From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 57 The Cost of Raising a Child is a Bit High (Please Read On!)

"Cuckoo."

The little carp transformed into its true form, flicking its tail as it swam slowly in the cold underground pool.

Although the underground river was dark, the craftsmanship of the [Craftsmen's Office] was truly superb. They had ingeniously inlaid pearls on the stone walls, their soft glow making the riverbed not dark at all.

The water plant seeds, stimulated by magic, have sprouted, and although not very lush, they make the underwater world even more tranquil.

The little white dragon tumbled happily underwater. The underground river had become wider after being dredged, and it could move around quite freely, at least for its current size.

Its body swept over the water plants on the riverbed, and these newly sprouted water plants suddenly sprouted like crazy, climbing everywhere in the blink of an eye.

After all, the little white dragon was born divine; even a breath it exhaled could promote life growth, and a piss could awaken the intelligence of ordinary fish.

Seeing that the little white dragon was having fun, You Ming didn't bother with it.

He bent down and came to the deepest depression in the underground river, which was about several feet deep. The water here was much colder than in other places. If an ordinary person came here, he would probably fall seriously ill.

However, this is the core of the entire Cold Pool, where the earth's veins converge and water vapor is abundant, making it the most crucial location in the entire underground river.

In the past, the little carp was able to cultivate itself thanks to the spiritual energy of this place.

However, as his strength increased, this amount of spiritual energy was already a drop in the ocean.

If he didn't receive a monthly divine stipend that could be directly converted into spiritual energy for cultivation, his progress in cultivation wouldn't have been so rapid.

You Ming lifted up the Sea Spirit Vein Source, an irregularly shaped, transparent crystal core, faintly tinged with blue, as if containing an entire surging ocean. The soft sounds of ocean waves flowed endlessly within the crystal, and spiritual tides could be faintly seen rising and falling at its center.

There was even a faint force of attraction emanating from it, like a magnet, as if it wanted to merge with the earth.

You Ming slowly embedded the Sea Spirit Vein Source into the pit. He seemed to hear a "thud" sound as the entire Spirit Vein Source was firmly attached to the ground.

At the same time, a rumbling echo came from deep underground, as if the earth itself was awakening, the earth veins were being awakened, and they were slowly turning.

Ripples spread across the calm water, and wisps of azure energy rose from the bottom, like mist and tide, slowly ascending in the narrow cave.

After a few breaths, the spiritual energy suddenly erupted like a spring, with concentric rings of watery spiritual light spreading out from the source of the sea spiritual vein.

The originally thin spiritual energy became thick and foggy, and even the rock walls began to glow with a faint blue light, with droplets of water seeping from the crevices of the rocks.

The temperature of the entire underground river immediately dropped by more than ten degrees, but because the spiritual energy was too rich, some algae and spiritual moss sprouted new shoots at an even faster rate.

"This is actually a mid-level spiritual vein, making the spiritual energy concentration here more than three times that of a normal place."

You Ming was pleasantly surprised. The spiritual energy had increased so much all of a sudden. Not only could it reduce the consumption of divine power, but it would also make his daily life more comfortable.

The increase in spiritual energy made the little white dragon even more excited.

It swam from one end of the river to the other, occasionally darting into the increasingly lush aquatic plants, cautiously peeking out half its head.

Upon seeing You Ming looking in his direction, he plunged headfirst into the water plants, causing them to churn and thrash.

This left You Ming speechless; these energetic brats were really hard to manage.

"...My lord, this month we harvested a total of 3,600 streams of divine power. Of these, 1,200 streams came from Yangjiaoshui, Dadun Village, and Dachenzhuang. However, 1,000 of these were from offerings to the Goddess, so 90% of them were handed over. The remaining 200 streams are reserved for your temple and do not need to be handed over... This leaves 300 streams of divine power. The other seven villages harvested a total of 2,400 streams of divine power. Of these, 50% went to the City God, 30% was handed over to the Golden Boy God, and 20% was kept by us, which is 480 streams... In total, this month's profit is 780 streams..."

It's the end of the month, and Wu Mo is reconciling accounts with You Ming.

Because the original three villages were the base of Little Carp, they were the most prosperous. The seven newly added villages still have great potential to be explored. According to You Ming's estimate, a total monthly income of about five to six thousand divine power is considered acceptable.

Of course, the main reason he was able to gain so much divine power was that he was now qualified to establish a side temple. Although the incense offerings there were not many, whatever he earned was his own and he did not need to hand them over to the government.

For You Ming, this was just the beginning. If one day all the villages in Changning County were under his management, the amount of divine power he received each month would increase dozens of times.

"After deducting the salaries of all the servants for this month and their daily expenses, there is still 362 strands of divine power left."

Wu Mo continued, but You Ming almost spat out his tea.

How much... how much?
With the limited manpower of our Yuanling Mountain, a hundred streams of divine power per month would be enough to keep things running. Why did we use more than four hundred streams all at once?

Did you embezzle?
You Ming was furious. "Our yamen has only been open for a few days, and this kind of thing has already happened?"
However, after he started reading the "Prenatal Life Precious Book," it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.

Because it clearly states that purchasing the spiritual food cost a full three hundred units of divine power.

"As you know, Bu Hui needs to be fed with spiritual food every month. I only managed to buy it at cost price by pulling strings and finding a backup department of the [Inspection Division]. Otherwise, it would consume even more divine power."

Wu Mo was also helpless. This was a dragon, and even a newborn dragon consumed a huge amount of energy every day.

You Ming clutched his chest, feeling like he could hardly breathe.

Three hundred divine powers! I finally became wealthy, and now I have to spend such a large sum of money every month.

Moreover, true dragons have extremely long lifespans, with their growth period measured in centuries...

Thinking about it this way, he had an urge to drive the little white dragon away. No wonder people in later generations didn't want to have children; the cost of raising children was too high.

"Da da da."

Outside the temple, the little white dragon rushed in, accidentally stepping on the tail of the Dreamfire Fox, which frightened the fox so much that its fur stood on end.

The little white dragon rushed up to You Ming, shook its head a few times, then turned and ran away. But seeing that You Ming wasn't chasing after it, it ran back and stomped on the Dreamfire Fox's tail.

"Ouch!"

Meng Huoli got angry. After fuming for a while, she found a corner, curled up into a ball, and prepared to go to sleep.

"Alas, this can't go on. Our temple is running out of food."

Looking at the chaotic scene, You Ming couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Majesty, I do have a way..."

After a moment's thought, Wu Mo leaned closer to You Ming and whispered a few words in his ear.

You Ming's eyes immediately lit up.

(End of this chapter)