Chapter 6: Fresh Water
After about half an hour, Shi Nianqing dug up a large handful of grass roots, finally replenishing her energy. She felt much better overall.
The sensation of having all her strength drained had eased considerably.
During this half hour, quite a few people had joined Shi Nianqing’s livestream.
Her popularity rating, as reported by the system, hovered around 3,000.
Once she had eaten enough, Shi Nianqing turned her attention back to the livestream.
“Now that we’ve temporarily solved the energy problem, the most important thing we need to tackle is finding drinking water,” she said as she continued moving forward.
[Water? Isn’t there a huge sea outside? Why look for water?]
[Yeah, if you just filter it a bit, can’t you drink seawater?]
[You guys upstairs must have forgotten—this place is a replica of ancient Earth with no advanced technology at all.]
[As far as I know, seawater isn’t drinkable. I just looked it up—on ancient Earth, seawater can’t be consumed directly; it’s life-threatening.]
[Really? I’ve never heard that before.]
...
Shi Nianqing pressed onward, marking her path with simple signs every so often.
After about half an hour, she heard the sound of flowing water.
Pushing through a dense thicket of trees, a babbling stream appeared before the eyes of the livestream audience.
The stream meandered gently, and a smile spread across Shi Nianqing’s face as she hurried over.
“If you’re out in the wild and come across water like this, you must boil it before drinking,” she explained, moving closer to the stream. “Otherwise, there could be many parasites.”
She dipped her hand into the stream and tasted a bit of the water.
It had a faint salty flavor, but not strong.
This water barely met the standards for drinking.
Continuing upstream, she soon came upon a moderately sized pool.
The water was crystal clear, and small fish swam happily within it.
By setting a simple trap at the water outlet, these little fish could be caught for food.
That would provide a straightforward source of protein.
“Today is the first day of island survival. These fish will be my food for the day.”
The livestream viewers’ eyes lit up when they saw the fish swimming in the pool.
---
[Such cute little fish! The host is actually going to eat them?]
[They look so adorable! How can she eat them? The delicate white lotus act is gone now?]
[I heard that on ancient Earth, people used to set up stalls selling these little fish to keep as pets.]
[Are those stalls selling this kind of fish? They look really nice.]
[Host, please don’t eat the little fish!]
...
Interaction in Shi Nianqing’s livestream was sparse, mostly due to the small audience.
Compared to other streams boasting tens or hundreds of thousands of viewers, her 3,000 was barely a drop in the bucket.
Unaware of the chat’s content, she focused on her surroundings.
Soon, she spotted slender vines climbing the trees and coarse grass on the ground.
Pulling on one vine, several more snapped off.
The vine was surprisingly tough, promising many practical uses.
She stripped off the extra leaves, then twisted two vines together in a spiral to strengthen them.
Adding some grass inside, she quickly fashioned a long rope.
Swiftly, Shi Nianqing wove this rope into a medium-sized fishing net, with holes about the size of a finger—small enough to catch the pool’s little fish.
As she worked, she showed the net to her viewers.
“This fishing net has small holes. Later, I’ll make a simple guiding device to herd the fish into it.”
[Congratulations, host! You’ve learned the skill: Weaving Level 1.]
The beautiful fishing net was displayed clearly on camera, leaving the livestream audience stunned.
In the interstellar era, technology solved many problems, making such handicrafts rare.
Especially weaving—handmade woven goods could fetch high prices online.
[Wow, what just happened? I watched those vines turn into this fishing net right before my eyes.]
[I can’t believe my eyes. After seeing this, I think I can do it too.]
[Already recorded. I even found similar vines online and ordered some. When the net comes, I’ll learn from the pro and weave my own.]
[This craftsmanship has changed my view of Shi Nianqing. She’s not as useless as the internet says.]
[Suddenly, I don’t dislike her so much anymore.]
[Starting to like her a bit.]
[With this weaving skill alone, I’m a fan of Shi Nianqing now.]
---
[Sending 100 hearts in tips.]
...
As Shi Nianqing wove the fishing net, the livestream’s popularity surged to over 6,000—and kept rising.
She was surprised to hear the system’s announcement.
A simple weaving craft drawing so many viewers was unbelievable.
A radiant smile broke across her face as she held the net up to the camera.
“Dear viewers, do you like this fishing net? I know more weaving skills and will show you how to make all kinds of little things.”
The livestream erupted.
In the interstellar era, handicrafts were worth more than one could imagine.
Shi Nianqing promising to show more weaving astonished everyone.
The chat quickly turned chaotic—some believed her, others doubted her skills.
Unaware of their words, she finished her introduction and moved to the stream’s outlet.
She gathered several large stones and blocked both sides of the outlet, leaving a small opening.
Fixing the fishing net in place with stones, she nodded in satisfaction after reinforcing it.
She inspected her handiwork carefully, ensuring no problems.
Next to the pool, she collected a large pile of conveniently sized stones.
The viewers watched, puzzled.
[What’s this white lotus doing? Why collect so many stones?]
[Weren’t we supposed to catch fish? Why put the net down there?]
[Can’t understand! Can someone explain? Shi Nianqing seems different from us somehow.]
...
A brilliant smile adorned Shi Nianqing’s face; her natural beauty struck the viewers deeply.
Many in the livestream paused, captivated.
“Hehe! Dear viewers, today I’m going to show you what a real shock looks like!”