When Cheng Ruyi and Zhong Shi came out chatting and laughing with fragrant bean sprouts and cured meat, there was another young man in the courtyard besides Cheng Yan and Wei Zhi. He was about twenty years old, with a square face and fairly regular features, but his stern face and furrowed brows made him seem unapproachable.
The atmosphere was indeed a bit strange at this moment. The man glanced at Ruyi and Zhongshi indifferently before walking into the east wing. Before closing the door, he said, "It is true that women and petty men are the most difficult to deal with."
Cheng Ruyi was completely bewildered. This person must be the Wei family's tenant, right? Wasn't he supposed to be a scholar? Are all scholars this rude? Not only did he not greet her, but he also swore at her?
"Oh! Ruyi, don't worry about him. And what are you two standing there for? Hurry up and go into the main room to try the new dishes that Ruyi taught me to make!" Madam Zhong didn't care much about the scholar and was focused on the new dishes.
Just as Ruyi was about to agree, Cheng Yan said, "It's getting late, so we won't bother you any longer. Ruyi, let's go back."
"Huh?" Before Cheng Ruyi could react, Cheng Yan pulled her out the door, and by the time she came to her senses, they were already home.
Didn't we agree to go and exchange some things? Where are they?
"Dad, what exactly happened just now?"
Cheng Yan sighed before recounting what had just happened.
It turned out that as soon as Ruyi and the others entered the kitchen, the scholar came out and said a lot of classical Chinese phrases that they couldn't understand. It took them a long time to realize that he was scolding them for coming out to visit. He said that the government had posted a notice stating that people were not allowed to go out unless necessary, and how could they break the law and cause trouble for the government?
The two old people were almost embarrassed by what he said. If Ruyi and the others hadn't cooked the dishes and brought them out, the scholar could have continued talking.
Ruyi was utterly speechless after hearing this. What kind of pedantic scholar was this? Had he gone stupid from reading too much?
However, this incident did serve as a reminder to her that she should find a "necessary reason" to go out in the future, otherwise it would be troublesome if someone with ulterior motives seized on her and held her accountable later. Fortunately, the Wei family lived next door, so no one else should have seen it.
That night, after the last glimmer of light on the horizon had disappeared, the Cheng family decided to wash up and go to bed.
Ruyi was secretly adding feed to the vegetable garden and her two hens in the backyard when she suddenly heard a few faint knocks at the back door, which startled her.
"Who is it?" Ruyi cautiously approached the door and asked softly.
"Ruyi, it's me, open the door!"
It turned out to be Wei Zhi. Cheng Ruyi immediately opened the door to let him in, but he simply handed her a basket, then turned around and went back to his house without saying a word, quietly closing the door behind him. His movements were so swift and agile that he didn't seem like a man in his fifties at all.
Ruyi paused for a moment, then quickly and quietly closed the door. As soon as she turned around, she saw Cheng Yan walking over, looking somewhat puzzled: "I think I just heard a knock on the door. Is someone here?"
"It was Uncle Wei who brought us the basket we left behind." Ruyi picked up the basket and weighed it, noticing that the weight was off. She then lifted the cloth bundle and found it was full of grain!
There are mung beans, red beans, and soybeans, and most importantly, there's a jar of maltose. The quantities aren't large, totaling only about three pounds, but the variety is amazing! I can finally change up my recipes for the next few days!
Ruyi felt she had really struck gold this time. It seemed she would have to bring some more bean sprouts next time she had the chance, but she would first have to come up with an excuse to appease the scholar.
Cheng Yan looked at them and nodded in satisfaction: "That's more like it. Old Wei is at least reasonably honest."
Ruyi found it both childish and funny to see her father pretending to be calm when he was clearly happy.
*
Days passed by quietly, and before we knew it, it was time to sign in and receive our gift packs again.
So far, only two of the eight Bigu Pills have been used. The remaining six were deliberately saved by Ruyi to wait for the second sign-in gift pack. If the gift pack contains something even more unreliable, then the remaining Bigu Pills may need to be used sparingly.
Cheng Ruyi got up early that day and luxuriously used the few bath beans in the house to wash her hands and body. She also lit incense. At this moment, wisps of smoke filled the room, along with a faint fragrance, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.
She knelt on the bed, hands clasped together, eyes tightly closed, murmuring, "Please, please! All the gods and powerful beings, please bless me so that I may draw something useful! I am willing to exchange ten pounds of my own flesh for it!"
After saying that, Ruyi stretched out her finger and gently tapped the air.
"Ding-dong! You have successfully checked in for mid-February and are entitled to a mid-February gift pack. Would you like to claim your gift pack?"
The familiar voice rang out again, and Cheng Ruyi immediately replied in her mind, "Yes! I want to claim the gift pack!"
She was already very familiar with receiving the gift pack the second time. This time, she directly opened the item interface. The interface had been empty since she took out the Bigu Pill, but now there was another exquisite jade bottle with a faint white light on the back. It looked exactly the same as the previous one, except that the name displayed at the bottom was different.
