Overwhelmed by all kinds of emotions, A-Ming could no longer hold back. With a loud wail, he burst into tears and instinctively wrapped his arms tightly around his mother.
“Go ahead and cry. Let all the hurt in your heart out. From now on, you’ll happily be Mother’s youngest son.”
By the time He Wanqing led A-Ming back, two quarters of an hour had already passed.
The moment Ye Jianshan saw them, he hurried over.
“Mother, why were you gone so long? Huh? Why are A-Ming’s eyes red?”
Seeing the little dark-skinned boy grow shy, He Wanqing quickly shifted the eldest son’s attention.
“Look what this is.”
“Wild chicken eggs! Mother, you’re amazing!”
“It was A-Ming who found them. Tonight we’ll stir-fry wild vegetables with eggs. Is the rice cooking already?”
“Mhm, it’s cooking.”
“Then go wash the vegetables.”
Handing the bamboo basket to Ye Jianshan, He Wanqing led the little boy to where their bundles were piled up. She took out a handkerchief, dampened it with water, and gently wiped his face.
“You can’t cry like that anymore. It hurts your spirit. And our A-Ming is such a handsome boy—if you cry your eyes red, you won’t look pretty anymore.”
It was the first time his mother had ever praised his appearance. A faint blush appeared on A-Ming’s dark yellow cheeks.
“A-Ming understands,” he answered obediently.
Such a good child. How could the original He Wanqing have treated him like that?
If that woman were standing in front of her right now, He Wanqing truly wanted to slap some sense into her.
“Alright, let’s go cook.”
She naturally took the little boy’s hand again.
When Ye Jianwen returned from gathering firewood, he saw his mother holding A-Ming’s hand as they walked toward the cooking area.
Huh?
What happened?
Why was Mother suddenly treating A-Ming so well? She was even holding his hand—something that had never happened before!
Ye Jianwen absolutely refused to admit he felt a little jealous of A-Ming.
Before, their mother hadn’t treated any of them especially well, and he’d felt fine about it. After all, everyone had been treated the same.
But now that balance had been broken.
A sense of crisis rose in Ye Jianwen’s heart.
No way. He had to fight for favor too!
They were all sons—Mother couldn’t play favorites!
So after dinner, He Wanqing began noticing her second son’s unusually attentive behavior.
“Mother, drink some water. Your son already cooled it for you.”
“Mother, are your legs tired? Your son can massage them for you.”
“Mother, you—”
“Stop, stop, stop. Jianwen, what’s gotten into you today?”
His sudden enthusiasm genuinely startled He Wanqing.
Ye Jianwen looked at her seriously.
“Mother treated A-Ming too well today. I want Mother to treat me that well too.”
“Uh…”
So her children were competing for her affection now?
He Wanqing glanced at the other two boys.
Sure enough, they were secretly paying attention too.
After thinking for a moment, she decided to reassure them properly.
Clearing her throat, she said,
“Jianshan, Jianwen, Jianwu, and A-Ming—you’ve all noticed the changes in Mother these past few days, haven’t you?”
The children all nodded.
“A few days ago, Mother had a terrible fever. While I was delirious, I reflected on the years that had passed and realized I had not been a good mother. I never properly cared for any of you, and I deeply regret it.
I thought I would never have the chance to make up for it, but Heaven allowed me to live again.
After facing life and death, Mother no longer values money so highly. What matters most now is raising the four of you properly. Only then can I face your father with a clear conscience.
So you don’t need to be afraid anymore. Mother will never abandon you. Every one of you is precious to me, and I love all of you equally.
It’s just that because your ages are different, the way Mother expresses that love may differ too. So don’t compare yourselves to one another, alright?”
As she spoke, He Wanqing looked warmly at each child in turn.
The boys visibly brightened and nodded happily.
“Come here. Mother will hug all of you.”
The moment those words fell, A-Ming rushed forward first, instantly claiming the best spot.
The other three refused to fall behind and crowded in as well.
Rarely having experienced their mother’s embrace, all four boys flushed red with embarrassment and happiness.
The family of five hugged for a while before letting go, but the atmosphere between them had clearly changed.
They had become much closer.
On the second day of traveling through the mountains, He Wanqing had already adapted to the hardship. And because the mountain paths had widened, she began collecting medicinal herbs along the way.
As a result, her points rose rapidly, giving her a strong sense of achievement.
“Mother, eat this.”
Today it was Ye Jianwu’s turn to scout the path ahead. During a break, he specially brought over some wild fruit he had picked.
