Chapter 67
"Other towns? Haha, of course there are."
Hearing Tang Yu'an's question, Jin Fu said with a smile, "There is a Lanhu Town on the other side of the mountain. After leaving Jufeng Mountain, go southeast and you will find the market town I went to, Linhai Town."
"Linhai Town?" Tang Yu'an pondered the name of the town and couldn't help asking, "Is it close to the sea?"
Jin Fu looked at him in surprise.
For many mountain people who live in Jufeng Mountain and have never left, the sea is undoubtedly unfamiliar.
They don't know what the sea is, and after hearing your description of the sea, they will most likely doubt the truthfulness of what you said.
However, when he looked at Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi's appearance and temperament, a smile quickly appeared on his face again.
"My dear little brother, you are really well-informed. You can tell it is near the sea just by the name."
Tang Yu'an waved his hand. He had only seen the sea once, and his other impressions of the sea came from television and books. However, the place names in this world were basically named according to local characteristics, so they were easy to associate with.
"Uncle Jinfu, have you just come back from Linhai Town? Is it far from Jufeng Mountain?" Tang Yu'an asked curiously.
"It's not close, but it's not far either," Jin Fu said with a smile. "It will probably take four or five days to get there."
Tang Yu'an calculated that it would take them at least one day and one night to get from the deserted city to Jufeng Mountain. If they went to Linhai Town, the round trip time alone would take more than half a month.
"Are you going alone? Is it dangerous on the road?" he asked.
"Of course I can't go alone." Jin Fu shook his head. "It's definitely dangerous, but there's one route that's relatively safe..."
He looked at the child's sparkling eyes and couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter? Brother Xiao An, do you want to go for a walk?"
“I really want to go there if I have the chance.”
Tang Yu'an didn't hesitate and asked directly: "Uncle Jinfu, when will you go to Linhai Town again?"
"Let's wait a while and see how the situation develops."
Tang Yu'an nodded, but did not suggest asking Jin Fu to be the guide. After all, it would be difficult to contact each other after they separated tomorrow. Besides, if they really wanted to go, they would have to see how to solve the daily task of cleaning.
For now I can only temporarily write down Linhai Town in my little notebook and wait for the opportunity to go there again in the future.
Starting with Zhou Qi's hot soup, the guards also brought food.
Zhou Qi used his cooking skills and rhetoric to make deals with them, and eventually earned Tang Yu'an 10 experience points and 127 points.
As for the others, it was obvious that they couldn't be as relaxed as the guards. To avoid trouble, Zhou Qi didn't force them.
"Brother Xiao Zhou, please come to Jufeng Mountain often in the future!"
"Yes, come to our base and stay as long as you want!"
Delicious food always brings people closer together. In just one meal, they established a good relationship with this team of guards.
Even if Zhou Qi did not have the mountain master's order, the guards stationed at the stronghold invited him to stay there next time, which laid the foundation for the future.
Under the dark night sky, they sat around the campfire, drinking hot soup, eating food, and chatting.
Tang Yu'an felt the atmosphere of this moment.
He suddenly realized deeply that not all the people in the wasteland were bad. If people could have enough food and clothes, who wouldn't want to live and work in peace?
-
After returning to the base dormitory, Tang Yu'an washed his feet and lay on the bed, then started muttering to Zhou Qi.
Hearing the child express his feelings, Zhou Qi nodded in agreement.
"Indeed," he said with emotion, "if everyone can live and work in peace and contentment, our business will also be easier to do."
At least they can set up their stall with peace of mind, instead of having to wear vests and sneak around like they do now just to sell two cans of salt, and also have to be on guard against being caught by the guards.
Tang Yu'an chuckled and told him about his upgrade reward.
"Brother Xiaoqi, the ability to pick up items remotely can be upgraded." Tang Yu'an said, "The distance for picking up items hasn't increased, but the advanced ability of remote placement has been added."
As he said that, he demonstrated it to Zhou Qi.
"Within a one-meter radius, I can place the goods wherever my eyes look," he explained. "That's how I used this ability to teach those people a lesson this afternoon."