"【Nourishing Meridian Pill】, a first-grade low-quality pill, four pills, of poor quality. It is ineffective for those in the mid-stage of Qi Refining or above. Long-term use in the early stage of Qi Refining can slightly widen the meridians. Long-term use in very small amounts by ordinary people can nourish the meridians and strengthen the body."
Ruyi was finally relieved after seeing it. Although it was still low-grade or even inferior, at least it didn't have any strange side effects and could even improve her health. This was a good deal!
But last time it was expired, this time it's substandard, so what could it be next time? Thinking of this, Ruyi couldn't help but smile wryly. The system must have put a lot of thought into collecting all these bizarre items.
She had previously speculated that these so-called gift packages might be the waste disposal packages of some early-stage Qi Refining cultivator in the cultivation world. What was the relationship between this cultivator and the original Cheng Ruyi? Or perhaps the original Cheng Ruyi had gone to the cultivation world?
Is it possible that these things were sent by the original owner through the system to help her family overcome their difficulties?
No one could answer any of her questions, and the aloof system never replied to any of them, not even uttering a single extra word.
Compared to the incredibly noisy AI systems in other novels that engage in wits and battles with their hosts or become friends, Cheng Ruyi felt that hers was probably just a piece of fixed code that could only run according to a predetermined program; in short, it was much more rudimentary.
Since there's no answer yet, there's no point in wasting time thinking about it. You're unlikely to find out now, no matter how hard you try. Maybe the answer will suddenly appear someday.
Let's focus on getting back to normalcy and making the most of the present moment.
Ruyi refocused her attention on the Nourishing Pulse Pill, remembering that the description said ordinary people should take it in very small amounts over a long period of time. In that case, she could only use it like the previous Fasting Pill, turning it all into powder and diluting it with water, since there were only four pills available.
Once she had a plan in mind, she immediately took out her tools and prepared to start working on it right there in her room.
Holding the Meridian Nourishing Pill in her hand and examining it closely, Ruyi realized that it was even larger than the previous Bigu Pill. After carefully grinding the pill into powder, Ruyi measured it several times, estimated it in her mind, and after a series of experiments, she found that dividing it into ten small portions was the maximum she could manage.
Then I took out one of the portions, mixed it with water from the teapot in the room, and planned to add a few drops to all kinds of food and drinks at home every day. This pot of water should last for about three days without any problems.
In this way, one Runmai Dan can last for about a month. We can then see how it works and decide how to use the remaining pills.
It's no wonder she's so cautious now, because the detoxifying smell of the Bigu Pill was so overwhelming that it left an indelible scar on everyone's minds. To the point that she's now traumatized by the sight of a toilet. So this time, she definitely won't be as reckless as she was last time.
Since this Nourishing Vein Pill can be effective on humans, it must also be effective on animals and plants. However, Ruyi felt that since only four Nourishing Vein Pills were given, did that mean they were more precious? So she couldn't bear to part with them and decided to give them only to her family. She thought that the Bigu Pills in the backyard vegetable garden and for the hens should be enough.
Speaking of the vegetable garden, although Ruyi has been secretly adding ingredients and the seedlings are growing well, it is actually mostly filled with chives, scallions, cabbage, radishes, etc., which are either scarce or have long growth cycles. Therefore, the Cheng family's main source of vegetables has now become sprouts.
The first batch of bean sprouts has been eaten, and the third batch was delivered three days ago. Currently, in addition to the agreement with the Wei family to exchange one pound of bean sprouts every three days, the Zhang family, who live across the street, has also agreed to exchange two pounds of bean sprouts every five days. The Wei family exchanges beans and candy, while the Zhang family exchanges millet. These are all precious grains during this extraordinary time.
Nowadays, the Cheng family values bean sprouts very much. One pound of soybeans can sprout ten pounds of bean sprouts, which is equivalent to ten times more food. Not to mention the current shortage of supplies in the besieged city, it is very precious even in normal times.
Xu Cui, in particular, felt that she had taken on the important task of taking care of the bean sprouts. She devoted almost all her attention to them, spending all day around the three plates of bean sprouts, wishing she could watch over them every hour of the day.
After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade her, Xu Cui's family felt that things could only return to normal once her initial excitement wore off.
Ruyi smiled at this thought, stood up and stretched. Looking at the sun outside, she realized it was almost time to make breakfast, so she tidied up her things, picked up the teapot, and went out of the room.
Before everyone got up, Ruyi took a stroll around and poured some "nourishing tea" into the water in the main room and kitchen, and drank a large cup herself.
"Huh?" Ruyi felt that this water seemed to have a different flavor than ordinary boiled water. After tasting it carefully, there was a faint aftertaste, but it disappeared after a few more sips.
"This is probably just psychological suggestion; it's all an illusion."
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