82: Chapter 82 Wang Dachui's Evaluation

After a quick wash, Hu Gualing desperately wanted to collapse into bed, but remembering his agreement to meet Xiao Niao in the game at midnight, he reluctantly held back.

When he finally managed to tough it out until nearly midnight, Hu Gualing closed his eyes with relief, but his mind was filled with either scenes of Forging steel blades in the research institute or the snacks he had eaten with Wu Yingying on the food street, and he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep...

Meanwhile, in a warehouse in Shengang, Niao Huateng could barely keep his eyelids open.

Although his two most important works had been ruthlessly rejected by Supervisor Gou, leaving him with no work to do and abruptly ending his long period of busy life, he actually felt somewhat unaccustomed to the sudden idleness.

However, since he had agreed with Hu Gualing yesterday to enter the game promptly at midnight today,

he hadn't closed his eyes for nearly thirty hours since logging out of the game at eight last night, fearing that if he accidentally fell asleep, he might enter the game early and miss their appointment.

Now, seeing that the time had finally reached midnight, Niao Huateng closed his eyes, felt a flash of darkness followed by light, and arrived in the game.

It was just dawn in Xiao Huang Village at this moment.

Xiao Niao had logged off in the Xie Family Courtyard yesterday, so upon entering the game, he appeared there once again.

As soon as he stood still, he saw Head Manager Xie Dongdong carrying a water basin and sweeping the courtyard.

"Morning, Young Hero Xiao Niao." Seeing Xiao Niao, Head Manager Xie Dongdong greeted him pleasantly, set down the water basin, wiped her hands on her apron, and pulled out a piece of cloth. "These are the accounts for these past few days; take a look and see if there are any mistakes."

Although only one day had passed in the real world, the sun had risen and set four or five times in Fantasy Jianghu, so by the concept of "days" here, several days had indeed passed.

However, this did not mean the time flow in the game was different from the real world; it only meant that the definition of a "day" was different on both sides.

Xiao Niao understood after a moment of thought and took the cloth to start reviewing it.

The accounts on the cloth were written with a charcoal pencil, and it was evident that Head Manager Xie Dongdong had tried her best to write neatly, but the thick, black handwriting was still crooked.

But it was legible enough to understand what was written, which was sufficient.

Xiao Niao walked over to the shelves to check the goods against the accounts and found that, just as recorded, a few villagers had indeed come to buy and sell some scattered items over the past few days.

The largest transaction was when Hu Gualing came to buy two strips of cured meat and a piece of flint, paying a total of 1500 copper coins.

The transaction amount was really not much.

Furthermore, these items were all consigned by villagers; after they were sold, most of the money had to be given to the consignors. The commission earned was pitifully small, not even as much as the quest reward he received for helping Tang Yao fill a bucket of sand and gravel.

However, since the Trading House was just starting out, any transaction was a good thing.

Xiao Niao returned the cloth to Head Manager Xie Dongdong. "Sister Dongdong, you've done a great job. Once the Trading House makes money, I definitely won't treat you unfairly."

Head Manager Xie Dongdong smiled shyly. "Not at all. I was just afraid I hadn't done it well and would delay Young Hero's business. Since there were no mistakes, that's for the best."

Seeing how simple and honest Head Manager Xie Dongdong was, Xiao Niao felt a bit uncomfortable, as if he had become one of those capitalists in the real world who only knew how to feed their employees empty promises.

With this feeling in mind, he took the broom without a word and began helping Head Manager Xie Dongdong sweep the courtyard.

The courtyard wasn't actually dirty; it just needed the dust swept. Head Manager Xie Dongdong first sprinkled water to dampen the dust, and he then gave it a light sweep.

After cleaning the courtyard, he immediately felt the air was much fresher.

Xiao Niao looked toward the courtyard gate, feeling puzzled.

Hu Gualing had agreed with him to enter the game promptly at midnight and meet at the Xie Family Courtyard, so why hadn't he arrived yet?

Since he had nothing else to do for now, and he wasn't keen on taking and completing quests like other players, he simply headed out and went to the Blacksmith Shop to look for him.

--- — —

Hu Gualing had finally managed to fall asleep after tossing and turning, and as soon as he entered the game, he appeared in the Forging room, with the sound of iron-smithing ringing in his ears.

It was still early in the morning, yet Wang Dachui had already begun working.

Wang Dachui noticed him.

It seemed to be a game setting; his sudden appearance did not startle Wang Dachui.

Instead, the other man bellowed with his loud voice, "What kind of contraption do you have on your arm now?"

Hu Gualing was stunned for a moment, then realized that he was still wearing that [Rough Iron Bracer] on his wrist.

Although he had already witnessed impressive modern craftsmanship at Teacher Zhang's place, he still had some special feelings for this piece of equipment he had completed by himself for the first time. He extended his hand, waved the bracer under Wang Dachui's nose, and said with slight pride, "Although my bracer doesn't look like much, its protective capability is actually quite good."

The bracer's attribute panel clearly stated: +3 Defense.

Although 3 points of defense didn't seem like much, a sickle only added 1 to 3 points of attack, so by comparison, this bracer could be considered quite good.

This was also the reason for Hu Gualing's pride.

"Protective capability?" Wang Dachui was skeptical. He set down his hammer to free up his hand, tapped the back of his hand against the bracer, and upon hearing a metallic clinking sound, his expression immediately turned disdainful. "I thought it was something amazing; it's just an iron ring, what kind of protective capability could it have? Not to mention anything else, if I were to punch this bracer, wouldn't your bones still break?"

Hu Gualing was just about to retort when his gaze caught Wang Dachui's pectoral muscles, covered in black hair that twitched with every movement, and then his thick, calloused palms, making his eyelids twitch uncontrollably.

With Wang Dachui's beastly physique built from long-term iron-smithing, even assuming he knew no martial arts, a single punch from him might not be any lighter than Miao Cuihua's fist.

Hu Gualing was already afraid in his heart, but he still refused to admit defeat verbally. "My bracer is for defending against Sharp Weapons like swords and blades, not for defending against your fists."

Wang Dachui scoffed disdainfully. "The surface of your bracer is slippery, so its ability to parry swords and blades is extremely limited. Wearing it on your hand just hinders your attacks; it's better not to wear it at all."