Zhou Qi nodded. It was indeed a special skill. Although the initial effect was average, it became more and more powerful as the level increased.
"We must work hard to upgrade and improve this advanced ability as soon as possible."
In this way, An An's "ability to feel sorrow and joy" becomes even more terrifying, and can harm people without them even noticing.
Tang Yu'an hummed, glanced at the panel, and suddenly found that after the "bonfire party" ended, Zhou Qi's level was successfully upgraded to level 4.
"Wow, Xiaoqi, you've also leveled up!"
He quickly downgraded the remote delivery authorization to him, and thus, the range of Zhou Qi's skill was increased to 1,000 kilometers.
Zhou Qi didn't care, but asked: "Did Chi Hao complete his daily tasks?"
Tang Yu'an nodded, "It's done, I can come to the lottery now!"
Hey, it’s the most anticipated moment of the day again!
"What will I win today?" Tang Yu'an rubbed his hands, then clicked on the lucky wheel to draw the prize.
The pointer of the big turntable turned and turned, and finally stopped at——
Congratulations! You've won the magical piece of furniture, the "Automatic Water Storage Thermos Cup."
Magic furniture?
This is a prize type that has never been won before!
After Tang Yu'an chose to receive the goods, he took the newly acquired thermos cup in his hand.
The thermos is about 200mL in size and is all black. It looks ordinary and nothing special.
"Newly drawn props?"
Zhou Qi stared at the thermos in his hand and couldn't help but sigh in his heart again at Tang Yu'an's good luck.
Tang Yu'an nodded: "Yes, it is said to be a magical furniture that can automatically store water."
He clicked on the item information and took a look.
【Automatic water storage thermos cup】
[Level: lv1]
【Capacity: 210mL】
Description: A high-tech household item that automatically absorbs moisture from the environment and stores it in a cup. The rate of absorption depends on the ambient humidity. After inserting an energy stone or a spiritual power stone, the cup can maintain a custom temperature.
Wow, this is an amazing piece of furniture that can be upgraded!
He quickly opened the furniture modification panel and looked at the upgrade conditions and the effects of lv2.
[Upgrade Conditions: Points x500, Metal Blocks x5, Space Stone x1, Psychic Stone x1, Beer (500ml) x1]
[Level 2 Effect: When automatically storing water, it can hold at least 100 times its own capacity of pure water. It can draw energy from the environment to maintain temperature without the need for other energy sources.]
Tang Yu'an's eyes lit up. 100 times the capacity? That's 21L of water? That's enough for a bucket of water!
Then he frowned again.
It's the Space Stone again!
Although the effect looks good, it's useless without the space stone, and beer...
This time I have to study how to make beer when I go back, as it will be needed for upgrading many furniture.
Tang Yu'an put the thermos into the bucket.
This water was drawn from the well in the stronghold. It was much cleaner than the water taken from pools and puddles, but of course it was not as good as the pure water Zhou Qi extracted himself.
After a while, he took it out again and saw that there was about 20mL of water in the originally empty bottle.
He tasted a little carefully, then said with shining eyes: "Brother Xiaoqi, this is pure water!"
Zhou Qi also took the thermos, tried it, and nodded.
Tang Yu'an said happily: "That's great, you won't have to work so hard to purify water in the future!"
But looking at the small thermos, he couldn't help but say, "It's a pity that the capacity is too small. I guess it will be full after just a little bit of filling."
Zhou Qi shook his head and said, "Pay attention to the time. Once the water is full, we can move it out."
Moreover, the portable warehouse also has the function of heat preservation. The things you put in will remain in the same condition when you take them out. Overall, it saves a lot of trouble.
"Yeah." Tang Yu'an nodded, "Then let's calculate how long it will take to fill it up."
He drank the water in the thermos and put it into the bucket. Zhou Qi then wrote down the time and prepared to open it and check it again after an hour.
Tang Yu'an lay back on the bed.
At this time, a system message appears.
