Both options had their advantages and disadvantages. The first upgrade plan required fewer survival points, and it could also increase the divine power storage and the effects of divine power. It strengthened and upgraded Mazu's statue based on its foundation.
The price-to-performance ratio was very high, and the benefits could be seen. However, Chen Changan preferred the second upgrade plan—Upgrade through the blessings of the gods!
The reason was simple. In the evaluation of Mazu's statue, it clearly stated that 'its potential is far greater than this.' The second upgrade plan was to use the blessings of the gods to awaken potential power, which happened to match the evaluation's description.
Chen Changan intuitively felt that if he chose the first upgrade plan, Mazu's statue might lose its hidden power.
Of course, there was another insignificant reason. It was just a passing mention, and it was definitely not the real reason why Chen Changan chose the second upgrade plan.
A bronze statue of a god— he couldn't get used to sleeping with it as it wasn't suitable to be used as a pillow.
"Ahem." Chen Changan looked at the number behind the second upgrade plan—100 survival points!
The landlord didn't have any surplus food. The 206 survival points in Chen Changan's hands were the savings he had saved up after several days.
As a Chinese, Chen Changan deeply understood the importance of 'savings.' With some savings, he wouldn't be worried!
Hence, the old rules!
Chen Changan opened the materials list for upgrade plan two.
[Upgrade Plan 2—Blessings of the Gods: Ten sets of delicacies or drinks of White quality and above.]
"What a glutton!" Chen Changan sighed with emotion and opened the market to look for ingredients at or above White quality.
As the number of people in the market increased, the list of goods became dazzling. He only scrolled down for ten minutes and found more than ten types of White-quality food or alcohol.
"Then, what am I waiting for? Buy!" Chen Changan said.
"Transaction agreed!"
"Congratulations, you have obtained a bizarre lizard mooncake!"
"Congratulations, you have obtained double yolk eggs!"
"Congratulations, you have obtained a fat pig intestine!"
"Congratulations, you obtained the dragonfish with dragon whiskers!"
"Congratulations…"
The 12 ingredients landed at the bow of the ship at the same time.
At this moment, Chen Changan seemed to have transformed into a member of the Squirrel
Collecting various resources was a great joy in itself.
Squirrel Gang was number one in the world!
Of course, just because he obtained the resources, it didn't mean that they weren't needed. The real Squirrel Gang had always made the most efficient use of all kinds of resources, allowing more things to enter their own warehouses. This was the ultimate meaning of the Squirrel Gang; otherwise, they would be no different from how old landowners hoarded silver.
"Alright, it's time to cook. Delicacies won't jump out of the pot themselves." Chen Changan swept a large plate of plant ash from the bottom of the barbecue kitchen. Young people born before 2005 knew that the people living in the countryside used to have a habit of burning wheat straw.
At the end of every autumn, the villagers would burn the wheat stalks, using the ashes of the burnt plants to fertilize the fields. It was only in recent years that their sense of environmental protection became stronger, and their actions of burning the wheat stalks gradually withdrew from the stage of history.
Chen Changan was born in a village, so he naturally wouldn't miss out on this 'fertilizer.' He mixed a small amount of seawater with the plants' ashes and scattered them evenly on the plantation ship's soil.
On the dark soil, the sea cabbages grew vigorously until they were almost ten centimeters tall. Tomatoes and onions broke out of the soil and sprouted green buds.
After the watering was done, Chen Changan officially started the ten consecutive draws of delicacies.
The first ingredient Chen Changan chose was pig intestines.
The best ingredients usually required the simplest cooking method, but this method was useless against pig intestines. The better the pig intestines, the more delicate the processing.
Chen Changan squatted at the bow of the ship and used the plants' ashes to mix with the pig intestines. He used his hands to rub the intestines inside and outside constantly, cleaning the grease from the intestines' skin bit by bit. It was the intestines' outer skin first, followed by the cleaning of the internal part. Finally, he poured some white vinegar into it and carried out a second round of cleaning.
The things that were washed out were slightly red, slightly black, and slightly yellow. Some chefs called these things 'yellow foam,' but they were actually just feces mixed with pig's blood and pig's oil.
The ingredients were prepared.
He was ready to cook the intestines!
Chen Changan didn't have any spices or sauces on hand. After all, no matter how many people there were in the market, the chances of a lottery barrel being able to produce such a supplementary ingredient was extremely low. He could only put in a little more soy sauce and chili, hoping that it could cover the taste of the things that couldn't be washed away from the pig intestines.
'If it couldn't…' Chen Changan shrugged and secretly glanced at the Mazu statue in the corner. "I'm not the one eating it anyway."
Fortunately, the chili was strong enough, and a plate of Sichuan-grade braised pig intestines was ready.
[Extremely Spicy Braised Pig Intestines]
Quality: White
Introduction: The fat in the intestines seems to be ignited by chili, and it is an extremely hot delicacy. After consuming it, the blood in one's body will flow faster. There is a certain probability of obtaining fire-element talent.
Evaluation: Isn't this better than fighting?
Chen Changan tried it and could only describe it with four words: "Water, I want water!"
It was too f*cking spicy!
But to his surprise, the upgrade requirement for the Mazu statue decreased by 9 points in one go. In other words, the spicy braised pig intestines were comparable to mushy love letters and successfully satisfied the Mazu statue's desire.
"So Mazu likes spicy food!"
In the Simple Barbecue Kitchen, besides dried chili peppers, there was also some chili powder.
If the spicy food could satisfy the Mazu statue, Chen Changan would let her know what it meant to be truly spicy!
Chen Changan used up 80 stalks of dried chili peppers in one go and made eight plates of special spicy dishes. Chen Changan even sprinkled a spoonful of chili powder over the ready-made White-quality food—bizarre lizard mooncake.
No matter how delicious it was, he just needed it to be spicy enough!
Chen Changan placed the nine dishes—including the braised pig intestines and the bizarre lizard mooncake that had been sprinkled with chili powder—in front of the statue.
The survival point requirement for the upgrade plan rapidly reduced by 81. Although the price wasn't lowered to the extreme, it was still barely satisfactory.
Chen Changan wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he felt that the Mazu statue's small mouth had widened a little.
"Upgrade!"
Green light shot out!
Right at this moment, an unexpected event occurred!
Chen Changan suddenly felt that the world seemed to have slowed down by half a beat.
The waves surged, and the waves splashed in the air. However, they froze instantly as bean-sized water droplets were nailed in the air, refusing to fall back into the sea.
Above the sea, the seagulls could stay in the blue sky even without flapping their wings.
Further away, Orange entertained itself, trying to catch its own tail as it swam in a circle. However, it strangely and peculiarly became still in an instant.
The next second—the grace of the gods descended.