Huang Zhongyi waved his hand in embarrassment, "It's all thanks to Daya; I just helped on the side." The art of medicine is profound, and this time Daya impressed him. He wanted to ask more but swallowed his words.
"Thank you, Daya!"
"Thank you, Sister Daya!"
"Daya, we really have you to thank this time; you were a great help."
Xiao Cheng received heartfelt thanks from Brother Ran's family, yet he reminded them, "Take good care of Brother Ran throughout the night. If anything happens, have Brother call me."
Chen Hao nodded, indicating he understood.
Xiao Cheng also needed rest, so he bid them farewell and prepared to return home. His earlier anxiety dissipated considerably.
The villagers also returned to their homes, marveling at Daya's good fortune. Not only was she unharmed, but she also saved Brother Ran. She was likely to have great blessings in the future.
The village chief called out to Daya just as she was about to enter her house, "Daya, wait a moment."
Daya and her family turned around, and Erya whispered in Xiao Cheng's ear, "It's Village Chief Grandpa."
"Village Chief Grandpa, what's the matter?" Xiao Cheng was puzzled. Why was the old man calling her?
"Well, it's like this, your falling into the water was somehow related to Cheng Xiaocui, wasn't it? Even though you're fine now, I managed to get you some medical compensation. Here's a silver tael for you." He handed her the silver.
What's going on? Wasn't her falling into the water an accident? Her brother didn't inform her about this matter! She looked up at her brother, then at Mr. Cheng, unsure if she should accept the money.
Xiao Cheng's memory loss was not public knowledge; only their family knew. Cheng Jia stepped in to defuse the situation, "Sis, just take it! If Cheng Xiaocui hadn't egged you on to spear fish, you wouldn't have fallen in. Don't you agree? They're not wrong to give this money."
Since her brother said so, she didn't hesitate and took the silver directly, "Thank you, Village Chief Grandpa! Thank you for going out of your way for this."
"Yes! Village Chief Uncle, Daya has bothered you; we're really sorry," Old Cheng scratched his head, pondering how to thank him for such a big favor.
The village chief waved his hand, "It's fine, it's fine, as long as everyone is well. I'll head back now."
"Yes, Village Chief Grandpa, take care."
Xiao Cheng had too much excitement today and needed time to calm down.
It was long past dinner time, and the family quickly ate some cornbread and wild vegetable soup before going to bed.
In the silent night, Xiao Cheng tossed and turned, myriad thoughts racing through her mind. Faced with an uncertain future, could she transform this impoverished mountain village? As she turned, the wooden bed creaked under her. How could she sleep on such a bed? She missed her Simmons mattress so much, sobbing.
Contemplating repeatedly, she slowly drifted into sleep.
Early the next morning, before dawn, Xiao Cheng was in her dream, enjoying a feast of braised pig's trotters, spiced duck, and big chicken legs. Such delicious food, how blissful!
Beep!
Beep beep!
Chirp chirp! Zzz!
The sound felt like a device struggling to power on, about to break down.
Suddenly, a loud child's voice exploded in Xiao Cheng's mind!
Sobbing!
"Host, host, I finally connected with you!"
"I'm so pitiful!"
Sobbing!
"Host, I've missed you so much I was afraid I'd never see you again!"
Xiao Cheng felt so depressed; the food and her feast were gone, all because of that voice.
Wait a minute, this voice seemed to come from inside her head.
She opened her eyes suddenly but dared not move, afraid of waking Erya, who was sleeping on the other side.
"What are you?" she shouted in her mind, trying to quell her panic.
Sobbing, "I'm not a thing..."
"Pah pah! I'm not just anything; I'm your Xiao Tongzi!"
"I came over with you! From the previous world!"
"What? You also came from the modern world? Did we know each other? Is this the delayed golden finger? Is it a system?"
Half an hour later...
Xiao Cheng finally understood the cause of her time travel; she was reborn thanks to this little system.
Little System KAK91771, belonging to Star Universe System Headquarters. Various systems need to be assigned to different worlds to complete tasks and collect energy.
The little system was making its first independent attempt at a task in Xiao Cheng's original world. However, because the host relied too much on it, she became overconfident and was betrayed by trusted aides. She was sold to a certain research institute in M Country by criminals and became a test subject.
The little system was supposed to be obliterated, and in the last ten seconds before obliteration, it managed to contact the Level Eight old system that had trained it. Nobody knows what the old system exchanged with headquarters, but it secured another chance for the little system.
Xiao Tongzi painstakingly chose, after thorough investigation, to bind with Xiao Cheng, reporting its decision to HQ and waiting for the host's approval to continue the tasks.
But before it could even begin, Xiao Cheng died.
Fearing another obliteration, it used all its energy to wrap around Xiao Cheng's consciousness and quickly evacuate, falling into a slumber due to insufficient energy.
By the time it awoke, they had already arrived in another world.
"So, Xiao Tongzi, can you connect to the system HQ now? Do we have tasks to complete in this world too?"
"What rewards do I get if I agree to do tasks with you?" Xiao Cheng eagerly asked.
"Host, host, we're already doing tasks; I detected energy values converting to my data, allowing me to wake up! Plus, we have gained 15 gratitude points."
"What are energy values and gratitude points? Is gratitude when someone sincerely thanks you?"
"Yes, dear host, when someone sincerely thanks you, you gain gratitude points. Once gratitude points reach a certain amount, we can unlock the system mall."
"Stop, is the system mall like that online shop in my old world?" That wouldn't be too bad.
"No, it's different! Our system mall has more comprehensive and abundant items, everything you could want!"
Latter on, Xiao Cheng learned how difficult it was to exchange for those items, not just expensive but with additional conditions. At times, even life-saving items couldn't be exchanged, almost leaving her dead out of anger, but that's another story.
Now Xiao Cheng smiled brightly, thinking that she could get endless good things just by working hard on tasks, giggling!
"By the way, what use is the 15 gratitude points?"
"Not now; my energy value isn't enough to connect to the system mall HQ, which also consumes energy value. But it's a one-time thing; as long as my energy value doesn't drop below 100, the connection won't be broken.
Currently, we only have 15 gratitude points; 100 gratitude points exchange for 10 system coins, and 100 system coins are needed to unlock the Level One System Mall, so keep it up, host!"
So complicated, she thought it would be easy! "So I can't do anything now, right?"
If not for the system saving her life, she would've cursed; so many words leading to nothing!