Chapter 29: Level Up! Level Up!

After staring blankly for a long while, she furrowed her brows and asked, "Is there no food at home for you to eat? Why are you eating everything?"

Most people would steer clear of bugs, fearing that if they weren't careful, they might end up swallowing one. Yet, these children were perfectly happy to pop them right into their mouths, seemingly oblivious to any potential trouble.

"My dear Mother, these are called peach blossom bugs; they are absolutely delicious," Bai Ruyu whispered into her ear. "While I was in the underworld, a very capable person fixed them for me. I’ve had them quite a few times."

Madam Jiang looked at her with skepticism, then glanced at the dark, crispy bugs in the pan. She reached out and plucked one for herself. She placed it in her mouth, savored it carefully, and under the expectant gazes of the three in the room, she exclaimed, "You know, you’re right! These are even more savory than meat."

Having tasted such a novel food for the first time, Madam Jiang was incredibly satisfied.

Bai Ruyu gestured toward the cutting board in the center of the room. "They taste even better when stir-fried with scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers."

The chili, scallions, ginger, and garlic had yet to be chopped; she had been too focused on the pan to tend to them, intending to slice the vegetables only after frying the bugs.

"That's nothing, Mother will help you," Madam Jiang said, rolling up her sleeves and heading toward the table.

Initially, there were many things she had never seen before, but over the past two days, her daughter had been introducing them to her while cooking. Now, she recognized everything, knew what they were for, and understood exactly when to add them and when not to. She had it all figured out!

"Mother, be careful with the chili peppers; don't get any in your eyes."

Bai Ruyu scooped the fried bugs out of the pan. Once Madam Jiang finished prepping the aromatics and chili, she added a little more oil to the pan. As the oil heated, she tossed in the scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili, sautéing them until they released their fragrance.

The timing was perfect!

She tipped half of the bugs from the bowl into the pan, stir-frying them together with a dash of light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and chicken bouillon, then removed them from the heat immediately. She had already added salt during the initial frying, so adding more now would make them far too salty.

After cleaning the pan, she blanched the bitter greens, rinsed them in cold water, and drizzled her signature dressing over them in a bowl.

"Ready! Go get the rice!"

Bai Ruyu picked up the two plates and said to Er Gou, "The dry-fried ones are for you and Father."

In any family, it is normal to have one or two people who do not care for spicy food.

"Sister, you are truly the best."

Er Gou, who had been resistant at first, had been completely won over. It was truly a rare delicacy on earth. It would definitely be delicious mixed with rice!

[Wuyang: Wow! Looking at this makes me want to go to Xiangxiang right now!]
[No Forget Home: Streamer, I suspect you didn't cook them thoroughly. Be careful of an upset stomach; send them to me first so I can test them for poison.]
...

"Streaming off to eat, see you tomorrow, my gods of wealth!" Bai Ruyu squinted and waved at them.

[Mianyang Puff: Wuwuwu... Great Streamer, it's rare to see you greet us so properly.]
[Country Kid: What's this! Is the streamer usually not proper?]
...

The screen went black, mirroring Bai Ruyu’s face. The system’s voice rang out, sounding slightly excited.

[Congratulations to the host: 5,000 fans, 5,000 heat, 62 gifts, 10,000 likes.]
[Gifts converted to 13,286 gold coins.]
[10,000 likes can upgrade the space; 5,000 heat can upgrade the mall. Does the host wish to upgrade?]

"Upgrade! Upgrade!"

[Congratulations to the host: Space upgraded to Level 2, adding 20 square meters. Mall upgraded to Level 2, adding twenty new items.]

Bai Ruyu opened the system mall, curious to see what had been added after the upgrade. As she looked through the list, the corners of her lips curled upward. She suddenly suspected that some items in the mall were provided according to her thoughts.

