Chapter 2: When the goddess travels, her persona is entirely self-defined. ...
Let's rewind to an hour earlier.
He Qinglan, a senior majoring in agronomy at an agricultural university (her true identity is unknown), had just finished her graduation internship and was about to take the high-speed train home when she found herself in an unfamiliar ancient world the moment she stepped out of the train.
She stood blankly on the desolate street, carrying a suitcase, as the hot wind blowing in her face swirled up dust and covered her up.
He Qinglan listened expressionlessly to the cafeteria system that had appeared out of nowhere, chattering incessantly in her mind, trying to persuade her to do tasks.
She couldn't help but interrupt, "You should tell me where we are right now."
The system paused, surprised by the new host's composure.
But her composure saved her a lot of trouble, as the system readily provided her with background information about this world.
They lived in the Great Wei Dynasty of a parallel world.
This once unified dynasty, which had brought order to a chaotic world, fell into disarray after 282 years of rule. Due to the incompetence of the emperor, the presence of corrupt officials, and the corruption of the court, coupled with three years of severe drought, the people were destitute and impoverished, leading to widespread uprisings.
However, various prefectures and counties used the pretext of suppressing the rebels to recruit soldiers, seize territory, and dominate their respective regions.
The world was in chaos.
In the seventeenth year of Xinghe, five years after the outbreak of the peasant uprising, the central government was weak, warlords were in power, wars raged in various places, and people were displaced.
Yunhe County, which was once quite prosperous, is now almost deserted after being plundered by bandits.
People died one after another.
The powerful and wealthy have long since moved away, leaving the poor and sick to struggle for survival in this place.
The system's tone was excited: "Host, this world doesn't even have stir-frying dishes yet! As long as you diligently complete tasks and level up, you'll definitely win the hearts of those important figures and become a world-renowned chef!"
He Qinglan waved her hand to brush the dust off her long dress.
She always wore her work clothes during her internship, but this time she bought a new dress specifically to go home and see her parents in this mission world. Unfortunately, they won't be able to see it for the time being.
He Qinglan glanced around at the streets, which were covered in dust and garbage, with crooked wooden doors and old furniture scattered on the ground through the wide-open doors.
But there were hardly any people to be seen.
She casually put her suitcase into her personal storage space and walked forward.
The system, still diligently making empty promises, didn't notice this and excitedly asked, "Where do you plan to go first? Anling County?"
Yunhe County was under the jurisdiction of Anling Prefecture.
He Qinglan's lips curled slightly. "Will I be able to reach Anling County smoothly?"
The system was bewildered.
He Qinglan walked briskly. [System, do you know what a chaotic world is?]
The system was puzzled: "[There's war everywhere?]"
He Qinglan answered softly, "In times of great famine, people resort to cannibalism."
She raised an eyebrow, calmly accusing, "You actually want me, a weak woman with no strength to even kill a chicken, to walk from Yunhe County to Anling Prefecture? Even if there were ten of me, it wouldn't be enough for the starving people we encounter along the way to cut up and eat, understand?"
The system was bewildered. It stammered, "So what do you plan to do?"
He Qinglan stopped and looked sharply toward the deserted alley.
In the alley, several ragged men were peering at the young, solitary woman on the street, their eyes gleaming with lust.
Her face was rosy and her complexion was healthy. She was wearing an oddly styled but clean and pretty dress, and she looked like a rich young lady raised in a wealthy family.
Although I don't know why a woman like this would come to Yunhe County, but...
The men exchanged glances, and a middle-aged man with a stubble beard gritted his teeth, "Go!"
They surged out of the alley and surrounded He Qinglan, blocking her way.
He Qinglan wasn't surprised, but the system in her mind was startled. [What's going on? What do these people want?]
Looking at their filthy hair, tattered clothes, dry skin, and bloodshot eyes, He Qinglan calmly replied, "They wanted to eat me."
System: [Huh?] Eat!!!
The middle-aged man at the head of the group stood in front of He Qinglan, staring intently at her as if he could see a delicious piece of meat.
"I'm sorry, young lady, you can only blame your bad luck!"
The middle-aged man licked his chapped lips.
He Qinglan's expression remained unchanged, seemingly unafraid of the men surrounding her.
The middle-aged man was surprised, but he didn't think the other party could escape from the hands of several grown men.
Kehe Qinglan had no intention of escaping.
The middle-aged man rushed forward first, his rough hand reaching for He Qinglan's arm.
Amidst the system's screams, He Qinglan raised her right foot and kicked the middle-aged man away.
The middle-aged man fell heavily to the ground with a loud thud.
He was completely stunned by the fall, unable to believe that the seemingly delicate woman was so powerful.
The other men were also shocked. They looked at each other and then pounced on He Qinglan together.
