Chapter 02
Anna found it strange.
And I had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong...
This distant daughter of the Vance family, who was staying at their home, seemed to have become a completely different person overnight.
Her once lifeless face was now full of energy as she busied herself in the small kitchen, humming a tune she had never heard before.
"Without the Communist Party, there would be no new China; without the Communist Party, there would be no new China!"
Almost none of them were in tune.
Split firewood was piled up in the corner of the kitchen, and several iron kettles hung above the fireplace to keep the water warm, providing hot water for the homeowner at any time.
A bronze frying pan rested on a low stove rack, flames licking the bottom of the pan, simmering the vegetables and bean soup until they released their aroma, while thick smoke billowed from the chimney on the roof.
Li Jia dipped her finger into the spices in the tin can, distinguishing the types of seasonings by taste.
Fortunately, she lives alone in modern times and has honed her life skills to perfection; otherwise, she would have been exposed if she had to prepare meals for the whole family.
After all, she is now known as Liga Vance, and she doesn't want to be treated like some strange creature and burned on the sacred flame.
The kitchen was filled with the aroma of roasted lamb chops. Li Jia wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve and placed a plate of vegetables on the wooden counter.
Conditions here are far worse than in modern society; there isn't even a refrigerator, and meat products can only be preserved by soaking them in wells.
To showcase their extravagance, the Vance family would typically roast a whole lamb chop, but only those sitting at the main table would get to eat it, resulting in the leftover meat being poured into the dog bowl.
They wouldn't even feed it to a dog.
The large sum of money left by the original owner's parents was seized by her uncle. Who would have thought that she didn't even have the right to sit at the table to eat? Her place to eat was that small stove.
Li Jia's personality is completely different from the original female lead. Li Jia is a person who has received twelve years of compulsory education. She is an out-and-out materialist who does not believe in male superiority or female inferiority, nor does she believe that people are born into different classes.
The original female lead was an orphan who lived with her uncle after losing her parents. She received a feudal education in this era, and her greatest act of rebellion was killing herself.
While feeling sorry for the original female lead, Li Jia casually cut off a piece of the tenderest meat from the lamb chop with a knife, put it in a small bowl and hid it in the cupboard. At the same time, she stuffed a piece of lamb tail fat into it, put it on the oven and fried it for a few more minutes, then brushed it with a dark and greasy sauce.
She wasn't going to let herself go hungry. She had worked so hard to prepare this meal, and not only was she not allowed to sit at the table to eat, but she wasn't even going to share a single lamb chop with her.
Once the lamb tail fat and lamb chops had melted together, her furrowed brows relaxed. After observing them carefully for a while and finding no difference, she served the last dish to Anna, the housekeeper, outside the door.
After closing the door, Li Jia couldn't wait to take out the food she had prepared, intending to enjoy it to her heart's content.
"Li Jia".
Conrad Vance's voice suddenly came from outside the door, and her heart skipped a beat.
The voice was unusually gentle, unlike its usual sharp and sarcastic tone: "Come to the restaurant for dinner tonight."
Li Jia paused briefly, then quickly pulled her thoughts away from the original owner's memories. She had just inherited the original female lead's body, and the fusion with the body was not yet very high. She would involuntarily empathize with the original female lead's emotions.
For example, the original female lead was terrified of this uncle, and couldn't help but sweat when she heard his voice.
"Okay, Uncle, I'll be right there." Li Jia suppressed her joy and replied calmly.
Li Jia called out softly, "System? System, are you there?"
Soon, a crackling, static-like female voice sounded beside me.
"Yes, my master."
Li Jia asked, "According to the walkthrough, I should be moving on to the story now. What should I do?"
"As expected of my chosen master, you've already guessed that the plot is on track." After saying that, he praised Li Jia in a very sycophantic manner.
It seems this is a guided growth system. Li Jia thinks it's not bad; it's better than those systems that force the female lead to do tasks. Most of the time, this system is silent and lets her do whatever she wants.
"Conrad invited you to dinner to persuade you to participate in the banquet voluntarily. To ensure the obedience and safety of the chosen ones, those who enter the banquet must consume the oath crystals sent by the gods. If one does not enter the mountain willingly, one cannot enter the gate of the mountain, let alone participate in the banquet."
Li Jia raised an eyebrow. So he had been asking her for a favor all along. Otherwise, why would her uncle, who had always been aloof and never given her a second glance, be so humble as to invite her to dinner?
Even if he hadn't said anything, she would have willingly entered the sacred mountain.
When will I be able to meet my target?
Seeing its master so ambitious, the system couldn't help but shed tears. Of course, it was afraid of ruining itself by soaking itself, so it only produced a few happy, tangled electrical waves.
Having guided so many travelers, this was the first time I'd met someone as ambitious as Li Jia. How could I not be moved?
"At the banquet tomorrow night, you will be able to meet your target."
Will she definitely choose me as her apprentice?
Li Jia raised a question.
"Not necessarily. There are five main gods choosing servants this time, and there are ten people on the list of candidates. The probability is one in half, and the probability of being chosen as a servant by the target is one in five. Overall, your luck is one in ten."
The system mechanically calculated the values for her.
If the target doesn't choose her, then what's the point of trying to win her over?
However, she is not someone who gives up easily. No matter what, there is still a one in ten chance. How can she not give it a try?
