Chen Yan's words thoroughly angered the old woman.

"Pah! Pah! What bad luck!" The old woman spat fiercely. "I kindly pointed out a place for you to stay because you're from out of town, but you're so ungrateful! Cursing our villagers! Take this house or leave it!" She turned around angrily and left.

"Auntie! Auntie, please wait!" Jiang Chan immediately spoke, her voice tinged with urgency, interrupting the old woman's steps.

"I'm so sorry! My fellow villager got confused on the way here and his hearing isn't good. He misheard! Please don't take it to heart!" she said, gesturing for Chen Yan to shut up.

Chen Yan received Jiang Chan's gaze. Although he was full of doubts, he forcibly suppressed the urge to ask further questions and turned his head away with an unpleasant expression.

Seeing Jiang Chan's sincere attitude and thinking about the half-string of cash, the old woman's anger subsided a bit. She snorted and said, "Forget it, young man, watch your mouth when you're out and about! Oh, by the way, the wild vegetables you mentioned earlier... sigh, that's all, there really isn't much left."

She changed the subject, pointing to an even more dilapidated courtyard not far away, "That house, Widow Wang's house, she might still have some wild vegetables, but..."

The old woman sighed, her face showing sympathy. "She's a woman with a hard life. Ten years ago, the mine collapsed, and her husband and son were buried inside. The mine owner only compensated her for the cost of the coffins. Over the years, she has survived by digging up wild vegetables and growing crops. She doesn't want money; she just wants some real food to fill her stomach. If you have any coarse grains or anything like that, you could give it a try."

The moment the old woman finished speaking, that damned electronic voice rang in Jiang Chan's mind again!

[Ding!]

[Key information detected: A pitiful widow of a mining disaster! Mission loading...]

[Mission Description: Rescue the father and son from a mining accident ten years ago...]

[Task Reward: 10 drought-resistant seeds (unit: jin)]

[Accept the mission? Yes/No?]

Drought-resistant seeds? Ten jin? Jiang Chan's eyes were icy.

Seeds? Even the best drought-resistant seeds will die if planted in this barren land where even drinking water is a problem!

Moreover, it takes time, water, and care! A distant source of water cannot quench an immediate thirst!

What she and Xiaotao need right now is food and water that they can eat immediately!

What kind of lousy reward does this broken system give?!

As for rescuing the father and son... she's not yet a savior!

Moreover, was the punishment mentioned by the system real or fake?

If she fails to complete the mission, will she really die...?

Without hesitation, she mentally chose: [No]

The system panel dimmed and remained silent.

Jiang Chan raised her head, her face now calm again, and said to the old woman, "Thank you for your guidance, ma'am. As for food, I still have some coarse rice. After we've settled in, we'll go to Widow Wang's house and ask her if we can exchange it for some wild vegetables."

The old woman nodded. "Alright, then please make yourselves at home. Widow Wang's house is at the west end of the village, next to the big locust tree in front of her door." After saying that, she glared at Chen Yan before turning and leaving.

Only four people remained in the courtyard, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense.

Xiao Tao clung tightly to Jiang Chan, her big eyes darting from one person to another, looking somewhat uneasy.

Zhou looked at Chen Yan, whose face was still pale, sighed, and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Oh, Yan-ge'er, are you too tired? You might have misheard. When you're out and about, you have to be careful what you say."

Chen Yan suddenly turned his head, staring intently at Jiang Chan, his voice extremely low, filled with suppressed confusion and intense inquiry, "Miss Jiang...you...you really didn't hear me just now?" He stared intently into Jiang Chan's eyes, trying to find a trace of agreement within them.

Jiang Chan's heart skipped a beat, but her face remained calm, even showing a hint of helpless perfunctoriness. "I was thinking about something and didn't pay attention to what she was saying. Maybe...maybe she's too old and her words are incoherent. Never mind, it's more important to settle in first."

She downplayed the issue, blaming the old woman for the problem, and pulled Xiao Tao along, saying, "Xiao Tao, come on, let's continue cleaning."

Chen Yan stood there, watching Jiang Chan calmly push open the door, and then looking at his master's wife's expression of complete acceptance of the situation. He felt a huge sense of absurdity welling up in his heart.

Did he mishear? No! He heard it perfectly! The old woman's two statements were completely contradictory! And the shift happened in an instant!

Perhaps the other person is really old, and their words are incoherent...

Chen Yan, filled with questions and a sense of absurdity, silently worked with Zhou Shi to tidy up the room they had been assigned.

Mrs. Zhou was still muttering to herself about his "slip of the tongue" earlier, telling him to be more careful with his words in the future.

Jiang Chan and Xiao Tao continued cleaning the house.

The house had been uninhabited for a long time, only used by passersby for temporary lodging. But as the old woman said, the roof and walls were still in good condition, and after cleaning away the dust and cobwebs, it was barely habitable.

Not long after, a timid voice came from the courtyard gate: "Excuse me...excuse me...is this where I exchange wild vegetables?" A woman wearing patched and faded coarse cloth clothes, with a withered face and timid eyes, stood outside the gate carrying a basket.

The basket was filled with neatly arranged wild vegetables, which had obviously been picked and carefully cleaned not long ago.

It was Widow Wang.

"This is it." Jiang Chan went out to greet them.

Widow Wang nervously rubbed her hands together, her voice very soft, "I heard...I heard from Aunt Li that you...you want to trade for wild vegetables? I...I don't want money, I just want to trade for some...real grains, coarse grains, brown rice are all fine...you decide how much."

Her gaze, filled with humble pleading, fell on Jiang Chan's face.

Jiang Chan didn't say much. She turned around and went back into the house. She took out a large, rough earthenware bowl from her spatial storage and filled it with brown rice!

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