Chapter 77

Shen Cui received this task, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but rise.

Before, she was often tricked by the system, and every time she had to rack her brains to barely gain some benefits.

Of course, there was also a lucky part. If she had always been stingy and unwilling to upgrade the academy, she would now only have two accompanying students.

Her chubby son wasn’t mature enough yet. Even with the academy’s time boost, it would still take at least another two years.

As for Wei Xi… he had many minor ailments, and Shen Cui was not a real doctor who could detect them early. She could only wait for his symptoms to appear, then treat him accordingly and cure him.

At that time, the system would definitely not allow her to temporarily upgrade the academy to avoid the problem and would have to choose one of them to take the exam. That would really be a headache!

Isn’t it true that good people are rewarded?

After laughing, Shen Cui quickly recalled the original plot of the book.

Wei Shu, as the second male lead in the book, would definitely pass the imperial examination all the way. However, because he did not take the exam at the same time as Mu Yunchuan, the author did not specifically write this part of the plot.

It was only mentioned that he took the exam a year late, and then continued to pass several exams, meeting Mu Yunchuan at the Prefectural School and continuing to be his right-hand man.

No matter which exam he take, he passed it!

The system spoke: [Host, don’t be too happy too soon. This task also requires your efforts in the days to come.]

So it sent some requirements:

[First, before Training Subject 3 completes the county exam, the host cannot remove him from the academy].

This was not difficult. Earlier, Shen Cui upgraded the academy to repay Wei Shu’s favor, creating an extra spot for a training subject. The spot was empty anyway, so it was just for him in daily life.

Sometimes she needed to cook for the academy, but if Wei Shu wasn’t around or if Shen Cui felt embarrassed to let him, as an investor, eat the bad food, she would temporarily move him out.

She couldn’t move him now, but when she received this kind of task, she would quickly send Wei Shu a meal. It was a bit troublesome, but it was not something she couldn’t handle.

Shen Cui continued reading.

[Second, the system detects that the host’s cultivation value for Training Subject 3 is too low, currently at 60/100. Therefore, before the county exam begins, please raise the cultivation value to the maximum.]

This request wasn’t unreasonable, after all, Wei Shu was only half a Cuiwei person.

He had learned most of his knowledge at home with his teacher, and in recent years, he had been studying at the Qingzhu Academy.

Unlike Wei Xi, who needed her help with the system’s output to maintain his health.

Even the academy’s boost was only enjoyed in the past few months.

However, the system didn’t give any specific tips on how to increase the cultivation value, so Shen Cui had to figure it out herself.

While she was thinking about it, Lao Buyu and the others had already noticed Wei Shu’s abnormal expression and began to comfort him.

Lao Buyu: “Don’t worry, I’ve read the papers you wrote, there’s no problem.”

Mu Er Pang: “Big Brother Wei, don’t worry, you are the most…”

He wanted to say the most talented, but he thought that in terms of talent, his junior brother might not necessarily be inferior, so there was no need to encourage him by belittling his junior brother. He paused for a moment and continued, “The most well-rounded!”

That settled it. Wei Shu was more talented than him and had a stronger physique than Wei Xi. Wasn’t he the most well-rounded?

When it was Wei Xi’s turn, although the relationship between the two brothers had improved a lot, he felt a little embarrassed in front of others and just vaguely said, “Keep a calm mind, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

The comfort of others actually didn’t have much effect on relieving pre-exam tension. Wei Shu needed to adjust himself.

After thanking them, Wei Shu said he wanted to study for a while and went to the Exam room.

When he went in, because he was preoccupied, Wei Shu didn’t even notice that the environment had changed.

Soon, the simulated room started working, and Wei Shu immersed himself in it again, ignoring any changes in the layout.

It was only shortly after he entered that Shen Cui noticed that his cultivation value had increased by 1 point, to 61. The progress bar for the cultivation value then remained quiet and did not increase further.

So, the so-called cultivation value was just using things from the system. Use it once, increase it by one point.

So it’s not surprising that Wei Shu had a low cultivation value. After all, besides the simulated room, he hadn’t used any other system output.

It was fortunate that there was such a thing that suited him, otherwise his cultivation value would probably still be in single digits by now, and Shen Cui would have to start over from scratch.

In any case, both requirements were not excessive. Compared to the previous academy competition task, it was still like getting something for nothing!

With the general direction of completing the task in mind, Shen Cui performed a cooking show for everyone that day.

The cooking level went from 0 to 1, requiring 10 times of cooking, which was very easy to upgrade.

To go from level 1 to level 2, however, required cooking 100 times. The difficulty of upgrading increased with each level.

Top of Form

In the past, she would only cook when the system released related daily tasks, so even though the academy had been completed for almost a year, her cooking skills were still not at level 2.

The recommended dish in level 1, which was a kind of pancake that improved short-term memory, was not something Shen Cui usually made. But for last-minute cramming before the exam, it was very useful, so it was even more appropriate to make it for Wei Shu now.

Since she had already provided Wei Xi with a course of medicine, Shen Cui had saved nearly 1000 shopping points from the month he left until now.

So spending 80 points to cook a meal, she didn’t feel heartache at all. And if this short-term memory enhancement worked wonders and helped him achieve a top score, wouldn’t that be even more profitable!

