Chapter 25: The Sunny Plateau

After finishing the kimchi and dinner, Chujiu began to map out the route to the Sunny Plateau.

Thanks to Little Canned jumping onto the bamboo grove last time, he had glimpsed the edge of the Sunny Plateau. As long as he followed the previous path, he could reach the plateau and unlock the new map area. Once there, he could use the "Treasure Hunter’s Target" to locate what he was looking for.

Chujiu took out a wooden board and charcoal, roughly sketching the map from the system panel and estimating the round-trip time.

"Hmm... it might take about 40 days to return."

Forty days. Such a long time made food supplies a concern.

Chujiu wasn't worried about his own rations. Not only did his backpack have infinite space, but if he ran low, he could always prepare fresh food while camping at night. He was, however, worried about the two little ones, Roar-Roar Rabbit and Gulu-Gulu. Unlike Little Canned, who was determined to join him on adventures, Roar-Roar Rabbit preferred to stay and look after the fields, while Gulu-Gulu wanted to spend every day tinkering with the cabin and the waterwheel. He couldn't force them to come along against their wishes.

He couldn't take them, yet he had to ensure they had enough to eat.

Roar-Roar Rabbit was manageable. Dried chicken, pork jerky, and lamb slices had a long shelf life; as long as he prepared enough in advance, the carnivorous little rabbit wouldn't go hungry. But Gulu-Gulu, the little one who loved fruit juice, was a bit more troublesome.

Chujiu tried calling them over. "Roar-Roar Rabbit, Gulu-Gulu, can you peel this orange?"

He had given them grapes before, but the two had ended up crushing them into a messy pulp, unable to extract the juice. This time, he decided to try an orange. If they could learn to peel and juice it themselves, Gulu-Gulu’s rations would be secured.

He handed them a [Small Orange with a Thick, Thorny Rind].

Gulu-Gulu extended its tiny arms, transforming them into slender, fibrous tentacles that wrapped around the orange. Chujiu had seen the terrifying power of these tentacles before; Gulu-Gulu could split logs or bamboo effortlessly. Yet, these invincible tentacles proved useless against the orange peel. They wrapped, squeezed, and pressed, but the peel remained unchanged.

Chujiu handed over a small knife. Gulu-Gulu curled its tentacles around the blade and began to saw at the peel like a lumberjack.

*Clang!*

After a few attempts, the knife bounced away. Gulu-Gulu stared at the fallen blade, its mouth pouting. It tried hard to hold back, but finally burst into soft, whimpering sobs. Chujiu quickly scooped the little one up, stroking the leaf on its head and whispering that it was okay and they would find another way.

Seeing this, Roar-Roar Rabbit patted its chest. "Roar, roar, let me!"

"I can definitely crack this orange! Watch my sharp-tooth attack!"

The rabbit clutched the hard orange with its white paws, opened its three-lobed mouth, and took a massive, determined bite.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... five seconds passed, and there wasn't even a crack on the rind. Instead, Roar-Roar Rabbit started shivering, its white fur trembling. It dropped the orange, its ears drooping, and looked at Chujiu with teary red eyes. "My... my teeth hurt, roar, roar..."

Helpless, Chujiu picked up the rabbit too, gently rubbing its back. "Don't cry, don't cry. We'll find another way."

It seemed counting on them to juice fruit themselves was a lost cause. He would have to do something else.

***

Chujiu sat under a candle, flipping through his *Guide to Settler Cabin Maintenance*. The system had noted that this guide would expand as he leveled up. Initially just a ten-page pamphlet that looked like a brochure for a wilderness day trip, it was now thirty pages thick—thanks to his Explorer Level reaching 5—and even included a table of contents, looking more like a manual.

He found the new chapter: "Food Preservation."

