Xiao Yi is right. Let's dig another fishpond near the apartment and throw all the ordinary freshwater fish into it. We can deal with them together when we're free in winter!" Yuan Nong suggested.
"Okay!" An Ran agreed and accelerated the processing of the grade C freshwater fish together with Su Wan.
At this moment, many people in the public channel were complaining.
"Does the master still have grade C food? I want to exchange for some more!"
"Yeah, I didn't have time to exchange for it. How could it be gone? You guys deserve to be single for the rest of your life!"
"Please, master, put out some more!"
Seeing this, Xiao Yi said, "Everyone, please be patient. I still have freshwater fish for sale. I'll list them for transaction later!"
"Really? How much graded food does the master have in his hands?"
"I still have some freshwater fish meat. Two cornerstones. Those who are interested, send me a private message!"
"Oops, the price is quite high. It's better to wait until the master offers it again."
"As you wish. As long as you can wait!"
"I also have an extra group of bear meat. Three cornerstones. Those who want to buy, send me a private message!"
"You're even more ruthless than the previous one!"
"This is a way to make money. I'll join in the fun too. I'm selling a group of tiger meat. The price can be discussed privately!"
"Why call it ruthless? The effects of bear meat and tiger meat are different from that of fish meat. You'll know once you've tasted them!"
Xiao Yi didn't have time to pay attention to those who hoarded goods. He was carefully calculating what he had obtained.
The down jackets placed in the trading hall before had all been sold out. In total, Xiao Yi obtained [a certain number] of cornerstones through the transactions!
"Double harvest triggered. Supplies obtained: [a certain number] of cornerstones."
This number made Xiao Yi's eyes light up. His original island was only 2499 square meters.
If he used all these cornerstones, the area of the island would instantly cross the 30,000-square-meter mark!
However, Xiao Yi quickly calmed down.
With such a vast area, could they take care of it?
If the area was expanded, would the attacks from marine creatures increase accordingly, and to what extent?
The trees would evolve faster due to the expansion of the area. Once an A-grade beast appeared, the small fence in front of the apartment would be useless!
This matter was a headache. Xiao Yi shook his head and decided that he couldn't bear it alone and needed to discuss it with everyone.
In the past, the expansions were all on a small scale, only dozens or hundreds of square meters. Now, expanding by nearly 30,000 square meters at once indeed required discussion with everyone.
Xiao Yi called everyone together and roughly told them about this matter and his concerns.
"What? There are more than 28,000 cornerstones!" An Yue widened his eyes and said.
Although he had expected a large number of cornerstones, he didn't expect there to be so many.
"This world is too crazy. I can't help but shout. Xiao Yi, you're truly a remarkable person!" Jiang Yuntian shook his head and said.
"Before, I was haggling over one cornerstone. But here with you, it has become a resource that seems inexhaustible." Su Wan laughed.
"Hey, everyone, your focus seems to be off. Shouldn't we discuss the issue of expansion?" Xiao Yi said helplessly.
Yuan Nong smiled and said, "In my opinion, there's no need to hesitate. We should expand directly!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him in surprise, wondering why he said so.
Yuan Nong continued, "The benefits of expansion need not be elaborated. Just look at our harvest in the past two days. Let me talk about the things we're worried about."
"The first concern is that it's not easy to manage the expanded area. Although 30,000 square meters sounds huge, think about it. The length and width are just two hundred steps. Is that distance really so difficult to control?"
Everyone nodded upon hearing this. Indeed, with a length and width of two hundred steps, it would be 40,000 square meters!
With their current physical fitness, even the weak An Ran could easily run that distance within thirty breaths, let alone Xiao Yi and the others.
"Secondly, with the increase in area, the attacks from marine creatures will increase. Jiang Yuntian can still deal with them at present. With the jumpsuit provided by Xiao Yi, I personally think there's no big problem. It might even provide us with high-grade ingredients, like the sea crab we ate just now."
Jiang Yuntian nodded in agreement. "As Old Yuan said, with the jumpsuit, I can deal with marine creatures faster. Most of the time, I'm just observing."
"Finally, the evolution of the trees is both an opportunity and a risk. Although more advanced beasts will evolve, our physical fitness is also improving. It will take at least a week for the beasts to appear."
