Chapter 8: Backpack Slots

[Congratulations, Host! You have unlocked the Beginner’s Gift Pack, obtaining 5 Cabbage Seeds, 5 Wheat Seeds, and 1 Backpack Slot.]

A backpack icon suddenly appeared in the lower-right corner, and the ten vegetable seeds were automatically stored inside. Fang Mingxi clicked on the icon and saw the two types of seeds compressed into a single slot, with the number 989 displayed beside it.

The number was easy to interpret, it represented the maximum capacity of the backpack slot.

She hadn’t obtained anything particularly impressive at first, so Fang Mingxi felt a slight twinge of disappointment. But that feeling vanished the moment she saw the backpack slot.

It was essentially a storage space. Valuable items at home could be safely stored in the backpack in advance, preventing them from being stolen or tampered with by anyone with ill intent.

The red thorn berries she had harvested today were still in the basket on her panel. With a thought, she moved them into the backpack.

The basket emptied instantly, and the backpack slot number decreased to 988.

As the red thorn berries were transferred, the basket cleared. Although the panel’s countdown was still cooling down, a progress bar appeared on the small cart.

Fang Mingxi clicked the progress bar and saw “1%” displayed beneath it.

She withdrew her finger, deep in thought. Items collected in the mountains could be temporarily stored in the basket, and once transferred into the backpack, they increased the cart’s progress. If the bar reached 100%, would the cart be unlocked?

That seemed like the only logical possibility. The red thorn berries collected today weighed about one jin. If 1% represented one jin, then she would only need to collect a total of 100 jin to fill the progress bar.

Closing the panel, Fang Mingxi started planning how she would excuse herself to return to the mountains tomorrow.

For now, the advantage was still on her side. Although He Xi had extraordinarily good luck, the early stage of the game was mainly about earning money and gathering food.

As long as she protected her grandparents and used the mushrooms she found in the mountains to earn money, she could get through the early stages without difficulty.

She suddenly realized that being transmigrated as a child had its advantages. Nowadays, one needed an introduction letter just to go outside, and a careless move could draw unwanted attention.

But as a child, no one would notice a toothless little girl. She could sneak off to sell things and maybe even disrupt He Xi’s business without being seen.

Of course, this was Fang Mingxi’s own speculation. The future could unfold very differently. The events she foresaw with the jade pendant reflected the original timeline after Fang Mingxi’s death. Now that she had arrived, the butterfly’s wings had fluttered, there was no telling whether the timeline would follow the same path.

If it did, she would never let the He family off. If not, it remained to be seen whether they would cross paths with her at all.

He Family

Night had fallen, and the He family finished dinner before returning to their rooms to sleep.

He Xi was taken by Liu Xiuhua to wash her feet and then carried back to her room so they could sleep together.

Just as Liu Xiuhua was about to close the door, four grandchildren, who should have gone to bed early, squeezed in. They mischievously brought a basket and exchanged sly glances.

Liu Xiuhua placed her hands on her hips. “What are you boys up to again? Your little sister needs to sleep.”

He Tian couldn’t contain his laughter and covered his mouth, grinning foolishly. “Grandma, guess what we found today?”

He Lei, He Gao, and He Xin all looked at her eagerly. “Grandma, guess what we found today?”

Liu Xiuhua slowly closed the door and tapped each of them sharply on the head. “Guess, guess, guess! You rascals! Did you take your sister to the mountains again?”

He Tian muffled a laugh. “Grandma, we did go to the mountains… and we dug up ginseng.”

“What? Ginseng?” Liu Xiuhua gasped in shock.

He Gao removed the wild grass covering the basket and pulled out two ginseng roots as long as his forearm, still caked with dirt.

“Grandma, these two ginsengs were discovered by Xixi on the mountain, and this one was found by Xiao Tian.”

He placed the two ginsengs in Liu Xiuhua’s hands, then pulled out a third ginseng that resembled a human-shaped doll.

Three ginseng roots lay in her hands, heavy and moist with earthy scent. Liu Xiuhua remained stunned for several moments.

Finally, she mechanically lowered her eyes to look at the ginseng in her hands, then at her grandchildren, who were watching eagerly. It felt as if she were dreaming.

Ginseng, three roots of ginseng.

In the neighboring brigade, only one family had ever dug up ginseng, which was fortunately purchased by the county hospital director for just over one hundred yuan. That ginseng had been, at most, palm-sized. Now, suddenly, her household had three ginseng roots, each larger than the last. Liu Xiuhua felt as if she had struck gold.

She glanced out into the courtyard. Her husband was still washing his feet, and her two daughters-in-law were still boiling water for bathing. The small courtyard was cluttered with things, making it feel crowded.

In recent years, because Xixi’s father had been in the army, their living conditions had greatly improved. They had moved out of the leaky clay house, and with her youngest son’s allowance and the family’s savings, they had built four brick houses.

Liu Xiuhua had two sons, and the He family had not been divided. The four brick houses were assigned one per household: two on either side, the central hall in the middle, and the house next to the kitchen for Liu Xiuhua and He Daicai.

With so many children, four houses were clearly insufficient. She had already planned with her husband to build another house when the youngest son’s allowance arrived.

Now, with three ginseng roots, she didn’t even need to wait. Selling the ginseng would fund not only one house but could easily build three or four, with plenty left over.

Suppressing her shock, she turned solemnly to her grandchildren. “Does anyone else know about this? If not, you must keep your mouths shut, or don’t blame Grandma for spanking you.”

The semi-grown boys nodded repeatedly.

He Gao said, “Grandma, don’t worry. No one saw us dig the ginseng. Xixi discovered hers during our second secret trip up the mountain.”

He Lei added, “Yes, Grandma, absolutely no one saw.”

Liu Xiuhua affectionately patted their heads. “Good job, you boys are clever. Next time, if you encounter something like this, come back and tell Grandma or another adult at home. Things could go wrong otherwise.”

Although people in the brigade were simple and children rarely fought over things, ginseng could be sold to support the family. She couldn’t guarantee that no one would try anything underhanded.

But her grandchildren were truly lucky, finding such a treasure. Xixi was definitely the little lucky star of the household.

Once the double-harvest period ended, they could sell the ginseng at the right time, avoiding unnecessary attention.

After praising the kids, she returned to the bed and kissed He Xi.

The little girl had just washed her face, still smelling sweet. Liu Xiuhua couldn’t resist giving her several more kisses.

“Xixi is the real hero. Once Grandma sells the ginseng, I’ll take you all to the commune market.”

He Xi’s face tingled from the warmth, and she smiled. “Grandma, I want candy.”

“Grandma, I also want Big White Rabbit milk candy.”

“All right.”

“Grandma, buy Xixi some malted milk.”

“Okay.”

“Grandma, I want to sleep next to you tonight…”

“No!”