Chapter 98
Today, Pei Liuniang and Wu Sanbo left the village early with their men and went to the Donglin Township ferry to take a boat to Dunzi Island.
Originally, Gu Ran planned to go along today to check on the progress, but didn’t He Qinghuan come to her yesterday and tell her that she had to plant more konjac?
She remembered that the konjac field in the pond area of the Lantau forest had not been harvested yet. Now she wanted to expand the planting. Even if she hired people to plant it, she had to prepare the seedlings first, right?
So after Gu Ran used a donkey cart to send Pei Liuniang and others to the ferry to take the boat, he came back, carried a bamboo basket, took a hoe, and went into the mountains to dig konjac.
Of course, although she wanted to increase production, she didn't want to destroy the konjac field next to the pond.
She had previously planted the small konjacs she had harvested, which inadvertently increased the number of konjacs in the forest. So this time, after harvesting, she planned to continue using that piece of land to plant konjac. The rest of the konjac that had grown big enough to be eaten would be sent to the He family in the city, and the small tubers would be planted in the three acres of land in her own miasma forest.
Gu Ran hadn't been to the miasma forest for a long time. This time, he planned to hunt two bamboo rats to take back and try.
However, just as she was about to reach the bamboo forest, she felt as if there was an extra sound of footsteps behind her, especially when passing by the withered bushes, there was a rustling sound of branches scraping against them.
Someone followed in?
Ever since he found out that he was being followed before, Gu Ran became extremely alert to anyone who might be following him.
Could it be that a hunter from another village saw me entering the miasma forest and followed me here? What a coincidence!
Is he planning to come in and get some benefits, or is he coming for me again?
Gu Ran continued to move forward into the bamboo forest without showing any emotion.
He pretended to be tired and stopped. He took off the heavy bamboo basket on his back, but held the hoe tightly in his hand.
As she bent her waist and pretended to hoe something on the ground, her ears perked up and her eyes glanced behind her from time to time.
The person who followed in didn't seem to know how to conceal his whereabouts. Although he hid, he made a lot of noise. After waiting for a while, Gu Ran secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the man curiously sticking his head out.
It turned out to be Yang Jinling from Uncle Yang's family.
What was she doing in Dayu Forest for no reason?
Gu Ran stopped pretending, threw the hoe aside, and shouted at the back: "Don't hide, I saw you, Yang's Second Mother?"
Yang Jinling was startled by Gu Ran's shout. After hearing her call her name a few more times, she hesitantly walked out from behind the bushes where she was hiding, clutching her jacket and slowly walked over.
She was severely scolded by her mother today, and she ran out in anger. She was crying and didn't know where to go. Through her tearful eyes, she saw Gu Er Niang carrying a bamboo basket into the miasma forest.
A'niang said that she was not as pretty as Pei Liuniang. She admitted that Junior Sister He was smart, but wasn't it because Gu Erniang dared to enter the miasma forest that she was capable?
If she dares to enter, why shouldn't I dare to enter?
I got confused and impulsive, so I ran after him.
After entering the forest, she hurried and finally caught up with Gu Er Niang. She wanted to see how Gu Er Niang found wild animals in the miasma forest. From then on, she would also enter the forest. She would catch whatever Gu Er Niang caught and do whatever Gu Er Niang did. In this way, Gu Er Niang would admit that she was capable, right?
It can be seen that Gu Er Niang walked deeper and deeper into the forest. Seeing that the surroundings were all places she had never been to, Yang Jinling gradually became afraid.
Should I turn back? I've been following him for so long, I'm far from the village, right? What if I get lost on the way back?
Should I continue to follow her? But, she was getting further and further away. What if she suddenly encountered a big beast?
Yang Jinling was just regretting her decision when she heard Gu Ran shouting. She knew her whereabouts had been discovered, hesitated for a moment, and walked out.
"Yang Jinling, what are you doing in this miasma forest?"
Yang Jinling remembered why she followed Gu Ran in, and she felt uncomfortable, and tears started to fall from her eyes again.
