Magic Farm 169

Chapter 169: You Arrived a Little Earlier Than We Agreed

For lunch, President Sean chose the Borg Chamber of Commerce’s highest-tier restaurant in Golden Cave City.

This was a restaurant catering to professionals; every ingredient at the banquet was either from a magical beast or a magical plant or rare medicinal herb of considerable age. The head chef was a renowned master, hired from afar at great expense by the Borg Chamber.

Not only was the flavor exceptional, but the presentation was also nothing short of spectacular.

Qi Yu was no longer the bumpkin he’d been when he first entered Survival Game. The dishes were indeed delicious, but he wasn’t so easily amazed anymore.

Most importantly, by nature, even when something astonished him, the highest praise he could give was to lower his head and eat in earnest.

Now, the title of “bumpkin” belonged to someone else.

Jinqian, who had lived like a half-wild man in Star Forest for over a month, hadn’t stopped talking since the first dish was served.

Snap!

Snap, snap, snap!

He didn’t just take photos—he dutifully posted every single dish to the regional channel.

And he couldn’t resist adding a cheeky line each time:

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: Here, family in front of the screen, have the first bite.]

Regional channel players: “……”

[Reach For The Moon: ?]

[Grind Emperor: Are you sure you’re not just out traveling?]

[Roach Tastes Weird: Jinqian single-handedly raised all players’ expectations for outside exploration.]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: Calm down, everyone! I’m only enjoying this because I’m riding the boss’s coattails. This feast is courtesy of a chamber president! It’s free!]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: If I were exploring alone, I’d probably be gnawing on a dry bun in some corner right now. If you don’t believe me, just look at I-Ming.]

[Need A Bit Of Money To Save: Tsk tsk, to think he’s a top-ten player, yet after 24 hours of exploration, he spent 23 and a half of them locked up.]

I-Ming, watching from the sidelines: “……”

He was so angry he nearly ground his teeth to dust.

Fortunately, the players’ attention quickly shifted from him back to Jinqian’s pictures.

After all, ever since entering Survival Game, all supplies and tools had to be obtained from treasure chests.

If you could get food, you were lucky. To hope for fresh ingredients, a full set of cookware, or even seasonings—well, that was a pipe dream.

Even the most skilled cook couldn’t work without rice; most players’ cooking skills barely reached “home-style,” which was already impressive.

To eat a proper meal was already a mark of status in Survival Game.

Let alone a meal as lavish as this one.

Almost instantly, Jinqian’s friend list was flooded with red notifications.

[Be A Good Person: I’m about to cry from hunger, Jinqian, could you bring back any leftovers? I swear I don’t mind if it’s scraps.]

Some were more enterprising.

[I’m Lily: @Need A Bit Of Money To Save, can you help me order food? Place two orders for me—I’ll pay as usual and add a 30% service fee, okay?]

[Grumpy Bro: Agreed. Jinqian, just buy out the kitchen’s entire stock and auction it in the trade channel, I’m serious.]

[Little Laozi: Maybe Jinqian could go to the market and buy a batch of ingredients? After all, it’s rare to explore outside so safely and with connections.]

Though he disliked “Little Laozi,” Jinqian had to admit the guy was sharp.

He’d already planned to do a round of shopping that afternoon.

But there were priorities.

First, stock up for himself, then pick up things for friends in the small group. If there was still time and money left, he’d buy some for the regional channel.

He’d discovered something interesting.

Everyone in the regional channel knew he was out exploring with the boss. Anything he could do, the boss could do—probably even better.

Yet, with so many people tagging him, not a single one asked the boss to help buy things.

Maybe it was that unique aura of the boss—no one dared ask him to do something so down-to-earth.

One man quietly eating, one marveling aloud—both made President Sean, as host, look very good indeed.

In his delight, he had VIP cards made for Qi Yu and Jinqian, so that in the future, whenever they brought friends to dine here, it would be free.

Jinqian, just about to ask if he could get a few tables’ worth of food packed up: “……”

Suddenly, he was too embarrassed to speak.

But he quickly convinced himself: the ingredients here were obviously expensive. Tasty, yes, but not cost-effective.

Better to buy some regular ingredients…

Then Qi Yu spoke up:

“The dishes we just ate—please prepare two more sets, exactly the same. No need for the VIP card; I’ll take them home in my storage backpack.”

