Open-Pit Iron Mine

Next, Li Wei carried the Sika Deer back to camp. Just as expected, Phila was already waiting there, gazing at him fondly and praising him nonstop. This was a huge boon for her, too.

If it weren't, she wouldn't have insisted on making hunting and gathering the focus of the family's development back when she was its head. They were extremely beneficial to her careers as a chef and a butcher.

It was a win-win.

"George, my good boy, Mommy loves you. Don't overwork yourself chopping trees. Here, have some Honey Water first."

Phila was delighted. If Li Wei could hunt a few one-star-quality game animals every month, that would be wonderful for her.

Unfortunately, this time she could only focus on skinning and tanning. Her Chef Card couldn't turn the venison into a One-star Dish; at best, she could use it to make Mushroom Meat Soup.

There were too many conditions that weren't met. It wasn't as simple as coming up with a Stir-fried Venison recipe and donating it to the family. The family's equipment and supplies had to meet the standards for making the dish regularly and in large quantities.

They needed enough seasonings, enough fat, and so on.

The family was nearly out of salt. Even if they had the 108 recipes of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, they'd be useless.

Li Wei, however, was quite calm. He knew perfectly well that hunting a deer was just a lucky break, and luck like that was hard to come by.

This month, he had to chop five units of oak—at least five trees—and then split the logs. Even with a steel axe, it would take at least ten days.

If only they had a Steel Saw.

Still, the Steel Axe was pretty good. Li Wei swung it with a whistle. His technique, experience, stamina, and strength were all decent. He could fell a tree, trim its branches, then bring Old Ox over to drag the log back in about an hour. After that, it just needed to be split.

The whole process used to take him three days. Back then, his axe wasn't up to the task, and all his strength went to waste.

Now that he had this sharp Steel Axe, two days would be enough.

When he led the ox back with an oak log in tow, he saw Penny and the others preparing to forge a second Steel Axe to make repairs and sharpening easier.

"Why not make a Steel Saw?" Li Wei asked.

"For now, it'd be a bit difficult. Maybe next month." Penny shook her head. Her gray hair made her look even older, and her slightly furrowed brow showed just how much pressure she was under.

Li Wei didn't understand, so he kept quiet. If you didn't know what you were talking about, you had no business weighing in.

Still, he could guess that Penny and the others—or mainly Penny and Mixi—planned to make some weapons and armor, along with steel tools they could trade.

Trade was the most important Main Quest this month.

If anything went wrong, not only would Penny, as head of the family, be in trouble, but the whole family might suffer a devastating blow.

For a moment, Li Wei felt a little worried. After all, when the nest was destroyed, no egg could remain unbroken.

Unfortunately, there really was no salt mine to be found in the nearby woods.

In the days that followed, the family's routine revolved around hard work and exhaustion.

Li Wei chopped oak at a rate of one unit every two days, splitting firewood as he went. He also took two days out to plant Winter Wheat.

While gathering, Phila managed to bring back a few fish every day. Besides that, she seemed to be trying to make wine from Wild Fruit. It was autumn, after all, and the mountains were bursting with fruit. After drying some of it, making fruit wine seemed like a good idea.

All in all, this would be her most productive month yet.

As for Penny's group of three, after several days of clanging and hammering, they forged two Steel Axes, one Steel Shovel, two Pickaxes, and two Steel Daggers.

Then Lyon took charge of the Small Blast Furnace, while Penny and Mixi went to mine Iron Ore.

Everyone was busy running around nonstop.

Eleven days later, Li Wei finished chopping and splitting five units of oak. Once the firewood had dried, it could be burned into charcoal. But as agreed, he wouldn't handle that part; Lyon would take care of the charcoal-burning.

After that, Li Wei would go with Penny and Mixi to mine and transport Iron Ore.

It was worth mentioning that over the past few days, he'd gained 150 Logging Experience, 50 Farming Experience, and 110 Hunting Experience. His total experience in each had reached 450, 360, and 310 points respectively.

As for the cost of his meals, that was no longer an issue. Once there was a head of the family and a Main Quest, even newcomers didn't have to pay.

Unfortunately,

he still hadn't triggered a one-star Logging Card. There was nothing he could do to force it, but at least the experience he'd gained was real and substantial. Farming Experience and Hunting Experience in particular were important requirements for upgrading to a Three-star Farmer Card and a three-star Hunter Card.

"George, we're going mining. You don't need to bring a Bow and Arrow, do you?"

On the twelfth day of the month, after breakfast, Penny and Mixi got ready. Li Wei packed what he needed to bring: a Steel Pickaxe, an iron spear, a Wooden Spear, a Steel Dagger, a basket for carrying ore, a Hunting Bow, five Feathered Arrows, some Dry Rations, and a flask of water.

"It's fine. Better safe than sorry. If we come across any game, we can improve our meals."

Li Wei smiled. All those supplies did make for a heavy load, while Penny and Mixi traveled much lighter, carrying only daggers, iron spears, baskets, and Dry Rations.

They'd left their Pickaxes at the mine, buried there.

Penny didn't try to talk him out of it again. She led the way, with Mixi in the middle and Li Wei at the rear. The three of them left camp and followed the Mountain Stream upstream toward the valley. Penny had made the trip many times before, and had even worn a path into a small trail.

Thinking of Penny's routine last month—getting up before dawn to mine and haul ore back and forth—Li Wei couldn't help admiring her. She was tough.

"Why not use the stream to transport the ore? Making a Wooden Raft shouldn't be hard."

Li Wei asked casually. He didn't think Penny and Mixi could have overlooked the idea.

"The water's too shallow, and there are too many rocks in the Riverbed. We'd have to clear them out, which would take too long. But when we have more time, we can Build Dam downstream from camp to raise the water level. We could also make a Waterwheel. It'd be much better than hammering by hand, whether for Grind Flour or Forge Iron. In the future, we could even use the dam to cultivate the land to the east and build a castle."

Penny spoke with shining eyes and complete confidence. She wasn't just making grand plans; she was certain she'd keep being re-elected head of the family. She was saying this for Li Wei and Mixi's benefit, too.

Unless something unexpected happened, no one would be able to stop Penny from staying far ahead. She'd keep being re-elected head of the family. From her perspective, it was best to avoid pointless competition within the family—and to put a stop to any more ridiculous Plot Kills. As long as everyone was willing to support her, she'd give them a fair share of the benefits in return.

After all, there was plenty of room for everyone to make their mark.

Take Mixi and Lyon, for example. Penny had brought them together with her Small Blast Furnace, Primitive Steelmaking, and the prospect of future trade with outsiders.

Only shared interests could put an end to competition.

In fact, Li Wei wouldn't turn down a situation like that, either. He was still waiting for Penny to make him a Recurve Bow—or even a Compound Bow.