Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Lu Yunqi thought to himself, I want to step up the pace too, but I've got no money!

All this stuff costs so many points, I can't afford any of it, not a single thing. I'll have to wait for my crops to mature before I can even think about what's next.

But...

Lu Yunqi sidled over to Li Na and asked, "Um... Sister Na, is there a way to earn points fast? I'm really low on points right now. At this rate, there's no way I'll get the civilization level to 0.65 within a year."

Li Na thought for a moment, then nodded. "There is. How about growing some mung bean and soybean sprouts? But you'll need to get me some big basins—with holes drilled evenly in the bottom—and some gauze. At this time of year, as long as I've got a few quilts, I can keep the temperature right for the mung bean sprouts to germinate."

Lu Yunqi nodded eagerly. "Why didn't you say so sooner! That's easy—I'll get it ready right now!"

With that, he returned to his room, took out his writing supplies, jotted down all the materials he needed, and sent Liu Bao to purchase them.

Liu Bao just felt like his young master had been acting a bit mysterious lately. Last time he asked for a bunch of big vats, but then never did anything with them—they just vanished into thin air.

Now he wanted a bunch of big basins, and Liu Bao had no clue what they were for.

There was also a diagram he'd drawn himself—something about putting a steamer rack on top of the basin, covered with cloth. No clue what that was for, either.

But Liu Bao didn't dare ask; he just did what his young master said.

The items weren't hard to prepare: twenty bronze basins, twenty steamer racks, and a stack of cloth. Everything was ready in under half an hour.

Lu Yunqi had Liu Bao set everything in front of the cabinet, then sent him off, locked the doors and windows, and went back to moving things into his Wanping Wasteland.

As soon as the stuff was brought in, Li Na nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Master, just buy a hundred catties of mung beans from the seed market, and leave the rest to me."

At this point, Lu Yunqi had ninety points, and one catty of seeds cost a single point. He hesitated, then said, "Um... would sixty catties work? I also want to hire a carpenter. My lumber's ready, and the cabin's at ten percent. Having a carpenter should push it along a bit more."

Li Na's face showed a hint of disdain. Lu Yunqi thought, don't think I can't tell you're cursing me out with your face—that look just now clearly said: I've never had such a broke master!

Li Na said, "Fine! Sixty catties it is. One catty of mung beans can yield six to eight catties of sprouts. With sixty catties, if you're lucky, you'll get five hundred out of it. At the buyback price of three yuan plus three points per catty, the harvest won't be too bad."

Lu Yunqi's face lit up. "And how long does it take for them to grow?"

Li Na said, "If the temperature's right, they'll be ready to eat in three to five days."

Then she instructed, "Zhang Wei, come here. Wash the mung beans and get them soaking! The water from Jade River is pure enough—it's ice spring water from Dayan Mountain, packed with minerals. No need to filter it; just boil it and it's good to drink. Master, you picked this development area well. Water is the cradle of civilization. You've got foresight."

Lu Yunqi chuckled sheepishly. It was pure luck, really—he'd just stumbled onto it by accident!

After washing and soaking the mung bean seeds and setting up the sprouting equipment, Lu Yunqi earned another thirty points, all from achievements for unlocking new seeds.

So it seemed that early on, besides doing tasks, unlocking new achievements was also important.

He'd finally scraped together sixty points again and eagerly exchanged them for an NPC.

The new NPC was named Lu Ming, and he was a carpenter. He came with his own woodworking tools, greeted Lu Yunqi, and immediately started buzzing away at the wood.

This was one thing the system did really well—NPCs never slacked off, never goofed around, and never even complained about getting tired.

They worked hard, which was pretty tough. Lu Yunqi wondered if the system gave them health insurance and benefits. He'd have to treat them to a nice meal one of these days.

Lu Yunqi curiously asked Li Na, "Sister Na, what's the exchange rate for system currency? Is three thousand yuan a month enough for your average NPC?"

Li Na nodded. "It's enough. Besides the three thousand yuan, they also get three thousand points, which they can exchange for daily necessities and stuff. The money can be used in the real world—it converts to currency equal to the average wage in their world."

Lu Yunqi got it now. So everyone got double wages—no wonder they were all so dedicated.

It seemed that heavy rewards really brought out the best in people!

Maybe it was because having more NPCs meant unlocking more achievements—before long, Lu Yunqi earned another sixty points. He quickly exchanged them for a second-level architect, and the cabin's progress jumped to thirty percent!

The architect didn't need to lay a foundation. Using his own tools, he assembled the wooden planks piece by piece with mortise-and-tenon joints according to the blueprint, building at an incredibly fast pace.

Lu Yunqi lay down at the edge of the field and slept through the afternoon. By the time he woke up, the cabin was at forty percent progress. Though it was only a thirty-something-square-meter cabin, the construction speed was truly astonishing.

He stretched lazily, spat out the dog-tail grass he'd been chewing, collected another twenty points from some unknown trigger, and waved lazily at the NPCs. "Everyone, knock off early. I'm heading out!"

