In the morning, You Qing Wen and Zheng Ming Yue called their teammates to go out and dig up trees.
With everyone working together, a dozen cypress trees appeared near the residences.
You Qing Wen returned to the wood house, and found it was much cooler.
“Before, it was stuffy and hot, so much so that I could not breathe. Now that the temperature has decreased, and there is a bit of wind, it feels much better.” She sighed. “The game really tortures people.”
Zheng Ming Yue dismissed the team members for them to rest. He heard his girlfriend’s murmurs as he came in and laughed. “Apocalypse Calamity is like this, just get used to it.”
You Qing Wen said quietly, “I may never be used to this.”
The trash game had no bottom line, and all kinds of traps that surpassed her imagination.
Zheng Ming Yue sat down to rest and asked, “How is the new salted meat?”
When the business was mentioned, You Qing Wen’s expression turned serious. “It is good now. Salt was put on, and it was brined like before. The meat has not gone bad.”
Zheng Ming Yue was slightly reassured. “It appears to be the problem of the salt. Non-game materials have a short shelf life.”
You Qing Wen showed a hint of worry. “The salt bought from the restaurant is good, but not enough! We have to fight with others, and can only buy one bag each day. Even if we buy daily, we cannot save much.”
Zheng Ming Yue looked down and thought. A moment later, he asked, “If we cannot do salted meat, how about dried meat and smoked meat?”
“Dried meat and smoked meat?” You Qing Wen looked confused. This clearly was a blank spot in her knowledge.
Zheng Ming Yue explained, “Dried meat is to hang the meat in cold and dark places in the house and let it air dry.”
“Smoked meat is to cook with a wood fire. The taste is related to the kind of wood used.”
“After removing the moisture, the meat can be kept for a long time. I heard that if meat is smoked for 7-10 days, it can still be eaten even after five years.”
You Qing Wen, “……”
Five years? Was he joking or serious? In fridges and freezers, they could not keep so long!
“The shelf life of some foods is just on the premise of the taste not changing. If needed, they are still edible,” Zheng Ming Yue said.
You Qing Wen was too shocked, and was unable to speak.
At this, Zheng Ming Yue sighed and had a regretful expression. “We were in too much of a hurry. We feared that the weather was too hot, and the meat would spoil, so we used the market salt to preserve.”
“I asked the other members. Some just put their chicken wings in the cupboards without smoking or preserving, they did not make salted meat. But after a few days, the food was still good, and had not changed at all.”
“This is a game. If there are game settings, even in summer, with hot weather, the game materials will not rot and change quality.”
You Qing Wen took a long time to recall. “In other words, the salted meat spoiled because we used the market salt. If we did not put on the salt, and did nothing, the meat would have been fine.”
Zheng Ming Yue nodded. “Correct.”
You Qing Wen, “……”
She gave up. “Then why are we still making salted meat, dried meat, and smoked meat!”
“If I guess correctly, after confirming the correct method, the shelf life of the products will be longer than the materials,” Zheng Ming Yue said seriously. “Out of consideration for the long term, it is better to handle it now.”
You Qing Wen lost her anger. “I do not understand this very much. I will listen to you.”
“Yes.” Zheng Ming Yue responded and warmly comforted, “Do not fear stepping into a hole, just be careful in the future. Do not care too much.”
You Qing Wen thought of the meat they had just managed to save, and felt great pain. If this was any other game, she would have abandoned the game a long time ago.
**
A bowl of mung bean soup worth 50 copper coins for a boss. The business was very profitable.
This time, even the assassin could not say that buying the mung bean soup was a waste of money. Because after killing the boss, the team got six pieces of equipment, 1 orange, 1 purple, 3 blue, and 1 white in addition to several skill cards. This looked like a bountiful harvest!
Today, hearing that moving trees could moderate the temperature, and make the environment more comfortable, Zhang Fan did not go out to hunt, and took the team to plant trees beside everyone’s residences.
After moving the cedars, they found the temperature had decreased, and so they went out of the territory, and dug an osmanthus tree to plant for Grandmother Qian.
“You all work so hard each day, you do not have to help us plant trees,” Grandmother Qian declined.
“Such a trivial matter, it is nothing.” Zhang Fan did not care.
As they talked, the tree was already planted.
Grandmother Qian could only give in. “Tired? I will make cold tea for you.”
