Yu Jin snorted through his nose, unable to hide the delight in his eyes.
“I suppose you’re at least a little useful. You’re finally not a completely useless freeloader.”
Yesterday, he and his eldest brother had walked a long way before they managed to find a handful of wild vegetables beside a dried-up marsh. They had been old, tough, and bitter.
But this small patch today was lush and green.
There was enough for each of them to have nearly half a bowl.
Yu Jin crouched down and began gathering the wild vegetables.
Yu Yangyang also reached out and picked one.
A streak of vivid green sap stained her pale, thin fingers.
It was the color of life.
Yu Jin irritably pushed her aside.
“What are you doing? Is that how you’re supposed to pick them?”
Yu Yangyang almost lost her balance.
She lowered her head and looked.
She had picked only the tender green section, while a much larger, older section remained underneath.
Then she looked at Yu Jin.
He was practically digging the entire root out of the ground.
Yu Yangyang felt a little embarrassed.
She really had been somewhat wasteful.
Yu Jin carefully touched the roots of the purslane.
“Stop getting in the way. Go sit somewhere for a while.”
Yu Yangyang didn’t argue.
After all, she’d already achieved what she wanted.
Just moments ago, the system had made a crisp ding.
[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully illuminated the “Purslane” entry in the Food Encyclopedia. Reward: 5 points. Current points: 105.]
[The Food Encyclopedia has been activated. The System Daily Missions have been unlocked. Note: Completing missions will grant generous rewards. Main Mission: Illuminate 0/1 Food Encyclopedia entries. Side Mission: Personally prepare one dish.]
[Congratulations, Host! You have illuminated your first Food Encyclopedia entry. You have received one Fine Gift Pack. Would you like to open it?]
Yu Yangyang was a little disappointed.
She hadn’t expected that illuminating a single encyclopedia entry would only give her five points.
But then she thought about it.
Purslane was merely an ingredient.
If she could illuminate an entry simply by touching the ingredient, then there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
The points might be few, but there could be a huge quantity of entries.
And she had also received a first-time gift pack.
So the purslane could be said to have died a meaningful death.
As for the newly unlocked mission system, Yu Yangyang decided to put it aside for now.
Her mood improved.
The little person inside her heart rubbed its fists in anticipation.
“Open it.”
Ding!
[Successfully opened one Fine Gift Pack. Obtained: Millet ×10, Bread ×1, Chocolate ×1, Complete Encyclopedia of Plants (Unique) ×1. All items have been stored in the System Space.]
[Current System Space contents: Chocolate ×2, Bread ×1, Brown Rice ×10, Millet ×20, Complete Encyclopedia of Plants (Unique) ×1.]
[A learnable functional book, Complete Encyclopedia of Plants (Unique) ×1, has been detected. Would you like to learn it?]
Unfortunately, she hadn’t received any points or Spiritual Spring Water.
But she had obtained millet, which was one of the foods she needed most at the moment.
That was already excellent!
What surprised Yu Yangyang was the appearance of something called the Complete Encyclopedia of Plants.
And it was marked Unique.
That should mean it was pretty good, right?
Yu Yangyang selected Yes.
The next moment, information about countless plants flooded into her mind.
The sheer amount of information made her face turn pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Yu Jin had already finished gathering all the wild vegetables.
He had filled a large cloth bundle.
Still worried that they might encounter other people, he took off his outer garment and wrapped all the vegetables inside.
That way, even if they encountered someone, they wouldn’t be able to tell what he was carrying.
The way he guarded the bundle as though it contained priceless treasures made Yu Yangyang feel rather complicated.
Yu Jin also noticed how pale Yu Yangyang looked.
Thinking about the fact that she had just contributed by finding the wild vegetables, he showed some concern.
“Are you all right?”
Yu Yangyang shook her head.
Not only was she fine, she was actually rather happy.
With all this additional knowledge in her head, she wouldn’t have to worry about missing edible wild vegetables in the future!
System: “……”
It really couldn’t hold back.
“Host, could you have a little more ambition? Wouldn’t it be better to eat delicious food and enjoy a good life?”
Yu Yangyang blinked innocently.
“But I’m escaping a famine.”
The system’s tone became cold.
“Oh, so the host knows she’s escaping a famine. There won’t necessarily be this many wild vegetables for you to dig up during the journey.”
Yu Yangyang wasn’t annoyed at all.