Jinqian: As expected of the boss—unfazed in any situation.

Before President Sean could say anything, Qi Yu added, “If it’s free, I don’t want it.”

President Sean laughed and shook his head. “You young people, really.”

But he didn’t say anything more.

After President Sean left, Leslie kept his word and dutifully acted as their guide, first taking them to the market.

Unsurprisingly, it was only after seeing how much a single gold coin was worth that Jinqian was completely dumbfounded.

After the shock wore off, he started buying like mad.

Qi Yu, seeing him in action, looking like he was about to become the personal shopper for the entire region, stopped him:

“At this rate, you won’t finish buying even if you spend the whole afternoon.”

“First, buy what you need for yourself, and a little for your friends. As for everyone else, buy what’s convenient, and let them explore for themselves if it’s not.”

He suspected that if he didn’t speak up, Jinqian would keep shopping until the market closed. But even so, one person could never meet the expectations of tens of thousands of players.

Reminded, Jinqian’s feverish enthusiasm finally cooled.

Right—his original plan was to finish shopping, then check out some famous sights in Golden Cave City, and happily join the Spring God Festival that night.

But as soon as he realized he was rich and could buy so much, he’d completely forgotten about the festival—his mind was filled with nothing but hoarding supplies.

Not to mention the time it would take, his backpack couldn’t possibly hold that much. He couldn’t buy extra storage packs just to shop for the regional channel.

If he did, the little profit he made wouldn’t even cover the cost of storage items.

“You’re right, boss.” He thought it over quickly and nodded. “This exploration experience might not come again. I can’t waste such a good day just shopping.”

He was quick to act, immediately revising his plan and pulling Leslie aside to discuss.

Aside from his own needs, he followed Qi Yu’s example from last time and bought gifts for friends in the group.

He also ordered a large quantity of rice and vegetables from Leslie—an impressive amount for an individual, but a mere drop in the bucket for the seventy thousand players in the region.

Jinqian thought, the boss was right—he couldn’t shoulder the expectations of tens of thousands.

Everyone started on equal footing; anyone could get an exploration scroll. When convenient, he could put some extra supplies up on the trade page—that was enough.

Afterward, Leslie took them to a residence in the city center.

It was the place he’d prepared for Qi Yu and Jinqian to rest tonight.

The house was spacious, the floors spotless, and the garden lush and well-tended—clearly, it was regularly maintained.

Leslie explained, “This is an unused residence, but there’s always a steward and servants taking care of it. They live in the house to the left. If you don’t want to be disturbed, just don’t call them. If you need anything, press the button by each room’s door.”

Qi Yu looked around. The house was large, with plenty of rooms—more than enough even if Shen Ben Wu Xiang joined them.

Speaking of Shen Ben Wu Xiang, he wondered what he was busy with today.

Just as he thought that, a new message popped up on his survival panel.

[Shen Ben Wu Xiang: I’m done with everything. Invite me to the party.]

Qi Yu immediately turned to Leslie and Jinqian. “A friend of mine is coming. I’ll go out to meet him.”

Leslie, who’d already heard about the friend coming, quickly said, “I’ll go with you!”

But Jinqian grabbed him. “Hey, let my boss go alone. Tell me again how the button at the door works?”

After all, the boss was going to summon someone via party invite. If Leslie saw someone appear out of thin air, how would they explain it?

Qi Yu wasn’t too worried—he’d been through enough to know Survival Game would always find a way to make the unreasonable seem reasonable.

At the gate, he opened the survival panel and sent a party invite to Shen Ben Wu Xiang.

Soon, he heard the clip-clop of the wilderness carriage.

Four white horses pulled the carriage around the corner and stopped in front of him.

Shen Ben Wu Xiang stepped down from the carriage.

Qi Yu walked over, pulling out a beast crystal to feed the horses, and said cheerfully, “You arrived a little earlier than we agreed, Dan Xingyu.”

Knowing the little horses didn’t like him, Dan Xingyu didn’t try to feed them, but stood quietly to the side.

He smiled, eyes crinkling. “I was so looking forward to this trip that I hurried to finish everything.”

With a hint of excitement and pride, he said, “When we get back, I have a surprise for you.”

[Author’s Note]

[Food][Food][Food]

There’s another chapter for late night, but don’t wait up—see you in the morning [heart]