After lunch, Lu Jiansen only rested for half an hour before leading his team out again.

Gu Xiaoxi continued her morning task—drying the harvested rice.

By 3 p.m., the sky had grown gloomy again, hinting at an impending rain.

Gu Xiaoxi and the villagers quickly gathered the rice.

With that done, she found herself free. Seeing an elderly man sitting under a tree weaving a bamboo basket, she wandered over and sat down beside him to watch.

The old man noticed her interest and said with a smile, “If you want to learn, I can teach you.”

“Sure! Thank you for being willing to teach me!” Gu Xiaoxi immediately and sincerely accepted his offer.

Feng Xia saw Gu Xiaoxi learning to weave and smiled, shaking her head before going off to chat with the village women.

But when she looked back again, Gu Xiaoxi had already finished weaving a delicate bamboo basket—so neat it looked even better than the old man’s work.

Feng Xia couldn’t help but marvel. She walked over, laughing, and said, “Xiaoxi, your hands are really something!”

The old man also chimed in, “This girl is sharp and skillful—she picks up everything so well.”

Gu Xiaoxi smiled humbly. “That’s because you teach so well. I understood everything right away.”

The old man laughed, too. He had taught more than a dozen people, but this girl was the first to learn so quickly and so well—and even knew how to innovate on her own.

After finishing a basket and a bucket, Gu Xiaoxi, under the old man’s guidance, started weaving a bamboo basket with a handle.

Once they ran out of bamboo, the old man took her along to cut more.

And just like that, Gu Xiaoxi ended up learning a whole bamboo weaving craft from the old man.

He was impressed by her eagerness to learn and spared no effort in teaching her everything he knew.

By evening, the rain, which had stopped for a day, started again. It wasn’t heavy, but it was a constant, annoying drizzle.

After eating a mixed-grain bun brought over by Sister-in-law Feng Xia, Gu Xiaoxi rested in the tent.

It was damp outside, and the ground was a little wet. She quietly dried the area, then brought a bundle of straw from the “New Product Display Hall” and spread it out as flooring.

After listening to the rain for a while, boredom set in. She decided to treat the straw like bamboo and weave something for fun.

She had just finished a small straw-woven basket when she noticed the skill store had updated with a new skill.

Weaving Master (requires 2 merit points)

She had earned exactly 2 merit points earlier in the day from repairing the rice mill and the tractor. Now she used them, and her merit point balance returned to zero.

She thought that the trade-in system probably didn’t want her merit points to stay overnight!  

But she had free time anyway. Since Lu Jiansen hadn’t returned yet, weaving was a good way to pass the time.

Then, with her weaving skill activated, she unexpectedly wove a pretty neat straw mat.

She spread the mat over the straw flooring and then wove herself a pair of straw sandals.

They were surprisingly comfortable—didn’t poke her feet at all. They’d make fine slippers for a few days. So, she continued and wove a few more, this time in men’s sizes.

She didn’t know exactly how big Lu Jiansen’s feet were, so she guessed the sizes and ended up making ten pairs in various sizes.

By the time she finished, it was 10 p.m., and Lu Jiansen and his team still hadn’t returned. She went to sleep.

Lu Jiansen didn’t return until 1 a.m., soaked from the rain.

Seeing the girl already sound asleep, he moved quietly.

Carrying the cold and damp of the night on him, he didn’t dare get too close.

Then he spotted the straw mat on the ground and the pile of straw shoes next to it, and his heart softened immediately.

Noticing the shoes were in various sizes, he smartly picked a pair that fit him and took the rest outside for the others.

Many of the soldiers had gotten their clothes and shoes wet during the outing, so now, back at the camp, everyone was drying their gear.

Seeing the battalion commander suddenly come out with shoes, everyone was quite surprised.

But since they knew their sister-in-law was asleep, everyone spoke very quietly.

“Sort them out yourselves and take turns wearing them,” Lu Jiansen said, tossing the shoes down before heading back into the tent.

Because of the rain, the weather was getting colder and colder. He felt reluctant to let the young girl suffer out here in the cold.

…

The next day.

The First Battalion left the village and went to the neighboring brigade.

Before they even arrived, Gu Xiaoxi ran into something good—many of the supplies that had been washed away in the flood had flowed into a mountain hollow.

Some early-rising villagers had organized themselves and were searching through the area for anything salvageable.

Gu Xiaoxi naturally joined in.

The first thing she picked up was a small piece of clothing for a two- or three-year-old. It wasn’t new and was covered in mud, but it wasn’t torn anywhere.

Seeing a puddle not far away, she walked over to wash it clean and then placed it into the straw basket she was carrying.

When no one was looking, she quietly threw it into the Old Goods Storage and exchanged it for a new one.

After that, she picked up several more pieces of clothing, pants, and even a single men’s cloth shoe.

She cleaned everything thoroughly. For the oldest and most worn-out pieces, she put them into the Trade-in system for replacement. The ones that were still wearable after washing, she simply kept as is.

That single shoe—she had initially planned to put it in the New Products Display Hall and wait to find its pair before retrieving it.

But unexpectedly, the system gave her three magical options:

1. A brand-new pair of children’s shoes of the same style. The size was exactly half that of the adult shoe.

2. Two pairs of mini children’s shoes. The size was half that of the previous children’s shoes.

3. Three pairs of even smaller toy shoes? The sizing kept halving.

Gu Xiaoxi was thoroughly amused and ended up choosing the single pair of new children’s shoes—about a size 20—figuring more people could wear that.

Lu Jiansen, who was busy nearby, happened to glance over and saw the young girl laughing, and couldn’t help but smile as well.

This girl really enjoyed picking things up!

A little while later, Gu Xiaoxi dug out a handkerchief from the mud.

She noticed it was tied with many tight knots, as if it were wrapping something. She tried to untie it but found it difficult, so she simply tossed it into the Trade-in system.

Immediately, the New Product Display Hall displayed one pristine white handkerchief, two translucent jade bangles, seven pairs of exquisite antique jade earrings, and two premium jade bracelets.

Gu Xiaoxi felt her luck was unbelievable!

These things weren’t allowed to be worn now. Taking them out might even be considered a crime. But since she picked them up, they were hers.

Perhaps her luck really had turned—because not long after, she found a large bag of cash in a muddy old cloth sack.

It was a thick wad, clumped together, and looked like it contained several hundred yuan.

She froze for a moment, then crouched by the water and used her cleaning technique to wash it.

Some of the bills were badly damaged. She sighed, quietly exchanged them for new ones, re-wet them, and then called out to Lu Jiansen, who wasn’t too far away.

“Lu Jiansen, come here quick! I found money! A lot of it!”

She could keep the jade and jewelry, but she had no intention of keeping the money.

So many villagers were suffering after the disaster. This money could give them some hope.

At her shout, not only did Lu Jiansen come over, but even nearby soldiers and villagers from farther away all came running.

When they saw the large bundle of wet cash, everyone was stunned.

“Sister-in-law’s luck is unreal!” one soldier exclaimed in shock.