First floor, main hall.
Gong Qu carefully chose a corner that wouldn't disrupt the room's aesthetics and placed down the recycling bin.
Clunk!
A wooden crate, about the size of a small coffee table, materialized before him.
He tapped the top of the crate lightly.
Creaaak, with a faint groan, the lid opened automatically.
Huh? Why does this feel straight out of Stardew Valley? This Minecraft world is getting weirder by the day…
"Let's go! Time to sell off part of our haul from the past few days."
"Mhm!"
The two of them crossed the living room and headed down to the basement storage.
A few minutes later, they returned—backpacks now stuffed with supplies.
"Let's see how much this stuff sells for."
Gong Qu tossed in a stack of cobblestone first.
[Cobblestone (64): 0 World Coins]
Welp. Looks like even the recycling bin won't take the world's most abundant trash.
Next, he threw in a stack of wheat.
[Wheat (64): 50 World Coins]
In Minecraft, wheat takes five days to mature. At 50 coins per stack, it's not great, but not terrible either, especially considering that each square meter of farmland yields more than one harvest.
Then came the rest of the goods.
[Copper Ingot (64): 50 World Coins]
[Iron Ingot (64): 100 World Coins]
[Tomato (64): 50 World Coins]
[Raw Salmon (30): 120 World Coins]
[Fishing Rod: 3 World Coins]
[Bow: 5 World Coins]
[Bow (Punch II): 7 World Coins]
[Bow (Infinity): 105 World Coins]
[Leather Cap: 8 World Coins]
[Leather Pants: 11 World Coins]
...
After unloading everything, the total came to 875 World Coins. Crops and ores were sold in stacks, while equipment prices scaled proportionally with their materials.
Based on those values, he also deduced the prices of some materials he didn't yet possess.
For example, crafting a fishing rod required 2 strings and 3 sticks.
Sticks had no value, so that meant 2 strings sold for 3 World Coins. A full stack of string went for 96 World Coins, but considering fractional values weren't shown, string probably belonged in the same tier as iron—around 100 World Coins per stack.
Leather followed the same logic, also in the 100-coin tier.
This pricing system reminded him of that mod with the concept of "Equivalent Exchange."
But there were key differences.
Take enchantments, for instance—most common ones followed a linear progression:
Level 1 = +1 coin, Level 2 = +2, Level 3 = +4, Level 4 = +8…
Then there was the prestigious Infinity. One enchantment worth a hundred others, tacking on a whopping 100 coins by itself.
Once Gong Qu had a handle on item values, he pulled out the iron ingots and Infinity bow, deciding to sell off the remaining 670 coins' worth of goods.
At the moment, fishing brought in more money than farming. But if they scaled up their farmland, just two people handling all the fishing might become a waste of time.
Keqing noticed this too and suggested, "Ah Qu! Tomorrow, let's till some fields on the plains west of here!"
"I was thinking the same. Fishing's fast money, but it's not sustainable long-term. Let's also check out the general store."
Gong Qu led the way, with Keqing following closely behind. Together, they stepped out of the villa into the cozy, garden-like front yard.
The general store's interface resembled the blueprint system, it appeared as a small building, like an old-fashioned street-side kiosk.
Once placed, a virtual projection solidified into reality, as if 3D-printed into existence.
Thunk!
With a solid thud, the store made its grand appearance.
A compact, round structure about three to four meters tall, its interior lined with all kinds of transparent storage compartments. A virtual screen rested on a counter-like platform, this was the store's shopping interface.
"Wow! Is this part of the technology from your world, Ah Qu?"
"Not exactly! This kind of thing only exists in sci-fi movies and video games. We usually call this style cyberpunk."
Ah, the randomized shop system. Just the first three must-buy items already screamed chaotic design choices.
Grumbling inwardly, Gong Qu split the holographic screen into two windows so both he and Keqing could browse at the same time.
[Cobblestone (64): 20]
[Andesite (64): 20]
[Copper Ingot (64): 100]
[Iron Ingot (64): 200]
...
[Wheat (64): 200]
[Wheat Seeds (64): 50]
[Apple (64): 100]
...
