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Chapter 31




But in any case, short curtains and hanging pockets were indeed easier than stools.
With Su Mingqian’s acquiescence, Li Shuoxing opened the store and started buying raw materials.
Two crisp fabrics, one patterned and one plain, a total of 10 favourability points.
One lighter colour of pinewood, 6 favourability points.
The materials were complete.
Li Shuoxing put them in the tool room.
When the wood was placed on the lathe, an interactive menu popped up. Li Shuoxing chose the option to make a wooden stick from several cutting methods. And that wasn’t all. A data box popped up asking him to fill in the length and diameter of the stick

He always felt that in some small details, the game was too realistic.
Li Shuoxing was speechless for a while. He had to cut out of the phone, turn on the internet, and go online to collect some data.
After he collected the data, he filled in and confirmed them one by one. The screen jumped again, and a mini-game popped up in the carpentry room, just like in the garment room.
The still lathe was powered up, and the mechanical arm and electric saw moved together. The little person stood at the edge of the table, holding a long piece of wood, a section of which was facing the whirring electric saw.
A text bubble popped up on the screen.
Su Mingqian: “There are operation instructions here, telling me to stand at the edge of the table and hold the wood steady.”
Li Shuoxing typed, “I have them here too.”
The moment he entered the mini-game, a translucent light band with an arrow appeared on the screen. Next to the light band was a phone moving in the direction of the arrow, as well as a text prompt:
“Operate the cutting machine by panning the phone in the direction indicated by the arrow and instruction band to cut the wood.”
He followed the instructions. His hands were a little raw in his first action, shaking a bit as he panned, and the wood was cut crooked.
However, that didn’t seem to matter
 The system just indicated how many inches short the wood was, and then started over.
Pan forward, flip, pan forward and flip. Pan again, flip again, pan forward and flip again.
Once he got the hang of it, this little procedure was very simple.
Li Shuoxing neatly cut a block of pinewood into six sticks, three long and three short. The long ones were as wide as a small window, and the short ones were the width of a normal cloth hanging pocket.
In addition to that, there were some leftover trimmings, and he wasn’t sure what to do with them for the time being. They were all stacked up in a corner of the carpentry room.
With the sticks settled, Li Shuoxing glanced at the garment room on the other side.
It was time to unleash human creativity.
Once he pulled the fabric apart and attached the sticks, the bodies of the curtains and hanging pockets would be complete!
This process was very simple. Li Shuoxing had wanted to do it himself, but for some reason, Su Mingqian firmly opposed it. He took the fabric from his hands, grabbed the sewing machine position, and got to work seriously.
Not to mention, watching the chibi little person hunkered down on a small stool with his head hanging low showing only part of his face, there was an enigmatic charm

Su Mingqian: “Okay, we can move on to the next step. Next, do we make the curtains or the hanging pockets first?”
The text that suddenly jumped onto the screen woke Li Shuoxing up.
He ignored the question. “Cub, you’re getting better and better as you grow.”
Su Mingqian: “?”
Li Shuoxing was proud. “I raised you well.”
Su Mingqian: “
”
Li Shuoxing rolled up his sleeves. “Come on, let’s do the words on the curtains first. I’ve already thought of what to write.”
Now, he needed a stylus.
Li Shuoxing remembered he had such a thing at home.
He searched the study for a while and finally found it from the depths of a desk.
He returned to the couch with the stylus and tried to draw a line on the fabric.
Sure enough, there was no brushwork style, and it was too thin. The writing didn’t look good.
But it didn’t matter. He could draw the borders of the Chinese characters first, then traced the strokes one by one. When he was done, he could just fill in the insides.
It was a bit of a hassle, but it was more important that it looked good. It was about whether or not it could be sold at a price.
For some reason, from the moment Ximu excitedly began to write, Su Mingqian had an ominous premonition.
When the first black strokes fell on the fabric, his ominous premonition grew worse



The premonition came true.
Su Mingqian looked in silence at the words that appeared on the curtain fabric.
On the left and right pieces of fabric on the first curtain.
“Little Cub.”
On the left and right pieces of fabric on the second curtain.
“My Love.”
Together, it was.
“Little Cub My Love.”
Or.
“My Love Little Cub.”
And on the light screen in front of him, the other side was smug. “How is it? My writing’s pretty good, right? I’ve practised this penmanship for two years.”
Su Mingqian took a deep breath, but it was no use.
He took another deep breath, still no use.
So, Li Shuoxing saw the little person on the screen, with a waterfall of -1’s on his head, walk all the way to the door of the production workshop, politely open the door, walk out, and then politely close the door.
Li Shuoxing: “
”
He must have lost at least 12 favourability points just then.
He looked at the production workshop without a cub and began to think.
My cub.
Still hasn’t gotten used to it after such a long time.
He’s really a super shy cub.
Losing 12 favourability points at once, after all, still hurt a bit. Li Shuoxing didn’t tease the little person anymore, but stayed in the production workshop, diligently working on the rest.
Two of the three curtains had been made, leaving one. The three hanging pockets weren’t complicated, and Su Mingian had just finished the bodies. Now, he just needed to add a few pockets.
When he was half done, the little person, who’d gone out, returned to the production workshop. But instead of coming towards him, he went to the garment room, doing who knew what in there.
Li Shuoxing didn’t follow him. He thoughtfully left the little person his own space.
In the same space, the two worked in silence.
When everything was finished, Li Shuoxing piled the things together and tapped on them one by one to sell them, then was surprised to find

