The System

Mrs. Qian patted her head and said, "It's not easy to clear the land, and the crops grown on uncultivated land may not generate enough income to cover taxes." "Your nephews are still young, and there isn't enough land at home for them to work on."

"What should we do then?" The Fourth Brother has made a significant mistake, but we cannot kill him. "What if he becomes idle again and starts gambling?"

Mrs. Qian pondered. If the fourth son committed such a significant mistake and was not punished, the other sons and daughters-in-law in the family would definitely not accept it. However, whether she could bear to see him being beaten was another matter. Treating his injuries would also require money, and that was what truly pained her.

Mrs. Qian said, "Alright, tomorrow I'll let your fourth brother work on clearing the land."

Only then did Manbao become happy. "I'll go supervise Fourth Brother."

"I think you just want to go out and play." There are many snakes and insects in the fields. You shouldn't join in the fun. Let your eldest nephews go with him.

Manbao said, "No, I want to go too."

She used to think that her family was quite good. They had enough to eat and wear, and she always had candy to eat on market days, even though she didn't particularly enjoy it.

So, she had only wanted to learn how to read before. She found joy in learning to read, but there were no books for her, only candy.

She had eaten the candy, and although it was sweeter than the candy her second brother brought back from the market, she still didn't like it very much.

But now she knew that their family was actually very poor. She had to earn money. She was still young and unable to work in the fields or go out to work. The only way for her to earn money was to sell candy.

However, because she was lazy and didn't pick vegetables for her younger brother, he hadn't given her any candy for a long time.

By the way, her second brother suddenly appeared in her mind. It was last spring when she finally memorized the "Thousand Character Classic" in its entirety, and Mr. Zhuang was so moved that he gave her a handwritten copy of the "Thousand Character Classic."

She happily ran home with the manuscript, and as soon as she arrived home, her second brother appeared. It stated that it was a branch of the Encyclopedia specializing in biology and had accidentally lost its way here.

To exit the Encyclopedia, one had to gather a multitude of biological species in exchange for energy.

At first, Manbao didn't understand, thinking she had made a new friend. She happily told her mother about it.

But Mrs. Qian thought she was just a child dreaming and comforted her for a while.

Manbao was very clever and gradually understood that others couldn't see or hear her second brother, so she stopped mentioning him. She thought of this friend as something only she could see and hear.

Her second brother had always asked her to collect more plants, but Manbao had already gathered all the vegetables from the garden, including the grass outside the house. It was too tiring to go to faraway places, and she didn't want to.

For the sake of her friend, she reluctantly went to find some unfamiliar plants for her second brother. However, her family was always worried about her running around outside. While her nephews and nieces could go out to play, she was always accompanied by her sister-in-law.

She could only play in the village and was absolutely not allowed to leave the village, let alone go to the fields.

Manbao pestered her mother, almost rolling on the ground. Mrs. Qian was exhausted. Seeing her daughter in such a state made her realize that she was not as young as she used to be. It was the best time to have fun, and she didn't want to restrict herself all the time. Reluctantly, she nodded and said, "Alright, go, but you must listen to your fifth and sixth brothers." "Don't run around, and don't stay in the sun for too long, understand?"

Manbao happily agreed.

In the evening, she enjoyed a bowl of rice and participated in a friendly competition with her fifth and sixth brothers, as well as her nephews and nieces, to see who could finish all the vegetables first.

Except for these few children, the adults had poor appetites. The family had saved some money, but overnight, they were once again extremely poor. It was a miracle that they could still be in good spirits.

Old Mr. Zhou took a bite of rice and, for the first time, felt choked. He couldn't eat anymore.

Thinking of the fifteen taels of silver made his heart ache. He ended up smashing a bowl and then beating his fourth son before feeling better.

After Mr. Zhou beat his fourth son, his other sons didn't dare to join in. They sullenly ate their food.

Mrs. Qian and her daughters-in-law ate porridge together. Now that the autumn harvest was over, only Manbao, besides the men, could eat solid food. The others had to eat porridge, but it was quite thick and at least could fill them up.

After putting down her chopsticks, Mrs. Qian said, "We don't have a single penny left." It's unsettling to live like this. Starting tomorrow, we will only be preparing porridge at home. "Eldest daughter-in-law, please use less rice, and remember, winter is coming." After winter, there will still be spring and summer.

Young Mrs. Qian nodded.

Looking at Manbao, she asked, "What about the little girl?" Should she eat porridge if she's weak?

Mrs. Qian furrowed her brow and said, "Tomorrow, take six catties of grain to the school and ask Mr. Zhuang to let Manbao have lunch there." "The vegetables are from our own garden," she said. "You just need to bring a few more over every day."

Young Mrs. Qian agreed and quickly finished eating with her sisters-in-law.

Manbao felt that it wasn't right. She asked, "Mother, what about the older maids?"

Mrs. Qian patted her head and said with a smile, "The older maids are healthy and don't need to eat solid food." "You're not feeling well, so you should eat more. Otherwise, if you get sick, we will have to spend money to buy medicine for you."

