Zhuang Yi, highly efficient, brought over the menu he’d drafted the next day. Nervously, he handed it to Shen Xin.

“Oh, you do Western-style cuisine, huh?” Shen Xin asked. Then, glancing at the prices, he added, “Wouldn’t these prices be too low?”

Zhuang Yi formed an egg shape with his hand. “No, these prices aren’t low. Each dish requires this much.”

“Right now, everyone’s priority is just filling their stomachs, so do you think there’s a market for this kind of portion size?” Shen Xin suggested, “Why not make them larger? You can combine the portions for two or three plates and increase the prices accordingly.”

Zhuang Yi quietly objected, “No, that wouldn’t work. Then it’d no longer be Western-style.”

Though he was formidable, Zhuang Yi was also a man of professional integrity.

Shen Xin thought for a moment before saying, “All right, let’s start with this then. If it doesn’t work out, we can adjust later.”

Shen Xin packed some crops and flour for him. While packing, Zhuang Yi’s eyes widened as he faced the overflowing vegetables.

Ohhh boy, the rumors about Shen Xin aren’t baseless.

With this level of reserves, you’re the richest person in the whole game, okay? Zhuang Yi suddenly realized he had latched on to a very thick leg.

“Would you like some fruit?” Shen Xin asked, producing some strawberries and passion fruit. Zhuang Yi’s eyes lit up.

Fruit was an even scarcer resource than vegetables, so being able to enjoy it here was a luxury. Feeling embarrassed, he asked for a small portion and reciprocated with a recipe for fruit jam.

“Due to the lack of ingredients, the flavor won’t be as good if you make jam with this recipe, but at least it will add another way to consume it.”

Shen Xin thought about her uneaten bread. If she ever felt lazy in the future, she could simply reheat the bread in the morning, then pair it with fruit jam and milk—a decent breakfast option.

After sending Zhuang Yi off, Shen Xin went to the market and purchased massive quantities of sugar. Following Zhuang Yi’s recipe, she cut the strawberries into quarters and mixed them with granulated sugar, allowing the water to drain.

“This will preserve the texture of the strawberries.” The recipe called for the mixture to be left at room temperature for two to three hours to drain properly. While waiting, Shen Xin tended to her farm work and made Jing Yan’s lunch box for tomorrow.

When Jing Yan arrived, Shen Xin noticed he was coughing a lot.

“What’s wrong? Did you catch a cold?”

Spring was coming to an end. Although the temperature on the island didn’t rise significantly, it was still quite warm, and one wouldn’t easily fall ill.

Jing Yan explained, “I think it’s because of the monsters in the caves. The deeper you go, the colder it gets. I stayed for a while yesterday, cough cough cough, but it’s fine, I can handle it.”

Shen Xin poured him a cup of warm water and said, “Take care of yourself, and help me snatch some seeds on the first day of summer.”

The seeds that came out of the analyzer could indeed be planted, but their growth cycle was quite long. Shen Xin decided to snatch some summer seeds first.

Of course, she wasn’t harvesting them for sustenance; her storage was already well-stocked. Rather, it was because the hamster player’s collecting instinct had kicked in. Seeing a full box of crops would give her a great sense of accomplishment.

Jing Yan agreed, and Shen Xin returned to the kitchen. She saw that the strawberries had already released quite a bit of water, so she found a small pot, poured the strawberries in along with their juice, and began to cook them down with sugar.

Sugar acted as a preservative, so if she planned to eat them quickly, she wouldn’t need to add too much.

Shen Xin added half a bowl of sugar, so the final jam wouldn’t be too sweet.

Once the sugar had dissolved, she turned off the heat.

Shen Xin tasted a spoonful: the flavor was sweet yet refreshing, with a strong strawberry scent.

“I remember some jars are kept in the storage room…”

Shen Xin placed the pot down and went to the storage room to find containers for the jam.

There was a box specifically for storing bottles and jars. Shen Xin retrieved two glass jars, and then glanced at a ceramic bottle.

“What’s this…” Shen Xin picked up the ceramic bottle, stirring distant memories, “Isn’t it something I got from opening a premium treasure chest ages ago?”

Back then, Shen Xin had been desperate for a weapon and hadn’t paid much attention to the bottle after opening it. The moment she received her Liao Hua Sword, she’d promptly forgotten about it, and she couldn’t even recall when or how it had ended up in the storage room.

As it was an item from a premium treasure chest, Shen Xin’s interest was piqued. She opened the information menu.

[Peach Blossom Island Commemorative Jar]: **Historical artifact, non-tradeable. Produced in 2005, this is a highly valuable commemorative item that could be purchased for only 200 yuan upon release, featuring tales of Peach Blossom Island. ***

【 Lucky Jar: Luck +10. 】

“Luck?” Shen Xin opened her player profile to check; there was no such stat displayed.

“Is luck a hidden stat? Does it really exist, but players just can’t see it?”

Regardless, she didn’t know how luck would affect gameplay.

Maybe it would allow her to pick more vegetables? Increase the chances of treasure chests appearing? Raise the rate of critical hits with weapons?

Either way, it couldn’t hurt to have one.

The jar was rather small, so Shen Xin decided to count it as new furniture for her home. Upon closer inspection, however, her shabby house only contained an old table and chairs, plus a relatively new sofa. Overall, the place reeked of poverty and was completely unbefitting for a large-scale farmer.

Once her livestock shelter got off the ground, she could consider remodeling her house.

Shen Xin filled a glass jar with jam, and then went to check on the iron ingots at the furnace. She had plenty of iron ore, but the smelting process was rather slow. At this rate, she’d likely be able to make a blast furnace tomorrow.

