Survival skills maxed out, I feed my wife and daughter by catching fish and shrimp

"You signed the document, why are you suddenly going back on your word?"

Butcher Zhang's face fell and he asked in a bad mood.

"Your shabby house leaks drafts and rain, and the walls are so low. I don't feel safe living here. I'm already looking at other people's houses, so I won't rent yours."

"Not renting it anymore? Then don't even think about getting a penny back." Butcher Zhang was obviously afraid that Chen Changfan was here to ask for money from him.

"How can that be?" Chen Changfan deliberately put on an expression that seemed to be distressed about the money. "I've only lived in your old house for a few days, and you've already charged me a month's rent. This won't do!"

"Even if you stayed for just an hour, you can't come back if you paid a penny."

"But that house leaks wind and rain, and the walls are low, there is no safety at all!" Chen Changfan complained loudly, making Zhang the butcher confused.

Being annoyed to no end, he simply snorted, "If it's broken, can't you fix it yourself?"

"That's your house. Who will own it if I fix it up? If you don't, just give me some money and I'll paper up the windows and build a wall."

Chen Changfan only revealed his true face at this moment. The butcher had indeed been fooled. He spat and said:

"You want me to pay to fix up your house and then let you live in it and enjoy it? No way! If you want to fix it up, do it yourself. It won't be a loss that way. I'm living in it anyway."

"What if you take it back just after I finish building the house? What should I do? I won't even have anywhere to cry."

Butcher Zhang cursed inwardly, "You're such a good-for-nothing, where'd you get the money to repair it? At most, you could just buy some straw paper to paper over the windows. He didn't even care."

"Why don't you renew the lease for another year? Once you've fixed it up, you can live in it yourself. I won't take the house unless you pay."

Butcher Zhang smiled cunningly. It seemed that Chen Changfan really wanted to renovate the old house. In that case, he might as well trick him into renewing the lease for a few more days.

"If you don't want to take the house back, I'd naturally like to improve my living conditions, but the rent for this year is too high, I can't afford it!"

Chen Changfan pretended to be hesitant, but in fact he was subtly guiding Zhang the Butcher to go in his own direction.

"That's easy! If you really want to rent it for a year, I can give you a cheaper rate. 300 wen a year, I'll charge you 280 wen! And I promise I won't interfere with any of your repairs. Is that reassuring?"

Seeing that Chen Changfan was interested, Zhang the butcher decided on the spot that he could give Chen Changfan a 20-cent discount.

280 coins to rent such an old house can be said to be extremely cheap.

Of course, this is also because Zhang the Butcher’s old house is really dilapidated, but Chen Changfan doesn’t care, because he is about to carry out a series of renovations on the old house, and what he wants now is what Zhang the Butcher said.

Secretly satisfied, Chen Changfan's face flashed with a conflicted expression. He then gritted his teeth and said, "Alright! Then write me a written agreement!"

Butcher Zhang readily agreed and wrote a document on the spot and both parties signed and sealed it. After Chen Changfan paid the remaining balance, Butcher Zhang happily took the money and prepared to show off to his wife.

Chen Changfan took a special look at the words "The landlord will not interfere with any construction matters of the tenant" on the document and put it away with satisfaction.

In this way, he can do it with confidence.

"By the way, where did you buy the adobe for your courtyard wall? It's starting to crumble. The quality is really terrible!"

Chen Changfan wanted to look for the source of the adobe, maybe he could find some turtle shell fragments.

"What kind of adobe bricks in this world don't shed dirt? I can't remember where I bought them from, but they're all made of dirt from the Chiwei River."

……

At the head of Dahe Village, on the banks of Chiwei River.

Bricklayer Hu had just finished laying out a pile of adobe bricks and was carefully and evenly spreading a layer of wood ash on them.

Suddenly, he saw a young figure walking all the way from the village, standing behind him and watching him work.

The young man looked rather thin, but his eyes were very bright. He watched himself mixing straw into the adobe bricks, applying plaster, pouring the molds, demoulding, and turning the molds. He watched everything carefully and seriously, and seemed to be very interested.

Chen Changfan saw that Hu, the bricklayer, was quite old, probably around 60 years old, and it was obviously difficult for him to turn over these heavy bricks.

But this man's technique was quite sophisticated. The wet and sticky clay was actually difficult to control, but Hu the bricklayer only used simple molds to make each brick have sharp edges and corners, just like square pieces of mud tofu.

Silently watching Hu the bricklayer's artistic technique, Chen Changfan suddenly had an inspiration:

"What would happen if I continued to infuse the deduced skills with adventure points?"

Calling up the system panel, the Spring and Autumn Fishing Technique has been perfected, the Pig-Slaughtering Knife Technique is halfway to perfection, and the Iron Mountain Thorn Technique is fully accomplished.

I currently have 3 adventure points.

Do you want to try deduction?

As soon as the thought came to him, he infused a bit of adventure into his butchering knife technique.

[In the first year, you practiced swordsmanship diligently, but unfortunately you had no talent in this area and did not gain any insights.]

In the fifth year, you carry a sharp knife with you day and night, as if possessed, often cutting yourself or others.

[In the eighth year, the sharp knife seems to have become one with you, and you know you are heading in the right direction]

In the eighteenth year, your sword has become dull, your temperament has become more reserved, but your swordsmanship has become faster.

