Chapter 3
Ignoring what Song Chaoyun and the commander of the guards were saying, she made inquiries and found the girl who had fainted during the day. She was just casually thrown on the bed and was running a high fever with sweat all over her forehead. She was assigned to a small room that was very cramped and made it difficult to walk around.
"This isn't a house, it's a prison." Qingyun covered his nose because a strange-smelling breeze kept wafting out. Hearing the noise, the girl struggled to get out of bed and recognized the person who had saved her earlier that day. Her voice was weak as she forced herself to sit up. "Today... cough cough... thank you for taking care of me, young lady... cough cough cough. Please sit down for a while, I'll pour you some tea."
Upon hearing this, Qingyun quickly stopped the person, saying that she didn't need it, and asked if the other person had eaten.
The woman covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, her eyes glazed and filled with pain. "Where will there be any food? I have no hope of survival. Eating food would be useless."
It seems those people stopped feeding her. Speaking of which, Qingyun hadn't eaten either; she left the manor after the mealtime had passed—you could say she was dragged away as soon as she finished work. [System? Come out.]
What are your orders, host?
Qingyun thought to himself, "Get me a few potatoes." Then, as if afraid the other party would disagree, he quickly added that potatoes are also plant seeds. In short, he tried to persuade him with a lot of reasons and excuses.
She could sense the other person's helplessness through her divine sense, but what could she do? She wouldn't feel sorry for the system anyway. After saying a few polite words to the girl, Qingyun told her to lie down first and then swept the oil lamp around.
She discovered there was a kitchen. Although she slept on a large communal bed, she would be separated from her family in a few days and would have to rely on her daily work for food.
Qingyun is from the countryside. When she was a child, her family used this kind of wood-fired stove, so it started to burn quickly. She hurriedly threw a few potatoes into the stove to keep warm.
It suddenly occurred to me that potatoes weren't a crop in this dynasty; they usually grew sweet potatoes and wheat. If we could introduce potatoes...
Wouldn't that mean the people wouldn't have to worry about not having enough to eat? Qingyun made a mental note of this, thinking that one day he would find an excuse to promote potatoes nationwide. Moreover, as long as they were mixed with some mud in the sand, potatoes would be very easy to grow.
Thinking about it this way, this system isn't entirely useless.
"This is so sweet! I've never seen anything like it before, and I didn't even know it was edible." The woman leaned against the bed, covering her mouth with a handkerchief and eating in small bites. She looked every bit the part of a well-bred lady. A rare glimmer of light appeared in her eyes, which made Qingyun feel a little sorry for her, since they were eating the kind of blackened cakes.
She used to find potatoes tasteless, but perhaps because she had been starving for the past month, she didn't care about her image and quickly finished off all the potatoes in her hand. After settling the other person in and giving them some instructions, she prepared to leave.
The woman suddenly grabbed Qingyun, bursting into tears. She said that since she came to this place, no one had ever treated her like this, and she would remember Qingyun's kindness for the rest of her life. Qingyun could only comfort her. Looking at the thin and frail girl, her eyes also became a little wet.
If only she could live in modern society, she wouldn't be in this state now.
Having won back her affections, Qingyun still had things to finish. Her eyes were resolute. "System, do you sell water purifiers in the shop?"
The system had a strong sense of foreboding. [Host, no matter what you say this time, I won't agree. Besides, you need to complete a small task to unlock the shop.]
Upon hearing this, Qingyun was immediately overjoyed. [Why didn't you tell me that completing this task would unlock the in-game store?] She then quickly asked, [How many points does the water purifier cost? I want the industrial-grade kind.]
I was mentally prepared to be ripped off by the system, but when I heard it was only 100 points, the system said, "[Because this kind of thing is considered within the scope of tree planting, host, some water sources can also affect tree development, so there will be special treatment~]"
Qingyun felt much better now. It was like having someone hand you water when you're thirsty and someone hand you a pillow when you're sleepy. Back in her dormitory, she slept soundly until dawn. She had been working all day and was exhausted. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she couldn't keep her eyes open.
In the morning, the foreman told her that she didn't need to go to work on the sand dunes anymore. She had been looking for a water source for the past three days, and she was to find a well. Once she found one, she could come to the work shed and ask the foreman to have someone dig it. Compared to yesterday, the foreman's attitude towards Qingyun was much better.
"System, get to work!" Qingyun shouted in his mind, then chewed on the black biscuit in his hand and slowly walked towards the place indicated by the panel.
The overseer behind her glanced at her figure, smiled at the people around him, and said, "Why do these women always think that they are more capable than men?" He then shook his head and sighed.
His words drew laughter from those around him.
“If she had stayed home and been a good wife and mother, she wouldn’t have had to suffer. Does she really think she’s strong enough to achieve anything?” A man casually tossed a cloth over his shoulder and continued, “There aren’t many tributaries in this city… Her search is just a waste of time.”
How could Qingyun not know whether there were tributaries or not? Following the guidance of the system panel, she arrived at the foot of a hill. The dark mountain looked like a huge coal mountain standing in front of her when she looked up from below. It was very majestic and had a natural domineering aura between heaven and earth.
