The barter post Yun Luohe dropped in the Mutual Aid Association—“trade for chickens”—blew up fast.“Boss Yun! I’ve got two extra roosters. Can I swap them for 50 pieces of sea stone?”“My ducklings just hatched a clutch. I wanna trade for some of your cooked dishes!”“My bird’s eggs just hatched—swap for Blue Crystal Ore!”“I’ll trade for food too. Please… the kind that restores a lot of Sanity.”After reading through everyone’s asks, Yun Luohe pooled the exchange goods at the Association Exchange Center so members could redeem and pick up what they needed.In the Trade Hub, every reasonably priced chick, duckling, and gosling got swept into her cart.Once that was done, the Coop turned even rowdier—crows and quacks everywhere, fluffballs crammed into a warm heap.[Number of animals kept] shot from a little over two hundred to just above four hundred.Almost there. Later tonight, check what the Exchange redeemed; that should push it over the line.Yun Luohe walked to the livestock sheds.Building an ordinary livestock shed doesn’t take much, but she wanted to put up an advanced livestock shed.One ordinary livestock shed houses 5 animals; an advanced livestock shed houses 20, but the materials are triple.The materials gathered this morning were only enough to build a single advanced livestock shed.If she slapped down two ordinary sheds just to tick an achievement, she’d end up demolishing and rebuilding anyway.Better to wait—tomorrow is fine. No need to rush it today.—The next afternoon, the system announcement chimed right on time:[System: The Mad Chef Tournament has ended. Final point rankings and the district-wide Top Three have now been published.][All players ranked in the Top 100 will receive rewards. The Top Three will proceed to the final cook-off in three days. Please prepare.]Top Three:Yun Luohe (District 2): Total points 9,850, No. 1! Ten days of full attendance; completed 18 menu dishes; received 2× S-grade evaluations and 16× A+; used exclusively golden-tier ingredients; technique outstanding.Zhao Chujian (District 6): Total points 8,720, No. 2. Ten days of full attendance; completed 15 menu dishes; received 1× S and 10× A+; used a large amount of rare ingredients and top-end cookware.Lu Lian (District 1): Total points 8,450, No. 3. Ten days of full attendance; completed 14 menu dishes; received 1× S and 10× A+; led with creative cuisine—multiple warm, comforting dishes.The chats in every district lit up again.“Called it—Zhao Chujian made the list. Luck is a skill too! I heard his [Cooking] hit Lv.6 ages ago—and Peach gifted him a cooking pot.”“I think I’ve seen Lu Lian on the forum. Beast Trainer, keeps thousands of bees—but didn’t know her cooking was this strong.”“Yun Luohe again. Is she really that good?”“She’s a full thousand points ahead of second. How is that even possible?”“Points don’t matter. The finals won’t look at totals—they’ll judge real technique.”Yun Luohe opened her mail and skimmed the leaderboard. District 2 had a decent showing in the Top 100.She spotted a few familiar names: Bai Yuemian, Qin Sisi, Zhao Xuan, Rose, and Du Ruan-tian were all there.Since the finals were three days out, Yun stopped paying attention. Still, she needed to stock more ingredients these next few days—useful when the finals hit.Today’s routine work was done.She opened the Leisure Cloud Isle map.She circled the newly marked veins—two ore veins found over the last two days; she’d place mines there later.She planned to zone the open strip at the forest edge into farmland.Reclamation had already started. With one week left in Autumn, she’d plant short-cycle vegetables and stash one more batch of fresh produce.The Greenhouse wasn’t growing in-season plants right now, so she wouldn’t waste outdoor plots—time to sow the stack of autumn seeds on hand.Her carefully chosen quick-autumn seeds:• Crisp-Sweet Baby Greens (growth: 5 days): the most common quick leaf veg—clean, refreshing, good for soup or a simple stir-fry.• Emerald Spinach (growth: 7 days): nutrient-dense, fast-growing, versatile.• Radish trio—baby white, thumb-size, cherry radish (growth: 5–8 days): “ginseng of autumn,” fast to maturity, nutrient-rich, and—most importantly—helps digestion.• Pea Shoots (growth: first cut at 3 days): tender tips in three days; multiple harvests; an excellent vitamin boost.She also put in a little cilantro, okra, and eggplant. Their cycles are longer, but a bit of fertilizer would speed them up for an early harvest.The spider babies can’t tell seed varieties apart; she had to go in person and hand out what to plant.If she wasn’t around, they’d mix things up.And sowing methods differ by seed.Some need covering soil, some can be broadcast directly, some need soaking first—and cilantro needs its hard outer husk cracked before it will sprout.For cilantro, Yun Luohe spread the seeds on a flat board, stepped on them and gently rubbed until the shells split.Once every plot was opened up and staged, she called the spiders in.“Watermelon, take your brood and sow spinach.”“Wintermelon, you’re here. Cilantro’s yours.”…After arrangements, Yun meant to stay and supervise, but Fenfen claimed it could tell varieties clearly and asked her to leave it in charge.Which freed Yun to handle other tasks.She visited the Spider House to check on Yuntun. With breeding in full swing, Yuntun barely had time to go out—it was working hard managing the spiders for her.Roubao wasn’t slacking either; besides shell-fishing, it was pitching trash into the Trash Bin — Transform into Treasure.From dawn to dusk, aside from sprinting over at mealtimes by scent to find her, not a hint of loafing.Seeing the other two pets work this hard, Fenfen stepped up too—eager to go permanent sooner.After all, Roubao and Yuntun were on the roster—Yun Luohe’s contracted pets—while it was still on probation.