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“I’ll take the twenty coins, but I can’t accept these extra two. A pound of the finest wild herbs only costs three coins, and gathering even one pound isn’t easy. You should save your money.”
In front of Song Anning, A’Qing’s Mother tore up the Loan Slip, looking somewhat embarrassed.
“I’ve got a big mouth and spoke too harshly yesterday. Just treat it as nonsense—don’t take it to heart. Your father and the others will surely return.”
“Mm, thank you for understanding, Auntie.”
Unable to persuade her, Song Anning had no choice but to take back the two coins and move on to the next household.
The reactions of the following families were much the same as A’Qing’s Mother’s. None of them accepted the extra coins, and most offered earnest advice, urging Song Anning to take good care of her younger siblings.
Song Anning patiently agreed to each one. By the time she reached the sixth household, she found a little child squatting by the doorway, poking at ants with a small stick.
This family also bore the surname Song and was somewhat related to hers. Squatting beside the child, Song Anning asked in what she thought was her gentlest voice:
“Tiedan, what are you playing with? Are your parents home?”
Tiedan looked up and saw Song Anning’s plump, smiling face. He bit his lip, suddenly scrambled backward, and fell flat on his bottom.
“Waaah—!”
“…”
“Mommy, save me! Tiedan was wrong! Tiedan won’t play with ants anymore, wu wu wu…”
“?”
Song Anning thought hard but couldn’t figure out what she had said to make the child cry.
Hearing the wails, Tiedan’s Mother rushed out from the vegetable patch in the backyard. Seeing his mother, Tiedan cried even louder.
“Mommy, Tiedan will listen from now on! Please don’t ask Auntie Ning to kill Tiedan… Waaah—!”
“…”
Tiedan’s Mother gave Song Anning an awkward smile and quickly explained, “Kids say the silliest things. Since you taught those boys a lesson this morning, I used you to scare him a little. Who knew he’d take it seriously…”
“…”
Song Anning forced a smile and waved her hand lightly. “Ah, no worries, no worries at all, heh heh…”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, she got down to business. The debt to Tiedan’s family was relatively large—over two hundred coins. Handing them over made Song Anning’s heart bleed.
*You gluttonous fool of a past self, stealing food for the He family! These two hundred coins—I’d have to dig over a hundred pounds of wild herbs to earn that!*
After visiting more than a dozen households and repaying a total of 1,036 coins, it was already dark by the time she returned home.
Having eaten a heavy meal in the afternoon, none of them were hungry. Song Zeyuan and Song Anyue had already crawled into bed. After a quick wash, Song Anning collapsed into sleep.
In the middle of the night, two spring thunderclaps exploded over Banyue Village. The wind howled, shaking the thatched hut precariously, yet Song Anning slept soundly, curled up under the covers.
Rainy days meant no trips up the mountain, so she had planned to sleep in. But early in the morning, she was awakened by the hushed chatter of the two little ones.
“A’Yuan, what are you two whispering about? It’s still raining outside—why did you go out?”
Song Zeyuan, wearing an oversized bamboo hat, came running in with a patter of footsteps. “Elder Sister, I went to the river to see the fish! There were so, so many! Uncle Daguang and the others caught a lot. I didn’t dare go into the water, but Uncle Daguang gave me two!”
Outside Banyue Village flowed a great river. The village nestled between the river and the mountains, and when viewed from the mountaintop, its shape resembled a crescent moon—hence the name Banyue (Half-Moon) Village.
In the original host’s memories, this river connected to the sea. Every spring, fish from the ocean would swim upstream to spawn, leaving countless dead fish along the banks.
The System’s informative voice chimed in: “Ding, salmon, also known as chum salmon or sockeye salmon. Anadromous migratory fish. Rich in high-quality protein… one hundred wen per pound.”
It couldn’t resist adding: “Salmon is classified as a Green-tier animal. Master should level up soon…”
“System, will you take the dead fish? I’ll sell them to you cheap.”
“But—”
“No buts! Just say yes or no! If you don’t take them, I’ll go crazy! I’ll want to slap cute little kids’ faces! I’m about to lose it!”
“Can’t go up the mountain in this rain either. This opportunity won’t come again—only once a year.”
Song Anning sensed an opening and coaxed with a thoroughly sleazy tone.
“Fine, I’ll take them. Ten wen per pound, just this once! Why are you still sitting on the bed? Go pick up money, hurry!”
The unscrupulous System, skimming ninety percent off the top without choking on it—ten wen it was! Still easier than digging up plantains.
Song Zeyuan had already made breakfast—coarse grain porridge with one pheasant egg each.
Song Anning gulped down two mouthfuls to fill her stomach, donned her bamboo hat, grabbed her willow-woven dip net, and headed out.
The two younger ones, eager to watch the excitement, trailed behind with their small back baskets.
The rain poured heavily. Only a few people were by the river. The salmon run would last a while, but many stayed home, fearing the rain might bring on a chill.
These days, catching a chill was no joke—it could easily kill you.
It was the river’s dry season. This batch of salmon couldn’t swim upstream. After entering the river from the ocean, they stopped eating, devoting all their energy to battling the current.
Song Anning took off her shoes and waded in. Hundreds of salmon lay along the bank, while more live ones gathered in the raging center of the river, straining to swim upward.
“A’Ning, don’t take the live ones. They still have hundreds of miles to go, returning to their birthplace to spawn. It’s not easy for them…”
An elderly villager stood on the bank, sighing at the fish—or perhaps at himself.
Song Anning nodded and walked further upstream where no one was around. She placed her hand on a fish, and the System promptly recycled it.
“Wow, this one’s big—eleven pounds, one hundred ten wen.”
“Master, this one’s no good—it’s already rotten.”
“Hey, this one’s flesh is falling apart…”
The money-gathering process wasn’t smooth. The System nitpicked, utterly disgusted.
Most fish had died from colliding with rocks upstream or being mauled by wild animals—not exactly prime merchandise.
The river water was bone-chillingly cold. Song Anning widened her eyes, searching for a few half-dead ones still struggling.
“Master, we agreed—half-dead ones are still ten wen, okay~”
“Ding, recycled one half-dead salmon. Credit: seventy-five wen.”
…
“Ding, recycled slightly rotten dead salmon. Credit: sixty-three wen.”
“Ding, recycled… no, Master, not this one—it’s too rotten!”
“…”
The rain intensified. Song Anning picked two fresher ones for her back basket and headed home.
Salt was too expensive these days, and without proper preservation methods, each family only took a few fish to last a while.
On the way back, Song Zeyuan and Song Anyue each carried a fish in their small bamboo baskets, happily trotting home.
Song Anning stole a glance at the System screen and nearly jumped.
[Level]: Level Zero Tiny Trash
[Wealth]: 1,537 wen (Debt: 3,034 wen)
[Unlocked Species]: 22
[Shop]: Locked
[Inventory]: Locked
【Function】：None
【Map】：Centered on the host, with a radius of 5 meters.
Wow, just the income from the salmon alone is over nine hundred wen, nearly one tael of silver!
But System, why has your screen turned green?