After the brief boot animation ended, she still needed to set up the system before activating the phone.
Qi Huan followed the steps, but suddenly the interface showed that she needed to connect to the internet.
She was dazed for a moment, then furrowed her brow. With no SIM card or WiFi, how could she get online?
In an instant, inspiration struck her, and she had an idea.
"System, can you give me a hotspot?... I can pay you with credits!"
"Sorry, host, I don't have that permission at the moment."
Her hopes dashed, Qi Huan felt a little disheartened. Did she really just spend all those credits for a "metal brick"?
Sensing her dejected mood, the System continued, "Host, don't be sad. What I said was that I don't have that permission temporarily. Once I'm updated to the highest version, all this will be a piece of cake."
"How many credits do you need to upgrade to the highest version?"
"......Only a hundred million credits."
"...." Qi Huan silently put the phone back in the packaging and stored it in her space ring. A hundred million credits was an insurmountable goal; it seemed she still had a long way to go to achieve internet freedom.
At that moment, the System brought up another issue: "I forgot to tell you, host, I don't have a USB port, so I can't provide charging services.... If you want your phone to stay powered, you might want to research coal power or hydroelectric power in advance."
"Are you the devil?... I'm an arts student!"
However, she wasn't too worried about that: "I've delivered so many packages, so someone must have ordered a power bank before. As long as I keep endlessly repurchasing, I'll always have power."
With her thoughts sorted out, Qi Huan gradually calmed down. Dripping water can pierce stone, accumulating soil can form mountains. Slowly accumulating, she would eventually reach a million credits and achieve internet freedom.
Moreover, she still had a shortcut.
Qi Huan turned and went to look for Li Shuchen, but couldn't find him anywhere in the courtyard. Just as she was puzzled, Li Shuchen pushed open the courtyard gate, carrying a redwood food box.
Upon seeing the food box, her eyes instantly brightened, and she trotted over, helpfully offering, "Shuchen, let me carry that for you."
"No need."
"Oh." Undeterred by the refusal, she asked, "Shuchen, is there anything I can help you with?"
After a moment's thought, Li Shuchen gestured at the food box and nodded, "Yes. Please help me eat the pastries."
"Great, I'm an expert at that!"
In the hall, Li Shuchen opened the food box and placed a plate of red sugar jujube cakes in front of her.
Today, while checking intelligence from various regions at the Yunying Caravan, he remembered that she had said her medicinal soups were all liquid, so he instructed the maid to try a different cooking method.
On the white plate on the wooden table, the deep brown jujube cakes looked soft and fluffy, with a finely honeycomb pattern on the sides, and a slightly darker color on top, dotted with pieces of red date and white sesame seeds.
Picking one up, the rich aroma of jujubes mixed with the fragrance of traditional brown sugar wafted up enticingly, immediately whetting the appetite.
Qi Huan ate one cake after another, stopping only after two.
However, there was no credit notification from the System, so she asked in puzzlement, "System, why didn't I get any credits?"
"...Host, who is the one doing the good deed here? It was clearly Li Shuchen feeding you."
"But he asked me to help eat them... Don't you want to upgrade?"
"Good deed +1, credits +100."
Hearing the pleasant system notification, Qi Huan immediately beamed, casually picking up the water cup Li Shuchen handed her and draining it. Then... her stomach felt a little bloated.
She rubbed her belly, glancing at the still early daylight, and suggested, "Shuchen, let's go take a look at the new courtyard and take a walk to help digest."
"Alright."
They hadn't gone far from the main gate when she spotted buildings in the distance, prompting her to rub her eyes before stopping in her tracks.
"Didn't we go the wrong way?"
"No."
"......Then how did they build it so quickly?"
"Strength in numbers."
As they approached, Qi Huan realized there were some new faces in the courtyard, all working together in an orderly manner. With many hands, the overall framework of the entire courtyard was basically complete.
It seemed they would be able to move in soon.
Inside one of the rooms, she saw a few craftsmen listening to an old master's instructions on building a heated brick bed.
"Shuchen, could you draw the key steps for me?"
"Sure."
With his affirmative reply, Qi Huan smiled blissfully. She planned to post these step-by-step illustrations outside the tavern for everyone's reference.
Wealthy families could hire the master to build the heated beds for them, while poor families could put in some effort and build mud beds themselves. This way, when winter came, everyone in Mo County would be able to live in warm houses, greatly reducing cases of freezing deaths and injuries.
However, while the imagination was lush, reality was harsh.
The long picture scroll soon attracted a crowd, who surrounded the ink painting, pointing and questioning it full of doubt.
"Haha, Manager Qi is really dreaming. Putting a stove under the bed, wouldn't people get roasted?"
"Yeah, yeah, whoever believes this is an idiot."
Some hesitated to leave, an old man wearing a tattered, patched robe with cloudy, hopeful eyes, "Maybe it works, though."
"I think it makes sense too. I looked carefully at this illustration, and the fire doesn't burn directly under the bed.... You see, it shows that the hot air coming out from the side stove hole can warm the bed. I think it's quite reasonable.
There's even Master Liu's address at the end. I'm going to find him right now and have him build me a heated brick bed. I'll try it out when it gets cold. If it works, I'll have another one built next year."
With that, the daring Scholar Hu put away his folding fan, mentally repeated the address a few times, and strode off.
People tend to follow the crowd, and the old man from before no longer hesitated, carefully studying the illustration and noting the key points. He muttered, "Then I'll build a mud bed too. I can't let Gou Dan's soul come back and still feel cold at home. I'll build a mud bed and stock up on firewood. When winter comes, I'll keep it burning warmly, so Gou Dan won't be afraid of the cold anymore."
Watching his tottering figure leave, another old man sighed, "Poor Old Wang, his youngest son Gou Dan froze to death last year. So he's just thinking about keeping the house warm, to the point he even believes this."
People debated back and forth, but those willing to try were still in the minority.
Qi Huan stood at the window of the upstairs study, taking it all in.
But she wasn't too concerned. Gold will always shine through eventually. When winter came, and people experienced the warmth of the heated beds, they would spread the word, prompting others to follow suit. The popularity of heated beds was just a matter of time.
With over a hundred thousand people in Mo County, once every household had heated beds, her credits would soar as well.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rapidly approaching hoofbeats.
