Struggle for Head of the Household

Donate it?

No, he wanted to keep this Wheat Field for now.

After wolfing down breakfast, Li Wei began building a fence around his Wheat Field. The materials were all ready; they were the logs he had prepared for building a wall, each as thick as an arm and over two meters tall. There were not many of them, but they were more than enough to enclose a 150-square-meter Wheat Field.

He even planned to pile a stone wall around the outside. After all, this was his personal property.

He worked nonstop until noon before finally finishing it. At the very least, no wild animals would come causing trouble before the seeds sprouted.

Finally relieved, Li Wei ate lunch and was about to take a long nap when a string of messages suddenly flashed before him.

The house Penny had been responsible for had finally been completed.

[House construction successful. Because the family is currently in turmoil and lacks a head of household (the father is dead), it may fall apart at any time. Therefore, this house belongs to an individual rather than the family.]

[Calculating rewards. Current total reward: 100 Construction Experience.]

[You participated in the construction of the house and contributed several important materials. You will receive 20 Construction Experience and have the right to rest in this house for free. When the house is donated to the family, you will receive two Family Contribution Points.]

[Friendly reminder: Because your participation rate in the construction of this house was insufficient, you have no right to independently donate the house to the family.]

[Apprentice Chef*** did not participate in the construction of the house. She must pay a fee to move in. You may gain 0.2 experience per day.]

[Apprentice Artisan*** has initiated a Plot Kill vote against you. If the vote succeeds, you will die of severe dysentery within twenty-four hours. At that time, all your memories will be erased, your Farmer Card stripped away, and you will be sent back to your original spawn point, losing your chance to awaken.]

[Apprentice Chef*** agreed to the Plot Kill vote against you. The Plot Kill has passed. You have passively consumed three Family Contribution Points, forcibly nullifying this Plot Kill vote. You will gain immunity to Plot Kill for the next thirty days.]

[Your Family Contribution Points have decreased by three. Current remaining Family Contribution Points: three.]

[Friendly reminder: When a Plot Kill vote fails to pass, Plot Kills may be initiated repeatedly, so long as there are sufficient Family Contribution Points.]

"Damn, those two bitches!"

Li Wei truly had not expected Penny to be so ruthless and decisive, nor had he expected Phila to agree.

What the hell was she after?

For a moment, Li Wei was nearly driven mad with rage.

But when he looked up at Phila, who was sitting there dozing off, he quickly calmed down. He could not lose his temper so easily in the future. At this point, he had to admit one thing: Plot Kill voting was the core setting of this mission's storyline. It was the rule of the game. Since he could not fight it, he could only find a way to adapt and secure more advantages for himself.

Taking a deep breath, Li Wei stopped thinking about it. He grabbed his sheepskin blanket, entered the newly built house, found a spot, and fell asleep the moment he lay down. It was his rightful privilege.

He slept until sunset, then woke feeling invigorated, his entire body brimming with strength. The hard labor of recent days had not crushed him; instead, it had made him feel reborn.

When he stepped out of the house, he was surprised to see around fifty mud bricks on the open ground not far from the camp, where he had originally planned to reclaim farmland. Penny must have made them.

She had already impatiently started a new storyline. Was her next step to fire bricks, build a furnace, smelt iron, and follow the industrial route?

"Wait, her Artisan Card must have leveled up."

Li Wei looked at the rows of mud bricks with mixed feelings. Objectively speaking, the workmanship was already quite remarkable. This must have been the enhancement granted by the Artisan Card.

If he was right, Penny's Artisan Card was now two-star.

Her advantage was steadily accumulating.

At the same time, Li Wei understood why Penny had voted to Plot Kill him. In a family with limited resources, the greatest taboo was splitting their forces. They could not pursue the industrial route while also tending to the farming route.

Unless one side chose to submit, they would inevitably fall into a certain degree of internal conflict.

The problem was that they were all players. They all wanted to develop and level up their own core cards, so conflict was unavoidable.

Because this was a battle of routes.

"George, I'm planning to build a Brick Kiln. Can you come help me tomorrow?"

By the campfire, Penny held a bowl of Wild Vegetable Soup and called out to Li Wei. It was an ordinary enough sentence.

But Li Wei understood. This was Penny's final ultimatum!

Either submit, or wait to be voted into a Plot Kill!

In a sense, since their cheap father was dead and the position of head of household was vacant, while Phila was sickly, the position could only go to one of the two of them.

This was their competition.

At that moment, Li Wei's thoughts spun rapidly. He really had considered surrendering. Reducing internal strife would be a good thing.

He did not necessarily have to become the head of household.

But he also realized that simply joining Penny would not be enough. He would need to offer proof of loyalty. For example, if Penny initiated a Plot Kill vote against Phila, would he vote with her?

Although he did not like Phila either, he absolutely did not want to see a new player appear, because that would mean more uncertainty.

So he could not join Penny.

Besides, why couldn't he become the head of household?

"Sorry, Penny. Tomorrow, I plan to go into the forest and see if I can hunt some wild rabbits. We need more food."

Li Wei refused in a businesslike manner. This excuse also fit the story logic and the family's development route. They truly were running low on food; those two bags of wheat would not last long.

Come to think of it, Li Wei was rather curious. Penny was so determined to pursue the industrial route—was she planning to buy food from outside?

But she had said before that there was an epidemic outside.

Or was Penny merely trying to level up her Artisan Card? Did she not care whether anyone else lived or died?

"Oh, my dear brother, then you must be careful. The forest has more than just venomous snakes."

After saying that, Penny gave Li Wei a meaningful look and said nothing more.

Phila, meanwhile, remained silent. She neither objected nor supported him.

But she was definitely no saint either.

Thinking back on it now, Li Wei realized that Phila had agreed to Penny's Plot Kill vote not because she wanted him voted out, but because she wanted to restrict his development. In the name of—weakening an opponent was the same as strengthening oneself!

So Family Contribution Points must be very important. Only when they reach a certain amount can someone become the head of household?

Looks like Penny is determined to become the head of household.

Or perhaps Phila is competing too. She may be sickly, but her core card is the Chef Card. Now that she cooks every day, her Cooking Experience must be skyrocketing. Heh, I need to be careful around her. She might be a real schemer!