In the 30th year, you were surrounded by three bandits. They showed their weapons, but you only used your sword.

The butchering knife technique is perfect!

When he raised his eyelids, his divine light became restrained.

He couldn't help but clench his fists.

It’s so satisfying, killing three people with one sword!

He took a deep breath and poured the remaining two encounter points directly into the Iron Mountain Thorn.

In your first year, you attempted to deduce this skill, but you didn't know how to do it, and ended up hurting yourself.

In the third year, you resumed this path, but your progress was slow due to an old illness.

In the ninth year, you were too eager to achieve success, and thus got injured again. This time, the injury was even more serious, and you almost crippled yourself.

[In the fifteenth year, you have completely adjusted your body, practiced step by step, and finally made progress]

In the 30th year, you thrust with all your might, finally piercing a large tree, achieving halfway completion.

[The 42nd year…]

[Year 59…]

In the sixty-second year, you finally mastered your most powerful move, but you were already too old to wield your weapon anymore...

The Iron Mountain Thorn finally came to perfection!

Chen Changfan couldn't help but sigh.

It took almost a lifetime to perfect this skill.

I don’t know if it’s because I have too little talent in martial arts, or if martial arts is inherently more difficult than other skills?

Fortunately, both of these skills have been developed to perfection, and my obsessive-compulsive disorder feels relieved now.

Recovering his thoughts, he looked at the Hu bricklayer.

It can be seen that this bricklayer Hu has very high skills, but he is too old and no one is willing to hire him, so he chooses to do the job of removing clay, which is both hard and unprofitable.

At the same time, the tortoise shell in his arms suddenly gave off a burst of warmth, and seemed to be faintly throbbing.

Chen Changfan looked towards the neatly stacked adobe bricks not far away. The source of the throbbing seemed to be there, but the sensation was too weak, and he could not confirm which adobe brick was moving.

"Are you looking for adobe bricks? Or are you looking for a bricklayer?"

Bricklayer Hu took a deep breath and looked at Chen Changfan.

"Old man, are you still a bricklayer?" Chen Changfan was a little surprised.

"I am not only a bricklayer, I am also..."

Before Hu the bricklayer could finish his words, he was interrupted by a young man driving an ox cart:

"Old man, load me a cart of adobe bricks. Give me a discount this time! 24 coins per cart!"

Hu the bricklayer's face darkened. "How dare you say that? My adobe bricks are made of solid materials and have regular shapes. They can't be compared to those shoddy products made by others. Others sell them for 30 wen a cart, but I only sell them for 25 wen a cart. It's already very cheap!"

"They're just lumps of mud, what's there to brag about? Others sell adobe bricks and load them onto trucks, but if you're willing to fill up my truck, 25 cents is 25 cents!"

"Let's move it! I'm just old, not lame! Can I be exhausted to death by loading a cart of adobe bricks?"

Hu the roofer was so angry that his beard started to tremble, but he was still reluctant to part with the 25 copper coins, so he gritted his teeth and was determined to make the deal.

Moving adobe bricks is hard work. Apparently, the young driver was too lazy to do it himself, so he asked Hu the bricklayer to do it.

As for what he had been rambling on for so long just now, what he meant was that he wanted Hu the bricklayer to load the truck himself, while he was happy to have some free time.

"I understand now. The transportation fee for loading this huge cart of adobe bricks is only worth a penny, right?"

Chen Changfan, who had been silent all this time, couldn't stand it anymore. He looked at the young driver coldly and asked in a deep voice.

The young driver smiled disdainfully, "That's right! He can earn a penny just by filling this cart with adobe bricks. He's really getting a great deal!"

"It costs one cent to load this truck, so how much is the freight for transporting this truck?" Chen Changfan continued to ask without making a fuss.

"It costs one penny to load the cart, and one penny to pull it. What? You want to pay?"

As he spoke, the young driver laughed at Chen Changfan. "You look so poor and you're a poor fellow. Why are you asking questions like this? Don't delay my work!"

Seeing Chen Changfan's amateurish appearance, Hu the bricklayer immediately waved his hand at him and said, "You young man, you know nothing. You'd better stop making trouble here. I have to endure this hardship to make a living."

As he said this, he prepared to move the adobe bricks that had been dried in the sun.

"I'll pay! Buy five carts of adobe bricks like this!" At this moment, Chen Changfan's voice came from behind him. Bricklayer Hu turned around and looked up in surprise. Chen Changfan was holding a shiny silver coin in his hand and looking at him with a smile.

"Master Hu, do you have enough adobe bricks for five carts?"

Bricklayer Hu calculated and said, "That's enough! Exactly five carts!"

"Okay, then I'll buy them all!"

Hu the bricklayer could not help but remind him:

"Young man, this isn't the way to spend your money. You don't need that many bricks to build a wall!"

Chen Changfan smiled but said nothing.

He just had a vague feeling that there seemed to be the aura of the River Map and Luo Shu in these adobe bricks.

Although it is not certain which brick it is, it is definitely among these bricks.

So he had to buy all these bricks.

"The moving fee is two cents per truck, right? I want him to move it!"

Chen Changfan pointed at the confused young driver and took out ten cents and threw them on the ground.