On Tea Mountain—
“I’m sorry… but I really have no other choice right now…” the man’s hoarse voice whispered beside her ear.
Qin Ruan felt as if she were dying. Her entire body was limp, powerless, and she couldn’t move.
The man kept apologizing.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
As Qin Ruan gradually regained consciousness, her thoughts slowly returned. She had only come up the mountain to pick tea leaves…
Had she really just been violated?
The man must have been drugged.
At first, Qin Ruan’s cries of pain were loud, but they gradually faded into weak, trembling whimpers mixed with grievance and helplessness.
The man’s voice shook as well, carrying guilt, anger, apology… and even a hint of pleasure.
After what felt like an eternity, the man finally got up to leave. Before departing, he slipped his family’s ancestral jade pendant into the woman’s clothing.
Only then did he clearly see her face.
But he still had an important mission to complete, so he planned to return for her afterward.
“I’ll come back for you. But I have urgent matters to take care of first.”
Whether Qin Ruan heard him or not, he turned and left.
When Qin Ruan finally woke up, she saw her body covered in bruises and marks.
If she went down the mountain looking like this, the entire village would know she’d been violated.
She quietly put her clothes back on and only then discovered the jade pendant tucked inside. Through the haze, she vaguely remembered the man’s words.
“At least you still have a conscience. I just hope you’ll really come back and take responsibility.”
As memories flooded her mind, Qin Ruan realized she had inherited the original owner’s memories.
This was the year 1983.
She was in Qingshan Village, Shouwang Production Brigade, Yunnan Province.
The original owner’s name was also Qin Ruan—the same as hers.
In her previous life, the modern-day Qin Ruan had been competing in the Michelin Chef Competition. Who could have imagined that a chandelier would suddenly fall from above and crush her to death?
If that accident hadn’t happened, she never would have ended up here.
The moment she arrived, she encountered something like this.
Still…
That man was unbelievably handsome.
His well-built body had not an ounce of unnecessary fat. His cold, chiseled face and those captivating phoenix eyes…
She had been completely smitten.
“He must have been drugged… But why was he on this mountain?”
Qin Ruan finished getting dressed. When she tried to stand, she realized her legs had no strength left.
Even so, she had to go home.
If her grandmother didn’t see her return, she would definitely come looking for her.
Ignoring the pain throughout her body, Qin Ruan dragged herself forward while carrying the basket of tea leaves on her back.
Most of the tea leaves had scattered across the ground, but she patiently picked them up one by one and placed them back into the basket.
Yunnan was famous for its tea.
Although this was just a small mountain village, many villagers came into the mountains to pick tea, whether for their own use or as gifts when visiting relatives.
Nearly every household knew how to process tea.
The Qin family was no exception.
Qin Ruan had taken her mother’s surname, Qin.
Her father, Chen Pengfei, had been recruited as a live-in son-in-law by the Qin family for Qin Ruoruo.
Qin Ruoruo was Qin Ruan’s mother. She passed away just two years after giving birth to Qin Ruan.
Qin Ruan’s father, Chen Pengfei, had used the Qin family’s connections to secure a job at the machinery factory.
Over the years, he occasionally returned to the village to visit Qin Ruan, but he never took her to live with him in the city.
According to the villagers, he had already remarried at the machinery factory, and his new wife had given birth to another child.
After gathering everything, Qin Ruan slowly made her way down the mountain and returned home.
The kitchen was cold and empty, which meant her grandmother had not returned yet.
Qin Ruan’s grandparents had once been wealthy landlords in the village.
During the revolutionary years, they had donated most of their land and property to the state. As a result, the elderly couple now owned only a single house and lived together while raising their granddaughter.
They had only one biological child—Qin Ruoruo, Qin Ruan’s mother.
Later, they adopted a boy named Qin Ruofeng.
He was Qin Ruan’s youngest uncle and was only nine years older than she was.
Qin Ruan’s youngest uncle, Qin Ruofeng, was currently serving in the military. Her grandfather had passed away two years earlier, so now only Qin Ruan remained at home to keep her grandmother company.
Her grandmother was already in her sixties.
Qin Ruofeng was now twenty-eight years old. He had gotten married two years ago, but there was still no news of a child.
Whenever he called the production brigade, Grandma never pressured the young couple. She would simply ask how they were getting along and whether they were healthy.
Qin Ruofeng was highly capable. After more than ten years in the army, he had steadily risen through the ranks and was now a regiment commander. Rumor had it that the woman he married was the daughter of an army commander.
Qin Ruan sighed.
“Qin Ruan, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of your grandmother. From now on, she’s my grandmother too. I’ll treat all of your family as my own.”
The moment she finished speaking, she felt both her body and mind relax. The strange feeling that her body didn’t truly belong to her completely disappeared.
Qin Ruan sat down and took out the jade pendant, rubbing it between her fingers. She examined it over and over again, feeling that it looked strangely familiar. She was certain she had seen it somewhere in her previous life, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember where.
Just as Qin Ruan was about to make dinner, the jade pendant suddenly seemed to bite her finger.
“Ouch!”
A drop of blood welled up and dripped onto the jade.
Ding!
System Marketplace Activated. Please confirm today’s check-in.
Hearing the voice beside her ear, Qin Ruan looked around in confusion, but there was no one there. Only then did she realize the voice must have come from the jade pendant.
After absorbing her blood, however, the pendant still lay perfectly intact in the palm of her hand.
The system notification sounded again.
[Please confirm today’s check-in.]
Coming back to her senses, Qin Ruan replied,
“I confirm my check-in.”
Ding!
[Daily check-in completed.]
[Marketplace unlocked. Items may be exchanged using points.]
Qin Ruan closed her eyes and imagined what this marketplace looked like.
An instant later, its interface appeared clearly in her mind.
“This is amazing…”
It was just like the systems she’d read about in novels.
She asked softly,
“System, how does this marketplace work?”
[Host, you must earn the corresponding number of points before you can purchase items from the marketplace.]
“I see there’s an option to sell things. Can I sell items too?”
[Of course. You may sell items through the system.]
“But… does this era even have package delivery?”
The system immediately answered her question.
[You only need to prepare the items. The system will automatically collect them and deliver them directly to the buyer.]
Qin Ruan found the whole thing incredible.
Being transmigrated was already unbelievable enough, and now she even had a system.
She muttered under her breath,
“Doesn’t that mean I’m going to get rich?”
The system replied,
[Whether you become rich is unknown. However, your current point balance is zero.]
Qin Ruan felt thoroughly embarrassed by that response.
“System, how do I earn points?”
[Host, you earn points by selling items.]
“Can I sell anything?”
[Yes. Anything may be sold, but the number of points awarded will be determined by the system’s evaluation.]
With that in mind, Qin Ruan returned to reality and walked into the vegetable garden.
She pulled up a small bok choy, tossed it toward the system, and asked,
“Can I sell this?”
[System Scan Complete.]
Item: Chemical-free, homegrown organic vegetable.
Exchange Value: 3 points.
Qin Ruan’s eyes widened in surprise.
A single vegetable was worth three points?