“No need, we are going out later.” Zhang Fan refused Grandmother Qian’s invitation, and departed with his team.
After going around like this for a whole day, they managed to plant a small forest.
“Rest.” Grandmother Qian urged from the side as she made cold tea for everyone.
Someone drained the cup and then their eyes lit up. “Delicious! Quenches the thirst and relieves the heat, what tea is this?”
“It is buckwheat tea,” Grandmother Qian said. “It is cool and sweet, relieves the heat, and is good in the summer.”
The other people seemed to be hearing this for the first time.
At this time, Qiao Qiao was coming home. Seeing Zhang Fan and the others, she was overjoyed. “Brother Xiao Fan? I was just looking for you!”
Seeing it was Qiao Qiao, Zhang Fan asked with a smile, “What is it? Is something the matter?”
“Last time, did I not say I would help you make salt? Here, it is done.” Qiao Qiao handed over a square piece of knotted cloth.
He opened it, and inside was a pile of white crystals, clearly salt.
Qiao Qiao said, “I was without a proper container, so I used a cloth. Do not worry, the cloth is clean.”
Zhang Fan saw this and could not speak for a while.
A friend poked his head over and asked curiously, “Where did you get the raw materials? Both sodium hydroxide, and hydrochloric acid are not easy to find!”
Qiao Qiao said, “You can make salt with seawater. Otherwise, lake salt, well salt, and mine salt also works.”
The person who had asked, “……”
He had given the knowledge he learned back to his teachers a long time ago.
It was embarrassing to have exposed his lack of knowledge.
Zhang Fan was a bit hesitant. “Does this count as game materials?”
Non-game materials had short shelf lives, and were not easy to use at all.
“It should be,” Qiao Qiao analyzed. “I used lake water to get the salt. Is the lake water not from the game?”
“If you are worried, you can take a bit and try. After you make sure there are no problems, you can then use it to preserve.”
Zhang Fan was reassured. “Thank you.”
“Brother Xiao Fan, you are too polite!” Qiao Qiao smiled brightly, and did not take the credit.
Zhang Fan warned, “If this is good to use, you can make salt and sell it. This has been very popular recently! If you set up a stall, many people will fight to get it.”
Qiao Qiao had some thoughts.
**
In a flash, three days passed.
Hu Da Cheng drilled the first well.
[Name: The Well built by Player “Yun Ling”]
Quality: Normal
Use Effect: Can moderate the temperature, and can be used to obtain drinking water.
Note: The well is the personal property of Player “Yun Ling.” Other players may only take water with her permission.
Seeing the well, the first thought in Yun Ling’s head was, if she put a watermelon into the well to cool, and took it back up after a while, it would be delicious.
“It is done. Take a look.” Hu Da Cheng motioned for Yun Ling to inspect.
Yun Ling pretended to look, and then nodded solemnly. “Very good. This is your wage.”
She did not fear the other would take the money and leave. The other territories were not as friendly as Rising Cloud Town. If he stayed in the territory, if something happened to the well, she would have a way of settling debts with him.
Three days! 500 copper coins! How come the money was so easy to make?
Hu Da Cheng carefully held the copper coins, shocked and happy.
“If you are tired, you can rest for a day, and drill the second well tomorrow. “Yun Ling expressed care.
Hu Da Cheng straightened. “I am not tired! I can still work! In a few days, I will build all five wells!”
If he was slow, and someone snatched his job, he would cry.
“Speed is important, but quality is also important. Pay attention to the quality,” Yun Ling warned.
“I understand,” Hu Da Cheng solemnly responded.
**
In the evening, the smoke curled up.
A woman carried a wood bucket, planning to go to the small stream by the territory to get water. Passing through the center of the town, she was shocked. “When did a drinking well appear here?”
She thought that it was a system building, but when she looked closely, the window showed —
[Name: The Well built by Player “Yun Ling”]
Quality: Normal
Use Effect: Personal property of a player. Other people need to pay 1 copper coin per use.
“Paying for water? They are mad for money!” The woman was angry.
There were some people who had worked the entire day, and did not want to walk more, so they paid, sent down the bucket, and fetched water.
When the wood bucket was lifted up, he splashed water on his face, and then took a few gulps. He felt much cooler. “Ah — so comfortable.”
