Chapter Two: Crucian Carp Dumpling Soup
Li Yan's words, which she was about to continue, caught in her throat.
A strange voice echoed in her mind. She looked around but couldn't see anyone suspicious.
"Mother, can you hear someone talking?" Li Yan asked, glancing around as if afraid someone was hiding outside the door playing a prank.
Of course, Aunt Xue didn't hear anything. She thought Li Yan was deliberately changing the subject, so she sternly chased her away.
"I see you've fully recovered. Since that's the case, I won't keep you at home for dinner. You should leave before dawn."
[New player task 1: Chop the firewood in the yard. Target's favorability +10]
That inexplicable voice rang in my ears once again.
This time, Li Yan calmed down completely and began to analyze the situation seriously.
The voice was clearly mechanical, unlike the speech of a normal person. Moreover, it rang twice, but Aunt Xue didn't react at all, indicating that she couldn't hear it.
So, is it only you who can hear this sound?
Then she seriously recalled the contents of the conversation, what "get rich" system, what "target to conquer"... Could it be that she transmigrated by binding with a system?
Li Yan's work isn't usually very busy, and she enjoys reading novels in her spare time. Therefore, she's not unfamiliar with this kind of system.
Perhaps because she didn't respond, the mechanical voice sounded again.
[New player task 1: Chop the firewood in the yard. Target's favorability +10]
When the sound rang out for the third time, Li Yan was no longer shocked and was able to accept it calmly.
There was even a hint of joy and surprise in her heart. This transmigration was a disastrous start, and it would be very difficult to change her fate solely through her own efforts. But if she had a system with her, this cheat code would make things much better.
This was like a drowning person suddenly grasping at a straw. Li Yan dared not slack off and immediately replied in her mind: 【Okay, mission accomplished.】
Then, looking at Aunt Xue, Li Yan didn't waste any more words and just got to the point: "Mother, I know you are kind-hearted, but you are afraid that I will bring bad luck, so you dare not take me in. But think about it, I have been lying in the Xue family for three days now. If I were really going to bring bad luck to someone, I would have done so by now. But in these three days, have you and Xu'er and Yue'er felt unwell anywhere?"
If it were before, Li Yan might have been a little apprehensive, fearing that she might inherit the original owner's bad luck and continue to bring misfortune to someone in the Xue family.
But now that she has obtained the system and has its help, she is no longer afraid.
Li Yan's words stunned Aunt Xue.
Clearly, Aunt Xue also felt that there was some truth to what she said.
For the past three days, she, Xu'er, and Yue'er have all been fine and haven't had any bad luck.
While Aunt Xue hesitated and remained silent, Li Yan had already rushed out the door and headed into the courtyard outside.
It was a typical farmhouse courtyard, lush and green, planted with many fruits and vegetables. At a glance, Li Yan saw cucumbers and loofahs growing on vines, and next to the trellis, there were chives, peppers, and other vegetables.
This was the first time Li Yan had gone out in the past three days.
I must say, the air in ancient times was really fresh.
Taking a gentle breath, I immediately felt refreshed and invigorated, both physically and mentally.
This is much better than the heavily polluted air caused by industrialization in the 21st century.
The Xue family had three rooms. Although the houses were dilapidated, they were clearly made of brick and tile. This suggests that the Xue family had once lived a comfortable life.
However, due to the successive loss of able-bodied men in the family, the family gradually declined.
A few days ago, our house was burgled again, which made things even worse.
An old woman with two young children is doing alright now that it's summer or autumn, but things will surely be tough when winter comes.
The firewood was piled in the corner, consisting of branches and sticks of varying thicknesses. About half the firewood had been chopped, and there was an axe next to the pile. Li Yan went straight for the axe.
Aunt Xue, who had followed closely behind, was startled by what she saw. She was afraid that the woman might do something rash again and chop herself with an axe.
Just as he was about to rush over to stop her, he saw her heading towards the woodpile, and he felt relieved and slowed his pace.
I originally wanted to stop her, but then I remembered that I'm already getting old, and recently I've been worried sick about Erlang, which has caused my old joint pain to flare up again, so I can't do this kind of physical work. I tried to chop some yesterday, and my whole body ached so much that I almost couldn't straighten up, so I quickly went to lie down and rest.
Without firewood to start a fire, we can't even cook.
Then I thought, the Li family is so immoral, what's wrong with letting their immoral daughter chop some firewood?
With this in mind, Aunt Xue felt at ease enjoying Li Yan's efforts.
Although there wasn't much firewood, Li Yan's lack of experience meant it took her a long time to chop it all.
It was the height of summer, and past noon—the hottest time of day. After all that fuss, Li Yan's chest and back were soaked with sweat. Seeing this, Aunt Xue couldn't bear to see her like this.
[Ding~ Congratulations, host! Mission complete. Target's favorability increased by 10]
I was physically exhausted, but upon hearing that voice, the joy in my heart replaced my physical fatigue.
Aunt Xue went inside and brought back a bowl of water, handing it to Li Yan: "Have some water."
Li Yan was really thirsty, so she picked up the chipped bowl and gulped down the water.
The water was sweet and cool, and it made me feel refreshed all over after drinking it.
