Chapter 40

As the saying goes, "If someone is being overly solicitous, they must have ulterior motives." When Qingyun was specially invited into Song Junwu's hall, she was still quite confused, wondering what this gentleman wanted to see her about this time.

"Sir, what is this?"

Song Junwu simply smiled and said, "Sit down."

Before Qingyun could even sit down properly, a servant brought in someone. When she saw who it was, she was so startled that she lost her balance and fell off the stool. After a while, she managed to sit up again by supporting herself on the table. "W-what is this?"

The person they brought was that Qin family brat. His hands were tied behind his back, and he slumped on the ground, staring fiercely at Qingyun. "Despicable."

Qingyun: No, no, no, this is not my problem!

And what does this mean? What's the purpose of bringing people here?

Despite the shock and confusion emanating from Qingyun's expression, Song Junwu smiled and said, "You know this person."

Qingyun: "I don't know him."

Song Junwu: "Don't you know him? How would he know you?"

Stop, stop, stop, brother, you're reciting a tongue twister.

Upon hearing this, Qingyun grinned and said, "I've traveled around here, and I may not be known elsewhere, but I am known to many in Muyun City. It's quite normal for him to recognize me."

After a long silence from Song Junwu, Qingyun was extremely uneasy, wondering why this situation had arisen. Could it be that Song Junwu hadn't informed him, and that he thought she was really going to help this kid betray the country? Thinking of this, Qingyun quickly added, "This servant is thinking of the country and the family, and has no other intentions, my lord! Please see the truth!" After saying this, she bowed deeply.

"If I had known this would happen, I should have killed you back then. I actually listened to your slanderous words!"

Great! Well said, brother! Brilliant! You're absolutely right, brother!

Qingyun quickly pointed at the man and said to Song Junwu, "Look, he's about to kill me! I really don't know him!"

Song Junwu: "I don't even know you, yet I still want to kill you." He rubbed his fingers in thought, then looked at Qingyun with a mocking smile in his eyes, though the other couldn't see it.

Qingyun: "Who knows? Maybe I'll say I won't marry his father."

Song Junwu: "..."

Qingyun hadn't realized how colloquial her address was, her attention was entirely on Song Junwu. However, the man had no intention of teasing her anymore, and had someone take the Qin family boy away again, asking Qingyun with some doubt if she really had nothing to do with him.

Qingyun: Heaven and earth bear witness!

The man pointed to the pastries on the table, looked up at the woman in front of him, and said, "Didn't you say you liked sweets? Why aren't you eating them today?"

"You scared me to death, how can I eat?" Despite her complaints, Qingyun's body betrayed her. She said, "I won't be polite," picked up the rice cake on the table, and started eating. The rice cake contained chopped red dates, and it was sweet, sticky, and chewy, just her favorite flavor.

"tasty?"

Song Junwu propped his forehead up and looked at the other person.

Upon hearing this, Qingyun nodded quickly, "It's delicious."

The whole thing left me with one feeling: utterly baffling. I ate some pastries and then rolled out of the command post.

What exactly does he mean by that?

System: [I can't understand their hearts.]

The reed winter clothes for Qingyun were made by several women, but they were really not warm at all. Sweat slid down their foreheads and onto their cheeks, and within seconds it felt like ice water, making people shiver. The shovels were used to shovel into the sand, and the sand was turned over and a seedling was placed in the pit.

The surroundings were dark and gloomy, and it looked like it was about to rain. The weather was so cold that the wind kept blowing, making people shiver. The hands that were planting the seedlings were chapped and red from the cold, and the hands stiffly covered the soil with soil.

"It looks like it's going to snow. Don't push yourself today. With your injury, it will hurt even more in this kind of weather," Lin Wanjun said as she walked to Qingyun's side.

Time flies, and it's already December. Hearing this, Qingyun got up and started calculating the days. "This month's wages should be paid by now, right?" She rubbed her arms, not caring at all about the dirt on her palms.

Lin Wanjun nodded, but the wages weren't enough to buy a cotton coat. The foremen provided their three meals a day. If they asked for more wages, they would use the food they were given as leverage. What they were given were just flatbreads mixed with pebbles.

Lin Wanjun knew what Qingyun was thinking, and she swallowed her words several times before finally saying hesitantly, "Since you're having such a hard time, why don't you ask the princess for some clothes?"

Qingyun propped herself up and stood up, her hands still moving. The well water was extremely cold in winter, and she didn't want to touch it at all. Hearing this, she didn't look up, but simply said, "If she gives it to me, it's because she remembers me. If she doesn't, I can't force her."

"Why are you so stubborn? You weren't like this before."

Qingyun didn't know which time she was referring to, but her pride wouldn't allow her to ask for favors. With hands and feet, why should she beg for gifts like a beggar? In the past, it was only because she had done something beneficial for the other party that she could ask for something. But now she was just honestly planting trees and hadn't done anything for Song Chaoyun, so it was naturally difficult for her to ask.