She was one step closer to creating steel hoes.

In order to create this hoe, Shen Xin had spent more than ten days on the refining process. If this steel hoe did not meet his expectations, he would write a scathing review about UOL upon his return.

Jing Yan walked through the forest, then suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around, his feelings complicated.

Why is stalking someone making so much noise?

Chen Xingyun also regretted bringing Meng Xianping.

During the gang-up on Yun Yuwei a few days ago, Zhang Yunyun had let slip something she shouldn’t, and Meng Xianping, realizing he had kicked against an iron plate, had ceased all interaction with her.

With a shared enemy, Chen Xingyun had reached out with an olive branch and invited Meng Xianping to join the help squad.

The saying goes that snakes and rats are birds of a feather, and Meng Xianping proved himself to be as much of a troublemaker as Zhang Yunyun. He was indeed not someone who could be taken lightly.

As soon as he was accepted into the help squad, his first thought was to replace Chen Xingyun as captain.

His reasons were simple: he was an actor both in real life and in the game, which meant he had a weaker constitution; fans knew he couldn’t physically exert himself and could only perform brain-based tasks, so a strategic position like captain was perfect for him!

Chen Xingyun had contemplated flying a kick right into this guy’s face at that moment.

This guy and Zhang Yunyun were both greedy, but Meng Xianping’s wits were sharper, and his words flowed smoothly. He claimed he couldn’t do heavy labor, but with his fanbase, it was clear he expected others to serve him.

Moreover, he emphasized how his fans would feel bad for him—tsk, tsk, tsk. Whether it was the truth or a threat remained to be seen.

These days, some young fans pursue their idols with an unhealthy obsession; if they perceive someone has wronged their idol, they would retaliate with attacks, sometimes even digging up dirt on their families.

Chen Xingyun and the others didn’t want to invite trouble, so they gritted their teeth and allowed Meng Xianping to become vice-captain—even though he would do absolutely nothing but enjoy the benefits.

In addition, their main enemies were now Shen Xin and Jing Yan, who had become a target by association. While they couldn’t defeat these two, they could at least gross them out.

As they devised plans to harass Shen Xin and Jing Yan, Chen Xingyun and the others were surprised to find that Jing Yan went in the same direction every day, sometimes not returning until midnight. The young man also spent money generously, without the appearance of a penniless person.

Thus, they firmly believed that Jing Yan had come to the mountain to get rich!

They didn’t know exactly what method he used, so all four of them decided to trail Jing Yan up the mountain.

Their plan had been solid, but they hadn’t expected Meng Xianping to show up after hearing rumors of treasure on the mountain.

Sure, he could come, but Jing Yan moved quickly, while Meng Xianping started to complain as soon as they entered the forest.

The ground was slippery, the rocks hurt his feet, and he lacked stamina—Chen Xingyun wished he could sew Meng Xianping’s mouth shut with a needle!

Zhou Yi and Qin Chengyue watched the team in front, continuously making noise as they trailed Jing Yan, and worried even more than Chen Xingyun.

Had Jing Yan already discovered that he was being followed and purposely veered off course?

After ditching Yun Yuwei, Qin Chengyue first joined the other teams’ support groups, then accepted Zhou Yi’s offer to help advance his game progress.

Having a brainless teammate sure couldn’t compare to having a brainy one.

Zhou Yi was very kind and considerate; he always allowed Qin Chengyue to do what he could and never forced him to do anything. He was also very courteous.

On the importance of finding the right boss.

In any case, Qin Chengyue did everything he could to help Zhou Yi, wishing to assist him in becoming number one.

Zhou Yi already knew that Jing Yan had found the monster cave, so tailing Jing Yan was a certainty; he just hadn’t expected another group of fools to trail him ahead of them. Thus, he had no choice but to take Qin Chengyue and follow behind.

Now this was getting ridiculous…

Zhou Yi’s team followed Chen Xingyun’s team, which followed Jing Yan, all the way to a cave. Seeing Jing Yan enter, Chen Xingyun’s group grinned gleefully.

“He didn’t notice! Excellent!”

Chen Xingyun stealthily peeked inside the entrance and discovered Jing Yan’s figure disappeared, replaced by a downward passage.

“He went through the cave!” The five members swiftly entered the mountain cave.

At the same time, the main quest “The Secret of Utopia Island” progress changed to (3/5).

“Exactly! I knew we should’ve followed him,” Meng Xianping chimed in. “Let’s go, quick, follow him! We can’t let him have all the perks!”

He took the lead and descended to the first underground level, Chen Xingyun and the others following with dark expressions, then quickly caught up.

After a while, Zhou Yi and his companion ran to the entrance to observe, and then followed down the stairs.

After all of them had left, approximately five minutes later, Jing Yan jumped down from the stone wall, put his glowing ring back on, and approached the doorway, curiously looking at a shrub.

“Is this what you call ‘professional’?” Jing Yan asked.

The shrub rustled slightly, then slowly rose, revealing two slender legs beneath it.

Mingyue pushed aside the shrubbery’s branches, meeting Jing Yan’s gaze.

“Why did you bring them here?” Mingyue’s tone seemed slightly displeased. “You clearly noticed someone was tailing you—why didn’t you take them somewhere else?”

“Because I can.” Facing such an important figure, Jing Yan remained humble yet confident, placing his hands behind his back with a grin. “As for you, Great Shadow Emperor, it seems you don’t want anyone else to discover what’s below.”

Mingyue’s expression remained cold; he said nothing and simply turned around, leaving the cave.

Jing Yan shrugged, then went into the cave to watch the showdown.