Chapter 134 The heavy snowfall seemed to have brought them out of the snow.
Stepping out of the temperature-controlled arena, Chen Dixin, dressed in thin clothes, couldn't help but shiver. It wasn't that she was physically weak, but that it was just too cold outside!
Snowflakes disappear when they fall on the sea, but they cause great suffering when they fall on a person's neck.
"It must be minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius in this weather," she murmured, then turned to the person in charge and asked for a thermal outfit. They were willing to give away the golden props, so they certainly wouldn't be stingy with warm clothing.
Donning her coat and calming her mind, she could walk with renewed vigor. With over forty points of constitution after equipping herself, she was more resistant to the cold than most players.
The white-faced people seemed to have emerged from the snow, blending seamlessly into the icy landscape, still wearing their robes without shivering.
The system bracelet only displays the time, not the date.
Shen Dixin quickly calculated in his mind and came to the answer: today is May 10th, a day of disaster, no wonder it's so cold.
The first disaster of winter is also a storm, but it is obvious that it will not rain this time. Snowflakes fall heavily and land on Shen Dixin's brow.
With his hood up, he looked like someone from the same school as the pale-faced man, except that he wore black clothes.
She missed out on a whole fruitful autumn, and she doesn't know if her friends followed her advice and collected more ingredients in the fall.
Otherwise, things would be very difficult now. There is no food on the island, the catch has decreased significantly, and the growth rate of crops has also slowed down considerably.
Moreover, winter at sea is not like winter in the real world with heating; every drop in temperature must be endured.
Besides food, firewood was consumed the fastest. Wood planks suddenly became more valuable than plastic, not to mention durable coal, which sold for two or three times the price.
Shen Dixin wouldn't interfere with this, because it was indeed worth the price, even though it was almost ignored in the summer.
When she boarded the ship, she was met with complete silence and an empty deck.
The boats moored next to her were also silent. She tilted her head. Where did everyone go?
Just then, an aggressively pungent aroma of roasted meat wafted through the air. She sniffed and met the gaze of the coffee-loving woman, who was enjoying the skewers of grilled meat.
Coffee was stunned for a moment, then excitedly shouted, "Boss, you're back!"
Unfortunately, with her mouth full of meat, she could only mumble a few words, and the slightly protruding bird meat skewers made them both unconsciously swallow.
Coffee looked at her awkwardly and then broke into a few strands of coffee.
"Boss, you've come at the perfect time."
Chew, chew, chew.
"We're having barbecue!"
Chew, chew, chew.
"Where are the others?"
With a calm and pure heart, I joined the ranks, chewing and chewing.
"They're all on Xiaoling's boat, so it's inconvenient for her to come over."
Coffee pointed to the ship in the far distance; if you looked closely, you could see wisps of smoke rising into the sky.
"The others, are they our newly recruited members?"
Shen Dixin noticed that there were more than five or six boats around, almost surrounding the entire coastline.
"Of course, many of them have never even met the boss!"
Speaking of this, Coffee's eyes darted around, and she said apologetically, "We were originally going to pick you up, but the boat stopped early this morning, and we thought you were about to come back."
"By noon, everyone was hungry, so we went to eat first."
God knows, people stayed nearby for over five hours straight; even she would come back to eat the skewers she had.
They only left for twenty minutes before returning, making it seem like they didn't care about their boss at all!
She enjoyed her coffee because she was hungry.
Chen Dixin chuckled, "Let's go, I want some barbecue too." The two skewers of coffee she received weren't even enough to fill a tooth gap!
The arena only serves bland, tasteless porridge, and the same type of buff dishes are chosen for stacking purposes; she's already tired of them.
When Chen Dixin appeared, the entire room fell silent for a moment, and then everyone excitedly gathered around.
“Dixin…you’re back.” Lu Mingang stammered, looking up at her somewhat bewildered, his eyes unblinking, even forgetting to flip the barbecue in his hands.
"Sister Dixin!" Tao Ling rushed to the front line in her wheelchair, which had no speed limit.
Zhu Sha hitched a ride and leaped above Chen Dixin's head, expressing her longing with a vibration that only master and pet could feel.
"You're finally back!" This was Yunzhi, who had been drafted into managing and handling various affairs of the fleet and was now overwhelmed with stress, his eyes dark and swollen.
It is said that she has maintained this appearance since a full week after she left for the purification ceremony.
"Hey boss, I'm Meng Po Tang!" the sunny and cheerful young man greeted.
"Boss, I just grilled some mushrooms, could you try grilling them for me?" This was from a female fan who didn't know the man and was eager to curry favor.
Everyone swarmed forward, and Shen Dixin's head started to throb.
Coffee was the person who had the most contact with the newcomers, so the name "coffee" began to spread among the crowd.
Shen Dixin felt like a pancake vendor with a bunch of customers waiting for her to open her stall.
"I...I did it!"
Xingtu Wanli felt very uncomfortable speaking in front of so many people, and stammered as he presented his work.
"Boss, look! These are five-elemental accessories!"
A pair of exquisite and beautiful earrings that match perfectly show that our jewelry artisans have truly mastered their craft. With such a high level of quality, these pieces will find a market even among high-end enthusiasts.
Upon inquiry, it was learned that Xingtu Wanli had broken through his own limits half a month ago.
Currently, the probability of creating a five-attribute bonus is 5%, and the probability of creating a four-attribute bonus is consistently around 25%. Chen Dixin's large investment in gems has finally been recouped many times over.
