Chapter Twenty: Hooray

Zhou Yi could not understand at all why Su Ziye was so happy.

Of course, there was still a strong sense of accomplishment in seeing a pile of parts finally assembled into shape. The machine before them was now about a person’s height, roughly two meters long and one meter wide. From the outside it still looked square and solid, but what secrets it held inside was anyone’s guess.

“Joy water?” Zhou Yi could not help but look completely baffled.

“The beverage you tasted today, Senior Zhou Yi, is called Academy Joy Water,” Su Ziye said, looking at him with deliberate composure.

“So that’s how it is.” Zhou Yi wore an expression of sudden enlightenment. Then he turned to Su Ziye. “So the idea of having the Third Prince at Three Towers Square was Miss Liu Ru’s idea?”

“You guessed right,” Su Ziye said with a nod. “And in fact, the academy will be providing this drink free of charge and without limit to all students from now on. The Third Prince’s help today, you can think of it as publicity.”

“So the Third Prince will never do that again?” Zhou Yi said after hearing this, feeling no excitement at all—instead, he was deeply disappointed.

“And no matter what it is, if it is obtained too easily, it will not be cherished, wouldn’t you say?” Su Ziye said with a smile. “Perhaps on this day next year, we can have the Third Prince perform again.”

“If that’s true, then that would be wonderful!” Zhou Yi was already imagining next year on this very day, but then he came back to himself. “You mean this machine is the one that makes that drink?”

“Yes.” Su Ziye nodded. “But we need to test it first.”

“How do we test it?” Zhou Yi asked.

“Like this.” Su Ziye reached into his robe and took out several prepared bottles. When Zhou Yi looked inside, he saw each one contained all kinds of powders, some familiar to him and some not.

Su Ziye then poured the powders from those bottles one by one into the machine’s various feed openings. When he had finished, he slowly took out another bottle of clear water, rose slightly onto his toes, and poured it into the very top of the machine.

“And now comes the moment to witness a miracle,” Su Ziye said quietly. Then he pressed a small red button on the back of the machine with his hand.

Once the button was pressed, the machine immediately let out a thunderous roar, startling Zhou Yi. He instinctively stepped back two paces before looking at Su Ziye again. “There won’t be any danger, will there?”

“I’m not sure, so this time I only used the minimum amount of materials for testing,” Su Ziye said with a smile.

“So you don’t know either, huh?” Zhou Yi looked very disappointed.

“Oh, right. Where is Miss Liu Ru?” he asked.

“The young lady is resting upstairs now. After all, it’s enough for me to handle the testing.” Su Ziye answered with a smile. “Still, let me ask you this, Senior Zhou Yi—are you interested in working here?”

“Work?” Zhou Yi was caught off guard by the question.

“In the future, a large quantity of Academy Joy Water will be produced here. It will not only supply the academy internally, but also be sold and manufactured externally as well,” Su Ziye explained. “Of course, that kind of production definitely cannot happen out of thin air. I tried making the blends and mixtures entirely by hand before, but the efficiency was far too low. However, I was only testing the proportions of the drink’s ingredients. Once the recipe is finalized, most of the blending and brewing of the ingredients will be handled by machines like this. What we need are sufficiently capable operators to run and maintain them, and the academy students are unquestionably the most suitable candidates.”

Su Ziye spoke in such businesslike terms that Zhou Yi had the absurd feeling he was not his senior at all.

“So that’s why you came to me?” Zhou Yi coughed modestly.

In truth, he did not really want to agree. But watching Su Ziye’s operation made it seem very entertaining.

Of course, Zhou Yi would absolutely not take this job merely because it looked fun.

Unless Su Ziye could give him plenty of benefits.

“I would like to invite Senior Zhou Yi to serve as a part-time team leader in this area,” Su Ziye said directly. “As for compensation, I’ll need to discuss academic credits with President Karotes, so I can’t make any promises to you for now. But other benefits, I can do my best to satisfy both you and the other students who will come here later.”

“First of all, of course, there will be an unlimited supply of Joy Water. Of course, that isn’t really a perk in itself, but this is the place where the freshest Joy Water will be produced, and ordinary people cannot come here without permission. Senior Zhou Yi will be entrusted with the important responsibility of managing this place. Originally I could have paid you in material wages, but since goldleaf grass does not circulate within the academy, I can only give you stock options.”

“Stock options?” Zhou Yi completely failed to understand.

“Stock options are shares that can be redeemed after a certain period of time,” Su Ziye explained to him as simply as possible. “Academy Joy Water will not only be sold within the academy, but will also be sold outside. Naturally, that will generate a great deal of profit. Goldleaf grass cannot circulate inside the academy, but once you leave the academy, no one can live without the ordinary necessities of life. So the students who work here, I will give them some stock options. When they leave the academy, I will present them with a considerable sum of wealth as a graduation gift.”

“There’s such a good deal?” Zhou Yi was somewhat tempted the moment he heard it.

Yes, although within the academy every student was equal and well provided for, and money really was useless there, like so much worthless junk, not everyone could stay in the academy for life. Once outside, one would fall back into the mortal world and still have to run about for a living. Although graduates of Leafnight Academy generally did not need to worry about employment, if you did not work, then more often than not you still would not have food to eat.

If one really received such a graduation gift upon finishing school, then for most students it would be a considerable temptation.

“No problem. Then, Su, just tell me how many people you need, and I’ll definitely get it done for you!” Zhou Yi immediately gave him his assurance. After all, if there was one thing he was good at in the academy, it was popularity.

“The more the better,” Su Ziye said calmly with a smile, then turned back to look at the machine, which was slowly settling into silence.

“It seems the work is even faster than I imagined. That senior’s craftsmanship is truly excellent.” Saying this, Su Ziye took out a glass jar and placed it beneath the machine’s outlet. He gently pulled out the stopper, and a thick, syrup-like dark brown liquid slowly flowed out of the outlet below, until the jar was more than half full.

“So this is the raw material for Joy Water?” Zhou Yi seemed to grasp the idea.

“Then how about spending tonight with me to make some together, Senior?” Su Ziye asked with a smile.

After understanding the pros and cons, Zhou Yi agreed decisively.

“Great!”