She carefully held the lump of clay in her palm, closed her eyes, and issued a command to the system in her mind:
“Appraise!”
Almost instantly, a cold electronic voice appeared in her mind along with a translucent blue interface.
【Ding! Rare material detected: Super Clay.】
【Description: A type of clay containing special minerals. After air-drying or firing, its hardness, toughness, and water resistance far exceed that of ordinary mud bricks or stone. It is an natural material for construction and modification. Recycling value: 5 points per jin.】
Five points per jin?
Liu Xiaoman’s eyes lit up instantly, her breathing quickening.
This return rate was far more profitable than digging up ten-year-old He Shou Wu for half a day!
She looked down at the patch of clay beneath her feet—at least several hundred jin on the surface alone—and who knew how much lay underneath. Her heart began pounding wildly.
“This is incredible! It’s practically heaven-sent!”
The sudden windfall nearly made her cry out in excitement.
She quickly calmed herself and began calculating.
Up to now, through gathering herbs and recycling scattered plants and animals, she had painstakingly accumulated just over 50 points.
With this pile of Super Clay as backing, the possibilities were endless!
Brimming with energy, Liu Xiaoman immediately shifted her focus to the system shop.
She couldn’t wait to see what help this miraculous system could provide for her construction plans.
Her fingers swiped rapidly across the translucent interface, locking onto the [Knowledge & Technology] → [Construction] category.
A dazzling array of blueprints unfolded before her—from “Simple Thatched Hut Construction Guide” to “Mortise and Tenon Structure Explained”, and even something she couldn’t comprehend like “Introduction to Floating Array Foundations.”
Her gaze swept quickly until one blueprint firmly captured her attention:
“Beginner Safehouse Renovation Plan.”
In the preview, a natural cave had been transformed into a well-structured, fully functional fortress.
She opened the details. It clearly stated:
This blueprint maximizes the advantages of a natural cave, strengthens defensive systems, and scientifically divides the space into living, storage, defense, and escape zones.
Cost: 200 points.
Liu Xiaoman instinctively glanced at her current balance: 50 points.
Still far from enough.
She frowned—but her gaze soon fell on the faintly glowing Super Clay beneath her feet.
Wasn’t this a ready-made “point mine”?
Without hesitation, she crouched down and began digging carefully with her short sickle.
The clay was dense and tough, making it laborious to extract—but Liu Xiaoman worked tirelessly.
【Ding! Recycled 1 jin of Super Clay, +5 points】【Ding! Recycled 1 jin of Super Clay, +5 points】
…
With the continuous system notifications, her point total surged at an intoxicating speed.
63… 73… 83…
Each increase felt like laying another brick for her future home.
When her total finally surpassed 200, reaching 203 points, she stopped.
She was exhausted, breathing heavily, her forehead covered in sweat—but her eyes burned with a brilliant light.
“Exchange for ‘Beginner Safehouse Renovation Plan’!”
She issued the command without hesitation.
A soft white glow flashed across the interface. 200 points were instantly deducted.
The next moment, an ancient-looking blueprint made of countless intricate lines appeared in her system inventory, glowing faintly.
With almost reverent anticipation, Liu Xiaoman extracted and unfolded it.
In an instant—
A torrent of information flooded her mind.
The empty, primitive cave before her seemed to vanish, replaced by a bright, clean, warm, and secure home.
On the left side, sturdy partition walls made of Super Clay mixed with gravel divided the space into two bedrooms and a small living area.
The center of the cave would be paved with flat stone slabs, with hidden drainage channels dug beneath.
At the entrance, concealed behind the waterfall, a cleverly designed drawbridge and hidden observation holes provided defense.
Even ventilation had been meticulously planned—utilizing tiny natural openings in the cave ceiling and walls to create a natural airflow system.
What excited Liu Xiaoman most was the trap mechanism design included at the bottom—allowing early warning and defense around the cave entrance.
At that moment, the long-dormant “infrastructure fanatic” within her was completely ignited.
She could already see herself living here with her mother and brother—safe, secure, free from the Liu family’s harassment and any unknown dangers.
However—
When her gaze shifted from the grand blueprint to the densely packed materials list below, her soaring excitement was abruptly doused.
The list clearly read:
【Estimated materials for basic renovation:500 jin of Super Clay,20 mature hardwood logs,50 flat stone slabs,10 jin of iron ingots,5 bolts of coarse hemp cloth…】
And that was just the beginning.
There were also nails, ropes, tools, and countless small items.
And beyond that—food, bedding, cookware, oil, salt, sauces…
She made a rough estimate.
Even if she spent all four taels of silver she had, it wouldn’t be nearly enough.
Money.
That was what she lacked the most.
Points could buy knowledge and special items—but bulk materials were far more cost-effective to purchase with silver.
There was no way she could carry everything into the mountains by herself.
The immense pressure and equally immense hope weighed heavily on her heart.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
Step by step.
This new home was the only hope for her, her mother, and her brother in this chaotic world.
She had to give it everything she had.
Turning her attention back to the Super Clay, she decided to start with what she could manage.
She opened the system shop again.
Using her remaining 3 points, she exchanged for:
Then she recycled a few more jin of clay to gather enough points for a small pack of iron nails.
She gently touched the blueprint that carried all her hopes.
The excitement and passion in her heart slowly settled into a firm, heavy determination.
The process might be difficult—but she had her knowledge from a previous life, a miraculous system, and an unyielding will.
At that moment, a new system message quietly appeared:
【Warning: Host detected to have a significant material shortage. Safehouse construction progressing slowly. Recommendation: Acquire additional startup capital to accelerate development.】
Liu Xiaoman’s gaze sharpened.
The system was right.
Her small-scale efforts were no longer enough.
She needed a more efficient and comprehensive plan—not only to solve the money problem, but also to secretly transport large quantities of materials into the hidden cave behind the waterfall.
She slowly walked out of the cave.
Cool mist from the waterfall splashed against her face, instantly clearing her mind.
The roar of the waterfall thundered in her ears, as if urging her forward.
Looking up at the sky, fragmented by the canopy above, she saw that night was quietly falling.
A bold idea began to grow wildly in her mind.
Perhaps…
She could use Huichun Hall’s platform—and Shopkeeper Qian’s connections—to make a much bigger deal.