Chapter 69: Selling You Off

“Is there really something that magical?” Meifang and Hualan were both stunned as they stared intently at the dagger in his hand.

Wow, this dagger was so shiny it was almost blinding—looked even scarier than the big cleaver at her house.

“Yeah, it’s just that magical,” Ge Miao nodded proudly.

“Amos also said that the little monsters in Earth Village work like this: outsiders like us can’t get anything from killing them, but only people from Earth Village can make them drop treasure chests. The chests might have weapons, meat, clothes, or other stuff—it’s all luck. I heard Brother-in-law Luke tell Dad about this before, but this time I saw it with my own eyes.”

He sighed with emotion. “Earth Village really is a magical place!”

He could hardly wait to go see it for himself.

The tall, lanky Cook and his son Hawei, who had followed him back, were also nodding excitedly—they’d seen it too. The chicken leg that came out of that box looked so juicy and tender. With Cook’s years of experience handling meat, he could tell that was top-quality stuff.

Cook was full of admiration. The elders were right: there’s always someone better out there.

He used to think the meat he produced with his ability was the best on this exile planet, but now… sigh, he had to admit defeat!

Meifang had no idea what her husband was thinking. She was so excited she slapped her thigh and declared, “Let’s go, we’re all going to Earth Village! Cook, you’ve got great skills—come with me and apply for a job. As for Hawei…”

She looked at her tall, strong, handsome son, his thick eyebrows and striking features making her swell with pride.

“Hawei can’t do delicate work, so Mom will sign you up for the tour group. We can afford three energy coins.”

“Hehe, thanks, Mom!” Hawei’s honey-colored cheeks flushed with excitement, and he grinned sheepishly.

“Alright, alright, your dad and I have things to do. Go play with Miao Miao,” Meifang waved him off, then immediately pulled her husband aside to chatter.

“Cook, aren’t you good at cutting leaves? Come help us figure out what to make. Chief Yun said she’ll pick the ten best paper-cutters. You have to teach me and Hualan—we can’t lose out!”

“Alright, let me see,” Cook said cheerfully, letting his wife drag him over without complaint. He put down the wooden box he was carrying and leaned in to take a look.

Truth be told, he really was good at this. Meifang wasn’t exaggerating. Because of his meat-producing ability, Cook hadn’t joined the hunting team, but had become a craftsman in the tribe instead—fixing broken chairs, doors, or toys scavenged from the trash. In his spare time, he liked to pick up scrap paper or big leaves to practice cutting, just for fun.

He glanced at the square piece of paper in Meifang’s hand and immediately had an idea. “I can cut a shepherd boy playing the flute while riding a cow.”

Meifang was delighted and handed him the scissors and paper. “Go ahead, you do it first—show me and Hualan, then teach us.”

Cook didn’t refuse. He wiped his hands on his clothes, took the scissors and paper, and got to work.

Snip, snip, snip…

He seemed to know exactly what angle, what lines, and what length to cut. In just a few swift moves—so fast the onlookers couldn’t even follow—he was done.

When he unfolded it, wow! Sure enough, it was a shepherd boy playing the flute on a cow. The little boy’s chubby face and big eyes were so vivid, the smile on his bun-like face practically came to life.

Meifang burst out laughing on the spot. “Amazing! Cook did it!”

Hualan was surprised too, then broke into a smile.

Looks like Meifang wasn’t lying when she said Cook often cut pretty leaves to cheer her up.

Seeing the envy in the eyes of the young wives, girls, and aunties around her, Meifang puffed out her chest with pride. Didn’t she say her Cook could do paper-cutting?

She quickly pulled her husband over. “Come on, teach me and Hualan! Chief Yun only gave us half an hour.”

“Alright, alright,” Cook replied cheerfully, starting to teach his wife. The people who had seen his paper-cutting skills were reluctant to leave, thick-skinned enough to stick around and learn by watching. Meifang tried to shoo them away a few times but failed, so she could only grit her teeth and work even harder—she was determined to outdo these shameless little rascals.

As the crash-course paper-cutting class grew larger, Ahua watched anxiously, sneaking glances at the people beside her. “Doesn’t this count as cheating?”

Yun Qimu watched with a big grin. “Nope. If they can learn this quickly and cut something decent, it just proves they’re talented and skillful. That’s even better.”

She was looking for naturally dexterous people anyway. Even if she picked the wrong ones, it didn’t matter—this trip was all about recruiting.

Ge Miao’s enthusiastic pitch had made Earth Village’s wonders real for everyone. The whole tribe was getting restless.

It showed in the tour group sign-up sheet—once empty, now filling up with names.

Anyone with a bit of food or spare energy coins was signing up.

After seeing his son’s dagger, Chief Masa was so excited he wanted to sign up too.

But in the end, he held back. As the tribal chief, as long as the tribe hadn’t moved, he had to stay and watch over it.

Such was the helplessness of being a chief. Sigh!

He sighed, then looked at Yun Qimu, who was heading outside, and hurried over with a sincere expression. “Chief Yun, where are you going? If you need anything, just let my boy run errands for you.”

Yun Qimu saw the gleam in his eyes and knew this old fox was worried she’d go recruit people from other tribes and steal their spots.

She smiled, her delicate face shining even brighter. “Then I’ll trouble your young chief. I want to go see the place where the Earth Village monsters were found.”

“Oh,” Masa was relieved and quickly called to his son, who was clutching the dagger like a treasure. “Go on, show Chief Yun the way.”

“Okay, sure!” Ge Miao’s face flushed red as he grinned. “Chief Yun, follow me—it’s just outside the tribe. Amos should still be there.”

“Alright,” Yun Qimu followed with a gentle smile, but inside she was cursing the main AI for being such a sly dog.

No wonder there were so few monsters in Earth Village and people had to fight over them. Turns out, they’d all been sent outside.

What a clever scheme: outsiders kill the monsters and get no rewards, and all the energy returns to the AI. It was freeloading at its finest. She almost wanted to praise it—“You really are a crafty little fox!”"