Arriving at the farmland, he dug up all the Gray Sweet Potatoes planted in the soil. During the digging process, he discovered that some of the Gray Sweet Potatoes had already sprouted tiny white buds.
Huh?
So fast.
After observing for a while, Qin Ziwen formed a hypothesis—it was probably due to the "building." This farmland, like the cellar and the bathroom, possessed some special effect that accelerated or hastened the growth of crops.
Unfortunately, the effects of these buildings couldn't be directly observed; they could only be inferred from the results.
He buried the Gray Sweet Potatoes back into the soil, waiting for them to continue developing and growing.
With so many tasks filling his usual days, having a rare half-day of leisure actually felt a bit unsettling to Qin Ziwen. Remembering he needed to test the scoring value of a card, he forcibly suppressed the urge to go fishing.
He went to Deng Guang's home on the eighth floor to inform them about leaving earlier the next day.
Deng Guang's eyes widened in surprise. "What, we're leaving at 3:30?"
Qin Ziwen nodded. "Yes, that's right. Since we took the cards yesterday, I suspect that group definitely won't take it lying down. They'll either station people near the altar or move up their departure time. We need to catch them off guard—who would expect us to leave at 3:30?"
Deng Guang expressed concern. "But 3:30 is still the middle of the night, isn't it too dangerous?"
Qin Ziwen explained, "I've already used the Recruitment Card. The blacksmith is coming with us this time. With four people, ordinary wild beasts wouldn't dare attack us."
He paused thoughtfully before adding, "Of course, if you feel the risk is too high, Old Deng, you can wait for us at home."
Hearing this, Old Deng quickly said, "That's not what I meant. Alright, 3:30 it is."
After Qin Ziwen and the others left, Xiao Meixue came over. "What's wrong? You look worried."
Deng Guang shook his head. "It's nothing, just that we're leaving earlier tomorrow—at 3:30."
Xiao Meixue was startled. "3:30 in the morning?"
Deng Guang nodded. "Yes, I just think that time might be a bit too early."
Though Xiao Meixue also felt some concern in her heart, she comforted him verbally: "If Xiao Qin dares to leave at that time, he must have his reasons. Besides, since we came here, has anything ever been one hundred percent safe? Just during the daytime, I heard someone got bitten on the hand by a poisonous snake while digging for herbs, and that person actually chopped off his own hand."
Deng Guang sighed ruefully after hearing this.
After parting ways with Deng Guang, Qin Ziwen went to the sixth floor and stopped in front of Unit 601.
Looking at Xie Jun's tightly closed door, he tried turning the doorknob—unsurprisingly, it didn't open.
Qin Ziwen glanced around. The simplest method would undoubtedly be climbing over from the balcony of the adjacent Unit 602.
After some thought, he knocked on the door of Unit 602.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Is anyone home?" Qin Ziwen asked politely.
After asking several times with no response from inside Unit 602, he nevertheless heard faint movements behind the door.
"Hello, I'm a neighbor from downstairs. Is anyone home?"
"No one's home," came a timid little girl's voice from behind the door.
Qin Ziwen couldn't help but chuckle silently. An image of a little girl formed in his mind. "Are the adults not home? I'd like to discuss something with your parents."
"No one, they went out," the little girl replied from behind the door in a childish, milky voice.
Seeing that the adults weren't home, Qin Ziwen didn't press further. He simply said, "Alright then, when your parents come back, could you please tell them that the neighbor from the fifth floor would like to make a trade with them."
Coming down from the sixth floor, the door of Unit 501 across the hall happened to open.
Wang Xiaoli peeked out, her face looking somewhat haggard, and she stared fixedly at Qin Ziwen.
Qin Ziwen gave a polite smile, nodded to her, and prepared to open his door.
Wang Xiaoli suddenly spoke up: "Yesterday, when you weren't home during the day, a few people loitered around your doorway for quite a while. They might have been casing the place."
Qin Ziwen's hand paused on the door. He turned his head sideways.
Through the crack of the door, Wang Xiaoli showed half her face, watching him.
After a moment of silence, Qin Ziwen asked, "When?"
"Probably in the morning, not sure of the exact time. There were three of them, acting sneaky. Xie Jun used to have some shady friends, and their vibe was similar."
"Friends of Xie Jun?"
"No, I didn't recognize them."
Qin Ziwen opened his door, went inside, took two ripe kiwifruits from a box in the living room, and handed them to Wang Xiaoli.
Wang Xiaoli didn't accept them. "Could I exchange them for something else? These kiwifruits are sour; they stimulate the appetite and make me even hungrier."
Qin Ziwen nodded and said to his brother, "Go get half a kilogram of smoked meat."
Then he still pressed the kiwifruits into Wang Xiaoli's hands. "Take them all."
A flicker of complex emotion passed through Wang Xiaoli's eyes. "Thank you."
Hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Would you like to come in for some tea?"
Qin Ziwen remained standing where he was. "No need. If you notice any other suspicious activity later, please keep an eye out."
Wang Xiaoli gave a soft "Mm" of acknowledgment.
Only after Qin Ziwen closed his door did Wang Xiaoli slowly pull her own door shut.
After the commotion caused by that family last time, she had become somewhat famous within certain circles of the residential complex.
It was a bad thing, but also a good thing.
The downside was that people tended to point fingers at her when she went out. The upside was that more people sought her out privately.
But she didn't care. She just wanted to live, to live well. Even if it meant living like mud, she was determined to survive here.
After closing the door, Qin Ziwu asked quietly, "Brother, do you think what she said is true?"
Qin Ziwen looked toward the window. "Do you want it to be true, or do you want it to be false?"
Qin Ziwu said, "If it's true, then there really is a group of people. If it's false, then that woman has a problem."
Qin Ziwen's gaze gradually turned fierce. In the scoring criteria, eliminating enemies who harbored ill intentions toward him was also an effective way to earn points.
Against such filthy scum, he must deliver a heavy, powerful blow!
Qin Ziwen said to his brother, "Don't sleep too soundly tonight. The three of us will take turns on night watch."
Qin Ziwu nodded to show he understood.
Around six o'clock in the evening, someone came looking for him—it was the male resident of Unit 601.
Qin Ziwen explained his purpose: he wanted to borrow their balcony to access Unit 602.
The man from 601 was taken aback. Go to 602?
But the idea of letting strangers into his home instinctively made him uncomfortable.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally said in a low voice, "Can I go back and ask my wife's opinion?"
Qin Ziwen agreed. Roughly half an hour later, the man from 601 came back down. "My wife said it's okay, but only one of you can enter my home. That..."
Qin Ziwen said, "I understand."
The man from 601 secretly breathed a sigh of relief at Qin Ziwen's reasonableness.
Qin Ziwu said, "Brother, let me go! I'm more agile than you."
Qin Ziwen didn't argue with him, just advised, "Alright, be careful. It's best to tie a rope for safety. Also, be cautious when you're in someone else's home."
His brother gave an OK sign.
A few minutes later, the door to Unit 602 opened, and the younger brother waved from behind it, signaling his older brother to come in.
The layout of Unit 602 was exactly the same as their own home: three bedrooms, one living room, one bathroom. The room's decor leaned towards a modern Chinese style.
Hanging on the wall behind the living room sofa was a large calligraphy scroll that read: Heaven Rewards the Diligent.