Looking at the plump, juicy berries in his palm, He Wanqing’s mouth instantly watered.
“Did you eat any yourself?”
“I ate one. It was very sweet. The rest are for Mother.”
“Thank you, my third son. Mother will just eat a few. You eat the rest.”
Ye Jianwu didn’t keep them for himself either. Instead, he shared the fruit with his brothers.
So considerate!
What kind of blessings had she accumulated to gain such wonderful sons without even experiencing childbirth pains?
If she failed to raise them properly, she’d probably be struck by lightning.
At that moment, 616 seized the chance to speak up.
“Host, you’ve finally grown a conscience for once. So hurry and collect more herbs!”
He Wanqing: “…What does that have to do with raising children?”
“Of course it does! Once you earn enough points, you can unlock the trading function. The items traded there can indirectly improve your living conditions!”
“That actually makes sense. So once I save up five thousand points, I won’t need to collect herbs anymore, right?”
“Of course not! Unlocking the forum won’t cost points, but buying things inside does. If you don’t have enough points, you’ll only be able to stare at them helplessly.
And haven’t you noticed? My scanning ability consumes points too. The wider the scan range, the more points it uses.”
“Hm? There’s such a thing? Isn’t scanning one of your built-in abilities?”
“It still needs points to maintain operation. You can think of it as energy.”
“Fine. But you said wider scan ranges consume more points… so the scan range can expand?”
“Yep. Didn’t I tell you that before?”
He Wanqing gritted her teeth.
“When exactly did you ever tell me that?!”
616 replied carelessly,
“It’s fine, it’s not too late now. Every time your points break through a major milestone, the range expands. But the exact increase varies depending on the host, so I can’t tell you the precise size ahead of time. Anyway, once it changes, I’ll know.”
Knowing it could upgrade made He Wanqing somewhat satisfied with the feature.
The deeper they traveled into the mountains, the more lush the vegetation became, and the greater the variety of medicinal herbs He Wanqing collected.
Finally, on the fourth day after entering the mountains, her points surpassed one thousand!
“Little Six, where’s my reward?!”
616 replied lazily,
“Don’t rush. There’ll be one eventually. The main system needs time to prepare it.”
“…Fine.”
“Oh right, my scan range is twenty meters now.”
He Wanqing responded flatly, “Oh.”
“…”
The difference in treatment left 616 speechless.
On the morning of the fifth day in the mountains, He Wanqing finally received the main system’s reward:
How to build a treehouse.
It wasn’t written instructions on paper. Instead, the knowledge directly imprinted itself into her memory. With a single thought, detailed images would appear in her mind.
God knew how disappointed He Wanqing felt.
She’d anticipated the reward for days, only for it to be… this?
This?!
It was absurd!
Wouldn’t simply sleeping on the ground be easier? Why waste time building a treehouse just to stay one night?!
Unable to complain to the main system itself, He Wanqing vented all her frustration onto poor 616.
The pitiful system endured abuse it truly didn’t deserve and consequently forgot to remind her that the reward had been tailored specifically to her needs—meaning it would definitely prove useful.
June weather changed in an instant.
The morning had been bright and sunny, but by afternoon the sky darkened, and heavy black clouds slowly drifted closer in the distance.
Everyone began feeling uneasy.
“Village Chief, it’s going to rain soon!”
The village chief sighed before giving orders.
“The hunting team will split into pairs and search nearby for shelter from the rain. Whether you find anything or not, return within the time it takes one incense stick to burn. Everyone else stay here and rest.”
After handing his bundle to his elder brother, Ye Jianwu left with another villager.
Looking at the dark clouds drawing nearer, He Wanqing’s mood soured.
She hated rainy days!
Who knew whether they’d find shelter? If not, she’d rather sleep standing than lie on wet ground.
Suddenly, 616 cried excitedly,
“Host! Host! You can build the treehouse! You won’t need to sleep on the ground at all!”
He Wanqing instantly understood.
So this was what the reward had been for.
She immediately began reviewing the treehouse-building knowledge in her mind.
From selecting suitable trees, to the structure itself, to every construction step—clear, realistic images filled her mind as though someone were personally demonstrating it in front of her.
It was vivid and highly practical.
After reviewing the full process once, she had already learned it.
At that moment, the people sent out searching gradually returned, but none brought good news.
Even after the last person returned empty-handed, everyone became disappointed.
“Village Chief, what should we do?”
“There’s a relatively flat open area ahead. Everyone cut some bamboo and build shelters. Make sure the bamboo poles are driven deep into the ground and tie the oilcloth tightly, or the wind will blow everything apart.”
