Silence filled the Sea God Pavilion. Everyone sat with their heads slightly bowed and their brows tightly furrowed, their thoughts unreadable.
The purpose of their meeting was, naturally, to discuss what price Shrek would have to pay as a medical fee for Wang Xian'er to treat Mu En.
In all fairness.
Every person present was willing to contribute toward Mu En's treatment, and all of them dearly wanted to see him return to his prime and lead Shrek back to greatness.
But that was also where the problem lay.
To outsiders, they were Shrek Academy, the Sea God Pavilion Elders. They were a single united body.
Internally, however, even if they were all members of Shrek, each represented their own interests.
They did not care how astronomical the medical fee was. Shrek could afford it. But when the cost was divided among them, who would pay more? Who would pay less?
Would they split it evenly, with everyone contributing a fixed share, or allocate it according to strength, making those with greater means and wealth pay more?
If they split it evenly, why should they?
Shrek had many departments, each with different earning power and funding allocations. Commercial departments such as the Soul Tool Department and the Treasure Gathering Pavilion naturally had deeper pockets and were better at making money.
Departments such as the Beast Fighting Zone, on the other hand, did not merely fail to earn money. They even consumed a large portion of Shrek's funds every year just to keep operating, with no way to support themselves.
Naturally, there was less "grease" to skim off the top.
If the cost was split evenly, why should departments that were already poor contribute as many resources as those wealthy departments?
And why should the wealthy departments contribute more?
*We're all