Chapter Bonanza (10/10)

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One radish per hole—Nan Liujing dug up five large radishes. He used his hands to cut off the radish tops. The tops of these white radishes were long but not very tough, so he didn’t really want to send them to the compost pile; after all, radish tops are edible too.

With the harvest complete, Nan Liujing went to the mailbox to retrieve the newspaper, which also contained two disposable space cards—notifications that his discounted items and premium farmland had arrived.

Nan Liujing casually stuffed the newspaper into his backpack, then turned and headed excitedly to set up his farm plots.

For ease of management, the farm plots should be placed together. There were no other buildings on the east side of the farmhouse to begin with, and it was just over twenty meters to the beach—more than enough space to lay out six farm plots.

But Nan Liujing didn’t arrange all the farm plots in a single straight line; that would be long and wouldn’t look good.

Instead, he arranged them in two rows of three farm plots each, creating a 3×2-meter farming area—which would also make it easier to fence in later.

Nan Liujing hadn’t given up on the idea of fencing off the various structures on the island; he’d been saving up materials all along. However, the need to build typhoon guardrails took precedence, so the fencing plan had to be postponed once again.

He also planned to build typhoon guardrails. Although Victor had more convenient—and more expensive—basic protective shields, Nan Liujing reasoned that the protective range is limited to a single building—just like the typhoon guardrails. Yet the price has skyrocketed to 100,000 Sol per unit.

Nan Liujing calculated the number of buildings on the island; it wasn’t that he couldn’t afford them, but it would essentially mean spending his entire fortune.

Moreover, the primary protective shields were single-use; they would be damaged after surviving a single typhoon and could not be reused. Upon learning this, Nan Liujing became even less likely to spend such a large sum on them.

So he still had to build the typhoon guardrails.

Nan Liujing planned to wait until he reached Goldfinch Island to purchase the missing wooden planks and magic crystals. Only if he couldn’t find magic crystals in Goldfinch City would he consider going to Rock Island to take on odd jobs.

However, judging by how common magic crystals are among the indigenous people, it’s unlikely he won’t be able to find any.

With six farm plots joined together, Nan Liujing stood at the edge of the fields, arms crossed, and could easily tell the difference between substandard farmland and premium farmland.

The soil in the inferior fields had a yellowish tint, while that in the premium fields was dark brown—looser, moister, and appearing to sit a level higher than the inferior fields. When he scooped up a handful, clenched it tightly, and then released it, the soil that had formed a clump quickly became loose again, trickling back down—the soil fluttering like chocolate chips sprinkled on a cake.

This makes the low-quality farmland next to it look like a wasteland.

However, even that wasteland is far superior to the native soil on Nan Liujing’s island.

Although ten land-subspecies slimes worked diligently every day, eating and excreting soil, his soil improvement efforts were still progressing very slowly. His most significant achievement so far was finding a few weeds on the island each day, though they didn’t form a continuous patch, and many of the cracks in the compacted soil remained unimproved.

He supposed he could only say the future looks promising.

The Slime Maker is currently working at full capacity producing Beach Subspecies Slimes and can’t be spared. Nan Liujing doesn’t want to dig any more soil either.

Nan Liujing couldn’t possibly leave the four newly acquired prime farm plots lying idle, so he planted them all with Chinese cabbage.

Like lettuce and white radishes, Chinese cabbage has a fixed yield and requires one plot per crop, but its advantages are its large size and good storability. Back when he was still on Earth, the provinces and cities north of Nan Liujing’s hometown would stockpile large quantities of Chinese cabbage every winter, and Nan Liujing found this practice quite instructive.

Even more coincidentally, Chinese cabbage also has a 6-day growth cycle, which means it would ripen right on the morning of the typhoon.

After getting up early to plant the Chinese cabbage just in time, he refrained from planting anything else that day to prevent the farmland from being damaged by the typhoon and suffering losses.

The empty fields could then withstand whatever damage the typhoon brought.

【Chinese cabbage Seedling‌☆】

【Category: Seedling‌】

【A seedling of a massive vegetable—far too much to eat in a single meal. Can be harvested 6 days after planting. Can only be planted in farmland.】

【Suggested Retail Price: 210 Sol.】

With a total of four premium farm plots, Nan Liujing planted 100 Chinese cabbage seeds and replanted 10 Pumpkin Seeds in the empty spaces left by sun grass and white radish.

