Chapter 65: A Mud-clogged Well
Ye Lingyue saw the points in the System interface and sighed. She didn’t mean to do the quest.
It was just an accident.
After all, she hadn’t bothered to check what kind of quests the system had given her. She still found it unacceptable that she had to complete another huge mission.
So, she decided to go on a strike.
Just imagine yourself working like an ox for so many years, and when you thought you were about to retire peacefully with the money, they wanted you to work for another lifetime...
The money couldn’t be withdrawn.
Her feeling was similar to this.
[How can a mere mortal detect my almighty presence...] The more the System talked, the quieter it became.
It suddenly remembered that its host was also a mortal, so it immediately changed its words. [I mean, except for you, the host chosen by such a powerful system like me, no one else should be able to see me.]
Ye Lingyue snorted, and she glanced at Ye Mingyuan and his mother. Although Ye Mingyuan was in pain, he still persisted and carried the wood with his mother.
As soon as they left, Ye Chengde turned around. "I will go find some woods again."
Ye Lanxi was obviously unhappy that the wood they had just brought home after passing a long distance was given away just like that. However, he still didn’t want to let his father go out alone.
"I will go with you again, Father."
They would still need to fix the roof tiles, fix some holes in the wall, and rebuild certain parts of the house that were beyond saving.
The supplies left by the imperial guards also weren’t much. It would only last them a week at most.
In order to ease some conflict, Ye Chengde has requested for Commander Leng to help them divide the supplies beforehand. If it were the imperial guards making the decision, he was sure no one would object.
He didn’t want people to fight as soon as the imperial guards left. Alas, in the end, some people still fought over a house.
Ye Lingyue went to the well in the small house.
She realized that water sources should be scarce around here. There might be some but they would need to search around and it also wouldn’t be guaranteed they would find it.
Ye Chengde had warned others to keep a lookout for any water sources, but the first branch and other people’s attitude was quite dismissive.
"There is a well in the house we are occupying." Zheng Huizhen had said rather proudly, much to Steward Du’s annoyance.
Completely disregarding Ye Chengde’s words, she continued, "Once we clean it up, we will surely get water."
It reminded her of the well in the smaller house, and although she wasn’t sure there would be water once it was cleaned, it wasn’t bad to try it.
The well was clogged with mud.
She frowned at the sight inside. Now that she was bringing a torch, it became much more clear.
There was so much mud, and it would need more than one person to do it. She couldn’t do it alone.
Helpless, she could only wait for Ye Lanxi to return home. In the other house, their mother and Ye Zhiqiu were trying to use some wood they had brought back to cover the holes in the wall.
Shen Jingyi was using the axe to cut the woods into wooden planks while Ye Zhiqiu was in charge of nailing them on the walls. He was an extremely meticulous person, and the result wasn’t bad.
Of course, using the wooden planks to cover the holes in the wall was only a temporary measure.
The houses in this abandoned village were made of earthen walls. In order to fix them, they would need clay soil and a lot of other things.
One of them would be water.
Last night, the night wind was freezing cold, so she didn’t want to disturb her mother and eldest brother. Meanwhile, Ye Lingrui was gone too, leading Xiumei and Xiulan to find wild vegetables.
[Host, I have a solution. Would you like to hear it?]
The System’s voice was akin to the devil’s whisper, tempting her to sell her soul into another slavery.
Ye Lingyue snorted and ignored it.
The System wasn’t discouraged by her lack of response. It continued.
[Not only will the well be clean from all of the mud, there will be water with decent quality too.]
[Host, think about it. You haven’t found a good water source. Surely... you don’t want to die of thirst. Look at these kids, don’t you think they are pitiful too? They want water but do not dare to ask for it.]
Ye Lingyue pursed her lips.
She went to the front room where the small twins were sitting obediently beside each other.
"Water is scarce for now. We shouldn’t trouble Older Sister Yue," Ye Shaoqin muttered like a little adult. "Wait until dinner..."
They indeed only had a few pouches of water left. During the meal, everyone would only get a small sip.
She pursed her lips and went back to the well.
[Host, you are not going to jump, are you?] The System became nervous all of a sudden.
"What if I do?" She sneered at it. "Afraid you won’t be able to complete the mission?"
The System racked its invisible brain.
[Host... I have a newbie package specifically tailored for you. You should take it...]
[It’s free, it’s free, it’s free!] The System emphasized.
The important thing should be said three times!
"There’s no need for me to complete any quests?" She raised her eyebrows.
The System fell silent for a moment.
[Host, how about a small quest. It’s easy–]
It abruptly stopped when it saw Ye Lingyue walk away.
[Here it is. Take it. Open and use it!] It hurriedly told her.
Its host was truly so stubborn and difficult, wuwuwu... the System silently shed a few imaginary tears.
Ye Lingyue stared at the bag icon in her inventory and clicked on it.