“Isn’t that what I have you for?”
System: “……”
Double kill.
The system fell silent.
Yu Yangyang hummed smugly.
Heh. I knew I could shut you up.
Yu Jin crouched down.
“Can you walk? I’ll carry you back.”
Yu Yangyang had walked quite a lot today.
Combined with her injury, Yu Jin was genuinely worried that something might happen to her.
Although, admittedly, a tiny part of him wouldn’t mind if she collapsed.
Yu Yangyang blinked.
She was exhausted and very tempted.
But looking at Yu Jin’s thin and frail body, she really couldn’t bring herself to climb onto his back without a care.
Yu Jin didn’t understand what she was being so stubborn about.
Didn’t he always carry her before?
She had never refused him.
Could it be that she had taken to heart all the harsh things he had said over the past two days?
Yu Jin sneered.
Whatever.
Everything he’d said was the truth and what he genuinely thought.
If Yu Yangyang wanted to hold a grudge, then let her.
Not having to carry her actually made his life easier.
Yu Jin impatiently grabbed Yu Yangyang’s arm and supported her.
By the time they returned to the ruined temple, it was almost evening.
They had been gone for more than an hour.
It wasn’t because they had gone particularly far.
The main reason was that Yu Yangyang’s body was simply too weak, and she walked far too slowly.
The scorching sun had left both of them drenched in sweat, their lips dry and cracked.
As soon as they entered the temple, they discovered that everyone except the youngest, Yu Lan, was gone.
Yu Yangyang was puzzled.
“Little Brother, where are Mom and Dad?”
Yu Lan disliked her but was also afraid of her.
After all, he was the youngest, so he didn’t dare remain silent.
“Mom and Dad went looking for you! Where did you go?!”
Yu Lan’s gaze fell on Yu Jin.
He stared directly at him.
“Second Brother, I thought you really threw the annoying Yu Yangyang away.”
Yu Jin’s expression flickered.
“What are you talking about?”
Yu Yangyang immediately understood.
She had probably left the temple with Yu Jin without saying anything.
By the time Bai Lan realized that they were gone, she had probably assumed that Yu Jin had finally lost his temper and taken Yu Yangyang somewhere to abandon her.
But for everyone to have immediately thought that way…
It was obvious that Yu Jin had probably said such things many times before.
Yu Yangyang looked at him and softly asked,
“Second Brother, do you really hate me that much?”
A trace of guilt flashed through Yu Jin’s eyes.
But immediately afterward, he returned to his usual sharp and defensive attitude.
“With the way you are, anyone would have thoughts like that!”
He paused, then added,
“Besides, I only thought about it. I never actually did it.”
Doesn’t Yu Yangyang know what she’s like?
How does she have the nerve to criticize me?
Yu Yangyang shook her head and turned around.
She fell into thought.
Looks like I need to change who I’m trying to win over for now.
If Second Brother really throws me away one day, my delicate and weak body won’t have the slightest ability to resist.
Fortunately, the Yu family’s parents returned at that moment.
Following them was the Yu family’s eldest son, Yu Yan, whose gaze was deep and serious.
Yu Yangyang’s eyes shifted.
Hmm.
He looks easier to get along with.
Next time I want to leave the group, I’ll go with him.
Bai Lan had already rushed over in tears.
“Yangyang, you scared your mother to death! Where did you go?”
Yu Shanghua also let out a sigh of relief.
“As long as our Yangyang is all right.”
Yu Yangyang felt somewhat guilty.
She spoke softly.
“Mom, I just went out for a walk. I’m sorry I made you worry. I’m fine. I feel much better now.”
Bai Lan didn’t believe her at all!
No one knew Yu Yangyang’s physical condition better than she did.
Since she couldn’t get angry at Yu Yangyang, Bai Lan immediately turned her attention toward Yu Jin.
She took off her shoe and began hitting him with it.
“Who told you to take your sister outside? Why did you take her out? What were you thinking? Were you planning something bad?!”
With every question, she hit Yu Jin again.
Yu Jin cried out in pain.
“Ah! Ow! Mom!”
His resentment toward Yu Yangyang grew even stronger.
Yu Jin hurriedly opened the cloth bundle.
“Mom! We went to gather wild vegetables!!”
Bai Lan’s movements suddenly stopped.
She stared at the large bundle of fresh, green wild vegetables in complete shock.