Now, his first low-quality farm field has a total of 15 pumpkins and 10 soybeans, while the second low-quality farm field has sweet potatoes, potatoes, and eggplants.

Among them, the 5 pumpkins planted early will be ready for harvest soon. Speaking of which, Nan Liujing feels quite regretful—when those five pumpkin plants were in full bloom, he was busy running around dealing with the typhoon. By the time he finished his work and came to his senses, the pumpkin blossoms had long since fallen, leaving behind small pumpkins.

And just like that, he missed his chance to eat the pumpkin blossoms. That’s exactly why Nan Liujing went ahead and planted 10 more pumpkin seeds. He absolutely has to eat them! 

After sowing the seeds, Nan Liujing, carrying a watering can, had to refill it twice before he finished watering all six plots of farmland. With the increase in farmland came higher water consumption. Fortunately, he had long been using freshwater collected by a simple water collector to water his crops. 

The full 10 liters per day were used to supply drinking water for him, Nian Gao, Hei Tang, and the little creatures in the “Seed House,” and there was still some left over each day.

Both the water for daily use and the farmland were supplied by desalinated seawater from the bathroom; while this water causes diarrhea if consumed by humans, it’s harmless to plants.

Now, the bigger problem is that the watering can doesn’t hold enough water. Nan Liujing thought to himself that, to increase his work efficiency, he’d have to find an opportunity to upgrade the watering can.

Today he harvested 10 units of fertilizer, and combined with what was left over from yesterday, he now has 38 units of fertilizer, which isn’t enough to cover all his crops. But on second thought, all the crops he’s growing now are for his own consumption.

Fertilizing them is mostly to command a higher price when selling them. Since he’s eating them himself, there doesn’t seem to be much point in going out of his way to grow high-quality crops.

Once he realized this, Nan Liujing couldn’t be bothered to fertilize anymore. He decided to simply stockpile the fertilizer and save it for when he starts growing crops specifically to sell to the indigenous people.

After finishing his work in the fields, Nan Liujing made another trip to the livestock shed, where, after some hustle and bustle, he collected today’s supply of milk and eggs.

With Hei Tang keeping watch, and with an unlimited daily supply of delicious pasture grass, the four white-feathered chickens laid eggs with all their might every day. In just a few days, Nan Liujing had already saved up 20 eggs. However, eggs didn’t fetch a high price—not even as much as a single potato—so Nan Liujing wasn’t particularly eager to sell them and preferred to eat them himself.

As for milk, it was only slightly more expensive than eggs, but not by much.

【Milk☆】

【Category: Ingredients】

【Milk produced by black-and-white cows, rich and creamy.】

【Suggested Price: 180 Sol.】

【Status: Fresh】

After leaving the Animal Breeding Hut, he headed to the slime ranch. On the open ground next to the ranch were dozens of empty barrels—all ones Nan Liujing had spawned yesterday.

Before spawning the barrels, he’d toss a Mulberry Slime inside first, letting the slime eat the wine residue and dregs stuck to the barrel walls, then he added water to rinse them. This method was incredibly effective, greatly speeding up Nan Liujing’s barrel-cleaning efficiency.

The mulberry slime also ate its fill; this morning, it was bouncing around with a mulberry wine-filled jelly on its head.

Poor slime—it has no idea that once these barrels are all cleaned today, it’ll start going hungry.

Nan Liujing didn’t have a good solution for this either; he could only work harder, spending more time in the trading area to see if any players were selling fresh mulberries, which he could then buy, juice, and feed to the slime.

If the cost of the mulberries gets too high—exceeding the profits from the jelly—then…The slime probably won’t starve to death, right? 

Nan Liujing mused uncertainly. This morning’s breakfast was Black Forest cake with hot milk. The cake was a bargain he’d snagged with a discount coupon, and the hot milk was made quickly using the cooking function.

Eating sweets first thing in the morning felt like such a guilty pleasure. Nan Liujing used his silver fork to cut off a slice of cake—three layers of chocolate chiffon cake sandwiched with fluffy cream, the surface generously sprinkled with chocolate shavings. 

He popped the whole slice into his mouth; the bitterness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the cake perfectly intertwined on his taste buds. Eating too much chocolate can be a bit cloying, but a sip of warm milk was just right.

