Chapter 16: Shit Splatter

After speaking, Yan Huan even mischievously raised her eyebrows, the excitement in her heart impossible to suppress. She eagerly wanted to share her inner joy with her bestie.

Jiang Duo’er, however, hadn’t yet emerged from her earlier gloom, saying with a helpless expression, “How did you know my second brother lectured me the whole way? I haven’t had a single drop to drink the entire journey, my throat is about to catch fire!”

Yan Huan was speechless. If her second brother lectured her the whole way, shouldn’t he be the one with a parched throat?

Duo’er had always been a bit scatterbrained. She probably did something stupid again and got nagged by her second brother. Speaking of Jiang Cen, he really had it tough, encountering this house full of thoughtless family members. Clearly not very old, barely in his twenties, he had been forced into a prematurely mature demeanor, with even a few white hairs at his temples.

She untied the waterskin from her waist and handed it to Duo’er.

Jiang Duo’er tilted her head back and took a big gulp, immediately choking on the carbonation of the cola and coughing violently.

But while she coughed, her eyes also lit up. Hey? Her happiness seemed to have returned.

Jiang Duo’er’s eyes sparkled like stars as she leaned incredulously close to Yan Huan’s face and whispered, “Is that… happy water?? Am I dreaming? Quick, tell me, where did you get it?”

Having said that, unable to suppress her inner ecstasy, she hooked an arm around Yan Huan’s shoulder and walked alongside her, a satisfied expression mixed with a hint of roguishness. “Huanhuan, having you is truly my blessing! You have no idea; I’ve been dreaming of cola and instant noodles these past few days.”

The cola hadn’t even gone down her throat yet, and she was already thinking about instant noodles?

However, the two of them had grown up together and had similar tastes. Even if Duo’er didn’t want it, she certainly did.

It was just that the system task had been triggered so strangely. She hadn’t yet figured out its pattern and could only take things as they came. Moreover, even if a task was triggered, the system didn’t necessarily give you what you wanted.

After completing the previous fertile land task, the reward for the new task had become milk powder.

Yan Huan had disliked drinking milk since she was a child, so this task temporarily held no appeal for her, and she lost the motivation to continue.

The two of them quietly took sips, one after the other. Before they had finished, the group in front stopped.

Usually, when they stopped, they would find a slightly secluded place like a grove of trees, partly for shade and partly because forests and shady areas generally had water sources. Today, the group stopped on the official road, which seemed unusual.

The two families were walking in the middle of the group, neither at the front nor the back, so they couldn’t see what had happened at the very front.

The official in charge of them also sensed that something was wrong. He told everyone to stop and rest for a while and sent someone ahead to investigate.

Soon, the person who went to scout returned, saying that the road ahead had collapsed and they had to take a detour.

Normally, they would choose to walk along mountain paths. They would only approach official post stations to camp when they needed to replenish supplies. This time, they were walking on the official road because the nearby forests were relatively dangerous.

But now that the only relatively easy-to-walk official road had collapsed, the road ahead would probably be very difficult.

The sister duo, who had just gotten cola and were still immersed in happiness, could no longer smile.

Soon, the group began to move into the mountains. Not only were Yan Huan and the others suffering unspeakably, but even the officials’ faces had lost their smiles. If anyone walked a little slower, the whip would be applied.

Since it was a detour, the progress was already slower. If they walked even slower, they wouldn’t reach the intended campsite today. The distance the group needed to cover each day was fixed, and they couldn’t fall behind even for a day. If problems arose, the higher-ups would hold them accountable.

Therefore, even though they could usually stop for lunch, they weren’t allowed to rest today because they were behind schedule.

Watching Yan Xiyao, who was already in poor health, pale and weak as she leaned against her father, Yan Huan felt a pang of heartache. At this moment, she suddenly remembered that the reward for the second upgrade of the fertile land was milk powder. She quickly ran to find Jiang Duo’er, and together they frantically gathered weeds.

Then, Yan Huan’s brothers discovered that previously, only their younger sister was unhappy and wreaking havoc on the flowers and plants. Now, she was unhappy with that crazy girl from the Jiang family.

Thus, the Yan family brothers, and the Jiang family brothers came together peacefully for the first time and began to discuss which short-lived ghost had upset their younger sisters.

These two girls, whenever they had free time, would go into the woods together and didn’t have much interaction with others.

The brothers racked their brains and finally concluded: it must have been their fourth uncle’s matter that had hurt Yan Huan’s feelings. And since the two girls had a good relationship, if Yan Huan was unhappy, Jiang Duo’er would naturally be unhappy too.

Thus, after enduring the daggers in the eyes of the Yan family’s first branch brothers all morning, Yan Qinglin successfully attracted the hatred of the Jiang family brothers in the afternoon.

The Jiang family’s consistent principle was to act rather than talk. So, when Yan Qinglin was squatting behind a tree alone to relieve himself, they finally made their move.

At that time, Yan Qinglin was straining hard, afraid of falling behind, and didn’t notice a person squatting in the tree in the distance. Only after he had produced a pile did the person make their move, a stone, accurately hitting its target.

Because the officials had said there were wild beasts in this forest, Yan Qinglin was so scared that he didn’t even wipe his backside. He pulled up his pants and ran. Only after running out and seeing people did he calm down. However, it was only then that he realized that not only were his pants and back covered in feces, but even his hair was gotten smeared with poop.

Actually, not many people witnessed that scene, only a few. But by the time Yan Qinglin went to wash his entire body and returned, almost everyone in the group knew about it.

The atmosphere in the group was already low today, and this incident was like adding a little sugar to everyone’s bitter lives. As long as they weren’t the ones being ridiculed, everyone was quite happy.

It was like that saying in later generations: “Tell me what’s making you unhappy, so I can be happy too.”

Facing everyone’s pointing and whispering, Yan Qinglin wished he could die. What he didn’t expect was that even Jin Shi unconsciously covered her nose and mouth and moved aside when she saw him.

He had clearly washed himself clean! Who was this bitch putting on that act for? Was this the love she kept talking about?

Seeing the look in Yan Qinglin’s eyes gradually turning fierce as he looked at her, Jin Shi finally realized her mistake, but it was too late.

Yan Huan naturally didn’t know that her actions had caused such a big misunderstanding. With Jiang Duo’er’s help, the two of them completed the task in no time.
Fortunately, the rewarded milk powder wasn’t some kind of elderly milk powder or skim milk powder, but a stage four infant formula from a major brand known for its comprehensive nutrition for children.

Sure enough, the rewards the system gave were most likely the things she wanted the most.