Big G, Coffee Machine and Goblin

Chapter 39 Unexpected Companions

“I do need some manpower,” Ma Li said, “but it may be two or three months before we can set off.”

“Perfect timing. My brother’s arm will take about the same amount of time to fully heal. Let’s stay in the village for now. It’s cheaper here than in the hotels in Eagle’s Beak City.”

"Are you short of money?"

“It’s alright.” Melissa paused. “Well, we’ve almost run out of money. All we have left are the eight silver shields we just earned from the raid quest and some junk we found in the goblin’s lair. And that money is still with the Adventurers’ Guild in Eagle’s Beak City.”

“If you’re really short on money, I have a job for you,” Ma Li said, “but it’s just manual labor.”

After he finished speaking, he looked at Xia Er and said, "Not only them, but any villagers in Baimu Village who want to do it can also come and do it. In fact, this job requires quite a few people."

"What exactly do you want us to do?" Melissa asked, puzzled.

"Cut down the tree."

"Cut down trees? To use them for firewood?"

"No, actually it's about building a road. I need you to help me clear a road through the forest from Blackrock Canyon to Whitewood Village. It needs to be wide enough for two, no, three carriages to pass side by side, which means that no wooden stakes can be left behind."

Black Rock Canyon isn't far from Whitewood Village as the crow flies, but because it's all forested in between, Ma Li was forced to take a long detour last time.

This is because he's driving an off-road vehicle; if it were a larger vehicle, it would probably be even more difficult to navigate. He'll likely be frequently traveling between these two locations, and repairing the road will save him a lot of time and trouble.

Not only should we repair the area outside the red mist, but we should also repair the area inside the red mist.

Once he returns to Luoyang, he will begin to handle this matter. As for the part outside the red mist, it can be entrusted to the villagers of Baimu Village; working together from both sides will speed things up.

He earned sixty gold eagles from his trip to Eaglebeak City. After deducting the alchemist assessment fee of fifteen gold eagles, the eight gold eagles spent on purchases, and some miscellaneous expenses, he still had thirty-six gold eagles and ninety-five silver shields left.

He planned to use twenty of the gold eagles to purchase goods, and keep five gold eagles as a reserve for salary and travel expenses.

In other words, he currently has about ten Golden Eagles available for use.

At a rate of thirty copper kroners per person per day, thirty people would earn nine silver shields, and over eight gold eagles in three months.

There's definitely enough money, but we don't know if the road can be repaired. We also don't have a very accurate estimate of the workload.

However, starting construction early is always better than starting late, and it can also generate income for the village. Usually, after the autumn harvest, the village enters the off-season, at which time there will be more manpower available.

Mario appointed the half-elf girl as his foreman, gave her ten golden eagles from his purse, and before leaving, he went to see Levi.

The old alchemist was actually the first person in the entire Whitewood Village to know about the Mali Project.

Back in Eagle's Beak City, he had made the decision to follow Ma Li wherever he went. Now, only a few days later, his decision had yielded results, further solidifying his resolve to stay by Ma Li's side.

Moreover, the latter promised to bring him some books on ancient alchemy and more new ancient alchemical creations when he emerged from the red mist next time, which made the old alchemist even more excited for their next meeting.

In order to see those precious ancient books as soon as possible, he planned to stay in Baimu Village.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Ma Li drove his G300p home.

Compared to when he arrived, he had very little of the canned food, compressed biscuits, and bottled water left, yet the weight of the vehicle had not decreased much.

To express their gratitude, the villagers of Baimu Village brought him a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables they had grown themselves when he left, almost filling the carriage.

This trip was not quite what Ma Li had imagined, and he didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

The only certainty is that he will likely spend a significant amount of time outside the Red Mist in the future, making preparations for his return crucial. He has much to do, including road repairs, mastering the reading and writing of the continent's common language, and he is also very interested in alchemy. He will undoubtedly study Levi's "An Introduction to Alchemy" repeatedly upon his return.

In addition, they must continue to explore the city in search of new vehicles and weapons.

Ma Li was preoccupied with these matters the whole way and didn't even notice the small figure ahead of him at first.

Fortunately, he eventually realized what was happening and slammed on the brakes. Since the speed in the forest wasn't very fast, the SUV only went forward about six or seven meters before coming to a complete stop.

At this moment, the bull bar at the front of the cart was less than three steps away from that figure.

Ma Li breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring the pain in his chest from the seatbelt, opened the car door, and jumped out. "Are you alright?"

At first, he thought it was a child from a villager's family in Baimu Village, picking mushrooms or gathering firewood in the woods.

But upon closer inspection, he noticed that the child in front of him was somewhat strange.

She was barefoot, or more accurately, she was only wearing a tattered burlap garment, which was clearly ill-fitting, with the hem almost hanging to the ground.

Autumn has arrived, and the woods are very damp, so a single layer of clothing is clearly not enough to keep warm.

Ma Li took a blanket from the car and draped it over her, then asked, "Where are your mom and dad?"

The little girl did not answer.

Mute?
The effects of the animal communication drug hadn't worn off, so the other person should theoretically be able to understand him.

Ma Li tried again, "Where do you live? Do you want me to take you home?"

Still no response.

The little girl just stood there quietly watching Ma Li. She was about 1.4 meters tall and looked to be just over ten years old.

Ma Li looked up at the time on her phone. She knew she couldn't get out of the forest before dark on her own.

"Alright, since you're unwilling to speak, I'll take you to Whitewood Village first. Perhaps someone there will recognize you."

To his surprise, the girl actually reacted this time; she shook her head.

“You can’t stay in this forest alone,” Mali warned. “Although the goblins are gone, there’s still a bear here, or some bear-like monster. I don’t know what it is, but it will eat you.”

Whether the girl understood or not, after a moment she walked to the SUV.

Ma Li opened the passenger door for her. She was about to climb in, but the next moment Ma Li had already picked her up and placed her in the passenger seat.

The girl frowned, but still didn't say anything.

Ma Li then got into the car and was about to turn around when the strange girl pointed ahead.

"What do you mean? You want to come back with me? No, no, Charles said that the red mist is deadly to life in this world."

The girl shook her head again.

"Your house is up ahead too? If so, I can give you a ride," Ma Li said, shifting gears.

(End of this chapter)