Zhao Chi selected the Woodworker's Shop again.
The phantom image of the Woodworker's Shop was much smaller.
It was easy to find a suitable spot.
[A building can be constructed at the current location. Confirm?]
This time, he chose to confirm.
[Required materials detected nearby. Use automatically?]
He confirmed again.
The pile of materials next to the Lord's House also began to glow with a white fluorescent light.
The fluorescent light grew brighter and brighter.
A portion of the materials vanished, turning completely into white light.
On the ground, some of the dirt also turned into white light.
The next moment, the white light shone upon the spot he had just selected for the building.
A phantom image of the building appeared in that spot. The glowing phantom slowly grew taller while the white light gradually dimmed.
As the light rose, the foundation of the Woodworker's Shop appeared first.
Immediately after, the steps and walls of the Woodworker's Shop materialized.
As well as the various woodworking benches and facilities inside.
Finally, the roof.
The roof sealed shut, and the white light vanished.
[Woodworker's Shop construction complete]
Zhao Chi felt a sense of wonder.
'This item really is convenient.'
To build a building in just a few dozen seconds, and to standard quality—it was quite impressive.
Zhao Chi took out the Speed Construction Order again.
This time, he was going to build the Blacksmith's Shop.
The Blacksmith's Shop was similar in size to the Woodworker's Shop; neither was very large.
Zhao Chi looked around, searching for a suitable location.
Suddenly, he realized everyone was staring at him.
Tang Ruan's little mouth was agape in an "O" shape.
Gu Qing also had a look of astonishment.
It was no wonder they were surprised.
Although they had some common sense about life, it was the first time they had ever seen such a magical item.
It wasn't just them; even Zhao Chi had only ever heard about it in a classroom.
Today was the first time he had seen it in action.
Zhao Chi smiled and continued to find a spot for the Blacksmith's Shop.
He clicked "build."
Then he found another empty plot and built the Tailor's Shop as well.
Two beams of white light swept over the materials.
Two buildings shot up from the ground.
The white light faded, and the Blacksmith's Shop and Tailor's Shop were both complete.
The area around the Lord's House had originally felt spacious.
But now, it felt a little crowded.
'Starting tomorrow, I'll have to cut down trees, pull weeds, and clear out more open space.'
The women were all discussing it excitedly in low voices, feeling like their horizons had been broadened.
Just then, the fragrant aroma of meat began to waft through the air.
Fat from the venison dripped continuously onto the charcoal fire, stirring up wisps of greasy smoke and fragrance.
The aroma drifted far.
Zhao Chi was no longer afraid of wild beasts being drawn by the smell.
If any came, they would just become the next meal.
Gu Qing stood up from the campfire.
In her hands were two skewers of roasted venison, sizzling and steaming.
"My Lord, try this. These two skewers are from the tenderest part, they're sure to be the most delicious."
Zhao Chi took them with a smile.
He took a bite.
It was hot and fragrant.
The meat was tender and had a slight, natural sweetness.
But it also had a distinct gamey taste.
Zhao Chi wasn't quite used to it.
But he wasn't a picky eater; he could stomach even the most unpalatable food.
Besides, Gu Qing had roasted it for him personally.
"How is it, my Lord?"
"It's delicious. You're a good cook."
Gu Qing giggled. "You're too kind. I just sprinkled some salt and flipped it a few times. If you like it, I'll roast more for you in the future."
After saying this, she brought over a few more skewers.
The taste of the roasted meat was acceptable.
But the women didn't eat much.
Far less than they had at noon.
He had originally thought that the better part of the wild deer would be almost finished.
But unexpectedly, there was still half of it left.
Enough for at least one more meal.
Zhao Chi made a point of asking Tang Ruan, "Tang Ruan, you only ate five skewers of venison. Are you really full?"
Tang Ruan said, "Yes, I'm really full."
He glanced at her belly.
It was still flat and smooth.
Not bulging out at all like it had been at noon.
"Are you really full? Or are you just being shy? Or maybe you don't like it? We have plenty of rice, we can still make congee. Don't starve yourself."
Tang Ruan smiled. "I'm really full, why would I starve myself? Look, the others ate about the same amount I did."
The other women all nodded as well.
"My Lord, we really are full."
"That's right. At noon, it was because we all had the negative 'Newborn' State, so we could eat a lot. Our appetites aren't actually that big."
"Yes, my Lord. You don't need to worry. Please, have a couple more skewers."
Gu Qing brought over two more skewers.
This time, Zhao Chi waved his hands. "No more, I've already had fifteen skewers, I'm stuffed. The rest can be fed to the dogs, or let those Goblins have some."
Gu Qing nodded. "My Lord, why don't you feed the two dogs? Their wild nature has been suppressed, and they're very docile."
There were some inedible parts on the deer.
But it was no problem for the two mutts to eat them.
And it didn't need to be cooked.
The two mutts were already waiting impatiently.
As soon as Zhao Chi approached, they started whimpering, their tongues constantly licking their noses.
Zhao Chi tossed them a few pieces. They swallowed them in one gulp, without even chewing.
Then they looked up at Zhao Chi expectantly.
Zhao Chi said, "From now on, you're my dogs. You need to learn to guard the house, hunt, and track. Understand?"
The two dogs just stared at the meat in Zhao Chi's hands.
Their tails were wagging like crazy.
Zhao Chi split the remaining meat into two piles and tossed it all over.
The two dogs dove headfirst into the meat and started eating with loud snuffling sounds.
They were both black. Though called mutts, they actually looked a bit like German Shepherds.
They were medium-sized dogs.
One male and one female. 'I wonder if they can have puppies.'
Zhao Chi tapped on their Attributes interface, but there was no response. It seemed he couldn't change their Attributes.
The Goblins were all tied to the surrounding trees.
Smelling the fragrant meat, they were drooling all over the ground.
Gu Qing took the skewers that were burnt or poorly cooked and gave them to the Goblins.
The Goblins started scrambling for them.
They even started attacking each other.
"All of you, stop!"
Gu Qing shouted sharply. The Goblins' bodies shuddered, and they all stopped at once.
None of them dared to move.
"Three skewers each, no snatching! Tomorrow, your food will be allocated based on your work performance. If you don't meet your quota, you'll go hungry!"
You could clearly see the dissatisfaction in the Goblins' eyes.
But not a single one dared to make a sound.
They all obediently ate the skewers in their hands, having no standards whatsoever for the quality of the meat.
Three skewers per person was only enough to be half-full; they were still very hungry.
Keeping them hungry was necessary.
Using hunger to control slaves was a common method.
Zhao Chi was very satisfied with Gu Qing's performance.
Gu Qing was a natural-born Hero.
She possessed much more foundational knowledge than Tang Ruan and the others.
With her around, things were really worry-free.
Gu Qing was fierce when facing the Goblins, but the moment she turned back to Zhao Chi, her expression softened into a gentle one.
Zhao Chi couldn't help but praise her, "Impressive. With you here, I feel like I don't have to do anything. Otherwise, all this work would have fallen to me."
Hearing his approval, Gu Qing leaned in cheerfully.
She whispered, "My Lord, I don't know your personality very well yet, but I will do my best to assist you. I have a question, and I hope you can answer me honestly."
'A question?'
Zhao Chi looked at Gu Qing. "Alright, go ahead and ask."
"How was my performance today? Do you feel that I stole your thunder? Or that I challenged your authority?"
"Huh?"