Chapter 14

The rain had stopped, and the little shabby hut hadn’t leaked, though some dampness was inevitable. Cen An lit a campfire and began inventorying today’s haul: a bundle of sparrow’s tongue shoots, 30 iron chunks, 20 clay, 30 lime, 20 copper ores, 5 pieces of turquoise, and 1 obsidian.

As for the reeds, they had already been fashioned into a raincoat and bamboo hat he was wearing.

Night was falling, but that didn’t deter him from preparing for a big task.

He first took 10 clay to make a large jar, then 6 more clay to make a smaller water jar.

The large jar was about a meter deep, as thick as a person’s arm, with a dark brown color, identical to the water storage or pickle jars used in northern rural villages in his previous life. The smaller jar was around sixty centimeters tall, holding about half the capacity of the large one.

Cen An placed the large jar outside the room. In the corner, two wooden buckets held clear spring water, which he lifted and poured into the jar. This emptied the buckets, so once the jar was filled tomorrow, it could be used for a long time.

The small jar was set inside the inner room. Opposite the broken bamboo bed, a wooden rack stored medicine in a corner. He placed the small jar in the other corner.

He put a wooden tube filled with wheat flour inside the small jar, covering the opening with leftover ratskin, tying it tightly with grass rope to prevent insects. This jar was for storing grain.

With both food and water properly arranged, Cen An felt somewhat relieved.

He then took out the lime.

He had been searching for lime for a reason.

Against the outer wall, besides stacked wood and dry grass, he kept the stones he had collected over the past few days.

He packed 30 stones into his backpack, took out 20 lime, then 3 wood and 2 dry grass.

Opening the crafting menu, he selected the recipe for a “fire pit” and began crafting.

The fire pit was not a tool but a type of structure, requiring more time to build.

After half an hour of rumbling, dust settling, a square fire pit appeared where his previous campfire had been.

This fire pit was a square pit half-buried underground, with stones cut into neat bricks forming the walls, rising about ten centimeters above ground to contain fire and ashes carefully.

The same three pieces of wood produced flames far brighter and warmer than the prior campfire.

From now on, he wouldn’t need to light a fire every day. In the game, the fire pit preserved the embers; anytime he tossed in some combustible material, the flames would flare up—more convenient than a gas stove.

More importantly, cooking would be easier. The fire pit had two hooks above it, allowing him to hang both an iron pot and a steamer.

Looking at the brand-new fire pit, Cen An felt joy. Could this count as his first real property?

But this meant the little hut was getting cramped. The sleeping room was fine, but the cooking room now housed both the water jar and fire pit—barely enough space to turn around.

Building a bigger house... well, that was a thought for the future.

Having finished making food and essentials, Cen An turned his attention to copper ore, turquoise, and obsidian—the biggest gains from today.

First, the copper ore.

He took 15 copper ores and crafted a “charcoal kiln.”

The charcoal kiln had a single function: to burn wood into charcoal.

What he needed was charcoal.

One piece of wood could be turned into three pieces of charcoal. He put in two pieces of wood; after a few seconds, six black chunks of charcoal emerged.

Next, he took five turquoise pieces.

The turquoise gleamed with a translucent green glow, like fireflies, beautiful and clear. In his previous life, these would have made exquisite jewelry.

But in this world, jewelry was useless. Cen An planned to make something else.

Five turquoise, five charcoal, and five lime—he opened the recipe and scrolled to the middle.

“Do you want to craft ‘Jade Bomb Crystal Orbs’?”

“Yes.”

The recipe rumbled to life, and soon a string of small green spheres, like elastic balls, rolled out.

Though the name was tongue-twisting, the item was very practical.

Jade Bomb Crystal Orbs:

Effect: When thrown, they explode, dealing damage within a 5x5 meter area and causing all affected targets to fall unconscious.

Indeed, these orbs were not only ranged weapons with area effect but crucially, they locked the target’s health. No matter how serious the injury, the attacked living beings would remain at their last drop of health and become unconscious.

This feature was average in the game but in reality, it greatly minimized accidental harm. Cen An would not be restrained when using them.

One turquoise could make five orbs; he carefully packed 25 small green balls into his backpack.

With these, next time he encountered someone like Yu Fei, he wouldn’t have to agonize over whether to use skills or flee. Honestly, a 50-crystal core skill was beyond his reach.

Finally, he took out the only piece of obsidian.

It looked like a black diamond, reflecting the flickering campfire light—both dazzling and sinister.

Cen An examined it carefully. It was the rarest material he had encountered since arriving in this world, so naturally, he wanted to craft something extraordinary.

Flipping the recipe to the last pages:

“Do you want to craft ‘Obsidian Statue’?”

“Yes.”

“Please inject your fresh blood.”

“Please provide your hair.”

...

“Materials collection complete. Please wait.”

In the remote little hut, a mysterious black light emerged. Fortunately, the nearest neighbors were hundreds of meters away, and no one noticed.

The black light gradually faded, and silence returned.

Cen An studied the palm-sized statue. The craftsmanship was rough, barely showing facial features—just a humanoid shape with crossed arms over its chest and a slightly bowed head.

