Shen Xin encountered two green slimes.

Slimes had thirty health points, but her hoe only dealt three damage per hit. After a long and arduous battle, Shen Xin obtained [Slime Mucus × 3].

She could now craft torches and bonfires.

For the time being, she didn’t need them, so Shen Xin put the items away and continued exploring. At 10:30 A.M. in-game time, she successfully found an entrance to a river mouth.

Shen Xin marked the location on her map, then followed the river upstream and lay in the shallow water to restore her cleanliness.

As expected, only freshwater could restore cleanliness. She watched her cleanliness bar rise to eighty points, then stop increasing.”Looks like this river’s cleaning power has limits,” she thought.

She climbed ashore, then took out some bread and mineral water to restore her stamina. Next, she continued searching for the small town.

Luck was also a part of strength. After walking several hundred meters along the river, though she saw nothing, a System notification suddenly popped up:

【 Congratulations, player! Completed the quest “Seeking Peach Blossom Town.” Reward: 5 silver coins. 】

【 Main Quests:

Dialogue with Peach Blossom Town’s mayor (0/1) 】

【 Greeted 0 out of 24 NPCs in Peach Blossom Town. 】

Suddenly, a “5 silver” notation appeared in the “Accounts” section of the guidebook.

Sure enough, after walking a few dozen steps, a dilapidated little town came into view.

As expected, this was indeed a town that had experienced multiple calamities. The walls, the roofs—the broken tiles were all museum-worthy exhibits.

The buildings were severely dilapidated, and it was impossible to tell which one was the mayor’s residence at first glance. Shen Xin could only knock on each door, one by one, until he found someone. Fortunately, there weren’t many houses in the town. At the third house, an old man with a long beard walked out, and his face lit up when he saw Shen Xin.

“A new face… So you must be one of the volunteers from afar? Please come in. I am the mayor of this town, surnamed Wang.”

Inside the small house, Mayor Wang told Shen Xin that he was aware of the shipwreck and that two volunteers had already made their way to the town.

“Two?” Shen Xin surmised that those two players must have spawned nearby. “Well, it makes sense for luck to favor the OPs.”

Mayor Wang reassured them, “I’ve already called on the townspeople to go search for the missing. Since you’re here, settle in. I’ll arrange accommodations for you.”

He pulled a dusty map off the shelf, revealing the terrain of the entire island.

Shen Xin’s survival handbook flashed, displaying “map uploaded.” The previously blank page was filled with details, and her original markings remained visible.

“Child, what do you do?” Mayor Wang looked kindly at Shen Xin.

“I’m a farmer.”

“Oh! A farmer? Excellent.” He circled a few open fields with his finger. “Then I recommend you go to these places. They were all farms, but unfortunately, the families moved away, leaving the fields barren… Which one would you like to visit?”

Shen Xin studied the map. These farms were all near Peach Blossom Town, differing only in terrain.

Some farmland was close to a river, convenient for irrigation but fragmented.

Some were near mountains, rich in minerals but difficult to cultivate.

Some were entirely flat but far from water sources.

She deliberated briefly before finally choosing the farm by the river.

“Okay, I’ll make a note of it. This land is yours now.” Mayor Wang took out a notebook, made a few scribbles, then handed her a rusty key.

“There’s a house on the farm; you can live there. If you need groceries or other daily necessities, you can find Old He at the general store, as well as the blacksmith, carpenter, doctor… You can meet them all if you want,” Mayor Wang said to Shen Xin with a suggestive wink. “We have a few single young men in town who are around your age. If you consider settling down here permanently, you might find someone nice.”

Shen Xin was speechless. Is this the romance subplot? They won’t force me into a marriage of convenience, will they?

Having completed the “Dialogue with the Mayor” quest, Shen Xin received her reward of 5 silver coins, and her quest list was updated once more.

【 ***Main Quest: Rebuild Tao Yuan Town: 0% (?!)

Greet 24 NPCs in Tao Yuan Town (5/24).*** 】

There was an exclamation point next to the “Rebuild Tao Yuan Town” quest. Upon clicking, a new prompt appeared: “You can only help rebuild Tao Yuan Town through specific quests. For more information, please try triggering more events within the game.”

Before heading to the shop, Shen Xin decided to check out her new home.

After passing through a patch of messy woods, she spotted a run-down old wooden house. Shen Xin couldn’t help but give it a nickname: “The Shack.”

Seeing the house filled her with unease… Was it safe to live in? Would it collapse in the middle of the night and crush her?

Shen Xin carefully opened the lock, and the smell of dust hit her in the face. The wooden house was like a perfectly square matchbox, with a single room that served as the living room, bedroom, and kitchen—all of which were connected to a fireplace.

The dilapidated poverty-stricken aesthetic perfectly matched the rest of the island’s.

On the bright side, at least there was a bed and a pot—basically livable.

Shen Xin rolled up her sleeves and gave the interior a thorough cleaning, then dragged the pots and pans to the river to be washed.

At this point, she was grateful she had chosen a riverside farm, as washing things would be much more convenient than if she had picked a mountain or plain. She would have been overwhelmed just cleaning the house, let alone gardening.

Once all this was done, she made a trip back into town. She didn’t run into any of the two overpowered players who had arrived earlier, but she did meet quite a few NPCs. Paradise certainly put effort into its romance options; each NPC she met was more handsome than the last, with unique looks and personalities that catered to every player’s taste.

There were only eight characters to romance, four men and four women; twenty players each taking one wouldn’t be enough.

Shen Xin recalled more of the game’s details. Are we really going to have to fight over other players’ wives?

Upon entering the shop, Shen Xin saw Old He, the shopkeeper, an older man wearing glasses. Perhaps due to the lack of customers, he looked dispirited. He simply indicated that players could take whatever they wanted and check out without issue.

