The grain harvested from digging the well in Chapter 6 is what you exchange for...

The mission has begun!

Wen Yu's spirits lifted, and he immediately immersed himself in his consciousness to check the system space.

Fortunately, she had used up all the water stored inside a few days ago, freeing up the space again.

Sure enough, a set of drain cleaning tools was lying quietly in the corner.

This time, the system was incredibly merciful, even projecting the location of the target well into her mind.

It was the old well at the village entrance that Wang Da Niang and the others had mentioned, the one that still had a trickle of water flowing through it.

Without delay, Wen Yu called A Yue, and together they took their tools and headed straight for the old well at the village entrance.

The old well was more dilapidated than she had imagined.

Wen Yu circled the well. The surrounding area was full of withered grass. Due to the dryness over the years, the moss growing on the well wall had long since withered and turned dark black because it had not been nourished.

Wen Yu peered down and saw that it was pitch black and bottomless.

"Sister, this well is very deep and dangerous." A-Yue looked at the dark well opening, swallowed hard, tugged at Wen Yu's sleeve, and looked worried.

"I know, let's be careful." Wen Yu took a deep breath, suppressing the unease surging within her.

With the mission at hand, this was their only hope.

The villagers had risked their lives countless times to fetch that little bit of murky, life-saving water from below.

Even so, there was only a little water available each day...

She knew the significance of this well to everyone.

So Wen Yu solemnly said, "A Yue, as long as this well is not connected, the village will have no water to drink, and everyone will be unable to plant millet."

"If this continues, we'll run out of what we've saved, and both people and land will truly perish in this famine."

"So, we have to go."

Ah Yue hesitated for a moment, then immediately said, "Let me go!"

But Wen Yu was, after all, an adult, and she absolutely could not accept watching children so much younger than herself take risks.

She patted his shoulder, deliberately flashing a relaxed smile: "Silly boy, let me go. You just hold the rope up there for me, that'll be a huge help!"

To go down the well, Wen Yu even brought a sturdy bundle of hemp rope from home.

Together with A-Yue, she tied the rope securely to a large, stable rock beside the well, and the other end passed through Wen Yu's waist and armpits, tying several "weight-bearing knots" to facilitate weight-bearing.

Fortunately, the old well pulley was still turning. Wen Yu looped the rope around the pulley, which made it much easier for A Yue to pull it from above.

She shoved the other end of the rope into A-Yue's hand: "A-Yue, hold the rope and slowly lower me down. I'll stop when I say stop, and pull when I say pull, understand?"

"Yes!" A-Yue nodded vigorously.

Wen Yu turned her head and saw a cacophony of chatter in the live stream chatter.

[Newcomer, where is the story at now?]

It seems Wen Yu is going down the well; I wonder if he's looking for something or checking if there's water at the bottom.

[Perhaps she's going to dig a hole in this well?]

[Isn't this a bit too much of a cheat code? When did she learn how to dredge wells?]

"How could it be impossible? Her team must have had her professionally trained..."

[Even at this point, she's still talking about a team? I've never seen anyone else appear in the camera feed. It feels like she's really doing wilderness survival.]

Number of viewers watching online: 28,567.

Wen Yu's heart skipped a beat, and she tried to call out in her mind: "System, what's the use of the number of viewers? It can't just be for show, can it?"

The system quickly provided an answer: [Host, if the conditions of "more than 100,000 online viewers" and "a stable real-time positive review rate of over 30%" are met, advanced system shop permissions can be unlocked.]

Wow, there really is a shop! She thought this system only had tasks and no benefits.

"What about the 50,000?" She still wanted to try and persuade them. "How about some encouragement for each stage? Otherwise, with this hellish start, I really won't be able to make it to 100,000."

[Host, please do not make requests of the system.]

The system remained as bureaucratic as ever.

Wen Yu: "..."

This damn stingy system!

She gritted her teeth: "Fine! If you won't give it to me, then I won't!"

[...However,] the system voice paused subtly, [detecting that the current live stream's positive review rate has increased from the initial 0% to 20%, triggering a hidden rule: when the number of viewers reaches 50,000, an additional basic reward can be unlocked.]

Wen Yu:?

This guy seems to be more responsive to gentle persuasion than force.

She stopped worrying about it: "Thank you, Tongzi~ I knew you were the best!"

