Half an hour later, Yang Hongye returned excitedly with not only the final payment but also some good news—the boss ordered ten boxes directly and asked her to deliver them to the client tomorrow.
Besides the quality being excellent, credit also goes to her silver tongue. Mainly, it's because Jiang Yuan insisted on fairly splitting the profits, so selling one more box meant she could earn quite a bit of extra cash.
"If you want to make big money easily now, you have to sell to wealthy people. Of course, the product's quality has to be good enough to last; otherwise, it's either a scam or a one-time deal," Yang Hongye said while driving, sharing her insights. "Your friend is really nice. Few in high-end business are willing to play with ordinary people, as we're not in the same league."
Jiang Yuan silently nodded. Quick-talking Yang Hongye soon shifted the topic to the boss's instant captivation when tasting the sample. She described it vividly, making Jiang Yuan feel secretly pleased yet a bit anxious and worried.
The wilderness night felt hard to endure, and the next cherry picking was bound by dawn. Since the client directly ordered ten boxes and the storage bag lacked inventory, he had to survive the first night in the game tonight.
He looked at the bustling traffic outside and hoped there was a novice protection period, so the wilderness in Newbie Village wouldn't be too dangerous.
To celebrate, the two had hotpot for dinner.
It was the most satisfying meal Jiang Yuan ever had—endless plates of beef and mutton, thin slices cooked in the spicy, boiling hot pot, dipped in meticulously prepared sesame sauce. Delicious! One mouthful was incredibly savory!
Satisfied with a good meal, returning to his rental room, he didn't rush into the game but showered and changed to avoid any odd smells, then leisurely drank some hot water to neutralize the residual flavors.
Patiently waiting until 9:30 PM, as the food was converted into energy for staying up late, feeling refreshed and not tired, he locked the door, focused his mind, and entered the game.
Sure enough, nothing changed from when he left, and the time in the upper right corner remained, showing that everything paused once exiting the game here.
No wonder it's my exclusive farming adventure game. I completely control even the time!
The wilderness night wasn't eerily dark but indeed had a huge bright moon in the sky, casting a cold light and silver glow over the wilderness. The visibility was good, reminding Jiang Yuan of the insect-chirping summer nights in the countryside when he was little.
His clothes automatically switched to coarse cloth upon entering the game. He sniffed to ensure there was no odor that might alert keen-smelling beasts too easily.
The clean little courtyard was replaced by a ghostly forest. Thunderous battles deep in the mountains continued, making Jiang Yuan extremely nervous. He could only circumvent tangled trees and hide inside a straw hut.
This thing was indeed a bit primitive, but since it's system-made, it should offer some protection, better than staying out in the wilderness, where who knows what beasts might lurk in the darkness.
He decided that if any danger arose, he'd immediately log out and prepare thoroughly before re-entering.
Hopefully, the mountain beast battles would be loud thunder with small raindrops, not harming a neighbor. As a weak, pitiful, and helpless human, he would curl up in the straw hut to safely pass the night, waking to pick cherries in the morning.
[Main Quest: Build a Level One Home. Reward: ???]
[Quest 2: Make a Storage Box. Reward: 1 pack of seasonal seeds]
Upon entering the room, new quests popped up.
Jiang Yuan checked details to find making a storage box first required a basic workbench, unlocked in the shop for 1500 Gold Coins. Given he earned his first pot of gold selling cherries, he indulged in his first game credit purchase without hesitation!
[Make a Storage Box: Wood X20; Slime X5]
"After clearing the yard today, there's enough wood, but slime..." Jiang Yuan hesitated a bit, looking toward the wilderness upon checking details.
Details showed the item could be sourced from a low-level monster named Oak Bat near wilderness mines, with black patterns and red neck hair, which didn't fly high or fast and had mosquito-like mouths capable of drawing blood.
Oak Bats' damage wasn't high, and their bodies were fragile, but if they attacked in groups, they could drain a person into a corpse. In summary, they were mosquito-like pests but slightly larger, suitable low-level monsters against Jiang Yuan's newbie status.
Tools in the game had specific purposes, and effective monster fighting required professional weapons.