If Nan Liujing’s memory served him correctly, chocolate seemed to be quite expensive in this world. If that were the case, then he’d really splurged on this Black Forest cake.

【You have unlocked a new recipe: Black Forest cake.】

After finishing the cake, Nan Liujing felt a bit stuffed from all the sweets. He washed his hands, brewed a cup of strong green tea, and sat on the sofa flipping through the newspaper.

Today he received two newspapers: the *Heart of the Rising Sun Daily* and the *Impermanent Sea Daily* had both been delivered.

The *Impermanent Sea Daily*, in particular, didn’t report any major news; at most, it provided a follow-up report on the case of Phantom Thief 39. The culprit had not yet been found, nor had the stolen seeds been recovered, but the Tribunal had spent a fortune to hire a very famous detective, Joy Baker. 

Based on the available clues, this renowned detective made a “brilliant” deduction, stating that Phantom Thief 39 was likely a man. Then the trail went cold again, and the Tribunal is continuing its investigation.

Additionally, Olive Ranch in Olive Town has recently been mired in a public relations crisis over mismanagement. Olive Town residents are pessimistic about the situation, believing the ranch is on the verge of bankruptcy. A reporter attempted to interview the current ranch owner, Baron Bamanha, but was turned down.

Also, the gourmet column shared a recipe for spaghetti Bolognese.

【You have unlocked a new recipe: Spaghetti Bolognese.】

【Spaghetti Bolognese】

【Category: Cooking · Main Dish】【Ingredients: Wheat Flour x1, Tomato x1, Meat x1.】

【Optional Ingredients: Basil, olive oil, salt, cheese.】

【Estimated Cost: 668 Sol.】

【Freshness: Fresh】

【Effect: Restores 30 Stamina points.】

【A traditional pasta dish centered around tomatoes—from young children to the elderly, everyone will be captivated by its flavor.】

Nan Liujing took another look at the ingredients for this dish. After reading the newspaper for so many days, this was the first time he’d seen a recipe with which he had the complete list of ingredients. If he wanted to, he could now activate the system’s cooking function and prepare a delicious, visually appealing, and aromatic spaghetti Bolognese in just a few minutes.

Nan Liujing closed the newspaper with satisfaction: “That’s what we’re having for dinner tonight.”

Next up is the *Heart of the Rising Sun Daily*.

【Heart of the Rising Sun Daily】

Year 213 of the Age of Catastrophe, Peaceful Day.

Heart of the Rising Sun Publishing House.

Issue No. 65.

【Weather Forecast】

Today’s Weather: Sunny.

Temperature: 22°C–26°C.

No wind.

Tomorrow’s Weather: Sunny.

Temperature: 19°C–23°C.

Strong winds.

【Today’s Top Stories】

Tomorrow, Leonard Black, a wealthy resident of Goldfinch City, and his new wife, former famous singer Elizabeth Black (née White), will host their appreciation banquet at White Dew Manor. It is reported that White Dew Manor originally belonged to Swire Black, Leonard Black’s mother, and has now been transferred to her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Black. This appears to be a tradition passed down through generations of the Black family…

Yesterday, a silversite mining team on Iron Stone Island—composed of members from the Steam Association and the Power Moles—encountered a severe cave-in. The accident claimed the lives of 4 Steam Association employees, 12 Power Moles, and 1 consultant dispatched by the Alchemy Association. Mining operations have been forced to a standstill…

【Limited-Time Offer】

……

……

【Postcard Raffle】

First Prize (1 winner): Cocoa Sapling x1 (provided by the Storm Business Alliance) 

Second Prize (10 winners): Kingfish Bait x10 (provided by the Anglers’ Association) 

Third Prize (100 winners): Silver Pendant x1 (provided by the Fashion Alliance)

Participation Prize (unlimited): Orange Bouquet x1 (Courtesy of the Iris Garden)

The postcard raffle is open to members only.

Simply fill out the postcard included with this issue correctly to enter the raffle.

There is no cost to mail the postcard back.

Thank you to all the associations for their generous sponsorship of this newspaper!

——————————————

……

……

Goldfinch Island, Goldfinch City.

Lemon Squid Bar.

Leonard Black pushed his way out of the glittering, boozy dance floor, his clothes disheveled, his tie loose and askew, the hem of his shirt tugged out of his pants by someone—he didn’t know who—and his once-crisp dress pants now wrinkled and rumpled.

