Empress of Fortune: A Farm Girl's Rise

In any case, after tidying up, it looked clean and neat, giving it somewhat of a homey feel.

"Not bad." Zhuang Qingning said rubbing her sore waist.

"Mmm." Zhuang Qingsui smiled and nodded: "From now on, we can consider this our new home."

"This hardly counts as a new home. When I build you a house with blue bricks and a tile roof, with a courtyard of two sections, that will be a real new home." Zhuang Qingning mussed Qingsui's fluffy little head: "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

They had been busy all day, and Qingsui was so tired that her stomach started to growl, making her involuntarily rub her belly.

"The weather isn't fully warm yet, and we don't have a pot to boil water in, so we can only drink raw water. If we keep eating cold food, our stomachs won't feel good. Let's make a fire and roast some steamed cornbread for dinner."

"Alright." Qingsui hurriedly looked for a flint in the kitchen and started a fire in the stove.

Once the fire was roaring, she took a tree branch, skewered the steamed cornbread on it, and carefully roasted it by the fire. The originally doughy cornbread soon developed a crust on the outside.

She took it off the fire and took a bite. It cracked satisfyingly in her mouth, filling it with a delicious aroma.

Qingsui, who had eaten her fill today, was now enjoying the delightfully crunchy and aromatic roasted cornbread. She felt her life was incredibly happy and she couldn't help but grin.

Seeing this, Zhuang Qingning also broke into a smile.

After the two of them had eaten and drunk their fill, they tidied up their bedding and prepared to go to sleep early.

"You go and tidy up the bed first. I'm going to wash my feet and join you," Zhuang Qingning said with a smile.

"Ok." Qingsui bounded off, carrying a bundle of straw for the bed.

Zhuang Qingning let out a sigh of relief when she saw Qingsui disappear into the house.

System... what was your number again? Show yourself.

[No. 0715...]

That's too long. Can I call you Xiaowu from now on?

[I don't think that's a good idea, I do have a name.]

If that doesn't work, then I'll have to keep calling you the system... what was your number again?

[!!]

[Fine! The system doesn't quibble with humans. Xiaowu it is. What can I do for you, host?]

Check how many points I've earned from my diligent hard work today and what items I can exchange for.

[Host, you have earned 8 hardwork points today. After deducting the required 1 point to keep the system running normally, you have 7 points left. You can exchange these points for the following items...]

As Xiaowu finished speaking, a touch screen display, similar to those in the modern society, appeared in Zhuang Qingning's mind. Various items were displayed on the screen in the form of pictures.

Next to it were the exchange rules: Hardwork points can only be exchanged for items, not for money. To maintain the balance of this parallel universe, advanced items such as glass, rubber products and even some recipes which can't be exchanged for trading in this world otherwise the item will self-destruct, deduct ten thousand hardwork points, and add twenty compulsory tasks.

It was obviously a system that had been through the crucible of social scorn, blocking any room for exploiting loopholes.

Zhuang Qingning pulled a face and looked away from the transparent glass cup.

After some consideration, Zhuang Qingning finally chose several items that were cost-effective.

A pound of cornmeal, a pound of white flour, two eggs, two coarse porcelain bowls, a bit of salt, and a bit of peanut oil.

They were all necessities for daily life.

As it was the first time using the system, Xiaowu gave her a newbie gift pack, which included an iron pot and a spatula for cooking.

Looking at these items, Zhuang Qingning frowned: "Isn't the daily amount of these hardwork points a little too small?"

She had been kept busy all day long just to get these few items.

If she could only exchange for so few items every day, wouldn't it take forever to accumulate wealth?

[As already mentioned before, the amount of hardwork points is determined by the importance and equivalent value of the work you do in this world, as well as its impact on the world.]

[For example, in comparison to just hoeing a field, carpentry work can yield more hardwork points.]

[So based on your situation, I suggest that you use your modern abilities and skills to focus on process-related or mental labor tasks. This would be an easier and faster way to earn hardwork points and exchange them for relevant items.]

When it comes to mental labor, as an academic underachiever in her previous life, Zhuang Qingning didn't think the modern knowledge she had would be of much use. But the processing jobs…

The wheels in Zhuang Qingning's mind started to turn.

"Sister, the bed is ready," Qingsui's clear voice called out from inside the house.

"Coming." Zhuang Qingning put away the system, shook off the water droplets on her feet, put on her shoes, and went into the house.

The straw that had been crushed by a stone grinder earlier was soft instead of crispy. As it had been sunned in the courtyard all day, it didn't have the moldy smell from exposure to the elements. On the contrary, it was imbued with the warm fragrance of the sun and felt quite comfortable to lie on.

Covered with this quilted jacket, they didn't feel cold at all.

The two sisters cuddled together, closed their eyes, and quickly drifted off into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, the farmers who had been working hard all day had also gone to bed early, turned off their oil lamps, and prepared to sleep.

At Zhuang Ruman's house, however, the lights were still on.

The flickering candlelight cast deep shadows on Zhuang Ruman's face, making his already dark complexion even more gloomy.

He had spent an entire day searching the village, but failed to find any trace of the two girls. Several families, especially those close to his home, claimed they hadn't seen where the two girls had gone.

"My lord, I think others are lying. Those two girls can't have just disappeared into thin air. They're not a couple of flies! I reckon someone's hiding them!"

"If I have my way, we'll go house to house tomorrow asking questions and searching. We better look inside the houses too, and I'm sure we will find them!" Mrs. Song said angrily.

Stupid woman!

Zhuang Ruman cursed in his heart several times, giving Mrs. Song a sidelong glance: "Have you ever asked yourself why the villagers are siding with those two girls?"

"I told you to be nice when asking for their whereabouts this morning, but you proceeded to act as if you wanted to eat them alive. Who would tell you the truth then?"

"With the way you are acting, we may never find those two girls."

After another round of quarreling, Mrs. Song lowered her head and stopped talking. She kept tugging at her sleeve, turning it almost white, but she couldn't stop herself.

After a long silence, she still couldn't let go: "So that's it? We're just giving up on this?"