Just as Mei Qian had said that night, the Han family truly was like lingering ghosts.
Whenever it was time to set up camp, members of their family would frequently appear near the Mei family.
Sometimes they acted furtively, other times they were outright provocative and taunting. Although they were always scared off by the guards, Mei Qian had recently noticed that the guards were looking at the Lao Mei Family with less than friendly expressions.
They had caused a lot of trouble for others.
The commotion over the past few days had even attracted some other families following the Chen family to come over and watch the spectacle.
Especially those few families they were usually close with.
Today, while Mei Qian was cutting dried meat, planning to cook some millet with wild vegetables and lean meat, a young woman dressed in simple clothes with a thorn hairpin came over to greet her.
This was Madam Zhang, the wife of Blacksmith Yang from the north city blacksmith shop, whom her father, Mei Erhu, had initially struck up a conversation with.
Because she was pregnant, Madam Jiang generally didn’t go out to do any foraging or gathering tasks. Every day, she just watched the luggage, picked wild vegetables, made straw sandals, and boiled water.
So, when Madam Zhang came over to chat, she went straight to Madam Jiang. Hearing the other party ask about the Han family, Madam Jiang didn’t hide anything and recounted all the long-standing grievances.
“Oh my, they really are thick-skinned. How can they still come running over every day?”
Madam Jiang: “Exactly. Maybe they see that our family is now under the protection of the Chen family head and think there’s something to gain.
But my mother-in-law also said that family is full of ungrateful wolves. If they really manage to take advantage, I’m afraid they’ll demand even more later, and then we won’t be able to shake them off.”
“That’s right, that’s right. I heard yesterday they came here to make trouble again. Luckily, your sister-in-law still had a clear head and chased them away. The commotion was huge; a lot of people heard it.”
This Madam Zhang described yesterday’s events quite dramatically. Madam Jiang had also been present yesterday, but she didn’t comment much on Madam Zhang’s description. As for Mei Qian, she had gone with her grandmother to pick wild berries nearby yesterday and only heard a bit about it from her mother when she returned.
Now hearing it from someone else’s mouth, it was clear that the Han family was indeed escalating their behavior, and they specifically chose times when her grandmother wasn’t around. It was utterly annoying.
Just as Mei Qian was thinking this, Madam Zhang said: “But it’s not a solution for the Han family to come over and cause trouble every other day. It’s really too annoying. For us common folks, it’s one thing, but I heard from Auntie Chang that Scholar Yan’s mother from Ershui Lane is almost cursing, saying your noise is too disruptive for reading~”
Hearing this, Mei Qian couldn’t help but frown.
The people under the Chen family caravan’s protection were indeed a mixed bunch—there were craftsmen, scholars, and many minor conflicts among them.
But Mei Qian never expected there would be someone reading at a time like this?
Because she got along well with Madam Jiang in conversation, Madam Zhang couldn’t help but offer a warning: “If this matter escalates further, what if someone reports it to the Chen family? That wouldn’t be good for you either~”
They were all relying on the Chen family. If they offended the Chen family because of unrelated people, the Chen family might not allow them to follow their caravan anymore.
Hearing this, both Mei Qian and Madam Jiang began to worry about what this auntie had said.
“Thank you for the advice, sister-in-law.”
Madam Jiang was thoughtful and naturally understood the other party’s meaning, thanking her repeatedly.
Mei Qian turned her head back to continue cooking. After simmering the minced meat with wild vegetables and millet, she first ladled out a bowl to save for uploading. Then, while Madam Jiang wasn’t paying attention, she tossed three bottles of nutrient solution into the pot.
“Ugh!”
The moment it went in, an indescribable smell rushed straight to the top of Mei Qian’s head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Maybe I accidentally threw some of the bitter wild vegetables into the pot.”
Mei Qian forced an awkward laugh, secretly relieved that she had saved a small bowl—otherwise, the whole pot would have been ruined.
[What is this stuff? How can this nutrient solution be so disgusting?]
The last time she exchanged for nutrient solution, Mei Qian hadn’t taken a single sip herself, pouring it all into the already unpalatable wild vegetable soup instead. At the time, she hadn’t noticed Madam Jiang making any faces about the taste, so she didn’t think much of it.
Now, without the cover of that awful wild vegetable soup, the nutrient solution’s inherently unpleasant flavor instantly permeated the entire pot.
[It’s low-grade nutrient solution, after all. It’s understandable that the taste is simple.]
[So, the Beastman Plane has low standards, the Apocalypse Plane has low standards, and now we’re in the interstellar era—wow, even more ruthless! Tell me, can this flavor even be called food? How dare you say it’s just simple?]
As Mei Qian complained to Xiao Mei, Xiao Mei replied: [This low-grade nutrient solution actually has a pretty good flavor by interstellar standards, and it’s filling too. Besides, it’s cilantro flavor~ What’s so bad about that?]
Mei Qian: ??
As a non-cilantro person, Mei Qian was shocked!
Mei Qian: [Cilantro still exists in the future interstellar era?]
Xiao Mei: [Why wouldn’t it?]
Mei Qian uploaded the only bowl of meat porridge from her own portion that hadn’t been contaminated by the nutrient solution. However, because she was in a bad mood over the prospect of having to eat a dinner she likely wouldn’t enjoy later, her food description was rather plain:
#Nutritious and Balanced—Lean Meat, Vegetable, and Millet Porridge#
Before Grandma Mei and the others returned, Mei Qian’s System backend started chiming incessantly.
[Congratulations, Host! Your #Nutritious and Balanced—Lean Meat, Vegetable, and Millet Porridge# has been successfully exchanged with an Exchanger from the Apocalypse Plane for four packs of compressed biscuits~]
[Congratulations, Host! You have reached ten exchanges. The Gourmet Exchange Platform is now officially open to you. Unlocked: System Space (one cubic meter), private messaging system, food review feature, and one-time monthly authorization for precise matching permissions.]
Right after her successful exchange, Mei Qian’s mind was treated to a 360° 3D looped playback of the official version launch by Xiao Mei.
[So I was just using a beta version all this time?]
Now it was Mei Qian’s turn to be surprised. Before her eyes appeared a light screen invisible to others, resembling the interface of some future app.
In the top left corner was a profile picture that felt both unfamiliar and familiar to Mei Qian—probably the appearance of the body she had transmigrated into. It looked similar to how she had in middle school in her previous life, though thinner and with a sallow complexion.
Below was a row of tabs: [Foods Awaiting Exchange, Foods Obtained, Food Review Replies].
Noticing the red dot on the “Foods Obtained” tab, as her gaze shifted, an image automatically popped up, labeled “Compressed Biscuits x3,” along with a prompt: “Store in System Space?”
Mei Qian stared at the System, which felt like a brand-new smartphone. Xiao Mei’s reminder that Grandma Mei was back didn’t even register with her.
It wasn’t until she had stealthily tossed the small gold bar she had been carrying in her bosom into her Space that she noticed someone else’s gaze.
“Grandma?”
Mei Qian looked up at Grandma Mei, who was staring down at her from above. Before she could open her mouth, Grandma Mei asked, “What on earth did you cook tonight? It smells awful.”
Mei Qian: …