The sun outside the window was blazing hot, and the chirping of the cicadas broke through the house alongside waves of heat. Li Xia slept fitfully, light sweat from her broken fever still lingering on her forehead, her eyelashes casting small, faint shadows beneath her eyes. Suddenly, the sound of soft footsteps echoed from the main room, followed by the faint clatter of a bowl touching the table. Wakened by the commotion, her eyelids felt as heavy as lead. Forcing her eyes open a crack, she saw Eldest Sister standing by the bedside holding a coarse porcelain bowl, the hem of her blue cotton shirt still smudged with bits of mud from the ridges of the fields.
“Fifth Sister, here is some freshly warmed vegetable porridge. Have a little to line your stomach before you sleep,” Eldest Sister said softly, using her other hand to gently support Li Xia’s back, helping her sit halfway up. Li Xia’s throat ached with dryness, as though it were being scraped by fine sand. She nodded, her fingertips brushing against the warm porcelain wall as she took the bowl, and a touch of warmth welled up in her heart. The porridge was mixed with finely chopped green vegetable leaves; it tasted faintly of rice blended with the freshness of the greens. As she took small sips, the sweat on her forehead gradually began to dry.
“Eldest Sister, what time is it?” Once the bowl of porridge was emptied to the bottom, Li Xia’s voice remained intensely raspy. She raised a hand to rub her temples, still feeling somewhat weak all over. Eldest Sister took the empty bowl. “It’s past one in the afternoon. Mom and Dad just went down to the fields to plant seedlings. I’ll tidy up the house a bit and head over to lend a hand too. You, your fever finally broke, but you truly gave everyone a terrible fright. If it hadn’t gone down, Dad was going to pull the handcart to take you to the town health center.”
Listening to her, a wave of bittersweet emotion surged in Li Xia’s heart. Mom and Dad went to the fields before dawn, and Eldest Sister was only fifteen years old, yet she had long since shouldered the burden of household chores. Becoming sick like this had only added to their troubles. Forcing a smile, she said, “I’m fine now, Eldest Sister. I feel much better, so go on quickly and don’t delay your work.” Eldest Sister nagged her a few more times “not to run around wild” before hurriedly leaving with the bowl. The courtyard gate closed with a creak, and the courtyard instantly fell silent once more.
Li Xia lay down for a short while before getting up. After all, during the busy farming season, everyone in the family was working hard, so she truly felt too embarrassed to remain lying in bed. The items produced by the system were all of premium quality; a single fever-reducing tablet had essentially restored her back to normal. Carrying her basket out to forage for wild vegetables and pigweed, she returned to feed the pig and chickens, and then began preparing dinner. There wasn’t much to cook anyway; in this day and age, eating one’s fill was a luxury for many people. As usual, she simply simmered a pot of vegetable porridge, stir-fried an eggplant, and tossed a cold cucumber salad to finish it up.
Only when she stopped did Li Xia feel uncomfortably sticky all over. The sweat from breaking her fever combined with the sweat from her chores had soaked her clothes over and over again. Since there was still some residual warmth in the kitchen, she scooped two ladles of well water into the large pot, set it over the stove to boil, and found a clean coarse-cloth tunic to place to the side. While waiting for the water to boil, she sat on the small stool by the stove entrance. Watching the dancing flames, she suddenly recalled the “Vitality Pill” she had obtained during a lucky draw when she was about nine months old. After consuming it, not only had she never fallen ill over all these years, but her memory, while not quite photographic, was not far from it. Even her appearance had changed—her skin possessed a translucent, rosy-white glow, her eyes were large and bright, and her eyelashes were as long as little fans. Even though she was missing a front tooth during her tooth-shedding phase, her smile appeared exceptionally delicate and pretty, looking several notches more beautiful than the “national daughters” she had seen online in her past life. After all, those photos relied on beauty filters, whereas her face was genuinely clear, pristine, and beautiful.
Once the water boiled, Li Xia lifted the kettle to pour it into the wooden basin, mixed in a bit of cold water, and tested the temperature before taking a shower. As the warm water washed over her body, the vast majority of her exhaustion seemed to drain away. She washed thoroughly, washing her hair along with it, using wild honeylocust pods to lather up a fine foam, feeling thoroughly refreshed all over after finishing. Changing into clean clothes, she soaked her discarded dirty clothes in the basin. Since no one was home, she directly used soap, sitting on the stone steps beneath the veranda to scrub and wash. A draft blew through the veranda, bringing a cool sensation to her wet hair. As she scrubbed the clothes, sunlight filtered through the cracks in the leaves, dancing across the tips of her hair in fine glints of light.
By the time the clothes were hung out to dry, her hair was half-dry. Li Xia moved a bamboo chair to sit beneath the veranda, letting the wind slowly blow through her hair. Leaning back against the chair, she looked at the lucky draw screen in front of her. At the bottom of the screen, the images of the prizes she had obtained over the years were neatly arranged in rows. The system only offered a lucky draw three or four times a year, yet the items she had accumulated over time were quite numerous. She had categorized them long ago: the first row consisted of medicines, including a “Life-Returning Pill,” a “Contraception Pill,” a “Family Medicine Box” containing common medicines like cold medication, anti-inflammatory drugs, fever reducers, anti-diarrheal medication, allergy medication, and povidone-iodine, as well as a century-old ginseng root.
The second row consisted of food items, including pork, rice, beef, mutton, Chinese cabbage, biscuits, buns, apples, white liquor, eggs, barbecued pork, cherries, self-heating hotpots, instant noodles, and Eight Treasures cake.
The third row consisted of daily necessities, including diapers, bolts of cloth, skincare products, and roses.
The fourth row consisted of relatively precious jewelry, including pearls and a piece of raw jadeite boulder.
Just as she was looking, a sudden “ding—” echoed in her mind, a familiar notification tone. A line of text popped up at the top of the screen: “Dear customer, your random lucky draw opportunity has been activated. Would you like to draw now? Select ‘YES’ for yes, and ‘NO’ for no.”
Li Xia’s eyes lit up, and she immediately reached out to tap “YES.” A spinning roulette wheel appeared on the screen, decorated with various small icons of mystery boxes. She held her breath as she watched until the wheel slowly ground to a halt, the pointer directing at a mystery box that opened to reveal a blank icon. Immediately following, a line of text jumped out: “Congratulations! You have obtained a Storage Locker. This storage locker has an area of five square meters and can be used to store items outside of system prizes.”
“An actual storage locker!” Li Xia couldn’t help but whisper under her breath, a surge of wild ecstasy flooding her heart. Although it was only five square meters, having this storage locker meant she could properly stow away precious items. Looking at the extra blank icon on the screen, she meticulously moved it to the fifth row, the smile cornering her lips impossible to suppress.
Her stomach began to growl “gu-gu” at this moment, reminding Li Xia that she had only drunk a single bowl of porridge. She retrieved a meat bun and an apple from the system. Biting into the bun, it was filled with savory juice, and the apple was crisp, sweet, and juicy. Sitting on the bamboo chair, she ate slowly; the sunlight was just right, the wind was gentle, and the exhaustion gripping her body gradually dissipated.
After finishing her food, she simply rinsed her mouth and went back to bed to lie down. Although her body felt much better, after exerting herself the entire afternoon, she was still somewhat tired. Stroking her pillow, her mind lingered on that five-square-meter storage locker. With a smile touching her lips, she quickly drifted into dreamland.