Equivalent exchange and begging for alms are different; you have to rely on yourself for everything.

"Don't worry, I'm almost there, it's alright." She forced a bitter smile, truly feeling that her life was miserable coming here! It was no different from being a black slave, and she dared not slack off in the slightest. However, the only thing that comforted her was the gradually growing trees, which meant that an oasis was just around the corner.

If she could exchange her points for a down jacket, she would have done so long ago. But even if she did, she had nowhere to wear it. She was so stingy that she only used all her points to exchange for a few sweaters, and she didn't dare let anyone see it. Qingyun didn't want to be too conspicuous; being unconventional wasn't a good thing.

As Lin Wanjun expected, it started snowing as soon as she got home. Coming from a cold place back to her home, which felt like an icebox, she felt like the world was about to collapse.

[No wonder people used to say that winter was the hardest time in ancient times. Charcoal, cotton clothes, and heating tools all cost a lot of money. How could the poor afford them!] Thinking of this made her feel even more miserable. Everyone else who transmigrated was either a young master or a young lady, or at least a commoner who could afford to eat and stay warm. Only she was dragged here to be a laborer and was even a convict!

System: [Host, try to think positively. At least you get points for planting trees. Use those points to buy some charcoal in our shop.]

Fearing that Qingyun would find the charcoal smoke too strong, the system gave her a lot of advice to cheer her up.

【I'm not afraid of smoke, I'm terrified of dying. I've never experienced freezing to death before, okay? And why don't you price your charcoal higher? Can I even afford it?】

In the end, you actually thought she was disgusted by the charcoal?

Toothpaste, toothbrush, bath soap, shampoo, flour, rice—which of these necessities are priced too low?! No wonder they don't give out any tasks; just trying to live like a human in this godforsaken place has cost her a fortune in points.

She couldn't stand being told to live the lifestyle of people from ancient times, especially the lifestyle of the poor.

Qingyun ate some noodles, washed up, and immediately crawled into bed. She used her 3,000 points to exchange for a cotton quilt. She had lost count of how many trees she had painstakingly planted in the sand. She only remembered planting them day and night for a month. After all, no tasks had been assigned to her, and she could only get points through such primitive means.

She took off the quilt she had been using and sewed it onto the new quilt, so that others wouldn't be too surprised. "I have to say, this black cloth is very dirt-resistant. I don't even like washing quilt covers in the dead of winter, let alone taking them off."

She pulled the blanket up a little more, rolled around, and tucked the blanket under her body before letting out a comfortable sigh.

System: [Host, you could actually cover yourself with this quilt, take the cotton out, and sew it into your clothes.]

Qingyun shook her head; she loved sleeping on these big quilts. [Then why don't you put cotton in the store?]

The electronic voice came as usual: "[It's not that I don't have that permission! An administrator needs to add it. Other players' worlds haven't reached winter yet, and they're doing better than you; they don't need this kind of fluff.]"

Qingyun was furious. "Couldn't you have at least told your damn company? There's a player here who's about to freeze to death in this other world! If you don't send some more cotton, I'm going back and tearing them apart!"

System: [Host, you won't find it~ And even if you go back, you might not have this memory.]

So, returning to the present world would erase memories? Why has this kind of high technology been kept secret all this time?

System: [Or you could buy another quilt? Or if you really freeze to death, I'll find you a healthier, more well-off one...] Before the AI ​​could finish speaking, Qingyun interrupted it, making it clear that she didn't mean that.

The days passed by in such a dull way. As the year drew to a close, Qingyun finally used her spare silver to make a cotton-padded coat and trousers. However, the cotton used was not of good quality and contained some impurities. The coat was heavy and bulky, but she was very happy because at least she wouldn't be cold anymore.

She just didn't expect that half a year would pass so quickly, and the New Year was just around the corner. The surrounding streets were bustling with activity. Although she had no relatives in the real world, she missed her colleagues and friends, and she missed hot pot, milk tea, and braised dishes.

I'll just treat it as a business trip.

Qingyun comforted herself with this thought, never expecting the system to always undermine her. "Even a business trip wouldn't be this bad."

Qingyun: Hehe, even if I live in a toilet, I'll find joy in hardship. If you had a physical body, I'd tear your mouth apart sooner or later.

Not far away, a man wearing a white crane cloak rode over on horseback. The cloak was pure white with subtle floral patterns, and just by touching it, one could tell that it was of extraordinary value, which was very different from the gray and black linen clothes worn by most of the people around him.

"Lord Song." Qingyun bowed from the roadside.

Song Junwu, sitting on horseback, glanced at her sideways, smiled slightly, and nodded slightly as a response.

Watching the man's retreating figure, Qingyun stared for a while before lifting her skirt and walking back, still feeling smug about her new clothes.