Therefore, the group leaders place great importance on this project. Qian Guran fought tooth and nail to keep the project team at the Qi Yuan Branch, but only managed to retain the core technology development department.
The staff's benefits naturally improved with the project's importance. For someone like He Kao, who participated from the initial base code design as a "project veteran," although he didn't hold any leadership position, his staff level and corresponding salary were not low.
He Kao calculated that next year he could be promoted another level, and with the year-end bonus and various benefits, his pre-tax annual income could approach one million.
Next year, He Kao would only be twenty-eight years old, talented and handsome, with a house in the countryside, an apartment, and a car in the city, and no loans—truly a quality single man.
To outsiders, department leader and project manager Huang Xiaopang appeared even more so.
Of course, He Kao never bragged about these things, not that he was deliberately low-key or cautious, but simply because there was nothing worth boasting about. To him, these were probably the least significant things.
It's said that now his eldest aunt's family regretted it and asked someone to approach Mrs. Chen, hoping to rekindle the engagement between He Shan and Huang Xiaopang, with conditions much lower than before, claiming that as long as the child was willing and could live happily, it was enough.
Mrs. Chen didn't take the bait, merely privately inquired about Xiaopang's opinion, but Xiaopang told her not to worry about it anymore.
Back then, Xiaopang was interested in He Shan, and if neither family opposed, they might have gotten together, but unfortunately, it was ruined. Eldest aunt's demands almost made Mrs. Chen fall out with them.
Later, He Kao also advised his cousin He Shan, suggesting that she find a job, gradually breaking free from eldest aunt's control and gaining a better understanding of things, thus achieving autonomy in life.
However, his cousin didn't do so, and there was nothing more He Kao could do about it. Some things are simply impossible, even if the path is laid out, someone like He Shan just couldn't take that step.
In the practice of the Lingxi Skill, a Tier One Sorcerer is called an Observer or Onlooker, mainly cultivating the ability to perceive and judge various things, while trying not to interfere with observation objects, thus obtaining more accurate understandings.
The focus is on observation.
A Tier Two Sorcerer is called a Dust Guest, whose cultivation is characterized by experience rather than mere observation, observing and verifying changes in experienced things, distinguishing internal and external causes, chance and necessity, and understanding what can and can't be done, people's hopes and helplessness.
The focus is on experience.
After He Kao broke through the Illusion Realm, his Lingxi Skill naturally advanced to Tier Two Dust Guest. If he advanced further from this foundation, he would become a Tier Three Prophet.
Eldest aunt's family only ran a small business in the countryside, with no need to cultivate a career heir, but they kept He Shan at home to help with work instead of having a normal job and salary, usually just giving her some pocket money, claiming that they were saving money for her.
He Shan was constantly manipulated by eldest aunt, raising concerns about her future.
The best chance for He Shan to escape her fate was to marry Huang Xiaopang. Eldest aunt couldn't control Mrs. Chen, let alone manipulate Huang Xiaopang.
Marrying Huang Xiaopang, He Shan was actually willing, not necessarily for love—who wouldn't be good to her? Besides, they knew each other well, and Xiaopang originally liked her, but they couldn't come to an agreement with eldest aunt.
The disagreement wasn't purely about the bride price but stemmed from eldest aunt not truly seeing He Shan as an independent person, viewing her as a resource she could control.
In fact, Xiaopang's family background was much better than He Shan's, but Mrs. Chen refused to be manipulated through this method.
As for eldest aunt's regret, it was due to Xiaopang's rising position and income, marrying He Shan to him became a way to seek more and greater resources.
The excuse of "I was just worried she wouldn't live well" became nothing more than a moral pretense.
In such situations, some people consciously saw themselves as exchangeable resources, trying to maximize interests, yet often voiced demands through their parents or relatives to alleviate their moral burden.
In a sense, such people are relatively conscious, at least making their own choices.
But He Shan's situation was different; she was passive, unwittingly being treated as a controllable resource by eldest aunt, unable to escape this fate, not even attempting to.
However, it's unjust to merely criticize He Shan for being unaware, as any cognitive formation has its objective conditions.
When someone becomes accustomed to having nearly everything arranged by others, they often lack the awareness to take responsibility, even seeking to avoid it, manifesting in life as "decision-making difficulties" and similar symptoms.
Even He Kao, overly protected by three elders when he started cultivating, once showed a slight tendency like this, fortunately awakened by Li Xiuyuan in the Illusion Realm.
The evolution of such a scenario in the Illusion Realm can also be seen as He Kao's self-reflection.
He Kao can reflect on himself, but what about He Shan? In He Kao's eyes, he can vaguely see He Shan's future life trajectory, which doesn't seem promising.
Eldest aunt will definitely arrange someone for He Shan, choosing a barely acceptable person within her vision and social resources, contrasting with her expectations. This person's family background certainly won't be poor.
One thing is certain, whoever He Shan ends up marrying, if the conditions in all aspects do not significantly surpass the future Huang Xiaopang, both the aunt and He Shan will subconsciously feel a sense of dissatisfaction.