“Who wants to spend that money. I do not want to buy her water.” The woman snorted.
The man who had gotten water said, “While you have to pay, the water is good. The well water in the summer is cool, and sweet, not like the stream water.”
The woman looked suspiciously at the man like she was seeing a conman.
The man laughed, and did not say more.
At this time, a youth found the well, and quickly walked close. When he saw the name of the well, he frowned. “Strange, the territory is called Rising Cloud Town, and the player who built the well is Yun Ling? Why are the names so similar?”
He looked like he had found such a great secret.
“The town has many people called Yun Ling and Ling Yun! I know four or five, why is it strange?” The woman said furiously, “It is strange that the well is at the center of the territory, and is clearly public property, so why does it charge a fee!”
“Just because this person built it.” The man said a fair thing, “You also live in the territory. Why don’t you donate all you have for the public?”
The woman, “……”
“I still need to get water and cook, I do not have the time to argue with you.”
In the blink of an eye, she walked far away with the wood bucket.
“Annoying.” The man muttered and poured the water from the wood bucket into his own basin. Then he carried the basin happily home.
He thought that the well water was very similar to the ice cubes. It was so profitable to get a full bucket of water for just 1 copper coin!
The man thought, after two hours, he could have a good cold water bath. Then, when he went to sleep, he would not be awakened by the heat in the night.
As he thought, he became more happy, and then his steps grew lighter.
In a blink, the residents had all left, just the youth standing dazedly in front of the well.
At this moment, he did not dare to mention “Yun Ling was close to Rising Cloud, is there a connection.” If he did, people would look down at him for being ignorant…
**
After hearing Zhang Fan’s words, Qiao Qiao planned to sell salt, but there were two problems.
First, there was not enough equipment, and salt could only be made in small amounts.
Second, she lacked containers for holding the salt. She could not sell salt, and gift customers the linen cloth at the same time.
In the end, Qiao Qiao sighed and ended the thought. “I made salt, let’s just save it for ourselves.”
“This is right.” Grandmother Qian had not talked before this. Seeing her granddaughter think it through, she smiled with relief. “Listen to your grandmother, in famine years, money is useless! You will feel reassured with lots of food in hand.”
“I will listen to Grandmother.” Qiao Qiao was very obedient. “When we have salt, let’s save up salted meat. We can hoard a lot, enough to eat for a year!”
Grandmother Qian laughed. “Grandmother will make rice wine for you now. Finish and go to sleep, have a good dream at night.”
Qiao Qiao, “……”
She suspected her grandmother was laughing at her.
But she had no proof.
**
After three days, other than Hu Da Cheng, no one contacted her.
There were few professionals, and getting one was good luck.
Just at this thought, Yun Ling received a notification, [Rising Cloud Town’s greening has reached 20%. The temperature of the territory has clearly decreased.]
[Player “Tian Zhe Han” is attempting to dig a fish pond at Rising Cloud Town coordinates xxx,xxx. Do you agree.]
Yun Ling stopped moving. So there were talents, but they were not willing to work for her, and wanted to do it by themselves.
As long as there were “fish pond” buildings in the town, she did not care if she was not the one to build them. Speaking of this, after the fish pond was built, it was a headache to figure out who to send to care out of it.
Thinking of this, Yun Ling decisively clicked “yes.”
The notification changed to [After the fish pond is built, it will become the personal property of Player “Tian Zhe Han.” Do you wish to take a fee?]
[1.How many copper coins does the player have to pay in order to purchase the land of Rising Cloud Town they are occupying?]
[2. After the player builds the fish pond, what percentage will they pay as taxes? Should tax payment be in kind, currency, or both? ]
[3. To promote development of the territory and the enthusiasm of the residents, you can choose not to take a fee.]
Yun Ling sighed in shock. “So amazing.”
She did not hesitate to set the fee to 1000 copper coins, 10% tax, and payment in kind.
This meant, if Tian Zhe Han wanted to take the place, they had to pay 1000 copper coins first.
Also, when they raised fish, regardless of whether they had a rich harvest or not, they had to give 10% of their profits. It had to be live fish. Copper coins could not pay the tax.
After waiting a while, the system notified, [Player “Tian Zhe Han” has agreed to pay.]
[You have received 1000 copper coins.]
[The transaction is complete.]
“There are fish to eat.” Yun Ling was so happy her heart was bubbling.
