Chapter Bonanza (3/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

When Nan Liujing returned to the farmhouse, Victor was sitting on the bed he had already made, playing tug-of-war with a little fox cub, using an enrichment toy.

It was actually just a mineral water bottle with two blueberries inside, which Nian Gao had chewed all dented and battered in just two days—but for some reason, he just couldn’t get it open, and the blueberries inside were still perfectly intact.

Victor held one end of the water bottle, while Nian Gao gnawed on the other end. The little fox was straining so hard that his nose was wrinkled, his teeth bared, and his butt sticking straight up in the air. He was pulling with all his might, growling softly as he tried to snatch his toy away.

In stark contrast was Victor. The man held the bottle with just one hand, sitting cross-legged on the bed with a smile on his face; the arm holding the bottle showing off his well-defined muscles, his body completely still—he looked utterly relaxed and at ease.

He was even encouraging Nian Gao: “What’s the matter? Are you giving up already? Come on, come on, try harder! Otherwise, I’m going to eat your blueberries!”

His words made the little fox cub’s ears flatten back, its big tail bristling, and it pulled even harder in the tug-of-war. 

Nan Liujing: “……” 

At his age, why on earth would he go and provoke a little fox cub?

He couldn’t bear to watch, so he silently walked around them to stoke the fire in the fireplace.

“Is it okay to just have a light dinner tonight? Is there anything you can’t eat?”

Victor said, “I’m fine with anything—there’s nothing I can’t eat.” After saying that, he tilted his head again. “Are you going to treat me to dinner?” 

“I’m the one who’s going to eat dinner,” Nan Liujing corrected him. “I can’t very well eat while you just watch, can I?”

Victor laughed, loosened his grip, and handed the bottle back to the little fox, saying, “Great, I’ll cover the meal costs.”

Nian Gao was still pulling with all its might when, caught off guard, it suddenly sent itself tumbling head over heels. Thinking it had won the tug-of-war, it scrambled to its feet, disoriented, and let out a joyful howl.

Nan Liujing wandered around the warehouse for a bit, then came out carrying four large tomatoes, two big potatoes, and a carrot in his arms. He made his way to the smokehouse, where he retrieved a strip of smoked bacon from the storage cabinet. He planned to make Borscht for dinner tonight.

“Borscht” is the dish’s original name; “make-do” refers to Nan Liujing’s culinary philosophy and approach.

If he didn’t have all the ingredients, he’d just use a few of them or throw in something else—the taste would probably be about the same anyway. He carried a huge pile of ingredients back to the farmhouse. Since there was no kitchen counter, he set up a cutting board on the dining table to work on.

He pulled out his kitchen knife and casually wiped the back of the blade—it gleamed like snow.

As the sky darkened, the light inside the house dimmed as well. Afraid of cutting himself, Nan Liujing lit a kerosene lamp and brought it over. Under its glow, he swiftly prepared the ingredients.

He cut the bacon, tomatoes, potatoes, and carrots into bite-sized pieces and arranged them in separate piles on the cutting board. He took down a deep stew pot, set it over the fire in front of the fireplace, drizzled a ring of olive oil around the bottom, and tossed the bacon in to fry.

Strictly speaking, this step should have included onions, and there shouldn’t have been any bacon in the dish at all. Without onions, he had no choice but to wing it.

The smoked bacon was still somewhat soft, and after being pan-fried in the cast-iron skillet for a moment, it began to sizzle. The smoky fat rendered out and mingled with the olive oil. Nan Liujing gently flipped it over with a silicone spatula and saw a beautiful golden-brown crust forming on the surface of the bacon.

With the last two garlic cloves remaining, Nan Liujing smashed off the skins with a single chop, then quickly minced them and tossed them into the pan. The garlic pieces sizzled and released their aroma as they swirled in the fat. It had to be said—the combination of bacon and garlic was incredibly fragrant. Not only did Nian Gao on the mineral water bottle lift its head, but Victor also looked over.

Two seconds later, he stood up from his bed, walked over, and asked, “Do you need help?”

Nan Liujing was intently watching the pot, waiting for the right moment to add the carrots: “No, thanks.”

After a brief pause, he amended himself: “Could you grab the tomato paste for me? It’s in the five-drawer chest right next to you.” Victor turned to look for it, and Nan Liujing finally added the carrots to the pan, continuing to stir-fry.

Soon, Victor walked over holding a glass jar of tomato paste. Nan Liujing thanked him and reached out to take the jar.

