Good!
Such tremendous good fortune!
Xu Lang’s heart had already burst into bloom with joy, yet his face showed only pain and reluctance.
He walked up to Li Cheng, who was still kneeling on the ground. Pretending to rummage through the cloth sack behind him, he was actually taking several boiled eggs left from the morning and a small, heavy sack of white rice out of his storage space.
A full 2.5 kilograms.
“Uncle Li, please stand up.”
Xu Lang pressed the items into Li Cheng’s rough, dried hands.
“This… this is…” Li Cheng stared at the eggs and the bag of snow-white rice in his hands, completely stunned. His whole body trembled with excitement. “This is white rice, and polished rice at that… must be about 2.5 kilograms?”
Before Xu Lang could reply, Li Cheng continued, “You’re really using this much white rice and eggs to exchange for my daughter?”
At first, he had only planned to ask for 1 kilogram of rice, and he had never dared hope for such gleaming polished rice.
Cooked into porridge with a few wild vegetable leaves mixed in, it would be enough for his family of three to last for quite some time.
“Yes.”
Xu Lang’s voice was calm and firm.
Then he corrected him, “This is a betrothal gift, not payment to buy out your daughter’s entire life. From now on, Li Xiuzhi will be my fourth wife. If she wishes to return to her parents’ home, she may go back at any time.”
Li Cheng could no longer hold himself together. Hugging the sack of rice, tears streamed down his weathered face as he repeatedly knocked his head heavily against the ground.
“Great benefactor! You are the great benefactor of our family!”
Li Xiuzhi stood to the side, stunned, tears silently sliding down her cheeks.
A betrothal gift…
Not a sale.
Her father had sold her in exchange for grain to keep her younger brother alive. She did not resent him, but the sorrow of being treated as merchandise and discarded still cut into her heart like a blade.
Yet now, this man had told her it was a betrothal gift.
He was marrying her, not buying her.
Just as her emotions surged, a warm, large hand gently wrapped around her cold little hand.
“Xiuzhi, as long as I have a bite of food, you will never go hungry.”
Xu Lang’s voice carried a steady strength that calmed her heart.
Li Xiuzhi’s body trembled slightly. She let him hold her hand, lowering her head as tears dripped into the dust. Yet in her heart, a flower quietly bloomed.
[Ding! Li Xiuzhi favorability +30! Current favorability: 60 (Deeply devoted to you)]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully marrying the fourth wife. Distributing rewards…]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Super Well Blueprint x1! Constitution Enhancement x2!]
Three rounds of double enhancement meant eight times in total.
Eightfold constitution!
If an adult’s punch carried about 30 to 35 kilograms of force, then Xu Lang’s punch now carried roughly 250 kilograms of force.
Forget fighting eight opponents alone. Even facing a hundred might be worth attempting, as long as no one used weapons and it was purely a contest of strength.
Xu Lang felt as though his entire body was filled with endless power. It felt like he could kill a cow with a single punch.
And a well blueprint? That was truly valuable.
With water, they could farm. With farming, they could finally settle down for good.
What pleased Xu Lang even more was that Li Xiuzhi had started with a high favorability toward him.
“Hua Yourong, Xia Zhiruo, Li Xiuzhi… these three wives have favorability that’s easy to build. With them around, I won’t have to worry about the Marry Wives and Become Stronger System not giving rewards.”
Xu Lang felt delighted as his gaze drifted over Li Xiuzhi.
As the village beauty, she did not possess Hua Yourong’s or Xia Zhiruo’s fair delicacy, nor did she have Murong Yanran’s heroic spirit and bold elegance.
But she carried a simple, endearing charm. Though somewhat thin, her oval face still had a hint of baby fat.
Her eyes were round and bright, her lips full. At a glance, she looked like someone blessed with strong fertility.
“If Hua Yourong is 98 points, and Xia Zhiruo and Murong Yanran are 95, then Li Xiuzhi is 92… but each has her own unique charm. Beauty cannot be judged by appearance alone.”
…
Bringing his newly married fourth wife with him, the group of five returned to the thatched hut.
Then everyone fell silent.
The small thatched hut had already felt unbearably cramped with four people living inside.
Now there was Li Xiuzhi as well.
A bed made of broken wooden planks, a rickety partition, and a small patch of ground covered with dried straw.
How were they supposed to sleep?
Hua Yourong’s pretty face was the first to flush red.
She had personally experienced her husband’s “battle prowess.” From nightfall until early dawn, that bed had never stopped moving.
Now there was one more person. This…
Xia Zhiruo and Li Xiuzhi were still somewhat naïve, merely feeling awkward and cramped.
Murong Yanran frowned tightly, clutching the bolt of cloth as she stood at the doorway, not even knowing where to place her feet.
This broken place was barely fit for anyone to live in.
Seeing the awkward expressions of his three wives and the newcomer, Xu Lang made up his mind.
Immediately.
Even with his eightfold constitution, building a house large enough for five people in a short time would be nothing but a foolish dream.
He needed help.
But in this year of famine, there was only one thing that could persuade people to work.
Grain.
Taking out grain directly from the Marry Wives and Become Stronger System would attract too much attention and invite trouble.
It seemed it was time to test that new skill.
“Yourong, Zhiruo, take Xiuzhi to get familiar with the place and prepare the meal,” Xu Lang arranged.
“Husband, where are you going?” Hua Yourong asked with concern.
Xu Lang lifted his chin toward the endless mountain range outside the village.
“I’ll go take a look and see if I can hunt some game for my wives, so we can add a dish tonight.”
He waved the firewood knife in his hand, wearing a confident smile.
[God-Level Hunting Skill], activated!
At the mention of heading into the deep mountains, both Hua Yourong and Murong Yanran’s expressions changed.
“No! It’s too dangerous!” Murong Yanran objected first, her voice urgent.
“Yes, Husband,” Hua Yourong tugged at his sleeve. “On the road, I heard that several strong laborers went into the mountains and never came back. They say… they say there are black bears inside!”
Xu Lang patted Hua Yourong’s hand and gave her a reassuring look.
“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I’ll just stay around the outer area.”
With that, he did not wait for further persuasion and strode out of the thatched hut.
The area around the village was bleak and desolate.
Forget wild rabbits or pheasants. Even grass roots and tree bark had been gnawed clean by the starving refugees.
To find prey, he would have to go into the untouched depths of the mountains.
Gripping his firewood knife, Xu Lang did not slow his pace. Before long, he stepped into the dark forest.
The light dimmed instantly beneath the canopy.
The smell of rotting leaves and damp earth rushed toward him.
The surroundings were eerily silent, broken only by the rustling sound of his footsteps over dry branches and fallen leaves.
“As long as I hunt some game and add it to thin porridge, I can attract plenty of laborers.”
Thinking this, Xu Lang did not venture too deep at first. He used his knife to chop down a small tree, stripped its bark, smoothed it, and sharpened one end to a fine point.
After making three in succession, he slung them over his back, tightened his grip on the knife, pushed aside a patch of waist-high ferns, and stepped into even deeper darkness…