As a woman who had once managed a real ranch, no one on this island understood livestock better than Janet.
"Feeding is the most important part of ranching." That simple sentence lit a lightbulb in Chuck's head, finally allowing him to grasp the key to the problem.
For the Workbench to unlock a blueprint, there had to be a functional prerequisite. Unlocking a livestock shed wasn't about the structure itself; it was about the function of raising animals. To keep livestock alive, the most basic requirements were food and water. Chuck had both, yet the blueprint remained locked. Therefore, the focus wasn't the resources themselves, but the method of delivery.
Chuck's eyes lit up. Troughs! Water troughs and feed troughs!
He returned to the storage room and grabbed his bronze axe and wedge. He looked at the logs stacked outside but hesitated. The Workbench's DIY feature allowed him to make anything, but he wasn't sure about the best material for a trough. Hardwood? Stone? Or bronze?
Once again, he deferred to the expert.
"If I had to choose, stone troughs are best," Janet said. "Wood rots and gets moldy, and metal can rust. But whatever is easiest for you, baby." She winked, grabbed her bamboo tubes and bronze shovel, and headed back to the riverbank to dig more sand.
Chuck turned his attention to a pile of leftover stone from his cave excavation. There was common limestone and harder quartz sandstone. He selected two suitable chunks and placed them into the Workbench, designing a meter-long, half-meter-wide trough.
[Limestone Feed Trough: Made of limestone. Soft texture, not waterproof. Estimated lifespan: 6 months. Materials: Limestone x1, Bronze Wedge x1. Crafting time: 30 mins.]
[Quartz Sandstone Feed Trough: Made of quartz sandstone. Hard, wear-resistant, and corrosion-resistant. Estimated lifespan: 5+ years. Materials: Quartz Sandstone x1, Bronze Wedge x3. Crafting time: 4 hours.]
It worked! Chuck chose the latter without hesitation. Quality over speed. The process occupied three of his six crafting queues.
While the trough was crafting, Chuck sat under the awning. Soon, Julia appeared, carrying bamboo tubes filled with seawater. He helped her set them down and asked, "What's the most important part of farming?"
Julia fanned her collar with her hand, revealing glimpses of her sweat-slicked, bouncy "rabbits." "Oh, there's so much! Climate control, pest management, seed selection... but if you want the absolute core? It's irrigation and fertilization." She leaned in with a sapphire-eyed smile. "Are we starting the garden? I have so many medicinal herbs and crops I want to plant, Darling~"
Chuck marveled at how consistent these two "Western Fillies" were in their expertise. "Wait a bit longer, go back to work for now." He gave her a firm pat on her pert rear.
Julia didn't mind. She puckered her lips like a goldfish. "Kiss first!"
After a satisfying muah, she wiggled her hips back toward the beach. Chuck sat back down, thinking. Janet's "feeding" and Julia's "fertilizing" were surprisingly similar. Livestock and crops both needed nutrients and water. Fertilizer was essentially food for plants.
To unlock the Greenhouse, he needed to solve the fertilizer problem.
He realized that raising a farm wasn't much different from raising a harem of women on a desert island. You provide food, water, and shelter, take care of them, and then you reap the harvest. The "harvest" just varied—sometimes it was food, sometimes resources, and sometimes it was a night of soul-shaking sex.
However, fertilizer was a messy problem. Up until now, everyone had been handling their "business" in the jungle or by the beach, much like how he first met Elena and Kaylee. It worked, but it wasn't sanitary or civilized for long-term living. He needed to close the energy loop. He needed a toilet system that converted waste into fertilizer.
By noon, the tiles were out of the kiln. Chuck had synthesized the mortar from the lime, sand, and seawater.
[Blueprint: Wooden Tile House (Level 5). Materials: Hardwood x12, Fired Tiles x100, Resin x20, Wedge x1, Hammer x1.]
[Blueprint: Stone Fireplace (Level 4). Materials: Stones x20, Mortar x8, Hardwood x4, Sandstone x2.]
He added the materials, watching the progress bars fill. With two flashes of light, the shack transformed.
The structure was now reinforced with interlocking support beams. The roof was covered in neat, reddish tiles sealed with resin—smooth and waterproof. The stone fireplace was a sturdy, square structure built against the wall, with a chimney poking through the roof.
The safety and comfort of the house had skyrocketed. The fireplace would provide stable heat, allow for indoor cooking without smoke buildup, and keep the interior dry. It was a cozy, legitimate home.
The women were thrilled, though they had grown accustomed to Chuck's miracles. Only Janet, seeing this for the first time, stood in a daze. Her blue eyes trembled as she looked at the beams and the hearth.
"I knew it..." she whispered, her voice shaking. "My God, Chuck, you're an architectural genius!"
To upgrade a house to this level in less than two days was unheard of. She looked at him, feeling a chill of awe. Just how many more unbelievable talents did this man have?
Chuck just smiled and shook his head. New notifications appeared:
[Stone Fireplace — Upgrade Complete!]
[Wooden Tile House — Upgrade Complete! New Blueprint Added!]
[Blueprint: Stone Tile House (Level 6). Type: Stone wall replacement, stone-wood hybrid load-bearing beams. Materials: Stone Bricks x200, Mortar x20, Hardwood x10, Resin x100, Metal Nails x50...]
Stone bricks and metal nails. A massive workload for another time.
After lunch, Chuck gave the exhausted women the afternoon off. He returned to the Workbench just as the four-hour countdown ended.
With a tap of his hand, the light faded, revealing a polished, gleaming quartz sandstone trough.