[Salt (500g): 10 World Coins]
[Soy Sauce (600ml): 10 World Coins]
[Vegetable Oil (5L): 100 World Coins]
[Fabric (5㎡): 50 World Coins]
...
[Sweet Flower (12): 100 World Coins]
[Jueyun Chili (12): 200 World Coins]
[Teleport Anchor: 2,000 World Coins]
[Vision: 10,000 World Coins]
A dazzling array of goods.
The shop even categorized them based on three different worlds.
Yes, three worlds.
The first was the Minecraft world, featuring most vanilla resources. Ores capped at iron—redstone, lapis, and diamond were grayed out and unavailable, likely because he hadn't discovered them yet.
Then there were mod-based worlds.
The Simplified Blue Star Architecture Mod unlocked items from his past life's Earth, mostly daily necessities.
The Maid Contract Mod was added because of his connection with Keqing, hence, items from Genshin's world began appearing too.
All in all, Gong Qu was quite pleased.
Because this really was a general store. It had everything, from the ordinary to the utterly bizarre.
"Alright, no need to look further. We can't afford anything else right now. Let's head back and rest for the night."
"W-Wait a second!"
Keqing skillfully zoomed the screen to the fabric and sewing kit section.
"Let's buy some fabric. You've only had that one outfit for a whole week. What'll you do when winter comes? Don't be fooled by my posh upbringing, I'm actually pretty handy with a needle and thread!"
She rolled up the sleeves of her pajamas and beamed with confidence.
Gong Qu blinked in surprise, then gave her a helpless smile.
"Ah Qing, what am I supposed to do with you?"
"W-What? Am I being wasteful again? I guess we could skip it…"
"No."
He took her delicate hand and kissed it gently.
"If you keep spoiling me like this, I'm going to turn into someone who can't live without you."
"Don't be ridiculous. You've been working hard learning swordsmanship with me too."
Keqing flushed, flustered by the sudden affection.
"Mmm, even your shy face is beautiful. Honestly, I don't need the future—I already can't live without you."
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Keqing felt herself being lifted off the ground, two strong arms scooping her up.
"Come! Let's battle for another three hundred rounds!"
"No! I'll break, you maniac!"
That night was destined to be another sleepless one.
9:00 AM, the next morning.
Gong Qu awoke in bed and instinctively reached for the space beside him, only to find it empty.
He rubbed his tousled hair, then spotted a neatly folded set of clothes on the nightstand. Keqing had clearly gotten up early to do housework again.
"She's seriously going to spoil me rotten at this rate. No! I can't keep slacking off!"
He quickly dressed and headed downstairs.
Keqing was seated on the sofa, cutting pieces of dark-blue fabric. Judging by the shape, she was working on a Liyue-style short robe.
As for how she got the money to buy cloth—well, Gong Qu had given her some World Coins last night. After all, they could be materialized into physical objects.
"Ah Qing."
The sound of his voice made her pause and look up.
"Morning, Ah Qu. Are you hungry?"
Keqing smiled, and it was like the whole house brightened with her.
Gong Qu leaned in and took a playful sniff of her violet hair. A faint, elegant scent like orchid drifted into his nose.
"There's an old saying back home, 'Beauty is food for the soul.' Starting the day seeing a smart, lovely Ah Qing like you is better than any gourmet feast."
"Hmph, smooth talker."
Despite the remark, her smile gave away how much she appreciated it.
"Let me do the cooking today. I'll handle the farmland too. You can take it easy or explore the area."
Keqing blinked. That wasn't what they agreed on yesterday.
But the warmth and determination in his eyes said it all, he must've realized that her constant contributions were bruising his pride a little.
"Pfft! Fine, then I'll make sure to judge your cooking properly!"
"Don't worry. No Sichuan man worth his salt can't cook. Get ready to be fattened up by me!"
Gong Qu darted toward the kitchen, a cheerful grin on his face.
Beautiful, capable, kind, and understanding.
This girl, this Ah Qing, was his and his alone.
Transmigrating to another world might just be… the best thing that ever happened to him.