The older maids and boys had been taught from a young age that the little girl was unwell, and they were not permitted to bully or mistreat her. They had to give her more food to prevent her from getting sick.

Otherwise, they would have to spend money on medicine, and then they wouldn't have enough money left to buy candy.

So, they didn't have any objections to the little girl eating solid food with their grandparents, while they themselves only had porridge.

"There are still some grain stalks in the fields." "We can go find them and roast them to eat."

"No, tomorrow we have to help Fourth Brother clear the land," Manbao said. "But we can go find wild fruits to eat."

Old Mr. Zhou looked at Manbao and asked, "Clear the land?"

Mrs. Qian said, "I forgot to tell you that tomorrow we'll have Fourth Brother clear the land. He owes money to the family, so he has to make a living."

Old Mr. Zhou didn't think that clearing the land could earn much money, but he still found it beneficial. It would prevent the boy from idling and contemplating gambling again. They had to find something for him to do.

"So," he said, "Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, you'll go with him tomorrow." If he slacks off, give him a warning.

Manbao volunteered, "Dad, I'll go." "Fifth and Sixth Brothers won't be able to beat Fourth Brother."

Old Mr. Zhou smiled and patted her head, saying, "Alright, you can go." If your fourth brother doesn't listen, you can use a stick to discipline him.

Manbao was as happy as if she had received a royal decree. That night, she went to bed early and made a mental promise to help her younger brother discover new plants he had not yet found. She also requested, "You must prepare more candy for me." "I want to sell it."

The system was extremely worried. The plants Manbao had recorded were all very common, and after more than a year, there was no visible benefit. Instead, she had to use the few points she had left to exchange for candy.

It had no choice. Manbao was only playing the game because there was candy involved. She had never considered using it to achieve great success in life.

After more than a year, the system's ambitions had been worn down, but fortunately, it was bound to a host. Even if it didn't have the energy to leave this space and return to its original plane, it could still continue to operate.

It would be better if the host matured.

This was the system's self-comfort.

At worst, the most unfavorable outcome would be for the parasite to select a more ambitious host after the current host's demise.

The system quietly calculated how much candy it could still exchange for with its remaining points.

Thinking she had made an agreement with her second brother, Manbao pulled her blanket over herself and closed her eyes to sleep peacefully.

The next morning, the rooster had just crowed when there was already noise in the courtyard. Manbao turned over and, with her little bottom in the air, burrowed back under the covers to continue sleeping.

People in rural areas always rise early. Even though the autumn harvest is over, the land still needs to be tended to.

Mr. Zhou, his second son, and his third son had all found work at the landlord's house, so they had to leave as well.

When the courtyard was filled with the sound of people calling and the noise of things being moved around, Manbao finally rubbed her eyes and got up. Her cheeks were flushed as she pushed open the window and saw her father dragging her fourth brother out of the house, kicking him in the rear to go to work. She immediately remembered the promise she had made to her second brother the night before.

Without waiting for anything else, Manbao quickly got dressed and ran out, saying, "Fourth Brother, wait for me." "I'll go with you."

Mrs. Qian grabbed her and said, "Not so fast." "Wash your face first."

Breakfast wasn't ready yet. They had to wait until the sun was high in the sky before they could eat. Young Mrs. Qian instructed her to wash her face and then provided her with a bowl of plain boiled water to drink before preparing a mixed egg for her.

Manbao made a face, drank the egg water, and then ran off to catch up with her fourth brother.

Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother were waiting for her at the door. The egg water in the morning was a privilege for Manbao, something that even Old Mr. Zhou and Mrs. Qian didn't have.

It was said that when the little girl was on the brink of death due to illness, she managed to survive by drinking water infused with eggs. Since then, she had been unwavering in her demand for an egg, and no one could have an egg without her.

The family didn't expect much from Fourth Brother's land clearing, so besides Fourth Brother, a group of children was sent to assist him.

This included the Fifth Brother, the Sixth Brother, the eldest son's eldest son, and the eldest daughter's eldest daughter, as well as the second son's second daughter and second son.

Fifth Brother was fourteen this year, and Sixth Brother was twelve; both were already young men. According to the village's standards, they could already be considered adults, and in a couple of years, they would be able to have their own children.

The eldest son's eldest son and the second son's second son were Manbao's nephews, one aged nine and the other six. Manbao's nieces were the eldest daughter's eldest daughter, who was eight years old, and the second son's second daughter, who was seven years old.

There was also the third son's third son, who was the same age as Manbao. He also wanted to go, but his mother stopped him. He had to take his third daughter and fourth son to the vegetable garden to pull weeds.

The third daughter belonged to the second son, and the fourth son belonged to the third son. They were both very young, only four years old, and couldn't walk well, so they could only pull weeds at home.

The mountain roads were rugged, and Manbao couldn't walk well, so Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother took turns carrying her. Fourth Brother didn't need to be considered because he was injured and could already walk to the fields, which was considered an achievement.