Chapter 16: System’s Hidden Silver

By now, the sun was hanging slantwise in the sky, its rays so bright they forced people to squint.

The fields surrounding Jixiang Village were lush and green, and scattered groups of villagers were hard at work.

Most of the fields were planted with rice, irrigated by the river at the foot of Jixiang Mountain—called the Jixiang River.

Villagers fetched water from the river for daily use. Women, daughters-in-law, and young girls also did their laundry there.

In the dry fields, they mainly grew corn, wheat, and millet. Since corn didn’t yield well on mountain slopes, villagers often planted beans—especially soybeans, and some mung beans too.

In this era, the villagers’ crop variety was very limited. They simply grew whatever gave the highest yield to feed themselves.

Based on the crops and local diet, Su Qingqing judged that Jixiang Village was likely located at the intersection between the northern and southern regions.

From the Su family home to the new house on the village’s eastern end, she had to pass through nearly half the village. Along the way, the villagers working in the fields noticed her and immediately began gossiping.

From their idle chatter, Su Qingqing gathered three key pieces of information:

1. She was seen as extremely fierce—having kicked a man in his privates and beaten Butcher Hu until he cried like a baby. It would be hard for her to find a husband after that.
2. She had been struck by lightning and, ever since waking up, had not only gained superhuman strength but also become a better person.
3. Old Madam Su was a malicious woman. Su Qingqing hadn’t actually been a bad girl—it was the old woman’s deceit that had turned her against her brother, Su Zijin.

Listening to all this, Su Qingqing smiled faintly. Her efforts over the past two days hadn’t gone to waste.

As for being called too fierce to find a husband—she didn’t care at all. If she couldn’t find someone who truly understood her, she’d rather live free and easy in the ancient world.

Thinking of her younger brother, she picked up her pace and arrived home within less than fifteen minutes.

Su Zijin had woken not long after his sister left. He had thought about going to the Su house to find her but was worried about leaving their meat and grain unguarded.

So, he rummaged through the house, searching… and searching… but couldn’t even find a single sturdy stool.

He sighed. “We’re so poor. I need to grow up fast so I can carry sacks of grain and earn money for Sis.”

When Su Qingqing returned, she saw little Su Zijin holding a small wooden stick like a soldier on duty, guarding the meat and grains with a serious face.

He was so focused that he didn’t even notice her walk in.

“Zijin, big sister is home.”

Hearing her voice, Su Zijin tossed aside his stick excitedly. His cheeks flushed pink, and he ran over to her.

Grinning, he reported, “Sis, I didn’t wander off! I stayed home guarding our food.”

Su Qingqing set down her burlap sack and the iron pot, ruffled his hair, and praised him warmly, “I know Zijin is the best boy. I’m so proud of you.”

Su Zijin’s cheeks turned even redder with pride, and he mumbled sweetly, “Sis is the best. I’m proud of you too!”

After spending the night at Auntie Wang’s, he had completely regained trust in his sister. He truly believed she had changed.

Children were the most precious beings—they hadn’t yet experienced the darkness of the world. If you treated them with a sincere heart, they would give you theirs in return.

Su Qingqing pulled out the millet porridge she had brought back from the Su household. They didn’t have extra bowls or chopsticks, so she shared it with her brother—one mouthful for her, one for him.

The little guy drank it with visible joy. After each sip, he glanced up at her and grinned. He had never felt this kind of happiness before—nor had he ever tasted porridge this soft and sweet.

After finishing, Su Zijin eagerly volunteered to wash the bowl. He was the little man of the house now—he had to help his sister and protect her.

Seeing the hope in his eyes, Su Qingqing nodded. Kids needed encouragement, not discouragement.

Their home wasn’t far from the Jixiang River, so Su Zijin ran off with the coarse porcelain bowl, hopping happily toward the water.

Since there was no water storage yet, they had to wash dishes in the river.

Watching her brother’s joyful little figure, Su Qingqing chuckled and called out, “Run slower! Don’t fall! And be careful near the water!”

Having a younger brother was truly a blessing.

“Got it, Sis! Don’t worry!” Look at that—he was now the most important person in her life.

Once he was out of sight, Su Qingqing looked down at the silver in her burlap sack and frowned. Where was she going to store all this money?

Suddenly, a soft, childish voice echoed in her mind:
“Qingqing is amazing! You earned another 190 taels today! Yuanbao has powered up again—ohhh~!”

Su Qingqing rolled her eyes at the deliberately drawn-out “oh.” That annoying system spirit again…

“Qingqing, why are you ignoring Yuanbao? Is it because I’m not cute enough? Or not pretty enough?”

Her lips twitched. Pretty? Cute? Just because you sound sweet doesn’t mean you’re lovable. I’m not into voice-acting nonsense.

“Qingqing, do you not love me anymore?”

Su Qingqing: …Please get lost. No thanks.

Every time this “oh-oh spirit” appeared, it had a knack for driving her crazy. She suspected it had been sent by the heavens just to torment her!

The soft little voice continued to pout,
“So you don’t like me anymore~ You’re annoyed by me~ You want to get rid of me~ So love is gone now, huh~?”

Just as she thought… here we go again.

Why was her system so weird?

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. Gritting her teeth, she mentally called out: “Yuanbao!” Her consciousness entered the system’s study room.

Once inside, she communicated with the “oh-oh spirit” mentally:
“What the hell do you want this time? Can you please be direct? If you can’t explain in five seconds, I swear I’ll earn enough silver to come in here and smash you to bits!”

The soft voice whined,
“Alright, alright! Yuanbao won’t hold a grudge. Since you’re trying to stash silver, I can help! I can transfer it into the study for you. Whenever you need it, just call my name!”

Hearing that the system could store her silver safely, Su Qingqing decided to forgive this annoying little spirit for now.

But she was curious—hadn’t Yuanbao said it couldn’t read her thoughts unless she consciously entered the study?

“Qingqing, that’s still true! But I’m a money-related system. If you’re thinking about money, I can sense it!” the childish voice explained.

Alright… sometimes this annoying little spirit was useful. She didn’t even need to ask out loud—Yuanbao would just answer her thoughts.

Looking at the pile of silver in the corner of the study, Su Qingqing was actually pleased with this odd system’s storage function. From now on, she wouldn’t have to worry about being robbed or carrying heavy silver coins around.

Her affection for the system rose—just a tiny strand’s worth.

Suppressing her discomfort, she mentally said, “Love Yuanbao,” and exited the study.

Now that the silver was safely stored, her next task was to render lard from the large slab of pork she had bought yesterday. The weather was too hot—if she waited too long, it would spoil.