Chapter 61: New Year Fair

Upon leaving Douglas's house, Chu Jiu ran into these unfamiliar faces—all of them tall, well-built, and courteous men.

Chu Jiu knew these were the "affordable and reliable craftsmen" Douglas had managed to find.

According to the plan just discussed with Douglas, the human craftsmen and the dwarf beastmen would jointly build the "blacksmith shop."

In truth, these craftsmen were all former teammates of Douglas.

Like Douglas, they had suffered greatly due to the "fading of their supernatural abilities," yet they stubbornly refused to take the medicine provided by the Association.

Later, they received a share of the "cough syrup" Chu Jiu had made, courtesy of Douglas.

After taking the medicine just twice, these former superpower users, who had previously been coughing so violently they couldn't stand or get out of bed, found their breathing smooth, their appetites restored, and their sleep sound. Each and every one of them returned to normal.

With this background, when Douglas asked them, "Would you like to go to Bean Village to clear wasteland and farm?" "That village is quite magical now; they raise bees artificially, and soon they'll be opening a dwarf beastman blacksmith shop." "I hear next year they'll even grow wool right out of the ground." "Oh, and the pioneer leading everyone to achieve all this is the very person who made the medicine for you," they readily agreed.

First, without their abilities, they needed to find another livelihood anyway. Second, since Bean Village sounded so miraculous, why not give it a try? Furthermore, Douglas used to be their captain, and everyone knew his character and strength inside out.

Thus, happily swallowing the grand vision painted by Douglas, the craftsmen packed their wagons and moved into Bean Village, a place "where even field mice are too lazy to dig holes."

During the half-month or so since they moved in, they had already repaired leaking roofs and mended drafty walls for the villagers. Now they were just waiting to "do a big job" and then comfortably rest through the winter.

*

After everything was properly arranged, Chu Jiu led the little squirrels to the empty house where the blacksmith squirrel had temporarily stayed.

This house had been prepared in advance: three large rooms, two of which could serve as bedrooms, while the third was equipped with a stove and hearth, suitable for cooking or serving as a winter living room.

These conditions were already much better than Chu Jiu's initial "pioneer cabin."

Well, whatever the little squirrel said must be right!

Chu Jiu said, "Oh, right."

Chu Jiu was completely baffled, wondering what on earth was going on.

The young man pointed to the side again: "The others are delicious, too."

On the day the blacksmith shop officially opened, Chu Jiu received a system notification: due to the [New Residents] and [Leading the Establishment of Important New Facilities], the pioneering progress had risen to 17%.

During this time, Guluolu used its tentacles to hold various small wooden toys, taking turns trying to coax the baby creatures, yet still failing to stop their howling.

At this moment, the young man holding the gourd looked at him with a smile: "Delicious?"

Only then did the pioneer cabin finally return to peace.

Genuine dinosaurs.

Instead, he decided to strike while the iron was hot.

According to the "testimony" of the three little ones, these were "nuts" they had picked up in the "Land of Yesteryear."

The young man smiled as he stood up, raising the cage to gesture: "Come on, eat them while they're hot!"

Chu Jiu let out a long sigh: "No way, sending them back is just sending them to their deaths."

He found Douglas and the old village chief to meticulously plan how to use the "New Year" and the "Blacksmith Shop Opening" to build up some popularity for Bean Village.

He fell into the terror of being dominated by the baby triceratops.

Just at that moment, a familiar face approached from the crowd.

What's wrong, little one.

It thought to itself silently: Why else, naturally compared to that "Lu Qingyan" whom you constantly talked about and praised from time to time.

Those triangular furry little ears! Those dark, shiny little eyes! And that extraordinarily fluffy big tail!

Chu Jiu knew this was their first true "leaving home," stepping away from their familiar lifestyle to open a shop and live by their own skills in a foreign race's village.

After a panicked flurry of running around the room, the three flustered little ones were finally caught by the little butterfly and dragged over to Chu Jiu—along with the "criminal evidence" of their misdeed.

So they left the nuts in the fireplace, roasting them overnight with the residual heat.

Nuts this big and patterned had to be delicious!

The little butterfly opened its eyes wide: "Then?"

Part (1/3)

Part (2/3)

And why was there a lingering sweet fragrance in the air?

Inside the broken eggshells were two...

Joy and his companion couldn't stop drooling.

Besides, this child had a clean face and neat clothing; he didn't look like the type of homeless waif with nowhere to go...

During this time, they could stroll around the small square of Bean Village, where the village's own market was held.

The little squirrel blinked: "Price list, on the wall."

A sharp knock on the door woke him up.

Chu Jiu: ......

The ribbon-wearing little squirrel looked angry, while the axe-wielding trio wore expressions of "Save us, what have we done."

Ah, the little squirrel spoke again! The little squirrel spoke word by word! The little squirrel can even do blacksmithing! The little squirrel can even do business with us! How can the little squirrel be so cute!

...Knock, knock...?!

Joy and his companion gasped in astonishment.

During this period, larger towns would hold various celebratory events.

*

In such cold weather, in a village like this, children were actually running around outside?

[These are two small rapid triceratops that were first abandoned by their parents and then brought to another world by an alien race.]

