Volume One, Chapter Three: I Come to Exchange for Ten Jin of Coarse Grain

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[AfU Online! Master, how may I assist you?]
Shen Lingshuang: "Are there any eggs? I need to exchange for five eggs right now!"
[Yes, we have them!]
[Five wild eggs, exchange value: 5 blessing points]
Shen Lingshuang: "Exchange!"

Something miraculous happened.

About a meter away from her, five round wild eggs suddenly appeared out of thin air!

She stepped forward and touched them.

They were real!

And still warm!

AfU truly does not deceive me!

Shen Lingshuang was overjoyed. Cradling the precious wild eggs in her clothes, she eagerly headed toward the old Shen family residence.

In her previous life, she had often heard her little granddaughter read storybooks to her, so she was familiar with many online novels that featured system descriptions.

But she never imagined she would experience one firsthand!

AfU: [Master diligently cultivates virtue, thus receiving AfU.]
[All outcomes have causes. This is your good karma being rewarded!]

Tears welled up in Shen Lingshuang’s eyes as each step she took felt more purposeful.

She already had a way to live. As long as she could unite with her family and work together, she wasn’t afraid of enduring this harsh year.

Now, with 995 blessing points in hand, she could exchange for plenty of meat! Plenty of vegetables!

She was determined to make life better for her family!

Shen Lingshuang jogged happily until she arrived at her third uncle Shen Lantian’s doorstep.

Just as she was about to knock, thunderous scolding erupted from inside.

“Shen Lantian!”
“If I hadn’t had the sudden urge to tidy up the house today, I wouldn’t have found what was hidden under the bed!”
“Just say it! Why hide ten jin of white flour?”
“Are you planning to secretly give it to someone else while I’m not paying attention?”

Shen Lingshuang steadied herself and seized the opportunity to shout loudly, “Auntie, please open the door! I’ve brought you a great treasure!”

The quarrel inside abruptly stopped.

Third Aunt Bai Meihua opened the door.

The moment she saw Shen Lingshuang, her nose and eyes seemed swollen, as if she had been crying.

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“Since when did you learn to lie too?” Bai Meihua shot her a displeased glance. “I know you well—anything precious, you’d be the first to bring home. But to think you even remembered your third uncle?”

“Auntie, I truly have a treasure.”

Shen Lingshuang opened her half-unbuttoned jacket, revealing five wild eggs nestled in her arms. “Here!”

Bai Meihua’s eyes brightened.

Eggs!

That very morning, she had rushed her son Shen Xiangdong to dig sweet potatoes, intending to later trade sweet potatoes and grains with the family who kept chickens for some eggs.

Lately, being pregnant with her third child, she felt emptiness in her belly every day, as if there was no vitality inside, leaving her restless at night.

Unexpectedly, before Shen Xiangdong even returned with the sweet potatoes, the eggs came to her doorstep!

Bai Meihua was delighted but not naive.

Shen Lingshuang had surely come to ask for grain!

This year’s harvest was poor. The commune distributed food according to each household’s work points.

Most families just barely had enough to fill their bellies, with no surplus.

Though Shen Lingshuang’s family had the labor of two and a half workers this year, their work points were pitifully low.

Yet they had four mouths to feed, making life tight.

With the New Year approaching, Bai Meihua could guess that her second sister-in-law was going to borrow grain.

She just hadn’t expected that she’d send fragile Shen Lingshuang in her place.

Nor had she anticipated that Shen Lingshuang would bring eggs with her!

Feigning ignorance of Bai Meihua’s shifting expression, Shen Lingshuang earnestly began to settle accounts.

“Auntie, eggs at the supply and marketing cooperative cost 45 cents per jin. I have at least half a jin here, and these are fresh, warm wild eggs—more nutritious than ordinary eggs!”

“Five eggs, let’s say 35 cents!”

“I happen to hear you say you have ten jin of surplus coarse grain?”

“Coarse grain is 10 cents a jin. I’ll exchange my wild eggs for three and a half jin of coarse grain, and the remaining six and a half jin will be a loan from you!”

“Before the New Year, I’ll dig sweet potatoes and use twenty jin of sweet potatoes to repay the six and a half jin of coarse grain. Does that sound fair?”

Bai Meihua smiled gently. “Of course! Why not? As long as you don’t just ask empty-handed, any exchange is fine!”

“Thank you, Auntie!”

Shen Lingshuang hurriedly brought the five wild eggs into the courtyard and neatly lined them up in a row near the wall.

Her third uncle Shen Lantian approached, seemingly wanting to speak to her privately.

But Shen Lingshuang loudly asked, “Auntie, about the six and a half jin of coarse flour you lent me—should I write you an IOU?”

Bai Meihua glanced at the two of them with deep eyes.

“No need for a note! Just remember this principle: borrow and repay, and borrowing again is easy. Borrow and don’t repay, and the bridge collapses, the road ends!”

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“Auntie, I’ll remember.” Shen Lingshuang put on a humble, respectful expression. “You’re so kind to lend me grain and teach me wisdom! Thank you so much, Auntie!”

She deliberately avoided speaking with her third uncle, set down the eggs, and took up the ten jin of coarse grain Bai Meihua had brought out from the woodshed. Then she was about to leave.

“Wait.” Bai Meihua suddenly called out. “On your way back, keep an eye out for Shen Xiangdong! That boy left early this morning and still hasn’t returned. Nobody knows where he’s gone!”

Shen Lingshuang immediately understood. “Got it! If I see my cousin, I’ll call him back right away!”

With ten jin of grain on her back, Shen Lingshuang left her third uncle’s house.

She happily ran into the small woods, ready to call AfU again and exchange for some meat to bring back.

However, just as she reached the edge of the woods, she heard a commotion ahead.

“Gu Xianglin! You’re a bandit! A bully! I’m going to report this to the team leader! We’ll have the commune send people to catch you!”

Shen Lingshuang focused her gaze—

The boy in front, shouting and running while being chased and beaten, was none other than her cousin Shen Xiangdong!

She immediately put down the ten jin of grain at the base of a tree, rolled up her sleeves, clenched her fists, and charged forward to help Shen Xiangdong!

“Lingshuang, run!” Shen Xiangdong recognized her and reached out to pull her away.

But Shen Lingshuang didn’t back down; like a flash of lightning, she threw a heavy punch that knocked down the person chasing Shen Xiangdong!

“Ouch! My nose! It’s bleeding! I’m bleeding!” the fallen person wailed.

The others who had come along instantly stopped in their tracks.

Shen Lingshuang grabbed the boy on the ground and scolded fiercely, “Why are you crying?! If you hadn’t bullied my brother, why would I hit you? No more crying! If you keep making noise, I’ll keep hitting you!”

“Who bullied your brother?”

A boy in a black padded jacket stepped forward.

He wore patches in several places, and his cloth shoes were covered in dust.

His sharp eyes and brows, along with a missing patch on his left forehead, made him look like a leper.

Yet even so, it couldn’t hide the defiant arrogance radiating from his very bones.

“Your brother stole our sweet potatoes first! If you don’t believe me, ask him yourself!” the boy snapped harshly.

Shen Lingshuang stared at him intently, seeing no longer Shen Xiangdong or anyone else in her eyes.

Gu Xianglin!

This was Gu Xianglin in his teenage years!

A sharp sting welled up in Shen Lingshuang’s nose, harsh and tearful.