C19 The Silver Water Pot!

"I first set out to sea when I was 20, and now, more than 30 years have passed," Hai Wei mused, lost in his recollections.

"Making a living at sea is no easy feat. You're up against the vast ocean, and often, the people you encounter out there can be just as perilous."

"I was 30 when I bought my own fishing boat and took the helm as captain. That same year, I got married and soon after, we welcomed a daughter. We called her Duo."

As Hai Wei's memories enveloped him, Liu Feng, seemingly unaffected, continued to drink, lifting the bottle to his lips for another swig.

"Those were truly the best ten years of my life. Coming home to the smiles of my wife and daughter after each voyage brought me immeasurable joy."

"Fishing in the open sea, the risks were as plentiful as the rewards. Back then, I was a dependable leader, and my crew was loyal and hardworking. We faced many dangers, but we always pulled through, and I managed to save a good sum of money."

"My final trip to sea was a decade ago. At 40, I was in my prime, both physically and in terms of experience. I decided it would be my last voyage before retiring to open a small shop and live out my days in tranquility."

"Everyone wants to go out with a bang, and I was no exception for that last journey."

"Little Jin had been with me for five years by then, a trusted and skilled sailor."

"But I could never have anticipated the disaster that would strike on that trip. It was Little Jin's watch that night, but he'd been drinking. Somehow, he veered the boat off course."

"That year, a typhoon hit, and we lost all contact with land, adrift in the storm for a harrowing seven days and nights."

"Fortune smiled on us, though, as a rescue ship found us and brought us back to safety."

"But the fish village I called home was no more. It had been wiped out by a small tsunami."

"Everything was gone."

"In my anger, I struck Little Jin, knocking out half his teeth."

"Afterwards, I sold the boat and moved to Deer Harbor Town."

"Just like that."

As Liu Feng listened to Hai Wei's tale, he noted the straightforward way he spoke, each word less than the last, yet the weight of his sorrow seemed to grow heavier with every sentence.

In the end, it came down to this.

What exactly? As one might guess, everything was gone.

Liu Feng cracked open a bottle of wine and passed it to Hai Wei, then opened another for himself. Together, they silently downed their bottles in one go.

"This year marks my tenth in Deer Harbor Town."

"Today is the anniversary of that tsunami from ten years ago."

They fell into silence, each staring into their wine, words failing them.

"Ding dong. Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission [Tragedy of Deer Harbor Town: Hai Wei]."

"Congratulations, Host, you've earned a reward: [Intermediate Tool Upgrade Book] and 3,000 gold coins."

For the first time, Liu Feng found the system's voice grating and intrusive.

The system interface sprang up, the upgrade book gleaming and the gold coin tally blinking in his inventory.

Liu Feng shut down the page with a flick of irritation.

It was also the first time Liu Feng didn't feel joy in receiving a reward.

Liu Feng's bond with Hai Wei wasn't particularly deep, but he was the sort to reciprocate wholeheartedly if someone else opened up to him.

He genuinely felt Hai Wei's anguish, even though he hadn't lived through it himself—it was a palpable sorrow.

Knowing Hai Wei needed no words of comfort, Liu Feng simply drank in quiet solidarity.

The rest of that night was a blur to Liu Feng. He only remembered waking up the next day to find the handlebars of his Light Cavalry 125 bent out of shape.

The following day.

Liu Feng lay in bed, massaging his temples vigorously, but it barely eased his throbbing headache.

Feeling miserable, the last thing he needed was the system chiming in with a new alert.

[Due to excessive drinking last night, Host's physical strength recovery is reduced]

[Physical Strength]: 50/100

To hell with the system... Liu Feng swore internally.

Losing fifty points of stamina was a heavy blow for someone with only a hundred to his name, like frostbite on top of poverty.

Despite the splitting headache, Liu Feng forced himself up. He had to water his chilies and sweet potatoes—farming waits for no one.

Grabbing his sprayer and filling it with water, he mounted his crooked motorcycle and wobbled off to the System Land.

After watering about twenty plots, a sudden system alert interrupted Liu Feng's work.

[Warning: Host, the sprayer's durability is critically low. Continuing to use it will result in irreparable damage.]

Liu Feng let out a long sigh, looking up at the sky. He felt like the system had been messing with him since yesterday, targeting him at every turn and completely shattering his morale.

Luckily, he had an Intermediate Tool Upgrade Book in his backpack. He hopped on his rickety motorcycle and made a beeline for the System Shop.

Bursting into the pump house, he found the two NPCs standing as serenely as ever.

"Blacksmith, I need an upgrade on this sprayer. Here's an upgrade book for it."

"Sure thing, just give me a moment. It's a quick process with an upgrade book."

Ten minutes later, the blacksmith emerged, holding a gleaming silver kettle.

What happened to my sprayer?

"That's what your sprayer looks like now, post-upgrade."

Well, as long as it works, I don't care about the design.

He stashed the silver kettle in his backpack and glanced at the item description.

[Silver Kettle]: Intermediate tool. Water capacity increased by 50%. Waters three System Land plots simultaneously without additional stamina cost.

Awesome! This triples my watering efficiency. And if I factor in the time saved, it's even more than that.

Eager to test it out, Liu Feng left the pump house and rode back home.

In the system farm, fewer than ten plots remained unwatered. With his new silver kettle in hand, Liu Feng moistened three plots with a single gesture. A couple more flicks and the job was done.

"Science and technology truly are the primary productive forces."

Liu Feng mused with heartfelt appreciation.

As he pocketed the silver kettle, his eyes caught the gold coin tally.

Wow, 3,000 gold coins. Not too shabby—I'm doing quite well for myself. For a brief moment, Liu Feng thought that maybe listening to Hai Wei's sorrowful tale wouldn't be so bad after all.

After some careful thought, Liu Feng decided to keep 1,000 gold coins for automated watering and weeding, while allocating the remaining 2,000 for skill acquisition. It seemed like the most sensible distribution.

Liu Feng accessed the skill tree and surveyed its three branches before selecting [Building Technology].

Despite his eagerness to acquire new skills, his budget of 2000 gold coins was modest. Among the options, only the [Building Technology] category offered a skill within his means.

[Fish Pond Blueprint]: 2000 gold coins.

Perfect!

Liu Feng eagerly clicked to learn it.