It was freezing cold, and fewer and fewer beasts were refreshed in the forest. The appearance of the beasts would probably be after winter passed and spring came. "At the same time, these beasts can also provide us with high-grade ingredients, such as grade B tiger meat and bear meat!"
"Overall, the benefits far outweigh the risks." Yuan Nong concluded.
Xiao Yi pondered for a moment and decided, "Okay, let's expand! The future is unknown, but we must not hesitate and stay stagnant!"
"Let the attacks from marine creatures and the beasts in the forest come more fiercely!"
The others nodded one after another.
This move also indirectly enhanced everyone's sense of crisis, reminding them not to relax and to improve themselves as soon as possible to avoid being unable to fight back in case of danger in the future.
Since the decision was made, Xiao Yi didn't hesitate. He came to the island monument and used all the more than 20,000 cornerstones.
At this moment, Xiao Yi looked at the island under his feet. The system prompted: "Small island: Area [a certain number] square meters..."
Although the number was large, it was still a small island.
After this expansion, Xiao Yi paid special attention to the freshwater river on the island. The island monument extended into the sea on its own in a humanized way, saving him the trouble of digging the newly expanded area again.
"The expansion is completed!" Xiao Yi said, "Starting tomorrow, we need to build a wall for the living area. The fence is no longer enough to resist. This is a big project, and we'll be busy this winter!"
"Haha, it's not good to be too idle." Yuan Nong laughed.
Everyone nodded.
"The supply boxes have been moved outside. You can go and open them." An Yue said to Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi nodded and walked outside. It was already dark.
Suddenly, something flashed past Xiao Yi's eyes and landed on his jumpsuit. Looking closely, it was snowflakes!
"Is it snowing?" Xiao Yi looked up and saw sparse snowflakes floating in the sky!
"It really is winter!" Xiao Yi murmured, and then shouted to the people in the apartment, "It's snowing. Everyone, check if there's anything that needs to be tidied up!"
Upon hearing Xiao Yi's words, everyone stepped out into the snow. Looking up at the snowflakes dancing in the sky, they exclaimed, "Winter has arrived!"
Xiao Yi stepped into the snow and opened the thirty-eight supply boxes placed outside one by one.
"Items obtained: Three cornerstones, four taels of copper,..."
"Items obtained: A carriage blueprint, two catties of iron,..."
"Items obtained: Two cornerstones, four taels of plastic,..."
...
From the thirty-eight boxes of supplies, he obtained a total of twenty-five cornerstones. The rest were all basic materials, and there was no sign of food or water.
However, the carriage blueprint caught Xiao Yi's attention.
"Double harvest triggered. Items obtained: Fifty cornerstones, two carriage blueprints,..."
Xiao Yi picked up the carriage blueprint and carefully examined the required materials.
"[Carriage Blueprint]: Fifty catties of wood, five catties of iron, five taels of copper."
"It seems to be a simple carriage. Without a horse at the moment, it's not very useful." Xiao Yi examined the required materials and thought like this. Then he put the blueprint into the warehouse.
Returning to the residence, Xiao Yi used fifty cornerstones to expand the island.
Yuan Nong came through the snow, shaking off the snowflakes on his clothes, and said, "The temperature has dropped sharply. It seems to be a difference of more than ten degrees!"
The jumpsuits were charging aside, and everyone went out wearing down jackets.
Xiao Yi displayed the items in front of the island monument and replied, "Everyone will stay in the apartment tonight. It's not wise to get cold outside."
Yuan Nong nodded in agreement. "Hmm, we'll cover the house with hay tomorrow. It should make it a bit warmer!"
"We'll discuss it tomorrow." Xiao Yi replied. He speculated in his heart that tomorrow was the end of the third week, and the check-in reward might solve the current housing problem.
Jiang Yuntian and An Yue also came back through the snow, shaking off the snowflakes on their clothes, and said, "Even with the jumpsuit, it's still cold!"
The two went to the pigsty to build a roof and added hay to the pigsty, almost filling it up.
There had been no rain recently, and the hay was everywhere. They just cut it and shook off the snow before using it in the pigsty.
The eight wild boars seemed to have been tamed by An Yue. They didn't make any trouble at this time.