Lu Yunqi thought to himself, I also want to increase the intensity, but I don't have the money!
These items all cost so many points—I can't afford them, I simply can't. I'll have to wait until my crops mature before I can consider the next steps.
However…
Lu Yunqi sidled up to Li Na and asked, "Um… Sister Na, is there any way to make quick money? I'm really short on points right now. At this pace, it'll be hard for me to raise the Civilization Level to 0.65 within a year."
Li Na thought for a moment, then nodded. "There is. How about sprouting some soybean sprouts and mung bean sprouts? But you'll need to get me some large basins. The basins need evenly spaced holes drilled in them, and I'll need some gauze. At this time of year, as long as you give me a few quilts, I can guarantee the temperature for sprouting the mung beans."
Lu Yunqi quickly nodded. "Why didn't you say so earlier! That's easy—I'll go prepare it right away!"
With that, he returned to his room, took out his writing materials, and quickly scribbled down a list of what he needed. He handed it to Liubao to go purchase.
Liubao just felt that his young master had been acting a bit mysterious lately. Last time he asked for a bunch of big vats, but Liubao never saw what he did with them—they just mysteriously disappeared.
This time he wanted a bunch of large basins, and Liubao had no idea what they were for.
There was also a drawing he'd made himself—something about placing a steaming rack on top of the basin and covering it with cloth. Liubao had no clue what it was for.
But Liubao didn't dare ask. He just followed his young master's orders.
The items weren't hard to prepare: twenty copper basins, twenty steaming racks, and a stack of cloth. They were ready in less than half an hour.
Lu Yunqi had Liubao place everything in front of the cabinet door, then dismissed everyone, locked the doors and windows, and continued moving things into his Wanping Wasteland.
As soon as the items were 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. One catty of seeds cost one point. He thought it over and asked, "Um… can I buy sixty catties instead? I also want to hire a carpenter. My lumber is in place—the log cabin is at ten percent progress. If I get a carpenter, it should push things forward a bit more."
Li Na's expression showed a hint of disdain. Lu Yunqi thought, Don't think I can't tell you're cursing me with your face—that look just now clearly said: "I've never served such a poor master before!"
Li Na said, "Fine! Sixty catties works too. One catty of mung beans can produce six to eight catties of mung bean sprouts. With sixty catties, if we're lucky, we'll get five hundred catties. At the buyback price of three yuan plus three points per catty of sprouts, the harvest won't be too bad."
Lu Yunqi's expression turned excited. "So how long is the sprouting cycle for mung bean sprouts?"
Li Na said, "If the temperature is well controlled, they'll be ready to eat in three to five days."
With that, she instructed, "Zhang Wei, come here. Wash the mung beans clean and soak them! The water from the Yu River meets purity standards—it's ice spring water from Dayan Mountain, rich in minerals. No filtration needed; it can be drunk directly after boiling. Master, you chose this development area very well. Water is the cradle of civilization. You're a man of foresight."
Lu Yunqi chuckled. It was pure luck, really—he'd just stumbled into it!
After washing the mung bean seeds, soaking them, and arranging the sprouting equipment neatly, Lu Yunqi earned another thirty points—all Achievement Points from unlocking new seeds.
It seemed that in the early stages, besides doing tasks, unlocking new achievements was also necessary.
He'd finally saved up sixty points again, and he couldn't wait to exchange them for an NPC.
The new NPC was named Lu Ming. He was a carpenter who came with his own tools for processing lumber. He greeted Lu Yunqi and immediately started buzzing away, sawing wood.
This was one thing the system did really well—NPCs never slacked off, never goofed around, and never even complained about being tired.
They worked diligently and conscientiously. It wasn't easy for them. Lu Yunqi wondered if the system gave them social insurance and housing funds. He'd have to treat them to a nice meal someday.
Lu Yunqi curiously asked Li Na, "Sister Na, what's the price level with System Coins? Is three thousand yuan a month enough for a regular NPC?"
Li Na nodded. "It's enough. Besides the three thousand yuan, they also get three thousand points. Points can be exchanged for daily necessities and such. The money can be used to live in the real world, or converted into currency equivalent to the average wage level in their world."
Lu Yunqi understood now. So everyone got double pay—no wonder they were all so dedicated to their work.
It seemed that heavy rewards truly brought out brave workers!
Perhaps because there were more NPCs, more achievements were being unlocked. Before long, Lu Yunqi earned another sixty points. He quickly exchanged them for a second-level architect, and the log cabin's progress jumped to thirty percent!
The architect didn't need to lay a foundation to build the log cabin. Using his own tools, he assembled the wooden planks piece by piece according to the blueprint using mortise-and-tenon joints. He built at an incredibly fast pace.
Lu Yunqi lay at the edge of the field and slept for the entire afternoon. The progress on the small wooden cabin had already reached forty percent. Although it was only a modest thirty-plus square meters, the construction speed was truly astonishing.
He stretched lazily, spat out the dog-tail grass he'd been chewing, collected another twenty System Points from some trigger he couldn't quite place, and waved languidly at the NPCs. "Everyone, knock off early today. I'm heading out!"
The NPCs were quite fond of this master of theirs. He let them off work as soon as the sun began to dip westward, never hovered over them while they worked—the working environment could be described as extremely relaxed.
