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Keqing, who was just smiling and turning her head to brag to Jiang Xuan about her harvest,
The next second, her eyes widened in disbelief at everything around her.
Ganyu was also startled by Keqing, but before she could ask what happened,
She turned her head and was also stunned.
The originally somewhat dark and cramped mine space had undergone earth-shshattering changes in this short time.
The space had at least doubled in size.
This wasn't even the half of it.
In the four corners of the mine, Jiang Xuan had, at some unknown point, erected four birch wood pillars, like load-bearing columns.
Except for the mine shaft that was sealed with dirt,
The other open mine shaft was now surrounded by wooden fences and a wooden fence gate.
On the pillars beside the fence gate, a circle of trapdoors surrounded a torch, forming two simple streetlights.
Jiang Xuan had originally intended to make a chandelier, but that required iron, and Jiang Xuan wasn't rich enough to make chandeliers for a mine.
But even so, it was quite aesthetically pleasing.
Except for Keqing and Ganyu's current location, which remained mostly untouched.
The space behind was divided into four neat areas by Jiang Xuan using birch wood planks.
One was where the bed and crafting table were, a resting area, with a wooden sofa and table made by Jiang Xuan using stairs beside the bed.
Another was densely packed with large chests, clearly a storage area.
As for the other two, one was still empty, its purpose unknown.
The other was filled with furnaces, currently burning, and Jiang Xuan stood before them.
From time to time, he would walk from one end to the other, taking out something and putting something else in.
This alone was enough. Although absurd, Keqing felt it was still relatively normal.
But...
This guy, Jiang Xuan...
He had actually decorated the entire area with various vines, making it look nothing like a mine anymore.
It was clearly a rather rustic country cottage.
Jiang Xuan had also finished tidying up the last iron ingot at this moment. He looked up and saw that Keqing and Ganyu had finished, and he smiled as he waved to them.
"You worked hard. Come quickly, give me your iron ore, I'll process it for you. You two go sit in the resting area first."
"There's food in the chest. I just made some grilled pork chops. They should taste alright, and they won't spoil in the chest. Go try them."
Keqing and Ganyu mechanically walked forward and handed Jiang Xuan their iron ore.
Then, they just stood blankly in front of him.
Jiang Xuan raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused:
"What, are you scared? I just made some appropriate modifications, didn't I?"
Appropriate... modifications???
Ganyu opened her mouth, looked around, and smiled wryly:
"Jiang Xuan... you completely rebuilt it! It's too astonishing!"
"The workers in The Chasm, their living quarters aren't even as good as what you've renovated!"
Jiang Xuan scratched his head, chuckling:
"It's not that exaggerated..."
"No! Ganyu is telling the truth!"
Keqing looked at Jiang Xuan with a complicated expression, sighing:
"The Chasm is vast, but... after so many years of development, the mining areas close to the surface no longer have ore."
"Workers can only go deeper into The Chasm, but travel is very troublesome. Most workers can only set up tents to sleep in the mine shafts."
"They also have to constantly guard against monsters... If the workers in The Chasm could have abilities like yours, then we..."
Jiang Xuan also fell silent. Having stayed in The Chasm for a year, he naturally understood that place.
It was no exaggeration to say that The Chasm truly devoured people.
Death notices came every month, but...
Liyue had no choice.
Liyue needed The Chasm, desperately needed it...
It was a place crucial to the nation's foundation.
However, Jiang Xuan quickly smiled, patting Keqing, and softly said:
"Keqing, you can't envy me now. You two also have this ability in this world now. Just pick up blocks and place them."
"Besides that, it just needs a tiny bit of decorating skill. Speaking of which, does my mine qualify to replace The Chasm?"
Jiang Xuan originally wanted to change the heavy topic, but Keqing nodded with extreme seriousness.
"It qualifies! Absolutely qualifies! Having such a mine is our good fortune, Liyue's good fortune..."
"Jiang Xuan, you're willing to help us, saving countless workers' lives! You are Liyue's benefactor, I thank you on their behalf!"
Looking at this extremely serious and earnest cat-headed girl, Jiang Xuan also became serious.
He nodded slightly and said softly:
"After you've talked it over, come find me again. This is just the beginning. We're friends, Keqing and Ganyu have helped me a lot this past year."
"In return, I should help you too! Alright, enough of this talk. I'm going to process the iron ore. You two go rest."
Ganyu shook her head and said softly:
"We just swung the pickaxe a few times. With your physique now, we won't get tired and didn't use much strength."
"I want to see how you process iron ore."
Jiang Xuan raised an eyebrow and chuckled:
"That's fine too. If you're hungry, remember to get some food from the resting area. If you're bored, you can also try building with blocks."
"Coming to this world, you can't just mine. You also need to learn how to use these materials to build. That's the most important thing."
"As for smelting iron ore..."
Jiang Xuan casually threw the iron ore into the furnace and placed a piece of coal.
"That's all it takes..."
"???"
Ganyu looked at Jiang Xuan blankly. After a moment, noticing that Jiang Xuan wasn't joking, she cautiously asked:
"Just... like that?"
"Yes!"
Jiang Xuan said with a matter-of-fact expression, leading Ganyu and Keqing from the first furnace to the last.
He put three iron ores in each furnace, neatly smelting all the ore they had mined.
"Otherwise, what did you think?"
"I thought... it would at least require forging..."
Ganyu pursed her lips, looking at Jiang Xuan in a daze.
He chuckled and pinched Ganyu's nose.
"Don't view this world with normal world theories. Nothing in this world is surprising."
"Just like this piece of coal. It looks small, but you know how heavy it is."
"One piece of coal can smelt eight iron ores, which is eight iron ingots, over seven tons of iron."
"If this were in Teyvat, wouldn't the blacksmiths kneel and cheer for Rex Lapis's divine intervention?"
"If there's lava, even better. It burns longer and saves coal."
"Smelting iron ingots isn't a high-tech job, so I didn't make you learn it. If you're really interested, next time we go mining, I'll let you handle the whole process."
Hearing this, Keqing immediately nodded excitedly.
"No problem! Leave it to me! I won't let you down!"
Jiang Xuan paused, then smiled faintly.
"Of course, I believe in Keqing!"
"Once these iron ores are smelted, we'll head back. We've mined enough for today."
"There are still many things to deal with in the village."
Keqing wanted to say she still had energy and could continue.
But Ganyu quietly pulled Keqing, giving her a look, and Keqing said no more.
After all, Jiang Xuan was just here to familiarize them with the place; they couldn't stay in the mine forever.
The iron ore still needed a little more time to smelt, so Jiang Xuan took Keqing and Ganyu to introduce the newly planned mine.
In Jiang Xuan's words, this was the first phase of the project.
As the mine was exploited, this space would need further improvement.
Even further down, another Garrison area would need to be built.
Keqing nodded frequently.
She loved Jiang Xuan's methodical and goal-oriented approach.
However, passing by the empty area, Ganyu couldn't help but ask.
"Jiang Xuan, what is this area for?"
Hearing this, Jiang Xuan immediately chuckled.
He pointed to the area with high spirits, and said boldly:
"This entire area, I'm going to turn it all into dirt, and then..."
"Farm!"
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