The system has been upgraded. After completing the sweet potato harvesting task, the system leveled up to Level 2.
Yin Jixue had already prepared herself mentally because she had experienced this in her past life. The first five levels of the system were relatively easy to upgrade, but the higher the level, the more difficult it became.
At Level 2, the system unlocked the primary store, where all the highlighted blueprints were available for exchange.
Yin Jixue was particularly interested in the improved kang (heated bed) blueprint, the movable type printing blueprint, and even a simpler papermaking method.
Exchanging blueprints required accumulated task points. The primary blueprints cost 30 points each, and completing a task only gave her 50 points. After some hesitation, she decided to exchange for all of them.
Yesterday, the construction team reported that they had completed the construction outside the city and requested to be assigned to mining work.
Yin Jixue saw this as an opportunity to renovate the city, especially the main road, which had to be repaired.
She had no idea until she asked yesterday that winter was a disaster for the demons. Countless demons would die of starvation and cold, with snow piling up at their doors. Many had to climb over walls to search for food, but their thin clothing couldn't protect them from the cold, and they would freeze to death on the roadside, turning into ice sculptures.
Yin Jixue didn't know how cold it got for the demons, but according to Fengxiu's description, the snow could reach up to an adult's knees. Ordinary people wouldn't survive such conditions, yet the demons still ventured out to find food.
She glanced at the system panel's time display. It was now the end of October, and the temperature would start dropping next month, with snow beginning to fall. From December to January, extreme weather would make it impossible to go outside. The heavy snow would suddenly stop by the end of February, coming and going abruptly.
She had to finish renovating the main road before the snow started so that the snow could be cleared more easily. At the very least, no one in the city should freeze or starve to death at home.
Yin Jixue assigned a new task to the construction team: to rebuild the city's main road. All materials would still be provided from the palace's warehouse.
She first collected the road construction materials and had the soldiers transport them. Whether the soldiers were curious or not was not her concern—she could always blame it on the Demon King.
"To get rich, build roads first." The city's renovation was in full swing. Yin Jixue's knowledge of architecture was limited, so she could only express her requirements through simple explanations and drawings.
The new materials, like the construction materials, were easy to use and came with ratio diagrams. Yin Jixue copied the diagrams and sent them to the construction team. The team, which had been struggling to understand her instructions, suddenly had a clear direction.
She breathed a sigh of relief. If she had known earlier, she would have just given them the diagrams. Her unprofessional explanations were far less effective than the system's clear and concise blueprints.
The main road started its renovation from the palace's main gate. The demon crystals from outside the city were continuously transported back, but due to the road construction, they had to be brought in through the side gate.
Tengshe sent a message asking if they needed to sell some demon crystals again in exchange for winter food supplies.
Yin Jixue guessed he probably didn't know about the sweet potato harvest.
"Fengxiu, have Gouchen deliver a cart of sweet potatoes to each mining area. Make sure every demon gets to eat some."
Outside the city, the student's extracurricular activities were still ongoing. No one knew when they would end, and the children's parents rarely came to visit anymore.
The reason was simple: the children were eating and living better than their parents. The parents had nothing to worry about since the school was taking better care of their children than they could. Instead, they were busy figuring out how to get selected for work in the mines.
The students, on the other hand, were even happier. They had endless energy to dig for sweet potatoes every day, never feeling tired, and even competed to see who could dig the most.
Each day, they received two sweet potatoes, and everyone's potatoes tasted different. Close friends would exchange theirs to try different flavors, making each day a new culinary adventure.
"Teacher, can we keep digging for potatoes here forever?" Gousheng asked innocently, looking up.
Nan Lü patted his head. "Of course not. We'll be going back in at most three days. There aren't enough potatoes in the ground for you to keep digging."
Gousheng pouted, on the verge of tears. "I don't want to go back. The houses here are bigger than at home, and we get potatoes every day."
He would also miss his roommates. Every night, they had endless conversations, and without parents nagging them to sleep, living together was wonderful.
Nan Lü couldn't help but laugh and deliberately teased him. "You kids eat so many potatoes every day that Her Highness the Queen might not be able to afford to keep you."
Gousheng immediately wiped his tears and sniffled. "Then... then I'll go back. When I grow up, I'll farm for Her Highness and take care of her."
Lian Ze, hearing familiar names, perked up his ears and shouted, "No! Her Highness has me and my sister. You can't compete with us!"
Gousheng retorted, "I'm twelve. I'm older than you. It'll be years before you're as big as me. You can't take care of Her Highness."
Lian Ze's face turned red with anger. Unable to argue, he ran to his sister to tattle.
Lian Rui patted her brother's forehead. "We don't need to compete with him. I've been saving all our potatoes. We'll give them to Her Highness when we go back."
Lian Ze tugged at his clothes and hung his head. "But I ate two potatoes."
Lian Rui was also tempted, especially when everyone was happily exchanging potatoes. She had to force herself not to look and pretend she didn't hear anything.
Her brother kept drooling, so she let him eat two.
Lian Rui comforted him, "It's okay. You're still young. Eating helps you grow so you can protect Her Highness."
Lian Ze puffed out his cheeks. "Then I'll grow up fast. When I'm as strong as Lord Tengshe, no one will dare to bully Her Highness!"
"Silly Lian Ze, no one bullies Her Highness now. She's such a good person, and we must protect her."
Zhongshang and Nan Lü exchanged glances. These children, having received the Queen's kindness, still remembered to repay her in the future. Their teaching hadn't been in vain.
However, they were also impressed by Her Highness the Queen. In just two months since arriving in Heicheng, she had brought about earth-shaking changes, making the city vastly different from before.
And they had no idea that an even bigger surprise was coming.
Yin Jixue, unaware of what was happening at the school, had handed over her creatively reinterpreted blueprints to the carving master. Overnight, the master produced the simplest version of movable type printing.
The first thing printed was a short story for the school gate, "The Three Little Pigs." This 300-word story appeared on paper that, while not of the highest quality, represented a significant technological advancement for this world.
Yin Jixue handed him the improved papermaking blueprint. "This method will save you some trouble, and the paper produced will be of better quality than before. You've already done very well."
The craftsman realized that Her Highness had been testing him all along!
And now, he had passed her test.
Yin Jixue had no idea how much the man had imagined in his mind.
Right now, her eyes were only on the new road. How modern it looked!
Thanks to the new materials, the city's main road didn't need to dry for half a month like a cement road. The road solidified overnight, as sturdy as a rock.
The surface resembled asphalt, and the road was very wide. The main road could accommodate five carriages side by side in each direction, equivalent to a modern four-lane road. The black asphalt road stretched from the majestic palace to the towering city gates, exuding a sense of grandeur that lived up to the name "Heicheng" (Black Dragon City).
With the main road completed, the construction team was permitted to renovate all the roads in the city.
Although they weren't as wide as the main road, they still looked dignified and impressive.