Chapter 362 - 249: Building Roads Through Mountains and Bridges Over Ravines
Chapter 362: Chapter 249: Building Roads Through Mountains and Bridges Over Ravines
Li Xiang spent his nights with Jiang Cai’Er, and his days with her too. The two were practically inseparable, spending almost every waking and sleeping moment together. Jiang Cai’Er rarely went home, only popping back in the morning to show her face and pretend she had just woken up before heading over to Li Xiang’s house with her robot dog and backpack.
Lunch and dinner were also taken care of at Li Xiang’s house. He pulled out all the stops, bringing out all sorts of precious ingredients and preparing them in a variety of creative ways for her. Afterward, the two would drink Spirit Wine together, enjoying a few small glasses. It was an incredibly pleasant life.
Jiang Jianguo was quite emotional about it. He knew the old saying about a daughter’s loyalty eventually lying with her husband’s family, but he hadn’t expected her to be stolen away so completely. They weren’t even formally engaged, yet she was already spending every day at the Li family home. But he also knew that Li Xiang was a huge catch. Luo Feifei, Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, and the others all seemed to have their eyes on him. It would be a disaster if such a great potential son-in-law was poached by someone else. So, he let Jiang Cai’Er do as she pleased.
On another note, he had learned from her homeroom teacher that Jiang Cai’Er’s academic performance was miles ahead of everyone else. In the last few provincial joint exams, she had placed first in the entire province every time, leaving the second-place student far behind. The teacher couldn’t stop laughing on the phone, which put Jiang Jianguo’s mind at ease about her grades.
’She worked hard for a month, so what’s wrong with taking a few days off to rest? It’s all about balancing work and rest.’
The only one who was a little unhappy was Aunt Jiang. Normally, when her daughter wasn’t home, she’d just casually whip something up for meals. The old couple was easy to feed, after all. But now that her daughter was finally back, she was getting up at the crack of dawn every day to meticulously prepare a huge, sumptuous feast of all her specialty dishes. Yet her daughter wasn’t home for a single one of her three daily meals.
Jiang Jianguo just laughed. "You should go see what they’re eating over at Li Xiang’s house. Now *that’s* what you call good food. It’s only natural our daughter looks down on your cooking."
Aunt Jiang didn’t believe him, so she took an opportunity to drop by Li Xiang’s house during mealtime. The moment she walked in—holy cow! The table was covered in delicacies from the mountains and seas, many of which were dishes she had never even seen before.
She did, however, recognize a few things, or at least she’d seen them while scrolling through short videos on her phone.
For example, black gold abalone as big as a bowl—was that abalone?
There was a huge lobster weighing several pounds that couldn’t even fit on a large platter, and some kind of giant crab that was also massive—was it a king crab? There was also something that looked like cellophane noodles, but it smelled incredibly fragrant. ’It definitely isn’t just noodles,’ she thought. ’Could it be shark fin?’
Then there was the stewed venison and all sorts of strange-looking ocean fish she had never seen before, but they all looked delicious at a glance.
Aunt Jiang only knew the pot of meat was stewed venison because Li Xiang had recently brought several dozen pounds of it over to her house. She and her husband had tried a little but couldn’t bear to eat it all. They had cured the rest, planning to save it for guests during the New Year.
Aunt Jiang was speechless. ’No wonder our daughter doesn’t come home to eat,’ she thought. ’Compared to this, the food I make is just too plain and simple.’
"Aunt Jiang, you’re just in time. Come join us," Li Xiang said, standing up and greeting her warmly.
Aunt Jiang shook her head repeatedly and turned to leave. "I was just passing by and thought I’d pop in to see you," she said.
Jiang Cai’Er knew exactly what her mother was thinking and laughed. "Mom, just eat with us. It’s no big deal."
"No, no, I’ve already made more than enough food at home. I’m going, I’m going. You two take your time." Aunt Jiang waved her hands dismissively and practically fled. She was afraid if she left any slower, she would start drooling, and that would be mortifying.
As for Granny Li Xiang, she ate little and had already finished her meal, heading over to Third Granny’s place. The old woman was perceptive and knew to give the young couple their space. That was why Aunt Jiang hadn’t run into her when she came over.
When Aunt Jiang got home, she told her husband all about it with a sigh. Jiang Jianguo just laughed. "The last time I went over, Xiang’Er also asked me to stay and eat. I didn’t eat either; I just ran off."
’After all, as her father, I have to maintain some face. My future son-in-law prepared this elaborate meal for my daughter. Should I really go over there and freeload? That would definitely be inappropriate.’
In reality, Li Xiang wished more people would join them to liven things up. He was planning for their two families to have New Year’s Eve dinner together this year. He’d have Jiang Cai’Er act as the diplomat to convince Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang to come over and cook at his house. He would bring out even more ingredients then.
Li Xiang and Jiang Cai’Er weren’t just lovey-dovey all day, every day. The two of them also got serious work done.
In the afternoon, Li Xiang took her up into the mountains to work.
The farm work at Li Xiang’s home was mostly sorted out, so he started thinking about tidying up the area surrounding the village.
For instance, the mountains behind Li Family Village.
These mountains were collective property. Long ago, when the rural population was larger, the land was subcontracted to individual households. The mountains had plenty of paths, as well as some terraced fields and tea plantations.
It didn’t matter if the mountains were large or small; where many people walked, a path would naturally form.