"Hey, why... are you crying?" Gu Ran panicked.
This, this is her own way of following here, and she didn't encounter anything, so why is she crying?
"Are you scared? Go back. Although there isn't much miasma in this forest right now, there might still be large beasts active. It's dangerous. This isn't the place for you!"
"Why can you come but I can't? I want to come!" Yang Jinling was wiping her tears. After hearing what Gu Ran said, she stopped crying and said viciously, "Wherever you go, I can go too. What do you think of me?"
Gu Ran had no choice but to ignore her, grab the hoe, carry the bamboo basket on his back and walk into the depths of the forest.
But Yang Jinling was determined to go all out and really walked closely behind Gu Ran, following him wherever he went.
Gu Ran was walking in front, occasionally glancing back and saw that Yang Jinling had stopped crying, but her eyes were red, and she wiped them from time to time as she walked.
It seems like something sad happened?
Gu Ran's first reaction was to think of the scene yesterday when she went to the small house to wait for Lin San and He Qinghuan.
It can’t be because of this, right?
Could it be that the Lin family had harshly rejected the marriage proposal?
But since you are hurt by love, you should stay at home and heal your wounds. Why run to such a dangerous place like the miasma forest to cry and be sad?
You wouldn't just come here to relax, would you?
As they were about to walk out of the shallow forest area and enter the deep forest area, Gu Ran stopped.
Yang Jinling also stopped behind.
"Are you sure you still want to come in with me?" Gu Ran pointed ahead and said, "It's a deep forest inside. The chances of encountering miasma and large beasts are higher. If something really happens, don't expect me to save you."
"Who expects you to save me? I'm going to go." Yang Jinling said stiffly, but she looked fierce but was weak inside.
Gu Ran saw through it, took out a mask from his backpack, and then took out another one for Yang Jinling.
Yang Jinling looked at the mask, puzzled.
"Outside the shallow forest, miasma is rare because of the cold weather, but in the deep forest, it is enclosed and miasma must be guarded against." Gu Ran said, and put it on in front of Yang Jinling to demonstrate how to use it.
Yang Jinling was hesitant, but still very obedient and put it on obediently.
When she smelled the scent of medicinal herbs, Yang Jinling couldn't help but glance at the figure in front of her: How dare she enter the miasma forest just by wearing this?
Gu Ran took Yang Jinling through the woods and finally arrived at the pond.
Sure enough, a large area of konjac leaves had fallen to the ground and withered, and could be dug up.
Gu Ran dropped the bamboo basket, glanced at Yang Jinling, and sighed in his heart: If she had come into the forest by herself, she could have directly collected all the konjac into the space and brought it back, but now that she has an extra pair of eyes, she can only fill the bamboo basket.
Yang Jinling looked at a patch of withered leaves on the ground, then at some wilted but still upright stalks. She couldn't identify the crop, but it looked familiar. "What are you doing?"
Gu Ran took out his gloves and put them on. He used a hoe to clear the dead leaves from the ground, estimated the location of the tubers below, and slowly dug down layer by layer: "Harvesting konjac."
"Are those the ones you planted in your fields?"
Yang Jinling also went to see the big windmill on the side of the miasma forest. She remembered that Gu Er Niang's field was planted with all kinds of strange things, either weeds or poles.
It is said that a naughty child dug this thing from her field when he went to see the windmill. When Gu Er Niang found out, she chased him home to ask for it back, saying that if this thing was not handled by a professional, eating it would cause poisoning.
At that time, the family didn't believe it. They were afraid that Gu Er Niang was lying to them in order to prevent people from stealing the things in her field.
He secretly hid one, and no one knew what he did with it. Anyway, the whole family ate it bravely. As a result, the man was poisoned the next day and was sent to Donglin Township to see a doctor.
After this matter spread, no one wanted to take the crops from Gu Er Niang's fields anymore.
It turns out that this poisonous thing was dug out from the miasma forest and grown!
"Now that you're here, don't just stand there and watch. Help me put the things into the bamboo basket."