Shen Xin scanned the shelves, buying one set of bed sheets, three loaves of bread, and one stone axe, totaling 360 copper coins.

He spent the rest of his money on seeds.

A series of seed options were laid out on a shelf:

White radish: matures in three days, 10 copper coins

Spinach (can only be planted in spring or autumn): matures in three days, 15 copper coins

Garlic: matures in four days, 20 copper coins

Spring wheat: matures in three days, 20 copper coins

Oregano: matures in four days, 25 copper coins

Green beans: matures in ten days, 30 copper coins [re-harvests every four days after maturity]

Okay, okay, Shen Xin thought, realizing that further options would only get pricier.

Crops that could regrow should be purchased early for an early return on investment, and those that grew quickly should also be planted, as they could be harvested and sold to replenish funds.

With her considerations made, Shen Xin purchased ten units of green bean seeds and thirty-four units of white radish seeds. Having spent every single copper coin, she returned to the farm with her full pack of goods.

After making her bed and boiling some water, Shen Xin still had some stamina left. She chopped down a few trees in front of the farm, gaining one unit of [Box Blueprint] for her efforts.

Once she’d eaten some bread, Shen Xin sat down inside her house to rest for a while, tilling the land efficiently with her hoe. Each plot of farmland she cleared depleted some of her stamina.

After tilling seventy-four plots, Shen Xin collapsed onto the ground.

With only twenty-nine stamina points remaining, she became afflicted with the negative status “fatigue,” forcing her to rest for ten minutes.

“So this is how it is.”

Fortunately, she was prepared. As she pulled out two more loaves of bread and ate them, her stamina returned, replenishing her energy. The moment she stood up, two slimes appeared next to her, ready to attack.

The slimes hadn’t expected Shen Xin to break free from their negative effects, and their movements stiffened.

She raised an eyebrow, smiling as she swung the axe in her hand. “Oh? What do you want, little ones?”

The axe was much more powerful than the hoe. As long as she avoided the slimes’ flying tackles, she could kill these two monsters without taking any damage.

After collecting [Slime Mucus × 2], Shen Xin reminded herself, “It’s a bit dangerous, don’t use up your energy next time.”

Night had fallen, but she still had not finished planting. She lit a torch, then planted the seventy-four packs of seeds.

Although the seeds were sold in packs, each pack only yielded one unit of crops. Sowing seeds didn’t cost any stamina, but watering them did.

By the time Shen Xin’s stamina dipped to forty, she no longer had any food to replenish her energy. She could only go back inside to lie down for a while, slowly letting her stamina recover. By the time she finished watering, it was already 11:30 PM.

Feeling hunger in her stomach, Shen Xin locked the door and fell asleep.

The last thought she had before drifting off was—good thing she found this town, or else she’d have had to sleep out in the wilderness.

After waking from their night in the wilderness, Yun Yuhui and Qin Chengyue discovered that their stamina had only recovered half of what they had used, and they had contracted both the “common cold” and “itchiness” status effects. Their movement speed was reduced by 50%, and their stamina decreased by one point every minute.

“Weren’t you some sort of expert? What are we gonna do now?” Yun Yuhui whined incessantly, feeling that Qin Chengyue was completely incapable.

Qin Chengyue was even more annoyed than him.

This client was a total burden—he played terribly, and to top it off, he liked to constantly shift the blame for his mistakes onto others.

Yesterday, after Yun Yuhui had been hit by a slime, he had panicked, afraid of everything, alerting every enemy in the area and causing Qin Chengyue no end of trouble.

Okay, calm down. Think about the payment he gave us. Stupid clients are everywhere; just suck it up and let it go…

Qin Chengyue stood up and pointed toward the high ground. “Boss, if we stand higher, we’ll be able to see farther. Let’s take a few steps up, and we’ll definitely be able to find Peach Blossom Town.”

“If you want to go, you go. I’m not moving.”

“Oh.” Qin Chengyue could only continue forward on his own, but before he’d taken two steps, the client behind him once again voiced his displeasure.

“Hey, Mr. Qin, you’re really leaving me behind? Come back, come back! What am I supposed to do if I get hit by a slime all alone?”

Qin Chengyue clenched his fists and cursed under his breath.

Shen Xin slept until seven o’clock, when the alarm she’d set in her handbook went off.

She turned off the alarm, and then saw a new line of text in bold on the screen.

【 Your current ranking is: #4 】

Fourth? Whatever, whatever. She wasn’t too concerned about the rankings.

Shen Xin got up and headed to the fields to check on things.

The green beans had a long growth cycle, so there were no changes, but the white radish had sprouted a green shoot. In another two days, it would be ready for harvest.

Shen Xin counted the sprouts and discovered that not a single seed was missing. The worry that had been plaguing her suddenly vanished.

She’d been so busy last night that she hadn’t even remembered the most fundamental aspect of farming: deterring birds.

While searching for the town, she’d picked up some grass along the way, which unlocked the crafting recipe for scarecrows. Shen Xin had lucked out and found the small town as well as her own farm, so naturally, she’d forgotten about deterring birds.

But it wasn’t too late to mend the pen after the sheep had escaped.

Using up some of her stamina, Shen Xin crafted two scarecrows and placed them in the fields; each scarecrow could protect an 8×8 grid of crops from birds, making them an essential tool for every farming player.

Only after completing these tasks did Shen Xin finally feel hunger gnawing at her stomach.

Thank goodness for daily side quests.

Shen Xin pulled out her handbook and opened the quest menu.

【 Daily Side Quests:

– Obtain 30 units of wood (0/30)

– Collect 5 dandelions (0/5) 】