171: Qiao Yao supplied

Shen Xiaochuan's hand was still resting on the control console, his fingers slightly pale. When the last red dot on the sand table disappeared, he didn't move or speak; he simply pulled a copper gear pendant from his sleeve and squeezed it. The metal was very cold, reminding him of the feeling of his father touching his forehead after coming home from work when he was a child.

The Main Hall was very quiet, with only the sound of the System running audible. On the monitoring screen in the corner, strings of data were jumping. He looked down at the growth column for faith points—+1, +1, +1, rising once every second, very steadily. This was more real than anything else.

He opened the panoramic view of the God's Kingdom, swiped his finger in the air, and three areas turned bright yellow. Looking at the map, he thought: The main road in the East District needs to be widened by two times, the research institute should be built on the shady slope of the North Ridge, and the Training Ground needs an additional three layers of protective barriers. These matters could not be delayed. The battle was over, but no one knew when the next one would come. He looked at the blueprints for a while, swallowed, and picked up his cup to drink half of it. The water was a bit cold, but he didn't care.

Just as he put down the cup, the teleportation array chimed. A person walked out from the halo, carrying a straw-woven bag on her shoulder, with dark green rune threads sewn along the edges of the bag.

"I heard you just chased away a batch of troublesome people," Qiao Yao said, placing the bag on the ground and clapping her hands. "I happen to have a batch of goods, so I rushed them over while you're able to receive them."

Shen Xiaochuan stood up and walked over. "So fast?"

"You're not in a rush, but I am." She smiled. "Good things take up space at home; it's better to exchange them for the things you're giving sooner."

He crouched down and lightly touched the Seal at the opening of the bag. The Seal cracked open, and a gentle aura drifted out. Inside were rows of seed bags neatly arranged, each glowing slightly. He recognized at once that it was perfect grade wheat, pale gold in color, with fine lines on the surface, unlike ordinary wheat. Next to it was a bundle of deep purple vines with specks of silver light on the edges of the leaves—this was Star-patterned Vine, which could refine high-purity magic conductors.

"Did you grow all of these?" He asked, looking up.

"I've been experimenting with people on the outskirts of the Star Spirit Forest for half a year." Qiao Yao pulled out a vine to show him. "There's enough sunlight, and the soil has been adjusted three times; this batch is the first stable harvest. The spirit rice hasn't been fully domesticated yet, but it's ready for harvest."

Shen Xiaochuan didn't speak; he directly opened the Faith Mall backend to scan. The System began to prompt:

[Detected perfect grade wheat x 500 jin, estimated value: 8,750,000 faith points]

[Detected epic grade spirit rice x 300 stalks, estimated value: 12,400,000 faith points]

[Detected mature Star-patterned Vine x 50, estimated value: 23,100,000 faith points]

[Comprehensive evaluation total value: approximately 44,200,000 faith points]

This number made him pause. Nearly 45 million, equivalent to what he had saved over more than a year without eating or drinking. Moreover, these were resources that could be used directly, not one-time consumables.

"Are you using me as a warehouse?" He said in a low voice, his eyes showing a hint of helplessness.

"I know." Qiao Yao waved her hand. "We agreed last time that resources could be used to offset the debt. If you can't provide things of equal value right now, keeping a tab is fine; you can pay it back later."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded, not saying much more. He recorded all the Materials into the System and closed the backend after confirming everything was correct. When he looked up again, his expression had changed. It was no longer the weary look from before, but had become serious.

"This batch of goods is even more important than I imagined," he said. "I might not be able to provide things of equal value immediately."

Qiao Yao straightened her body. "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even open the bag."

Shen Xiaochuan looked at her for two seconds, then suddenly smiled: "You're really not afraid I'll welch on the debt?"

"If you were going to welch, you would have done it long ago." She shrugged. "Besides, Anna is still waiting to go shopping with me in the commercial district; if I get cheated, she'll definitely scold me to death."

Mentioning Anna, Shen Xiaochuan remembered the girl who always wore a gray cloth skirt and spoke slowly. He had only met her twice, but remembered she had helped Lilia process medicinal diet Materials; she was efficient and didn't talk much.

"Is she still running transport recently?"

