Chapter 84: The System Mall
This section of the road displayed an upgrade countdown of three days.
“Why is it different?”
Jian Xingxia hesitated a little, then dragged another section of the road from the wasteland beside the old house, leading it down toward the creek. She left a gap of one to two hundred meters instead of connecting it directly to the creek, stopping just outside the thick patches of wild grass near the water.
She was worried that the system would give her a concrete road. The creek was crystal clear, and the grassy banks were incredibly beautiful. If a concrete road cut directly into the water, it would look absolutely terrible. Leaving a gap of one to two hundred meters blocked by wild grass would protect both the scenery and the ecology of the creek.
This consumed 480 meters of road.
There were still nearly two kilometers left. Jian Xingxia started from the wasteland on the side of the old house and extended it all the way around the old house and the vegetable patch, leading toward the back mountain.
This consumed 1,870 meters of road.
It was all completely used up.
However, Jian Xingxia noticed that the upgrade countdowns for the three sections of roads were different. The section at the front gate showed three days, but the remaining two sections were only ten minutes.
Jian Xingxia rushed downstairs immediately. Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn’t dark yet, she went outside to take a look.
This time, the roads were enveloped by the blue mist. It was still impossible to get close. Touching it felt stagnant and solid, yet it was distinctly flowing.
Jian Xingxia waited patiently for ten minutes. The scene that followed was something she would never forget for the rest of her life.
The blue mist gradually dispersed. Wild grass that was originally taller than a person parted toward both sides like a turning tide.
A dirt path of yellow mountain clay extended into the distance through the waves of grass. At first, it was only a palm wide, but as the wild grass receded, it gradually transformed into a 1.5-meter-wide path. Following that, the color of the soil deepened, turning into a dark, blackish-brown earth. Countless small pebbles rolled out from the wild grass patches, naturally and casually yet neatly paving the surface of the ground.
Small flowers and shrubs sprouted from the roots of the wild grass. The originally bare path immediately became lively and vibrant.
A little rabbit from who knows where stood in the middle of the fragrant, flower-lined path. Its nose twitched slightly before it hopped away, vanishing back into the grass.
Flowers and shrubs grew taller in succession, sprouting leaves, forming buds, and bursting into bloom. The shrubs were even dotted with small berries—red, yellow, and blue.
Aided by the rosy afterglow of the sunset, Jian Xingxia identified blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, goji berries, red currants, and wild hawthorns… Numerous plants she had seen or never seen, plants that seemed possible or impossible, all appeared. Some were in season, some were still flowering, and others bore tiny, green, grain-sized fruits, waiting for their respective seasons.
The flowers were even more of a spectacular, competing display. Not to mention the sorrel, beggar-ticks, Chinese milk vetch, and dandelions common in the mountains and roadsides, there were even monthly roses, peonies, and camellias! Jian Xingxia couldn’t even recognize many of the varieties. But that didn’t stop small flowers from gently swaying every few steps. Backed by the setting sun, the scene was simply breathtaking.
Jian Xingxia didn’t dare to breathe as she walked all the way along the path to the creek. It wasn’t until the creek water gradually soaked into her sandals that she snapped out of this magical scene.
Returning along the path, she turned onto the road leading into the mountain from the side of the old house. This section was different again. It was still a rustic country road, but it was much wider than the creek path, measuring four to five meters across.
At some point, trees of varying heights had sprouted along the roadside. The tall trees stood further back so they wouldn’t block the sunlight, yet they could still cast patches of cool shade. The wildly growing grass turned into a soft lawn dotted with tiny wildflowers. Following the rises and falls of the mountain road, simple two- or three-step staircases were embedded within it from time to time.
To Jian Xingxia’s pleasant surprise, small slopes were specially left beside the steps for strollers and wheelchairs to pass through. And along the roadside every one or two hundred meters, there were stone benches, wooden chairs, or old tree stumps for people to rest on.
Jian Xingxia looked at all of this in disbelief. It felt like she was in a dream.
It wasn’t until the sun set and darkness fell, completely obscuring the scenery, that Jian Xingxia slowly walked back. Touching her face, she realized she had tears running down it at some point. Perhaps it was from novelty, perhaps from being moved, or perhaps from the pure awe of beauty…
It was time for the final upgrade reward.
[Random Farmstead Business Operation Gift Pack * 1]
Jian Xingxia clicked to open it. It was actually a small greenhouse. Just like the roads and the dwelling, it was currently a translucent green.
[Congratulations, Estate Owner, you have obtained a 500-square-meter Intelligent Constant-Temperature Picking Greenhouse. Please select a suitable location to place it.]
Jian Xingxia rubbed her head, which was already dizzy with happiness, and began selecting on the 3D blueprint. Right now, to the right of the country road sat the old house and the fields she had tilled herself, while a large swathe of wasteland remained to the left.
Although her grandmother had only been passed away for a year, very few people came to the mountains normally, so these hills and lands were all in a semi-wild state. They didn’t look completely desolate, just wildly overgrown. It was obvious at a glance that they hadn’t been managed.
Jian Xingxia had originally planned to slowly level, reclaim, and plant crops on them. But now, the system had directly gifted a 500-square-meter greenhouse right off the bat.
Jian Xingxia chose to place the [500-square-meter Intelligent Constant-Temperature Picking Greenhouse] on the left side of the small path, a few dozen meters away from the large trees. She had originally thought she would have to head out again under the cover of night, but looking at it, the greenhouse upgrade countdown read: 2 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes.
Oh well, just like the road at the front gate. Jian Xingxia locked the door and waited peacefully.
She continued to inspect the other two upgrade rewards—
- Daily temporary worker recruitment slot +1. From now on, she could hire two temporary workers every day.
- Unlock the Estate Mall. Jian Xingxia clicked it open with anticipation. The moment it opened, she thought she had accidentally clicked into a shopping app. The screen was filled with large product images, complete with all sorts of names and descriptions.
Jian Xingxia saw something familiar—the greenhouse from just now.
[100-square-meter Intelligent Constant-Temperature Greenhouse] Price: 10 Management Points Description: Can be placed regardless of terrain. Comes with its own wind and solar power, requiring no external electricity. Can be used immediately upon installation. An absolute must-have for farmstead management.
[Fully Automatic Bread Maker] Price: 2 Management Points Description: Insert raw ingredients such as flour, milk, and eggs to yield fresh bread. Unconventional materials can also be inserted, but the output will be random. Please use with caution.
[Solar Irrigation System] Price: 10 Management Points Description: Utilizes solar energy to collect nearby water resources for automatic irrigation. Covers an irrigation area of 1,000 square meters.
[Permanently Fresh Refrigerator] Price: 5 Management Points Description: Once items are placed inside, they will maintain their initial frozen or chilled state, staying permanently fresh. Hot items can also be stored, but frozen and hot items cannot be stored simultaneously. Capacity: 1 cubic meter. Can be used in combination.
[All-Terrain Tricycle] Price: 6 Management Points Description: Recharged for use. Suitable for all road conditions. The riding experience feels as smooth as flat ground.
Further down, there were things like [Longevity Pill], [Invincible Vest], [Weather Forecasting System]… everything imaginable was available.
As for the price… Jian Xingxia looked at the management point balance in the upper right corner of the mall.
A massive “0”.
Jian Xingxia: “…”