This pile of things could actually be sold, and the selling price wasn’t low, adding up to a total of 45 contribution points.
The system also gave an evaluation:
[Ordinary wholesale market goods that don’t have much value.]
No no no.
Compared with the 1 contribution point for 1 pumpkin that takes three days to ripen, this is a sky-high price!
It just costs a bit more, 16 favourability points.
It’s also a bit more work, basically taking the whole morning.
Thinking about it like this

Looking at the purchase price given by the game, Li Shuoxing was first surprised, then puzzled, and finally a little confused when he did the math.
So this morning, am I losing or gaining?
Anyhow.
Li Shuoxing looked at the hour hand on the wall pointing dangerously close to twelve o’clock, and uttered a lament from his heart.
“This game has never conceded defeat in cheating my time
”
After lamenting, Li Shuoxing sold the stuff in one go to earn 45 contribution points, and he was quite happy.
He turned to the carpentry room, ready to see what the little person had been doing since entering the workshop just a moment ago. As soon as he made his way over, he saw the little person with his face down, holding a small strip of wood and carving.
What’s he carving?
Li Shuoxing was about to poke the little person to alert him that he was here, but before his finger really touched the little person, he thought:
Hmm
 better change the position.
He hates being poked in the face.
The finger turned gently, from the cheek to the arm, and then, Li Shuoxing tapped the screen.
The focused person raised his head.
The light twisted gently, and the grey eyes permeated with glazed colour in this light.
Li Shuoxing saw what Su Mingqian was carving.
It was a small seal with a word written on it.
Ximu.
“Ximu?”
The same words overlapped, pulling Li Shuoxing back from the strange sensation.
He looked at the screen again and noticed the little person was talking.
“Why are you here?”
“Have you finished everything?”
“Can they be sold?”
After sending three bubbles as if nothing had happened, the little person was silent for a moment before another bubble popped out of his head.
“
I had nothing to do, so I carved a seal for fun. Your name has fewer strokes and is easy to carve.”
I know I know I know it all!
You didn’t specially carve a seal for me.
It’s all just a coincidence.
Li Shuoxing was very happy, but for the sake of favourability, he kept his happiness in his heart and replied seriously, “Yes, I understand. You’ve carved it pretty well.”
Su Mingqian: “Mm.”
Light -1.
Li Shuoxing saw through it all. He added, “I like it very much. Thank you.”
Su Mingqian: “Mm.”
Faint +3.
Li Shuoxing couldn’t resist it. He turned his head to stifle a couple laughs before turning back and continuing calmly, “I’ll make a seal of your name for you later too.”
Su Mingqian: “Okay.”
Steady +5.
Li Shuoxing looked at the little person on the screen. It was rare.
How can this cub so nonchalantly act spoiled and be tsundere?
Thinking of this, Li Shuoxing discovered another crucial question.
Also, why are the little person’s intimate actions towards me increasing when the favourability has clearly been dropping?
He thought about it for a long time, but came to no conclusion.
He could only determine.
This game was just coquettish.
After finishing the handicrafts, it was time for lunch. Li Shuoxing didn’t let Su Mingqian finish carving the seal. He very resolutely dragged the little person back to his room from the production workshop and went into the kitchen to buy him lunch.
Today’s kitchen was routinely refreshed with two dishes.
[Rich Chicken Soup]: 25 favourability points
[Cucumber Salad]: 5 favourability points
Times had changed. Li Shuoxing had lost sight of dishes like cucumber salad, but the chicken soup was quite good and served as a meat dish with soup. He ordered this dish for the little person, and a soup pot appeared on the stove, gurgling with white gas.
Su Mingqian walked into the kitchen. “Chicken soup for lunch today?”
Li Shuoxing: “Yes. The other dish is cucumber salad. Do you want it?”
Su Mingqian: “No, I can fry a plate of vegetables myself.”
After this sentence came out, the little person on the screen had come to the fridge.
He took out a cabbage from the fridge, went to the sink, and began to peel and wash it, piling it up carefully as he did so. Putting the large leaves underneath and the small leaves on top, it was slowly piled up high like a pagoda.
It didn’t take long.
Soon, the little person finished washing the cabbage. He took out a soup bowl from the cupboard and poured out half of the soup from the pot.
This was Su Mingqian’s habit.
He tried to finish what could be finished, and divided and stored in advance what couldn’t be finished in one meal.
When he finished pouring the soup and walked forward with the soup bowl, his elbow accidentally knocked over the cabbage he had piled high on the cooking table, and some of it fell into the soup pot nearby.
It was also then that Li Shuoxing noticed a magical change.
A prompt popped up on the screen.
The novice guide reappeared after a long absence, brushing up on its presence. It prompted, “The game doesn’t just have finished dishes. You can create your own delicacies through the kitchen. For your first self-created dish, the system will assist you to make it successfully.”
There was a choice below.
“Do you want to enable the self-creating dish function? Yes/No”
Li Shuoxing: “
”
For a while, he didn’t know if he should complain that this game had a really large range of functions.
Or if he should complain that he’d been playing for so long and there were still system functions he hadn’t triggered

