Eating a sesame flatbread, Song Qing sighed. "They all approached me with an agenda. They only wanted benefits from me, not to give anything." The man opposite him said, "Brother Song, you've gotten smarter. You're not like you used to be."
Holding his flatbread, he said ruefully, "Then how long do we have to keep eating these?"
Song Qing sighed. "They are a little hard to swallow."
"Have some water with them. Eating them dry must be miserable." A voice suddenly sounded behind them.
Hearing it, Song Qing and the other man immediately turned around.
They discovered that Jiang Man had appeared before the now-closed door at some point.
They shot to their feet.
"Young Master Jiang," Song Qing said, somewhat excited.
"S-Senior Jiang." The man opposite Song Qing was extremely nervous. This was a Golden Core Ancestor.
Jiang Man turned to look at him. He seemed somewhat familiar.
"Young Master Jiang, he's the chef I invited from Falling Cloud City. We owe much of our Spirit Source earnings to him." Song Qing introduced him as he spoke. Only then did Jiang Man learn that his name was Tang Feng.
"How much Spirit Source does he get a month?" Jiang Man asked curiously.
"Eighteen hundred," Tang Feng immediately replied. "I know being able to come to the Sect is already a kindness from you, Senior, so I'm willing to work for any amount." Jiang Man said casually, "Then make it two thousand."
After a pause, he asked curiously, "Can the shop's earnings cover your pay?"
Song Qing said somewhat awkwardly, "They could at first, but not later. Lately, even the flatbreads won't sell. To avoid waste, we make as few as possible, then eat them ourselves."
"The food's pretty good, then. Doesn't look like you've suffered much," Jiang Man remarked.