Chapter 3: System Reward

Little Jiu followed Shi Tou into the courtyard and saw several clan elders gathered inside, all with furrowed brows, seemingly discussing something troubling.

“Grandpas Clan Elders,” Little Jiu greeted politely.

The old clan elders looked up and, seeing the village chief had arrived, their wrinkled faces lit up with smiles.

“Why did the village chief come over on her own?” Clan Elder Zhou asked, then brought out a small wooden stool made especially for her.

Little Jiu sat on the stool and curiously asked, “Grandpa Clan Elders, what’s wrong? Why do you all look so worried?”

Clan Elder Zhou sighed and slowly said, “It hasn’t rained at all for months. The crops in the fields are withering, and we’re facing food shortages. If this continues, we won’t survive. Just today, villagers from Xiahe Village came to steal water. Tomorrow, more villages might come. When survival is at stake, people are capable of anything.”

Little Jiu recalled what the system had told her, so she spoke up:
“Don’t worry, Grandpa Clan Elder. It will rain tomorrow.”

The clan elders all turned to look at her in unison.
“How does the village chief know that?”

It wasn’t that they didn’t trust her, but judging from today’s clear blue sky, there was no sign of impending rain.

Seeing they didn’t believe her, Little Jiu puffed out her chest and declared confidently,
“I just know.”

She had originally wanted to tell the clan elders about the voice in her head—the system—but it had told her this was their shared secret and not to tell anyone.

Little Jiu saw herself as an honest village chief. If she promised not to say something, she wouldn’t say it.

The elders looked at her firm little face and thought, perhaps the gods in the heavens had told her. In any case, her certainty brought some relief to their hearts.

Clan Elder Zhou then asked,
“So why did the village chief come to see us today?”

Only then did Little Jiu remember her original purpose. She looked at the elders and said,
“I want to plant something. Grandpa Clan Elder, could you help me find a plot of unused land?”

The clan elders found this quite endearing. Their village chief was truly putting her heart into the welfare of the village. So young and already thinking about farming.

“What does the village chief want to plant?”

“Sweet potatoes.”

“What’s that?” The elders had never heard of it.

Little Jiu didn’t quite know how to explain it either. In her memory, sweet potatoes were just something you ate.

So she told them simply,
“It’s something to eat—and it’s really delicious.”

Then, recalling the tutorial video she had watched in her head, she carefully explained how to plant sweet potatoes.

The elders listened attentively. Since it was something the village chief wanted, they would certainly take it seriously. Besides, it didn’t sound difficult. They had been working the land their entire lives—they were seasoned farmers.

Tomorrow, they’d get their sons to clear out a patch of land and plant the sweet potatoes for her.

Seeing that the elders agreed, Little Jiu prepared to leave.

The elders offered to walk her back, but she politely refused.

On her way out, she spotted Shi Tou still squatting by the gate playing.

She pulled another candy out of her pocket and gave it to him.

Then she stood still and waited quietly.

A long time passed, but the voice in her head didn’t appear.

Sigh.
Guess you only get credit for that once.

Little Jiu clasped her hands behind her back and strolled leisurely home.

As soon as she stepped into the yard, a wild chicken with beautiful feathers flew straight toward her.

“Master! Master! You’re finally back! I missed you so much!”

Little Jiu instantly reached out and caught it.

A wild chicken?

So the reward had been waiting for her at home this whole time.

She looked at the chicken in her hands.

Images of delicious chicken dishes floated through Little Jiu’s mind—

Chicken soup, Kung Pao chicken, white-cut chicken, Three-cup chicken, spicy chicken, fried chicken, roast chicken…

Little Jiu began drooling.

She had been here for several years now, and the number of times she had eaten meat could be counted on one hand.

There was no helping it—the village was simply too poor. They could only afford to eat meat during the New Year.

The wild chicken saw the increasingly ominous look in its master’s eyes and instantly broke free from Little Jiu’s hands, flapping far away.

It puffed out its chest and clucked furiously at her.

“I thought of you as my master, and you want to eat me?”
“Heartless!”
“You traitor!”
“You two-faced woman!”
“…”

Little Jiu squinted at the chicken suspiciously.
Something’s off. Very off.

She had the distinct feeling this chicken had just cursed her out—and very rudely, at that.

“Can you understand what I’m saying?” she asked, squatting down and staring at the chicken.

The wild chicken slowly nodded its head. Then, afraid she didn’t see it clearly, it bobbed its head rapidly several more times.

Little Jiu was a bit disappointed.
So it was just a chicken with human-like intelligence.
Too bad… she really wanted to eat some meat.

Seeing that Little Jiu’s eyes no longer gleamed with that “I’m going to stew you” look, the wild chicken finally relaxed.

It was a chicken that knew when to yield and when to fight.

It calmly squatted beside Little Jiu—
and laid an egg right there on the spot.

See, Master?
I can lay eggs. I can do it every day.
I’m useful! Please don’t eat me!

Little Jiu looked at the freshly laid egg that rolled to her feet. Her eyes lit up.

If she couldn’t have chicken meat, eggs would do!

Her gaze toward the wild chicken instantly softened.

“From now on, I’ll call you Cuihua.”

“Cluck cluck! Cluck cluck!”
Cuihua squawked in protest.
What kind of terrible name is that?!

Too bad protests were useless.

Little Jiu picked up the egg and brought it into the kitchen.
She would ask Sister Xu to steam it for her later—
she was craving some soft egg custard.

Sister Xu was the eldest daughter of the Xu family. A few years ago, she had married Zhao Da from the neighboring Niulan Village. Over the years, the couple had remained childless. Zhao Da’s mother, a notorious shrew, blamed Sister Xu, claiming they’d married a “hen that couldn’t lay eggs,” and treated her worse and worse.

According to the aunties in the village, Sister Xu often ate only scraps, worked constantly from dawn to night, and was scolded at the slightest mistake.

In the freezing winter months, her cruel mother-in-law would force her to wear thin clothing and wash clothes by the icy river.

Her husband was even more despicable. Whenever he was in a foul mood, he would take it out on Sister Xu—beating her, kicking her, and often using sticks.

One time, when Zhao Da came home drunk and started beating his wife again, Sister Xu’s mother happened to visit.

Rumor had it, Madam Xu single-handedly fought Zhao Da’s entire family—and won.
Before leaving, she smashed up their house and demanded that her daughter divorce Zhao Da on the spot.

When Little Jiu heard the story, she absolutely adored the fierce Madam Xu.

She also heard from the Xu family’s youngest grandson that his aunt could cook really well.

That made Little Jiu even more excited.
Until now, the aunties in the village had taken turns caring for her.

But she didn’t want to trouble them constantly, making them come and go every day.
So she proposed to the clan elders:

Hire Sister Xu to take care of her.
Since Sister Xu had just divorced and had nowhere to go, she could live in Little Jiu’s courtyard—
there were still plenty of empty rooms there anyway.

The clan elders agreed.
It would be good for someone to live with the village chief. That way they could all feel at ease.
And besides, Sister Xu had always been a kind and hardworking woman.

However, Sister Xu firmly refused to accept any wages.
She said caring for the village chief was something she should do—
being given a place to live was already more than enough.