He was prepared to give it a try, but he didn't plan on trying too much.
If his guess failed, the porridge he cooked could still be eaten as breakfast himself, so it wouldn't be a waste.
He poured some rice into the pot, then added water.
Beside the stove was a large wooden ladle over a meter long. With more water and less rice, he looked at it and always felt something was missing.
He slapped his forehead. How could there be no wild vegetables!
He went to the farmland and picked a little purslane. The purslane had been sent over by Xiao Meixue earlier; there wasn't much, so he had casually planted it in the ground.
After a few days of planting, the purslane's condition had improved a lot, but the vegetable leaves didn't seem to have grown much.
After washing the wild vegetables, he returned to the Porridge Shed and added the vegetables to the pot.
Then he stirred vigorously.
After boiling over high heat for nearly thirty minutes, the rice in the pot had long since burst open, becoming slightly sticky. Sparse, broken vegetable leaves floated in it. The broth was clear and bright; he could even see his own reflection when he leaned in to look.
Qin Ziwen thought to himself, "This porridge... is it too watery?"
Such watery porridge... would it attract refugees?
"Sir, please give us something to eat."
"Master! Master of the clear broth!"
From the side, two people suddenly darted out from somewhere, walked up close, and plopped down on their knees.
Their clothes were ragged, their hair a mess, their faces covered in dust, looking as if they hadn't eaten for who knows how long.
"Eat." Qin Ziwen ladled a bowl of porridge from the pot for each of them.
The two gulped it down, drinking very quickly.
After eating their fill, the two curled up on a straw mat on the ground nearby.
Qin Ziwen glanced at the two, then tapped the side of the pot with the ladle: "Can you work?"
The two scrambled to their feet. "Master, just give the order."
"Go dig some iron ore." Qin Ziwen pointed to the iron mine not far away.
The two refugees were stunned, looked at each other, then went to the iron mine with pained expressions.
Seeing that the two had left the Porridge Shed's area and still hadn't disappeared, Qin Ziwen became thoughtful. It seemed the refugees attracted by the Porridge Shed weren't limited to the shed's area like the Tavern's recruits.
After a short while, the sound of hammering came from the mine pit, clanging for a good while before abruptly stopping.
Qin Ziwen walked in to look. The people had long since disappeared without a trace, leaving only two mining picks casually placed on the ground and a few pieces of mined iron ore.
"It seems these refugees can't handle heavy work. They work for a bit and then slack off and run away." Qin Ziwen immediately understood. If they couldn't even handle mining, they'd probably run away at the first opportunity if taken out for hunting or fighting.
They could only be taken out to fill out appearances.
Looking at the remaining watery porridge in the pot, Qin Ziwen poured it out. He'd just have it as today's breakfast.
After he scooped away all the porridge, two more refugees walked into the Porridge Shed.
Finding no one in the shed, they looked around. Someone even walked to the large iron pot, leaned in to look inside, saw the completely empty pot, mumbled something under their breath, then turned and left. As they walked away, their figures gradually faded and disappeared on the spot.
After breakfast, Qin Ziwen went up the mountain with Deng Guang and Du Yu.
They had walked this path several times already; it passed through the Golden Leopard's hunting territory along the way.
But this time, they didn't see the Golden Leopard.
Arriving outside the cave, Qin Ziwen prepared to go in but was stopped by Du Yu. "Master, there is unknown danger deep in the mountain cave. Please let me go instead."
Qin Ziwen readily agreed.
Soon, Du Yu came out and handed the card to Qin Ziwen.
Qin Ziwen took the 【Building Card】 Fish and Shrimp Ditch.
Then he immediately passed it to Deng Guang.
Once Deng Guang got the card, the corners of his mouth couldn't stop curling up in joy. A man in good spirits when encountering happy events.
Walking behind Deng Guang, Qin Ziwen suddenly thought of something.
Both Li Tieshan and the Crowned Eagle were unable to touch cards. Why could Du Yu touch them?
Was it because they were summoned by Recruitment Cards, or was it because of some other reason?
Qin Ziwen asked Du Yu, "When you took the card, did you feel anything unusual?"
Du Yu hesitated. "Master, are you referring to the voice that appeared in my heart when I took the card? It told me this was a building card."
"Only that it was a building card? Nothing else?"
"Reporting to you, Master, yes."
Qin Ziwen thought either the people recruited by the Tavern were special, or Du Yu himself was special.
He would need to recruit another person from the Tavern and try again to be sure.
Returning to the residential complex, from a distance, they saw quite a few people gathered in twos and threes, watching something.
They still dare to gather at a time like this?
The three of them silently detoured around.
Returning home and going to the bedroom, Qin Ziwen looked down from the window.
In the open space surrounded by the crowd, two people were wrestling on the ground, locked in a fight.
The crowd was parted as a group of people arrived, separated the two fighting parties on the ground, and took them away. The onlookers were also dispersed by the newcomers.
After dinner in the evening, just as he was about to practice archery, Deng Guang came to his door asking for help.
He wanted to rearrange his living room; some furniture was too heavy and hard to move alone.
Qin Ziwen readily agreed. Deng Guang probably wanted to use the card and make space for it.
This was also a good chance for him to see what this Fish and Shrimp Ditch building actually was.
Arriving at Deng Guang's home, Qin Ziwen found he had already moved the TV cabinet, the air conditioning unit, and some stools and such. Only a few heavy, large items remained.
"I originally asked you and Doctor Zhao, but Shu Huan said Doctor Zhao wasn't home." Deng Guang said with a smile. He wasn't the type to make a big fuss, so he had only called Qin Ziwen and Zhao Pu's families.
"He's probably busy." Qin Ziwen rolled up his sleeves. Together with Deng Guang, they moved the sofa that was against the wall.
He noticed Deng Guang moved some unwanted things into a small room, then completely cleared out the space along the walls in the living room.
Qin Ziwen asked, "Where should we put this sofa?"
Deng Guang was conflicted. He wanted to throw it away but couldn't bear to, yet keeping it took up space.
"Just put it in the middle." Deng Guang finally pointed to the center.
In the end, Deng Guang's living room took on a strange appearance. The middle was piled with furniture and appliances, but a ring along the walls was left empty.
Deng Guang took out the card. The card in his hand transformed into a beam of light that merged into the surroundings.
When the light faded.
A ditch running along the base of the wall appeared before their eyes. This ditch resembled a small trench beside a field, containing water, stones, some aquatic plants, and moss. It had clearly become a small, ecologically complete stream channel. Miraculously, this small ditch formed a complete circle on its own, creating an opening.
It was unknown where the water inside came from.
After activating the card, Deng Guang's eyes seemed somewhat vacant, as if he was looking at something.
Qin Ziwen looked at this small ditch and found it interesting. Was this Fish and Shrimp Ditch specifically for raising small fish and shrimp?
Right at that moment, a line of text floated before his eyes 【Insight in progress... Permission verification in progress, Insight successful】
【Level 1 Fish and Shrimp Ditch: Level 1 Lush Aquatic Plants, Level 1 Aquatic Animal Growth Boost】
Qin Ziwen's eyelids twitched. He could even use Insight on other people's buildings.
He silently apologized to Deng Guang in his heart; he didn't mean to peek.
"Knock knock." Another knocking sound came. Xiao Meixue went to open the door.
As soon as Zhao Pu entered, he couldn't help but chatter: "Ah, there's so much going on with that Mutual Aid Society. Some people even got into a fight today."
......