To make it easier to work, he always cooked while squatting. Standing at 186cm, he took up a lot of space while crouched there. Victor wanted to laugh, but he held back as the corners of his mouth twitched twice. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Do you always cook like this?”

“Yeah, what else can I do?” Nan Liujing was tired of crouching, so he simply plopped down on the ground, still stirring the ingredients with his hands.

He’d traded for the carrots earlier in the trading zone—they were probably wild carrots dug up on Resource Island. They were small, with lots of roots and, to cut a long story short, the carrot has a hard, woody core inside, making it difficult to cut, and it burns a lot of firewood when stir-fried.

Victor folded his arms and said nothing, his eyes scanning the interior of the farmhouse. In his view, there was plenty of room for expansion—all of which presented business opportunities.

He had already decided which blueprints to bring for his next visit.

Finally, the carrots were stir-fried until tender. Nan Liujing added all the tomato chunks to the pan, poured in a little less than half a pot of water, and then added the tomato paste before adding the potato chunks.

Now all that was left was to wait for the heat to cook the ingredients until tender; there was no need to stand by and watch.

Nan Liujing covered the pot, used a piece of dry firewood to hook the iron hooks above the hearth, and hung the pot’s handles on the hooks one by one, so that the entire pot hung over the blazing fire.

The heat here was much more intense than that produced by the few pieces of firewood he had set aside specifically for this.

He came back every few minutes to stir it to prevent it from burning. Once the juices from the fresh tomatoes had fully released and the sauce had thickened from the high heat, he scooped out a bit with a small spoon, blew on it, and carefully took a small sip to taste it.

The first thing he tastes is the tomato—a large spoonful of concentrated tomato paste from four fresh tomatoes delivers a very intense tartness that explodes unashamedly in his mouth the very first second, triggering an involuntary surge of saliva.

Immediately after, the tomatoes’ natural, subtle sweetness blossoms on your taste buds. If you savor it carefully, you can also detect a hint of the bacon’s salty, savory flavor and the aroma of garlic, creating a very rich and complex flavor profile.

Plus, both the bacon and tomato paste are salty, and they blend perfectly into this pot of soup—no need to add any additional seasoning. 

“…I might just be a culinary genius,” Nan Liujing muttered under his breath, handing the spoon to Victor. “Here, you try it too.” 

“Huh, me too?”

Nan Liujing nodded emphatically, his eyes sparkling, his whole face practically screaming, “This is a masterpiece—you absolutely have to try it!”

Victor was flattered. He put the spoon in his mouth, and the next second: “……”

Nan Liujing looked at him expectantly: “So? Is it good?”

“…It’s pretty good,” Victor said diplomatically, struggling to keep a straight face. “It’s just… don’t you think it’s a little… sour?”

Nan Liujing blinked. “Really?” He looked at the bright red pot of soup and fell deep in thought.

Could it be that I added too much tomato paste? That can’t be.

Victor said nothing, but simply patted his shoulder: “Do you mind if I adjust the seasoning?”

“Can you really handle it?” Nan Liujing asked skeptically, but Victor gently yet firmly pushed him aside.

The tall man crouched in front of the fireplace, pulling several small bottles filled with powder from his waist pouch. Methodically, he added a pinch of this, a pinch of that.

He even pulled out a blender, scooped out some of the potatoes and carrots, pureed them, and added the mixture back into the soup.

Nan Liujing watched for a while but couldn’t make head or tail of it, so he walked away with a puzzled look on his face. A few minutes later, the two of them sat down at the dining table.

A deep stew pot, its bottom blackened by smoke and fire, was placed on the table. Nan Liujing had bought two deep plates and a ladle from the trading district.

He scooped out a heaping spoonful of the mixture and served it onto a plate. The red broth had been simmered until slightly thickened, and the pale yellow potato chunks, orange-red carrots, and crispy bacon were piled high like a small mountain, billowing with hot steam.

Judging by its appearance alone, this dish was a real success.

The rich aroma of tomatoes and meat mingled together, luring Nian Gao and Hei Tang right over—they began circling around Nan Liujing’s feet again, meowing and whimpering for food.

Nan Liujing handed the first plate to the guest, and Victor accepted it with a smile.

“Thank you.”

The first dish was Nan Liujing’s own, and it was a huge plate as well.

Borscht is technically a soup, but it’s so packed with ingredients that it can easily be eaten as a main dish.

