Chapter 10: Mass-Produced Goods

Early morning.

As the sunlight touched the treetops, the magical effects of the Dream Tree gradually faded.

Chu Jiu yawned and opened his eyes. He instinctively pressed a hand to his chest, confirming that Little Canned Food was still nestled securely there without having fallen, before slowly sitting up and looking around.

Above the trees, with their varying shades of green, hung the morning’s unique white mist, adding a touch of gentleness to the forest. High in the canopy, unknown birds chirped, flapping their wings as they took flight into the pale blue sky. Around the base of the tree, the beasts that had gathered the night before were rubbing their necks against one another affectionately, departing in groups with swaying tails.

Chu Jiu patted Little Canned Food on the head. "It’s nice, isn't it?"

It was nice—peaceful and tranquil.

*

After walking along the edge of the forest for a few more hours, Chu Jiu finally found the "underground mine."

To his slight surprise, the entrance still bore traces of human excavation: broken tracks on the ground, rotting arch supports at the mouth of the cave, and even rusted brackets for gas lamps along the rock walls inside. It seemed that, many years ago, this Forgotten Forest had also been a place of human activity.

Chu Jiu sighed softly. He stood at the entrance, not rushing in blindly. Instead, he gathered some fluorescent grass to craft a [Cold Light Torch]. Holding the torch in one hand and his machete in the other, he stepped inside.

He had only walked a few paces when he heard a "cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck" sound. Chu Jiu, of course, did not assume there would be any gentle chickens in a place like this. Sure enough, a few seconds later, a monster emerged, shuffling along; its upper body was half the height of Chu Jiu, featuring a chicken head and a long, serpentine tail.

Little Canned Food let out a hiss from the pocket on his chest, its tiny body tensing up.

Chu Jiu whispered, "It’s okay, it won't see us."

"As long as we don't provoke each other, everything will be fine... Wait?"

In Chu Jiu’s mind, this cockatrice corresponded to the following illustrated card:

[The Clucking Cockatrice: Legend has it that the cockatrice can turn people to stone instantly, making it a terrifying monster. However, the cockatrice here has an attack power of nearly zero. Its meat is so delicious that it makes one instantly melt—it is an excellent ingredient that makes one drool at the mere mention of it. Habitat: Unknown.]

Chu Jiu looked at the fresh ingredient before him, stepped forward, and with one swift motion—

*Thwack.* The chicken head hit the ground.

Cut, disassemble, pack away.

The process was smooth and practiced: [Chicken-flavored Cockatrice Meat x50], [Fine Snake Skin x30].

Little Canned Food stared in disbelief. Its tail stood straight up, and it looked up at Chu Jiu, meowing, "What happened to not provoking each other and being fine?"

Chu Jiu: "Cough. Turning them into delicious food is the greatest respect one can show a monster."

Little Canned Food: ...?

What kind of twisted logic is that!

*

Continuing with the torch, Chu Jiu found what he needed in the surrounding rock layers: gypsum. Besides the gypsum, there were also scattered deposits of saltpeter and alum. Chu Jiu gathered 99 units of each, hitting the maximum inventory limit for single items.

After collecting these three minerals, Chu Jiu hesitated before walking two steps deeper into the mine. Since he was already here, he might as well see what else was inside and fill in his map.

As he walked further into the darkness, the air grew colder, and Little Canned Food in his pocket seemed increasingly nervous. A few minutes later, a rusted iron door appeared, sealed with a lock that looked centuries old. From behind the iron door, a faint "hissing" sound could be heard.

It was the same sound he had heard when the grotesque worm had ambushed him.

Chu Jiu shuddered and immediately decided to leave. But just then, Little Canned Food grew restless, trying to jump out of his pocket, seemingly having developed an intense interest in whatever was behind the door.

Chu Jiu whispered, "It’s too dangerous, let's go," but the cat continued to push out. Helpless, Chu Jiu used his free hand to press down on its little head, coaxing it like a child: "Be good now, we’re leaving. I'll make you some chicken-flavored cat strips when we get back."

Little Canned Food shivered, freezing in the chest pocket, unable to move.

"Be good"?

W-what? What is this human saying! Does he think I’m some ignorant kitten? Little Canned Food was both embarrassed and indignant, deciding that once they returned, it would devour those "chicken-flavored cat strips" to express its fury.

*

The next day at noon, Chu Jiu returned to Bean Village.

He used his spiritual power to craft a set of wooden molds and spent the night soaking a bucket of beans. Early the next morning, he carried the beans to the village chief's house. He borrowed a large pot, a stone mill previously used for grinding jade-wheat, a mortar, cheesecloth, and two wooden buckets. He also asked the chief to find two capable people to help.

The chief was delighted to see Chu Jiu return safely and quickly asked A-Man to help organize things. Seeing the crystalline minerals Chu Jiu had brought back, the old man asked skeptically:

"This gypsum... I have seen it many years ago."