Currently, the shop unlocked only an ash wood stick, attack power +80, speed +1, priced at 500 Gold Coins.
After reloading, Jiang Yuan bought it, swung it a few times; it felt handy, long, and straight, and mostly, dealing -80 in one hit felt safer than going empty-handed.
"Newbie Village's newbie quests surely won't involve overly challenging monsters, nothing to be afraid of." He quietly cheered himself, gripping the ash wood stick tightly, and mustered the courage to step out of the straw hut cautiously amidst the gradually fading beastial roars, heading in the direction remembered outside the yard.
Not knowing where the mine was, he planned to try his luck nearby. As someone who didn't easily take risks, Jiang Yuan just stepped out of the yard boundary when he spotted a small map in the upper-right corner.
The map clearly marked the small mountain of Lushan (Mine) in the left-front direction, with the straw hut representing the yard and a dotted circle behind, indicating they weren't far apart.
With direction guidance from the map, even wandering through the densely-packed forest during the night without losing his way wasn't a worry.
The map showed no nearby danger signals, and the roaring background sounds from the mountains calmed down. The crisp cricket chirps enhanced the moonlight's watery sheen, easing Jiang Yuan's mind greatly.
He felt a tad regretful for being too cautious in not crossing the wooden bridge during the day, missing the chance to activate the map firsthand. The clearly visible nighttime wilderness map now left him wondering what resources around the yard might sell during the day...
[Flame Rat: Qi Refining Third Layer Low-Level Monster, simple-minded with developed limbs, adept at spitting flames]
[They are catching miners. Refrain from showing obvious aggression or attempting forceful escape to avoid unnecessary lethal attacks]
He pondered the wilderness—other than mountains or trees, no special fruit for picking—when two system prompts suddenly popped up.
The next second, not far away, he saw two large bipedal monsters with mouse heads!
A newbie village spawned a mini-boss, and there were two of them!
Jiang Yuan's back chilled; why was this game playing out of routine? The newbie village's difficulty is too high?!
Just stepping out of the newbie home and encountering two thick-blooded big mice made his -80 attack power like a tickle. He decisively chose to log out, exiting the game.
"The map didn't show monsters; I hadn't even built a safe house yet before encountering a mini-boss. What should I do?" He sat up from bed, instinctively glancing at the timer by his pillow: indeed, one real-life minute equals an hour in the wilderness game.
Faintly hearing Yang Hongye next door catching up on dramas, knowing tomorrow's cherry sale netted 6,500 pure profits, and considering the collaboration just starting, he could imagine she felt particularly elated.
Jiang Yuan sighed deeply. Real-world items couldn't go in, system mall offered no effective purchasable tools. Initially, he thought about doing some simple newbie tasks, slaying small monsters to level up, only to encounter a boss by stepping out, feeling too timid to quit the cheat yet unwillingly...
Picking up his phone, pondering for a while, he watched several short videos without any keyword solutions for the current predicament.
Watching a streamer's peacefully content lifestyle on screen while thinking about making enough money to retire early and lay idle. Selling cherries once tomorrow could earn around 20,000 plus money, a tempting fortune for him. Staring at the game icon capable of bringing opportunities and great wealth, he fell into deep thought.
The system labeled them as low-level monsters, yet obviously boss-level for him right now, unable to face head-on.
They were simple-minded and catching miners, meaning the two rat demons were passive aggressive monsters. Showing weakness wouldn't provoke an attack, instead being captured...
"Mining workers are also tough working folks, right?" Jiang Yuan suddenly brightened, realizing his "advantage."
Firstly, the system reminded him not to imagine escape but face the situation directly;
Secondly, thanks to the system cues, he spotted the two big rats first while they hadn't seen him yet. He handily wielded the ash wood stick to ensure not appearing aggressive;
Finally, and most critically, confirming a working relationship could trigger passive talent to bankrupt the rat demons, collapsing?
Whether internal conflict or more formidable competitors arise, should the rat demons sideline, I could escape amidst chaos. Besides, collecting Oak Bat slime for tasks requires going to the mine, conveniently on the way!