Chapter 5: My Little Adventures with Mud - I Unearthed a Broken Rock That the Boss Disliked...
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
Lin Yue shouted commands and used all his strength to try to move a stone, which was larger than a modern roadside bollard, to the designated position.
The stone didn't budge, but he himself was exhausted, his face red and his neck bulging, looking like a... colorful, silly bird that had just had its feathers plucked.
Gray Stone couldn't stand it anymore. He silently walked over, shoved Lin Yue aside like a chick, took a deep breath, his arm muscles bulged, let out a low growl, and forcefully lifted the big rock, placing it steadily on the edge of the foundation.
Lin Yue: "..."
The differences in physical constitution between people are sometimes greater than the differences between species.
[System Notification: Complete the foundation stone transport task in collaboration with your partner 'Greystone' (Greystone's contribution 95%, Host's contribution 5%). Gain +10 experience points. Note: Participation is key; please don't be discouraged.]
"I don't believe you for a second!" Lin Yue rolled his eyes at the system interface. "Is there something wrong with your contribution algorithm? I was clearly responsible for providing moral encouragement and creating a lively atmosphere!"
Although the process was filled with Lin Yue's blood and tears and Gray Stone's sweat, after several days of hard work, the foundation of the first phase of the Lin family's luxury villa project finally took shape.
A stone foundation, more than half a meter high, marked out the approximate area of the future house. It looked... well, a bit like the base of an altar in a primitive tribe, with a rugged and unrestrained artistic style.
The next step is to mix the mud and make adobe bricks. This work is relatively simple and doesn't require much skill, but it demands a great deal of patience and physical strength.
Lin Yue directed Gray Stone Brother to mix the clay he had found with the collected hay and plant fibers, add an appropriate amount of water, and then... begin to frantically stir and stomp on it.
Lin Yue took off his poor, almost worn-out shoes and stepped barefoot into the cold, slippery mud, feeling as if he were participating in a mud wrestling event at some rural sports meet. Mud splattered everywhere, on his face, hair, and clothes, leaving no part untouched.
Graystone seemed to adapt well, or rather, he didn't care at all. He grabbed large clumps of mud with his hands and kneaded them like dough, occasionally letting out a few low, satisfied gurgling sounds.
Watching Gray Stone's skillful technique, Lin Yue couldn't help but wonder, "Dude, have you done this before? Or is this how they build houses where you're from?"
After spending this time together and with the system's half-baked translation efforts, Lin Yue could barely understand some of the simple words and phrases that Gray Stone often used, such as "food," "water," "danger," "this side," "that side," and so on.
He could also speak a few words of this world's language, albeit with peculiar pronunciation and chaotic grammar, but with the help of gestures, he could barely manage some basic communication.
For example, right now, he's stomping through the mud while trying to strike up a conversation with Gray Stone:
"Hey, uh...you (pointing to Gray Stone), name (pointing to his own chest, then pointing to the other person)...what?" Lin Yue struggled to organize his words, feeling like a baby just learning to speak.
Graystone stopped what he was doing, looked up, and stared at Lin Yue with his sharp eyes, seemingly trying to understand him. After a long while, he pointed to his chest and uttered two syllables in a hoarse, deep voice: "...Gray."
[System Translation (Optimized Version): The other party refers to themselves as 'Grey.' This likely relates to 'grey,' 'stone,' or some kind of resilient plant.]
"Grey?" Lin Yue repeated, feeling that the pronunciation was quite cool. "I am Lin Yue." He pointed to himself.
Gray tried to imitate his pronunciation: "...Lin...Yue?" His pronunciation was a bit stiff, but Lin Yue still understood.
"Yes, Lin Yue." Lin Yue grinned, feeling that the distance between them had shrunk another step.
"Grey, what do you think... how's our mud mixing going?" Lin Yue asked, pointing to the pile of muddy mess at their feet.
Gray looked down, grabbed a handful of mud, kneaded it, and said a few words.
[System translation: The other party indicated 'too much water' and 'too little grass'. Adjusting the proportions is recommended.]
"Okay, got it!" Lin Yue quickly called to Gray, "Then let's add some more hay."
The two men got back to work, adjusting the ratio of mud, water, and hay. Gray was clearly more experienced in this area, and under his guidance, the resulting mud became thicker and more elastic.
Next came the making of adobe bricks. They found some relatively flat ground, filled the mixed mud into the temporary molds made of wood designed by Lin Yue (though they were a bit crooked), compacted them, and then demolded them, leaving rectangular mud blocks to dry in the sun.
This process was repeated countless times. By the end of the day, the open space was filled with densely packed mud bricks of varying sizes, some deformed by the molds, resembling a square of mud soldiers awaiting inspection.
Lin Yue was so tired that he could barely straighten his back. He plopped down on the ground, looking at the mud bricks with a great sense of accomplishment.