So, at dinner time, that messy pancake appeared on the table again.

Usually, Wei Shu would come out of the simulated room feeling refreshed, but today he still looked troubled.

Now Lao Buyu was very conscientiously starting to eat first, but before he touched his chopsticks, Shen Cui stopped him and said, “You don’t need to eat today. This is for Wei Shu.”

After all, he had won the reward from the parents, and Wei Shu was about to help her get the reward for free. Shen Cui couldn’t help but change her address.

“For… for me alone?” Wei Shu was suddenly flattered.

He was truly surprised. In the past, although he occasionally saw strange things on the dining table, Shen Cui never let him eat them.

How come she made one just for him today?

Mu Er Pang muttered somewhat old-fashioned, “Not fearing a shortage but fearing uneven distribution…”

Shen Cui gave him a sideways glance, and he immediately continued, “‘Not fearing a shortage but fearing uneven distribution, not fearing poverty but fearing unrest. For if there is an even distribution, there will be no poverty…’ What’s the next sentence? Um, I’ll review it after dinner.”

Shen Cui couldn’t help but laugh at his antics and said, “Don’t be silly. As a current examinee, you enjoy the highest treatment in our academy. When it’s your turn to take the exam, you will also enjoy the highest treatment!”

Mu Er Pang also didn’t really care about one or two meals for Wei Shu, purely to lighten the serious atmosphere. Hearing this, he naturally agreed.

As for Wei Xi, it goes without saying.

Wei Shu, on the other hand, was a bit embarrassed. On one hand, he felt sorry, but on the other hand, that soft and messy pancake, was…

Shen Cui teased him, “Didn’t you say that our academy is a treasure trove of feng shui? Don’t underestimate these dishes. They are all grown in the nearby vegetable fields. I don’t make them often, just because I can’t bear to!”

There was indeed a small vegetable plot cultivated by the Zhou family behind the academy, where they usually planted some scallions and cabbage. However, the vegetables in the pancake were naturally bought by Shen Cui from the system, and she told Zhou about it as if she had bought them from other people in the village.

Zhou listened to Shen Cui’s made-up story without changing her expression and nodded in agreement.

With things going this far, Wei Shu really couldn’t refuse anymore and brought the plate of pancakes to him.

He had never experienced the stench of stinky tofu or the deliciousness of dumpling soup. As soon as he tasted the pancake, his expression changed, but he still forced himself to say, “The vegetables grown in this feng shui treasure land are indeed… truly extraordinary.”

Seeing him like this, Mu Er Pang and Wei Xi no longer felt psychologically unbalanced, and they laughed with their hands over their mouths.

After finishing the pancake by himself, Wei Shu’s cultivation value rose by another point, and he also gained a boost of [+10 short-term memory].

The next day, when Wei Shu was about to leave, he came up with an idea. He took some silver and wanted to buy vegetables from Shen Cui!

This way, he could eat the vegetables grown in the feng shui treasure land without having to endure Shen Cui’s torture in the kitchen, right?!

It was quite a coincidence. Shen Cui was still thinking about sending Wei Shu a meal later, but she didn’t expect such a good reason.

Shen Cui smiled and said, “Since you like it, why bother buying vegetables and making it inconvenient for others? I’ll cook and bring it to you later!”

Wei Shu’s expression changed several times, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.

When he returned to Qingzhu Academy, Shen Cui did as she said and occasionally brought him meals.

Of course, just bringing meals was not enough. After all, he was still lacking thirty or forty points in cultivation value, which needed to be filled in the next ten days.

Shen Cui also made embroidered goods. The first time, she made two forehead bands, which were cheap and simple, and she sent them together with the meals.

As long as Wei Shu accepted them, his cultivation value would increase.

Shen Cui also figured out a trick. Meals could be repeatedly sent, but items used, like the two forehead bands, would only count as 1 point.

So later on, Wei Shu received items like a purse-like bundle, a fan with ‘dog tail grass’, and insoles like centipedes…

As the academy’s enhancement switch, Shen Cui couldn’t go out all the time, but fortunately, Mu Er Pang, who couldn’t bear to see her running around, was willing to take on this job.

Wei Xi also felt embarrassed to have them, a mother and son, running around him, so he was willing to help run errands too.

Wei Shu had also gotten used to checking the entrance of the academy every day during lunch break, without the need for a messenger, to see what they had brought him today.

“Brother Wei’s family is really thoughtful, and it makes us envy them.”

Since Wei Shu helped him order a big coat before, his relationship with Song Cuihya and the others had improved a lot.

They didn’t follow Wei Shu to pick up things outside, they just knew that someone was bringing him things every day, so they naturally thought it was the relatives of the Wei family taking care of these things.

Shen Cui wearing centipede insoles, carrying a purse, tying a ragged strip around her forehead, holding a fan with ‘dog tail grass’, and holding a food box with pancake in it, returned and heard this, feeling both funny and awkward, wanting to say something but stopping.

If Shen Cui saw his expression, she could probably summarize it in one sentence—Do you want this blessing or not?

But Wei Shu still found a secluded corner, cherished every bite, and finished the pancake alone.