Gu Ran, who had dug out a pile of konjac, shouted at Yang Jinling.
"Isn't this thing poisonous?"
"If you don't eat it, it won't be poisonous."
Yang Jinling was scared and didn't move.
Gu Ran took off his gloves and handed them to her: "Put them on, hurry up and get to work."
Yang Jinling glanced at Gu Erniang, who ordered her around, with annoyance, then put it on obediently, grabbed the bamboo basket, squatted down and collected the konjacs that Gu Ran had dug out one by one.
Gu Ran dug and Yang Jinling filled, and soon the bamboo basket was full.
Gu Ran took a look and thought, okay, let’s dig this much today!
Then he stopped and put the bamboo basket on his back. Wow, it was really heavy. He hadn't carried such a heavy thing for a long time. All thanks to this Yang Jia Jinling!
Gu Ran walked back while using a hoe as a crutch.
Yang Jinling knew that they were going back to the village, so she hurried to follow.
When Gu Ran and Yang Jinling were returning, they didn't know that when Aunt Yang learned that her daughter had gone to the miasma forest, she panicked and went straight to find Village Chief Wu.
The miasma forest is a very dangerous place for the people in Xiaxi Village. Even though it is winter now and there is not much miasma, few people dare to enter the forest casually. Now that little girl ran in alone, is she trying to kill herself?
When Village Chief Wu heard that Yang Jinling was so upset after being scolded that she went into the miasma forest, he was also shocked. He wanted to find someone to find her. However, most of the young and strong people in the village had left the village and gone to Dunzi Island. Who could he find to save her?
"Second Mother Gu, go ask if she's here?"
She was the only one in the entire village who dared to enter the miasma forest.
Aunt Yang hurried to the cottage, but didn't see Gu Erniang at home. She burst into tears immediately: "That damn girl, she really makes me feel cold. I raised her for so many years, and I can't say a few words to her?"
"What should I do if something happens to her?"
"No, if we have to die, we'll die with her."
Aunt Yang cried and immediately ran towards the miasma forest.
"Ma Furong, don't make things worse." Village Chief Wu was already feeling upset. He quickly ran over and grabbed Aunt Yang. "We still don't know if Jinling is okay. If you run in again, I'll call someone to look for her. Are they looking for you or her?"
"Find her, find her!" Aunt Yang wiped her tears and finally managed to calm down.
"Mother, what's wrong with you?"
Lin Sanlang brought a group of classmates to the front of the miasma forest to watch the windmill turn. Now he saw his mother coming here and Aunt Yang crying.
"What happened?"
"Xiaozhe, you..." Village Chief Wu looked at his son and the students surrounding him. He hesitated and said, "Go ask the uncles in the village. The second daughter of the Yang family has run into the woods. We need help to go into the woods and find her."
"Entering the miasma forest?" Shen Erlang, who had fallen into the miasma forest once before, blurted out, "Is she trying to die?"
"She's stupid, she just doesn't want to die." Aunt Yang reached out and grabbed Lin Sanlang: "You, there are many of you, please go into the woods and help me save her!"
"Is that forest dangerous?" He Qinghuan came over and asked.
"It's dangerous, otherwise why is it called the Miasma Forest?" Shen Erlang understood this very well.
"I remember Sister Gu said that the miasma forest in winter is not as dangerous as usual. There is not much miasma in it, and it is safer than at any other time." He Qinghuan said.
“That’s Gu Er Niang. If she had the ability, of course she would say that.” Shen Erlang explained, “By the way, you can find Gu Er Niang!”
"I looked, but she's not home."
He Qinghuan looked back at the forest and said, "How about I go into the forest and look for it?"
"Junior Sister He!"
"no."
Lin Sanlang was the first to stop He Qinghuan and said, "You can't go."
"Senior Brother Lin."
"You've never been into the mountains before. The forest is steep and dangerous. It's useless for you to go in." Lin San glanced at his mother and said, "I'll go!"
"Xiao Zhe!"
