Chapter 1: Transported

Xia Ning’an was on vacation at a farm with her friends during the National Day holiday. As a qualified streamer, she also had to go live during her vacation. She was showing off her culinary skills, showcasing her finished Iron Pot Braised Goose…

Ugh, my head hurts.

Slowly opening her eyes, she saw a gray, dusty wall and a window sealed with plastic sheeting and glass. She was lying on something called a kang. Wasn’t she livestreaming at the farm? Where is this?

As she was thinking, a sharp pain shot through her head, and she felt dizzy for a while.  Some memories that weren’t hers flooded her mind.  She had transmigrated.

She had transmigrated to a parallel world called Huaxia in 1974, on October 2nd.

She was currently in a village called Baizitun. The original owner of this body was also named Xia Ning’an, a 17-year-old girl who had just graduated from high school in July. She was the daughter of Xia Changhai, the village accountant, and had become a farm tool distributor after graduating.

A year ago, the original owner had gotten engaged to Lu Zecheng, the eldest son of the Lu family in the village. They were supposed to get married when Xia Ning’an turned 18. Lu Zecheng was a soldier, four years older than her, and very outstanding. He was already a company commander when they got engaged.

Two days ago, Lu Zecheng returned home injured.  He had apparently gone blind and lost a leg.

After his comrades sent him back, the Lu family didn’t even give the young soldier a glass of water before sending him away.

Zhang Dahua, upon hearing that her son would never be cured, carried him to the firewood shed and ignored him.

In the morning, Zhang Dahua went to Xia Ning’an’s house and said that Xia Ning’an should come to their house tomorrow to take care of Lu Zecheng. The original owner didn’t want to, and in a moment of despair, she passed away, leading to Xia Ning’an’s transmigration.

The original owner had three siblings. She was the youngest. Her eldest brother, Xia Ningzhou, was 22 years old and currently a soldier. Her second brother, Xia Ninghao, was 19 years old, a high school graduate, and currently a member of the village militia.

The reason why the original owner could get engaged to Lu Zecheng, who was highly sought after at the time, was because Zhang Dahua was very harsh on Lu Zecheng. He had been malnourished and poorly clothed as a child. The original owner’s mother was kind-hearted and often secretly gave him food. One winter, there was a heavy snowfall, and little Lu Zecheng was driven out by Zhang Dahua to collect firewood. He was wearing very thin clothes and fainted at the foot of the mountain. He was carried home by the original owner’s eldest brother. The original owner’s mother, Li Fang, found her eldest son’s cotton-padded clothes and shoes for him to change into, and gave him a bowl of ginger tea with brown sugar. Because of this kindness, when he came back to visit his family, he found a matchmaker to propose marriage.

Lu Zecheng was tall and handsome, and a promising soldier. Xia Changhai liked him very much and agreed to the marriage.

However, now that he had returned injured, his future was uncertain. The Xia family hesitated about whether to continue with the engagement. Xia Changhai felt that it was right to take care of his fiancé after he was injured. His mother, Li Fang, felt that her daughter was too young to take care of someone with such an uncertain future, and she couldn’t bear to part with her.

According to the original owner’s memories, if her family didn’t take care of Lu Zecheng, given the Lu family’s treatment of him, his injuries wouldn’t even be healed before he was left to die. And it seemed that there was no one better suited to take care of him than her.

She admired the military profession very much. She was destined not to become one of them, but that didn’t stop her from admiring them. It was fine to take care of him, but as his wife? She felt that she was still young. In her previous life, she was still a minor at 17. How could she get married so early?

But if she didn’t get married and just went to take care of him, in this era, she would be drowned in spit. After much thought, she decided to go and pick him up first. After he recovered, she would decide what to do. Even if they didn’t get married in the future, she should at least bring him back and treat his injuries first.

Having made her decision, Xia Ning’an prepared to go out and take a look…

Xia Ning’an went out of the room, went to the yard, and fetched a basin of water. She washed her face and looked in the mirror. The original owner’s appearance was 6/7 similar to hers, except that the original owner’s complexion was yellowish, and her hair was a bit dry and yellow. She was about 158 cm tall and well-developed. After all, Li Fang had always doted on her.

Before she transmigrated, she was a graduate student at a prestigious university, majoring in film directing. Because she loved to eat, she worked part-time as a food blogger and also made some short films about food. She had hundreds of thousands of fans.