The main staple was the baguette he’d bought that day in Olive Town; he sliced it and toasted it on a baking sheet until both sides were golden brown, to dip in the soup. After serving out two bowls of borscht, more than half the pot remained. Only then did Nan Liujing scoop out half a spoonful and pour it into each of Nian Gao and Hei Tang’s bowls. Since the soup was quite salty, he didn’t dare give them too much—fearing they might lose their fur if they ate too much—so he gave them just half a spoonful to sample.

The two little ones, of course, had no idea about their owner’s concerns, nor did they mind that the portion they received was small—they were just happy to have soup in their bowls.

Nian Gao lunged forward again, plunging its snout into the bowl, while Hei Tang, before eating, rubbed against Nan Liujing a few more times, meowing several times sweetly and leaving behind a big pile of cat hair.

Only then did Nan Liujing sit back down at the table: “…All right, let’s eat too.”

Victor gave a soft “Mm-hmm” and went to get some bread first. Nan Liujing was really curious to see what Victor had done to his borscht, so he immediately picked up a soup spoon to ladle some out—if he’d ruined the seasoning, he’d have to give him a good scolding!

He stuffed a heaping spoonful of soup into his mouth, but Nan Liujing’s expression changed instantly, and he slowly lowered his head. “……”

Victor, smiling, dipped a slice of bread into the soup and looked at the young man’s crown: “So, is it still edible?”

“I don’t want to talk.” With tears welling up in his eyes, Nan Liujing scooped up another big spoonful and shoved it into his mouth. Damn it!!!

It’s absolutely delicious!

The borscht was perfectly balanced in acidity, with several spices adding depth to the flavor. The pureed vegetables melted into the soup, providing a smooth texture and sweetness, while the potato chunks had been stewed until completely tender—they melted in his mouth with just a sip. Occasionally, he’d bite into a piece of bacon, and the aroma as he chewed was simply irresistible.

What really got to Nan Liujing was that after all his hard work making a whole pot of borscht, he hadn’t unlocked the recipe. But after drinking a bowl of borscht that Victor had tweaked, the recipe was suddenly unlocked!

It actually unlocked!

Nan Liujing had absolutely no desire to ponder why this had happened.

He channeled his frustration into his appetite, devouring three large bowls in one go. After the meal, he was so full he couldn’t move, so he slumped in his chair and let his mind go blank.

Victor had gone to take a shower first; the sound of running water could be heard from the bathroom.

After a while, the man emerged wearing a bathrobe, his short hair still dripping wet. As he dried his hair with a towel, he said, “I can’t believe your shower only runs cold water.”

Nan Liujing shifted his gaze and looked at him silently: “…Weren’t the blueprints bought from you?” I didn’t even bring a water heater in the first place—what could I do!

As soon as he looked, Nan Liujing realized something was off. He blinked: “Why is steam rising from your body?” 

“Huh? Because I just took a shower?”

“You just said my showerhead only dispenses cold water.”

“Oh, I just installed a magic crystal on the showerhead,” Victor said casually. “But I took that crystal from one of my other gadgets, so there isn’t much magic left in it—it’ll probably only last another two. Want to take a shower?”

Nan Liujing sat up with a start: “Just by installing a magic crystal, it’ll produce hot water?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you know that?” Victor wore an expression that said, “Isn’t this common knowledge?” 

“……”

Damn it, isn’t it perfectly normal for me, an Earth native, not to know your common knowledge?

Nan Liujing went out to scavenge supplies in a bad mood. When he returned, he took his first hot shower in the 15 days since entering the game and took a closer look at the showerhead.

There had always been a diamond-shaped notch on the handle of his showerhead. Because the shape was so perfect, he’d once thought it was just a decorative pattern. But now, a gemstone—with only one corner remaining, still fiery red while the rest had turned gray—was set perfectly into the notch, emitting a faint, dim glow.

Grass.

A kind of plant.

Nan Liujing felt from the bottom of his heart that this place wasn’t half bad.

When the place was being renovated, the dwarf craftsmen hadn’t mentioned this spot at all, so it was understandable that he hadn’t known about it.

However, now that he knew about this, he would definitely have to get another magic crystal for the showerhead. He wondered if Victor had any in stock.

It had been too long since he’d had a hot shower. Standing under the stream, Nan Liujing felt the slightly warm water hit his shoulders and slide down his back—

It felt so good that he didn’t want to get out at all.