She opened the window and remotely canceled the hiring missions in the mission hall.
When she saw the post for “hiring players who can build fountains,” she could not help but sigh. “How good would it be if someone secretly built a fountain?”
While she said this, she knew that this was just a dream that could not come true.
With a well, you could charge for water. With a fish pond, fish could be raised. What about the fountains? Those were public buildings, just for landscaping! Other than moderating the temperature of the territory, they could not do anything else.
So people rushed to build fish ponds, and people drilled wells. But no one came for the fountains.
Luckily, there were green plants and wells in the territory. It was not important if there were fountains or not.
She looked at the NPC information.
Right now, there were 25 combat NPCs. If she waited for one more to come, she could send 20 people to protect the foraging team and 6 could come with her to the nearby territories to explore.
In reality, Yun Ling had wanted to go to other territories long ago. But the impression from visiting Setting Sun Village last time was very deep. She was not at ease without NPCs with her.
It was sad to speak of it. Each day, 3 NPC would spawn. Either they were low level, had bad skills, or their professions (life skills) were not suitable.
If she was not picky, she could hire one each day. But considering the food situation, she planned to only hire the best, and so there was not much room for her to choose.
Luckily, after waiting a few days, she finally managed to gather an exploration team.
**
The workshop.
Yun Ling gave Zhang Heng his heat relief for the day, and asked casually, “Is there a way to increase the production of salt?”
Zhang Heng said regretfully, “Without the equipment, it is very hard.”
Yun Ling suddenly had an idea. “If we cannot find professional equipment, can we make it ourselves?”
Zhang Heng had an expression of “you are kidding.”
Because this was his boss, he subtly said, “Maybe other people can, but I cannot.”
Yun Ling could only end the thought. “Then never mind.”
Seeing his boss wander around the workshop, Zhang Heng suddenly said, “The paper for the salt has been used up.”
Hearing this, Yun Ling frowned.
Usually, salt was packaged in plastic bags. Now, because it was the apocalypse, there were no such materials, and they could only use the second best.
Yun Ling had thought of using bamboo tubes or wood jars. But one, they needed a lot of effort, two, they held a lot, and three, there was not enough being produced. In the end, using folded squares of paper was the most convenient and effective.
She had once considered what to do after using all the paper. But back then, the salt sales were average, and she thought there was enough to use at the moment.
But then the salt was suddenly sold so hotly that all the packaging material was used up.
“I will think of a way.” Yun Ling had a serious expression.
If she kept on using paper to package, how to make the new paper? Maybe there would be blueprint drops in the game? But she had never heard of it!
Change containers, and use the small round wood jars once used to hold lip balm? They could not hold a lot of salt, and needed a lot of materials, so the cost would increase.
How about only producing salt in the future, and have the customers prepare their own containers?
Several plans immediately appeared in her mind.
Unexpectedly —
“Oh, no need. The problem is solved. I just came to tell you,” Zhang Heng said lightly.
Yun Ling, “???”
Solved? How?
She was very surprised.
Zhang Heng explained, “My grandfather liked to do calligraphy. The rice paper sold outside is average in quality, and he wanted to make his own.”
“After working a while, and finally understanding, he grabbed me to help him without a word. After a while, I learned.”
“When I found the paper was used up, I immediately made a batch, and it is already in use.”
Yun Ling:”……”
What could she say?
Of course, it was “In the future, your daily wage is 80 copper coins. Your three meals will be better, you will get an extra chicken leg.”
“Thank you, Boss,” Zhang Heng said happily.
**
Day 49.
In the morning, when Yun Ling just opened her eyes, she received system notifications, [Setting Sun Village has been breached.]
The moment she saw the notification, her sleepiness was gone.
“Villages are also being breached?” Yun Ling murmured in a low voice with some disbelief.
Then she looked around the small map. Setting Sun Village had disappeared.
In reality, over the last while, almost everyday, she would receive news like this, [XX Camp has been breached.]
But Yun Ling thought this was due to the demonic configuration of the system, and the players were unable to live there. She had not expected that Setting Sun Village would fall today.
She opened the window, and looked at the rankings, she saw —
[S City Territory Prosperity Ranking]
Rising Cloud Town, 6588
Basswood Town, 4644
Locust Tree Town, 4504
Which buildings were unlocked in each territory, and the surrounding atmosphere did not seem to have great effects. But in reality, these small details would affect the long term development of the territory.
