NOVPUBAlthough the materials needed for a single serving of spirit food might be minimal, the quantities produced daily by the Spirit Food Department are truly astonishing. When added together, they amount to a number that would make anyone’s eyes pop.
And in all this, the Diwu Hall is extremely strict with every single item used, so much so that half of the heap of written messages here relate to this matter.
Wang Ba couldn’t help but sigh:
"It really does make sense that the Sect can support so many cultivators."
Besides these records of material inflow and outflow, the other half of the written messages includes details on the use, wear and tear, and maintenance of kindling and Magic Tools, as well as personnel utilization—meticulously frustrating to deal with.
And Wang Ba also noticed that all these written messages had timestamps, all of which were recent.
"Is it because of the Tribulation Crossing Raft? Has the Sect started to stockpile resources in advance?"
Wang Ba pondered thoughtfully.
He then began to organize.
With the abilities of a cultivator, dealing with these things should not be taxing.
But soon, Wang Ba found out why even Martial Uncle Cui, a Nascent Soul Cultivator, felt the need to delegate the task to him.
The reason was that the numbers in these records did not match up at all.
One page would claim that five million three hundred thousand taels of Class II spirit rice were taken from the Spirit Plant Department this month, only for the next page to suggest it was four million one hundred thousand taels.
One entry reported taking three hundred Class II fireseeds from the Fireseed Department; the next simply read: none.
This wasn’t due to the record keeper’s carelessness—the handwriting before and after was completely different, it clearly wasn’t done by the same person.
But soon Wang Ba realized that even when the same person did the record-keeping, the numbers still didn’t match up.
In such a situation, not even a Nascent Soul Cultivator—or the King of Heaven himself—would have an answer.
No wonder, as each cultivator was busy with their own practice, who would have the mind and the energy to ponder over these?
The higher-ups intended to have a detailed understanding of the people and material usage below them, which was well-intentioned, but they completely overlooked human nature.
Wang Ba, looking at the pile of messy papers in front of him, couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.
However, since he had already agreed to take on the task— and it was not entirely hopeless—Wang Ba settled down and got started on the grueling job of categorizing and organizing.
Fortunately, his many years of experience breeding Spirit Chickens and conducting experiments had made him quite adept at handling and summarizing data, and he soon managed to categorize all the written messages.
But that was only the first step. The real challenge was in processing the data within.
Seeing the dense array of figures on the written messages, Wang Ba realized the difficulties of being a Vice Minister.
"No wonder I always see Martial Uncle Cui working late into the night at the department..."
By now, night had fallen.
After putting Liu Jin to sleep, Bu Chan saw that Wang Ba’s house was still lit and came to check on him.
When she understood the trouble with the data in the written messages, she immediately rolled up her sleeves, took up a pen, and began to work with Wang Ba to verify and organize the figures.
Wang Ba, sensitive to data, didn’t just plow through mindlessly:
"Junior Sister, you arrange them in chronological order... Generally speaking, the earliest records tend to be accurate. Let’s start by organizing according to the earliest stock entry data..."
Although Bu Chan hadn’t dealt with these much before, women are attentive and patient. Under Wang Ba’s guidance, she quickly found a blank ledger to re-record and organize the earliest data.
Wang Ba wasn’t idle either; he divided the data according to the different departments they belonged to and the different categories they fell into while guiding Bu Chan on how to conduct the data statistics.
The two of them worked in such a way, one planning and instructing on the overall data while the other diligently got down to the detailed organization.
A night passed, and daylight broke.
Looking at the much-reduced pile of ledgers in front of him, Wang Ba let out a long sigh of relief.
He then turned to look at Bu Chan, who had been busy all night but still seemed spirited, and without saying much, simply embraced her gently.
"Mama, I gotta pee... What, what are you doing?!"
Wang Yi’an, yawning and rubbing his eyes, walked out of the room and couldn’t help but widen his eyes in astonishment.
Seeing the two Wang Bas, it seemed like his whole world had been shaken.
"Ahem..."
The two abruptly separated in embarrassment.
"Go on, hurry and do your business..."
Wang Ba urged him.
"What exactly are you doing, don’t hide it from me, okay..."
Wang Yi’an was still somewhat discontented.
But he got shooed away pushily and confusingly by his dad.
...
Spirit Food Department, second floor.
Cui Daqi looked at the written messages in front of him with some disbelief:
"You finished so quickly?"
Wang Ba’s brow slightly furrowed, puzzled:
"Isn’t this what Martial Uncle wanted first thing in the morning?"
"I meant for you to... But this..."
Cui Daqi found himself at a loss for words for a moment.
I did say that, but it was only an offhand remark, right? Without it, people like big drinker He might delay it until next year before handing it in.
Upon this realization, Cui Daqi couldn’t help but feel somewhat emotional:
"After all, it’s the young people who are more easily motivated... with such drive!"
Wang Ba was unaware of Cui Daqi’s thoughts at the moment, and with a hint of sheepishness said:
"However, the timeline was indeed tight, so I had to list out several pieces of data that warrant further discussion separately..."
"It’s fine, it’s fine."
Cui Daqi waved his hand dismissively and reassured with a smile: "These are minor issues. It’s perfectly normal for there to be data worthy of discussion. After all, dealing with such a large amount is indeed tricky."
I must comfort this good disciple. Nowadays, it is rare to find those who are willing to work hard.
Even if the task was performed poorly, one should not let the child’s spirit be dampened.