Moreover, these people moved quite naturally, showing no signs of being hunched over, shivering from the biting cold.

You must know, with the outside being this cold, and people in this kind of village unable to afford wool clothing, most folks huddled at home around the stove all day long. How could anyone be running around outside?

Yesterday, after giving all the popped chestnuts to Chu Jiu, they decided to roast this precious nut themselves and eat it.

Chu Jiu, who usually woke up early, wrapped himself in a cotton quilt and slept a little longer.

Kakaba cheered and scooped up the little fellow, spinning around three times—

*

......What on earth am I daydreaming about.

Chu Jiu smiled and said, "Yes, a big feast!"

Joy unconsciously finished the handful in his hand.

You all praise that Lu Qingyan, but from my perspective, you've done very well, too.

Who knows why the dwarf beastmen would choose such a place to open a blacksmith shop.

Although the spirit beasts' language sounded like "meow meow meow" or "roar roar roar" to the dwarf beastmen, this didn't affect their mutual understanding in the slightest.

That unique sweetness was simply more unforgettable than honey or candied fruit!

Crispy and crunchy, fragrant and sweet!

Joy followed the young man's hand to look around:

The crowd—or rather, the people, beasts, beastmen, and plants—raised their bamboo cups and toasted one another:

Since it wasn't snowing, it couldn't possibly be that person.

*

As a result of roasting them over and over, the nuts stubbornly refused to crack open.

Oh wow, oh wow, oh this!

A stall displayed a row of small pottery jars filled with... golden-red Chinese cabbage?

Joy and his companion willingly paid the money.

Chu Jiu massaged his temples again: "......Just raise them."

Part (2/3)

Part (3/3)

Bean Village... what could Bean Village possibly have?

The pickaxe-wielding little squirrel and the shovel-wielding little squirrel also gathered around, wanting to reach out their paws to grab Chu Jiu's trouser legs, but feeling the gesture was too childish, they quickly pulled them back.

That night, after the roar-rabbits and others fell into steady, even breathing, Little Canned gently patted Chu Jiu's face.

At that moment, Joy and his companion suddenly understood Captain Lawrence.

Metropolises like Moon Sea City went without saying, and even Emerald Town would host a market livelier than usual. People crowded together, hawking, singing, and performing, with the sweet scent of candied fruit and wine drifting through the streets.

"Clang, clang, clang! The little triceratops need soft little beds; the beds at home are too hard. Can you make another bed?"

Ah, this scent!

Chu Jiu pressed his temples and downed a large glass of iced fruit juice just brought over by Guluolu, struggling hard to steady his mind.

He sighed, looked at the two micro-dinosaurs that were about the same height as Guluolu, and clicked on [Enemy Reconnaissance].

The two of them discussed these peculiar sights as they walked toward the location of the "Dwarf Beastman Blacksmith Shop."

Judging by the color... could this thing be the corn kernels from just now?

"Hello." As soon as they stepped inside, a crisp girl's voice rang out.

Chu Jiu smiled and said, "Yes, you can!"

In twenty-something Joy's mind, Bean Village—even though it had a new product called "tofu" last year—remained a poor, remote little village where nothing was available.

Joy, a twenty-year-old youth who fancied himself widely traveled and familiar with bustling sights, wore an expression of "I truly have never seen this before":

Yet Chu Jiu showed no sign of letting up just because "things were going smoothly."

Little Canned... Little Canned could at least quiet them with a single glance. The problem was that while they stopped crying and making a fuss, they didn't even blink—clearly scared out of their wits.

"So delicious—no, no, so interesting!"

He shook his head hard to clear it, leaped out of bed, and rushed downstairs.

Little Canned rubbed against Chu Jiu's palm: "You, you thought of everything very thoroughly, too."

Hmm... actually, other things could probably be "popped" and eaten this way, too.

A moment later, the young man aimed the "gourd" at a cage and stomped down hard with his foot—

Chu Jiu: "Huh?"

That is... are there any more?

"Boom!"

Such a transition would be difficult for an adult to endure, let alone four baby creatures?

The little squirrels who had delivered the triceratops to Chu Jiu's house went straight to work on building the blacksmith shop that very day.

This clothing looked thick at a glance, not like it was merely stuffed with dried grass for warmth.

"Oh dear—hey, little buddy, are you alright?" Just as they entered the village, Joy's companion nearly collided with a little boy running about chaotically.

[Reconnaissance in progress...]

At this moment, Kakaba bounced over, poking its little head out to look at the two miniature triceratops on the table.

Every stall radiated a fragrance that compelled people to stop and linger.

The blueprints for the blacksmith shop came from the blacksmith squirrel, the canal design from the human craftsmen, and the blueprints and raw materials for the [Water-lifting Noria] were naturally provided by Chu Jiu.

Ten minutes later.

Surely they hadn't thrown away the Earth Fire Primordial Stone, right?

"Everything's going smoothly!"

On the third day, when Chu Jiu searched through his backpack and couldn't find any softer material, he had to use [Mountain Eagle Feathers] to make a "special small bed for the triceratops babies."

Overjoyed, they packed the nuts into their travel bags, carried them all the way through the underground city, and brought them straight to Bean Village.