In any case, Li Shuoxing chose yes and entered the self-creating dish function.
The screen changed again.
A small cabbage icon appeared above the soup pot, indicating Li Shuoxing to add more cabbage.
Li Shuoxing looked at the picture and said, “Cub, put the cabbage into the soup pot.”
Su Mingqian: “?”
Li Shuoxing: “We’re making a new dish.”
Su Mingqian did as Li Shuoxing said. He grabbed a big handful of cabbage and threw it in, then grabbed another big handful of cabbage and threw it in.
Li Shuoxing suddenly noticed an extra red cross on the cabbage above the soup pot, a very straightforward indication to not add cabbage.
He hurriedly typed and shouted, “Wait, that’s enough—”
It was too late.
In the time it took to type, Su Mingqian had already thrown the vegetables into the pot.
Li Shuoxing helplessly watched as a green lifebar thing appeared above the soup pot, and then, as if attacked, lost 10 points of blood.
Crap

It can’t be that if the life value of a new dish is deducted to a certain extent, the self-created dish will fail, can it?
Li Shuoxing got nervous. He typed rapidly while looking at the picture and talking.
“Now turn on the stove
 No no, not a high heat, a low heat
 Yes!”
“Cook for a while
 Okay, right now, turn it off, turn it off, quickly turn it off!”
“The vegetables are wilting, wilting
 Quickly fish the vegetables out
 fish them all out onto a plate!”
You never knew until you tried. Once Li Shuoxing tried, he found that this self-created dish had a lot of steps and trouble. He’d been looking at the screen without daring to turn his eyes. Sometimes he had no time to type the words. Even if he had time to type, sometimes the little person would misunderstand his meaning, so he had to correct it.
Later, Li Shuoxing got fed up. He simply enabled the voice function of the input method and began to command with voice.
“Put the fished up cabbages in a bowl, pour soup over them
”
“No no, not with the sugar <sup>1</sup> Soup æ±€ [tāng] sounds similar to sugar 糖 [tĂĄng]. over there.”
“It’s with the sugar you just put together!”
Su Mingqian: “?”
He was confused for a moment. He tentatively picked up his soup bowl and poured down the soup inside.
Li Shuoxing: “Pour in batches! Pour pink skin <sup>2</sup> Batch 戆æ‰č [fēn pÄ«] sounds similar to pink skin çȉ皼 [fěn pĂ­]. !”
Su Mingqian: “??”
He pondered for a moment and poured it in batches.
Li Shuoxing: “Pour it two more times
 three times. Okay, that’s it. Leave some sugar in the bowl. It’s finally done!”
When he said that, Li Shuoxing couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
The time was very short, just five minutes.
But it was precisely because it was so short that made it even more hectic.
In the blink of an eye, the originally tidy kitchen was already half in disarray, with pots and pans scattered everywhere and soup and vegetable leaves piled up in the sink, looking like a disaster.
And the culprit of this disaster

Li Shuoxing’s eyes turned to the tiny bowl of chicken soup and cabbage placed on the table.
He eyed it with hostility for a moment, stretched out his finger, and tapped on it.
Then, he found that under the sale menu among the several menus that popped up, the price of this bowl of chicken soup and cabbage was
 35 contribution points!
So expensive?!
Li Shuoxing was shocked.
In his shock, he saw a text bubble pop up on the screen.
Su Mingqian couldn’t help it. “Why did you have so many typos?”
Li Shuoxing typed in response, “I was using voice input. The steps just now were too complicated. I had no time to type, so I used voice-to-text, and the recognition wasn’t very high
 Cub, listen to me. I found a new way to make money. It turns out that making new dishes can make money. This bowl of chicken soup you made can be sold for 35 yuan!”
Long text swept across the screen. Su Mingqian saw the key sentence at once and grasped it.
Su Mingqian: “You want voice calls too?”
Li Shuoxing lazily typed, “Of course, voice is more convenient.” He still wanted to bring the conversation back to new dishes. “I think making new recipes would be a way to generate income. I can find some recipes
”
Suddenly +20!
The favourability was as swift as lightning, leaping out of Su Mingqian’s head in a single leap.
Su Mingqian still ignored the new dishes.
He said, “We have an agreement. I also think voice communication is very good.”
After he said that, a small smile appeared above his head.
Li Shuoxing had just been stunned by the favourability when the system jumped out again with three sentences on the screen.
System: “Update notice.”
System: “The game will undergo maintenance tomorrow morning from 03:00–05:00.”
System: “After the maintenance, the game will unlock the voice system.”
1
Soup æ±€ [tāng] sounds similar to sugar 糖 [tĂĄng]. 2
Batch 戆æ‰č [fēn pÄ«] sounds similar to pink skin çȉ皼 [fěn pĂ­].