Jiang Le glanced at his remaining points and thought of his family’s thin, malnourished faces. Gritting his teeth, he decided not to hoard the points.  

While saving points could be useful for emergencies, in his opinion, the Jiang family’s current health was in dire straits.  

He could only check his own physical condition, and since the system had rated him as “weak,” the original host’s physique must have been terrible. And if Jiang Huan was anything like him, they were both in poor shape.  

The Jiang family had been skimping on their own rations to feed the children, but with so little food to go around, both he and Jiang Huan were already in bad health. The others probably weren’t doing much better.  

Long-term malnutrition took a heavy toll on the body. Rather than spending points on medical treatment later, it was better to eat well now and rebuild their health.  

Besides, it was the busy farming season. If anyone in the family fell ill, it would be a devastating blow to their already struggling household.  

And also… Jiang Le was craving food. He refused to admit it was his own gluttony—it must be this body’s instincts. The sight of the pork belly in the system store made him want to crawl into the screen and take a bite.  

Hmm… There was a certain helplessness in not being able to shove his mouth through the screen.  

Before making the exchange, Jiang Le cautiously asked Gua Gua: [Gua Gua, how will the exchanged items be delivered to me?]  

Gua Gua seemed eager for him to make the exchange and immediately replied: [Host, you have two options! First, the items can appear directly beside you. Second, I can store them for you and release them when you need them. However, to prevent hosts from abusing system resources, there’s a time limit—currently, I can only store them for one day.]

One day was enough, Jiang Le nodded.  

His gaze returned to the system store. Taking a deep breath, he made his decision—exchange!

He got ten eggs and two pounds of pork. Remembering the coarse grain buns he had eaten that morning—saved specially for him while the rest of the family ate sweet potatoes—he felt a pang of guilt.  

Sweet potatoes were high-yield, so every household had plenty of them. Eating them occasionally was fine, but having them every single day? Even farts smelled like sweet potatoes.  

And a diet mostly consisting of sweet potatoes led to nutritional deficiencies, which was why the entire Jiang family looked so malnourished.  

So Jiang Le also exchanged five pounds of wheat flour and ten pounds of cornmeal.  

After calculating—eggs at 1 point for two, pork at 3 points per pound, wheat flour at 2 points per pound, and cornmeal at 1 point per pound—the total came to 31 points, leaving him with 19.  

He was about to close the interface, thinking the supplies should last his family a while, when he noticed a huge “DISCOUNT” label next to the brown sugar.  

Unable to resist, he clicked on it—original price 10 points, now only 8 points, a 20% discount.

Although two points didn’t seem like much, when he thought about it—that could buy four eggs! 

But still… Jiang Le frowned: [Gua Gua, why is brown sugar so expensive?!]  

Gua Gua had an explanation ready: [This system subsidizes essential living supplies~ It’s not that brown sugar is expensive—it’s that the other things are cheaper.] 

So, according to the system, meat, eggs, and flour were daily necessities, hence the lower prices. Brown sugar? Not so much.  

Jiang Le wasn’t convinced: [How is brown sugar not a living essential?]

Gua Gua: [That’s how the system defines it. Probably because you won’t die without eating brown sugar.]

Jiang Le: […] Fair point.  

But eight points was still pricey. Jiang Le frowned, about to exit, but then he remembered Jiang Huan’s sallow face. A neighbor had once mentioned that brown sugar was highly nourishing, especially for girls.  

And right now… it was on sale.  

Gritting his teeth, Jiang Le exchanged for a one-pound bag of brown sugar.  

Now he was down to 11 points. Coincidentally, he spotted White Rabbit Creamy Candy—surprisingly cheap at 1 point for ten pieces. To round things off, he spent 1 point on ten candies.  

Jiang Le: [Gua Gua, is White Rabbit candy also a living essential?] 

Gua Gua: [Gua Gua doesn’t know~ If the host thinks it’s too cheap, Gua Gua can report it to the main system for a price adjustment.]

Jiang Le: […No need.]

Was he stupid? Cheap was good.  

He was starting to see through this system—outwardly honest, but full of tricks.  

Just as he was about to exit the store, the ever-scheming Gua Gua piped up: [Host! Gua Gua highly recommends this system-exclusive wound medicine! The lump on the back of your head hasn’t gone away yet—this will make it disappear instantly!]

This system store wasn’t just styled like Pinduoduo—it also shared its annoying last-minute pop-ups.

Jiang Le sighed and asked casually: [How much for the wound medicine?]

Gua Gua cheerfully replied: [Only 10 points~ Should Gua Gua buy it for you?]

Jiang Le (with exactly 10 points left): […No.] 

Gua Gua persisted: [But host, that lump on your head is huge—] 

Before it could finish, Jiang Le smiled sweetly, mimicking the system’s tone: [It’s fine. I won’t die from it. Charging me 10 points? Might as well kill me.]