But later on, all the young people left to find work elsewhere. The elderly who remained in the village grew older, and they went up the mountains less and less. After more than a decade of neglect, the mountains had long been overgrown with weeds, shrubs, and thorns. It was teeming with countless snakes, insects, rats, and ants—the kind of place where you couldn’t even find a spot to put your foot down.
After Li Xiang returned to the village, he was pretty much the only one who had gone up the mountain a few times. The village elders hardly ever went. They would just wander around the foothills, chopping some firewood, picking wild tea leaves, or gathering some wild mushrooms.
The only exception was the front mountain at the village entrance, which was relatively short and gentle. It had a Mountain God Temple at its peak where incense was still burned, and since stone steps had been built in the early years, the path was barely maintained.
Now that Li Xiang had awakened the "Earth Pivot World Record," even though it was still in its first form, clearing the overgrown mountains and building stone steps was quite easy.
He brought Jiang Cai’Er with him, walking through the mountains and building the path step by step.
This was the place where he had grown up, and now he was the village head, so he was especially dedicated to the task.
Although there was snow on the mountains, and he couldn’t control snow, he could control the earth and rock beneath it.
Two large hands the size of washbasins, formed from rock and earth, emerged from beneath the snow. With a gentle push, they cleared the snow away. Under the control of his Earth Superpower, the soil and rock transformed into solid stone steps.
In less than half a day, he had built the steps all the way to the summit. The staircase was divided into several large sections, with a few platforms cleared out in between where he also built some stone benches for people to rest. At the summit, he naturally carved out a relatively large plaza and raised a stone pavilion. Later, he would have a construction company come to finish it, turning it into a summit park and another local attraction.
The construction work at the summit was a rather large-scale project, so he did it at night to avoid being detected by satellites. As for the stone steps, the disturbance was smaller and concealed by trees and the mountain’s terrain, so it didn’t matter as much.
Although the higher-ups were already aware of his Extraordinary Abilities, the people in charge of satellite surveillance might just be regular staff without the clearance to access such core secrets. So, Li Xiang felt it was better to keep a low profile.
He didn’t just build stone steps up the mountain; he also repaired the paths between the mountains, building according to the terrain. He even dug out large ponds in suitable spots in several valleys. With both mountains and water, the Spiritual quality of the area would surely increase.
Jiang Cai’Er used her Quantum Computer to perform optimal calculations and create a virtual model. Then, she activated the "Mirage Realm" Attribute of her Purple Mirage Armor to materialize the modeled renderings on-site.
She made this Mirage Realm visible only to herself and Li Xiang. After that, Li Xiang’s work became simple. He didn’t need to think about the design himself; he just had to manipulate the earth and rock to solidify it according to the Mirage Realm’s projection.
One designed, the other built. With the couple working together, their efficiency more than doubled.
For the stone steps, he used the "Rock Armor Technique." This was a Superpower that condensed a Rock Armor for defense, but it could also be used to add armor to buildings or to construct stone steps.
The surfaces hardened by his Rock Armor Technique were even sturdier than natural rock, and he even designed anti-slip patterns on them.
In the past, building such mountain paths would have required immense manpower and resources and been incredibly arduous. But for Li Xiang, the work was finished in just a few days.
He wasn’t working for nothing, either. Through these few days of hard work, his understanding of his Earth Superpower deepened. The "Earth Pivot World Record," his Great Lifebound Rune, glowed brilliantly, and his proficiency with it had increased by at least 80%.
When the Rune first manifested, his mastery over it was only about 20%, allowing him to use just a handful of Superpowers like the Earth Escape Technique. Now, however, he could cast over sixty different types of Earth Superpowers.
The only limitations were his body’s Spiritual Power and the Rune’s low-level form, so the power of the abilities he cast was still not great enough.
This Rune, like his others, could have its Attributes enhanced by spending Achievement Points.
However, this was a Great Lifebound Rune, after all. It encompassed nearly all Earth Superpowers, and the number of Achievement Points required to upgrade it to the next Tier was staggering.
After getting a handle on it over the past few days, he had gained a rough understanding. This Great Lifebound Rune had a total of nine major forms, and with each Tier it was upgraded, its power would increase tenfold.
It was currently in its first form, and just upgrading it to the second form required one million Achievement Points. For every subsequent form, the cost would double.
Li Xiang’s Achievement Point account balance was currently a little over 270,000—not even 300,000. To get it to its second form, he was still short by more than 700,000 points.
He decided that after Jiang Cai’Er returned to school, he would head out again. He would go to other countries to scrounge up some Achievement Points and fill up his empty Otherworldly Warehouse while he was at it.
’Having supplies on hand keeps the panic away.’
Li Xiang walked hand-in-hand with Jiang Cai’Er through the mountains, carving paths where there were slopes and building bridges where there were streams. There were a few winding brooks in the valleys, but they were all frozen over, crystal clear and beautiful like jade belts. The scenery was delightful.
Jiang Cai’Er was in an extremely cheerful mood, building up their hometown with Li Xiang and doing such meaningful work. She hummed a little tune, her voice playful and lively. "A flower~, a tree~, a house~, a road~, a mountain~, a river~, a little boat~, and me~..."
Li Xiang had a pretty good singing voice himself and joined in for a few lines, turning it into a duet. The song itself was a love song. "Around the mountain~, across the river~"
Jiang Cai’Er sang, "Every few days you pretend to pass by, but in your heart~ you’ve long had me, I want you to tell me right now~"
Li Xiang chuckled mischievously. "I’ll tell you right now!" He swept Jiang Cai’Er into his arms and ducked into the nearby woods.
"You’re so naughty~"