The young man, reeking of a jumble of perfumes and a lipstick mark on his face—presumably left by someone—walked toward the bar with a sense of relief.

“God, the dance floor was absolutely packed! I feel like someone grabbed my butt more than once!” This well-behaved rich kid, who had never set foot in a bar before, was still shaken as he reached the bar, complaining to his friends while vigorously wiping his face with the back of his hand.

One of his friends, Qian Ning—who was also part of Goldfinch City’s high society—grinned mischievously: “A fling?”

“What?” Leonard didn’t understand; he just glanced at the lipstick smudge on the back of his hand, groaned, and wiped his face in even greater despair. “Oh, my God! You guys can’t even imagine what happened to me on the dance floor! Just now, some burly guy suddenly grabbed my head and smacked me! Eww!”

Qianning’s expression instantly shifted from mockery to sympathy mixed with an urge to laugh: “Oh… buddy… heh.”

“Don’t laugh!” Leonard was furious. “Excuse me! Does anyone see a poor soul here waiting for a wet wipe? Just do me a favor?”

“Here.” A hand with prominent knuckles reached out from beside him, its fingertips holding a clean wet wipe.

“Thank you so much!” Leonard accepted it with overwhelming gratitude and quickly wiped his face clean.

Just then, the culprit who’d dragged him onto the dance floor—one of his two friends, Karen, the daughter of the Lord of Goldfinch City—chased after him from the dance floor with a grin: “Why’d you leave?”

The music in the bar was blaring, the drumbeat pounding in everyone’s hearts, so Karen had to raise his voice to make sure she was heard: “The real fun hasn’t even started yet! In three minutes, the lights will go out, and everyone on the dance floor will, at the DJ’s signal, go wild, sticking out their tongues and wildly slapping each other’s lips—”

He described the most fun part with great enthusiasm—his poor friend Leonard, a staunch advocate of premarital abstinence, would be devoured alive by that crowd!

Just the thought of him running for his life through the dance floor, chased by a pack of wild, kissing maniacs, brought a huge smile to Karen’s face.

“Come on, man, this is your bachelor party! Don’t leave with any regrets!”

“No thanks, Karen. Let me remind you, I’m already married.” Leonard looked completely resistant, flatly refusing. “I love my wife! I don’t want to be kissed by anyone but her! That’s it!”

“Oh, you little stick-in-the-mud—” Karen said, exasperated.

Leonard lifted his chin: “I’m proud of my integrity! Seriously, I already regret coming to this godforsaken place with you guys!”

You really couldn’t blame him. Leonard Black thought indignantly, who would’ve thought this was a bar?

Just listen to the name: Lemon Squid! He’d thought this would be a high-end seafood restaurant! (Although the name was a bit too whimsical for a high-end restaurant.)

And to think he’d gone out of his way to wear a suit just for this.

Channing shook his head and spread his hands: “It’s no use trying to reason with him, Karen. Don’t you know Leonard Black by now? He’s a Black, after all.”

“Yeah, yeah, a Black!” Karen said sarcastically. “Your whole family are hopeless romantics to the very end.”

So what?

Leonard Black adjusted his tie with a huff, deciding for the moment to ignore these two frivolous friends.

“What do you think of this place?” Leonard turned his head to look at the third friend beside him—the kind soul who’d just handed him a wet wipe—“Victor, sorry for dragging you into this. If you’re not comfortable, you can leave anytime; I won’t be mad.”

Actually, I’d really love to leave with you.

Under Leonard’s pleading gaze, his friend Victor chuckled lightly: “Me? I think this place is pretty nice. The lighting, the atmosphere—there’s nothing wrong with it except that the music is a bit loud. Oh, and the drinks are good, too.”

As he spoke, he gently swirled his glass.

The way he held his glass was unusual; while others would grip the lower half of the glass, he preferred to hold it upside down, spreading his fingers wide to grip the rim. The tall man wore only a black turtleneck top; his leather jacket was draped over the back of his chair. With his long legs bent and nowhere to stretch out, he was half-leaning, half-sitting on the barstool, his upper body slightly hunched, arms resting on the table, as he swayed his glass in a relaxed manner.

In his hand was a glass of whiskey on the rocks; a massive ice ball rolled around inside, and the golden liquid swayed, making a soft clinking sound.