Afterward, Nan Liujing—who usually only spent 10 minutes in the shower—stuck around in there for a full 30 minutes before reluctantly stepping out. Lying in bed, his cheeks were still flushed, and he felt so relaxed that his whole body went limp. He reached for the kerosene lamp on the nightstand: “Should I turn off the light?”

“Okay, good night.” Victor was half-reclining on his own bed, flipping through a book. He was turning the pages absentmindedly, seemingly not really reading—just killing time. Hearing this, he casually set the book aside by his pillow and slid under the covers.

“Good night.” Nan Liujing clicked the kerosene lamp off.

The only light left in the farmhouse was the flickering glow from the fireplace. 

Day 16 of Survival: A peaceful day.

Today, the No.12 wheat had ripened.

The first thing Nan Liujing did after getting up was head to the fields to harvest. A full 25 wheat plants yielded 125 ears of wheat. He rubbed them in the palm of his hand, and the grains rolled out, turning into 1 unit of wheat.

Compared to regular wheat, the yield of “Harvest No.12” wheat was indeed higher—25 units of wheat amounted to a full 25 jin.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the tools to grind the wheat into flour, so he wouldn’t be able to eat homemade wheat-based food for a while.

He stowed the wheat in his backpack and continued cutting the wheat stalks in the field. He planned to dry these stalks into hay to use as bedding in the animal pens. He dug up the root systems buried in the ground and tossed them into the compost bin.

After harvesting the wheat, the first plot of poor-quality farmland was completely cleared. Nan Liujing took out the wood ash and charcoal fragments he’d retrieved from the fireplace, scattered them evenly across the field, and then plowed the soil again.

It was time to plant. Nan Liujing took stock of his inventory: he had 28 seeds of various magical plants, 6 strawberry seeds, and 1 grapevine sapling—none of which were ideal choices. After some thought, he decided to click into the trading section and search for keywords.

As the game progressed, some players came into contact with the indigenous people by chance, and a few of them were lucky enough to obtain substandard farmland and began their farming ventures.

A few of them posted on the forum, intending to show off, but by a twist of fate, this actually caused the prices of seeds—which had been ridiculously cheap—to rise in the trading section.

It wasn’t a huge increase, though—what used to be 5 seeds for 2 basic materials had become 5 basic materials. Nan Liujing quickly ran the numbers and concluded it was still a better deal than buying from the indigenous people’s seed shop, so he didn’t haggle.

Over the past few days, he’d been scavenging supplies on the beach morning and night. Aside from three treasure chests he hadn’t had time to open yet, he’d collected 29 basic materials and 31 pieces of junk. Nan Liujing kept the wooden planks and iron nails for himself and traded the rest of the basic materials for 10 sweet potato seeds, 10 potato seeds, and 5 eggplant seeds, all of which he planted.

Among these, he had grown potatoes before; they grow at a moderate pace, yield exceptionally high harvests, are easy to store, and serve as a starchy staple food, so Nan Liujing naturally decided to plant more of them.

This was his first time trying sweet potatoes and eggplants. Unlike potato seeds, these two are similar to tomatoes in that they are both crops suitable for continuous cultivation.

【Sweet Potato Seeds☆】

【Category: Seeds】

【The seeds of this crop have a dark red outer skin, and the pulp is a sweet orange color. This is a continuous-harvest crop that can be harvested repeatedly. You can harvest it 6 days after sowing, and again 3 days after that. It can be harvested a total of 3 times. It can only be planted in farmland.】

【Suggested retail price: 280 Sol.】

【Eggplant Seeds☆】

【Category: Seeds】

【Seeds of a round, purple vegetable with smooth skin. This is a continuous-harvest crop that can be harvested repeatedly. It can be harvested 6 days after planting, and again 3 days after that. It can be harvested a total of 3 times. Can only be planted in farmland.】

【Suggested Price: 300 Sol.】

Eggplants make sense—you harvest one crop, and the next one grows right away. But Nan Liujing just couldn’t figure out how sweet potatoes were classified as a continuous-cropping plant.

With his head full of questions, Nan Liujing finished watering the two farm plots and hurried back to the animal shed.

Today, between harvesting and replanting the fields, he spent more time than usual, so by the time Nan Liujing reached the animal shed, the animals had already been herded into the grazing area by Hei Tang Nian Gao.

Hei Tang was perched on the fence, leisurely licking her paw, and let out a “meow” when she saw her owner. Nian Gao had run off to the beach again to “herd” slime.

