After lunch, Li Wei rested for a short while. Then, with Penny's occasional guidance, he set about splitting the oak tree into firewood. Without a saw, it was a complete nightmare.
But he had no other choice. If they wanted to add more tools to the household or upgrade the ones they had, they had to go through a difficult, primitive accumulation process.
Especially since he was currently taking his turn as head of the household. He couldn't even slack off if he wanted to.
For the next two days, Li Wei wrestled with that oak tree. He nearly worked himself sick before finally managing to split the whole thing into firewood and toss it aside to dry. But he received no notification. Apparently, the firewood was related to building the Blacksmith Shop, and he might not get credit until construction reached a certain point or was completed.
Aside from that, Li Wei also gained 20 Logging Experience from the single log. Added to the 10 he'd gotten before, that meant he'd earned a total of 30 Logging Experience over three days. What a terrible deal.
At this stage, since Phila had donated all the food to the household, they didn't have to pay for their three daily meals. He could keep the Logging Experience and any other profession experience he earned.
"Maybe I can change classes and become a logger. Turn into Bald Strong?"
"But it seems pretty difficult—or maybe it's not even possible. Penny spent more than ten days cutting down trees to build the fence, but she didn't seem to trigger anything."
After dinner, despite the aches all over his body, Li Wei habitually sat by the bonfire and whittled wooden arrows. These days, he had to make ten arrows and shoot ten times each day. He wasn't just going through the motions and calling it a day after shooting them all. He was learning.
He studied his posture while shooting, the positions of his arms, legs, and feet, how he used his waist to generate force, the subtle technique of drawing the bowstring, and the process of nocking an arrow.
All of it required him to develop a series of muscle responses.
Most importantly, without a teacher to guide him, he had to figure things out and make his own judgments, relying on his own instincts to shoot.
It was something that would take a long time. What mattered was sticking with it.
The night passed without incident. At daybreak, after breakfast, Li Wei set off alone to look for a second oak tree in the forest across the stream. His state of mind had become much less conflicted. He just needed to buckle down and work. Even if Phila took the head-of-household position from him again next month, so what? He wasn't a newcomer anymore.
Sufficient Family Contribution Points could keep him from being eliminated by a Plot Kill, and his Hunter profession could already guarantee he had enough to eat. Overall, the little household formed by him, Penny, and Phila had temporarily gotten onto the right track.
A hunter and farmer like Li Wei was indispensable.
Phila, as a cook and gatherer, was just as indispensable.
Penny, the craftswoman, was no different.
At this stage, the competition and conflict among the three of them had actually eased.
Perhaps they would only become more pronounced in the next phase.
Over the next six days, Li Wei brought back two more oak trees and split them all into firewood. This completed the main quest's objective of felling three units of logs. He earned a total of 90 Logging Experience, bringing his total to 105, but for some reason, he didn't trigger a one-star Logging Card.
During this time, Penny's injuries gradually healed, and she started doing some light work to improve the stove they had built earlier.
She also occasionally went out for a stroll. Even Phila stopped causing trouble, and things were quite harmonious.
"George, let's make charcoal tomorrow. My injuries are pretty much healed," Penny said suddenly after dinner.
"Sure!"
Li Wei readily agreed. Building the Blacksmith Shop was also a main quest, though ten days had already passed, and Phila was nearly done with her main quest.
At dawn the next day, Li Wei got up and, under Penny's direction, worked like a beast of burden. Making charcoal was a skilled job, and it wasn't easy work either.
All day long, Penny sent Li Wei running from one task to another. He was a sorry sight, looking every bit the charcoal burner, his face smeared with soot and streaked with sweat.
After dinner, he felt as if he'd been completely drained.
Even so, after resting for a while, he still got up, whittled ten wooden arrows, and diligently completed his daily ten shots in the dim light of the bonfire.
Sometimes, he couldn't rely on everything being handed to him by profession cards.
If only he had them, they could be considered a cheat. But if every player had them, then what mattered was intelligence and perseverance.
Otherwise, what gave him the right to think he could outdo everyone else?
For the next few days, Li Wei kept making charcoal.
Once he had basically mastered the process and gained a general understanding of how to make charcoal, Penny stopped directing him. The very next day, she went out to explore and returned empty-handed that evening, apparently searching for Iron Ore.
As for Phila, she successfully completed the main quest assigned by the head of the household. That meant she would have seventeen days to develop and act freely.
Judging by the current situation, there was little doubt that Phila would become head of the household again next month.
After all, if she wanted to compete, her total Family Contribution Points could exceed fifty by then.
That was a score Li Wei had no chance of matching.
Penny brought back a few chunks of Iron Ore every day, and after several days, she had gathered quite a pile. Surprisingly, these counted toward Li Wei's main quest too. Perhaps it was because he was supposed to work with Penny to build the Blacksmith Shop, so the system had treated them as a temporary team.
In addition, Penny spent her evenings making clay molds, which she left in the room to dry.
Another seven or eight days passed. Everything was ready. As they ate dinner, Penny suddenly spoke.
"George, your charcoal is good. You've worked hard these past few days. With the charcoal and this Iron Ore, I'm confident I can smelt a batch of Molten Iron tomorrow. But we don't have much Iron Ore, and I don't know how much iron it contains. To be safe, we may need to smelt a few iron tools to make up the difference. Mom, George, what do you think?"
Li Wei was wary when he heard that. He didn't know much about this, but he knew Penny wouldn't bring it up without a reason.
"I don't agree. These tools were left behind by your father. They were bought from the Blacksmith Shop in town, and they're all good quality, both in their materials and their workmanship. Penny, I understand that you want to become a blacksmith, but you can't ignore the risks. In another month, the Wheat Field will be ready for harvest, and those damn birds and beasts will come day and night to steal our crops."
"We need to spend more time and effort protecting the farmland, not get so caught up in your plan. Look at your brother—he's worked like a dog helping you all this time. Poor George. And there isn't much food left in the house, especially meat. Without enough meat, we can't sustain such heavy labor."
"He should be hunting, not helping you make charcoal!"
Phila made her position clear without hesitation. She was against it.
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