There were so many territories in the entire city, so why were the powerful players moving? Because they were not living in comfort!
They changed countless times before they found the one they liked the most, and settled down.
Yun Ling flipped to the end, and her heart went tight — originally, S City had exactly 200 territories, but now, there were only 136.
In other words, a third of the territories had been breached.
Yun Ling sighed heavily. “Life is so hard.”
She was just melancholic for an instant.
Soon, Yun Ling sorted out her emotions. “Setting Sun Village has been breached, the players all scattered. People should not be harvesting the surrounding resources. Rising Cloud Town has many life players, and not enough resources to use. In the future, I can expand the range of activity.”
“There is not much time to fight monsters, and leveling up is hard. There are not many who are capable of going far.”
“I can have the NPCs lead the foraging teams over. That is a treasure hoard!”
She immediately had new thoughts of filling the warehouse.
**
Just after 7:40, the system notification appeared, [“Woodworker A” has enough familiarity, and the “Elementary Woodworking” life skill has reached “Intermediate Woodworking.”]
“Leveled up?” Yun Ling scanned and then pressed close.
She finally got her people, and today was the day she was leading them out.
Because of this, early in the morning, Yun Ling ate breakfast, and prepared for going out.
In ordinary territories, life skills players were rare, and shade equipment like bamboo hats and bamboo umbrellas were not common.
She had gone with ten bamboo hats last time with the idea of bartering for rare materials. But Setting Sun Village’s players did not want to trade fairly.
They did not want to show their sincerity and try to make a transaction when they wanted something. They thought of how to steal and make the equipment drop…
She did not know what kind of people she would encounter this time going to Sunglow Village. In the end, she would bring the bamboo hats, and see if she could do business.
At 8 o’clock.
Guard A led the team to forage, while Yun Ling led 6 NPCs towards Sunglow Village.
The team strolled along, killing monsters when they were encountered, and moved quickly.
There were no clouds in the sky, and no wind on the path. Occasionally, when passing by dense forests, the tree crowns could act as shade.
But as the exploration team went deeper, the trees became rare. The enormous sun hung high up in the sky, and almost burnt the plants.
At this time, Yun Ling could only rejoice that she was a tank, putting all her points on stamina, and was not very affected by the environment.
If she was a mage, she would have collapsed out of tiredness already.
There was no use in wearing a bamboo hat. Sun protection could only delay the tiredness, but not completely stop it.
Seeing the NPCs start to have negative states but kept on going without a word, Yun Ling side. “There is a river here, and a small patch of forest. Sit and rest.”
The NPCs found cool places to sit down, then drank and rested.
Yun Ling went to the river to get water. When she turned around, she was given a fright. “Why is there a person lying there?!”
The NPCs suddenly got up, and surrounded Yun Ling, protecting her, their faces wary.
Yun Ling did not care. “You all wait here. I will go and see.”
When she got closer, she found this was a middle aged person. About forty or so, his face was pale and he sweated heavily.
“Is it heatstroke?” Yun Ling muttered.
She waved a hand for the NPCs to come help. Then they moved the person into the shade, feeding him water and putting cold water on his face to lower the temperature.
Maybe the measures were effective, and the middle aged man slowly woke up. He asked weakly, “Where is this?”
“By the river. I saw you had fainted, so I moved you over,” Yun Ling explained simply.
She saw the system notification, [Because of excessive activity under the hot sun, you have heatstroke. -3 Strength,-3 Agility, -3 Stamina, -3 Intelligence, -3 Spirit.]
[Your Base Recovery Speed has changed to: 1 HP/5 minutes, 1 MP/5 minutes.]
[Rest for 2 hours (avoid the sunlight for 2 consecutive hours, and do not work) to recover your health.]
The middle aged man felt fear.
His situation was not very good!
If a good hearted player had not passed by, but a game monster…
His heart felt cold and he did not dare to think.
“Thank you for saving me.” The middle aged man looked pleadingly at Yun Ling, “could you sit for a while with me? In this state, I really cannot move on my own…”
If possible, he did not want to trouble others. But if he did not bear to part with his face, he feared that he would die.
So thinking of this, the middle aged man could only bite the bullet and ask for help.