[Host, this reward was triggered by a hidden rule, not by me...] The system was still stubbornly insisting.

Wen Yu was in a great mood: "I know, I know..."

With everything prepared, Wen Yu checked the knots one last time, grabbed the edge of the well, and leaned down. With A Yue carefully lowering the rope, she slowly slid into the cold, dark bottom of the well.

The deeper you go, the thinner the air becomes, and the dimmer the light gets.

Finally, her feet touched the mud at the bottom of the well.

It looks narrow from the outside, but the bottom of the well is actually quite wide.

Using the dim light shining through the well, she looked around and discovered that the village's several wells were interconnected by underground passages.

This means that once this well is connected, the other wells will also be able to draw water.

She took out her toolbox and lit the light matches inside.

Under the dim, swaying light, she saw murky water slowly seeping from a crack in the stone on one side.

It was as if the blockage was blocked by silt, and the water seeped in very slowly.

Wen Yu took out the unblocking tools provided by the system.

The iron hook was cleverly designed; it could both pull out obstructions and pry open gaps.

She held her breath and slowly cleared the blockage that was clogging the water flow.

Sweat dripped down without them even realizing it.

Wen Yu's hands were already splattered with mud, but she didn't care about the dirt, because the flow of water was much greater than before.

She perked up.

There is hope!

Time passed little by little.

Ah Yue waited anxiously upstairs, calling out every now and then, "Sister! Are you alright?"

Wen Yu was working hard and had no time to be distracted, so he could only give a brief reply: "Found it, it's connected!"

Just as the water supply was about to be cleared, the light match beside her suddenly burned out and went out with a hiss.

Absolute darkness instantly engulfed her.

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

[Is there a power outage? Or is the camera broken?]

I can still hear sounds, so it shouldn't be that; the fire has just gone out.

It's pitch black here. Why didn't Wen Yu bring a flashlight? How long will this match burn?

[What do you know, upstairs? This is a survival movie, bringing a flashlight just looks out of place.]

[Oh no, oh no, is something bad going to happen? There's no sound.]

[Ah Yue! Quickly pull your sister up! Forget about the well!]

In the darkness, Wen Yu's heart pounded like a drum.

She forced herself to calm down, and without even bothering to relight the fire, she used all her strength, following muscle memory, to smash the tool back into the spot she had chiseled a thousand times!

With a "thud," she pried open a piece of rubble that was blocking a crucial gap.

Immediately afterwards, a stream of clear water gushed out from the crack in the rock, splashing onto her hands.

Ignoring everything else, Wen Yu quickly pulled out a match and struck it, his hands trembling.

The murky water quickly became clear after washing away the initial filth.

The dim firelight illuminated the fresh water source, bringing tears to Wen Yu's eyes.

"Ah Yue! The water's flowing!" Wen Yu shouted, looking up, his voice echoing through the well walls.

Immediately afterwards, the rope began to move steadily upwards.

When Wen Yu was pulled out of the well by A Yue and Uncle Zhang who rushed over after hearing the commotion, she was covered in mud and looked disheveled, but she was overjoyed.

"Wen girl, how could you take such a risk!" Uncle Zhang looked at her with a hint of reproach. "If I hadn't seen A-Yue calling your name from here, I wouldn't have known that you two little kids actually ran down the well by yourselves!"

"It's alright, Uncle Zhang, I know what I'm doing." Wen Yu pointed to the bottom of the well, smiling brightly, "The water's flowing!"

The three men peered over the well and saw clear spring water gushing out continuously. The water level was rising rapidly at a visible speed, and soon a large, clear puddle had formed.

After a while, the water level gradually stabilized.

The well water reflected the sky above the well opening, shimmering with light.

Uncle Zhang and A Yue worked together to draw a full bucket of crystal-clear well water.

A-Yue couldn't resist picking it up and taking a sip. The water was clear and sweet, far superior to the previous rainwater.

Wen Yu immediately called out to Granny Wang and the other villagers who had rushed over upon hearing the news: "Granny! Uncle Li! The well is working! We have good water now!"

The villagers gathered around, staring in disbelief at the bucket of crystal-clear well water and the noticeably rising water level at the bottom.

Seeing their shocked faces, Wen Yu added, "This well is now connected to the water veins below! The other wells will soon be able to produce water too!"

