I've got a question too. Why are people advocating 2-1 over 1-3? Comparing them, 2-1 is only marginally better in terms of Gold/EXP efficiency which doesn't seem worth the extra 3 stamina it takes. I haven't noticed a higher Gift rate or SG spawn rate on 2-1 either back when I was doing it.
Aside from that though, I second the suggestion to try spamming the Beginner Secret Garden over the Manyu Dailies. They're not actually very efficient unless you get really lucky, especially not at lower levels.