The Mortal World, Kong's Paper Effigy Shop.
That morning, Chen Miao and the other four Second-Grade Apprentices were all quietly processing materials.
Chen Miao worked the fastest of them all. Even when Ge Feng handed in their work each day, he still had processed materials left over. The others could not help feeling envious.
Of course, Cao Xiu's envy also carried a trace of hatred!
Yesterday, because of Chen Miao, he had failed to meet the quota for the first time.
That failure might well have lowered Boss Kong's opinion of him considerably.
And that slight drop in esteem might mean his family would have to spend several hundred extra taels of silver when pulling strings for him.
Chen Miao's life was not worth even ten taels, yet he had cost Cao Xiu several hundred. The thought sent rage surging through him.
But for now, he could only endure it.
After thinking it over all night, however, he had found a way to deal with Chen Miao's cold snorts: earplugs!
He had pulled some cotton out of one of his padded winter coats and stuffed it into his ears.
Throughout the morning, he barely heard any distracting noise.
This even let him process materials twenty percent faster than usual, giving him confidence that he could block out Chen Miao's snorts that afternoon.
Even now, though, he still did not understand why Chen Miao's snorts affected him so much.
Could it be because I've been paying too much attention to Chen Bai lately?
As he pondered that, lunchtime arrived.
The five people in the Grade-B Courtyard had no disagreements when it came to meals. Once it was time, they went to collect their food together, then brought it back to eat in their courtyard. Kong's Paper Effigy Shop had rules about