Chapter 73 - 69: Day 14 Settlement
An hour later, Qin Ziwen came to check on it again.
The power storage device’s display showed it had accumulated 0.015 kWh of electricity.
It wasn’t much, but it proved the device worked.
It was overcast today, so the sun wasn’t very strong. The power generation should increase when the sun was out in full force.
Afterwards, he left his apartment and went to Building 6, Unit 1, Apartment 101.
Even before he reached 101, Qin Ziwen noticed that the lawn outside Building 6 looked different from the others.
On the lawn, a man in glasses was carrying a large bucket. He was bent over, pouring sludge from the bucket onto the grass in specific proportions.
From outside the green belt, Qin Ziwen teased, "What’s this? Getting ready to plant a new field?"
The man’s arm twitched. He turned his head, adjusted his glasses, and broke into a smile when he saw it was Qin Ziwen.
"Oh, you’re here! I’ll go get your things." The man stood up, tossing the long-handled plastic ladle he was holding back into the bucket.
"Not going to invite me in for a bit?" Qin Ziwen glanced behind him.
The man froze for a moment, then realized his mistake. "My apologies. Please, come in."
He pushed open the door behind him. The man’s apartment was on the first floor. Not only did it have security bars on the windows, but there was also a hidden side door.
This door opened onto a patch of lawn, which was enclosed by a ring of shrubs with several large trees interspersed among them.
The area was very secluded. If not for the transmigration, it could almost be considered a naturally isolated little garden.
Inside the apartment, Qin Ziwen discovered that almost every usable container had been filled with soil and planted with various crops.
Some of these containers were placed in the corners by the windows, while others sat on cabinets, filling the entire room.
Judging by the shelves and containers, this didn’t look like a spur-of-the-moment project. It seemed more like a pre-existing hobby of his.
’No wonder he was selling seedlings,’ Qin Ziwen thought. ’He’s already filled up his own home.’
When Qin Ziwen entered, two elderly people in the home smiled at him politely before retreating to their bedroom.
His wife poured him a glass of cooled boiled water. "Please, have a seat."
The man in glasses sat to Qin Ziwen’s left. "My name is Wei Zhaohua."
Qin Ziwen replied, "I’m Qin Ziwen. I live in Building 8."
Wei Zhaohua thought for a moment, then clapped his hands. "Oh, Building 8! I know that one. I heard you have a group of ruthless people over there. They killed a lot of people, and one guy even had his head chopped off. So brutal."
"..."
As he spoke, Wei Zhaohua leaned in, his eyes full of curiosity. "Do you know them?"
Qin Ziwen shook his head. "I don’t."
Hearing that, Wei Zhaohua seemed to understand. "It makes sense that you don’t. We ordinary people should stay far away from that type. Really, if you ask me, we’re all neighbors. No matter the conflict, there’s no need to kill people. We should all just sit down and talk it out, right?"
Qin Ziwen nodded in agreement. "You’re right."
Wei Zhaohua was about to say more, but his wife nudged him with her elbow and chided, "What nonsense are you talking? Haven’t you heard the ones who were killed were thieves? How are you supposed to sit down and talk with thieves? Are you going to tell them, ’Please don’t steal from me, go steal from someone else’? You blockhead. I think all that teaching has addled your brain. Other people aren’t your students."
Scolded by his wife, Wei Zhaohua didn’t get angry. He just nodded with a cheerful grin.
Qin Ziwen turned to Wei Zhaohua. "I’ll take your seedlings. If you have any more high-quality, high-yield seedlings in the future, we can trade again."
Wei Zhaohua’s smile widened when he heard Qin Ziwen agree to the trade.
"I have a condition, though," Qin Ziwen added. "If I run into any problems with planting, I’ll be coming to you for advice."
Wei Zhaohua agreed without hesitation. As far as he was concerned, that was a given.
The two then completed their transaction, and Qin Ziwen left with the seedlings.
After he was a good distance away, Liu Jinli shot Wei Zhaohua an exasperated look. "Can you please keep your mouth shut next time? Stop rambling on like that."
Wei Zhaohua was clueless. "What did I say?"
Liu Jinli said, "When you were going on about how someone in Building 8 was brutal and killed people, didn’t you see his expression change? He didn’t say anything, and you still leaned in, right up in his face, to ask if he knew them. Honestly, you..."
At this point, Liu Jinli was both annoyed and amused. "You’re lucky Xiaoqin is magnanimous and didn’t hold it against you."
Wei Zhaohua was shocked. "Ah! So he does know them!"
Looking at her husband’s expression, Liu Jinli felt helpless. But after so many years together, she was already used to his low emotional intelligence.
...
Back home, Qin Ziwen planted the newly acquired seedlings in his farm plot.
Looking at the row of tender, green shoots, he felt a deep sense of accomplishment.
Hunting and gathering were extrinsic economies, heavily dependent on the external environment.
Farming and animal husbandry, on the other hand, were intrinsic economies. They reduced one’s reliance on the outside world, and that was the true foundation for survival in this primeval forest.
In the evening, not long after dinner,
Li Tieshan came over, carrying a Long Spear. "Sir, the Long Spear is finished."
Qin Ziwen’s eyes lit up when he saw the Long Spear in Li Tieshan’s hands.
Perhaps it was the awakening of some primal hunting instinct, but he felt a thrill of excitement as he took the Long Spear.
He hefted the Long Spear lightly in his hand. The weight was just right.
About four or five pounds.
In addition to the Spearhead at the front, there was also a small, flat spike at the butt end.
Li Tieshan explained, "Sir, I added a butt cap. Without one, the spear would be front-heavy."
"You’re the expert in this area," Qin Ziwen praised. "It was right to add it."
𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
He gave it a light swing, but there wasn’t enough room to maneuver in his apartment.
He went into the expanded space behind the bathroom, which was much more spacious. He swung the Long Spear, its tip whistling as it cut through the air.
"Good, good."
Qin Ziwen was delighted, like a boy with a new toy.
Qin Ziwen raised the Spearhead, examining it closely. "Did you make the tip thicker and wider?"
Li Tieshan replied, "Yes. I figured you’d be using the Long Spear to hunt beasts, so I made it larger than a typical spearhead. I also added a blood groove."
"Nice, this is great." He played with the Long Spear for a while, but it was a shame there was no prey for him to test it on.
Suddenly, Qin Ziwen understood a certain saying: When one holds a Sharp Weapon, the urge to kill arises.
’Now that I have a deadly weapon, I can’t help but want to try it out in a real fight.’
"If I had a few of these, I could just stick the butt ends into the ground and angle them forward when beasts charge. It would form a spear wall." Qin Ziwen shook his head, dismissing the stray thought.
’The next stage is still to have Li Tieshan forge a powerful Beast Trap.’
When dealing with an opponent like a wild beast, a Beast Trap would be more effective.
As long as he had a powerful Beast Trap, he could try hunting that massive wild boar.
’A huge wild boar of that level has to drop a Card, right?’
The night passed without incident.
The next day, after waking up, Qin Ziwen checked the previous day’s settlement.
[You have successfully survived in the wilderness for a 14th day. You traded for some vegetable seedlings, raised livestock, hunted a python with a team, and forged a simple Long Spear. Overall Score: 33 points]
[You have received the following rewards: [Building Card] Level 1 Stable x1, Bow and Arrow Equipment Box x1, [Resource Card] Level 1 Iron Mine x1]
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