[Employee "Xiao Cao" used 5 personal points to redeem 100g of soybeans]
"The grass has been replaced by soybeans again."
In the evening, Shitou and Xiaocao attracted six customers to get their hair cut, earning him a total of 53 points and 16 experience points.
Among them, there are 4 new customers and 2 repeat customers, and these two repeat customers should have bought salt from him before.
Tang Yu'an glanced at the experience bar, lv7 (66/140).
After returning to the deserted city, he could only hope that Xiaocao would give him more experience points...
"I just heard from Jin Fu that someone in Jufeng Town had presented seeds to the mountain master before." Zhou Qi suddenly said.
Jin Fu was a businessman who traveled between towns, delivering supplies and earning high wages.
When Zhou Qi asked this question, he told him in a very envious tone that someone had donated seeds with good yields to the managers of Jufeng Town, and as a result, they got a piece of land in Jufeng Town.
Although Jufeng Town is not a place where every inch of land is worth a lot of money, because it is on the top of a mountain, the construction area is limited, so being able to get a piece of land is already very good.
What's more, the manager exempted that person from protection fees for ten years.
Hearing Zhou Qi's words, Tang Yu'an couldn't help but look at him, "Brother Xiaoqi, what do you mean..."
"Guide the grass and offer the soybeans as seeds to the red carp." Zhou Qi directly expressed his thoughts.
In fact, he already had this idea when he chose soybeans as the exchangeable commodity for grass.
Neither the grass nor the stone has any special abilities. Even though soybeans are easier to grow than brown rice, they do not actually have the conditions and ability to grow them.
Because the huge temperature difference between day and night is an objective problem, it may be more efficient to go to the mountains to find plants that can survive under such temperature difference.
The seeds exchanged in the mall can only play the greatest role when they fall into the hands of people with wood-type abilities.
"I was a little worried at first, but since there is such a precedent, I can give it a try." Zhou Qi continued.
Tang Yu'an couldn't help but sit up.
He thought about it carefully and felt that Brother Xiaoqi's idea was indeed a good one. Only when the people in the wasteland became prosperous, they would not be as restricted in doing business as they are now.
Of all substances, food is undoubtedly the most important.
Judging from the means and abilities demonstrated by Hongli, as well as her willingness to help lower-class residents like A Lian, she should not harm Shitou and Xiaocao.
"If everyone else in the town starts eating soybeans, the grass and stones won't be so conspicuous." Tang Yu'an nodded.
"Should we ask them to change a piece of land as well?"
"There's no safer place in Jufeng Town than the Meiyu Pavilion. Living in the Meiyu Pavilion is the best choice for them."
Zhou Qi said, took out a pen and paper and began to write new instructions.
Tang Yu'an looked at it carefully, and the two of them discussed it carefully and finally finalized the draft.
"If this method really works, then we can also cooperate with Sister Hongli in this way in the future." Tang Yu'an said as he entered the task.
Zhou Qi nodded.
After checking the guidance task, Tang Yu'an nodded with satisfaction and chose to publish.
Now, let’s start with soybeans!
-
After Xiaocao cooked the soybeans, she carefully scooped them into a bowl. Then she used 1 point to exchange for 10g of glucose, sprinkled it into the bowl and mixed it with the soybeans.
The frosting melted instantly when it came into contact with the steaming soybeans.
Xiaocao tasted one first and found it sweet and delicious, so she took the bowl back to her room.
In the room, Shi Tou was lying on the bed with a bruised face.
Hearing the noise, the boy opened his eyes and looked over. When he smelled the fragrance of soybeans, he quickly sat up.
Xiaocao handed the bowl to him, then squatted beside him and looked at his face.
"My eyes seem to be even more swollen..." she said worriedly.
Shi Tou, who originally had a pretty face, now has one eye turned into a panda eye. His eyelid is so red and swollen that he can only open his eye a slit. His face is covered with bruises, and the corner of his mouth is broken and bleeding.
"It's okay, just get some sleep and you'll be fine tomorrow!"