He Qinglan narrowed her eyes slightly.
One minute later.
The system stared in shock at the men who had been kicked to the ground by their new hosts and were groaning incessantly.
System: [Host...you...]
He Qinglan: [Heh.]
system:【……】
The middle-aged man rubbed his arm and stood up, his gaze towards He Qinglan filled with apprehension.
The other men, whose teeth had been knocked out and who had been kicked black and blue, were both shocked and furious.
Yes, if she didn't have her own abilities, how could a young woman like her dare to come to Yunhe County alone?
The middle-aged man winked at his companions, preparing to launch another attack.
But then He Qinglan bent down, picked up a fist-sized stone, and squeezed it hard without any expression.
It broke.
She crushed the stone into powder, which fluttered down from her palm.
Men: "!!!"
Their faces were instantly filled with fear.
The system froze, [Host???]
Didn't you say you were too weak to even kill a chicken?
However, after intimidating several men who wanted to kill her and eat her, He Qinglan did not continue to make a move. Instead, she took out a bowl of white porridge with pickled vegetables from the cafeteria system.
The men, worried that He Qinglan would kill them: "..."
Their eyes all fell on the bowl of steaming white porridge in He Qinglan's hand.
The rice grains were distinct, the porridge oil was milky white, and the porridge was topped with pickled vegetables stir-fried in vegetable oil.
The rice and pickled vegetables had no aroma.
The men, however, seemed to smell the fragrance of rice and the salty aroma of pickled vegetables, and their mouths involuntarily watered.
He Qinglan reached out and handed the white porridge to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man stepped forward and took it without hesitation.
Before anyone else could react, He Qinglan conjured up a bowl of white porridge with pickled vegetables in each of her hands.
A few seconds later, several men, each holding a bowl of porridge, knelt on the ground.
With a hoarse voice, he shouted, "Thank you, Goddess, for the porridge!"
System: [...Host, how can you repay evil with kindness?]
He Qinglan: [I studied agriculture for over three years and I have great sympathy for people who can't afford to eat.]
System: [Oh! Host, you're really kind!]
He Qinglan accepted the system's praise without blushing.
The men received the congee, but they neither drank it immediately nor left hastily.
They looked at He Qinglan with complex expressions, a mixture of shame and expectation.
A dark-skinned man spoke with difficulty, "Goddess, thank you for forgiving our rudeness and for giving us porridge..."
He met He Qinglan's gaze, his face burning red. "You, you could, could you... we still have..."
The middle-aged man who was leading them gritted his teeth and said shamelessly, "Goddess, we all have families! Please have mercy on us! Please save them too!"
Although He Qinglan had just beaten them up, she conjured up white porridge out of thin air!
She can conjure several bowls of white porridge out of thin air. No matter what supernatural powers she has or who she was originally, in their eyes now she is a goddess who can save their family!
He Qinglan asked the system, "Is it true that our cafeteria only has plain porridge right now?"
System: [Yes.]
He Qinglan then asked, "How many portions can you provide?"
When it comes to specialization, the system perked up: "You can have as much as you want! But if you want different foods, you'll have to work hard to upgrade and unlock them!"
He Qinglan looked down at the men kneeling respectfully and calmly said, "Let's go."
The men were stunned.
Then the "goddess" said, "Take me to where your family is, and I will give them porridge."
The men were so happy they almost jumped for joy.
He Qinglan then said no more.
As she walked, she inquired about how to upgrade the cafeteria system.
System: [To unlock level 2 food, you first need to make 10,000 bowls of white porridge.]
Since it's a cafeteria system, the portions are naturally larger.
You also need to prepare your own ingredients; only by matching them can you unlock new foods.
He Qinglan: [Side dishes?]
The system went on and on, explaining, "For example, sweet and sour carp requires sugar, carp, and flour; 'ants climbing a tree' (a dish of minced pork and vermicelli) requires vermicelli, pork, chili peppers, and sugar; and stir-fried chicken breast with fermented rice requires eggs, chicken, and mushrooms. The ingredients must be matched correctly to make the dish; otherwise, it won't work."
He Qinglan: [...]
At this point, He Qinglan had no idea how troublesome the side dish issue was.
She followed several men, winding through streets and alleys, across a cobblestone path, and arrived at a large courtyard.
The middle-aged man said, "This house used to belong to a well-known wealthy family in our county. Two years ago, to escape robbers, the whole family fled. Several of our families moved in together."
He didn't explain why he moved in, and He Qinglan didn't ask either.
A man carrying a bowl of porridge jogged into the house and loudly called out to the men, women, and children inside.
As He Qinglan entered the courtyard, more than a dozen people followed the man out of the house.
There were elderly people, children, women, and adult men.
