RIIDMDR Chapter 2

 

It had been years since Nan Xu had gone fishing in the river, so he was somewhat new to the craft. Perhaps it was muscle memory, or the fact that no one had ever caught fish in this stream before, or his naturally clumsy and unvigilant nature, that made it easy for him to catch a few fish.

The fish only realized the danger once they were caught, their tails lashing nonstop. Nan Xu left the system-provided kitchen knife behind and simply used the tip of his axe to slit the fish’s belly. After cleaning them, he strung the fish together with a string made of weeds, picked them up, and walked upstream.

As expected, after ten minutes, he saw the wooden house high up. However, the terrain was treacherous, so he had to take a detour to climb up.

Nan Xu surveyed the terrain and decided to use his pickaxe to build stairs the next day. The stream was the only water source he had found near the cabin, so he would have to make frequent trips back and forth along this route. Digging a straight path would save him a lot of trouble.

Back in the courtyard, he hung the fish on the fence to dry. Then, he began chopping down trees near the yard. The open space outside the yard was small; chopping down a few trees would provide a wider view.

Nan Xu was unaccustomed to using an axe at first, but he chopped down five large trees from sunrise to sunset. He was sweating profusely, and his T-shirt was practically sticking to him. He hadn’t done rough work like this in a long time, and the axe handle had rubbed scuffs and a burning pain onto his palms.

Before sunset, he finished cutting the two bundles of straw and dragged them back to the yard. The moment he stepped into the yard, a pop-up message appeared:

[You have gathered all the materials. Do you want to upgrade the Inn?]

Nan Xu’s eyes lit up at the thought of not having to repair it himself. Fearing that the system might change its mind, he quickly clicked “OK.”

In the blink of an eye, the house before him transformed. The large hole in the roof had been patched, and the fragile structure was no longer. Although it was still relatively simple, it now looked like a proper, habitable house.

[Inn upgrade complete. Roof repaired, walls reinforced. Current house level: Level 1, Prosperity +10.”]

Nan Xu closed the system pop-up window and walked into the house. It was still bare, with fallen thatch piled on the floor. However, since the walls and floor had already been renovated, the system was only responsible for repairing the house itself, not the furniture placement.

Nan Xu sat on the doorstep, sweating, and watched the sun slowly set behind the mountain. The sunset stained the entire sky. After a busy day, seeing such a beautiful scene and feeling the cool evening breeze largely dispelled his fatigue.

After resting, he stood up and used a hoe to move the pile of thatch from the main room. To ensure there were no snakes inside, he carried the thatch out in two batches and spread it on the ground in the yard — perfect for starting a fire later. It’s no wonder he was cautious. There were no medicinal herbs deep in the mountains. If he were bitten by a snake, he wasn’t sure if he’d survive and find a hospital.

Lacking a broom, Nan Xu left the small pieces of grass on the ground untouched. While it was still light out, he went outside and gathered some medium-sized rocks. He found a slightly lowered spot in the yard. He built a campfire pit, arranged the firewood he had gathered, lit it, and then squatted by the fire. As the dim sky gradually dissipated, the flames illuminated his face.

It was his first day in this unfamiliar place, and it was a busy day from dawn to dusk. Now, as he settled down, he had a bewildering realization about what had happened today.

Nan Xu held a palm-sized fish on a skewer, grilling it while thinking about what he would do the next day. After a while, he smelled the fish roasting and his stomach growled.

He couldn’t afford to be pampered. He’d done a lot of physical work since arriving, yet he’d only drunk a few sips of water from the stream.

When the outer layer of the fish was charred, Nan Xu tore off a few bites and continued roasting them over the fire. The fish weren’t big, so they went down quickly. Without salt, they weren’t particularly tasty. Fortunately, the stream water was clear, and the fish didn’t smell too fishy. Eating a few while hungry was quite satisfying.

After eating the grilled fish, Nan Xu felt thirsty, but he didn’t plan to go back to the stream for water. It was dark, and the road was steep. He would just have to wait until daybreak.

He had to find a way to get water the next day.

After putting out the fire in the pit, Nan Xu went inside, closed the wooden door, and lay down on the hard bed. Perhaps because he was so tired, he didn’t sleep for long despite the simple conditions. After a few yawns, he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, he woke up again. After sleeping on the wooden planks all night, his back ached. He seemed to hear the system notification beep a few times in his dream last night, but he ignored it and fell back asleep.

Sitting on the bed, he opened the system mailbox and saw that it was the reward for completing yesterday’s Main Mission 1-1. He was supposed to receive it upon completion, but the sluggish system always gave him a different experience, and the email arrived shortly after 1:00 a.m.