Shen Dixin responded to everyone's questions. She didn't like too much socializing and told everyone to go about their business. She only kept Lu Mingang and Coffee, who ate barbecue while getting to know the situation.
"The fleet is now full of people. We each brought three people with particularly low combat strength, and we sent the few who are still capable to team up."
"Xiaoming said you don't like having strangers with you, so you didn't bring anyone."
Coffee added cryptically, expressing her doubt that the one who disliked having outsiders around was truly Shen Dixin.
After all, they've known each other for more than a day or two. Who among you doesn't know that Lu Mingang has feelings for the boss?
Seeing that Shen Dixin had given her tacit approval, Coffee changed the subject to other things.
"I've temporarily divided our base into districts. Go back and take a look later. If you don't like it, we can adjust it again. We're currently short-staffed and have only developed 20%."
"We've had several small buildings built. The most luxurious one is reserved for you. This area is for aquaculture and planting. We've hired three farmers and three fishermen to stay on the island. They're perfectly capable of handling it."
"This is the port and trading post, specifically for receiving ships from the white-faced people. After the port is repaired, NPCs will be able to see our base."
"Recently, someone captured a few sheep, and we've been discussing whether or not to keep animals as pets..."
"..."
Shen Dixin was pondering what she had heard. Was this a survival story at sea? How did it turn into Robinson Crusoe?
She quickly browsed the pictures and hand-drawn map that Coffee had sent her: houses with blue bricks and red tiles, vibrant farmland, and a group photo of everyone catching sheep.
Coffee serves as the island's chief steward, and there are many related photos. She sees everything, big and small, and even when she's not on the island, she knows every plant and tree inside and out.
Then came the new members: two farmers, three fishermen, four sailors, two cooks, a knight with a special profession, a knife peddler, and a second spirit plant master.
The sailors provided a speed boost of 20%, which Shen Dixin had specifically instructed her to do, as she needed high speed to save time.
"A knife seller on credit?" Shen Dixin asked. She had never heard of this special profession, but she knew about the business of selling knives on credit.
But isn't survival at sea a Western fantasy setting? How could there be Eastern folk professions? Even the authenticity of these professions is uncertain, leaning more towards folk legends, like the knife-selling peddler.
"Yes!" Coffee didn't realize that Shen Dixin was asking why he was the one asking.
"This is a great support character I carefully selected! Just going through the motions will provide a lot of buffs! They're all percentage-based, perfect for a stat monster like you!"
"With careful nurturing, it can gain even more buffs. The only drawback is that it can only buff one person at a time, but we have you~ No one else needs this buff except you."
"Coffee...you're practically a mind reader!"
"Ugh, boss, could you use a less disgusting analogy?"
Chatting, they finished their barbecue and stood up, and surprisingly did the same thing—they took shovels to sweep the snow.
In just twenty minutes while they were eating, snow had already covered the boat planks, reaching a thickness of ten centimeters.
Tao Ling's boat hadn't been modified; the gunwale was a full meter high. No matter how much effort she took, she still had to gather the snow into piles and throw them out.
After welcoming the fleet leader, the newcomers returned one after another, leaving only their six-person ship around.
Coffee squinted as she looked out; the reflected light from the piled-up snow was bad for her eyes. She saw snow piled up on the boat that had been cleansing her heart.
Shen Dixin saw that she had set up a crossbeam and was about to cross over. After drifting for a long time, few people are not agile.
"No need for a shovel, a broom will do."
She waved the tools in her hand to indicate this, then went into the cockpit and operated them for a while. Surprisingly, the ship's side turned into a hollowed-out railing right in front of the coffee!
This was one of the modifications that the shipwrights made at the time.
She easily swept the snow into the sea with a broom, and when she saw no movement beside her, she turned her head.
"You should have said so earlier, then I wouldn't have scanned it with you," Coffee said resentfully.
"After we finish here, I'll help you clean your boat."
"Your humble abode is truly honored!"
Coffee laughed mischievously. Ever since Shen Dixing placed his complete trust in her, and even entrusted the fleet with full authority, she no longer felt the same restraint she used to have towards Shen Dixing.
With a quick glance, my eyes started to wander to the railings where snow could be swept directly down. Winter had only just begun, and the snow-shoveling work was going to continue for quite some time!
"Boss, where did you get your boat modified?"
"He doesn't take other people's orders, but I can ask him for you next time."
After saying goodbye to Coffee and the others, Shen Dixin led Lu Mingang back to her ship, finally having time to inspect her territory.
The newly opened cabin was perfect for storing supplies. It was only when Hanming volunteered to help with the transportation that Chen Dixin learned the little guy also had a space bag just like the one the white-faced man had.
The supplies she brought back today were piled up on the deck by the pale-faced men, forming a small mountain that could be climbed up to the second floor!
Shen Dixin smiled contentedly, as if she wanted to save the best for last. Instead of immediately taking stock of the supplies, she took out her grandmother's lunch basket and handed it to Lu Mingang.
"This...automatic feeding?"
Lu Mingang understood the meaning the same as hers.
"You'll know once you try! You haven't eaten anything yet, have you?"
"How did you know, Dixin?" Lu Mingang was a little surprised.
"I guessed."
Lu Mingang's mealtimes were basically in sync with hers, and they ate more meals frequently. The time when everyone was having barbecue was right between two meals.
Finding that two months had passed and his partner was still the same, Chen Dixin felt inexplicably relieved.
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