"Let's go after them before they get too far. Otherwise, if we take too long, we won't be able to find them." Lin Sanlang said, pulling Shen Erlang with him. "Go back to the village and call some people to help."
"Okay, I'll ask my father to send some guards over."
Shen Erlang ran away immediately, and Lin Sanlang strode towards the miasma forest, and Village Chief Wu couldn't stop him.
"Brother Lin, we'll go with you."
So, the scholars all ran to the miasma forest.
Aunt Yang looked at the group of young men running to help her find someone, and she cried and laughed: "Village Chief, thank you. I, Ma Furong, thank you today."
Village chief Wu looked anxious, but he had no choice but to follow.
So, when Gu Ran and Yang Jinling reached the area of the bamboo forest, they heard a faint voice calling, "Yang Erniang?"
"Where are you, Yang Erniang?"
Gu Ran pricked up his ears and listened, then raised his finger: "Listen, is it looking for you?"
Yang Jinling listened carefully and nodded.
"Did you come in by yourself? Didn't you tell your family?" Gu Ran said with a serious face.
Yang Jinling suddenly became panicked. No longer afraid of getting lost, she left Gu Ran behind and ran towards the place ahead where there were more calls.
Gu Ran shook his head and quickened his pace.
When she walked out of the dense bamboo forest, she saw that Yang Jinling had already seen the group of people who came to look for her.
They turned out to be the scholars that Lin San brought back!
"Are you Yang Erniang?"
"We followed Senior Brother Lin in here looking for you for a while, and now you're here!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, go! Don't you know that your mother is crying so hard outside?"
Gu Ran watched Yang Jinling being surrounded by several students and hurriedly walked out.
"Hey, we finally found someone!"
When Gu Ran followed them from a distance and left the deep forest and passed through the shallow forest, he saw Village Chief Wu and Aunt Yang standing in the three acres of land they had cleared out, looking anxious.
When Aunt Yang saw Yang Jinling, she was overjoyed and ran straight towards them. But when she got to Yang Jinling, she raised her hand as if she was going to hit her hard.
But the hand didn't fall.
"You, you...you..." Aunt Yang wanted to curse, but she couldn't say it in front of everyone. With red eyes, she thanked everyone, and then dragged her daughter home.
Others didn't know that after Aunt Yang dragged Yang Jinling back home, she closed the door and looked at her daughter for a long time, her lips trembling, but she couldn't utter a word.
Yang Jinling saw that her mother looked a little strange and couldn't help but feel scared: "Mother?"
"You're right. We, as your parents, are useless. But in this life, you have to acknowledge us even if you don't want to!"
Aunt Yang recovered and rubbed her face, which had become stiff from being outside in the wind. "In your next life, remember to be born into a good family where you can eat well, drink well, have money to go to school, and marry whoever you want. Don't be the daughter of a useless person like us."
Yang Jinling bit her lip, lowered her head and cried silently.
Seeing that Aunt Yang and her daughter had returned home, everyone felt relieved. They no longer had to worry about anyone getting into trouble, and they all started laughing and joking.
Lin Sanlang and a few classmates ran out from the other side of the woods: "Did you find the person?"
“Found it!”
“We’re awesome!”
"That's great." Lin Sanlang glanced at his mother and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you all for your hard work in helping me find someone. I'll ask my mother to cook a few more dishes tonight as a reward for you."
"Okay, Senior Brother Lin!"
"You have to eat the best food in your village."
"No problem, right, Auntie?"
Village Chief Wu glanced at his son unhappily, then nodded to the other students, "That's right. After you've had your fill of food and drink, I'll hire a donkey cart to take you back to the city."
The students couldn't help but cheer, and left the miasma forest arm in arm, talking and laughing.
Gu Ran watched them walk away before walking to his own field, picking out the small konjacs from the bamboo basket, digging holes and burying them one by one.
After they were all buried, I suddenly remembered: everyone who went to the island to build houses today went to Dunzi Island, and Aunt Yang should have followed them. Now she is still here, so who is responsible for the food for everyone on the island?