Qingyun marked the spots with tree branches. She not only wanted to find them, but also more than one. However, she didn't realize how many miles she had walked. The water in her water bottle was almost empty. After marking the last spot, she stood up and found that the surroundings had become deathly silent, and even the wind had stopped blowing.
A sense of unease crept up her from the soles of her feet, a feeling of impending danger. Suddenly, a rustling sound arose, and Qingyun pricked up her ears, not wanting to miss a single sound. "Woo woo~..."
Qingyun immediately recognized it—it wasn't a wolf's howl. Cursing under her breath, she hurriedly ran back, thinking, "Could I really be this unlucky?"
But she was just unlucky. What she saw was a wolf's head emerging from behind a rock, its sharp teeth bared fiercely, staring intently at its prey.
【Holy crap! Holy crap! System, help me! There are wolves!】 She stared at that spot, her steps gradually slowing down. She dared not move any further and could only move in small steps. Although she was a forest ranger, there were no wolves in the forest. She was afraid that if she ran, she would be chased by wolves as prey. She could only scream for help in her mind.
System: [Host, don't worry, even if you perish, you can be resurrected.]
[What the hell?! Is that even human language? Is being bitten to death a dignified way to die?]
System: [I will now search for what to do if you encounter a wolf. Searching on Baidu and other search engines... please wait.]
Qingyun: "..." Are you even a proper artificial intelligence? Calling you an artificial idiot is really not wrong.
Looking at the results of the system search, Qingyun felt the veins on her temples throbbing. The content was utter nonsense. Did she not know not to run with her back to the wolf?
She took back the praise from last night; now she could only rely on herself. Qingyun slowly retreated, holding her breath, while observing the wolf's situation.
Although the other party was eyeing her covetously, it didn't dare to come directly at her. Qingyun hadn't brought any tools for self-defense. However, it seemed to be a lone wolf. Lone wolves generally don't attack humans unless provoked. Wolves are actually quite afraid of people. Thinking of this, she figured that as long as Mingming got out of the wolf's sight, she would be safe most of the time. Sure enough, just as she expected, the wolf didn't chase after her.
Thinking that she couldn't take any chances next time, she made sure to bring something for self-defense when she went out. As she walked back, she was still calming down from the shock she had just experienced. Her heart was pounding. But when she looked up again, she saw a tent surrounded by many wooden stakes. She felt a sense of foreboding again. Sure enough, the next second, two large machetes were held against her snow-white neck.
"And who are we waiting for?"
Qingyun surrendered with both hands. She never expected that she could get into the military headquarters. This must be the border guards stationed here. "This servant Qingyun is here to find a water source and dig a well on the orders of the border guard commander and the princess. I am not a spy or an assassin. Check my identity and household registration at the government office. I would never dare to deceive you, sirs."
Her eyes darted around nervously. Who wouldn't panic when a large knife is held to their throat?
"Since you say that the commander sent you, and the commander is in the tent, go and ask for permission yourself. If the commander does not recognize you, don't blame the swords for being merciless."
Qingyun swallowed hard, nodded vigorously to indicate that she understood, and then knelt down again, "thump," in the middle of the tent. Fortunately, there was a thick blanket underneath, which made her a little more comfortable. Qingyun complained to the system, shivering, "[I feel like I'm going to live to old age; my leg pain is going to kill me.]"
The system has become immune to her complaints; they only appear when Qingyun taps her.
Song Junwu looked at the person kneeling in the middle and recognized Qingyun at a glance from the person's kneeling posture. He handed the spear in his hand to his subordinate, narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Qingyun, stepped across the threshold with a dragon-like stride, and asked with a smile, "Weren't you looking for a well? How did you end up in the camp?"
Qingyun looked up at the other person and finally saw the commander's full appearance. He was handsome and dashing. Despite spending many years in the desert frontier exposed to the wind and sun, his skin was still fair and radiant. His sword-like eyebrows revealed a heroic spirit, which made his fair skin look less feminine.
Young man, handsome guy, several words popped into her mind, but fortunately Qingyun quickly stopped herself from being infatuated and hurriedly replied, "I encountered jackals on the way and ran here in a panic."
Song Junwu sat down with a flourish, picked up the now-cold tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp. He stared at Qingyun for a long while and then said, "You actually escaped a close call and weren't eaten by that jackal?"
Qingyun explained in a low voice that she looked like a cautious, timid and weak servant, but Song Junwu's initial impression of her was not like that. He always felt that this woman's actual personality was more like a bold and forthright person.
“That wolf seemed to be a lone wolf. A lone wolf wouldn’t dare to hurt people easily. I was just lucky. If a whole pack of wolves had come out, I would have had no chance of survival.” She kowtowed on the ground as she replied.
"Get up first, let's talk standing up," Song Junwu put down his teacup, not bothering to investigate the truth of his words. His gaze swept over Qingyun again, and he asked, "Have you found the well?"
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