You will help me, right?
"Aside from not being able to predict the future for my owner, providing assistance is what I should do."
That's good.
Faced with the unknown, Li Jia experienced a thrilling and exhilarating pleasure for the first time.
She enjoys challenges.
The system cursed inwardly: "Pervert."
She pushed open the restaurant's oak door with a creak.
The candlesticks reflected the gilded silverware on the carved dining table. The velvet carpet on the wooden floor was soft, and Li Jia's rough, patched cloth shoes made her feel as if she were floating on clouds.
At the long dining table, Conrad sat at the head of the table, with his wife Freyle to his left. She wore a magnificent purple robe embroidered with gold thread; she was a remarkably well-preserved noblewoman.
Melina leaned back in her carved chair. When Li Jia entered, her ruby necklace trembled with a cold laugh. Her brother, Dayuan, shared her disdain for Li Jia.
She stood at the door, not daring to make any rash moves.
"Please sit down."
Conrad gestured for her to sit in the last seat, as if it were some great favor.
Li Jia's maid skirt brushed against the carpet as she sat properly in the far corner.
Freya beckoned, and Anna, the housekeeper, tactfully placed a brand-new silver plate in front of her. Freya put on black rubber gloves and personally cut a roasted lamb chop for Li Jia.
The sound of the blade slicing through the meat sent chills down Li Jia's spine.
I felt like meat on a chopping board.
Anna cut a piece of lamb chop, neither too big nor too small, into a plate, glanced up at the corner, and quickly placed it in front of Li Jia.
Li Jia pretended to swallow, her eyes filled with longing for food. She was flattered and said, "Madam, how can I let you cut the meat for me yourself?"
Her lowly and uncouth demeanor greatly satisfied Melina's vanity. She poured half a bottle of red wine into a wine glass and gently swirled it in her hand.
Tch, what a country bumpkin. Does he even know how to use a knife and fork?
"It's alright. My poor brother and sister-in-law entrusted you to us, so it's only right that we take care of you." Freya said, rubbing away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes.
Ha, how pretentious.
Li Jia rolled her eyes inwardly.
"The banquet where the God chooses his servants at Mount Shen is tomorrow." Conrad chewed on a lamb chop, the grease on his lips making him look like a greedy vulture.
"Melina is unable to attend, you will go in her place."
The knife and fork slipped from Li Jia's hands, and the broth from the beetroot vegetable soup splashed onto the hem of her skirt, leaving dark red marks.
Melina's red hair was stunningly beautiful in the candlelight. She stared at Li Jia and sneered, "You're nothing but a bastard who killed your own parents, with the lowest blood in the world flowing through your veins. It's perfect for you to do this most despicable thing."
After saying that, Melina raised her glass and drank it all in one gulp. Eating with commoners was really disgusting and made her lose her appetite.
As she turned and left, the hem of her gorgeous skirt swept across Li Jia's face, leaving a chilling, humiliating feeling that burned more intensely than any soup stain.
Conrad maintained his hypocritical benevolent demeanor: "How rare it is to be a servant of God, and it is an honor for our Vance family to serve by God's side."
Just as she expected, it was nothing more than a "last supper".
In the flickering candlelight, she caught a glimpse of her own shadow on the wall: small and insignificant.
Li Jia quietly clenched her fist under the table, her nails digging deep into her palm. The pain brought her back to her senses, and she smiled sweetly: "Uncle is right. It is a blessing for the Vanse family to become the God's servant. I will willingly go to the sacred mountain to attend the banquet, but..."
Li Jia emphasized the words "willingly," knowing that the Conrad couple cared about this matter.
"Just what?"
Freya asked hurriedly. She had thought it would take some effort and methods to get her to willingly enter the sacred mountain, but she hadn't expected it to be so easy. She couldn't afford any more unexpected events.
“I don’t have a formal dress. The new dress I had two years ago is too small and doesn’t fit me anymore… I’m afraid… I’m afraid of disgracing the Vance family.”
Li Jia lowered her head, her nose twitched slightly, and her voice was hoarse and helpless, like a child who had done something wrong.
Pretending to be a green tea b*tch? Anyone can do that.
The two ruthless scoundrels swallowed up so much of the original female lead's wealth; it's only reasonable for them to spit out some of it.
Conrad's face immediately darkened. Li Jia's words made it sound as if he had been too harsh on his own niece. He cleared his throat and said, "Of course, your aunt has always been in charge of your girls' clothes..."
"It's also my fault for being so busy that I forgot to buy you some clothes. It's too late to get them custom-made now. I'll call a tailor over in a bit, and we can go to Melina's room to pick out something you like and alter it to your size. It won't be a disgrace to the Vance family."
Freya quickly interrupted Conrad to protect her husband's dignity.
In reality, Freya had a lot of unspoken suffering. Conrad controlled every penny of the household's income and expenses, so she had no spare money to buy clothes for a money-losing girl.
After hearing his wife's words, Conrad returned to normal.
After the meal, Conrad tossed her a bag of gold coins: "There will be many places to spend money and socialize when you get to Mount Kailash. Don't embarrass the family."
The gold coins were cold and hurt my palms.
After closing the door, Li Jia counted the gold coins over and over again, and even took a few bites with her teeth.
This is truly 999 pure gold, what a steal!
I just don't know if we can hold out until she returns to modern society and pawns it.
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