Yu Yangyang said in confusion, “Do you have a problem with that?”
The system replied coldly, “No.”
This was definitely the stingiest host it had ever encountered.
The system’s icy notification sounded:
【Congratulations, Host, on completing the main quest: Purchase any item from the System Mall. You have received one gift pack, which has been stored in the System Space. The main quest has been refreshed.】
【Main Quest 1: Unlock any 3 items in the Food Encyclopedia, 0/3.
Main Quest 2: Successfully earn a sum of money, with no minimum amount required.
Side Quest: Personally prepare one dish.】
Yu Yangyang felt a little disappointed. So food purchased from the System Mall couldn’t be used to unlock entries in the Food Encyclopedia.
System: “……”
Was she trying to create a nesting-doll system?
Yu Yangyang hadn’t opened the gift pack yet because Bai Lan had finished cooking.
Bai Lan called Yu Yangyang over to eat. Once the porridge had been served, Bai Lan pulled Yu Yangyang aside and whispered, “Good girl, Yangyang, where did the salt you gave me last night come from?”
Yu Yangyang’s expression remained calm.
“The immortal gave it to me.”
She had assumed Bai Lan wouldn’t believe her this time either, but unexpectedly, Bai Lan nodded thoughtfully.
“Right. It must have been given by an immortal.”
Bai Lan looked amazed.
“Yangyang, do you know? That salt is as white as snow! I’ve never seen such beautiful, fine salt in my life!”
The salt commonly sold in the Great Yue Dynasty was usually coarse salt mixed with impurities, and its color wasn’t particularly pure.
After Bai Lan finished using the salt they had brought with them, she opened the bag Yu Yangyang had given her. When she saw the snow-white, finely ground salt inside, her shock was no less than when she had first seen the grain.
Even the salt offered as tribute to the imperial family by foreign states probably wasn’t much better than this, right?
Their family had actually gotten their hands on tribute-grade salt!
And it tasted extraordinarily good, too.
Before Bai Lan could say anything, the other members of the Yu family had already offered their own explanations.
Yu Shanghua looked surprised.
“Wife, what kind of seasoning did you put in this?”
Yu Yan pursed his lips, astonishment flashing in his eyes.
“It tastes very good.”
“And after drinking it, I feel like the fatigue from today’s journey has almost disappeared.”
Although Yu Jin was annoyed that Yu Yangyang only ever thought about eating, the food had already been made, so there was no point in wasting it.
He raised his head and took a large gulp.
A look of surprise flashed across his face.
It really was delicious!
Although it was still rice porridge, what they had eaten last night and this morning was already better than anything they had eaten during their entire journey. Yet the porridge in their bowls now was clearly even more delicious.
And just as his elder brother had said, after eating it, he felt noticeably more energetic.
Bai Lan didn’t know how to explain it, so she glossed over it.
“Maybe it’s because I added some oil.”
Everyone looked down.
Sure enough, there was a faint layer of oil floating on the surface of the porridge.
No wonder it smelled especially fragrant.
Yu Yan fell into thought.
There was rice, oil, and even fine salt—all things that had suddenly appeared.
Even Yu Rongrong probably couldn’t produce something like this, could she?
A ridiculous thought suddenly crossed Yu Yan’s mind.
Could it really be just as Mother had said?
Could these things have been given by Yu Yangyang?
But where would she have gotten grain and cooking oil?
Yu Yan thought his own idea was absurd. He shook his head and pushed the matter aside.
The aroma of the Yu family’s meal drifted into the surrounding area.
Quite a few people couldn’t help looking over, their eyes filled with envy.
They had all seen the family drink quite a bit of water earlier, and now they were even cooking lunch. It smelled like rice porridge.
Everyone on the refugee road was tightening their belts and trying to conserve every bit of food. Yet this family was eating and drinking without seeming particularly restrained.
They clearly had quite a bit of food left.
The aroma was simply too tempting.
Finally, someone couldn’t resist anymore.
Yu Yangyang was lowering her head and drinking porridge when someone approached them. The person’s haggard face was filled with pleading.
“Kind lady and sir, please, please have mercy on us and give us some water.”
Yu Yangyang looked over.
It was a young couple.
As they pleaded, their eyes kept glancing toward a certain direction.