He placed the statue on the only table in his home.

The obsidian statue’s effect varied greatly, depending on luck: once a day, it could be prayed to. Offerings were required, usually plants, food, monster materials, etc. In return, the statue would grant a gift.

When playing the game before, he often made the statue first thing, since praying once daily was easy. Sometimes, an offering like a small cabbage yielded rare materials.

He pondered what he currently lacked: crystal cores, seeds, weapons, equipment... the more the better.

He took a piece of unused rat meat from his backpack, offered it before the statue, and performed his first prayer.

Usually, the first prayer brought something good. Once, offering a small cabbage had yielded a rare material.

The statue glowed faintly black; the rat meat disappeared, replaced by a crystal core.

Well... that wasn’t a bad blessing.

Cen An expressionlessly put the crystal core away and flipped the statue face down on the table.

Time to sleep!

——

The next day, light rain drizzled again.

Cen An wore his bamboo hat and raincoat and began harvesting radishes.

Yes, after five days, the first batch of white radishes had matured.

“Congratulations, you gained 8 experience points.”

“Congratulations, you gained 8 experience points.”

...

Amid the system’s mechanical announcements, Cen An efficiently harvested the entire patch of white radishes.

“Experience: 3900/5000.”

Planting another batch of white radishes would level him up!

His spirits lifted. Ignoring the rain, he loaded the radishes onto a small cart and headed toward the little market.

The open-air market wouldn’t have many people in the rain, but today’s radishes were ripe, and he had promised Qu Yue and the others.

Sure enough, a group was waiting at the market entrance.

From afar, he heard Wang Lie shout, “Brother Cen, you finally came!”

A group of young team members approached, laughing and teasing. The fastest runner was Ji Yong’an, the youngest, a level one water-type psychic.

Seeing him run ahead, everyone joked, “Little Ji, why so fast?”

“You brat, barely absorbed a few crystal cores, what psycho power loss of control!”

“Yeah, give the vegetables to the elders.”

Ji Yong’an laughed, “I just missed Brother Cen, okay?”

He reached Cen An, took the cart handles to help push. “Brother Cen, what’s today’s vegetable? Any small cabbages left? My sister and grandma love them.”

Cen An smiled, “Today it’s white radishes—also tasty.”

Surrounded by the group, they entered the market. Qu Yue and Zhao Wu were already at the stall. Little girl Qu Huihui hid under her mother’s raincoat, curiously watching the crowd.

“Ah, big brothers, hello!”

Cen An smiled and responded.

Qu Yue laughed, “I don’t know why, but this little girl really likes you.”

Qu Huihui, cheeky for her age, said, “Brother, you’re handsome! Just looking at you makes me want to eat an extra bowl of rice!”

Everyone laughed. Cen An shook his head resignedly, removed the hay covering the cart, revealing the pristine white radishes inside.

The system-produced radishes looked perfect: each about the length of a forearm, as thick as a drinking glass, with flawless white skin like polished jade marble. Even the leaves stood upright, fresh and vibrant.

Wang Lie squatted in front of the cart, didn’t mind the dirt, picked a radish, wiped it, and bit into it.

“Mmm—crisp! Sweet and crunchy! Delicious!”

Seeing him enjoy it, others teased, “Did we say it’s for tasting?!”

Wang Lie examined it carefully. Though his face was babyish, he was meticulous.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and said, “The energy content is higher than small cabbage, about twice as effective. Also, one white radish weighs more than a small cabbage... Brother Cen, four crystal cores per radish, how about that?”

Cen An was stunned. “Isn’t that a bit expensive?”

His own mental price was two crystal cores per radish. No matter how the psychics argued, to him, it was just a vegetable—and the lowest-level crop on his farm.

More importantly, he could plant another batch every five days. If he sold them that high now, what if he amassed a large stock later? Would he have to lower the price?

Wang Lie seemed to understand his thoughts and chuckled, “Who complains about prices when selling? Brother Cen, don’t worry. We go hunting beasts in the mountains daily; we easily earn over 20 crystal cores a day. Four cores for a radish? We could eat that every day without trouble.”

Cen An was silent, realizing this group was quite wealthy.

He nodded, “Alright, there are 150 radishes here. I’ll keep 20 for myself; the remaining 130 you all can divide.”

Once they agreed on the price, the group quickly started competing.

“Make way! I want thirty!”

“I want fifty!”

“You guys leave some for me! I want fifty too!”

Last time there were only five people; this time seven showed up, plus Qu Yue and Zhao Wu each wanted a share. Suddenly, everyone felt their share wasn’t enough, no one cared about the price.

Cen An watched as they divided the entire cart of white radishes. Qu Yue handed him a small pouch filled with 520 crystal cores.

Brother Cen shook it, having never been this wealthy before, feeling a bit unaccustomed.

At that moment, a voice nearby said, “Brother, that’s the guy! I heard something about a life-saving favor, buying vegetables, medicine—surely Qu Yue and the others are scheming behind your back!”

Cen An’s smile faded as he looked up. Two people stood opposite him, whispering ill words. The greasy-haired, crooked-eyed one—if not Shi Jie, then who?

The other must be his elder brother, Shi Long.