"Yeah, one trip every three days, never stopping." Qiao Yao walked a few steps into the Main Hall. "It's quite quiet here; did the big battle just end?"

"The army just finished withdrawing." Shen Xiaochuan followed behind. "Everyone went to rest; now there are only a few people on shift."

The two walked through the corridor, and the sound of chopping vegetables came from the kitchen, one stroke after another, the rhythm very steady. Qiao Yao tilted her head and took a look: "Is there someone over there?"

"Lilith, preparing lunch."

"Oh? Let me see." She turned into the kitchen entrance and saw a woman in a light brown apron cutting mushrooms. A pile of pale cyan wild mushrooms was stacked on the cutting board, cut very neatly.

"Yo, the ingredients you have here are different." Qiao Yao leaned in to look. "This is Moon Shadow Mushroom, right? Last time I saw them, they were still seedlings."

Lilith looked up and smiled: "It's you. This batch was just harvested; it can be made into soup once washed clean."

"Do you need any help?"

"Then help me tear these into strips; they're too thick to absorb flavor easily."

Qiao Yao rolled up her sleeves and started working. The two chatted while preparing ingredients, as natural as old friends visiting. Shen Xiaochuan stood at the entrance without going in, listening to the conversation drifting out sentence by sentence.

"Do you eat these every day?"

"The soldiers have high training intensity; if they don't eat well, they get injured easily."

"Only by eating well can you win battles." Lilith said with a smile. "Shen Xiaochuan said that."

The sunlight slanted in, falling on the floor tiles at the kitchen entrance, casting a long shadow. Shen Xiaochuan stood there, watching Qiao Yao lower her head to work, and suddenly felt that this place felt a bit like home.

After twenty minutes, Qiao Yao came out of the kitchen with some juice still on her hands. "The work is done; they said there will be freshly made snacks later."

"Then sit down and wait." Shen Xiaochuan took her to the side hall.

The round table was already set, hot tea was steaming, and two plates of snacks had just been served. One plate was glutinous rice date paste cake, and the other was golden-brown baked sesame crispy cakes. The two sat down, and neither spoke first.

"Finished counting?"

"Finished." Shen Xiaochuan nodded. "All Materials have been recorded into the System, just waiting for the final result."

"Then what are you still thinking about?"

"It's not worry." He blew on his tea and picked up the teacup. "I'm thinking about how to maintain this supply in the future. You were able to bring so much this time, but what about next time? Can the production of the Star Spirit Forest always be like this?"

"No problem for now." She took a bite of the crispy cake. "I've already arranged for thirty people to specifically manage that land, taking turns on duty, guarding against exotic beasts and people stealing the harvest. As long as you can provide protective runes and tools, it can be expanded further."

Shen Xiaochuan chewed the snack slowly, frowning, and didn't answer. He was calculating another account: this batch of goods was too expensive; if he had to pay it back entirely with physical goods, he wouldn't be able to produce them in the short term. But if he dragged it out too long, he was afraid it would affect the cooperation. What to do?

"Have you ever thought about," he put down the cup, "setting a fixed quantity for these resources and delivering them once a month? Settling based on the quantity."

"You want to sign a long-term contract?" Qiao Yao raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that." He nodded. "What I lack most right now is not earning a lot all at once, but a stable supply. War relies on bursts, construction relies on persistence."

Qiao Yao thought for a moment: "That's possible, but I need to know what you can give. You can't make me guess what you have every time."

"I can tell you in advance what I need." He said. "You also need to tell me what you need. Let's be transparent so we don't have to go back and forth."

She smiled: "You really think of yourself as a shopkeeper."

"Otherwise?" Shen Xiaochuan also smiled. "Aren't you here because you know I can deliver?"

As the two were talking, the System prompt sounded softly. Shen Xiaochuan looked down at the terminal:

[High-tier agricultural resources storage completed]

[Settlement plan generating... please wait for final confirmation]

He looked up and glanced at Qiao Yao.

"It's here," he said.

She nodded, didn't move, just pushed her teacup forward.

Sunlight shone in from outside the window, spilling onto the table, reflecting two side-by-side shadows. A bird call came from afar, crisp, and quickly disappeared into the wind.

Shen Xiaochuan stared at the screen, his finger hovering over the confirm button.