Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

The Yellow Death in his hand was a standard Roman short sword, only about the length of his forearm. If he held it in reverse grip, the tip of the sword would reach his elbow.

The sword itself wasn't heavy, and the weight was evenly distributed, making it quite suitable for a beginner like him. And in the dense bamboo forest, this size was just right for wielding. It even gave him a sense of...

"Why does it feel like a hatchet? Why does it feel like it's used for work?"

He gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands and walked to a bamboo tree. It was true that it was difficult for him to have the urge to "kill" a living being, but after chopping the bamboo, his instinct to "feed Fu Fu" was activated.

"Ha!" With one chop, the bamboo was neatly cut in half.

"Great!" Zhu Ling beside him clapped his hands to encourage him, "You chop it down really fast, chop 20 more!"

Shangluo stared at the sword in his hand for a while. This time he did not use both hands, but held it with one hand, and raised his hand to slash the sword.

With a "snap", another bamboo fell down.

"Oh~~ It seems to be more efficient than before. You are really a genius at chopping bamboo."

"It's not me, it's this sword."

"Hmm? What do you feel?" Apollonia asked him. "I haven't seen Yellow Death in action yet. Do you feel anything special when using it?"

"Let me put it this way. A sword is quite difficult to use. Most people have to be careful with their strength even when slicing a carrot, let alone cutting bamboo. From the beginning to the end, from the middle to the end, the blade must stay in the right position. If the blade is slanted, it will get stuck if it's slanted. If you're slicing a carrot, you'll end up cutting your hand."

"What about this knife?"

"It doesn't deviate at all." Shangluo was a bit shocked. "It's hard to describe the feeling. But when I held this knife, I immediately felt confident. It felt like a butcher holding a butcher knife, able to cut large and small pieces. Now, even if I were given a cow here, I could butcher it cleanly and efficiently."

[Wow, this thing is really suitable for work.]

"So I just slashed with one hand for the second time. Logically speaking, it is more difficult to grasp the direction with one hand, but this sword will not be tilted at all when it is cut, and it can be cut cleanly in one go. So next, I will try this ." He glanced back at Zhu Ling, motioned her to stand back, and walked to the middle of the dense bamboo forest——

Then he grasped the hilt of the sword and turned around in a circle.

With a snap, the surrounding bamboos fell down, and the blade was smooth and without any drag.

"Oh! Awesome!" Zhu Ling kept clapping from behind. "Move forward a little. I need to start cleaning up."

She carried a shovel on her shoulder and walked to the first bamboo that Shangluo had cut down - Shangluo had cut it from the middle, and half a bamboo tube was left in the ground.

"There's still half a bamboo root left. Pandas don't like to eat it. Shovel it out and feed it to the elephants next door. Keep chopping. When you're done, just help me shovel a few more times."

It only took a quarter of an hour to finish all the work.

"Alright." Zhu Ling stepped on the bamboo and tied it with a few hemp ropes. "You're really efficient at work. It would take me at least an hour to do it alone, but with you here, it's much faster."

"You can call me next time if you need this kind of work."

I have to admit, it was actually quite relaxing. Swinging a sword in the bamboo forest, the bamboo leaves dancing where the tip of the sword passed, and the texture and joints of the bamboo as the blade passed, was truly relaxing. If possible, he could chop for half a day without any problem; it was quite fun—of course, this was mostly because Zhu Ling did the hard work of shoveling bamboo roots in the back. Doing these tasks on your own wouldn't be as enjoyable.

In addition to the packaged bamboo, there were dozens of bamboo roots piled in a small cart.

"I'll ask the people from the elephant park next door to push this. Let's go, let's go feed the bears."

"By the way, if you can give whatever you don't want to the elephant next door, it really doesn't waste anything."

"The leftover toys are for the elephant next door to play with. There's a sepak takraw ball, a wicker chair, a small stool, and so on. They're very convenient. Come on, give me a hand."

The two men, one in front and one behind, dragged the cut bamboo to the panda park next door in two batches.

"Then what?" Shangluo asked, "What to do then?"

"Then like this." She pulled out a bamboo, grabbed one end, swung it in the air like a spear, and slammed it to the ground.

With a snap, the bamboo broke into pieces:

"Help the pandas break the bamboo like this. Because if you don't help them break it, they have to break it themselves."

"They broke it with their hands? Not with their teeth?"

"Well, it's true that most pandas bite with their teeth. But the pandas in our Royal Garden have all started using their hands since some time ago. They probably learned it from the keepers. Although using your hands saves teeth, it's quite strenuous to see them breaking bamboo with their teeth bared, so we help break it open first."

"If this were in the wild, how would they eat it?"

"There must be some wild people in the wild helping them break the bamboo."

