Chapter 2: Awakening the Exchange System

Xiao Ling’er was woken up by the heat the next morning. Frustrated and irritable, she cursed under her breath:

“What kind of ridiculous weather is this? Freezing cold at night and dry and stifling by day.”

When she opened her eyes, the sky had just started to lighten. She could hear the rustling sounds of people moving, and the village chief was shouting for everyone to hurry up.

The villagers, responding with muffled voices, quickly grabbed their bundles and, despite their sluggish and weary bodies, numbly continued on their journey.

Xiao Ling’er spotted her younger brother carrying a bundle too. Even as he did so, he called out, urging her and their mentally challenged mother:

“Big Sis, Mom, hurry up! We can’t fall behind!”

Xiao Ling’er pursed her lips slightly. Watching Xiao Yuhao act so mature and organized despite his age stirred something in her. She got up and took the bundle from him, hoisting it onto her back.

The bundle wasn’t large — just three tattered sets of clothes, three pairs of straw shoes, a small chipped pot, two pieces of bark, and a small amount of water at the bottom of a jug.

But even with such meager items, the bundle felt heavy. Xiao Ling’er knew it wasn’t the bundle’s weight — it was her body that was weak and lacking strength.

Her foolish mother, Mu Xiya, had already woken up, eyes dazed, holding a worn-out blanket in one hand while tightly gripping the hem of Xiao Ling’er’s clothes with the other.

Just as Xiao Ling’er was about to step out of the ruined temple—

A violent gust of wind suddenly rushed at the back of her head!

She swiftly turned around, raised her leg, and kicked—

Bang!

A heavy thud hit the ground. Xiao Ling’er rushed forward, picked up a nearby rock, and brought it down on the man’s head—

Once.
Twice.
Three times…

“Er Lai—!”

A shrill scream rang out as the woman lunged at Xiao Ling’er. Without hesitation, Xiao Ling’er turned and twisted the woman’s neck with all her strength. Crack! The woman collapsed to the ground.

The entire place fell silent!

Moments later, terrified screams erupted all around as villagers scattered in panic.

Xiao Yuhao and Mu Xiya quickly ran over to Xiao Ling’er. Mu Xiya, still a bit confused, said, “Ling Ling, hit the bad guys!”

Xiao Yuhao’s hands trembled as he checked the breathing of Er Lai and his mother. His lips quivered with fear as he stammered, “D-Dead… they’re dead!”

Xiao Ling’er had no time to deal with the chaos. In her ears, a cold mechanical voice suddenly rang out:

[Ding! Er Lai Wang and Liu Juhua eliminated. You’ve gained 2 Evil-Cleansing Points. Exchange System can now be activated. Activate? Yes / No]

“Yes!”

Xiao Ling’er didn’t hesitate for even a second. After all the novels she’d read over the years, she knew exactly what this was — her golden finger had arrived.

[Ding! Exchange System activated. 2 Evil-Cleansing Points deducted.]
[Ding! Newbie gift pack delivered.]

As the voice sounded, a virtual panel the size of a computer screen appeared before her. The interface was simple:

On the left: Character stats

In the center: A dazzling array of goods in the shop

On the right: A 99-slot system inventory

The top-left corner displayed:

Character: Xiao Ling’er

Wealth: 0

Reputation: 0

Evil-Cleansing Points: 0

Available Items for Exchange: 2 copper coins, 5 sets of tattered clothes, 5 pairs of worn-out straw shoes, 1 broken clay pot

Xiao Ling’er clicked on the clothes item, and a “Exchange” button appeared along with a quantity option. Without hesitation, she selected “2.”

[Ding! Exchange successful. Gained 2 wealth points.]

In the next instant, the clothes on Er Lai and Liu Juhua’s bodies vanished. All that remained were dark, tattered undergarments.

Even though she’d anticipated this, Xiao Ling’er still found herself slightly startled. She turned her head and saw the villagers had already fled far away, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

From this, she roughly understood how the system worked: items eligible for exchange had to be inanimate — like things from her bundle or items belonging to the now-dead Er Lai and his mother.

When she turned, she noticed Xiao Yuhao and Mu Xiya looking at her with wide, frightened eyes. Xiao Yuhao nervously reached out to pull her away, whispering, “Sis, let’s go… this is too weird!”