Yu Yangyang followed their gaze and saw an old woman sitting there with a baby in her arms.
Bai Lan shook her head.
“We don’t have much water left either. We’ve carried all of this ourselves along the way. Please go ask someone else.”
The young couple were practically about to kneel.
“Please, we’re begging you. Our baby hasn’t had any milk for a day and a night. The poor thing is nearly dying of thirst…”
The young wife was thin and frail, her face sallow and gaunt. She cried as she pleaded with them.
Bai Lan’s heart softened.
In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to be completely heartless.
She poured half a bowl of water for them.
The couple thanked her profusely before leaving.
When they returned to their resting place, they first gave the water to the baby, then gave it to the old woman.
Neither of them drank a single drop themselves.
But once one person received something, others naturally began to grow restless.
“Madam, please have mercy too. Give us some porridge. I haven’t eaten anything for a whole day and night.”
“Just give us a few bowls of water. We’re almost dying of thirst…”
…
The Yu family’s expressions immediately darkened.
These people were getting shameless.
In times like these, who had surplus food?
They were asking for several bowls of porridge and water as though they were entitled to it. Why didn’t they just rob them?
Bai Lan’s expression hardened.
“We don’t have any more. We need what we have for ourselves.”
The man asking for porridge had a sharp, sly-looking face.
“I clearly saw that you still had some left. Why did you give it to the others when they asked, but suddenly have nothing when we ask?”
The young couple who had asked Bai Lan for water earlier lowered their heads guiltily.
They knew these people had started asking because of them.
Bai Lan couldn’t be bothered to argue with these leeches.
The people trying to take advantage of them cursed and grumbled for a while, but eventually left.
Yu Yangyang noticed that after the sharp-faced man returned to his place, he drank two whole bowls of water.
Yu Yangyang: “……”
They really had to be careful.
In times like these, wealth had to be kept hidden.
After lunch, Bai Lan told Yu Yangyang to rest for a while and wait until the sun had weakened before continuing their journey.
Yu Yangyang nodded obediently and rested her head against Bai Lan’s shoulder, closing her eyes.
While resting, she opened the gift pack she had received today.
【Gift Pack opened. Obtained: Rice ×10, Sweet Potatoes ×50, Fengshui Pears ×3, Points ×100. Stored in System Space.】
【Current inventory: Points ×205, Rice ×10, Millet ×40, Sweet Potatoes ×50, Fengshui Pears ×3, Bread ×3, Chocolate ×4, Drinking Water ×0.97 cubic meters, Total Space ×10 square meters.】
The rewards from the quest gift packs really were generous.
Yu Yangyang’s eyes lit up when she spotted the rice.
She immediately thought of fragrant, steaming bowls of white rice.
And there were Fengshui pears too!
In this scorching, drought-stricken weather, eating a juicy pear would be absolutely wonderful.
Unfortunately, there were too many people around, so for now, Yu Yangyang could only imagine it.
She no longer had to worry about food.
Now, Yu Yangyang just wanted to eat some meat.
The System Mall sold it, but it was far too expensive.
Yu Yangyang frowned slightly and asked in a mild voice, “Why are there only 100 points this time?”
Last time, she had gotten 1,000 points from a gift pack.
The system calmly replied, “The previous 1,000 points were the reward from the first-ever quest gift pack.”
Yu Yangyang had actually guessed as much, but she couldn’t help feeling a little resentful.
This system was really stingy.
System: “?”
How could someone who wasn’t even willing to buy underwear call it stingy?
The system was furious.
But Yu Yangyang had only complained casually and didn’t intend to continue arguing.
The system hesitated for a moment before finally trying to make up for it.
“Host, you can work harder on the side quests. Side quests offer generous rewards, and first-completion gift packs are especially plentiful.”
Yu Yangyang responded with a casual hum.
Under the blazing afternoon sun, she was extremely exhausted and soon fell asleep.
When Yu Yangyang woke up, the temperature had finally dropped somewhat.
The other members of the Yu family had already packed everything up.
As soon as Yu Yangyang woke, they could immediately continue their journey.
Bai Lan looked at her with concern.
“Should Mother carry you?”
Yu Yangyang shook her head.
Unless she was genuinely uncomfortable, she actually wanted to walk by herself.
Walking more would also help improve her physical condition to some extent.