"Savages are okay."

"Ahem," Zhu Ling coughed. "Anyway, they're all in the zoo, so let's make them happy. A panda's lifespan depends largely on its teeth. If they can't eat bamboo, their digestive system will be very uncomfortable. Come on, you throw that bundle, and I'll throw this one."

Shangluo grabbed a bamboo and broke one as well.

This seems to be quite stress-relieving. Throwing things around and smashing them, I even get rid of my desire to destroy. After I'm done, I can just watch the panda happily eat them—it's the ultimate stress reliever.

"Speaking of which, in your line of work, is there no pressure?"

"You think it's fun, right? Yeah. The first day was definitely fun."

"What about the back?"

"It got more and more fun later on. Every day was fun, and the more I worked, the more fun it was—but if you want to talk about hard work, it was actually quite hard. Although Fu Fu was very well-behaved, there were also some naughty cats who fought with the keepers every day. And even the best cats still ate and pooped dozens of kilograms every day. Although the feces didn't stink, it was still quite troublesome to sweep out a large cart. Of course, if you really enjoyed this job, every day would be very happy."

She was indeed very happy. She looked just like Zhu Xianxun when he was refining the elixir, with both eyes shining.

"Oh, right." Shangluo suddenly remembered, "Pandas eat bamboo. Do they need to peel the skin?"

Although they were all equally hard for human teeth, he remembered that pandas seemed to be able to be skinned.

"Yes. The bamboo skin is very hard, so they peel it off and eat the soft part inside - although I don't know where it's soft, but it's still soft enough for panda teeth. Hey, why did you take out the knife again?"

"I want to try this." This time he took out his hunting knife.

He aimed at the bamboo, inserted the tip of the knife into it and slid it lightly -

With a "pop" sound, the green skin of the entire bamboo exploded, revealing the "soft" wood underneath, which is the part the panda wants to eat.

"Good boy! You can even peel this! Come to our panda house! We need people like you in the Royal Garden."

"That won't work. Our Dong Factory, I'm sorry, our mine department is already very busy. I'll cut them off for you one by one. Your brother just asked me to go back. I'll do it and leave."

Later, Fu Fu ate all over the Peach Garden, but he never ate bamboo as good as he did today.

Chapter 367 Props Charge Card Charge

"Tar? So that's the recipe?"

When Zhu Xianxun first heard the recipe, he was stunned: "It doesn't make sense. Why is it tar? Is it enough to just add tar?"

"Yes, only tar."

"When they say 'tar', do they mean crude oil?"

"It's heavy oil," Shangluo replied. "It's the residue after the first refining of petroleum. Victoria said that crude oil can actually be used directly, but the residue after the first refining, which they call 'tar', is more effective."

"So the oil part isn't really that important; it's just the solvent. The residue from combustion is actually what's needed in the process. It's pretty cheap, too. And doesn't it emit any emissions?"

"Not only does it not emit any emissions, it's even refining oil. However, she suggested storing the refined oil, hoping it can be put back into circulation as a solvent in the future."

"Hmm," Zhu Xianxun thought for a moment, "That makes sense. Let's keep it then."

"Well, could you sponsor me some tar?"

"This is difficult to handle." Zhu Xianxun put down his pen. "First of all, you know, we are a modern country. Even if I were the emperor, I couldn't just arbitrarily mobilize resources for you. But if you need tar, you can report it to the relevant department yourself and fill out a form. Or you can submit a memorial to me."

"Ah this."

"It's too much trouble, isn't it? Sometimes I find it troublesome too, but that's how modern countries are. And the amount of tar needed is usually very large. I can give you some funds the first time, but if I have to help you every time, it will be inconvenient for both of us. So in this case, you can collect it yourself."

“Can I collect it myself?”

"I gave you that seal not just to approve your leave."

"Ah? So you knew I'd approved a leave application?"

"Wow, they came to me directly with a leave note to cancel their leave. This is the first time I know of such a thing being submitted in a memorial. It really is a give and take. So since your Thunder Department is a well-known Heavenly Court organization, you can charge your own fees."

"Hey, that's a good idea. Since we need to run the server, it makes sense to charge a fee. That makes sense."

Zhu Xianfen's words inspired him - running a small world for everyone to play, this does not necessarily have to be free or paid.As long as everyone contributes a small amount of funds, the Lei Department can be run.

"But... um."

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm wondering whether it's the item charges or the point card charges."

He is an experienced person in this matter. But if we put ourselves in the operator's perspective, which one is better?

The two have grown up alternately in the history of online games, and both have had the upper hand. But as the trend of massively multiplayer online games has passed, both have also withdrawn from the stage of history.

But here, everything is just beginning. Shangluo was the first person to eat crabs, and he knew that he would be able to eat meat. But how should he eat this first bite of meat?

