By the time Gu Xiyan came back with the food, Mu Jinyu had everyone stop what they were doing and go eat first.
After eating, Mu Jinyu gave them a break for a little more than an hour before they continued digging holes and burying jade stones with him.
It was past seven in the evening when they finished burying the over one thousand jin of jade as instructed by Mu Jinyu.
"Hmm, you've all worked hard today, go back and rest well."
Mu Jinyu watched as the last hole was filled in and, with a smile, said to everyone.
"Not tired, not tired."
"Not hard, not hard."
Upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, everyone simultaneously revealed a simple and honest smile.
They indeed didn't feel it was hard; although the work was somewhat tiring, Mu Jinyu had doubled their wages, and there was a bonus of three thousand for today's work.
Therefore, these hardships simply weren't worth mentioning.
If Mu Jinyu had them working to death without raising their salary, giving no bonus, and not even providing water, then they would definitely have complained non-stop.
"Then, Young Master Mu, shall we head back now?"
After waving their hands and speaking, one of them wiped the sweat off his brow and said to Mu Jinyu.
"Hmm, go back and rest. I'll give you all the day off tomorrow, and it will be a paid leave,"
Mu Jinyu said with a smile.
The people's faces immediately brightened with joy, expressed their thanks, put back their shovels and pickaxes, and then bid farewell to Mu Jinyu.
"I've noticed you seem to have changed."
Gu Xiyan had been silently watching all along, and only when those people had left did she finally speak softly.
"Changed?" Hearing that, Mu Jinyu turned to look at her, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Have I become more handsome, to the point you can't resist throwing yourself in my arms?"
Gu Xiyan gave him a white look, walked over, and wiped some dust off his face, saying with no good air, "It's your generosity that's changed, making me feel it's so unreal."
"Generous? I've always been generous, okay?"
Mu Jinyu said, somewhat disgruntled.
"Generous my foot," Gu Xiyan retorted with a snort, looking at Mu Jinyu disparagingly, "You used to quibble over tens of yuan for taxi fares, weren't you stingy enough? Now you're a lot more generous, giving out raises and bonuses so casually, it's like you're a completely different person."
"Isn't that how it's supposed to be?" Mu Jinyu said indifferently, "Or do you want me to be like you, getting people to give their all for me while I exploit them mercilessly?"
"I have never done that, stop slandering me, okay?!" Gu Xiyan, hearing Mu Jinyu's words, widened her beautiful eyes and looked at him indignantly.
Mu Jinyu chuckled lightly and said, "I'm just joking. Who let you call me stingy? Anyway, I can't in good conscience treat those who work for me unfairly."
Hearing Mu Jinyu's words, Gu Xiyan's gaze softened a lot as well.
However, Mu Jinyu did not look at her again but turned his head to look at a large tree at the very center of the pharmaceutical factory and said with a smile, "Haven't you always been asking me what all this is for? Now, I'll let you witness it for yourself, broaden your horizons."
Having finished speaking, Mu Jinyu swiftly formed hand seals with a flourish, and, stomping his right foot violently against the ground, he channeled his robust True Yuan into the earth beneath him, stirring the jade stones deeply buried below to awaken the faint Spiritual Energy within them.
"Hummm!!"
The pit that had been refilled with earth suddenly lit up with a soft white glow, similar to the buzz of mosquitoes or flies, creating a warm, tranquil feeling.
Standing to the side, Gu Xiyan was bathed in this glowing light, and the resentment toward the Gu Family deeply buried in her heart seemed to dissipate somewhat in this serene atmosphere, as if her entire being had become more open-minded.
Meanwhile, as the jade stones in that area began to emit light, the stones buried in the previous pits seemed to be activated by the same buzzing sound, and in no time, the entire pharmaceutical factory was lit up with countless soft white glows.
At this moment, if someone were to stand on high ground and look down, they would see that the white lights shining throughout the pharmaceutical factory formed the pattern of a Bagua Formation Diagram.
As the jade stones buried in the pits were fully activated, Mu Jinyu's Spirit Gathering Array was immediately set into motion.
In an instant, the sparse Spiritual Energy scattered throughout the suburbs began to converge towards their pharmaceutical factory....
With the gradual influx of Spiritual Energy, the glowing lights began to extinguish one after another.
The entire pharmaceutical factory returned to calm within moments.
Mu Jinyu's face looked a little pale, and he was drenched in sweat, clearly indicating that activating the Spirit Gathering Array just now had taken a great toll on him.
After taking a few breaths, he turned to Gu Xiyan and asked, "How does it feel? Do you notice anything different?"
Hearing this, Gu Xiyan came to her senses and saw his current state. Her brows furrowed slightly, and instead of answering his question immediately, she took a pack of tissues from her bag and went over to wipe off his sweat.
As she carefully wiped the sweat from Mu Jinyu's face, she answered with a frown, "The air seems fresher somehow, but that's about it."
Mu Jinyu let Gu Xiyan wipe his sweat without protest, as he lacked the strength to do it himself, and said with a smile, "The fact that you can feel the air is fresher means that Spiritual Energy is already flowing into our pharmaceutical factory. Once the production line starts manufacturing the Beauty Pills, they will naturally absorb some of the Spiritual Energy and become effective. Of course, they won't be as good as the ones I make myself."
"Hmm," Gu Xiyan responded, expressing some concern, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Mu Jinyu shook his head slightly, and his pale complexion gradually recovered as he caught his breath, saying, "I just used up a lot of energy, but I'll be fine after some rest."
"Have some water." Gu Xiyan threw away the tissues and then went to fetch a bottle of water for Mu Jinyu.
"Help me open it," Mu Jinyu said weakly.
Gu Xiyan helped him open the bottle cap before handing it to him.
"Give me a drink," Mu Jinyu said, and then opened his mouth wide with an "ah".
Gu Xiyan rolled her eyes at him without good humor, really wanting to shove the entire bottle into his mouth. But, considering he might be truly exhausted, she fed him the water gently like a dutiful little wife.
After drinking some water and resting for a while, Mu Jinyu's complexion, previously as pale as gold paper, had returned to a more normal shade.
Getting up from the small stool on the ground, Mu Jinyu said to Gu Xiyan, "Let's go, we'll go home."
"Go home?!" Gu Xiyan paused at his words and said, "Won't people dig up the jade stones that are buried in the ground?"
Others had seen them digging holes, tossing in jade stones, and filling them up, as had some of the staff from the pharmaceutical factory.
Therefore, Gu Xiyan was worried that if they left just like that, the staff might climb over the fence to dig them up—what then?!
Mu Jinyu waved his hand nonchalantly at her and said, "No need to worry, I've already made arrangements. When setting up the Spirit Gathering Array, I also established a Concealment Array. Even if someone digs up the ground to a depth of one meter, they won't be able to find them."