The sound of a fart echoed through the room…
Instead of lifting the bathtub, she let out a loud fart.
It was the Marrow Cleansing Pill expelling the foul air from her body.
So…
It smelled awful.
Hehua: “…”
Niu Niu couldn’t hold it in anymore.
[Hahaha! Hahaha! Hahahahaha…]
Hehua felt like the entire world was out to get her.
[Is your medicine defective?]
Trying to suppress its laughter, Niu Niu replied,
[Hehua… have you considered that after swallowing the Strength Pill, your muscles need a little time to adjust?]
Hehua: “…”
[You did that on purpose. You just wanted to laugh at me.]
Niu Niu’s little ball of energy bobbed up and down.
[Fine, I admit it. I wanted you to learn your lesson. Suffering a small loss now is good for you. That way you’ll remember that haste makes waste. But I definitely didn’t expect you to fart. Who would’ve thought your body contained that much foul air?]
Hehua: “…”
She didn’t want to deal with this annoying little troublemaker anymore.
After five minutes, Niu Niu said it was ready.
Hehua didn’t trust it.
She waited a little longer and secretly tested her strength.
Hahaha…
She really had become much stronger.
Without another word, she swallowed the Intelligence Awakening Pill. As she lifted the bathtub, she deliberately spoke to Niu Niu in a cool, confident tone.
[Wait for me five minutes.]
Five minutes later, she wouldn’t be Hehua anymore.
She would be Lianzi.
She…
Had matured!
Niu Niu fell silent.
Should it tell Hehua that the Intelligence Awakening Pill didn’t make someone instantly smart?
It required continuous mental development afterward to gradually improve intelligence over time.
Three seconds later…
Forget it.
It actually liked stubborn Hehua.
Hahaha…
Niu Niu had been waiting for Hehua to argue with it again.
Instead, Hehua happily scrubbed herself clean, looking completely cheerful, as if she had forgotten all about bickering.
Hehua: I didn’t forget. I just realized… my brain is still the same brain…
Maybe the Intelligence Awakening Pill simply needed more time.
That was fine.
She could wait.
After washing herself one final time, Hehua finally changed into clean clothes with great satisfaction. Humming a revolutionary song, she happily cleaned up the kitchen.
She carried the bathtub into the courtyard, used the bathwater to wash her dirty clothes, tossed them into the large laundry basin, then casually pinched the bathtub—still full of water—with only three fingers and carried it outside to dump the water.
As she walked, she sang:
“All living things grow by the sun,
Rain and dew nourish the seedlings strong.
To carry out the revolution, we rely on Mao Zedong Thought.
Fish cannot live without water.
Flowers cannot live without sunshine.
The revolutionary masses cannot live without the Communist Party.
Mao Zedong Thought is the everlasting sun~~~”
With a loud bang, she pushed open the front gate.
Holding the final note of “sun,” she spread both arms wide as though embracing the world, completely absorbed in herself.
Standing at the entrance, having just returned home to cook dinner, Meng Chunxing: “…”
Hehua, who suddenly spotted her own mother: “…”
Her singing stopped abruptly.
The smile froze on her face.
Meanwhile…
She was still casually holding the completely full wooden bathtub with only three fingers.
Her body froze.
Her brain raced at lightning speed.
Why was Mom home so early?
She had just used up so much water and firewood.
The water jar was completely empty.
Oh no!
The moment she imagined her mother’s high-pitched scolding, Hehua immediately lost her confidence.
She forced out a flattering grin.
“Hehe… Mom, why are you home so early? I just took a bath, and I used up all the water in the water jar. I’ll go fetch another bucket right away.”
As she spoke, she grabbed the bathtub and tried to slip away.
Meng Chunxing didn’t even look at Hehua.
Nor did she answer.
Instead, her gaze slowly settled on the large wooden bathtub…
The one filled with water…
The one Hehua was effortlessly holding with only three fingers.
Since Meng Chunxing was standing in the doorway, Hehua couldn’t get out while still carrying the tub.
“Mom, move over.”
It wasn’t as if Hehua hadn’t noticed where her mother was looking.
She just couldn’t acknowledge it.
If everyone found out today that she was incredibly strong, then even if she didn’t have to work in the fields, she’d never be able to slack off again.
The next time her mother needed to move something heavy…
She would definitely think of her.
Working?
Absolutely not.
That sounded exhausting.
The instant Meng Chunxing stepped aside and Hehua crossed the doorway—
The bathtub smoothly dropped to the ground.
From the perspective of the villagers walking along the brigade road, all they saw was Shen family’s daughter lifting the heavy bathtub out of the courtyard with both hands.
But the bathtub was simply too heavy.
The moment she stepped outside, she could no longer lift it and had to set it down.
