A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

After dealing with the bean sprouts, Chen Mo turned his attention to the potato sprouts.

He completely lost all restraint, reaching out to grab them, pulling them up by the roots, clump by clump.

Some small, unripe potatoes, about the size of a fingertip, were hanging from the roots.

"This is edible too." He picked the small potatoes one by one and put them into another cloth bag. "Mosquitoes may be small, but they are still food. At this time, we can't throw away anything that can be eaten."

The two pulled up all the potato seedlings, and in total they only got less than three pounds of small potatoes.

Finally, Chen Mo took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, which contained various weed seeds that he had prepared in advance. He took a handful and scattered them evenly on the turned soil.

Following that example, Sun Dazhu and the other man destroyed the entire vegetable garden, turning it into a wasteland that had just been cultivated but was abandoned.

"Walk!"

Before dawn, they cleaned up all the footprints and then disappeared into the woods.

At dawn, Chen Mo lay in bed, his consciousness sinking into his mind.

[Daily information has been updated, please select:]

The light screen lit up, and three messages appeared.

[First, beneath the foundation of the old ancestral hall in the village lies a cache of copper coins from a previous dynasty, estimated at around 500 coins. It's important to note that excavation could potentially damage the ancestral hall's structure and cause discontent among the villagers. (Moral hazard)]

Second, three feet underground at the ancient battlefield ruins in the back mountain, there are scattered fragments of rusted weapons and armor. Be careful, as these could be melted down to forge farm tools or weapons; however, the excavation work is extensive and easily discovered (involving physical exertion and exposure risks).

Third, there is a naturally formed stone cave five feet below your cellar. This cave contains underground spring water and a colony of native blind shrimp. Be aware that digging into it could cause the cellar to collapse, posing a life-threatening risk. (Structural safety risk)

Chen Mo's breathing paused for a moment.

The third option.

Is there spring water and shrimp in your own cellar?

What the hell is this if not an invincible start?

High risk? Landslide?

Just kidding! Fortune is found in danger! Compared to starving to death, what's the big risk of a landslide?

He did not hesitate and focused his mind.

"I choose three!"

In an instant, a clear three-dimensional image unfolded in his mind.

Looking down through the rammed earth layer of the cellar, about five feet below, an irregular natural rock cavity, roughly half the size of a room, comes into view.

On the other side of the rock face, a thin stream of water trickled out, gathering into a clear little pool. Beside the pool, in the crevices of the rocks, a group of translucent shrimp swam slowly. They had no eyes, only long antennae probing their way.

A perfect resource point.

Fetching water and catching shrimp can all be done in their own cellar.

Wang Mang? Wang Laoqi?

Even if you filled in all the wells in the village, you would never imagine that my house has its own spring.

Chen Mo did a somersault and rolled off the bed.

He picked up the pickaxe and rope from the corner of the wall, and silently slipped into the kitchen, lifting the heavy wooden planks leading to the cellar.

A cold, damp, earthy smell wafted out.

The cellar was pitch black.

Chen Mo lit an oil lamp, and by its dim light, he began to take action.

He found a corner, picked up a pickaxe, and began digging into the hard ground, stroke by stroke.

To avoid making too much noise, he controlled the force, and the sound of the pickaxe hitting the ground was quite dull.

Sweat quickly soaked his back.

After digging about four feet deep, a crisp "clang" was heard as the pickaxe struck something hard.

It is a stone slab.

Chen Mo suddenly got excited. He used the tip of his pickaxe to pry up the soil around the edge of the stone slab, and then used both hands to lift the stone slab off in one go.

"call--"

A cooler, moisture-laden gust of air emerged from the cave entrance, causing the oil lamp flame to flicker.

It was indeed empty below.

He lowered the oil lamp with a rope and peered inside.

The cave wasn't large, and it was exactly the same as the scene in his mind.

Under the light, the spring water was crystal clear, shimmering with light. Beside the puddle, dozens of translucent shrimp, startled, scurried into the crevices of the rocks.

Chen Mo tasted the spring water; it was cool and slightly sweet.

It is running water.

He was overjoyed; this was the real key! With this, his and his family's survival was now fully guaranteed.

Chen Mo carefully scooped out a few blind shrimp from a small earthenware jar, filled it with spring water, then covered it with the stone slab again, filled the excavated soil back in, and restored it to its original state.

He showed the things to Sun Dazhu.

Sun Dazhu's eyes widened as he picked up a small, translucent shrimp that was still twitching and brought it close to his eyes.

"This...this thing...can we eat it? It doesn't have eyes..."

"Why don't you try and see?"

That evening, a strange, delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen.

Chen Mo simply boiled the shrimp in water with a little salt.

A small bowl of white shrimp soup, topped with dozens of small shrimp that turn pale pink after cooking, is served on the table.

Chen Ling'er curiously tried one.

"Brother, this shrimp is sweet!" The little girl's eyes lit up.

Chen Dashan also picked up a piece, savoring it slowly, then nodded gently and said, "The meat is very tender, without any muddy taste. It's raised in clean, flowing water, so the flavor is exceptionally pure."

Chen Mo was now completely confident.

He planned to enlarge the pool inside the cave, then scoop some algae from the underground river and put it in, trying to raise them artificially.

The next morning, Wang Mang led several younger members of the Wang family, carrying hoes, and went up the mountain with great pride.

He wants to take over Chen Mo's land.

But when he arrived at the destination, the smug smile on his face instantly froze.

There's no vegetable garden in sight.

There was just a patch of wasteland that had been turned over in a mess, with a few weed seeds scattered on it, as if it had just been cleared and no one was going to continue working on it.

"Damn!" Wang Mang kicked a clod of dirt. "That Chen Mo guy, he's pretty quick!"

A follower approached: "Brother Mang, do we still need this land?"

Wang Mang's face turned ashen, but he couldn't take back what he had said in front of so many people.

He cleared his throat and loudly announced to the villagers who had rushed over to see what was going on: "This land is now confiscated! From now on, it will be managed by our Wang family! I'm telling you, anyone who dares to cultivate public land without permission will be severely punished!"

The villagers shrank back, daring not to speak out against their anger.

Just then, an old voice came from behind the crowd.

"Wang Mang! This mountain belongs to the entire village. When did it become your Wang family's private property?!"

Li Laogen was helped out, limping as he walked out. His back injury hadn't fully healed, but his voice was still loud and clear.

Wang Mang turned around, saw it was this old man, and sneered.

"Hey, old man Li, your back's better now? Still dare to meddle in other people's business?" He stepped forward and poked Li Laogen's chest with his finger. "If you say another word, believe me, I'll bring some people to measure your little patch of land properly tomorrow."