Chapter 216 - 215: Competition Registration Day
Chapter 216: Chapter 215: Competition Registration Day
There were two days left until the start of the competition.
The number of villagers in Zhao Chi’s territory reached 242.
This surpassed the previous peak population.
Zhao Chi had been crafting nonstop for the past two days, so he handed over the management of the territory to Gu Qing.
He also granted her extensive permissions.
Gu Qing could now decide the Profession of new villagers.
When Zhao Chi was away or busy, Gu Qing was in charge.
After crafting these 1,230 fashion items, he had used 210 Speeding Charms.
This was equivalent to 2,100 work hours. Calculated at ten hours a day, that was 210 days.
Seven months of full-time work!
Correspondingly, Zhao Chi’s Professional Skills had also rapidly increased.
[Name] Zhao Chi
[Skills] Sewing 41
[Specialization] Silk Stockings 20, Shirt 16, High Heels 5
He couldn’t help but marvel once again. ’Speeding Charms really are great items.’
’And Tang Ruan is such a great support.’
He still had 445 Speeding Charms left. If he saw any more for cheap, he could buy them to stock up.
Next up was making Kerosene.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
A voice call came through the system.
Hm?
He opened it and saw it was from Zhao Huai.
Zhao Huai: "Zhao Chi, where are you? Come to the family’s public house."
Zhao Chi: "What’s wrong?"
Zhao Huai: "It’s about the rookie competition. You have to officially register today. Come on over."
Today was already the 18th. The rookie competition was on the 20th.
The day after tomorrow.
Zhao Chi: "Okay, I’ll be right there."
After giving Tang Ruan some instructions, Zhao Chi returned to the Great World.
The village was peaceful and serene.
Zhao Chi quickly entered the courtyard of the public house.
Zhao Huai and Zhao Jiao were both standing in the courtyard, talking about something.
Seeing Zhao Chi, Zhao Huai gestured and said, "Come on, let’s go to the Clan Leader’s room. My father is in there too."
Zhao Chi nodded. "Okay."
They entered the ancient room.
A faint, musty smell hung in the air.
Red lacquered furniture.
The Clan Leader, Zhao Shizhang, was seated in the central chair, with Fourth Uncle, Zhao Qiye, beside him.
Zhao Chi greeted them first.
Zhao Shizhang smiled. "Good afternoon. How is your development coming along?"
Zhao Chi replied, "It’s going relatively smoothly."
The development path for most New Lords was more or less the same.
The initial phase was relatively safe.
It was all about constructing Buildings, producing Supplies, and developing the territory.
Then came training Soldiers in formations, drills, coordinated combat, and so on.
For commoners without family support, that was usually the extent of it.
They had to grind it out slowly over Time.
Slowly accumulating resources.
Those with family support could progress faster, obtain more Heroes, and learn more Skills.
They had Special Buildings and Territory Traits.
Zhao Chi... had them too.
He had seized them.
And bought some himself.
Zhao Shizhang nodded, his tone tinged with self-reproach.
"Originally, after your school entrance exam, I had planned to focus on cultivating you.
"But plans can’t keep up with changes. First, the severe reduction in our extra quota greatly weakened our strength.
"Then we had to join Zhao Quan’s banner, becoming complete vassals to a noble.
"There are some things you younger generation don’t know, but we do. The problems the family is facing right now are severe.
"So right now, we truly can’t spare even a single resource.
"But rest assured, once the family gets through this period and survives, we will genuinely focus on cultivating you."
Zhao Chi shook his head.
Everyone knew that joining Zhao Quan meant putting their lives on the line for him.
Zhao Chi understood this as well.
There were indeed matters that a junior member like him couldn’t be privy to, and he imagined they weren’t simple.
Zhao Chi trusted Zhao Shizhang.
After all, the man had previously put up real rewards in gold and silver.
And he had even entrusted him to Li Ruanyu’s care.
That alone was enough.
Zhao Chi said, "It’s alright, Clan Leader. I understand the family’s difficult situation. You don’t have to say that."
Zhao Shizhang chuckled.
"For this rookie competition, only you and Lü Hong are participating from our family.
"Lü Hong’s strength is decent, but placing high would be asking too much of him. Still, the competition isn’t dangerous, so it’s good for him to go and gain some experience.