Shitou, on the other hand, seemed fine as he happily ate the boiled soybeans. "Did you add sugar? It's so sweet and delicious!"
Xiaocao didn't say anything, but just pursed her lips and wiped away her tears.
Stone quickly comforted him, "I'm really fine! As long as the scissors are not taken away, it's fine."
In the evening, they could have attracted more customers——
A customer who got a haircut yesterday went back to help spread the word, saying that a buzz cut is indeed more comfortable during the day and less likely to get lice. Plus, the Stone Brothers' prices are really affordable, so seven or eight people came right after the shop opened.
Stone was excited to get to work, but when he was halfway through, someone rushed over and tried to snatch his scissors.
Without the little doctor present, although the guards did not stop them from setting up the stall, they did not provide protection either, and the robbers almost succeeded.
Fortunately, Shitou was alert and threw the scissors to Xiaocao as soon as he realized something was wrong, allowing her to run into the Jade Pavilion and hide.
The stones left outside were blocked by robbers.
The guests dispersed in a hurry, and Shitou was stopped when he tried to run into the Jade Pavilion. At first, he fought back and forth with those people, but soon he was outnumbered and was pinned to the ground and beaten.
They didn't dare to enter the Jade Pavilion, so they threatened Xiaocao with stones to force her to hand over the scissors.
Fortunately, Xiaocao's crying alarmed the proprietress and Wang Hu.
Wang Hu appeared on the second floor with his weak body, and the proprietress said, "Let's see who dares to cause trouble in front of my restaurant? Aren't you afraid of death?"
The bad guys were scared away.
Xiaocao then ran out and dragged Shitou into the house. Fortunately, although his face looked bruised and swollen, they were only superficial injuries and would heal in a few days.
"Don't cry, when I grow up and become stronger, they will definitely not be my match."
The people who robbed things were not necessarily very strong. He could have defeated them at the beginning, but he couldn't because there were more people than him.
As long as he has enough food and clothes and gains strength, he will definitely be able to defeat all those people!
"The boss lady also said that she can lend us the first floor for haircuts. As long as we bring customers into the Meiyu Pavilion, we don't have to worry about the scissors being stolen."
Shitou ate half a bowl of soybeans and handed the remaining half to her. "Luckily you have special abilities, otherwise we would be hungry again tonight."
The scissors were saved, but the things they got in exchange for the haircut were still stolen. Fortunately, they still had the steamed buns given to them by Huangdou and the little doctor.
Xiaocao sniffed but didn't reach out to take it. "Eat it. Your injury will heal faster if you're full."
With the insistence of the grass, the stone continued to eat the remaining beans.
Xiaocao looked at him and still couldn't help feeling worried.
Although bringing guests to the Jade Pavilion will not prevent their scissors from being stolen, it is impossible for them to stay in the Jade Pavilion forever.
Whenever you go out, you run into those bastards.
And if something like this happens today, there may be few people coming tomorrow. If they want to do business, they have to go out and attract customers. Something like this may still happen today.
She had wanted to try her luck at the market tomorrow morning, but now she didn't dare.
No one dared to attack them in the market, but outside the market, they still couldn't protect the scissors and the things they traded.
As she thought about it, tears welled up in the girl's eyes again.
There was clearly a way to improve their lives, but they were too weak to even protect it...
Just when she was feeling sad and helpless, the system panel suddenly popped up.
[Congratulations! Triggering the normal task "Donate Seeds"]
[Description: Soybean is a high-quality staple food. At the same time, planting it as seeds not only has a considerable yield, but also has the effect of improving soil quality.
Although your brother has mastered the skills of cutting hair, you are weak and can easily attract the covetousness of bad people. Therefore, it would be a good choice to offer soybeans as seeds to the manager to seek protection.
Find the manager or Captain Black Bear through Wang Hu, tell them that you have discovered a new plant in the mountains, and donate 50 soybeans in exchange for a certificate that allows you to set up a stall freely in Jufeng Town and be protected by guards.