"Props charge? Point card charge?"

This name made Zhu Xianxin stunned for a moment.

After the brief explanation, Zhu Xianxi became even more surprised:

"You guys are better at exploitation, but I still suggest you charge based on the points and the hourly rate."

"why?"

"The highest good is like water; water benefits all things without contention. If you sell items, you're actively intervening in disputes between players. Conversely, time is fair to everyone; everyone pays the same price for their playtime. Whether or not you can make the most of that time depends on your own ability. After all, that's just the way our world is, isn't it?"

He spread his hands:

"Time in this world is inherently running by the second. As the saying goes, time flies like an arrow, day and night. Given a fair amount of time, some people make good use of it, while others waste it all day long. It's all fair. Regardless, it's not your fault."

"Oh~~" Shangluo nodded repeatedly, "I learned it, thank you for your guidance."

"After all, I've lived a lifetime longer than you, and I attend cabinet meetings every day, so I learned as I went. I think running the server is pretty much the same thing as what I do. In my case, I've inherited my ancestors' legacy. Everything runs on its own, and all I need to do is watch quietly from the sidelines. I imagine that as the Pure Land gradually expands, you'll likely encounter increasingly complex technical issues. At those times, it's best to leave it to the professionals. Let them handle it."

"Just do I have to pay to get in?"

"Well, the biggest difference is that it costs money—for now. In this respect, our governing logic is fundamentally different. On my side, we are committed to serving all citizens unconditionally and without restriction. You, on the other hand, just serve the consumers. That's it for now."

"Well, I'm thinking about how to collect the fees. I can't just go door to door and collect them one by one."

"Have you paid your water and electricity bills?" Zhu Xianxun asked him. "You've been back for a while, so you should have paid them yourself."

"You mean, stamps?"

Shangluo remembered that Wen Yuan took him to pay the utility bill last time.Go to a state-owned store to buy a stamp, and just put it on a postcard and send it back like a stamp.From here on, it is the matter of the post office and the water supply and power supply department. Users only need to take care of it here.

Zhu Xianxun nodded. "Because you're a government agency, the payment to you is also considered a public payment, so you can just accept the stamp. But wait, after you receive the stamp, you have to fill out a form before you can get the money through the post office. Do you know how to fill it out?"

"Ah, why do I have to fill out forms for everything?"

"This has been our custom since ancient times. The existence of a form means this matter can be handled in a standardized manner. Hmm, wait a minute." Zhu Xianxi pondered for a moment. "Don't worry about this. Other things are difficult to handle, but I have plenty of people here to fill out forms. As long as you write an internship report, there will be plenty of students from the Imperial College to help you fill it out."

"Oh~~ There is such a good thing???"

"Because the Imperial College doesn't charge tuition, internship records in various government departments are very important to them and are considered part of the curriculum. Generally, departments that are convenient for internships are already filled. Only places like the Yellow Book Library are short of people to carry bricks year-round—after all, there will always be Imperial College students who have to carry bricks there. At this critical juncture, you're recruiting people to fill out the forms, and they'll have to thank you."

Chapter 368 Arrangement

"On second thought, everyone else is interning at the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, or the Ministry of Works, but you're actually interning at the Ministry of Thunder. That's pretty impressive."

Zhu Xianxun put down the phone. "I just called the Ministry of Civil Affairs and asked. They said it's no problem. There are many students from the Imperial College who can do internships. It's just a matter of affixing stamps and filling out an application form. It's a very easy job. You can just come to me and get paid when the time comes."

Shangluo now understood - Zhu Xianxin could not give money, but he could help with everything else besides money, and even help with accounting issues. He could be asked for help with all the trivial issues, which was really...

"That's incredibly convenient. My beloved senior brother, His Majesty the Holy Emperor, is there anything I can do for you? For example, what role would you like to play? This time, we're not just recruiting players, we're also recruiting some other operational staff."

"No, no, I'm already tired enough from attending court every day. If you really want to help me, it would be nice to help all the Qigong practitioners kill time. But if you really, really want to help me..."

"I understand." Shangluo stood up, "Brother, I really want to help you."

"Then I'm sorry to ask you for a favor." Zhu Xianxun said as he pulled out a gourd from the drawer. "Remember the Creation Pill? Please test it to see if it works in the Pure Land. If it does, please tell me if its potency is reduced. Write me a 2000-word experimental report."

"."

"This is what you said you would do to help me."

"Wait." He called Apollonia, "Miss Apollonia."

[What?! Do you want me to do it?! Why should I do my homework?!]

"No, I asked you to keep a file and assign it to Gao Shiyu to write later."

"You should have told me earlier. You scared me. What is this called?"