Chapter 72 The Contract of Indenture: Selling Art, Not Body
Of all those green wheat ears, Chen Dixin kept over ten kilograms for a rich carbohydrate intake, and sold the rest at the store.
Without the right tools, wheat kernels are not easy to process. It would be more cost-effective to let Lu Mingang use them to refine the seafood rather than give them to him to gain experience.
The taste is only average to above average. It's okay as a side dish or something to eat occasionally, but I can't stand eating wheat kernels for every meal, three times a day.
Anyway, she's stockpiled a lot of food. If she doesn't exchange it for white coins, it'll be enough for the two of them to eat for a month or two. There's no need for her to eat wheat kernels.
Green wheat is highly sought after by others; it sold out as soon as it hit the shelves.
Because Shen Dixin had caught a lot of seafood yesterday, Lu Mingang cooked some vegetables that were not easy to stack, which attracted many players to wait there.
Timely Rain: Look what I got! Green barley kernels! I haven't had them in ages since I started working, I really miss them.
Good morning, everyone: How do you eat these clumps of wheat? I've only ever eaten wheat that's been ground into flour.
Call Me Your Majesty: If you don't know how to eat, you can give it to me. How can you be so fast? I just saw it and it's gone! My child hasn't had carbs for two days!! My stomach is full of grass, I feel like hanging myself, my nutrient level has dropped to 47!
999: Hahahaha, why do I see His Majesty begging outside every day lately? Is he having trouble making ends meet again?
Feiqiao Yeyan: Being able to eat a bellyful of grass is still too much of a luxury. The beggar suggested I take the beggar's place first. I really haven't eaten all day, I'm so hungry...
One coin: So nobody's buying the relief meals on the other side of the broken bridge? Why is everyone starving?
Broken Bridge and Lingering Snow is one of only three remaining shops, specializing in food.
His craftsmanship was good, but sales were average due to the high prices, and his daily turnover was barely enough to make ends meet. However, the shop still earned him several times more resources than the average player.
The two remaining shops were both outsiders who had lowered their prices in accordance with the rules from the beginning. Shen Dixin didn't have any ill feelings towards them, so what was this relief meal all about?
She took one look and laughed; wasn't this a contract of servitude?
Players who still had resources on the day of the disaster began to take action, deceiving and even coercing others to sign servant contracts.
If it weren't for the servant contract's restriction that a person could only bind a maximum of three at a time, Shen Dixin would have no doubt that someone might have taken over an entire channel.
Because if she could, she would do it herself.
Of course, not just anyone can sign a contract of servitude. Duanqiao Canxue slowly and methodically selected the items, knowing that all it would take was cheap food to get someone to work for her.
"Only level three? That's too weak."
"She's too ugly."
"This name doesn't sound very smart."
"Hmm, not bad... You only sell your art, not your body? Then what are you doing here!"
...
"Cleanse your heart, try my roasted wheat kernels!"
Lu Mingang brought over a bowl of very pure roasted wheat kernels, and casually sent my share of coffee and fortune to the group chat.
Take a bite, and the slightly charred outer layer is glistening with oil, encasing the sweet and sticky wheat filling. You close your eyes in contentment, feeling a sense of peace and satisfaction. The satisfaction brought by carbohydrates is irreplaceable by any other food.
After resting for only a short while, she jumped up again, full of energy, "Let's go, let's go play on Moonlit Island!"
AAA Supplies Wholesaler Lao Shen: @Everyone, sisters, the next island is the Monster Hunter Examiner. I checked, it's nearby, about one block away. Are you coming?
Luck is on my side: I finally understand why you're number one on the leaderboard, you're working too hard! Sister, we just finished a round of farm work and then came to the island, I want to rest a bit more.
My luck is terrible; I'm just lying in bed like a corpse. The roasted barley next door is getting cold, and she doesn't have the strength to lift her hand to eat it.
To be precise, her brain was so overwhelmed by an inescapable, recurring ache that she couldn't distinguish reality from reality, and she felt tired no matter how much she rested.
The repetitive physical labor was too exhausting, especially for someone who had never done high-intensity work since she went to sea to survive. She almost jumped up when she saw Shen Dixin's message.
Shen Dixin almost brandished her little leather whip to yank her out of bed. She'd already boarded her ship and become her person, and she still wanted to slack off? No way!
Considering that today was probably the first time my luck had been so good, and that I had persisted for almost four hours straight, Chen Dixin temporarily let her off the hook and raised his hand to use the token.
[Whether the player is heading to Luze Island; estimated distance: one chunk.]
--yes.
The island's location was automatically sent to the cockpit, and the ship began to slowly adjust its direction. It seemed that it should be possible to land on the island at night. Although the island would not refresh at night, it could still be located using entry tickets such as invitations and tokens.
After walking for a while, Coffee replied almost frantically.
"I probably can't go. All I can think about right now is my land and my vegetables!! God, why do gardeners have so many combinations? They're driving me crazy! I'm going to plant them all today. What do you guys think about this?"
It seems Coffee's mind is completely occupied with farming. Lu Mingang is staying home cooking... Shen Dixin shook her head. She'll go by herself. Hmm, take Yuanbao with her!
After clearing away the strange tide, Chen Dixin prepared to set off, but unexpectedly, Zhu Sha followed.
Yuanbao's daily visits to the island made it feel threatened, and Zhusha declared that it wanted to go too!
Shen Dixin scratched his head and said, "Let's go together then. It's not a dangerous place anyway." So he picked up the small bucket.
