After the cruel reality was revealed by the System, Qi Huan was not discouraged.
"Tomorrow I will definitely sharpen my eyes, not miss any of Li Shuchen's needs, and try my best to follow him to max out Points!"
Qi Huan carefully searched the original owner's memories and pieced together Li Shuchen's identity from the words of Qi's father and mother.
"It seems like he is the exiled Crown Prince sent to Mo County. Helping him earn Points will be hugely rewarded, so in the future he is very likely to make a comeback and become a Wise Ruler?"
The System evaded the question, "Sorry, that is outside the scope of this System's services."
Qi Huan did not mind and continued saying to herself, "Then I should help him even more, hold on tight to his coattails. I hope when he regains his status, he can also give me a Law-abiding Citizenship and let me leave this bitterly cold place."
After joking with the System for a while, Qi Huan got up and went to the kitchen to boil some hot water, and took the opportunity to dispose of the Express Delivery packaging.
She hesitated for a moment before deciding not to use the thermal flask for now.
She decided to first give this thermal flask to Li Shuchen, earning 100 Points, then ask the System to buy one for herself later.
This way, they would each have a thermal flask, and she would earn an extra 12 Points from the 100 Points earned, after deducting 88 Points to repurchase one. It was an additional gain.
After making up her mind, Qi Huan first ladled out some hot snow water to wash up, then added more firewood into the stove.
After washing her face and soaking her feet, the remaining hot water had started boiling.
She scooped out some into a bowl, let it cool a little before drinking it.
The water for washing could be just warm, but drinking water still had to be boiled.
After tidying up, the sky had just darkened.
But without cell phones in ancient times, the long nights were boring except for sleeping.
She went to bed early and naturally woke up at first light the next day.
After getting up, she found a basket, placed the thermal flask inside, then stuffed in two bags of snail noodles and a large cabbage, and went out into the heavy snow.
The snow was almost up to her calves. Fortunately her rubber boots were waterproof, otherwise her shoes and socks would have gotten wet on the way.
But the mud and grass she had smeared on earlier were mostly rubbed off.
Qi Huan thought to herself, she still needed to earn money to buy some ancient style clothes.
After all, one had to adapt to local conditions when in Rome.
Lost in thought, she arrived at the small courtyard gate without realizing it.
She raised her hand and bent her fingers, out of habit wanting to knock first, but then remembered Li Shuchen's limited mobility, so she put her hand down and called out loudly instead, "I'm coming in!"
"Enter."
Hearing the affirmative reply, she pushed open the door, walked to the hall entrance and stamped her feet to shake off the snow.
Putting down her basket, Qi Huan looked towards Li Shuchen.
He was still sitting at the wooden table from yesterday, back ramrod straight, a thin blanket over his knees, the brush tip a bit frayed, but this did not affect his swift writing as he busily copied a book.
As Qi Huan walked closer, she was surprised to see his writing looked a little like traditional Chinese characters from her past life, and she could understand some of it.
"You're blocking the light." Li Shuchen's hand stopped moving.
Qi Huan quickly retreated several steps, moving behind him, and asked, "Have you eaten breakfast?"
"Mm."
Li Shuchen then wrote a few more characters before putting down his brush. He untied his waist pouch, took out the few remaining broken silver coins and held them out to Qi Huan.
"This is all I have now. I will copy more books and give you more after I receive payment."
Qi Huan quickly waved her hands to refuse.
The things she helped him with were trivial, and she also earned Points for them. Taking his money too would be improper.
More importantly, relationships were weightier than money. She still hoped to rely on Li Shuchen to remove her Criminal Record, so she did not take his money.
"A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. We're just helping each other out, taking money would hurt our rapport."
Right after she finished speaking, her stomach rumbled loudly.
To adapt locally, she now also only ate two meals a day, but her stomach seemed to have a mind of its own, rumbling on time every day.
"I haven't eaten breakfast yet, I'll go cook first."
Carrying the basket, she ran into the kitchen. Touching her somewhat hot ears, she said while patting her stomach, "I'll satisfy you now."
She was now very proficient in boiling snow water using the original owner's memories. Once the water boiled, she first ladled some out to rinse the thermal flask, then filled a cup of hot water and set it aside.
With these done, she finally cooked herself a bowl of snail noodles with the remaining water and started eating. She also disposed of the external packaging in the stove.
After eating, Qi Huan walked around the yard a bit to dissipate the food smell. When the cup of water had cooled to a good temperature, she went back inside.
She gently placed the cup in front of Li Shuchen. After he took a sip, the System notified Qi Huan that her Points increased by 100 again.
She was overjoyed, and also noticed that Li Shuchen belatedly realized something was off about the cup, hesitating slightly.
Just as Qi Huan was about to explain, she saw him put the cup back in its original spot and continue writing swiftly.
...This ancient man was so nonchalant.
Then she should also stay calm and not panic.
At worst she could just reincarnate again.
Having made up her mind, Qi Huan looked around again for more opportunities to earn Points.
Seeing the inkstone on the table, she had an idea.
Picking up an ink stick, she carefully ground it. This counted as helping out too right?
Sure enough, the familiar System notification sounded again—
"Do good +1, Points +100."
Qi Huan immediately bloomed with joy. Earning Points alongside the big shot was so fast. She could almost see the pile of Express Deliveries waiting for her to unpack in the not too distant future.
When the ink was ground to an appropriate consistency, she went outside to check the weather. The sun was already high up, around noon. It was time to prepare lunch.
Just eating snail noodles was getting repetitive, so this time she shredded the cabbage and planned to stir fry it.
After heating up the iron wok over the firewood stove, she used a spatula to scrape out a bit of the remaining lard. The white pig lard quickly melted, then she threw in the cabbage. After stir frying briefly, it was done.
After cooking the vegetables, Qi Huan added more snow to boil, and threw in the steamed buns Yan Qinghe had left them whole into the hot water.
After cooking till soft, she mashed them into a paste with a spoon, mixing well to make a dough.
After the meal was ready, she made two trips to bring everything into the room. Hearing the sounds, Li Shuchen put away his stationery and waited for lunch.
"Eat while it's hot!" Qi Huan sat down and dug in.
There was no talking while eating. Only after finishing did Li Shuchen say, "Delicious."
Qi Huan was very happy to receive the praise. She agreed, "I think so too."
Although there was no chili or vinegar to make sour and spicy cabbage, the clear stir-fried cabbage also had its own flavor, with a hint of sweetness lingering on the lips.
Hearing her lack of humility, Li Shuchen was briefly surprised, before the corners of his mouth also curled up slightly.
Oblivious Qi Huan briskly cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, taking them to the kitchen to wash.
Having fed Li Shuchen completed an act of kindness, so the System notified her again.
"Do good +1, Points +100."
"System, why do I feel like your voice is getting nicer and nicer?" She chatted with the System while washing the dishes.
"Host, the more good deeds you do, the better my voice can become."
"Okay, okay." Qi Huan nodded rapidly. She now had 300 Points already.
She would take a closer look later to see if there were any other opportunities to help out.
But when she returned to the hall, Li Shuchen was no longer there.
Following his footprints, she arrived at a small thatched hut, feeling puzzled why he would be here.
Dimly seeing him propping himself up with difficulty using a crutch, Qi Huan's judgment was clouded by Points. She enthusiastically offered, "Let me help you stand."