Though such simple bamboo shelters couldn’t withstand major wind and rain, they were still better than nothing. The village chief had no better solution.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone got to work.
“Mother, let’s pick a spot,” Ye Jianshan urged, worried the good locations would be taken.
“Mother will choose the place. You three go cut trees—three of them, about this thick.”
He Wanqing demonstrated the size with her hands.
“A-Ming, go take out our oilcloth.”
After the children scattered to work, He Wanqing began selecting trees according to the method she had just learned.
She wanted to build a treehouse large enough for five people, meaning she needed four trees positioned in a perfect square.
It wasn’t easy to find.
After considerable searching, she finally located suitable ones.
Even better, the branching points of the trees were low to the ground, making them perfect for building.
He Wanqing was extremely satisfied.
Soon afterward, A-Ming dragged over all their oilcloth sheets, which spread widely across the ground.
He Wanqing unfolded one to measure it and discovered even the shortest piece exceeded three meters.
Perfect.
A-Ming looked around at the surrounding trees in confusion.
“Mother, are we building the shelter here? Won’t there be enough room?”
He Wanqing pinched his little dark cheek.
“We’re not building on the ground. We’re building in the trees.”
“Huh?”
A-Ming stared blankly.
“You can build shelters in trees?”
“Of course. Just watch. Mother will teach your brothers in a moment. Ours will definitely be better than the ones they build on the ground.”
When the boys returned carrying logs, He Wanqing suddenly realized they also needed a saw to cut planks—something their family definitely didn’t own.
“Jianshan, do you know whose family has a saw?”
Before he could answer, A-Ming spoke up.
“Mother, I know! Grandpa has one! Does Mother need it? I’ll go borrow it!”
“Mhm. We need to cut planks.”
The moment she finished speaking, A-Ming dashed toward the Ye family’s main branch.
While waiting for the saw, He Wanqing measured the distance between two shorter trees using one of the logs and marked it.
“Jianwu, use the machete to chop off the branches from this section.”
“Jianwen, go cut a bamboo stalk as thick as your third brother’s thigh and about fifteen feet tall.”
A-Ming returned smoothly with the saw.
Under He Wanqing’s guidance, Ye Jianshan and Ye Jianwu first sawed one of the trees in half.
These halves would serve as supports laid across the four shorter trees.
Then they sawed the remaining two trees into planks of similar thickness.
Those would be placed between the supporting half-logs to form the floor.
Sawing the planks took a great deal of time. By the time they finished, the dark clouds had already gathered overhead, and a torrential downpour could begin at any moment.
He Wanqing immediately sped things up.
“Jianwu, dig a deep hole here and plant the bamboo firmly into it.”
She pointed to the center between the four trees.
Once the bamboo pole stood upright, He Wanqing instructed the children to place the halved logs across the trees, then arrange the planks side by side on top.
The two middle planks intentionally left a gap for the bamboo pole, allowing the flooring to fit tightly together.
Just as they were about to hang the oilcloth, a raindrop landed on He Wanqing’s face.
“Hurry! Tie the middle of this oilcloth sheet to the top of the bamboo pole, then secure the two corners to the trees on either side! Do the same with the others!”
The three boys climbed trees simultaneously, each handling one side.
Ye Jianwu moved the fastest, finishing one side before immediately helping with another.
One oilcloth sheet remained.
He Wanqing climbed onto a tree and spread it over the planks, simultaneously testing the treehouse’s weight-bearing capacity.
It didn’t move at all.
Excellent.
By now, the rain had begun pouring heavily.
The children hurried beneath the wooden platform with their belongings.
A-Ming stared up at the magical treehouse overhead.
“Mother, can we climb up now?”
“Come up carefully.”
Lifting one section of weighted oilcloth, Ye Jianshan climbed up first.
Then Ye Jianwu carried A-Ming up.
After that came Ye Jianwen and Ye Jianwu.
Once inside, the children looked around excitedly.
“So? Isn’t this treehouse amazing?”
“It’s incredible! Mother, how did you think of this?” Ye Jianwen’s admiration overflowed. This was his mother!
“Hahaha! Your mother was simply born intelligent, plus years of wisdom!”
616 was utterly stunned.
How shameless could she be?!
This was obviously all thanks to the main system!
After the excitement faded, Ye Jianshan began worrying about the planks’ strength.
“Mother, I think we should support the underside with something. Otherwise I still won’t feel safe sleeping here tonight.”
“Alright, we can reinforce it. Later you boys can go cut two more trees.”