Old Sam silently grumbled in his heart as he took the paper and scanned it ten lines at a glance. After reading the abstract, he exclaimed, took off his glasses, wiped them, and continued reading carefully:
"This approach is excellent!"
The experimental data was thorough and convincing, and most importantly, it provided a direction to solve the problem of "how much other fertilizer we need if manure is insufficient."
The clerics saying, "I feel" or "I think," couldnât be the basis for the council to gamble the yearâs harvest and the lives of millions on their intuition!
He put down the paper and looked at Garrett seriously:
"Quickly, fill out this paper and draw a conclusion. Thenâhow much do you want?"
Ah, negotiating terms is good. Garrett happily extended his hand, counting on his fingers:
"First, Elder Woodâs team could finish in a month. With cooperation, we can shorten it to a weekâtime is life for the council, right?"
"You sure know a lot!" Old Sam rolled his eyes. The Lord of Thunder spoiled this kid too much, telling him everything!
Just the other day, talking to Carlisle, he hadnât heard of the councilâs recent moves or preparations for next yearâs famine!
Garrett took his silence as agreement and confidently counted another finger:
"Elder Woodâs team has a dozen people. My team also has a dozen people. So, we should get about the same, right?"
"How is that reasonable?"
Old Sam, wanting to save money for the council, immediately objected. Garrett didnât give him time to argue and quickly continued:
"Also, to ensure Elder Woodâs teamâs enthusiasm and the councilâs reputation, this money must come additionally, not deducted from their funds. No problem with that, right?"
Old Sam: "..."
He grabbed the paper and turned to leave, instructing Garrett as he walked:
"Finish the experiment and write the paper! Iâll take this draft to the review meeting to discuss remuneration. Rest assured, when has the council ever shortchanged you?"
At worst, they would stop other groupsâ experiments and withhold half their pay if they couldnât finish. Old Sam thought righteously.
So, as long as the paper is finished, a minimum of 2,500 contribution points? Garrettâs eyes lit up. 2,500, he would keep half, and the workers would get the other halfâa fair split since he took on the project, designed the experiments, wrote the paper, and secured the funding!
Money can move mountains.
No, money can make mountains move.
At the very least, the alchemists at the Alchemy Guild, motivated by Garrettâs promise of "work hard, get rewarded," were not only enthusiastic and efficient but also started accepting help from skeleton soldiers!
Yes, these guys, always proclaiming "we are alchemists," refused to use anything other than alchemical products.
Everything else was heresy!
Evil paths!
Those things were unworthy of alchemists!
Yesterday, Garrett watched them shaking flasks, first with Mage Hand, then with Invisible Servant, and when their magic ran out, manually shaking, each one grimacing in pain.
Garrett kindly released a dark gold skeleton to help, but no one was willingâŠ
"We are alchemists! Use golems or spells!"
The leader hugged the flasks and racks tightly, refusing to let the skeleton touch them:
"Using skeletons to work, weâll be laughed at back at the Alchemy Guild!"
"But you donât have golemsâŠ"
"Thatâs the motivation to advance!"
Well, Garrett couldnât beat them up for this and had to shrug and walk away.
But today, after learning about the rewards, the alchemistsâ favorability towards him increased, and they even let the skeletons touch the flasksâŠ
Of course, this was also because Garrett was generous. A week later, the completed paper was submitted on time, and he received 1,250 contribution points from the councilâthe remaining half to be given after experimental verification.
Garrett handed 500 points to Master Norwood to distribute among his apprentices and gave the remaining 750 to the Alchemy Guild.
"Oh, you are too kind!"
The vice president of the Alchemy Guild, the old man who assigned people to him, was pleasantly surprised.
Though the money wasnât much, as the vice president, he wasnât short of this amountâespecially not in terms of the guildâs funds.
But money aside, Garrettâs gesture was generous!
A group of second- and third-level, third- and fourth-level mages in the Alchemy Guild were just a step above apprentices and laborers. Garrett needed people, and he could easily assign them.
The guild paid them fixed wages, so working anywhere was the sameâ
And Garrett even included a few names in the paper. Even if they were just second or third authors, it was a big deal for these junior mages.
Getting their names in a high-level council paper was an unexpected joy, plus they got paid! 750 points, shared, was equivalent to their monthly income. They only worked for less than half a month!
"Itâs all the councilâs generosity." Garrett spread his hands with a smile:
"Everyone worked together, I took the big share, but itâs only right to give some allowance. Everyone worked hard in the wind and rain, doing dirty and exhausting tasks. Now that the rewards are here, I have to show my appreciation."
Not only was it dirty and exhausting, they dug earth and handled manure, brought their own experimental instruments, and potions.
Moreover, casting spells itself should be rewarded, but mages didnât charge each other as they would outsiders.
Garrett couldnât bear not giving some reward.
The old man stroked his beard, looked at Garrett, and nodded with a smile. This kid was generous!
"Rest assured, the guild will distribute these points fully to them without any deduction!" he assured Garrett with a smile:
"And weâll make it clear this is your reward to them, not from the guild. With this, youâll have no shortage of volunteers next time!"
"Thank you so much!"
Garrett hummed a tune as he returned to the Mage Tower. His mobile tower spirit still owed 20,000 gold coins, or 5,000 contribution points. This project had covered a quarter of that debt, yay!
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