Warm reminder: Even if the administrator provides other rewards, just protect the voucher, remember]
[Mission Content: Find the administrator of Jufeng Town, convince her, and conduct a profitable transaction (0/1)]
[Task Reward: Points*20]
Looking at the new pop-up task prompts and listening to the mechanical explanation, Xiaocao's eyes became brighter and brighter.
It turns out this is possible!
She was in confusion and anxiety, and she seemed to see a hand appear in front of her. After she fell, the hand gently helped her up, then guided her in the direction and told her how to move forward.
Xiaocao quickly wiped away her tears and cheered herself up again.
She didn't know who the mysterious businessman was, but she knew that she must not let such a kindness down. She had to hold on to this hand tightly and keep moving forward!
Xiaocao read the task description carefully several times, and planned in his mind how to truly complete this task and obtain the protection of the mountain master.
Then she stood up and said to her brother, "I'm going to find the boss lady."
"Ah? It's so late, what are you looking for the boss lady for?" Shi Tou put down the bowl he had licked clean and asked curiously.
"I……"
Xiaocao bit her lip and said, "I want to find Captain Wang Hu and ask him to take me to find the mountain master."
"Ah? What do you want to see the mountain master for?" Shitou blinked in confusion.
"I want to give these yellow beans to the mountain master and let her protect us." Xiaocao stated his purpose.
Shi Tou couldn't help but be stunned, amazed at his sister's boldness.
That’s the mountain master!
"B-but will this work?"
"How do you know if you don't try?" said the grass. "These soybeans are seeds. As long as you plant them well, you can grow a lot of them."
"And you ate some today. Wasn't it more filling than the fruit the guards ate?"
Shitou nodded. This was true, but...
"I just feel like I'm farting more."
Hearing this, Xiaocao couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Shitou chuckled and said, "The most important thing is to keep yourself full."
Xiao Cao nodded and continued, "Anyway, I think we can give it a try. We can just say we found it in the mountains, but after we came back we couldn't find it, so we only collected these."
She had also heard about those who possessed production-related abilities being locked up in the yard to produce day and night.
There is more than one important figure in this town, the mountain owner. There are several people who even the mountain owner has to give face to. As long as they don't cross the bottom line, they will turn a blind eye to them.
Maybe the mountain master wouldn't do anything to her, but that wasn't necessarily the case with others, so her ability to exchange for sugar and soybeans must not be exposed.
In addition to sugar and soybeans, she seemed to be able to exchange for pepper powder, but she didn't know what this powder was used for, and she didn't have any extra points to try it out for the time being.
In short, these cannot be known to others.
Having been influenced by his surroundings since childhood, Xiaocao is quite experienced in protecting himself.
She looked at her brother and said confidently, "Wang Hu is the captain of the guard. He must know how to find the mountain master!"
Shitou agreed with this.
"Xiaocao, you are really getting smarter!" He nodded and said, "If we want to find the mountain master, we can only ask him for help."
Xiaocao felt a little embarrassed by the praise. This was not her idea...but she had no way to explain it.
She looked at the bruises on her brother's face, thought for a moment and asked, "Do you agree that I should go find the mountain master?"
"Well, let's give it a try." Shitou chuckled, "Even if the mountain master doesn't want our seeds, he shouldn't beat us, right?"
Although he had only seen the mountain master from afar a few times, he felt that the mountain master was not that kind of person.
Seeing that her brother also supported her, Xiaocao couldn't help but said excitedly: "Then let's go find Captain Wang Hu!"
However, Shitou held her back and said, "I know you're anxious, but it's so late now. Even if we tell him, he won't be able to take us to see the mountain master tonight. Let's wait until tomorrow."
"Besides, Wang Hu already helped us once this afternoon. Why should he help us a second time?"
Only then did Xiaocao calm down.
Yes, why should Wang Hu help her again?
"Brother, you are right. I have to think carefully about how to convince him."
"Yeah, you should come into bed too. It's too cold outside. Don't catch a cold." Shitou moved.
Xiaocao climbed onto the kang and lay down, then began to think.
So, how can we convince Captain Wang Hu to take them to see the mountain master?
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