Five days had passed since the first reform meeting in Black Tortoise City.

The outer city — the ring-shaped area below the highlands — was what the residents called the "outer city."

At this moment, inside a small residential house in the outer city, several people were working together while chatting.

"After finishing this cabinet, we'll get three contribution points, right?"

"That's what Lady Moon said."

"What should we take on for the next task?"

"Of course, we'll continue making furniture. We're already used to it. Or do you want to try making iron pots this time?"

"Forget it, I don't have that kind of strength."

"Hurry up and check the other table again. Make sure there aren't any burrs."

Several families had gathered here to specialize in making furniture together.

After all, if one household worked alone, it would take several days to finish even a single piece.

Later, Xiaolan's mother, Su'er, came up with an idea — everyone would cooperate to complete the work and then split the contribution points evenly.

"Su'er, don't you need to go to the City Lord's Mansion to look after your daughter?" someone asked suddenly.

"No need for that. Xiaolan has already learned a lot. I don't have to follow her everywhere now," Su'er said with a weary smile.

Xiaolan had mastered the essentials of serving others, and now she managed all kinds of domestic affairs in the City Lord's Mansion alongside Wei Youlan with ease.

At first, Su'er stayed in the mansion too, but later she realized she was just idle there — so she decided to help make furniture and earn a bit of contribution value to support the household.

"It must be nice, though — both mother and daughter working in the City Lord's Mansion," a young girl said enviously.

"You're just as pretty as Xiaolan. You could probably work there too," another woman teased.

"Less talking, more moving! Hurry up and carry the goods to submit the task," Su'er scolded in mock annoyance.

"Hehe, we're just jealous!"

"What's there to be jealous of? Life is already much better than before."

Su'er could tell that, deep down, everyone was actually quite content.

"Yes, at least we don't have to worry about running out of water anymore. People from other places would envy us if they saw this," said one woman emotionally.

"They really would. Who could've imagined we'd live like this before?"

A few women and girls carefully carried the cabinets and tables out of the house, heading up the rocky steps toward the exchange on the high ground.

As they walked, they continued chatting — about work, food, gossip, and dreams.

"I really want to go up there someday," a young girl said, gazing longingly at the high ground.

"Xiao Mi, that's easy — just have Su'er take you for a peek," someone joked.

Hearing that, the girl named Xiao Mi turned hopefully toward Su'er.

"No way. I don't have permission to take people up there," Su'er said firmly, shaking her head. She didn't dare bring anyone to the high ground without authorization.

"Oh…" Xiao Mi lowered her head in disappointment.

"In the future, the City Lord's Mansion will definitely hire more maids. You can join the selection then," Su'er advised kindly — Xiao Mi had grown up playing with Xiaolan, so Su'er couldn't help but remind her.

"Really?" Xiao Mi's eyes brightened.

She wasn't interested just for the job — everyone always said how beautiful and magical the high ground was, and she wanted to see it for herself.

The others around them perked up too. After hearing Su'er's words, they secretly decided to talk to their daughters at home about it.

"It's not that easy to become a maid," Su'er added, noticing their looks.

Still, she believed some of the girls here had potential — they were young, pretty, and well-behaved.

"Is there anything we should pay attention to?" Xiao Mi asked sincerely.

"There's a lot to be mindful of," Su'er said vaguely. "It's better not to know too much right now."

When Su'er stopped talking, everyone sensed she was keeping secrets and didn't press further.

"Alright, let's hurry up. I still have to queue for water," Su'er urged.

"Didn't you just fetch water yesterday?" someone asked curiously.

"My husband came back from hunting yesterday, covered in dirt — he used up quite a bit," Su'er said with a helpless sigh.

"My husband said the captain of the guard was incredible. He killed a fierce beast all by himself!"

"The hunters are going crazy these days — taking on every task they can to earn contribution points," another woman said worriedly.

"Enough chatter, we're here."

Su'er pointed ahead. "Be careful when you carry them in. Don't bump into anything."

The house they arrived at served as both the task reception and the exchange center.

Luciel had named it simply: Exchange Center.

Inside, Yue Qinlan was busy recording inventory and calculating contribution points.

"Lady Moon, we brought the cabinet and the table," Su'er called respectfully.

"You finished them quickly," Yue Qinlan said with a faint smile. She put down her charcoal stick, picked up her animal-hide notebook, and got up to inspect the furniture.

"We did it together with a few families," Su'er said modestly.

"That's good. Working together is encouraged," Yue Qinlan replied, recalling that Luciel had approved such cooperative work.

After checking everything, she recorded:

"Cabinet — 3 points.

Table — 2 points.

Chair — 1 point.

That's a total of 6 contribution points. Do you plan to split them evenly, or redeem something right away?"

"Lady Moon, what's that over there?" Su'er asked curiously, glancing toward a cage on the counter.

"Oh, that? It's a lantern beetle. It glows brightly at night, perfect for lighting," Yue Qinlan explained.

Luciel had given her the beetle earlier that morning, suggesting it be added as a new exchange item.

"Lantern beetle? How much does it cost?" Su'er asked with interest.

"Five hundred contribution points," Yue Qinlan replied with a serene smile.

"Five hundred?!" Su'er's jaw dropped, and she quickly looked away toward the next item.

For that amount, she could exchange dozens of catties of dried meat. If she went home with a glowing beetle instead, her husband would definitely scold her — besides, she didn't even have that many points.

Even if she combined all of Wei Geng's hunting earnings, it would still take many days to save up that much.

Yue Qinlan wasn't surprised by her reaction. She turned to a small wooden tag with a painted pattern and said calmly, "That one can be exchanged for a tomato — a kind of fruit."

Luciel had asked Xiaolan to paint the tag and place it on display, hoping to introduce new goods regularly to maintain the value of contribution points and encourage spending.

"You can actually exchange for fruit?" Su'er exclaimed.

"What? Really? Fruit?" the other women and girls gathered around, wide-eyed.

"Yes," Yue Qinlan said softly. "Thirty contribution points for one tomato."

"That's too expensive," they sighed, losing interest at once.

They earned only one or two points per day through their joint work. Most of their households relied on their husbands' hunting income — and no one dared spend that much just for fruit.

"You could also exchange for seeds," Yue Qinlan suggested gently.

She thought to herself that, outside of Dacheng, a single tomato would probably cost far more than thirty points. But Luciel had explained that local values differed — what was cheap here could become precious elsewhere.

"Seeds? You mean we can exchange for seeds too?" Su'er asked, eyes lighting up.

"Yes. Ten contribution points for one cabbage seed. You can plant it yourself, and if you grow well, the City Lord's Mansion will buy it later," Yue Qinlan said, repeating Luciel's instructions — though she didn't quite understand all of them yet.

Still, she carried them out faithfully, planning to understand the reasoning in time.

"Then please give me one seed," Su'er said quickly.

She'd always dreamed of growing something of her own — and now, finally, she could.

"Here you go." Yue Qinlan took a small cloth pouch from the counter and handed it to her.

"This is the seed."

Su'er received it carefully with both hands, as if it were a treasure.

"I'll deduct ten contribution points from your record," Yue Qinlan said while flipping through her notebook.

"Yes, Lady Moon," Su'er replied respectfully.

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