When Yucheng woke again, Ganyu was nowhere to be seen. Not only that, but Qingxin, Violetgrass, mint, berries, sweet flowers, and Jueyun Chilis had been piled all around the campsite. The sheer quantity left Yucheng stunned.
It seemed Ganyu had scoured the surrounding area for every medicinal herb, ingredient, and even spice while he slept. He had to admit that an Adeptal Beast was far more efficient than a human. In just one night, she had done several days' worth of work for him and Qiqi.
Yucheng took stock. The quantities of Qingxin and Violetgrass, the two most important herbs, already far exceeded his targets. It looked like he and Qiqi could head home today, without having to wear themselves out climbing mountains anymore.
When Qiqi got up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, a look of disappointment appeared on her face when she saw that her favorite Cocogoat was gone.
Yucheng rubbed her little head and comforted her. "Don't be disappointed. Ganyu is always in Liyue. We can go see her when we have time."
Qiqi nodded vigorously, then began gathering up the gifts scattered across the ground with Yucheng.
Taking everything was out of the question. The herb baskets Yucheng and Qiqi had brought could not hold so much, so they could only choose the more valuable medicinal herbs. As for things found everywhere, like mint, berries, and sweet flowers, they could only make a strategic retreat and leave them behind.
Both their herb baskets were filled to the brim. Although Qiqi looked like a child, the physical boost from her zombie body allowed her to carry things seven or eight times her own weight with ease.
As a result, Qiqi's herb basket held far more than Yucheng's. If someone who knew nothing about them saw the pair like this, they might think Yucheng was abusing Qiqi as a child laborer.
Just as Yucheng and Qiqi set off for home, Ganyu, who had left the night before, had already returned to Liyue and her post. This time, however, all her colleagues noticed a subtle change in her that they could not quite put into words.
When Ganyu walked into the finance office of the Liyue Ministry of Civil Affairs and asked the staff to pay her salary for over three thousand years of service as secretary to the Liyue Qixing, the entire ministry was shocked.
If Ganyu asking to be paid was already shocking enough, her next requests-to start work at nine each morning, finish at five each afternoon, and work five days a week with two days off-made people wonder whether something unclean had possessed her. This was far too unlike the Ganyu they knew.
Although the hours she requested were the same as those of ordinary ministry staff, she was Ganyu, after all: a half-human, half-adeptal beast with a Qilin bloodline, who had worked diligently for Liyue for over three thousand years. Now that she had suddenly made this seemingly perfectly reasonable request, how could anyone not be curious about what had happened? Had Ganyu encountered something during her day off yesterday?
Word quickly spread through Liyue's upper ranks, naturally including its current highest public leader, the Tianquan, Ningguang. When Ningguang heard the news from Baixiao in the Jade Chamber, even her normally unruffled face showed a trace of shock and confusion.
As the Liyue Ministry of Civil Affairs was an official government department, even its lowest-ranking staff received salaries and benefits above the middle range in Liyue. What was more, Ganyu was secretary to the Liyue Qixing-not secretary to any single member, but to the Qixing as a whole. It was a genuinely high-ranking position.
Taking a monthly salary of two million Mora as the basis (equivalent to a real-world monthly salary of twenty thousand), that amounted to twenty-four million Mora a year (two hundred and forty thousand in the real world). Three thousand years of salary came to a staggering seventy-two billion Mora (seven hundred and twenty million in the real world).
And that was only her stated salary. If the benefits she was entitled to, overtime pay, and interest incurred by the delayed wages were included, the figure would be even larger. Ganyu, however, did not seem to have mentioned any of those things.
Paying Ganyu over three thousand years of wages all at once required an astronomical amount of Mora. The finance office simply could not produce that sum, nor did it dare approve the payment on its own authority. It could only report the matter to Ningguang in the Jade Chamber. Even Ningguang, with all her wealth, was stunned when she heard the figure.
She turned to her secretary, Baixiao, and asked, "Do you know where Ganyu went yesterday, or whom she met?"
"Lady Ganyu took the afternoon off yesterday. Someone saw her leaving in the direction of Jueyun Karst, so she presumably went to visit her master. As for what exactly happened, we don't know yet."
"Her master? Cloud Retainer? She has never been on good terms with the humans of Liyue Harbor, and only keeps her distance out of regard for Rex Lapis. Could she have said something to Ganyu that prompted these requests?"
"Hmph! That Adeptal Bird is awful."
"Don't talk nonsense! Cloud Retainer contributed to the construction of Liyue Harbor back then. She rendered distinguished service to Liyue. How can you speak of her like that? Still, Ganyu has worked so diligently for Liyue all these years. Seeing her looking half-asleep every day pains me, too. I've urged her many times to remember to rest, but she never listened. Now that she has changed her mind, it's a good thing."
"But Lady Ningguang, her working hours and days off are easy enough to arrange. Her salary, however, is simply too large a sum. Our budget doesn't have anywhere near enough money to pay Lady Ganyu."
"Don't worry about that. You can discuss paying her in installments over a few years. Given Ganyu's nature, she certainly isn't asking for so much Mora to indulge in luxury. Besides, if Ganyu hadn't brought it up herself, we would all have overlooked how she has quietly and selflessly given her all these years, without us giving her the compensation she deserves."
"But hasn't it always been this way?"
"Does that make it right? How about the three of you try taking over Ganyu's work and see how long you last?"
"No, no, no. I'll go make the arrangements right away."
"Wait."
"Lady Ningguang, is there anything else?"
"Ganyu's working hours have been reduced, but her workload hasn't changed. We need to assign more people to take over some of her work. Also, just in case, have Yelan investigate Jueyun Karst and see if she finds anything."
"Yes!"
Baixiao hurried away. Ningguang walked slowly to the window and looked out toward the northwest. With the Jade Chamber suspended high in the sky, she could clearly see the peaks of Jueyun Karst. Turning the pipe in her hand, she gazed absently in that direction and murmured:
"Liyue is, ultimately, the Liyue of humanity. It must still rely on people."
In the end, the Liyue Ministry of Civil Affairs reached an agreement with Ganyu: her wages, including principal and interest, would be paid in monthly installments over five years. Ganyu thus immediately joined the ranks of Liyue's wealthiest women. This news gave all her colleagues at the ministry an idea about Ganyu that they had never had before.
And the news gradually began spreading throughout Liyue Harbor.
Before you continue