As she stood up, Xiao Ling’er’s sharp eyes noticed two copper coins lying beside Er Lai. She quickly picked them up and immediately selected “2” under the straw shoes option and hit “Exchange.”

Sure enough, the straw shoes on Er Lai and his mother’s feet disappeared as well.

Title: Surviving Famine at the Start: Don’t Panic, I Have a Barter Space

“Ah! Ghosts! Ling Ling, run—ghost!” her foolish mother cried in fear, clutching Xiao Ling’er’s clothes and tugging frantically.

Xiao Yuhao was equally panicked, trying to pull Xiao Ling’er away, but he didn’t have the strength to budge her at all.

Xiao Ling’er ignored them and looked back at the character data panel — and sure enough, there were changes:

Character: Xiao Ling’er

Wealth: 3

Reputation: 0

Evil-Cleansing Points: 0

Available Items for Exchange:
2 copper coins, 3 sets of tattered clothes, 3 pairs of worn straw shoes, 1 broken pot.

The remaining items were clearly what she had in her bundle, so Xiao Ling’er chose not to exchange them. Instead, she tapped open the central Shop tab.

First Row – Food: Divided into Raw and Cooked.

Raw items: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, flour, rice, corn, soybeans, cabbage, radishes, eggplants, tomatoes, etc.

Cooked items: Steamed buns, plain buns, flower rolls, noodles, braised pork, spicy shredded potatoes, fish head tofu soup, and more.

Second Row – Beverages:
Mineral water, orange juice, apple juice, pear juice, grape juice, etc.

Third Row – Clothing: Divided into Finished Clothing and Fabric.

Finished: Shoes, socks, men’s wear, women’s wear, children’s wear, seasonal outfits — all era-appropriate.

Fabric: Cotton, linen, silk, wool, polyester, etc.

Fourth Row – Weapons:
Machetes, daggers, bows and arrows, longswords — a range of cold weapons.

Fifth Row – Daily Necessities:
Basins, bowls, pots, hoes, sickles, quilts, bed covers, and other essentials.

Sixth Row – Medicine:
Yunnan Baiyao, cold granules, hemostatic powder, anti-inflammatory drugs, and more.

…

Last Row – Special Items:
Only a few were active:

Type 67 Silenced Pistol

Strength Boost Pill

Speed Boost Pill

Silenced Ammo

The rest were greyed out, marked:
(Not exchangeable; can only be obtained via lottery.)

Xiao Ling’er’s emotions rose and fell like a roller coaster — thrilled at first, then disappointed by the locked items, then hopeful again at the mention of a lottery system.

She searched the panel and finally found a lottery wheel in the bottom-right corner. When she tapped it, it revealed a Newbie Reward: One Free 10-Draw Spin.

Delighted, she rubbed her hands together, closed her eyes, and tapped it. The system began spinning wildly—

First draw: After a long wait, a flash of orange light —

[Ding! You’ve received: A box of bullets.]

Xiao Ling’er’s heartbeat sped up. Today’s my lucky day, she thought, silently hoping for more.

However…

Second draw: Flash of white —

[Ding! Thank you for participating.]

Third draw: White —

[Ding! Thank you for participating.]

Fourth draw: White —

[Ding! Thank you for participating.]

Just as her heart began to sink…

Fifth draw: Another orange flash —

[Ding! You’ve received: One Speed Boost Pill.]

Sixth draw: White —

[Ding! Thank you for participating.]

Seventh draw: White —

Ding! Thank you for participating.]

Eighth draw: Orange flash —

[Ding! You’ve received: One Strength Boost Pill.]

Ninth draw: Orange flash —

[Ding! You’ve received: Type 67 Silenced Pistol.]

Tenth draw: White —

[Ding! Thank you for participating.]

All drawn items were automatically added to her inventory grid.

Xiao Ling’er pursed her lips, staring at her backpack with mixed feelings. All her prayers and nervous anticipation felt like a joke.

These were probably fixed newbie rewards, right? It had nothing to do with luck — no matter how she spun it, she would’ve gotten these four items anyway.

Well, whatever. Whether the system was messing with her or not, having something is better than nothing. After sorting through her thoughts, she actually felt quite pleased.

She didn’t rush to take out the new items. Instead, she quickly opened the third row of the shop and purchased a bottle of mineral water, which cost 1 wealth point.

Then she attempted to buy three tomatoes from the first row, but—

[Insufficient funds.]