You've only been cultivating for a few years, and you're already talking about cultivating

It was finally the white fox's turn.

She was led into the main hall of the workshop. Several lamps were lit in the hall, making it bright and illuminating every corner clearly.

The ground was paved with blue bricks, a landscape painting hung on the wall, and the mahogany tables and chairs were arranged neatly. A tea set was placed on the table, and the teapot spout was still emitting wisps of steam.

Qi Fei sat behind that mahogany table.

He was wearing a dark blue robe, made of fine material, and the cut was perfect, making him look much taller than before.

Her hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, neat and tidy, without a single stray hair.

His face was still the same face, his eyebrows and eyes were still the same eyebrows and eyes, but when he sat behind that table, he had a certain air of composure that he had never had before.

Qi Fei has changed a lot during the years he has been cultivating in the White Fox Clan.

The white fox stood by the threshold, looking at him, and suddenly felt a little unfamiliar.

Qi Fei looked up and glanced at her.

"Are you here to arrange a marriage or to apply for a job?" His tone was weary; too many people wanted to see him all day long.

The white fox didn't sit down. She stood in front of him, her back straight.

"Qi Fei, didn't you rescue a white fox in the mountains a few years ago?"

Qi Fei thought for a moment and nodded.

"have."

The white fox took a deep breath: "I am that white fox. I have come today to repay a debt of gratitude."

"Repay a debt of gratitude?" Qi Fei asked in surprise. "Repay what debt of gratitude?"

He never imagined that the fox would repay his kindness one day after he saved it.

"A life-saving grace."

Qi Fei leaned back in his chair and sized her up for a while. His gaze didn't seem like he was looking at a stranger; it was more like he was trying to identify something.

Then he asked a question that surprised the white fox: "Would you be willing to do anything to repay a debt of gratitude?"

The white fox's face flushed instantly. It turned bright red, burning from her cheeks all the way to her ears.

She lowered her head, stared at her toes, and nodded gently.

"Hmm... I'd do anything."

Qi Fei's eyes lit up. He sat up abruptly, placed his hands on the table, and put on an eager expression that the white fox had never seen before.

"That's great!" he said. "We're currently short of a skilled worker for the workshop. You can work as a dyer in the workshop from now on!"

The white fox raised its head, looking completely bewildered.

"???"

A fabric dyer?

She stood there, stunned, her mind racing, but she couldn't quite grasp it. She had come to repay a debt of gratitude, a debt she had offered herself to, so how did she end up as a fabric dyer?

"But...but I want to repay you with my body," she whispered.

Qi Fei waved his hand and said frankly, "Offering myself to you won't do me much good."

"There are too many people who want to marry you, but too few who are willing to work honestly and diligently."

He spoke as if it were a matter of course, as if the issue didn't even need to be discussed.

arctic fox:"……"

"If you want to repay this kindness, stay and work," Qi Fei said to her. "If not, then leave."

He runs a workshop, not a zoo, so what use would he have for a white fox?

The white fox stood there, twisting the hem of her clothes with both hands, her mind in turmoil.

"But... according to the rules of our fox clan, repaying a debt of gratitude requires offering oneself in marriage." She hesitated for a long time before finally managing to utter this sentence.

Upon hearing this, Qi Fei calmly replied, "You are repaying a debt of gratitude to your benefactor."

"Now your benefactor doesn't need you to repay him with your body, he needs you to be a dyer."

"Listening to your benefactor is repaying their kindness. That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"

The white fox thought for a moment.

It seems... that makes sense?

She thought about it again.

It seems... there really isn't anything wrong?

She stood there, chewing over Qi Fei's words several times, and the more she chewed, the more it seemed to make sense.

So she nodded.

The next day, the white fox went to work.

The dyeing room of Qijia Workshop is at the very back of the courtyard. It is a row of low tiled houses with several large stoves inside. On the stoves are iron pots with hot water bubbling inside.

The dyes were transported from out of town, and the bags were stacked in the corner. There were indigo, crimson, and gardenia yellow dyes, and when you opened them, there was a pungent smell.

Dyeing fabric is a technical skill.

If the water temperature is even slightly too high or too low, the color will be wrong.

If you add or subtract even a tiny bit of dye, the shades will be uneven.

There are specific rules about how long to stir the cloth in the pot, how to stir it, and when to take it out to dry.

The master craftsman in the workshop trained the white fox for seven days. Seeing that she was quick-witted and skillful, he let her work on her own.

But it's also hard work.

The cloth, soaked in water, became extremely heavy, like a stone.

Every day, the white fox had to take the heavy pieces of cloth out of the pot, wring them dry, and hang them on a rack to dry.

My arms were steamed red from the hot water, and my fingers were filled with dye residue that I couldn't get clean no matter how much I washed.

The smell of dye was so strong it made people dizzy. In the dead of winter, the dyeing room was as hot as the dog days of summer. Beads of sweat streamed down people's cheeks, dripping into the pot and disappearing after a single bubble.

The white fox worked very hard.

The only consolation is that the food at Qijia Dagongfang is very good, with braised duck served at every meal.

The braised duck was very fragrant and delicious, and everyone enjoyed it very much.

She comes every single day. She gets up before dawn, walks across half the street, pushes open the back door of the workshop, puts on her apron, rolls up her sleeves, and starts working.

She thought this was to repay a debt of gratitude.

What's a little hardship in repaying a debt of gratitude?

Soon, White Fox became a skilled worker and began training new female workers. More than a year later, she was the supervisor of the dyeing workshop.

Over the past year, she has changed a lot. She has become more and more efficient at her work, and she has also developed a more authoritative demeanor in her speech and actions.

Qi Fei's wealth expanded like a snowball, growing from a workshop in a small town to a county, then to more than a dozen counties, spreading all over the world.

The white fox gradually discovered something.

Qi Fei goes to a small courtyard every night without fail, rain or shine.

Some say the most beautiful woman in the world lives in that courtyard; others say it's the secret to Qi Fei's wealth. White Fox has heard many versions, each more outrageous than the last.

That day, she finally caught up with them.

The courtyard was in the most secluded corner of the town. After Qi Fei pushed the door open and went in, the white fox crept along the wall to the outside of the courtyard and peeked in through the crack in the door.

Qi Fei was the only one in the courtyard, standing with his hands behind his back, as if waiting for something.

A moment later, the courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open, and what opened the gate was a huge braised duck.

The duck was about half a person's height, its entire body was dark brown and shiny with oil. It waddled in on its two duck legs, and what was even more peculiar was that the braised duck could talk.

"Have you ever eaten a braised duck on a snow-capped mountain...?"

Qi Fei didn't say anything, he just picked up his knife, and with a few swift strokes, chopped the braised duck into several pieces.

His movements were fluid, crisp, and skillful enough to send chills down one's spine.

After chopping the duck, Qi Fei said, "This duck is big and fat today; it'll be enough for tomorrow."

The white fox lurked behind the crack in the door, its eyes wide open.

She finally knew where the braised ducks supplied to the workshop every day came from.

only……

She slowly pulled her head back, leaned against the wall, and felt a little confused.

Is something wrong with this world?