"But you have a chance to enter the top 10. If you do, you’ll receive a reward contributed by the various families, and they’re all quite good.
"I want to hear if you’re facing any difficulties. Do you need any help or items? Just say the word."
Though he said that, Zhao Chi knew the family couldn’t offer much.
So he said, "Do we have any Self-Selected Medicine Treasure Chests? I’d like one or two."
"Self-Selected Medicine Treasure Chests?" Zhao Shizhang hadn’t expected him to ask for that.
After exchanging a glance with Zhao Qiye, he said, "You’re short on Medicine, is that right? I can give you some Medicine."
Zhao Chi waved his hand. "I only want the Medicine Treasure Chests. Do we have any?"
"Of course we do. How many do you need?"
"2 will be enough."
Zhao Shizhang smiled. "Let’s give you 5. They’re indeed flexible, and everyone has some in reserve. Qiye, do you have many left?"
Zhao Qiye nodded. "I have exactly 5. I’ll give them to you."
With that, he sent a Trade request.
Zhao Chi immediately thanked them. "Thank you, Clan Leader. Thank you, Fourth Uncle."
Zhao Qiye waved his hand dismissively.
"It’s nothing. Today is the registration day for the rookie competition. You need to go to the venue in town to register.
"I’ll have your cousin Zhao Huai and your cousin Zhao Jiao go with you.
"When the competition starts the day after tomorrow, they will accompany you as well.
"Normally, an elder should go, but as I just said, we really don’t have much time.
"After all, the Zhao Family is relying on just a few of us to hold it together. While your Big Brother Zhao Feng and Second Brother Zhao Huang are quite strong, they can’t carry the main burden yet.
"In the end, family matters still depend on us old-timers to manage.
"Now that we’ve joined a noble’s faction, we’ve had a moment of respite, but the situation has become even more severe.
"For now, this is all we can do. I hope you don’t mind."
Zhao Chi didn’t mind at all.
He would have been fine going by himself.
Besides, he knew it wasn’t that the family was intentionally neglecting him, but that his current status was simply not worth mentioning.
It was like a war raging on the front lines while a junior family member back home, in their first year of middle school, placed first in their grade.
Everyone would offer their congratulations.
They would say the kid had a bright future.
But ultimately, the front lines were what mattered most.
Zhao Chi shook his head. "It’s alright, Fourth Uncle. I understand these things. Having my cousins accompany me is no problem at all."
Zhao Qiye smiled.
"It’s been hard on you. Since your parents passed away, the family hasn’t shown you much concern.
"It’s mainly because the family suddenly lost two of its main pillars, so the pressure was distributed among us. Just like now, the burden we carry is immense.
"The family applied multiple times for a reduction in the Magical Beast quota, but it was never approved.
"So we could only grit our teeth and endure. Fortunately, we’ve made it through.
"Your father and I were closest when we were young. If you have any difficulties, you can look for Zhao Huai and Zhao Jiao. I’ve told you this before, but you’ve never sought them out.
"Ever since you were injured, your temperament has changed, and you’ve become much more sensible. It’s a relief for all of us.
"I wish you the best of luck in the competition."
Zhao Chi nodded. "Thank you, Fourth Uncle."
Zhao Qiye sighed. "I really can’t be away from my post for too long, so I’ll head back now."
Of course, he wasn’t saying this to Zhao Chi.
Zhao Shizhang nodded. "Be careful with everything. Don’t be careless."
Zhao Qiye: "Understood."
In a flash, his figure vanished.
Zhao Shizhang said, "Alright, you all should get going too."
The three of them said their goodbyes and left.
Zhao Jiao said, "I’ll go get the car. Don’t forget to call for Lü Hong."
Zhao Huai nodded. "Yeah, I know."
Zhao Jiao turned and headed into the village.
"She bought a car?" Zhao Chi asked.
Zhao Huai laughed. "Nah, it’s my father’s car. She likes driving it, so we let her. Riding in a car is so much more comfortable. I don’t get why she enjoys driving so much."
Both Zhao Huai and Zhao Jiao’s father was Zhao Qiye.
But they had different mothers.
Fortunately, while there might have been conflicts among them, in the face of a greater threat, all those conflicts no longer seemed to matter.