"Thank you, Mother." Li Yan said with a smile after finishing her water.
But Aunt Xue still kept a straight face: "Don't think that just because you chopped this firewood, I'll let you stay." But seeing that she was covered in sweat, she couldn't bring herself to tell her to leave directly.
At that moment, the mechanical voice echoed in his mind again: [Newbie Quest 2: Fill the water tank, target's favorability +10]
At the same time, a screen appeared in front of Li Yan, showing that the target character was Aunt Xue, with a total favorability of 100. Ten of them had been completed so far, and the second one [10] was still pending completion.
The result was immediately clear. Li Yan also knew that once Aunt Xue's favorability towards her reached 100, her objective would be successfully captured.
Seeing this, Li Yan felt that success was within reach, and she was instantly filled with enthusiasm.
"Mother, is there still water in the water vat?" Ignoring Aunt Xue's words, Li Yan went straight to the kitchen.
There was a large water vat right by the entrance, and sure enough, there wasn't much water in it.
But Li Yan was new to the village and unfamiliar with it. She didn't know where the villagers usually fetched water from.
Trying to search through the original owner's memories, she suddenly realized that the original owner had only been married for a few days, so she probably didn't know either.
So... Li Yan set her sights on the only able-bodied man in the family—Xu Ge'er.
While chopping wood, I saw two little heads peeking out of the window of another room, a boy and a girl. If I'm not mistaken, the boy must be Xu Ge'er, and the girl must be Yue Jie'er.
Since Yuejie was still young, Li Yan couldn't possibly grab her to lead the way, so she could only call Xuge'er.
“Xu-ge’er, your aunt needs to fetch water, but she doesn’t know the way. Could you show her the way?” Li Yan asked kindly.
But clearly, the recent gossip about the original owner of this body had reached Xu Ge'er's ears, judging from his unfriendly attitude towards her. He kept his distance, unwilling to approach her. Not only did he refuse to get close himself, but he also held onto his sister with one hand and his grandmother with the other, preventing his relatives from getting near.
Li Yan didn't care about his rejection and resistance, but said again, "The water tank is empty. What will you eat tonight if there's no water to cook? Do you want to watch your grandmother, who is so old, fetch water?"
Sure enough, Li Yan's words persuaded Xu Ge'er.
After hesitating for a moment, he walked towards Li Yan.
He still didn't come closer, but stood three or four people away from her and said, "Come with me."
Li Yan chuckled, thinking to herself, "You little brat, you think I can't handle you?" Seeing him dash off outside the yard, Li Yan picked up the carrying pole leaning against the wall and hoisted two wooden buckets onto it, one in front and one behind.
Yue'er was a little scared, and her thin body leaned closer to Aunt Xue: "Grandma..."
"It's alright," Aunt Xue reassured her granddaughter. "Your brother is shrewd; he won't let anyone bully him."
Grandson is intelligent, quick-witted, and resourceful, so Aunt Xue is not afraid that he will suffer a loss at the hands of Li.
That Li man looked burly and manly, but he was actually quite clumsy.
She looks honest and clumsy; if the two really get into a conflict, it's Li who will suffer.
Aunt Xue waited patiently at home. After a short while, she heard her grandson's voice from outside the yard: "You're so good at catching fish, who taught you this skill?"
Li Yan carried in two buckets of water, in which several fish were swimming.
Xu Ge followed her around like a little shadow, constantly asking her how she was so good at catching fish.
Li Yan deliberately didn't tell him, keeping him hanging on.
Once inside the courtyard, Xu Ge'er immediately jumped up: "Grandma, Auntie and I caught a few fish!"
Li Yan didn't go to her mother-in-law to ask for a reward; instead, she carried the water directly into the kitchen. Most of the water in the bucket was poured into the water vat, leaving some to keep the fish.
Having already figured out the way, Li Yan didn't need Xu Ge'er to lead the way anymore, and she went to choose the route twice more on her own.
By the time the water tank was filled, the sun was gradually setting in the west.
After Li Yan put the wooden bucket and carrying pole back in their original places, she wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve before heading to the main room to find Aunt Xue.
"It's time to cook. I see there's not much rice left in the rice bin, but I see some flour in the cupboard. How about we make crucian carp noodle soup for dinner?" Li Yan asked.
Upon hearing the words "crucian carp dumpling soup," Xu Ge'er and Yue Jie'er swallowed hard, their eyes lighting up.
For farmers, fine noodles are more expensive than rice. Unless it's a festival or a special occasion, they won't use those fine noodles at home.
Seeing that there was indeed no rice left to cook, and seeing how hungry her grandchildren were, Aunt Xue made up her mind: "Then let's make some dumpling soup for dinner."
Lately, misfortune has befallen our family, and the atmosphere is truly oppressive. If a meal can bring a moment of joy to my grandchildren, it would be worthwhile.
Then she thought, "I've been saving money for so long, and it's all been stolen by thieves. If I had known, I wouldn't have been so frugal and would have eaten more."
That amount of silver could buy so much flour.
Thinking of the stolen silver, Aunt Xue felt a tightness and pain in her chest.
A note from the author:
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Three chapters today! Don't forget to check out the next one! [kissing emoji]
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