Trade

The next morning, Robin got up early and started his workday again.

She crafted wood and stone, creating stone axes and hoes that, while somewhat brittle, were still capable of chopping.

Secondly, she used reeds from the swamp to build a thatched hut.

But the result was not good. The next night, a torrential rain fell, first extinguishing the stove outside, and then washing away the thatched hut in the middle of the night.

So for the next two days, Robin tried a different approach.

Instead of building it on the shore, she went into the woods, a place far from the coast, cleared out a space, and began building the house.

She built a huge stove, about 70 centimeters above the ground, with a large pit underneath, and then began to build a mud house around the stove.

Robin used a giant tree to knock down trees one by one deep in the forest and brought them back; there were nine trees in total.

Two tree trunks, each about the thickness of a bowl, were deeply embedded in the ground on each side, while a taller tree stood in the very center.

The eight wooden pillars surrounding the stove were enclosed by layers of mud walls. The east side faced the coast, and a doorway was left on the south side of the wall. The north wall was built around the stove, close to it, and had an opening that connected to one of the two outer fire vents of the stove. It was raised above the surrounding ground to release smoke.

In addition, a small opening was reserved above the left and right walls to allow for air circulation.

Then, two more layers of wet mud with reeds were applied to the outside and inside of the mud drill.

Under the heat of the stove, the mud bricks and wet mud were dried separately, becoming very sturdy.

Next, Robin made mud bricks using two stones of different sizes, the larger one being flat and the smaller one slightly curved. He first made a thin mud brick on the larger stone, and then placed it on the smaller stone, pressing out the curve to create a mud brick.

Robin then erected a sloping frame above the wood and covered it with mud tiles to form a sloping roof.

When it rains, the rainwater flows downwards.

Using her Devil Fruit powers, Robin built a mud hut in just two days. It could shelter from the wind and rain and was able to withstand heavy rain. Moreover, the outside was covered with several layers of trees, which could alleviate the sea breeze.

In this way, basic accommodation is no longer a problem.

That's about it.

Robin sat on the shore and finished telling Xia Qiu what he was doing.

"Uh-huh."

Xia Qiu nodded. The place where she built the house was hidden behind trees, so she couldn't see it herself.

Xia Qiu greatly admired her for being able to do so much, as it would be difficult for her to do so alone on a deserted island.

Robin looked at Xia Qiu and asked with a smile, "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

"Uh-huh."

Xia Qiu nodded again.

Robin suddenly asked, "Do you know the nouns like stove, mud drill, reed, wet mud, house, and roof, as well as the verbs like clear, level, push down, drive in, press down, cover, and set up?"

Xia Qiu hesitated for a moment, then nodded again.

"Let's delve a little deeper. Do you know animals like bears, deer, and rabbits?" Robin asked again. Seeing Xia Qiu nod, he continued, "Can you understand verbs like 'pat,' 'lift,' 'like,' 'study,' and 'fly'?"

Robin broke down the words, asked again, and after receiving the answer, his crossed legs swayed slightly, a thoughtful expression on his face. He then said, "These words aren't particularly profound, but some of them cover a very broad range of knowledge. Since you're a fish, you can only externally receive nouns, but you can't actually perform verbs. So if you want to understand them, someone must have taught you these nouns and verbs."

This leads to two possibilities. One is a long period of instruction, conveying the meaning of each word to you. This would require a long, regular, and structured process of knowledge transmission, and considering that you would need to acquire basic mathematical skills, this could take five years or more. The second possibility is that you have lived in human society for a long time, witnessed things firsthand, and learned about them through your own experience. However, since you live in water and cannot go ashore, this is less likely.

Robin looked at Xia Qiu and asked, "So, did someone teach you language and writing for a long time?"

"That's right."

Xia Qiu thought about it and realized it was indeed correct, so she nodded heavily.

Robin looked at Xia Qiu and said, "Then this person couldn't have met you by chance, known you had wisdom, and then taught you. Someone must have specifically nurtured you. Because there are many words involved that he couldn't demonstrate to you, and even for ordinary people, they wouldn't try to get a fish to do that. So you must have received concentrated, long-term instruction. Considering that your wisdom is rather unbelievable, it seems you didn't acquire wisdom by chance, but were nurtured and taught for a long time. It seems that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, you should come from a laboratory or research institution. Am I right?"

Xia Qiu's mouth dropped open; according to her own understanding, this was the only answer she could come up with.

That was a good excuse, so Xia Qiu admitted it.

"So that's how it is."

Robin said with some sigh, "There are actually people who are studying how to make living creatures have intelligence. So besides you, are there any other creatures that have intelligence?"

"No," Xia Qiu replied.

Are you the only one?

Robin nodded, and after confirming Xia Qiu's identity, he began to ask him more questions.

For example, climate, history, physics, biology, interpersonal relationships, literature, and some questions about morality and thought.

"They have a relatively good understanding of weather and biology, but know very little about history, though they do know some of the historical context. They also have basic physics knowledge, their own values, and are able to think and judge good and evil."

Robin said softly, "He has more knowledge than most adults, and possesses a sufficiently mature mind. Apart from the limitations of his physical structure, he is basically no different from a human being."

At this point, Robin looked at Xia Qiu and said, "If you weren't a fish, I would really think you were a person."

"Because I am the soul of man."

Xia Qiu shook her head.

Robin smiled and said, "Since I can't leave the island right now, I'll teach you some knowledge and tell you about the history and culture of this world. I wonder if you'd be willing?"

"Yes, yes."

Xia Qiu nodded quickly. He knew very little about this world and hoped to learn more about it.

Robin is probably one of the most learned people in the world. He is not only a historian and linguist, but his other knowledge is not as good as his professional knowledge. However, his life experience, knowledge and breadth of knowledge are extremely rich.

She is probably the most suitable person for her to understand the world.

Robin looked at Xia Qiu and said with a smile, "But you have to grant me one request."

Conditions, what conditions?

Could it be that they're shortening the agreed-upon time?

Well, if she suggests it, I'm willing to shorten it by three months, or even six months, I could reluctantly agree.

Xia Qiu looked at Robin curiously, and Robin smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't make any demands regarding the time."

"What conditions should we set?" Xia Qiu asked, puzzled.

"I hope you can bring me a ship," Robin said slowly.