"Are we supposed to put this directly into the beans?"

Chu Jiu replied: "It can't be added directly; it must be burned into calcined gypsum first."

With that, Chu Jiu had them grind the beans while he focused on preparing the gypsum. He roasted it over the fire, picked out the dark impurities, and ground it finely in the mortar until he had a white, calcined gypsum powder.

By then, the bucket of soaked beans had been ground into a thick slurry. Using linen cloth to squeeze and strain out the bean dregs, he poured the remaining milky white liquid into the large pot and brought it to a boil, resulting in a bucket of delicate, fragrant fresh soy milk.

The two young women helping, Lin Wen and Shi Qian, smelled the aroma and looked on with envy, secretly swallowing their saliva.

Chu Jiu stirred the gypsum and smiled, saying: "Each of you can have a bowl to taste."

Hearing this, A-Man quickly grabbed bowls from the cupboard and served everyone. The village chief took a large sip and exclaimed in surprise: "It’s so smooth! It doesn't taste like it was made from beans; it’s almost like the milk I drank in town years ago."

Lin Wen added: "It is a bit like milk... but milk is so expensive, even more expensive than a bucket of beans..."

Chu Jiu smiled without answering. He set the prepared gypsum aside and carefully poured the upper supernatant into the soy milk bucket. Soon, the soy milk in the bucket coagulated into mounds of "bean curd."

Chu Jiu poured the bean curd into a square wooden mold lined with cheesecloth, pressed a wooden lid on top, and said: "Wait three hours, and you will see the tofu."

There wasn't much to do during those three hours. Chu Jiu took the opportunity to stew a pot of chicken soup—or rather, "chicken-flavored cockatrice soup." Once the pot was set up, there was nothing left for the two girls to do, yet they were unwilling to leave, remaining by Chu Jiu’s side and asking detailed questions about the steps they had just witnessed.

Chu Jiu shared everything without reservation. He even had A-Man bring over a wooden board and charcoal pencil, writing down the entire tofu-making process, starting from how to burn the gypsum, without missing a single detail.

As he finished writing the last stroke and handed the board over, a series of system prompts rang out:

[Host has activated "Mass Production".]

[Mass Production requirements met:
1: Host possesses the recipe for the item.
2: The item is suitable for large-scale production.
3: Host has chosen to gift the recipe to others.]

[Villagers can now produce "Tofu" based on the recipe. Villager affinity has increased significantly. Host has gained 1,000 Development Points.]

[If this mass-produced item is successfully sold externally, the Host will continue to receive a commission of Development Points from each transaction.]

1,000 points? That many?

And if it sells well, I get a commission too?

Wow!

Chu Jiu’s eyes widened, startling A-Man and the others, who wondered if he had been exhausted into a stupor.

*

Three hours later, the tofu had set.

Chu Jiu uncovered the cheesecloth and handed a knife to the girl named Lin Wen: "Here, try cutting it."

She took the knife and pressed down firmly, expecting it to be like cutting a radish. To her surprise, the knife encountered almost no resistance, easily slicing a clean line.

"Oh!" she couldn't help but exclaim.

Chu Jiu smiled and instructed her to make a horizontal cut, dividing the tofu into square, palm-sized pieces. Looking at the white, tender, and slightly jiggly block, A-Man was already craving it, wiping his drool as he asked: "Brother Chu Jiu, can we eat this tofu just like this?"

Chu Jiu replied: "Freshly made, you can eat it as is. However..."

Before he could finish, A-Man had already grabbed a spoon, dug out a corner, and popped it into his mouth.

The village chief asked with a chuckle: "Is it good? What does it taste like?"

A-Man scratched his head, looking annoyed: "It’s so tender and smooth, I didn't even taste what it was like before it slid down my throat!"

The adults laughed, their eyes gleaming with anticipation: this thing was truly excellent; perhaps it really could attract merchants to the village.

Chu Jiu cut a few more pieces of tofu, dropped them into the pot of simmering chicken soup, and served them to the group:

"One of the benefits of tofu is that it goes exceptionally well with other dishes."

"Try this chicken-soup tofu."

The golden, steaming chicken soup and its rich, savory aroma served as the best endorsement for Chu Jiu’s words. The village chief took a bowl, scooped out a piece of tofu with his spoon, blew on it, and carefully took a bite.

The deliciousness of the chicken soup, combined with the unique, subtle fragrance of the tofu, was a perfect, inseparable harmony. And as A-Man had said, the level of delicate tenderness was completely beyond his imagination.

Those hard, stubborn beans had ultimately transformed into such a soft and gentle bowl of food?

No one spoke; they just ate vigorously, their foreheads glistening with fine beads of sweat. After finishing, they looked at each other, then at Chu Jiu, and said in unison: "Take it to the town to sell! It will definitely be a success!"