Then they watched Hehua strain with all her might, her face turning bright red as she slowly dragged the bathtub inch by inch toward the drainage ditch.
After struggling tremendously, she finally tipped it over and poured out the water.
Standing at the courtyard entrance, watching her daughter perform this entire act, Meng Chunxing narrowed her eyes slightly.
No wonder…
She had never noticed all these years.
With acting skills like these, it would’ve been strange if she had discovered it.
She had always thought her daughter was a delicate little girl.
Turns out…
She was a Northeastern bear.
Whenever she was told to study, her face grew longer than a donkey’s.
Her brain seemed as rusty as the nail in an outhouse—stubborn, dull, and completely unusable.
Yet when it came to avoiding work…
She was as clever as a monkey with its fur shaved off.
She had hidden her strength for all these years without ever exposing herself.
What a remarkable talent.
That strength…
Wow.
Meng Chunxing knew exactly how heavy that wooden tub was when filled with water.
From now on…
Whenever they needed to refill the water jars or prepare pickled cabbage…
Wouldn’t this little laborer be able to carry a full water jar in each hand?
With her back turned toward her mother as she emptied the water, Hehua felt a little uneasy.
She wasn’t afraid of her mother’s loud scolding.
She was afraid of her mother becoming quietly silent.
Because if her mother was silent…
She was either planning something…
Or plotting.
After so many years as mother and daughter, each knew the other too well.
Hehua had a bad feeling.
Her mother was probably already assigning her future chores in her head.
Why had she gotten carried away just because she became a little stronger?
Sigh…
Slacking off was going to become much harder in the future.
Hehua sighed repeatedly, shoulders drooping as she carried the empty bathtub back home.
Meng Chunxing closed the courtyard gate behind her.
Looking at the back of Hehua’s head, she asked quietly,
“How long has it been?”
She was certain Hehua hadn’t been born this way.
Otherwise, with her daughter’s showy personality, the secret would’ve been exposed long ago.
Was she angry?
A little.
But Meng Chunxing wasn’t angry that her daughter was unusually strong.
She was only upset that Hehua had hidden it from her.
At the same time, she was grateful that the secret had remained hidden.
Otherwise, how could her daughter have grown up so healthy and beautiful?
She would’ve been forced into heavy labor at a young age and bullied by the eldest branch of the family.
Although she was no longer angry…
She still had to maintain the appearance of being upset.
Crossing her arms, she stared at Hehua and waited for an answer.
Inside Hehua’s sea of consciousness, Niu Niu watched the show.
Now that it had some energy—though not much—it could still monitor everything within about twenty meters of its host.
Of course it had noticed Meng Chunxing coming home.
It simply hadn’t told Hehua on purpose.
Its host needed balanced development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and hard work.
How could she become a lazy bum?
Hatred could drive her mentally.
As for real life…
Her mother could handle that part.
Hehua’s eyes darted wildly back and forth.
How was she supposed to explain this?
She absolutely couldn’t mention the system or the Strength Pill.
Niu Niu hadn’t given her an excuse either.
And there was no way she was going to lower herself enough to beg Niu Niu to invent one for her.
What was she supposed to do?
When Hehua remained silent, Meng Chunxing wasn’t in any hurry.
She simply waited.
Waiting to see what kind of excuse her stubborn daughter would come up with.
Watching from the sidelines, Niu Niu added fuel to the fire.
[Lianzi, hurry up. Your mom is asking you a question~]
Hehua: “…”
She was certain that when she had called herself “Lianzi,” she had only thought it.
She definitely hadn’t said it out loud.
Niu Niu spoke with a teasing smile in its voice.
[Hehua… have you considered the possibility that when we’re communicating mentally, anything you intentionally want to express to me is transmitted directly through your thoughts? It’s not like ordinary conversation where only spoken words count. We communicate through consciousness, not through speech.]
Hehua: “…”
She had no face left.
Niu Niu was already prepared to laugh.
But less than five seconds later…
Hehua completely gave up.
She no longer cared about saving face.
Since she’d already lost it anyway.
[Niu Niu, how should I answer my mom?]
Niu Niu sighed helplessly.
[I preferred the version of you who stubbornly refused to admit defeat.]
Hehua remained shameless.
[Just tell me what to do.]
Niu Niu immediately became serious.
[Hehua, you’ve already taken the Intelligence Awakening Pill. Its effects require continuous development. It gradually awakens your intelligence, but only if you actively use your brain. Learning new knowledge is one part of it, but everyday interactions with people also require you to think for yourself.
Besides, the person standing in front of you is your mother. She loves you. You can afford to make mistakes with her. I can help you now, but when you face the vicious supporting female character or the female lead in the future, I’ll be restricted too.
When that happens… what will you do?