After dinner, it was necessary to rest for a while, especially for Tom, whose belly was now round and full.
Byle squatted beside him, poking Tom's pudgy stomach with curiosity.
"Ow~ hoho…" Tom lay back, making a sound somewhere between a laugh and a groan, amusing Byle to no end.
"Is Tom okay? Did I give him too much food?" Mrs. Molly asked, worried.
"He'll be fine after a short rest," Zhang Da Ye said confidently. Tom's digestive system seemed capable of handling anything.
"It's just a little extra. When I was young, I could eat ten servings in one meal!" Goodman boasted. "Byle, you need to eat more too, so you can grow up faster!"
"Yes, Dad!" The phrase "grow up faster" held irresistible appeal to Byle.
Mrs. Molly, unimpressed, said, "You're exaggerating again. I've never seen you eat ten servings."
Goodman kept a straight face. "Haha, maybe a bit exaggerated… nine and a half servings, actually!"
"Seriously…" Mrs. Molly rubbed her forehead but decided to let him save face and went to clear the table.
After a bit more bragging, Goodman turned to serious matters. "Da Ye, I looked into private tutor salaries. It turns out only nobles hire them, and scholars like that are out of reach for common people like us…"
He felt embarrassed—he had been teased all afternoon by coworkers for wanting to be a noble.
"No worries, you've already helped me a lot," Zhang Da Ye said. He hadn't realized tutoring in this world was such a high-end affair.
Goodman quickly clarified: "No, no, no. We don't aim to raise nobles. For your work, 100,000 Berries per month for one hour per day, with food and lodging included. How does that sound?"
Zhang Da Ye, not familiar with local prices, recalled Bellemere couldn't pay 200,000 Berries in protection fees and was killed by Arlong. Ordinary people rarely earned that much, so earning 100,000 Berries for one hour daily seemed generous.
"Isn't that too much? Won't it burden your family?" Zhang Da Ye asked, worried.
Goodman laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't underestimate my income. I'm the best shipwright on Island 59!"
Zhang Da Ye relaxed. In this world, ships were like luxury cars, and shipbuilders were high earners.
For reference, buying a used ship like the Going Merry cost around 100 million Berries. A new ship might cost 200–300 million. As for the Sunny, just the Adam Wood cost 200 million, plus top shipwrights working non-stop with advanced tech. Even the Straw Hat crew's bounties wouldn't be enough to buy it all.
"Shrinking! Shrinking!" Byle shouted excitedly.
Tom's swollen belly visibly shrank, returning to normal as if nothing had happened.
He sat up, rubbed his stomach, and rubbed against Zhang Da Ye's leg.
Zhang Da Ye picked him up, noting how similar Tom's physique was to Luffy's.
"What an interesting cat," Goodman said with interest. "Want more food?"
Tom shook his head, genuinely full. Only the most enticing food could tempt him further.
Feeling rested, Zhang Da Ye decided to exercise outside before dark.
Byle wanted to join but was pulled back by Goodman.
Outside, Zhang Da Ye ran while monitoring his energy: 45%, 46%…
By the time he reached 81%, his throat ached from breathing hard. Exhausted, he slowed to a walk. Surprisingly, after a meal and some rest, he could still keep going, showing that three adult portions were not wasted. His goal of 1.5 hours of daily exercise seemed feasible.
Once his leg soreness eased, he summoned once more, using the remaining energy. Like last time, 80% was consumed instantly.
[Congratulations! You have obtained: Bandage *1, Tiny Firecracker of Little Mouse Tuffy *1]
[Stored in inventory.]
Every summon produced two items, always from Tom's world. Zhang Da Ye couldn't recall any items that permanently increased strength there.
He examined the new icons:
[Bandage: Tom's favorite when injured, though his extraordinary healing seems unrelated to it.]
[Tiny Firecracker of Little Mouse Tuffy: Smaller than Tom's nose, but surprisingly powerful. Hopefully no one would foolishly put it on their nose.]
Tom, watching from Zhang Da Ye's shoulder, covered his nose—he had once put it on his nose and nearly got blown away!
The bandage seemed ordinary, but the firecracker's potency was evident, despite being under 1 cm long.
Content with today's gains, Zhang Da Ye returned home, planning to continue exercising and summoning tomorrow.