Just today, she had lamented that vegetables and fruit were scarce in this dynasty, and that if one wanted a bite, they had to forage in the mountains. Yet, as soon as the upgrade was complete, half of the new items were fruits and vegetables—all of which were her favorites. Lettuce, celtuce, dragon fruit, cherries, and kiwifruit—all the things she loved most in her previous life.

Most importantly, there was one more thing!

Spiritual Spring Water!!

She clicked on the description: it could improve a person's constitution and heal certain injuries; in short, it had many benefits. Of course, the price was not cheap. One bottle cost 999 gold coins...

It seemed the system had learned quite a bit about marketing. However, this was a treasure. Bai Ruyu didn't hesitate to buy a bottle; it could improve her entire family's health. Even if it were expensive, she would buy it. As long as the family was healthy, they would be more resilient, even if they had to flee from famine.

"Yu-jie, what is this?" Madam Jiang approached with a rice basin and looked confused, seeing her daughter holding a jade bottle and dripping something into it.

"Mother, this is a good thing. It will make our whole family as strong as can be." Bai Ruyu tucked the Spiritual Spring Water into a corner of her space. She took the rice basin from Madam Jiang and said with a grin, "The family's health has been depleted too severely; we can't supplement it too drastically all at once. We have to add it little by little. Otherwise, their bodies won't be able to handle it, and they might just keel over on the spot."

Adding a drop to the food or rice every day would be enough. Seeing the bottle vanish into thin air, and remembering what her daughter had said before, she assumed this treasure must have come from her father-in-law’s collection of heirlooms.

"Yu-jie, thank your Grandfather on behalf of our family," Madam Jiang said solemnly.

Bai Xiuming happened to walk over with a bowl. "Thank whom?" he asked. Did something happen in just this short time?

Madam Jiang turned around and explained the situation. Bai Xiuming nodded solemnly as well. "Tomorrow, I will burn more paper money for Father and Mother."

Even if they didn't have their parents' remains, what did it matter? As long as they set up memorial tablets at home and offered incense, they would still receive it.

A moment later, the refreshing bitter greens and the peach blossom bugs were devoured by the family.

Little Ya licked her lips, still wanting more. "Sister, let's go catch more bugs in the stream this afternoon."

Sanwa shoveled the last bit of rice into his mouth and chimed in, "Yeah, Sister, let's go after we rest a bit. We'll use a basket; we'll definitely get more than we did just now."

Thinking about how the bamboo basket wasn't big enough earlier, causing many of the peach blossom bugs to wash away with the stream, he felt a pang of regret.

"Alright! We'll go later," Bai Ruyu agreed with a smile. She liked them quite a bit herself. If they gathered more, she could stir-fry them with oil and salt until dry, and they would keep for a few days without any worry of spoiling.

Bai Xiuming remained silent for a moment before saying slowly, "Let's go tomorrow instead. Today, let's all work together to get the grain out of the fields so we can wait for news with peace of mind."

It wasn't that he wanted to dampen the children's spirits, but the current situation was special. Getting the work in the fields done early would bring them peace of mind sooner.

Seeing the disappointment on Sanwa and Little Ya's faces, he didn't forget to nod. Bai Xiuming patted their heads. "Father will go with you tomorrow, alright?"

The disappointment on Little Ya's face vanished instantly. She smiled and said, "Father, you must keep your word."

"Father, you can't fool us," Sanwa added from the side.

"Alright! Would your father ever lie to you?" Madam Jiang stood up to clear the bowls, and seeing this, Er Gou got up to help as well.

More than an hour later, after waking from their afternoon nap, the family gathered their tools and headed toward the path to the front left of the village. The fields here were basically one patch here and another there, much like terraced fields, and they came in various shapes: long, square, triangular, cloud-shaped...

After walking for a little over a quarter of an hour, they saw a rectangular rice paddy in the distance. There were a few people in it—two were working, and one was sitting off to the side.

As they got closer and took a look...

Oh my! Who would have thought!