As for the character, personality, and feelings of the other party toward He Shan, these are just uncertain factors, while the elements on the other end of the balance scale depend more on how He Shan herself is.
He Shan did not inherit her aunt's strong personality; she only learned a bit of unreasonable temper from her mother. She also didn't inherit her uncle's simple cunning, but instead picked up her father's habit of avoiding responsibility in everything.
The mother's resilience and the father's cunning were honed through the process of coping with survival pressure. However, He Shan grew up in an environment that, while not affluent, was free of financial worry and survival pressure.
When she encountered problems back then, she didn't know what to do and passively fell deeper into the traps of predatory loans, pretending nothing happened, as long as she could avoid things for another day.
Without the filter of family affection, He Shan is just pretty, but not an exceptional beauty.
She is neither smart nor gentle, has a somewhat unreasonable temper, tends to avoid making decisions, lacks independent survival skills, and in life often plays the role of a seemingly provided-for dependent.
If conflicts arise, she cannot resolve them, yet how could life be free of conflict? Unless the other party can constantly tolerate and solve all these issues, the accumulation of conflicts may deepen and ultimately lead to a breakdown in the relationship.
Then where will she seek dependence…
In terms of Lingxi Skill cultivation, He Kao is only a Tier Two Dust Guest, not yet a Tier Three Prophet, but he has already made some prophecy about He Shan's future. Yet, from an emotional perspective, he does not hope the prophecy will come true.
Actually, not only does the aunt think about Huang Xiaopang, but she even sets her sights on He Kao. Recently, she started to take an interest in her elder nephew, arranging blind dates for He Kao.
It's just that the aunt rarely finds He Kao. Even if there's occasional contact, He Kao won't give her such opportunities.
He Kao merely smiles wryly at this, shakes his head, and thinks no more of it.
The elders in this world who treat him the best are amazingly not ranked first in his heart, but it should be Lin Qingshuang.
In the Illusion Realm, He Kao seeks to borrow an Alchemy Cauldron from Lin Qingshuang for refining Spirit Pills to meet the needs of disciples' cultivation in the Hidden Moth Sect. Lin Qingshuang, without a second word, sends someone to deliver it to him directly.
The reason such a scene appears in the Illusion Realm is that He Kao knows that as long as he asks, Lin Qingshuang would agree.
Returning to reality, He Kao abandons this idea, even though if he were to borrow, Lin Qingshuang would certainly do so.
But it is inappropriate, as Lin Qingshuang does not have any "extra" Alchemy Cauldrons. Alchemy Cauldrons are precious, belonging to the most valuable and challenging category of Magical Treasures to craft. Lin Qingshuang only possesses one, which is already rare.
That Alchemy Cauldron appears "idle," only because the Observing Body Sect has regarded the Qihuang Spirit Garden as a "training base" for Spirit Medicine cultivation and processing, often needing to use the Alchemy Cauldron on-site, so it is inconvenient to always borrow or occupy Lin Qingshuang's, and thus they moved one over.
The Observing Body Sect even feels it's not good to always occupy it, so is it suitable for the Hidden Moth Sect to just take it?
If they did that, when Lin Qingshuang needs to use the Alchemy Cauldron, she would have to borrow the one from the Observing Body Sect. If others also need to use it, it would lead to scheduling conflicts, definitely not as convenient as using one's own Alchemy Cauldron.
If you truly want to borrow an Alchemy Cauldron, why not approach the Alchemy Sect when the Sect Leader is right in front of you…
Thinking of these things, it was already lunchtime. He Kao went downstairs to the company's cafeteria, and after getting his food, he sat down and happened to see Mei Guyu, nodding slightly across a few tables as a greeting.
Most of the time, in most settings, Mei Guyu maintains a calm demeanor.
Seizing the moment, He Kao sent forth a Divine Thought, stating his plan: to borrow an Alchemy Cauldron, and preferably without letting anyone know it was lent to him. He asked if Mei Guyu had any method, and if so, what conditions would be required?
Mei Guyu responded with a Divine Thought, "Figured it out? I was just waiting for you to ask!"
Divine Thoughts can convey emotions, and it felt like she was inclined to smile.
He Kao had already recounted his experiences in the Illusion Realm to her, including the episode of borrowing the Alchemy Furnace from Lin Qingshuang. Mei Guyu had already figured out the key points, so she was waiting for He Kao to bring it up.
Through Divine Thought, Mei Guyu continued to explain that indeed, there are spare Alchemy Cauldrons in the storage of the Alchemy Sect, more than one. She had already picked one for He Kao, named the Creation Furnace.
The Creation Furnace is not to be lent to He Kao, but rather intended to be given to the Hidden Moth Sect in the name of the Alchemy Sect, with no need for return!
The primary reason is that the Alchemy Sect recovered the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace, the Sect's Sacred Artifact. Although He Kao was not the main contributor, he was involved, so gratitude should be expressed with Alchemy Cauldrons.
Secondly, if the lineage of the Hidden Moth Sect returns to the Magic Sect, the millennium anniversary should indeed be celebrated, thus the Creation Furnace could be considered one of the congratulatory gifts from the Alchemy Sect.
**
