Li Xuan had spent the entire night hard at work. By the time the sun peeked over the horizon, he had cultivated over three thousand stalks of breadgrass and baked more than twenty thousand loaves of dense rye bread. Only then did he finally use up a single drop of that glowing green spirit liquid.
Now, his entire Void Pearl was stuffed full of giant loaves of bread, packed so tightly there wasn't even room for a bread crumb to slip in.
"Phew, finally used up that drop of spirit liquid," Li Xuan muttered, dark circles under his eyes. "Breadgrass grows way too fast. Now I've got enough rye bread to feed a small army... no way I can eat all this myself. I've got to find a way to give these away somehow."
Rubbing his sore back, he slumped into a shaded corner of the courtyard, fully prepared to crash and sleep like a log. After all, he'd pulled an all-nighter, and not even a natural disaster could stop him from catching up on rest now.
Just as he was drifting off to sleep…
Knock knock knock.
"Huh?" Li Xuan's eyes snapped open. "Someone's here?"
He quickly scrambled to his feet.
"Brother Xuan! It's me, Bai Wen!" came a familiar voice from outside.
"Brother Bai?" Li Xuan perked up. He opened the gate and ushered the man in.
The moment Bai Wen stepped into the courtyard, he froze in place.
His eyes locked onto the crumpled mess of what used to be a house.
"Ah, yeah… about that," Li Xuan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I might've accidentally collapsed the whole thing yesterday. Do you happen to know anyone who can build houses?"
"I do know a few folks who can help," Bai Wen said after a moment's thought. "But it won't be cheap. Getting them to work won't be easy."
"Oh, that's no problem," Li Xuan said, waving off the concern. "How do they usually get paid?"
"We usually work in trade," Bai Wen shrugged. "Labor for labor. Money's useless around here."
That made sense. In this isolated flower valley, there was no contact with the outside world. Currency had no value here—only favors, food, and muscle meant anything.
"What if I offered them food instead? Enough to keep them well-fed," Li Xuan asked, eyes gleaming as he remembered the mountain of rye bread sitting in his pearl.
Bai Wen's eyes lit up like a man who'd just seen gold.
"Food? Are you kidding me? That's better than gold around here! The canteen barely gives enough to keep us from starving. A full meal? That's a fantasy. If you've got food, I'll get every last one of them to work for you!"
Li Xuan grinned. "Brother Bai, how about this—I'll feed you three meals a day if you help me haul flower seedlings for the next two days."
"You've got yourself a deal!" Bai Wen beamed. "And I know a guy in the valley who owns a cart. I'll go borrow it—make things easier!"
"Perfect! Tell him I'll give him a full day's worth of meals for the cart."
"Leave it to me!" Bai Wen turned to rush off.
"Wait, hold on!" Li Xuan grabbed his sleeve just in time.
"Huh? What else?" Bai Wen was practically drooling at the idea of food.
"I still need those builders. Help me round them up. Tell them they'll be fed well—three meals a day."
"Got it!" And with that, Bai Wen bolted off, practically leaving a dust trail behind him.
Li Xuan chuckled, shaking his head at the man's eagerness. After munching down a clean white bun, he rolled up his sleeves and got back to work.
There were still six hundred flower seedlings that needed potting.
Fueled by bread and purpose, Li Xuan worked with a surprising vigor. Pot by pot, the seedlings were transferred neatly into flowerpots, waiting to be delivered.
By the time the sun had climbed halfway across the sky, he finally took a break, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Time for lunch," he said to himself with a satisfied grin. From his Void Pearl, he pulled out a soft pork floss bun.
The heavy rye loaves were for trading. The good stuff—flavored, fluffy, and fresh—was strictly reserved for himself.
After all, he was still a growing boy.
He barely had time to finish his lunch when—
Knock knock knock!
"Brother Xuan! I'm back!" Bai Wen's voice came through the door again.
Li Xuan brushed off the crumbs and opened the gate—only to find Bai Wen standing there with four massive men.
"Here they are," Bai Wen said proudly. "The best builders in the entire valley. If you want a house, these guys are your best bet."
The four men were nearly two meters tall, all muscle and brawn, each one looking like they could carry a cow on their back.
The eldest stepped forward and bowed politely. "I'm Liu Li. These three are my younger brothers. We all come from a long line of builders. We know our craft."
"Welcome, Uncle Liu," Li Xuan greeted warmly. "Looks like I'll be counting on you and your brothers."
He led the group inside. Liu Li scanned the area—the ruined house, the neatly lined flowerpots—and raised an eyebrow. It was an unusual sight, but he didn't ask questions.
"Second, Third, Fourth," Liu Li barked, "clear out the rubble first."
"Uncle Liu, no need for the formalities. Just call me Xuan, or Brother Xuan," Li Xuan said with a smile.
Liu Li chuckled. "Alright then, Brother Xuan. Let's talk about the kind of house you want."
"I'd like a brick house. With a basement," Li Xuan said.
Liu Li blinked. "Brick? Basement? Son, I won't lie to you—this is a flower valley, not a city. A brick house would stick out like a sore thumb. And we don't exactly have a stockpile of bricks lying around."
He scratched his beard thoughtfully.
"As for the basement, we can build it. But again, we'll need the right materials. Without strong supports, it won't be safe."
"I actually know a guy who makes bricks," Bai Wen piped up. "He's got fire powers—sells them to a lot of folks."
"Well then, Brother Bai," Li Xuan said cheerfully, "can I trouble you to go buy a batch of bricks for me?"
"You got it! I'll haggle the price down too," Bai Wen said, thumping his chest confidently.
"Uncle Liu, could you estimate how many bricks we'll need? Then Bai Wen can handle the purchase," Li Xuan asked.
"Of course. Give me a moment, I'll work out the numbers and let your friend know," Liu Li nodded and walked off with a measuring string in hand.
Li Xuan smiled to himself and returned to his flower seedlings.
There was still work to be done.