On friday at noon, after Alchemy class and lunch, with five minutes left until twelve, Zheng Qing arrived early at the entrance to Hundred Herbs Garden, ready for his last volunteer shift of the week.
The night patrol at Linzhong Lake totaled five hours, divided evenly across three days, a little over an hour and a half each day.
Forty minutes at noon, forty minutes in the afternoon.
There had originally been more than forty minutes of work scheduled for this afternoon, but to avoid needing rest after practical class, Zheng Qing had worked a little harder yesterday afternoon. So after today's noon shift, the substitute work for Saturday's night patrol would be completely finished.
Compared with summer and autumn, the great oak tree at the entrance of Hundred Herbs Garden had become much more somber. Its leaves had dulled, and the Two-tailed Squirrels that once darted between its branches had vanished as well.
Zheng Qing craned his neck and searched for a long while, but never saw those lively little creatures. He had even prepared a handful of peanuts, intending to give them some extra nutrition.
"I'm just that kind-hearted." Remembering how the squirrels had pelted his head with nuts the first time he came to Hundred Herbs Garden, the young wizard could not help sighing with self-satisfaction. "This must be what they call repaying resentment with kindness..."
Just after twelve, the "temporary groundskeepers" coming to work arrived one after another.
At the front was naturally Old Man Stad, the caretaker of Hundred Herbs Garden. To Zheng Qing's surprise, Professor Li Qihuang from Potions Studies was also standing at the garden entrance. The others looked vaguely familiar, but Zheng Qing could not remember most of their names. They were probably students from Jiuyou Academy as well.
Those students clearly