[Main Mission 1-1: Rewards issued. Reward List: 1. “Inn Plaque,” 2. Blind Box Purchase Coupons, Blind Box System Enabled.]

[Main Mission 1-2: Upgrade the Inn building. Materials required: 10 wood, 5 thatch, 1 table, 4 stools.]

Opening a blind box? It’s time to get some freebies from the system again! Nan Xu rubbed his hands together, quickly found the blind box icon on the simple system page, and clicked on it.

After successfully redeeming the two coupons gifted to him by the system, he stared at his empty hands for a moment. Then, he slapped his head, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and hurried out.

Sure enough, there were a few more items in the main room where the wooden box had appeared the day before.

A metal plaque with gold lettering on a black background read “Mountain Inn.” It looked vintage. Next to it were two medium-sized wooden boxes, presumably his blind boxes.

Nan Xu had no interest in the plaque and headed straight for the small wooden box. The boxes produced by the system looked practical, but yesterday, after Nan Xu took out the hoe and other tools, the large wooden box disappeared. This incompetent system had searched it thoroughly.

So, Nan Xu didn’t bother admiring the patterns on the boxes today. He opened the first one with anticipation. The moment he saw what was inside, he smiled. Inside was a generous gift pack of seasonings, complete with oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and even scallions, ginger, and chili peppers.

Last night’s grilled fish hadn’t tasted salty at all. Had he not been so hungry, he definitely wouldn’t have wanted to eat it a second time. Now that he had seasonings, his standard of living had improved significantly.

Nan Xu looked at the second box again. He wondered what he wanted and realized he wanted so much. After all, this empty house lacked everything.

Without hesitation, Nan Xu opened the second wooden box and found a set of clothes and socks inside that were similar to the ones he was wearing. Although the system was a bit stingy, Nan Xu would be lying if he said he wasn’t delighted by his newfound supplies, especially after smelling his now-stale clothes.

The joy of fleecing the system lies in the fact that it’s all free.

After placing the condiments on the earthen stove in the kitchen, Nan Xu draped the dry clothes over his shoulders. Hoe in hand, he headed toward the stream he had walked by yesterday.

The morning air was cool with a hint of dew clinging to the weeds, making it exceptionally fresh. Nan Xu pushed the weeds aside with the hoe as he walked, creating a path for easier walking.

After walking for nearly twenty minutes, he arrived at the same stream he had walked by the previous day. On the way, he had planned to dig out the stairs leading to the cabin before returning to bathe. However, once he arrived and took two sips of stream water, he found the stench on his body unbearable.

After walking about a hundred meters downstream, he found a deeper pool. He stopped, took off his shoes, and tested the depth by dipping in. It was about thigh-high, so Nan Xu dove in, still wearing his dirty clothes.

The forest was tranquil. The water in the stream was still a bit chilly for this early morning in late spring and early summer. Nan Xu shivered slightly when he entered the water but sighed with relief as the clean water washed the sweat and sawdust from his body.

After showering, he changed into clean clothes and scrubbed his soiled clothes on a large rock by the stream. With his hair still wet, he headed back upstream.

It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that he finally dug a stairway wide enough for one person to walk from the stream to the open space in front of the courtyard. This saved him a lot of distance on his way back and forth.

Where his hands had been lightly calloused the day before, small blisters had formed, a testament to his hard work that morning.

Feeling hungry, Nan Xu cast his gaze back at the stream.

“Big Brother Fish, I’ll trouble you again this afternoon.” His voice was filled with guilt, but his actions were steady and decisive. He soon caught a few fish, cleaned them by the stream, and took them to the yard to roast over the same fire pit he’d used yesterday.

It wasn’t that Nan Xu didn’t want to use the kitchen stove; it was simply that it hadn’t been used in ages and was covered in half-inch-high dust. When he took off the lid yesterday, it hit him in the face.

The seasoning made today’s grilled fish even more delicious, but Nan Xu didn’t have much time to enjoy it.

After a quick lunch, he cut some grass outside, spread it in the yard, and basked in the bright midday sun so he could use it in bed that night. The wooden bed he’d slept on the previous night was too hard and had left the back of his head numb.

The second main quest released by the system yesterday morning was also about repairing the house, but the requirements were much higher than the first quest. The requirements for the table and stools alone were more than Nan Xu could accomplish by simply chopping wood.

The clothes he’d hung on the bamboo fence to dry had not been hung properly, and the wind had blown them to the ground. Nan Xu went to pick them up and hang them back up, his eyes fixed on the fence railings, his gaze growing increasingly intense. Bamboo… fence?