“Go ahead and try it yourself first. I’ll check whether you mess anything up.”“That’s easy. Watch me!”“This one is spinach.”Fenfen fluttered, grabbed a seed, tucked it into the furrow, then raked fine soil over it with a claw.“This one’s okra… this one’s baby greens. Okra goes over there!”Fenfen planted every seed it named in the right area—no mistakes.“Nicely done. It’s yours then—just don’t mix anything up.”—At dusk, Yun Luohe was opening shells—the two-day pile still untouched—when Fenfen’s brassy yell rang out.“Visitor coming! Visitor coming!”Yun blinked. A visitor?Since the reef upgraded into an island, you couldn’t directly see newcomers on the shore from the manor.So Fenfen really did have its uses.The way it broadcast at top volume was… very macaw.Yun Luohe strode out.The villa was a bit far from the beach; she ran, feet light, down to the sand.A large ship appeared at the coastline. An old man stood at the bow.He was burly; hair and beard shot with gray; back straight as a mast. He wore a deep-blue captain’s coat fastened with a few shining brass buttons.A guess rose in her chest.This had to be the old captain.She smiled and offered her hand. “Hello!”Hilco’s face was cool. “Hello.”He looked around, taking her in with mild interest—and eyed Fenfen, who hovered behind her.“And you are?”Hilco stepped onto the sand. “Just call me Old Hilco.”“Welcome, Captain Hilco.”She didn’t know much about him—only that his temper was rough, and the few players who’d met him hadn’t gotten much out of it.But once the old captain settled, he’d open a shop and buy things anytime. She absolutely needed to win him over to take up residence early.Talk more.The old captain nodded.“You’ve built this up well. First time I’ve seen a reef get this big.”Yun Luohe: “You flatter me.”Her face stayed even, but she was thinking—unlike the last two NPCs, a few lines in and still no dialogue options.She shifted tack and produced a blueprint—the Yacht Blueprint.“Could you take a look at this? I want to build a yacht. You probably know boats better than anyone—got any advice?”Hilco stroked his beard, a flicker of approval in his eyes. “Now that you asked the right man.”“Nothing special about a basic yacht, and the materials aren’t hard to get. Later on, with upgrades, you might end up with something fine.”“Can I buy materials from you?”“Mm. I’ve got some things you might use.”Four options popped up before Yun Luohe:[ I want to sell something. ][ I want to buy something. ][ I want to chat with you. ][ I’m done. ]Without a heartbeat of hesitation, Yun tapped [ I want to chat with you. ].She knew pure transactions only built surface ties. To raise the old captain’s favor, she had to chat—get him talking, and learn what he liked.Hilco lifted a brow and drawled, “Oh? Chat about what? These old bones don’t have time to make small talk with a young lady.”The tone was stern, but not impatient.“What kind of island would make you willing to settle down?” Yun Luohe asked plainly. “Or, you could come in and look around—see if anything here suits your taste.”Fenfen flapped at his shoulder, butted in: “Captain Grandpa, our place is pretty! Great food, great drink, and tons of little animals! You’ll definitely be happy living here!”Hilco’s mouth tugged up at the sudden interjection. His gaze drifted toward the Coop, where calls carried on the wind, then to the spiders working the field ridges behind Yun Luohe. Interest kindled. “Lively enough. But that’s not how I pick a place to settle.”Yun led him toward the residential area. “That’s fine—please take a look and give advice. The island’s still under construction; it’s simple now, with lots of room to improve. You’ve come a long way. I have good tea—you can sit and try some.”“Tea? Too thin. Don’t care for it.” Old Hilco pulled a little flask from his coat.“Us old sailors only drink this.”“Oh, you prefer liquor. I have that too—just finished brewing bayberry wine, grape wine, and a sweet rice wine. Which do you like?”Hilco: “None of those. I prefer a hard spirit.”Yun Luohe smiled. “A hard spirit? Have you had a double-distilled grain spirit from my hometown?”“Double-distilled… what?”Hilco looked puzzled.“It’s a strong spirit where I’m from—high proof, hot on the tongue, with a mellow grain finish. Lots of long-haul seafarers love it,” Yun said, turning toward the Brewery Workshop. “I’ll fetch you a taste now—and pair it with chili-dressed cold seafood or spicy crab. Perfect with liquor.”Hilco’s eyes shifted; he didn’t refuse, hands clasped behind his back as he followed.Fenfen landed on his shoulder, chirping, “My master’s food is super tasty. Once you eat, you’ll want more!”Inside the Brewery Workshop, Yun Luohe pulled a bottle of high-proof double-distilled spirit from the supplies chest.Her Portable Preservation Ring held cold seafood in chili-garlic dressing and spicy crab.Both were made just days ago.She hurried back to Hilco, pouring amber liquor into a rough clay bowl.The bottle had barely opened when a rich alcoholic bouquet unfurled.The cold seafood was laced with chili oil, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) sesame, and minced cilantro—just looking at it stirred hunger.The spicy crab glowed red and fragrant—the best kind of drinking companion.Hilco lifted the bowl and took a sip. His throat bobbed; his brows loosened at once. “That’s got bite! Better than that watered-down rum by a mile.” He picked a marinated baby octopus out of the bowl, chewed twice, and nodded. “Fresh. Good.”“If you like it, I have as much as you want. You can drink anytime,” Yun said with a smile—careful not to tack on “only if you settle.”That, in fact, hit Hilco’s taste exactly.“Hahaha, the liquor is tempting, but…”Yun Luohe waited quietly for the next line.

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