Chapter 5: Awkwardness

After defeating several more players, Li Zhan was already on the verge of losing his temper. Most of these players who added him as a friend were simply curious, bored, or wanted to chat about anything and everything, forming groups and gossiping as if Li Zhan were some sort of Sunday entertainment.

“If the next one just wants to ramble, I’ll really lose it on him!” Li Zhan resolved firmly.

The last friend request was from a player named Greed. As soon as the request was accepted, a message popped up:

Greed: Hello there!
Li Zhan: Hello.
Greed: I have dye—do you want some?
Li Zhan was delighted at last to find someone who wanted to talk business.
Li Zhan: Of course! Didn’t you add me after seeing my post?
Greed: Yes.
Li Zhan: What kind of dye?
Greed: Yellow dye—gardenia.
Li Zhan: How’s the quality?
Greed: Top-notch, you can rest assured.
Li Zhan: Oh? And your asking price?
Greed: That’s easy; name your price and we’ll trade. I’m desperate for food right now.
Li Zhan was surprised. Desperate for food? His own tribe was in the fertile plains of the middle and lower Yangtze, where the land was rich and productive. Where was this other tribe located? Could they be nearby?
Li Zhan: Where’s your tribe? (Li Zhan asked, probing for information.)
Greed: Wuwei.

...

Li Zhan: How about we talk business after you finish building the railway, okay? Thanks!
Since the other player actually had dye, Li Zhan managed to hold back his urge to lash out. Judging by the literal meaning of his reply, it even seemed sincere, which might lead to some interesting speculation. Still, his blacklist had just gained another name.

Forget it, there’s no point in chatting with them. I’ll just check the forum after logging off and add anyone who seems promising, Li Zhan thought to himself, closing the friend list.

Ruoyan had been watching Li Zhan all this time, seeing his brow furrow and his body tremble, unable to guess the reason, she asked,

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“A bunch of bored people kept adding me as a friend. I chatted with them for a while,” Li Zhan replied.

“Friends? Why are they adding you?” Ruoyan asked.

Li Zhan realized he’d never told Ruoyan about his plans to make clothing, so he decided to explain everything from the start. After all, she was technically a co-owner of the Yanhuang Tribe, even if he never expected her to contribute much. It was only right to keep her informed.

“I want to turn cotton into clothes...” Li Zhan outlined his idea.

“Clothes? You want to make clothes? That’s wonderful!” Ruoyan was so excited she looked as if she might throw her arms around Li Zhan and smother him with kisses.

“Yeah, wonderful. Now you’ll have something new to play with,” Li Zhan said lazily.

Ruoyan pouted. “Hmph, you underestimate me. Do you even know what I studied?”

“What was your major?” Li Zhan asked.

“Fashion. Design.” Ruoyan enunciated each word slowly, tilting her head with pride.

“Oh... Wait, fashion design?!” Li Zhan’s eyes went wide as he stared at her. “You can design clothes?”

“Of course. I’m a top student, widely recognized at my school,” Ruoyan said, as proud as a peacock.

Li Zhan was overjoyed. He’d been fretting about finding someone to design clothes. His original plan was to look up some simple in-game character images online and copy their outfits, choosing suitable styles for production. But there was another problem: even if he had the designs, how would he know the correct measurements for tailoring? He knew nothing about clothing construction—was he supposed to take a crash course in garment making?

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Li Zhan asked.

“You never asked, so why would I tell you?” Ruoyan replied.

At this moment, Li Zhan and Ruoyan were walking along the main path from the tribe center to the dock, with not a villager in sight. Li Zhan circled Ruoyan twice, eyeing her up and down in exaggerated fashion and clicking his tongue.

“Who would’ve thought? The little lady’s actually a star student! But I wonder, how good is your fashion school, and how impressive are your credentials? If you’d graduated from ColorStar Fashion School in City D, that would be something. Let me tell you, out of the top ten fashion designers in mainland China, three are from ColorStar. Even an apron designed by them is more refined than a business suit.”

Upon hearing this, it was Ruoyan’s turn to stare wide-eyed.

“You’re in City D? I’m in City D too. In fact, I attend ColorStar.”

...

The two of them exchanged a look of astonishment before falling into an awkward silence.

In the year 2079, young people’s dependence on the internet had reached unprecedented levels. Nearly all single men and women met through the web, and a large portion of in-game relationships were with people from the same city. People had long grown accustomed to this and even considered it perfectly normal.

Li Zhan and Ruoyan were both part of this new generation, so it was only natural that they’d feel a little embarrassed upon discovering they lived in the same city.

...

The awkward silence lingered. Li Zhan, being the man, felt it was his duty to break the ice, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

Ruoyan, too, blushed and lowered her head, wanting to speak but not knowing where to begin. As a woman, her natural reserve left her at a loss.

Just then, Zheng Jun came running from the riverbank, his face lighting up with joy when he saw Li Zhan.

“Zheng Jun, what is it?” Li Zhan and Ruoyan asked in unison. Under Zheng Jun’s surprised gaze, one of them coughed awkwardly while the other blushed deeper.

“What’s going on?” Li Zhan pressed on after clearing his throat.

Zheng Jun brightened again. “Chief, the research and development of the waterwheel and mill is complete.”

“Already? That fast?!” Li Zhan was surprised—the whole process had taken less than a day. Wang Hui really showed promise.

By “promise,” Li Zhan meant research potential. In “Empire Rising,” an ordinary villager’s skill could be leveled up to Advanced, a rare few could reach Expert, while attaining Master was almost unheard of.

From Wang Hui’s performance, it seemed he could reach Expert level in research. Expert research skills not only saved money and shortened research time, but also offered a chance of creating exceptional equipment (equipment levels: Inferior, Common, Advanced, Exceptional, Masterwork)—something that Advanced skill couldn’t achieve.

“Yeah, let’s go check it out,” Zheng Jun said.

Soon, Li Zhan, Ruoyan, and Zheng Jun arrived at the waterwheel.

From the outside, the waterwheel appeared unchanged, still spinning vigorously. But inside the attached watermill, numerous machines were now in operation: pestles for dehusking, millstones grinding grain into flour, and many huge wooden gears turning in unison. As the new system had just come online, the farmers were still learning to operate it on their own, while Wang Hui supervised two of them, guiding them through the process.