Chapter 9: Making a Trade

The two of them completed the trade swiftly and decisively. Very soon, Jiang Lai received the mattress and pillow.

The light yellow floral fabric was stuffed with fluffy cotton, showing not a single sign of use.

The pillow was in the same color scheme, soft and plush. Just hugging it made Jiang Lai feel happy.

The quality of the mattress and pillow she got in exchange far exceeded Jiang Lai’s expectations.

She spread the mattress on her bed and placed the pillow, and just like that, she had a warm and comfortable bed.

“May I ask, are you one of Li Haibo’s people, or did you get the workbench yourself?”

After the trade, Jiang Lai received another message from Qi Jingxing.

Li Haibo?
Jiang Lai thought the name sounded familiar, like she’d seen it somewhere before…

Wasn’t he the one who had shown off getting a workbench in the chat channel earlier?

“I got the workbench myself. What do you mean by ‘Li Haibo’s people’?”

“As far as I know, besides you, there’s only one other person in the game who’s gotten a workbench, and that’s Li Haibo.

But he doesn’t trade the tools he makes with outsiders. Instead, he’s used them to form his own little group.

Only those who follow him have the right to trade for the tools he makes.”

Qi Jingxing explained to Jiang Lai.

“Forming a group on just the second day of the game?”

Jiang Lai was a bit surprised.

It seemed that among so many players, there were quite a few who were quick-witted and shrewd.

“Can I ask, why are you buying up all those clothes?”

Since Qi Jingxing had asked her a question, Jiang Lai didn’t hold back and asked what was on her mind.

There was a brief silence before a reply came.

“I got oil and want to see if I can make a torch. The axe is for chopping wood.”

Qi Jingxing answered honestly.

A torch…

In cold weather, having fire would indeed be an important way to keep warm.

“You gave me your bedding—do you have any other warm items?”

Such a good mattress, and he was willing to part with it. Jiang Lai couldn’t help but ask.

“No, that was my last one. But I believe I’ll be able to upgrade before the extreme cold hits.

As long as I upgrade to a level two residence, I’ll definitely survive the cold.”

Jiang Lai had to admit, Qi Jingxing’s thinking was quite clear.

He knew exactly what he wanted to do and what he needed.

People like that should be able to survive to the end, Jiang Lai thought to herself.

She closed the private chat and scrolled through the public chat channel.

She really didn’t pay much attention to the chat channel. If Qi Jingxing hadn’t mentioned it today, she wouldn’t have known about Li Haibo.

It didn’t take long before Jiang Lai saw Li Haibo’s messages.

But the more she read, the more she frowned.

Li Haibo was arrogant in both his actions and words.

When he showed off his workbench blueprint, Jiang Lai hadn’t thought much of it—just that he was lucky.

But when he said that only those who became his underlings could trade for his weapons, Jiang Lai felt a vague discomfort.

Li Haibo made those who traded with him call him “Big Brother,” and insisted that any good items they found had to be shown to him first.

Only after their weapons wore out would he trade with them again.

With his followers, Li Haibo spoke even more recklessly in the chat channel.

Anyone who didn’t go along with him would be ganged up on and cursed at by him and his group.

Each person only had ten messages per day.
One person obviously couldn’t out-argue a group.

To avoid trouble, most people didn’t dare speak out against Li Haibo, even if they were angry.

Of course, it wasn’t just fear of being cursed at—many probably thought they might need weapons from Li Haibo in the future.

Getting a workbench had gone to his head, and he was acting like a local tyrant. Jiang Lai found this quite contemptible.

But contempt aside, at least for now, she had no conflict of interest with him, so there was no need to waste time.

The most important thing was to upgrade as much as possible, enrich her supplies, and increase her chances of survival.

Soon, Jiang Lai’s kitchen knife was traded away as well.

It was Chang Fa, the “lucky emperor,” who took it.

He paid with thirty pieces of wood and twenty nails.

Jiang Lai immediately understood.

It seemed Chang Fa had also upgraded to a level two residence.

Only those who had upgraded would be willing to trade away wood and nails.

No wonder Chang Fa was the first to get a water purifier—he really was lucky.

It seemed she wasn’t the only lucky one in this game.

Everyone was quietly upgrading, quietly accumulating supplies and strength.

Stock up on grain, and only then claim the throne.

Jiang Lai suddenly thought of this saying.

If you start acting like a king before you’ve stored enough supplies, reality will teach you a lesson.

After finishing her trades, Jiang Lai quietly put another axe and kitchen knife up for trade.

This time, in addition to the previous items, she added two more: food and soil.

Qi Jingxing’s words had given her some inspiration.

If fire was needed, a brazier would be much more practical than a torch.

Although it was a bit more complicated to make, with a workbench, as long as she could trade for soil, she could make a brazier.

Besides, she still had sweet potatoes and potatoes in her backpack, and those couldn’t be eaten raw—she’d need fire.

After listing her items, Jiang Lai turned off the screen.

It was almost dark, and she still had one more thing to do.

Jiang Lai picked up the plastic sheets she’d left on the ground, grabbed her axe, and climbed onto the roof using the workbench as a step.

The roof was made of wood, and its windproof and insulating properties were just average.

With the extreme cold coming, there could be all kinds of bad weather—wind, rain, snow, even hail.

She happened to have five plastic sheets, which were perfect for waterproofing and insulating the house.

The cabin wasn’t very tall, and since the roof was sloped, Jiang Lai crouched down carefully once she got up there.

She used two plastic sheets to cover the roof, then nailed the edges down with her axe and some nails.

After finishing the roof, she nailed the other three plastic sheets to the three walls of the cabin that didn’t have a door.

Because the sheets weren’t big enough, it was impossible to wrap the whole cabin.

But they could still block some wind and rain and help keep the little house warm.

Jiang Lai stood at the door, looking at her crooked, ugly little house, and felt satisfied.

Ugly is fine—she had to make do with what she had.

Before she could finish admiring her ugly house, the sky quickly darkened.

Thick clouds blocked out the sun, and big raindrops suddenly started pelting the sea.

Jiang Lai dashed into her little house.

No way was she going to get her only set of clothes soaked—she didn’t want to get her yellow newbie outfit wet.