they fought over them like mad! A bottle started at one thousand Gold Soul Coins and ended up selling for over eight thousand!"

Shao Xin stood there in a daze, and the spatula in his hand nearly fell to the floor.

He had been making Candy Beans for most of his life, yet he had never known that something he made so casually could be worth this much money.

"Headmaster Flender, this..." Shao Xin looked at Flender, his lips trembling faintly.

Flender waved a hand, cutting him off.

"Don't get worked up. Today is only the beginning. We'll make even more money in the future." He paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone present. "But we won't talk about that today. Shao Xin, what food is left in the kitchen?"

"There's still some rice and pickled vegetables..."

"Forget that." Flender pulled out a handful of Gold Soul Coins from the cloth bag and handed them to Shao Xin. "Go find some hunters in the village and buy two chickens, a fish, some eggs, and vegetables. Today, we're having a proper meal."

Shao Xin accepted the coins, his eyes reddening slightly.

After spending so many years at Shrek, this was the first time Flender had personally asked for extra dishes.

Half an hour later, a lavish spread was laid out on the dining hall table.

Braised chicken, steamed fish, scrambled eggs, vegetables with garlic, and a pot of bone soup stewed to a milky white.

There was also a huge basin piled high with fluffy white rice—more than enough for everyone.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar sat before the table, their eyes going wide at the sight of all the food.

"What are you staring at? Eat." Flender picked up his bowl and took a piece of chicken.

Everyone immediately began eating.

Ma Hongjun put a piece of fish into his mouth. It was fresh, tender, and smooth, melting the instant it touched his tongue.

Teacher Shao Xin's cooking was truly exceptional. It was just that, in the past, even the cleverest housewife could not cook without rice. No matter how skilled he was, poor ingredients could only yield poor food.

Now that they had money and better ingredients, the flavor immediately rose to another level.

Oscar ate until his mouth was slick with oil, mumbling through a mouthful of food, "Teacher Shao Xin, with your skills, we could open a restaurant in the city. We wouldn't even need to auction Candy Beans anymore..."

"Eat your food." Shao Xin smiled and gave him a chicken drumstick.

Zhao Wuji drank three bowls of soup in one go, then leaned back in his chair, rubbing his belly as he let out a satisfied sigh.

"Flender, after following you for so many years, this is the first time I've eaten this well."

Flender ignored him, though the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Li Yusong and Lu Qibin ate with refined manners, but they refilled their bowls of rice again and again.

The two veteran Soul Emperors had followed Flender through hardship in this dump and had never complained, but their bodies were honest—if they could eat well, who would want to eat badly?

Ma Hongjun set down his chopsticks and looked at everyone around the table, an indescribable feeling rising within him.

When he had read the original novel in his previous life, Shrek Academy had left him with the impression of being poor, shabby, and miserable.

Flender was stingy, Zhao Wuji was rough, and the students often went hungry after one meal with no promise of the next.

But at this moment, what he saw was not poverty.

He saw a group of people with conviction who, after enduring for so long, had finally caught sight of hope.

After dinner, Flender called everyone into the office.

The cloth bag full of Gold Soul Coins sat in the center of the battered old desk.

The bag was open, and the coins glimmered beneath the candlelight.

Flender explained the profit-sharing arrangement—

Shao Xin would receive twenty percent, around nine thousand two hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar would each receive ten percent, four thousand six hundred and thirty Gold Soul Coins apiece.

The remaining fifty percent, twenty-three thousand one hundred and fifty Gold Soul Coins, would go into the academy's public account for the students' daily cultivation resources.

When Shao Xin heard that he would receive over nine thousand Gold Soul Coins, he was completely stunned.

"Flender, that's too much... I..."

"It's not too much." Flender cut him off. "You made the Candy Beans. Without you, we wouldn't have earned a single coin. Taking twenty percent is only right."

Shao Xin opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more. He put away the money, his eyes red. It was impossible to tell whether he was moved or heartbroken over having worked for nothing all these years.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar each received their share.

Oscar held the bag of Gold Soul Coins in both hands, trembling as though he were holding a fragile dream.

"Hongjun, we... we're rich."

Ma Hongjun nodded.

"We're rich."

Watching from the side, Zhao Wuji could not help snorting. "You two little brats are getting this excited over a few thousand Gold Soul Coins? Once you start earning money yourselves, tens or hundreds of thousands of Gold Soul Coins won't be enough for you to spend."

Flender shot him a glare.

"Say less."

Zhao Wuji shut his mouth, but the smile on his face could not be hidden.

Late at night, everyone returned to their rooms.

Ma Hongjun lay on his bed, still clutching the bag of Gold Soul Coins in his hand without letting go.

Oscar lay on the bed beside him, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

"Hongjun, do you think this means I've made it?"

"I guess so."

"Four thousand six hundred and thirty... If my parents knew their son earned this much money at eight years old, they'd probably be scared to death."

Ma Hongjun said nothing.

He looked at the crack in the ceiling. Moonlight leaked through it, casting a thin white line across the wall.

Four thousand six hundred and thirty sounded like a lot.

But compared to Shrek Academy's future expenses, it was nowhere near enough.

Medicinal herbs for medicinal baths, purchasing soul beast materials, replacing training equipment, and the food, clothing, lodging, and travel of future students... every single thing cost money.

Forty-six thousand Gold Soul Coins would last them for a while, but not forever.

Auctioning Candy Beans and Sausages was only the first step.

Once Shrek's reputation grew, once Flender and Zhao Wuji became stronger, and once he and Oscar matured, there would be more and more ways to make money.

No rush.

They would take it one step at a time.

The next morning, before dawn had broken, Ma Hongjun woke up as usual.

He got dressed, pushed open the door, and saw Flender already standing in the courtyard.

The morning breeze stirred Flender's robes, and his back seemed a little straighter than usual.

"Morning, Teacher."

"Morning." Flender turned around and glanced at him. "You didn't spend yesterday's money recklessly, did you?"

"No."

"Mm."

Flender nodded. "Money is meant to be used, not hoarded. Don't begrudge spending it when it needs to be spent, but don't waste it when you should be saving. You're still young and don't have many places to spend money yet. Save it for now, then take it out when you need it later."

Ma Hongjun nodded.

Flender turned back toward the eastern horizon.

A pale sliver of dawn had appeared in the sky, and the sun was about to rise.

"Today's training will be doubled," Flender said.

Ma Hongjun took a deep breath.

"Alright."