"Second Lady Gu, don't worry. I've already asked my third daughter to take over my job. She's diligent and a great cook, so she'll definitely be able to do it."
The next day, Aunt Yang came to see her at the Gu family's cottage to explain.
"It would be nice if someone could help with the cooking."
"Also, Gu Erniang, I'm going to your Dunzi Island today. Can I take one more person with me?"
"Who is it?" Gu Ran asked, and then he immediately understood, "Yes?"
Aunt Yang nodded. "I thought, if I take her to the island, she can help me out. I can prepare her own food separately. Is that okay?"
"Okay, as long as you do your job well, it's all right."
People who work on Dunzi Island usually don't come back for four or five days. Gu Ran guessed that Aunt Yang probably wanted to take Yang Jinling away from the village for some time so that she could have some peace and quiet.
Aunt Yang and her daughter went to Dunzi Island, and Gu Ran was also free. He dug up the konjac that could be harvested in several batches and transplanted it to the three acres of land. Then he concentrated on the space grid.
This time, the points needed to upgrade the space system are 240 points. She has been saving for almost a year, which is far more than this amount, so she quickly drew out the latest space card and slowly repaired the pattern on the space card.
By the time she had repaired the entire card, the Gulu system displayed its usual congratulatory notification for opening the space slot. However, it didn't reveal the size or properties of the slot, but instead displayed a new prompt:
[It is detected that the host has triggered the self-defined coordinate code mechanism. The host's points have reached the requirements for self-redemption of coordinate codes. Do you need to choose the self-defined coordinate code? ]
Then the options appear: [Yes] [No]
Gu Ran was stunned.
She guessed from the beginning that each space corresponding to this space cabinet was a specific location in this world or a world selected by a system, otherwise there would be no need to enter the coordinate code data, but what she never expected was that this space grid could also define the coordinate code independently.
That is to say, with the space grid that I am about to get, I can choose a location in the Dasheng Dynasty as the place to store my items?
"Is that so?"
【The host's inference is correct.】
Gu Ran became excited now.
"Is it possible to add attributes to this space?"
[Yes, the attributes of this space are set by the host. Each attribute setting costs the host fifty points.]
"Apart from me, can anyone else be allowed to enter this space?"
[Because the host has chosen a location in this world, anyone can enter and exit freely. It is recommended that the host carefully choose the spatial coordinates.]
"Since I set the coordinates of this space myself, can I change them freely to avoid losses caused by others entering and leaving freely?"
Because she was not sure whether the place she chose as her space was safe and reliable. If it was occupied by someone with ulterior motives, or destroyed due to force majeure, could she reselect the coordinates and customize a new place as her space?
[Yes, changing the spatial attributes requires 50 points to remove the original coordinate code, and another 100 points to re-enter the new coordinate code]
In other words, with two hundred points you can change the location of your space at will!
Although it costs a lot of points, isn’t this super convenient?
"Can you specify the coordinates before I choose them?"
It's rare to be able to designate a place as your own space, so of course you have to choose carefully before making a decision.
[When the host selects yes, he will get an initial coordinate to open this space]
[Changing the initial coordinates does not consume the host's points, but this space has blank attributes, and the host needs to spend additional points to increase the attributes]
"Yes, yes, I choose yes."
[Customized space grid No. 7 has been opened]
Gu Ran watched as the remaining 242 points decreased instantly, leaving only a pitiful "2".
It turns out that the condition for opening a custom space grid is to reach the points required to open a space grid of the same level. For example, she needs to spend 240 points to draw a space card this time. After repairing the space card today, she still has 242 points accumulated, so she has met the conditions for defining the coordinate code independently.
If she wants to open another space grid with customizable coordinate codes, she will need 480 points to draw a space card next time, which means she will need a total of 960 points?
It will take another three years before you can draw the card!
And this is under the premise that no attributes are added to the seventh space grid and the coordinate code is changed. If so, it will take more than three years.
Sure enough, it is becoming increasingly difficult to extract space cards!
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