The NPCs also liked this master. He let them off work as soon as the sun started to set, never hovered over them while they worked—the working environment was quite relaxed.

Lu Yunqi was also very satisfied with this laid-back idle farming system. What could be more satisfying than completing tasks while lying around doing nothing?

Back in his room, he stripped off his dirty clothes and instructed Yun Hua to prepare his bathwater.

You see, in ancient times, bathing was a real hassle. Ordinary people wouldn't bathe all winter, and even nobles only bathed once every five days.

But Lu Yunqi had been bathing every day for the past two days and making a mess of his clothes, which puzzled Yun Hua greatly.

As she prepared the bathwater for her young master, she asked, "Young Master, have you been working in the fields these past two days? Why do you keep getting your clothes so dirty?"

Lu Yunqi nodded. "Actually, yes. How did you know?"

Yun Hua: ???

She felt her young master had been talking more and more nonsense lately. Had he gotten into a fight with Prince Cang next door?

Though Prince Cang didn't seem like the type to talk back—because it seemed like he didn't even have a mouth to speak with.

Yun Hua asked, "Shall I fetch Prince Cang to attend to you?"

Lu Yunqi said angrily, "No need!"

He was annoyed just thinking about him. Not only was that guy plotting rebellion, but he was also plotting to have himself killed.

Yun Hua cleared her throat. "Very well. Tomorrow is the Second Prince's birthday banquet. Rest well today—tomorrow should be quite lively."

"Oh?" Lu Yunqi perked up with interest. "What kind of lively?"

Yun Hua said, "I heard that Tianhuan Pavilion has a stunning new courtesan named Xie Lianyi. They say her figure, beauty, and talent are exceptional—her flying dance could shake the entire capital. Many noble young lords would pay a fortune just to watch her dance. Tomorrow, the Second Prince has invited her to perform at his birthday banquet, and she's said to be performing the most complete plate-and-drum dance. Young Master, tomorrow you'll get to see Miss Xie's beauty with your own eyes!"

"Xie Lianyi?" Lu Yunqi murmured, thinking, this NPC didn't exist in the previous lifetimes, did she?

Hmm, it seemed this instance had unlocked a new character. He wondered what her role would be.

He'd said it before—the Second Prince's birthday banquet was bound to have some entertainment.

With that thought, a smile curled at the corner of Lu Yunqi's lips. He said, "Tomorrow, prepare two matching outfits for me and Prince Cang."

"M-matching outfits? What's that?" Yun Hua was confused.

Lu Yunqi tapped Yun Hua's little head. "It's the same style but different colors. Blue for me, red for him!"

Red and blue have always been the classic pairing, but his real purpose was to disgust Murong Jie.

By now, everyone in the capital knew—or thought they knew—that Murong Jie had risen through the ranks by selling his body. Before, it was just hearsay, but today, Lu Yunqi was going to make it official.

So early the next morning, the servants at Lord Nine Thousand Years' residence and Prince Cang's mansion were all bustling about.

The masters were heading to the Second Prince's birthday bash—gifts to prep, outfits to pick, processions to arrange—every little thing mattered.

Especially at Prince Cang's place, Liu Bao had given several servants a beating the day before, and their hides were all tightened up, scared stiff the master might take a dislike and have them beaten again.

Once everything was squared away, Lu Yunqi headed out with Yun Hua.

Yun Hua couldn't hide her glee, practically begging Lu Yunqi to notice that she'd said what she said yesterday just to get her lord to bring her along to ogle the pretty face.

As soon as Lu Yunqi walked out, he saw Prince Cang dressed in his finest. He had to admit—with his height, his looks, and his strikingly sculpted, half-foreign features, he truly suited deep-toned clothing.

Guess bold looks call for bold outfits, making him look even more devastatingly handsome, and even toning down that creepy, ghostly vibe he usually had.

Lu Yunqi waved at him, and Liu Bao, sharp as ever, invited him over.

Lu Yunqi slung an arm around Murong Jie and said, "Haven't seen you in two days, and you've gotten even more handsome. You really are nothing like those flashy little sluts out there!"

Murong Jie shot him a look, thinking, "Figures. Two days gone, and he's already been out chasing fun elsewhere."

He turned and climbed into his own carriage, and Lu Yunqi, for some reason, was in a great mood. He skipped his own carriage and squeezed into Murong Jie's instead.

Murong Jie kept a stony face, clearly not in the mood to chat, but Lu Yunqi cheerfully scooted closer to him and said, "Guess what kind of surprise your second brother has in store for us today?"

Murong Jie remained silent, and Lu Yunqi wasn't bothered. He continued, "Today, none of this concerns you. Just sit by my side and don't butt in. Also, that third sister of yours, Murong Hua—you'd better keep your distance from her. She's always causing trouble, like she's not scared of getting you ganged up on by your brothers!"

Although Murong Hua's intentions were good—she wanted to stand up for Murong Jie—things often backfired.

Murong Jie finally broke his silence: "If I'm targeted by my royal brothers, shouldn't Young Lord Lu be even more pleased?"

Back then, he was the one who'd stirred up the brothers to go after Murong Jie.