Today, Jiang Lai’s luck was just about passable—she managed to fish up a bronze treasure chest and a wooden box.
The bronze chest yielded a basic water purifier and six bottles of mineral water.
The wooden box contained a down jacket and a pair of cotton shoes.
This time, Jiang Lai actually felt that the items from the wooden box suited her needs even better than those from the bronze chest.
She immediately put on the down jacket and slipped into the cotton shoes.
Instantly, she felt much warmer.
Although both the clothes and shoes were a size larger than what she usually wore, they were actually more comfortable and cozy that way.
Jiang Lai stroked the silvery-gray down jacket, her eyes crinkling with a smile.
She carefully stored away the six bottles of mineral water.
With these, she now had nine bottles of water in total.
Except for the very first bottle she opened to drink, Jiang Lai had been relying on the water purifier for her daily needs.
As for this duplicate water purifier…
She didn’t hesitate to swap out her old, antique one for the new model.
The old one had worked fine and never malfunctioned, but it was second-hand—who knew how many years it had been buried under the sea? It couldn’t compare to the fresh-out-of-the-box one!
By the fourth day of the game, a few people had already managed to get water purifiers.
But since converting seawater was an absolute necessity, no one was willing to trade theirs away.
Everyone knew that without water, you’d die of thirst.
So water purifiers remained extremely valuable.
Not wanting to let good things go to outsiders, Jiang Lai posted about her extra purifier in the small group chat she shared with Qi Jingxing and Chang Fa.
“Qi Jingxing, want to trade for a second-hand water purifier?”
Chang Fa had been the first to get a purifier, so Jiang Lai only asked Qi Jingxing.
“I’d like to, but I’m just starting my business and strapped for resources,” Qi Jingxing replied, now familiar enough with Jiang Lai to be direct.
“Go ahead and trade it to someone else. I’m not short on water for now, and I figure I’ll be able to get one later.”
Jiang Lai thought he had a point.
Water purifiers were becoming more common and less valuable.
Since he didn’t need it right now, she might as well trade it to someone who did.
“Don’t sell it! Save it for me!” Chang Fa had been watching the chat closely.
He’d kept quiet, thinking Qi Jingxing would take it, but now that he wasn’t interested, Chang Fa jumped in.
“Chang Fa, don’t you already have a purifier? Are you trying to do business with me now?” Jiang Lai asked suspiciously.
Chang Fa was a business whiz—she wouldn’t put it past him to buy from her and resell at a markup.
But honestly, if the price was right, she didn’t mind.
After all, being able to sell high was a skill in itself.
“Come on, Jiang-jie, what kind of person do you think I am? Would I make money off a friend?” Chang Fa protested.
“I’m buying it for a friend.”
“I’ve got a workbench upgrade blueprint—just got it today, still warm. Want to trade?”
Chang Fa made his offer.
If the blueprint didn’t require an existing workbench to use, he wouldn’t have traded it. Besides, giving the purifier to Yinyin would definitely make her happy…
Just thinking about it made Chang Fa giddy.
Jiang Lai definitely needed the workbench upgrade blueprint.
They struck a deal right away.
Jiang Lai was a little curious about the friend who could get Chang Fa to part with such a valuable item, but she decided not to pry.
In her mind, she wasn’t close enough with Qi Jingxing and Chang Fa to ask about everything.
Upgrading the workbench required 10 bronze and 50 wood.
Jiang Lai didn’t hesitate—she upgraded immediately.
[Intermediate Workbench: Can craft household items, weapons, and some special items.
Please explore specific functions yourself.]
Jiang Lai dove right in, eager to experiment.
If the basic workbench could only recognize simple commands when drawing up blueprints, the intermediate one was much smarter and produced more refined items.
She casually made a few little gadgets, and the finished products were even better than what she’d designed.
The workbench even filled in details she hadn’t thought of herself.
As a science major, Jiang Lai was completely smitten with the workbench.
If she hadn’t run out of materials after the upgrade, she would have kept going non-stop.
Thankfully, poverty reined her in and helped her calm down.
That afternoon, good news arrived in the group chat.
Qi Jingxing and Chang Fa had made a decent batch of torches—they could start selling their first batch!
Chang Fa was in charge of sales, with Jiang Lai and Qi Jingxing assisting.
For their first online sales venture, Chang Fa took things very seriously.
After listing the torches on the trading platform, he and Qi Jingxing posted announcements in the public chat.
Jiang Lai was going to help advertise too, but Chang Fa stopped her.
According to him, the three of them shouldn’t all reveal themselves at once. Someone had to stay in the shadows and keep an eye on things.
Jiang Lai suspected it was because she attracted too much attention and might hurt their sales, so Chang Fa didn’t want her speaking up.
But she didn’t mind—she wasn’t doing the work, so she’d follow their arrangements.
They’d set the torch price together, though mainly it was Chang Fa and Qi Jingxing’s decision.
“Twenty upgrade materials for one torch? Wood and iron nails both count?”
“Yep, twenty in total, any combination of wood and nails.”
“Twenty’s too expensive—I want to save my stuff for upgrades.”
“Honest business, folks! Torches have costs, and you can put them in your backpack anytime without wasting burn time.
They keep you warm and light up the night—your best buddy after dark! Limited supply, buy now or miss out! DM if interested!”
Chang Fa answered the important questions.
Torches did have costs—even ignoring the rare but reproducible firestarter.
Each torch required a piece of wood, a quarter of a newbie linen outfit, and a bit of oil.
And, of course, skill.
Qi Jingxing’s experience was what made this business possible.
Even if others tried, their torches wouldn’t burn half as long as his.
That was one of the main reasons Chang Fa was optimistic about this venture.
This time, Qi Jingxing and Chang Fa used up all their materials and made 300 torches.
There were still over 8,000 players alive in the game. Even after subtracting those who were too poor or had grudges against them, 300 torches would definitely sell out.
Sure enough, dozens sold quickly on the trading platform.
Clearly, everyone understood the importance of fire.
Fulfilling orders was easy: just light the finished torch in a brazier, then trade it over.
(End of chapter)”
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