“Good morning, Hei Tang,” Nan Liujing walked over, rubbed Hei Tang’s little cat face, and gave her warm little ears a gentle squeeze. “Thanks for all your hard work.” 

“Meow~” Hei Tang twitched her whiskers slightly and tapped the back of her owner’s hand with her paw.

Stepping into the grazing area, Nan Liujing first fished the long-haired rabbit out of the grass, then clipped away with the clippers—snip, snip—harvesting one rabbit pelt.

He had sheared the long-haired rabbit down to look like a bald rat, but luckily it couldn’t see itself. Once set on the ground, it quickly grabbed a blade of grass and began munching away.

Putting away the rabbit fur and the clippers, Nan Liujing spotted a dairy cow trying to blend in with the lambs—but its large size made it stand out even more. It had eaten its fill of grass yesterday, so it was ready to be milked today.

It was right then that Nan Liujing suddenly realized: He’d forgotten to buy a milking machine yesterday!

“…Oh well, I guess I’ll just milk it by hand.”

He took out a tin bucket, placed it beneath the cow, took a deep breath, and slowly squatted down.

The cow stood motionless, calmly chewing its grass—clearly accustomed to this routine. A single cow produces 500 ml of milk per day, which filled only one-fifth of the tin bucket.

After milking, Nan Liujing wiped his hands on a blade of grass, then took out a bristle brush and gave the cow, the black-faced sheep, and the long-haired rabbit—all of which had fur—a slow brushing. He brushed out quite a few fleas and lice, along with grass seeds and dead leaves. The sheep’s previously matted fur was combed out, leaving it fluffy and clean, like two white clouds.

After giving the white-feathered chicken a hug, he went to the animal shed to collect 4 eggs, shoveled away the manure on the ground, and spread out the wheat straw that had dried in the sun yesterday. Only then was his work finally done.

Nan Liujing took a deep breath and checked his tablet—to his surprise, he’d already used up 54 stamina points.

“Being a life-skill player isn’t easy either.” And that was even with his stamina consumption halved buff active—any other player would have fainted by now.

He went to the beach to collect two jellies, patted his dutiful Nian Gao, and then took a stroll around the marine ranch.

No new fish fry had matured today, but the fishing nets at the edge of the aquaculture area were already covered with lush green kelp and scattered shellfish—it looked like he’d be able to enjoy fresh seafood again before long.

Thinking back to the last time this happened—it was just a few days after he’d started playing.

The last stop of his morning routine was to check the mailbox; Nan Liujing walked back to the farmhouse with a newspaper and a letter.

Victor was humming a tune as he brought breakfast to the table.

This morning, Victor volunteered to take over breakfast preparations. Nan Liujing thought this might help unlock a few more recipes, so he readily agreed and even gave him access to the storage room.

After all, he could only use recipes unlocked with ingredients he actually had on hand.

Upon waking up, Nan Liujing had already come to terms with the fact that Victor was a better cook than he was, and his thoughts quickly shifted to how he could make the most of that.

As soon as he walked in, Nan Liujing took a deep breath, and his stomach growled in response: “That smells so good.”

Victor said, “You’re back just in time. Go wash your hands.”

Nan Liujing happily went to wash his hands, gave them a quick rub with a towel, and ran back to check out the breakfast spread.

Victor had whipped up a huge bowl of Caesar salad with lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, croutons, hard-boiled eggs, and some cheese—he didn’t know where it came from—along with a creamy potato soup made with rehydrated dried mushrooms. The whole-wheat bread from the storage room had been transformed into French toast, and there was also a platter of fruit made with oranges, watermelon, and cantaloupe.

The table was set with ceramic bowls and plates—he had no idea where they’d come from—and Nan Liujing was stunned: “I-is it really this lavish?”

Victor smiled as he pulled out a chair for him: “After all, you put me up for the night, so let me handle this little task of cooking. Please, have a seat.”

“Are my food supplies still okay…?” Nan Liujing slowly sat down, beginning to regret his decision to open up the warehouse.

But soon, as the first spoonful of potato soup slid down his throat, Nan Liujing quickly pushed any regrets to the back of his mind. He held his plate and ate voraciously, with only two words left in his mind—

Delicious! 

【You’ve mastered a new recipe: Caesar Salad.】 

【You’ve mastered a new recipe: Cream of Potato Soup.】

【You have mastered a new recipe: French Toast.】

【You’ve mastered a new recipe: Fruit Platter.】