Chapter 10: The Fourth Plot of Land, Planting Sweet Potatoes

Xiao Ling’er waited until Gu Yunting and his group had gone far before leading her younger brother and mother out from behind a large tree.

She looked at her pitch-black, claw-like hands and was so mortified she wanted to chop them off. She felt utterly humiliated.

The thought that she had just used those filthy claws to grope and pinch that pair of fair, beautiful hands made her want to dig a hole and bury herself in it.

Thinking of that man’s shocked expression at the time, and the furious look on his face as he walked away, Xiao Ling’er felt it was best not to linger here any longer.

What if he got angrier the more he thought about it and came back in a rage to take revenge on her? She’d be done for.

“Haohao, Mom, let’s go! We have to move now!” Xiao Ling’er urgently urged her brother and mother to hurry along.

Although Xiao Yuhao and Mu Xiya didn’t understand what was going on, they were obedient and followed Xiao Ling’er without hesitation.

To avoid encountering that man again, Xiao Ling’er slightly altered their route.

Originally, the three of them had been traveling during the day and resting in the mountains at night.

Now, Xiao Ling’er planned to take a detour by climbing over the mountain. Though it would take more time, it was safer.

After all, it’s unwise to flaunt wealth. Many refugees had seen Gu Yunting give her a token and silver notes. If they decided to gang up and rob her, she wouldn’t stand much of a chance, even with a gun.

Besides, she didn’t have many bullets left. The only way to get more was through the lottery—there was no other option.

Sure enough, Xiao Ling’er’s hunch was correct—they were being stalked by refugees.

Seven or eight refugees were sneakily following them from behind.

Xiao Ling’er stopped in her tracks, turned around, and swept her icy gaze over them.

Startled by the fierce, wolf-like glare in her eyes, they instinctively backed away and stopped following.

But Xiao Ling’er knew they were only retreating for now. Once night fell, they’d be back.

That’s fine. If they dared to come, she’d make sure they wouldn’t leave alive. Anything that entered her space was hers—no one could take it from her.

Night soon fell, and unable to find a cave, the three of them settled down beneath a relatively flat patch of ground under a tree.

Once seated, they began gulping down water.

Mu Xiya and Xiao Yuhao still shared one water bottle.

Xiao Ling’er used a plastic mineral water bottle instead—she wasn’t quite comfortable sharing one bottle with others.

So the bottle of mineral water she’d bought earlier had now become her personal drinking container.

After chugging down half the bottle in one go, Xiao Ling’er lay flat on the ground, unwilling to move another inch.

“Big sis, if you’re tired, rest. I’ll make dinner,” said Xiao Yuhao, his heart aching with guilt as he looked at his exhausted sister lying there.

“Lingling tired. Help Haohao make food,” Mu Xiya echoed.

Xiao Ling’er’s heartstrings were gently tugged. Once again, she thought of her former life in the modern world.

Her aunt and uncle had treated her like a money tree, never caring about whether she was tired—only about how much benefit she could bring them.

Now, in the company of a mentally challenged woman and a ten-year-old boy, she felt genuine care.

Xiao Ling’er blinked as she looked up at the newly risen crescent moon. Suddenly, crossing into this famine-stricken world didn’t seem so bad.

[Beep beep, beep beep.]

Hearing the alert sound, Xiao Ling’er immediately sat up in excitement. Her consciousness entered the space, where she saw that the cabbages planted in the soil had matured—she was overjoyed.

Because this meant she could now unlock one more plot of land and gain one more seed.

Over time, Xiao Ling’er had begun to grasp the characteristics and operating methods of the exchange system.

For example, every time a new plot of land was added, the space would expand a little as well.

For example, she no longer had to stupidly stand outside and click the panel manually—she could now operate everything in the space using her consciousness.

Also, when crops matured, they would emit a soft beep-beep alert.

Once matured, the crops wouldn’t continue growing. If not harvested in time, they would simply remain in a ripe state, so there was no need to worry about them rotting in the field.

In a cheerful mood, Xiao Ling’er tapped on “Harvest.” As expected, a fourth plot of land immediately appeared on the empty ground, and a sweet potato seed was added to her system inventory.

Xiao Ling’er was overjoyed. She even swallowed a mouthful of saliva—sweet potatoes were her favorite. Back in the modern world, she loved eating roasted sweet potatoes.

Without any hesitation, she planted the sweet potato seed. The maturation time remained two hours.

She wondered whether all plants in this space matured in two hours, or if the maturation time would vary depending on the plant?

No rush—she would figure it out over time. After planting the sweet potato, Xiao Ling’er began checking the data on the system panel.

Aside from the Reputation Value and Exchangeable Items sections, everything else remained the same.

Just as she had guessed, saving people would earn her Reputation Points. Her Reputation Value was no longer zero—it had become 38.

Sigh, she still didn’t know how Reputation was calculated. She’d gone through all that trouble to save someone and didn’t even earn 100 points—not even enough for a single lottery draw.

“This system is way too stingy!” Xiao Ling’er couldn’t help but complain in her heart.

She continued browsing. When she saw the list of exchangeable items, her breathing quickened.

Exchangeable Items: 20,000-tael silver note? Mysterious token?

[20,000-tael silver note = 20 million Wealth Points?
Mysterious token = 100 million Wealth Points.]

Seeing this made Xiao Ling’er gasp in shock. After the initial surprise came overwhelming excitement—so intense that her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.

She quickly took out the two silver notes from her pouch and looked at them. Sure enough, each one was worth 10,000 taels.

Previously, after inappropriately grabbing Gu Yunting’s hand like a lecher, she hadn’t dared to look closely at the silver notes and assumed they were at most 1,000 taels each.

Turns out, that man was incredibly generous. Gaga, truly magnanimous! She had judged him unfairly before and now mentally apologized for having thought poorly of him.

As for the purple token, Xiao Ling’er examined it front and back twice. Aside from the character “Ting” on it, she couldn’t tell what was so special about it.

Still, recalling how nervous the two guards had looked when Gu Yunting handed it to her, it was clear this thing was valuable.

But Xiao Ling’er never expected it to be this valuable—so valuable it felt surreal. Everything seemed like a dream.

She pinched her thigh hard. “Hiss—” The pain brought her back to reality, just in time to stop her impulsive finger from clicking [Exchange].

After thinking it through, Xiao Ling’er decided to try exchanging just one silver note first.

[Beep beep. Cannot be exchanged directly. Must be converted into physical silver first.]

A bucket of cold water dumped straight over her head—Xiao Ling’er felt completely chilled.

Unwilling to give up, she tried clicking “Exchange” again.

[Beep beep. Cannot be exchanged. Must be converted into physical silver first.]

“You damn dog system—screw your immortal ancestors!” Xiao Ling’er fumed, cursing in her heart.

She had wondered earlier why there were question marks behind the values for the 20,000-tael note and the mysterious token—now she knew. It meant they couldn’t be directly exchanged.

Damn it! Who could understand the pain she was in? So much wealth right in front of her eyes—and she couldn’t touch it!

When would she ever get to eat the braised pork, cola chicken wings, or sweet and sour ribs listed in the cooked foods section of the system mall?