"Grey, you're saying that once these mud blocks are dried, we can use them to build houses?" Lin Yue asked.
Gray nodded, pointed to the sun in the sky, then to the adobe bricks, and gestured "dry" to indicate that they had hardened.
[System translation: The other party indicated that they need to wait for the sun to dry and harden it.]
"Well, it seems we'll have to wait a few more days." Lin Yue sighed; the task of building the house was arduous and had a long way to go.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of something gleaming strangely in the sunlight in the large pit they had left behind while digging the clay.
"Huh? What's that?" Lin Yue stood up curiously and walked over.
The soil at the bottom of the pit had become loose due to digging, and after several days of sun exposure, some areas had cracked. Deep within one of the cracks, several rice-grain-sized, metallic-lustered, yellowish particles were embedded in the soil, standing out conspicuously.
Lin Yue's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly squatted down and carefully picked out the particles with his fingers.
The granules are very small, but heavy, with a cool texture, and the color is... an extremely pure golden yellow.
He picked one up, put it in his mouth and bit it... well, he didn't dare to actually bite it, he just used his teeth to feel its firmness. It was a bit soft.
Lin Yue's heart began to pound wildly!
This... this could be...
He quickly used his mind to call out to the system: "System! Quick! Scan this thing! What is this?!"
The system interface flashed with light:
[Material scanning in progress... Composition analysis: Gold (Au) content > 98%, with trace amounts of silver (Ag), copper (Cu), etc. Identification result: High-purity natural gold particles (gold nugget fragments).]
[Value Assessment: In primitive/low-magic environments lacking a unified monetary system, it can serve as a rare decorative item or a special ritual object. In civilizations with mature metal smelting and monetary systems, it possesses extremely high value.]
[Friendly reminder: Excessive fascination with shiny but inedible metals may reduce your survivability. Please remain rational.]
Gold! ! !
It really is gold!!!
Lin Yue was so excited he almost did a backflip on the spot!
He never dreamed that while he was digging clay to build a house in this godforsaken place, he would actually find a gold nugget.
This luck is simply incredible.
I'm rich! I'm rich! Although I don't know how much gold is worth in this world, or whether I can find a place to exchange it for food, drink, or better tools, its golden gleam is enough to ignite the get-rich-quick dream of any modern person.
He turned around excitedly, wanting to share this earth-shattering discovery with Gray. But he found Gray looking at him calmly, with even a hint of…disdain in his eyes?
Lin Yue paused for a moment, then held up the gold nuggets in his hand: "Grey! Look! Gold! Shiny! Valuable!" He tried his best to express himself using the vocabulary and gestures he knew.
Gray frowned, walked over, picked up a gold nugget, looked at it, and then... casually tossed it back into the pit.
He pointed to the gold particles, then to the stone next to them, and said a few words.
[System Translation: The other party stated that these 'small yellow stones' are of low hardness, not durable, and cannot be used to make tools or weapons; aside from being somewhat shiny, they are of little use.]
Lin Yue: "???"
It's...not very useful?
He was completely dumbfounded when he saw Gray's expression that said, "This thing is not even as good as a good rock."
So in this world, or at least in Gray's understanding, gold is just like pretty pebbles on the roadside? Because it can't be eaten or used, it's worthless?
Lin Yue felt that his worldview had been severely impacted.
The gold he painstakingly unearthed, the gold that could drive Earthlings crazy, was actually rejected here?
This...this is such a waste!
He quickly picked up the gold nuggets that Gray had thrown away, wrapped them carefully in a large leaf, and stuffed them into his pocket.
"You don't understand! This is a valuable thing!" Lin Yue tried to explain, but found that he couldn't explain the financial value and symbolic meaning of gold in modern society at all.
Forget it, talking about gold reserves and international gold prices with someone who's never even seen iron is like casting pearls before swine. They have no idea how high gold prices have skyrocketed!
[System Notification: Usable resource 'Natural Gold' detected. Coordinates recorded. Host is advised to keep it safe; it may come in handy in future contact with more advanced civilizations.]
"You have good taste!" Lin Yue rarely expressed his agreement with the system.
Although the gold couldn't be converted into cash immediately, this unexpected discovery still lifted Lin Yue's spirits considerably. At least it proved that this dangerous place wasn't entirely without merit; perhaps even more treasures lay buried beneath.
For example... iron ore? Copper ore? Or even coal ore?
Thinking of this, Lin Yue's engineer's spirit began to burn brightly again.
"Grey, let's go! Let's look around some more! See if there are any other... um, useful stones!" Lin Yue pulled, or rather dragged, a reluctant Grey, and began a new round of treasure hunting.
A note from the author:
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Lin Yue (holding gold nuggets): Gray! Gold! I'm rich!!!
Gray (who throws gold nuggets): Bright stones are not as fragrant as meat.
Lin Yue: ...What a waste! System, quickly memorize the coordinates!
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