His handsome features took on an air of danger under the dim lighting, but when he smiled, he became the cheerful, friendly Victor once again.

Leonard sighed, sat down on the stool next to him, tapped the bar with his fingertips, and casually ordered a cocktail from the bartender: “Anything will do.”

Victor glanced at him and told the bartender, “Give him a Holy Cuba.”

The bartender gave them a strange look, but Leonard didn’t notice it. He looked down, pulled out his wallet, and took out a check for a hundred—a figure far exceeding the cost of the drink.

The bartender swallowed his words: “Okay, please wait a moment.”

After paying, Leonard nudged Victor with his elbow: “Is that enough?”

Victor glanced at it: “Pretty much?”

Leonard nodded and pushed the check toward the bartender: “Keep the change—that’s plenty for your tip.”

The bartender was flattered: “Thank you, thank you!”

Soon, a Holy Cuba was slid across the bar to Leonard, who, having been busy counting the check, had missed the mixing process.

He looked at the tall cocktail glass with a little umbrella stuck in it—the triangular stem held only a small amount of amber liquid—and wondered aloud: “Why is my glass different from yours?”

Victor took a sip of his drink—he was holding a whiskey glass with straight, smooth sides—“Because I’m drinking whiskey, and you’re having a cocktail.”

“I see.” Leonard lifted his glass, then realized he had another question. He turned to his friend. “What kind of cocktail is a Holy Cuba?”

Victor smiled mysteriously and gestured with his hand: “Why don’t you try it for yourself?”

“All right, I trust you won’t trick me.” Leonard hesitated, like a wary little animal receiving food from a human for the first time. He first brought the glass to his nose to sniff; when he didn’t detect the characteristic pungent smell of alcohol, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He took a cautious sip, and Leonard’s eyes lit up: “Hey!” He looked at Victor in surprise. “This tastes really good! It’s just like a soda! How did you do that?”

Victor shrugged: “A bartender’s secret?”

“Wow!” Leonard immediately turned to the bartender. “You’re amazing! Thanks for your incredible skills—that was truly impressive!”

The bartender’s face turned bright red.

Fortunately, someone at the far end of the bar ordered a drink, and the bartender walked away, relieved.

Leonard took a few serious sips of the “Holy Cuba,” and his mood improved considerably. He looked at Victor: “Seriously, you should come to our appreciation banquet—it’s tomorrow.”

Victor said, “Aren’t I already at your bachelor party?”

“That’s different,” Leonard said, feeling a bit down. “Besides, this isn’t really a bachelor party—Liz and I are already married. It’s just Karen and Channing messing around.”

“Don’t sweat the details. Anyway, I’m here now.” Victor smiled, reaching out to gently clink glasses with Leonard’s Holy Cuba resting on the bar. “Congratulations on your marriage.”

“Thanks for the well-wishes,” Leonard sighed, knowing he couldn’t change his stubborn friend’s mind. “Come on, come on, you damn busybody… I’d really like to know who could ever make you stop.”

“That’s going to be tough,” Victor said wryly. “You know, money and freedom are always calling me.” 

“After today, I’m heading straight to Iron Stone Island.”

“Iron Stone Island?” Leonard thought for a moment; after all, as the heir to a prominent family, he possessed a keen business sense as well. “The Mithril mines? Are you planning to get involved there? That’s probably not going to be easy. The Steam Guild and the Alchemy Guild have a complete stranglehold on the place—no one else stands a chance.”

“That may have been true before, but not necessarily now.” Victor grinned, just as a beast bares its fangs at its prey—his smile radiating confidence and a sense of inevitability. “Did you catch today’s news? Their excavation team suffered a severe cave-in. The Steam Guild has lost the moles’ trust—now is the perfect opportunity to step in.”

No doubt merchants who’ve heard the news in the Impermanent Sea are all converging on Iron Stone Island right now. If he waited any longer to set out, it would be too late.

“All right,” Leonard shrugged. “Then good luck—make a killing.”

“Thanks for the good luck.”

The two friends clinked glasses again.

Day 19 of Survival: A Day of Peace. Friday.

Leaving Hei Tang, Nian Gao, and his work on the island behind for the time being, Nan Liujing, led by Jinks, stepped onto the pier of Goldfinch Island.