Lu Yunqi was equally satisfied with this leisurely Idle Planting System. What could be more delightful than completing tasks while lying flat on your back?
When he returned to his room, he stripped off his dirty clothes and instructed Yunhua to prepare his bathwater.
You see, bathing in ancient times was a troublesome affair. Ordinary people wouldn't bathe even once throughout the entire winter, and even nobles of high rank only bathed once every five days.
Yet these past two days, Lu Yunqi had bathed daily and managed to get his clothes into a complete mess, which left Yunhua rather puzzled.
As she prepared the bathwater for her young lord, she asked, "Young Lord, have you been working in the fields these past two days? Why do you get your clothes so dirty every day?"
Lu Yunqi nodded. "That's right. How did you know?"
Yunhua: ??
She felt that her young lord's words had become increasingly unreliable lately. Could it be that he'd had a quarrel with Prince Cang next door?
Though looking at Prince Cang, he didn't seem like the type to talk back—because it seemed he didn't even have a mouth to speak with.
Yunhua asked, "Shall I summon Prince Cang to attend to you?"
Lu Yunqi said crossly, "No need!"
The very sight of him was irritating now. Not only was the man plotting rebellion, he was also plotting to have Lu Yunqi killed.
Yunhua cleared her throat. "Very well. Tomorrow is the Second Prince's birthday banquet. You should rest well today—there's bound to be quite a spectacle tomorrow."
"Oh?" Lu Yunqi's interest was piqued. "What kind of spectacle?"
Yunhua said, "I heard that Tianhuan Pavilion has a new courtesan of extraordinary beauty named Xie Lianyi. They say her figure, her face, and her talents are all exceptional—one dance of hers could set all of the capital astir. Many noble young masters would spend a fortune just to watch her perform a single dance. Tomorrow, the Second Prince has invited her to celebrate his birthday banquet, and she's said to perform the most complete version of the pan-drum dance. Young Lord, tomorrow you'll get to see Lady Xie's beauty with your own eyes!"
"Xie Lianyi?" Lu Yunqi murmured to himself, thinking that in his previous lifetimes, this NPC hadn't existed.
Hmm, it seemed this Instance had unlocked a new character. He wondered what her function might be.
He'd said it, hadn't he? The Second Prince's birthday banquet was bound to have some entertainment.
At 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?" Yunhua was confused.
Lu Yunqi tapped Yunhua's little head. "It means clothes of the same style but different colors. I'll wear blue, and he'll wear red!"
Since ancient times, red and blue made the perfect couple—though his real purpose in arranging this was to disgust Murong Jie.
By now, everyone in the capital, high and low, knew that Murong Jie had risen to power by selling his backside. But before, it had only been hearsay. Today, Lu Yunqi intended to make that rumor a solid fact.
And so, early the next morning, the servants of both the Nine Thousand Years Mansion and the Prince Cang's residence were bustling about.
Their masters were attending the Second Prince's birthday banquet—gifts to prepare, attire for their masters to wear, their masters' processions. Missing even a single item would be a serious matter.
Especially at Prince Cang's residence. Liubao had ordered several servants flogged yesterday, and their hides had all tightened up considerably, terrified that their master might take another displeasure and have them beaten again.
Once everything was prepared, Lu Yunqi set out with Yunhua in tow.
The joy on Yunhua's face couldn't be hidden if she tried—as if she was desperate for Lu Yunqi to realize she'd deliberately mentioned all that yesterday just so her young lord would bring her along to see the beauty.
The moment Lu Yunqi stepped outside, he spotted Prince Cang in full ceremonial attire. He had to admit—with that height, those looks, and those strikingly three-dimensional mixed-race features, the man was truly suited to deep, rich colors.
Perhaps bold features called for bold attire. It made him look even more handsome and captivating, and even diminished some of that damp, ghostly aura about him.
Lu Yunqi waved at him, and Liubao, being perceptive, promptly escorted the man over.
Lu Yunqi wrapped an arm around Murong Jie and said, "Two days without seeing you, and you've grown even more handsome. Truly, you're nothing like those flashy, cheap types out there!"
Murong Jie glanced up at him, thinking to himself: just as he suspected. These two days he hadn't come over, the man had indeed been out seeking pleasure elsewhere.
He turned and boarded his own procession carriage. Lu Yunqi, for reasons unknown, found himself in an excellent mood. Instead of taking his own carriage, he squeezed his way into Murong Jie's.
Murong Jie wore a cold expression, looking very much like he didn't want to speak with him, but Lu Yunqi cheerfully scooted closer in his direction 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 by it. He said, "There's nothing for you to do today anyway, so just sit by my side and don't get mixed up in things. Also, that third sister of yours, Murong Hua—you'd best keep your distance from her. She's always stirring up trouble, as if she's afraid your older brothers won't target you!"
Although Murong Hua's intentions were good—she wanted to stand up for Murong Jie—things often turned out contrary to her wishes.
Murong Jie finally spoke a single sentence: "If I'm being targeted by my imperial brothers, shouldn't Young Marquis Lu be even more pleased?"
In the past, it was he who had instigated the imperial brothers to target Murong Jie in the first place.