Gua Gua: […] Why did I get such a stingy host?  

Watching Gua Gua rendered speechless, Jiang Le exited the system in high spirits. Checking his profile, he saw the points had already been deducted—now only 10 remained.  

…

Jiang Le went out. Staying inside the Jiang household made it impossible to retrieve the exchanged items—how would he explain where they came from?  

He decided to take a walk. Conveniently, he still had the 10 yuan Xu Youcai had given him as “nutrition compensation.” He could claim he used that money to buy the supplies.  

Fortunately, this parallel world was slightly different from his original one. In his own timeline, this era required ration coupons for everything—some places even had manure coupons. But here, the author had simplified things for the protagonist’s convenience, making purchases possible without coupons.  

As Jiang Le familiarized himself with the village while chatting with Gua Gua, a hand suddenly clapped onto his shoulder. A group of scruffy-haired boys—around the original host’s age—crowded around him.  

From how close they stood, Jiang Le could even see fleas hopping in their hair.  

Jiang Le: AHHHH!  

He instantly jerked away. Logically, a single touch shouldn’t transfer fleas to him, but his skin still crawled with discomfort.  

The boys didn’t notice his reaction. Slouching lazily with blades of grass dangling from their mouths, the ringleader—Gou Dan (Dog Egg)—grinned: “Jiang Le, we’re heading to the east side of the village. Wanna come? Might find some good stuff.” 

In the past, the original host often tagged along with Gou Dan’s gang, loafing around the village all day. But while they seemed like friends, Jiang Le had actually been the group’s lowest-ranked lackey—excluded from anything remotely interesting because they saw him as a coward.  

Jiang Le wanted nothing to do with them. Gou Dan was 16, a year older than him—old enough for high school even in modern times. Worse, unlike the original host (who’d been falsely accused of theft), these boys were actual thieves. They just never invited the original host, deeming him too spineless.  

Thank goodness for their disdain, Jiang Le thought.  

But why were they inviting him now?  

Before he could ponder further, Gou Dan exchanged a sly glance with his friends.  

Jiang Le: Are you kidding me? You think I can’t see that?

Gou Dan sighed dramatically: “I’ve been craving walnut shortbread from the supply co-op…”  

Jiang Le: …Did I just become your mom?  

Walnut shortbread—a sweet, crumbly biscuit—cost 5 yuan per pound, an absolute luxury.  

The penny dropped. Gou Dan had sought him out because of the 10 yuan in his pocket.  

News of Xu Youcai’s compensation had clearly spread through the village’s gossip mill.  

The reason why this Gou Dan was so brazen was entirely because the original owner, in an attempt to curry favor with these guys and get them to hang out with him, had spent all his money on them.  

Thinking of this, Jiang Le felt a pang of frustration. Fortunately, the original owner hadn’t had much money to begin with—just a few cents here and there.  

Wasn’t Gou Dan just trying to use him as an ATM? Jiang Le sneered inwardly. He wasn’t the original owner—he wasn’t stupid.  

Seeing Jiang Le remain silent for so long, Gou Dan exchanged glances with the others, growing impatient. One of the boys beside him reached out and shoved Jiang Le.  

But before he could even say anything, Jiang Le “was pushed” and fell hard onto his backside, then burst into a fit of violent coughing.  

The group had never seen anything like this and were instantly terrified. The boy who had pushed Jiang Le nearly jumped out of his skin: “I didn’t even do anything!”  

“I heard Xu Youcai hit him in the head—he might not have long to live. Let’s get out of here before he tries to pin it on us!”  

Jiang Le: Cough, cough, cough… You’re the one who’s not going to last much longer!

Gou Dan and the others, terrified of being blamed, didn’t even stay for the walnut cakes. They bolted like their feet were on fire, one of them even losing a shoe in the process. He scrambled to pick it up before hugging it to his chest and running off.  

Jiang Le: “…”  

As the boys fled, Jiang Le remained on the ground, coughing. Gua Gua couldn’t help but remind him: [Stop coughing, they’re gone!]  

Jiang Le: […I choked.]

Gua Gua: […] Is the host made of paper or what?  

…

Jiang Le wandered outside for a long time before finally heading home. Luckily, no one was there when he arrived. He went into the kitchen and opened the grain storage barrels—sure enough, they were completely empty.

Jiang Le: [Gua Gua, put the flour in.]

The Jiang family had two grain barrels, both empty. The wheat flour and cornmeal fit perfectly inside, though they only filled a small portion of the bottom. Sigh… If only I could fill these barrels to the brim.

As for the meat and eggs, he stored them in the cupboard.

That evening, when Grandma Jiang returned to cook, she opened the grain barrel in distress—only to let out a shocked cry!

Th-this… Hadn’t their grain barrels been empty? Where had all this food come from?!