There were also little bear stickers on it, which Coffee gave her yesterday. Zhu Sha liked them very much as soon as she saw them, and she used them to stick them all over her things, including the water tank, which was quite an eyesore.
There's nothing I can do, as long as the child is happy.
From afar, she could see Yuebai waving at her from the island. Although they had only known each other for a short time, they admired each other very much.
"You've arrived."
"Will this bother you so late?"
Shen Dixin asked with a smile. She was actually very curious about what the pale-faced people did in private. Compared to players with chat channels, they couldn't even communicate with people outside the island.
Yuebai shrugged. "If you don't come, I can only practice martial arts. What do you need me for?"
The invitation on the token actually has a greater symbolic meaning, mainly because it allows you to change jobs at any time. There's no such thing as visiting other people's places when you're surviving at sea.
Chen Dixin said solemnly, "I have come to formally become your disciple! Master, please accept my bow—"
Yuebai had a hard time explaining, so she avoided her bow.
"Just kidding. Anyway, could I hire you as my teacher?"
What kind of rule is that? Even if she wanted to teach, she wouldn't have enough tokens to send Shen Dixin to the island.
“I can make a token for you.” Shen Dixin smiled and leaned closer, before she could refuse.
"How did you know...?"
"There's no need to delve into that, Sister Yuebai. Let me be your most loyal mercenary~"
Yuebai gave her a deep look and relented, "Alright, alright, what you said... is indeed feasible."
Island tokens like these can only be obtained by the Whiteface characters through accepting quests. The system not only connects the players but also orchestrates the Whiteface characters' every move.
The Monster Hunter examiner's token quest is, of course, to kill monsters. To Yuebai, it's like being a fool, sitting on a boat all day long just to kill a sea monster projection, without even getting any loot.
If Chen Dixin is willing, all you need to do is share the coordinates with her, and you're done killing.
The contract was equally effective on the pale-faced man. When Yuebai signed the contract, he used a waist tag that was so bulky it was about half the size of a hand.
By outsourcing the task, Yuebai visibly felt much more relaxed. She was a decisive person, so she immediately tightened her outer robe and drew her weapon.
"You brought a knife, didn't you? Let's warm up with a couple of moves first."
Unlike last time when she was not constrained by external forces, Yue Bai fought with incredible speed and force after she broke free from her role as an examiner. Shen Dixin immediately sympathized with Lu Mingang, who was stubbornly resisting under her.
But she was more capable than Lu Mingang. She was familiar with the attack patterns and, when she calmed down, she could not only resist Yuebai's attacks, but also organize her remaining strength to counterattack from time to time.
Even so, she knew the situation was irreversible, only that the defeat wasn't too humiliating.
Yuebai stopped after only five minutes of probing. In her opinion, Shen Dixin's attack was quite ingenious, but his defense was full of holes.
It's impossible for her to predict her opponent's actions, nor does she have any intention of scheming against them; she can only fight by relying on her superb reaction speed and combat intuition.
This method is particularly effective against opponents of similar combat ability, but it is extremely easy to suffer setbacks when encountering someone who can think and set traps.
His rough and brute fighting style, which relies on sheer force to overcome all techniques, is undoubtedly determined by his own personality and has been subtly shaped by his time in the arena.
As Yuebai analyzed the situation, Chen Dixin nodded in agreement. She was actually quite clear about where her problem lay.
However, it is almost impossible for a vague and indistinct "feeling" to fight against years of accumulated habits.
She needs external help and also needs to learn combat skills. Yuebai is not only a top-notch white-faced martial artist, but also an indisputable good teacher.
Under the dim light, two figures shifted into various poses, continuing until late at night.
Moonlight White sheathed her sword. The teaching that had lasted for several hours did not make her feel tired; in fact, she was quite excited.
"That's all for today. Go back and think carefully about what I said today. Martial arts training is 70% practice and 30% comprehension."
Shen Di sat on the ground, feeling weak and listless. She had absorbed too much information, and her CPU was completely overloaded.
Yuebai reached out and helped her up, handing her a similar token, but it only had the ability to locate the island.
"I'll give you another token, but this will be on your record. You'll have to return it to me after we defeat the sea monster. You need at least one token per week, and you're responsible for the tokens you use to get on the island."
Shen Dixin stiffly agreed and weakly returned to the ship, frightening Lu Mingang, who thought she had been drained of her life force on the island.
Today she decided to give herself a break and go to bed half an hour earlier!
Lying in bed, Chen Dixin finally had time to check the system notifications. Tonight's special training had actually shifted the attributes she had been working on for so long.
[Congratulations to the player for improving their constitution from 13 to 14 through training.]
Meanwhile, good news came from Coffee: she not only sorted out the initial crop ratios, but also managed to get an extra backpack slot when she returned to the chat channel!
Prices are unstable at the start of the game, and good items are most likely to appear in the market when disaster strikes. Apart from the first two backpack expansion slots obtained, these good items are often kept by players or used to exchange for things they want.
Since Chen Dixin hadn't returned for a long time, I bought some food myself. If the owner doesn't need it, he can use it himself!
Food prices are high now, and the person only asked for food, giving her enough dishes to last for seven days. This was nothing to Coffee, as she had already stocked up on supplies long ago thanks to Shen Dixin's reminder.
Shen Dixin naturally wouldn't miss out; she stuffed a lot more food into the coffee and swapped out the backpack's expandable compartment.
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