It was 1974, and it was still those special years. If they followed the trajectory of their era, it would be three years before the college entrance exams were restored, and four or five years before she could start a business. So, if she wanted to live a good life in this era and take care of Lu Zecheng, who was injured, how could she make money in this era?

How would she survive for the next few years?

Other transmigrators had large spaces and golden fingers, but what about me?

Xia Ning’an thought resentfully.

“I’m here…” a weak voice sounded in her mind.

“Who’s talking?” Xia Ning’an was startled.

“I’m Xiaomiao, the Foodie System, code number 002.” The mechanical voice sounded again.

“Where are you? Are you in my head?”

“I’m in your consciousness space. You can come in and take a look.”

Xia Ning’an silently said “enter.”

In an instant, she disappeared from where she was standing.

A moment of weightlessness, and she opened her eyes to find herself in the farm where she had been livestreaming in her previous life. There was still a pot of Iron Pot Braised Goose on the table, steaming hot, and next to it was the phone she had been using to livestream. The phone could only display the time and take pictures now. The internet was not available, but she could still watch the dramas and novels she had downloaded before, which was a bit of a comfort.

She looked around and didn’t see Xiaomiao, who had been talking to her.

Then she heard Xiaomiao’s voice in her ear, “Host, I’m here at the front desk of the lobby.”

Xia Ning’an thought about the front desk, and she was instantly there. It seemed that she could go anywhere she wanted in this space.

She went to the front desk and looked around. She found that the electronic screen behind the hotel front desk was now displaying a cartoon cat.

Everything else was the same as the farm she had been at in the modern world.

Xiaomiao’s voice rang out, “I’m Xiaomiao, the Foodie System from the interstellar era. I request to bind with the host and begin our culinary journey.”

“What are you? What’s in it for me to bind with you?”

“Uh… I’m a system, not a thing. After binding with me, you can sell food through the system to different dimensions and earn gold coins that can be used to buy anything related to food in the system.”

“Does the system sell food from the different dimensions you mentioned?”

“No, the food available to you is food and food-related items that can be purchased in your current world, such as flour, rice, millet, ovens, food processors, juicers, and so on.”

“Then do you know why I was transported here? And why did you choose me?”

“…………..”

“You’re not saying anything, are you feeling guilty?” Xia Ning’an deliberately probed.

“555555~~ I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I was too engrossed in food and made a mistake in my operation, sending you here.”

“So it really was you.” Xia Ning’an said dejectedly.

“Can you send me back?”

“You have to complete the task to go back, okay?” The system said weakly.

“What task do I need to complete?”

“You need to earn 100 million system coins…”

“What? One hundred million? Will I even live long enough to earn that much?” Xia Ning’an said angrily.

“You should be able to, right?” The system was unsure now.

“Does money I spend count? Or does the balance have to be one hundred million?”

“It has to be the balance.”

Xia Ning’an was speechless.

“I’ve been transported here. What if I’ve been gone for decades when I complete the task and go back?”

“After you come here, time in your world will be frozen. You can continue your life when you complete the task and go back.”

Thank goodness for that, otherwise her family would be heartbroken.

“What if I’m middle-aged, married, and have children by the time I complete the task?”

“The host can choose to return to their world immediately, or they can choose to continue living here. After natural death here, they will return.”

“Will the system and space still be there when I go back?”

“In principle, they will not be.”

“Then the money I earn here won’t be able to be taken back with me? What’s the point of me even trying?”

“Host, earning money is not the only pursuit in life. Although wealth can provide us with a living and material enjoyment, our emotions and spirits also need to be fulfilled. We need to realize our own life value and meaning.

Earning money should be for a better life. Wouldn’t it be better to use the money you earn to realize your life value?”

“I’m dead, but the money is still in the system. How sad. I’m not doing it.”

“Uh… the system doesn’t completely refuse compensation. It depends on the host’s completion situation. There will be appropriate compensation.”

“That’s more like it. Otherwise, it would be a waste of effort.”

Xiaomiao: This host is a bit difficult to deal with…

The original owner was so poor, her private money only amounted to 2 yuan and 10 cents.

At this point, what else could she do but resign herself to making money?

This guy isn’t a foodie, he’s a scammer.