Mushroom Meat Soup

As dusk settled, Li Wei returned to the camp. Phila had already prepared dinner, its aroma wafting through the small camp courtyard.

In the open space of the yard, mushrooms, already processed and laid out to dry, covered an area of over ten square meters. It had been a great harvest for her today.

Last night's heavy rain meant there were naturally many mushrooms today.

"Oh, my George, hunting isn't that easy, is it? Don't be discouraged. You're already an excellent hunter. Come and eat dinner. How about trying the Mushroom Meat Soup I cooked?"

Phila greeted him cheerfully, seeming to have cheered up. She even personally served Li Wei a bowl.

"Thank you, Mother!"

Li Wei thanked her. He wasn't worried about Phila poisoning him. Although the Mushroom Meat Soup looked unappetizing, dark and murky, it smelled truly delicious. He was hungry, so he picked up the bowl and downed it all in gulps, his eyes shining with delight.

It was genuinely delicious. The Mushroom Meat Soup was flavorful and savory, and with the addition of animal fat, it was incredibly rich. After eating it, he felt comfortable all over, his taste buds singing. He had been tired from a day of running around, but after drinking this bowl of soup, he felt more than half his fatigue disappear.

"George, is it good?"

Phila sat beside him, smiling and asking kindly. It almost gave Li Wei the illusion of a loving family, which felt too unusual.

"It's good."

"Then have another bowl."

Phila served Li Wei another bowl before taking one to Penny. She seemed to be in a very good mood today, chatting casually with Penny and asking if she liked the Mushroom Meat Soup.

Penny wasn't very interested in talking and just gave a simple affirmation.

However, Penny still drank three large bowls of the Mushroom Meat Soup.

Li Wei also drank three bowls. Dinner tonight was not only rich but also plentiful. Yet, something felt off.

As he pondered this, two lines of text appeared without warning.

[A Professional Chef *** has developed a new dish, which has received praise from the Head of the Family and all family members. This is a one-star dish. Long-term consumption will make the body stronger. Consuming it twenty times a month for six consecutive months will grant one Free Attribute Point.]

[The Professional Chef *** has donated the recipe and method for this Mushroom Meat Soup to the family. She has received twenty Family Contribution Points. However, she must guarantee that she will provide at least twenty servings of Mushroom Meat Soup each month for the next six months, unless there are irresistible reasons, otherwise the contribution points will be reclaimed.]

[Friendly reminder: This does not affect experience or Main Quest contribution acquisition during this process.]

Li Wei stared blankly, utterly shocked. This—this actually works?

A veteran schemer has infiltrated the base!

Damn it, he had only been the Head of the Family for one day. He currently only had 30 Family Contribution Points left, and Phila, that schemer, had likely surpassed him.

And this was after Phila had made a mistake and failed once before.

It was truly terrifying.

If her family's Main Quest hadn't been interrupted by the Wolf Infestation, Phila would have been invincible.

Li Wei was completely convinced.

Afterward, he rested for a while. He had intended to go to his room to sleep, but Phila's brilliant achievement had stimulated him too much to sleep. He immediately took his Dagger and began sharpening Wooden Arrows by the Bonfire.

Penny had said that the quality of the crafted Wooden Arrows was directly related to their effectiveness when shot.

He needed to improve himself steadily.

After crafting ten Wooden Arrows in one go, it was already late at night, but Li Wei wasn't sleepy at all and felt no fatigue. He had to admit, Phila's Mushroom Meat Soup was truly a good thing. No wonder donating it earned twenty Family Contribution Points.

Sighing with emotion, Li Wei used the firelight to draw his bow and nock an arrow, shooting ten times in a row. This was his daily training, something he couldn't neglect.

Thanks to the buffs from his Professional Hunter class, he could now hit the target with all his Wooden Arrows within twenty meters. Of course, upon hitting the target, the Wooden Arrows were also destroyed.

They were disposable consumables.

But for Li Wei to master the Hunting Bow and improve his archery skills and proficiency, it was extremely important.

As the saying goes, a sharpshooter is made by feeding bullets.

Then, a master archer must surely follow the same principle.

A new day dawned. After breakfast, Li Wei, carrying his Axe and Wooden Spear, and with his Hunting Bow, crossed the slightly reduced stream and headed to the east bank to chop trees.

He was already very familiar with this task. Especially now, with 10 Strength and 140 Stamina, felling ten trees a day should be effortless.

However, unlike before, Li Wei chose trees with a diameter of about thirty to forty centimeters this time.

These large trees were relatively difficult to chop, but he wanted to use wood of this thickness to upgrade the camp's walls again. Phila and Penny were internal issues, but external dangers were the most numerous and unpredictable.

If possible, he even wanted to build an arrow tower within the camp.

About an hour later, the large tree crashed to the ground with a loud noise that startled Li Wei.

At the same time, he gained a full 10 Logging Experience points – one tree was equivalent to ten!

Clearly, the Logging Experience gained varied depending on the diameter of the trees.

However, it was indeed too difficult to chop, especially with an Axe that wasn't very effective. His Stamina was almost depleted.

He had to rest for half an hour before he could start trimming the branches and the crown. This was also a crucial step. Without trimming them into Logs, they couldn't be counted towards the Main Quest's harvest.

This was also strenuous.

Even though Li Wei was very healthy now and ate well, he couldn't chop another tree before noon.

By the time the pruning was finished, it was already noon.

Afterward, he led the old cow and dragged the log, which was over ten meters long, back. Unexpectedly, the task progress in his status panel had changed.

It became 1/3. So, one large tree like this was equivalent to ten small trees from before?

"So, what's the standard for this one unit? Is it one cubic meter?"

Li Wei pondered. Then, other types of harvests should also have their own standards.

For example, the five units of dried vegetables Phila donated last time definitely couldn't be settled by cubic meters.

And the prey he was going to hunt next required two units. It was impossible that he had to get two cubic meters of meat; that would be too much.

Back at the camp, Phila had already prepared lunch, and even Penny could walk out and stroll around carefully.

"George, you actually chopped down an oak tree! Can you split it into firewood? I want to burn some charcoal."

Penny said weakly, leaning against the wall.

Oak? Charcoal?

Li Wei turned back in surprise and looked at the log he had dragged back. He couldn't identify the tree species at all. No wonder chopping the tree this morning was so strenuous.

"Are we burning charcoal now? Your body hasn't recovered yet."

"My foolish brother, after splitting it into firewood, it still needs to be dried for a while. Our Blacksmith Shop cannot be without charcoal." Penny spoke with a bit of a translated accent, but Li Wei could understand her meaning. She was subtly telling him the prerequisite for building the Blacksmith Shop.

Li Wei didn't dwell on these things. In fact, if Sam hadn't died before, and if Phila hadn't become the Head of the Family and set a different development path, Penny's Blacksmith Shop would likely have already been on the agenda.