They were all thin and bony, their faces lifeless, but their eyes, gazing at He Qinglan, held a strong longing.
They knelt respectfully on the ground and cried out in hoarse voices, "We beg the goddess to bestow porridge upon us!"
He Qinglan didn't say anything.
She waved and gave them bowls of congee with pickled vegetables, one for each person.
Everyone immediately began to drink the hot porridge without hesitation.
The moment the fragrant rice enters your mouth, its deliciousness sends shivers down your spine.
He Qinglan watched as they eagerly finished their congee and pickled vegetables, then licked their bowls clean.
She subconsciously looked away, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds above.
In her world, people often say, "A single line in a history book is a record of their entire lives." But for the vast majority of people, they don't even deserve to be written into history textbooks.
They lived amidst a severe drought, a great famine, a brutal regime, oppression and rebellion, and widespread chaos.
Living is such a difficult thing.
After the twenty-odd people in the courtyard finished their porridge, they all knelt on the ground, respectfully thanking the goddess for bestowing the porridge upon them.
He Qinglan sighed softly.
Her tone was gentle, but her words were like thunder.
"Find me a spacious place and gather all the people from your county. I'll give them porridge."
Everyone present suddenly looked up, their eyes filled with disbelief as they stared at He Qinglan.
The middle-aged man who was leading them opened his mouth, and asked in astonishment, "You, you mean..." He took a deep breath and asked tentatively, "Can we call as many people as we want?"
He Qinglan nodded. "Okay."
The middle-aged man's breath caught in his throat.
He quickly kowtowed three times, saying, "Please, Goddess, follow my wife and the others to the open space in front of the county government office."
Then he called to the men present, "Come with me, we're going to call for help!"
The elderly people from these families looked after the child, while the women led He Qinglan to the entrance of the county government office.
With excitement and curiosity, they told He Qinglan about Yunhe County while cautiously asking her how long she would stay there.
He Qinglan was also very straightforward, "I will be distributing porridge at the entrance of the county government all day today, and starting tomorrow, it will be twice a day, at noon and in the afternoon."
Her voice was cold and emotionless. "You guys help me spread the word in a bit."
The women's eyes widened upon hearing this.
A quick-witted young woman hurriedly flattered her, "You are truly compassionate!"
Before anyone else could speak, she asked quickly, "Are people from other townships or counties fortunate enough to receive the porridge you've given them?"
He Qinglan said, "Okay."
The women exchanged glances, and all of them saw a look of surprise on each other's faces.
Their expressions became increasingly submissive.
She was thinking about how to quickly notify her family to come over.
The magistrate of Yunhe County had already fled with his family.
The minor officials and yamen runners also absconded with their family fortunes to the north or east.
The entire county government office was deserted.
The open space in front of the county government office was spacious, but the platform where the county officials used to announce matters was very dirty.
Seeing this, the women first invited He Qinglan to sit and rest under the eaves of the county government office. They then found brooms and rags and cleaned the platform thoroughly.
Then, they polished a fine chair that had been searched from the county government office, placed it on the table, and invited He Qinglan to sit down.
The first people to arrive for the porridge were the relatives and friends of these families.
He Qinglan conjured up a bowl of porridge for each of them without any expression.
Everyone was shocked.
They immediately began to drink the porridge and eat the pickled vegetables.
Kneel on the ground and kowtow to the goddess.
It seems that the men who went to call for people earlier had given instructions, because this group of people who came to drink porridge did not leave immediately after finishing their porridge. The young and strong men among them discussed forming a guard team to force those who came later to drink porridge to line up.
If anyone cuts in line or tries to take the porridge meant for the elderly, weak, women, and children, they will be pulled aside and "educated."
With people maintaining order, the line for porridge was quite orderly.
Those who arrived first lined up at the front, and those who arrived later lined up at the back. Those who received the porridge made way for each other and went to the open space on both sides of the line to drink the porridge.
He Qinglan watched from afar, saying nothing.
The system, however, was quite impressed, commenting, "These people are very well-mannered; they've automatically maintained order in the queue."
He Qinglan: […Commander, are you new to this job?]
The system was shocked. "How did you know?"
He Qinglan said: "Because you are still very pure."
The system was bewildered: "【Clear?】Is this word used to describe personality?"
He Qinglan smiled without saying a word.
Those people consciously maintained order only because they were afraid that some hooligans and thugs would cause trouble and anger the goddess.
They hoped to leave a good impression on the goddess, lest she get angry and go somewhere else.
After all, He Qinglan didn't say that she could only distribute porridge in Yunhe County.
They currently have no way to control her, and dare not easily test her abilities and bottom line.
I had no choice but to try my best to please her.
This is a survival instinct.
Both humans and animals can have it.
But AI systems that are new to the job won't understand.
A note from the author:
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