While Lu Jiansen was handling the rabbit meat, Gu Xiaoxi started a small fire nearby to remove the odor, sterilize, clean, and air-dry the rabbit pelt.  

The others watched for a while before going off to do their own tasks.  

Gu Xiaoxi, however, was completely absorbed in her battle with the rabbit pelt.  

By the time the aroma of cooked rabbit meat wafted over, she had already taken out a needle and thread. Relying on her intuition as a Shaping master, she began patterning and planning, launching into her perfect-level stitching.  

By the time the rabbit meat was ready, she had crafted a beautiful pair of rabbit fur gloves.  

Every seam on the gloves looked natural, adorned with a soft ring of gray rabbit fur—both stylish and warm.  

Gu Xiaoxi was quite pleased with her work. Trying them on, the gloves fit her hands perfectly—absolutely flawless!  

Lu Jiansen glanced over as well, a flicker of understanding flashing in his eyes.  

So, the little girl liked rabbit fur gloves!  

It seemed he’d need to hunt more rabbits in the mountains during his free time—preferably ones with beautifully colored fur!  

Lu Jiansen’s rabbit stew was delicious. Though it wasn’t spicy due to the lack of seasonings, the braised flavor was still excellent.  

Gu Xiaoxi was given a large rabbit leg, which left her so full after eating it that she barely touched her rice.  

Not far away, Mo Desheng, eating sweet potato rice, inhaled the scent of rabbit meat, his eyes flickering with unreadable emotions.  

In the afternoon, the First Battalion’s task was to help the villagers clear the rubble and assist in post-disaster reconstruction.  

Since it was all heavy manual labor, Lu Jiansen said to his little girl, “Later, just do some light cleaning in the areas everyone has cleared. No need to do anything else.”  

Gu Xiaoxi knew Lu Jiansen was afraid she’d tire herself out, so she nodded in agreement. “Okay!”  

But once Lu Jiansen got busy, she still wanted to help.  

However, as soon as she approached, soldiers started calling out, “Sister-in-law, we’ve got this! You can rest over there!”  

Afraid of getting in the way, Gu Xiaoxi had no choice but to step back.  

Then, her gaze landed on a collapsed house not far away.  

The house had been crushed by a fallen tree, but it was built with blue bricks—unlike the common earthen houses in the area!  

She walked over, looked for a while, and suddenly her eyes lit up slightly. She picked up a brick from the ruins that had some odd yellow stains on it and threw it into the old goods storage.  

Then came the moment of truth—she quietly obtained a gold brick.  

Gu Xiaoxi was stunned. This family must have been loaded!  

Searching the area further, she found over twenty gold bricks.  

Her righteous heart suddenly wavered.  

Instead of choosing the gold bricks, she selected the conversion option and exchanged them for gold bars—so many gold bars!  

After striking it rich, she did some actual work, picking up the blue bricks one by one and stacking them to the side.  

The damaged blue bricks were quietly replaced with new ones.  

Before long, she had piled up a large stack of blue bricks.  

As for the weeds and debris on the ground, she symbolically gathered a pile to the side while discreetly clearing the rest through the Old Goods Storage.  

Next were the tiles and rubble on the ground. She piled some to the side and selectively replaced a batch with new ones, stacking them nearby.  

For the broken beams and pillars of the house, she took the opportunity to replace a few with new ones when no one was looking.  

To make them look aged, she even smeared some mud on them.  

Then, she circled to the backyard of the house and gathered a pile of tiles, replacing them with new ones.  

After walking around the house, she decided the tree that had crushed it needed urgent attention, so she called Lu Jiansen over.  

“I think a lot of materials from this house can still be reused. Can we move the tree away first?”

Lu Jiansen noticed that the little girl had already cleared out a large pile of materials, neatly stacking intact blue bricks and tiles. He said, “I’ll have someone borrow tools from the village chief to cut down the tree.”  

“Okay, go ahead!” Gu Xiaoxi sat down on a rock near the tree.  

Lu Jiansen crouched beside her and gently wiped a speck of mud from her face with his sleeve. “Rest if you’re tired.”  

Gu Xiaoxi nodded. “I’m resting right now!”  

Seeing how eager she was to clean up the house, Lu Jiansen left to make arrangements.  

Before long, he returned with Li Kun and a few other soldiers carrying tools.  

While Li Kun and the others sawed the tree, Gu Xiaoxi busied herself with tidying and sorting nearby.  

Lu Jiansen, meanwhile, called over two men to help move the fallen beams and wooden pillars aside, clearing the debris beneath.  

The soldiers worked efficiently, and with Gu Xiaoxi secretly helping sort and clean up, the area was soon cleared.  

Seeing how genuinely helpful and resourceful she was, Lu Jiansen let her continue.  

At first, Gu Xiaoxi had intended to stick close to Lu Jiansen, but she soon realized that picking up tiles and bricks allowed her to exchange old for new and earn points faster, so she went off on her own.  

She wandered here and there, and wherever she passed, neat piles of tiles seemed to appear effortlessly.  

After making a full circle, she gathered the scattered tiles into larger stacks.  

What had been small piles soon became substantial heaps.  

To avoid suspicion, she also piled up broken tiles and discreetly used a cleaning technique to make them look as good as new.  

After all, the heavy rain could easily explain why the tiles looked freshly washed.  

Later, she returned to Lu Jiansen’s side, sweeping and quietly clearing more debris to lighten everyone’s workload.  

After over two hours of busy work, her points had climbed to **2,600**, and with an upgrade seemingly within reach, she took another stroll around the village.  

At the edge of the village, she unexpectedly spotted Mo Desheng sitting inside a half-collapsed empty house, smoking.  

Perhaps her eyesight was too sharp—she even noticed the cigarette pack in his hand was a fresh box of *Peony* brand, the same brand she’d seen on the train.  

She was surprised. That brand was expensive, and most people wouldn’t splurge on it.  

Of course, as a deputy battalion commander, his allowance was more than enough to afford it, so she quickly moved on.  

Still, when she returned to Lu Jiansen, she couldn’t help but ask, “Do you smoke?”  

Lu Jiansen was taken aback by the sudden question but answered honestly, “Occasionally in the past. If you don’t like it, I won’t smoke anymore.”  

Gu Xiaoxi blinked. “I just saw Deputy Battalion Commander Mo hiding in an empty house at the village outskirts, smoking *Peony* cigarettes. Everyone else is working—why isn’t he?”  

Lu Jiansen paused, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.  

Mo Desheng had always claimed he *never* smoked.  

After a moment of silence, he said quietly, “Stay away from him in the future. Don’t engage with him.”  

He had never liked Mo Desheng, and since they weren’t in the same battalion, there was no need for interaction.  

Gu Xiaoxi nodded. “Got it.”