[Food Preservation: At this stage, you have likely moved past the crisis of severe food shortages and lack of variety. Perhaps you have your own fields or have mastered hunting and gathering. Now, you face a new problem: what to do if you have a temporary surplus or need to stockpile food for potential bad weather? We recommend a facility suited to your level: A Small Underground Cold Storage. You only need 10 blocks of ice, 30 bundles of hay, and 100 pieces of wood to build it near your cabin. Read the instructions to unlock the recipe.]

Chujiu hadn't built the cold storage immediately because it required "ice blocks." If it were winter, he could collect ice from the frozen river. But it was currently autumn. Where could he get ice?

He frowned, scanning his backpack and mentally combining materials. Finally, his gaze landed on a white crystal: "Niter," which he had picked up while digging for gypsum. He had thought it might be useful for explosives or fertilizer, but then he remembered his middle school chemistry lessons.

"Niter, primarily potassium nitrate."

"Around 1,500 years ago, ancient Chinese people discovered that potassium nitrate was easily soluble in water and caused an endothermic reaction, leading to freezing. They used this to create ice..."

Chujiu's eyes widened. Yes! Potassium nitrate refrigeration! He jumped off his stool, cheering, "Ice! We'll start making our own ice tomorrow!"

***

Grind the niter into a fine powder, add enough water, and stir continuously to mix thoroughly. During the process, some water began to freeze. Keep stirring to turn the ice crystals into a uniform slush. Finally, place the container in a cool, ventilated place, and you will get solid blocks of ice!

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the "Homemade Ice" recipe!]

"Roar! So this is ice? It looks so cold, roar, roar!"

"This, um, it's transparent. How pretty..."

Roar-Roar Rabbit and Gulu-Gulu circled the newly created ice, one twitching its ears, the other widening its eyes. Finally, they both looked at Chujiu. "Um, can we touch it?"

Curiosity was probably a trait of all young creatures, even spirit beasts. Chujiu waved his hand. "Go ahead, but be careful, it's very cold."

The two eagerly pressed their paws and tentacles against the ice. "Wow! It's really cold!" they exclaimed in unison.

Chujiu smiled. "That's ice for you." He tapped his chest pocket. "Little Canned, it's ice. Do you want to touch it? We’re going to use it for building materials soon."

Little Canned let out a "meow," acting uninterested. But ever since the ice was made, its ice-blue eyes had been fixed on the surface. Its round little cat face clearly shouted, *I really want to touch it, just once...*

Chujiu pretended not to notice, placing Little Canned on the cat tree. He went outside with the other two to discuss where to build the cold storage and what food to set aside for the month-long reserve. As he spoke, he glanced through the window—

*Ha!*

Little Canned was climbing onto the ice block and sliding down, using it as a slide! Chujiu suppressed a laugh and, pretending he hadn't seen a thing, turned his gaze away.

***

It didn't take long to produce ten blocks of ice. With materials ready, he unlocked the [Underground Cold Storage] recipe and directed Gulu-Gulu to build it.

By the end of the afternoon, a wooden-door-covered tunnel had appeared in the fenced yard. At the end of the tunnel was a neat, square "cold storage room." On the wooden shelves sat rows of orange juice, grape juice, and pomelo juice, alongside pre-made roasted meats and marinated dishes.

With the cold storage, Gulu-Gulu’s rations were secured, and Roar-Roar Rabbit could eat more than just dried meat! Now, he wouldn't have to worry about them going hungry while he was away collecting cotton.

Chujiu emerged from the basement and stretched contentedly under the setting sun.

***

In the Emerald Town residential district, in a simple two-story building:

A gaunt, middle-aged man sat hunched over a round table, his face buried in his arms, his body shaking from violent coughing. On the table sat honey water and wine, prescribed by a physician.

He tried his best to stifle the sound of his coughs, but the sight of his trembling shoulder blades made the little girl peeking from the next room cry. She wanted to go inside, but a woman in an apron held her back, whispering through tears, "Sweetheart, let Daddy have some time to himself, okay?"