"Our land is saved! We can plant crops again!"

It's been three years.

They watched as well after well dried up, never imagining that one day they would see them come back to life.

Just like this village that was on the verge of collapse, it slowly came back to life because of this girl.

"Amazing! Wen girl! You are truly our lucky star!" Granny Wang was the first to react, tightly grasping Wen Yu's hand, tears streaming down her face.

Her words suddenly awakened many people.

"Yes, it rained, and the well is working! Thank God!" Uncle Zhang exclaimed excitedly, his words tumbling out incoherently.

"Wen girl is our lucky star!"

The villagers chattered amongst themselves, their eyes filled with almost devout trust as they looked at Wen Yu.

The comments section erupted with discussion.

This water is so clear! I really want to put a big watermelon in the well; that's how my grandma used to chill watermelons for me.

They probably can't get watermelon here. Anyway, I'm going out to buy one; just looking at it makes me thirsty.

[Great! The well is working! I want to see the farming instance, show it to me now!]

"Lucky Star"... Oh no, it seems like Wen Yu is going to be worshipped like a god by them.

However, the lucky star himself is now like a potato pulled out of the mud.

Wen Yu felt a little embarrassed by the villagers' praise. Just as he was about to say something modest, the system notification sounded in his mind again.

[Ding! The mission "Repair and restore the village's basic water supply" has been completed!]

The backpack's capacity has been expanded to 2 cubic meters, and a bottle of basic soil conditioner has been distributed.

This item can improve poor soil conditions on a small scale, increasing crop survival rate and initial growth rate.

Wen Yu felt happy.

But the system's voice hadn't stopped.

[Now issuing Core Survival Mission Two: Clear and successfully plant one acre of food crops.]

[Task Description: Solving the water problem is only the beginning. The host must utilize existing resources to reclaim wasteland, sow seeds, and manage the land to ensure it can successfully produce food for export.]

[Task Reward: Unlocks basic "System Shop" access, allowing you to exchange harvested food for basic survival supplies, tools, seeds, etc.]

[Task Timeframe: This season's crop growing season.]

[Prompt: Please select a crop and begin cultivation as soon as possible.]

One acre?

Wen Yu's vision went black, as if she saw an endless expanse of yellow earth beckoning to her.

She had just finished dredging the well and hadn't even caught her breath when a new task came in. This week, the Skin-Peeling System really couldn't stand her being idle for even a second.

Or perhaps she praised it too much...

"Tongzi, what should we plant?" she wailed inwardly.

[What do you think, host?] The system threw the question back at us.

"Millet, I guess. At least one survived before, so I have some experience..." Wen Yu replied weakly.

As soon as he finished speaking, a large, heavy bag of millet seeds appeared in the system space.

She looked at her hands, which were raw and blistered and had just scabbed over, and then thought of the small patch of green seedlings behind the house that was no bigger than the palm of her hand. Before her eyes stretched an endless wasteland.

She only felt a dull pain in her lower back and her vision blurring intermittently.

Other farmers have oxen to plow the fields, but she alone is like a fully grown ox or horse...

Wen Yu sighed resignedly.

Okay, let's do it.

Fortunately, we also found some free labor to help us out...

Just as she was sadly calculating which plot of land to start hoeing from tomorrow, the system spoke again, this time with a hint of subtle coaxing.

[Host, the system shop's item preview is now available. It includes: a fine iron hoe, high-quality bone meal fertilizer, insect repellent, and improved sweet potato seedlings, etc.]

The harvested grain is the only currency you can exchange for it.

Wen Yu: Huh? !

The legendary high-yield crop is finally coming?

"Ah Yue!" Wen Yu suddenly perked up and turned around. "Let's go! Let's go back to farming!"

For the treasures in the mall, let alone one acre, she would even work on ten acres... Sigh, let's finish this one acre first.

Seeing her older sister suddenly become so spirited, A-Yue didn't understand why, but still nodded vigorously: "Okay, I'll listen to whatever you say, sister!"

If my sister says I can do it, then I definitely can!

A note from the author:

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Actually, I almost never read farming novels before, but I couldn't resist my addiction to them...

I'm racking my brains every day trying to figure out what to write next, haha. (Feeling guilty)

What would you like to see, dear readers? [Sparkling eyes]