Cheng Luanluan was utterly bewildered.
As she wondered, a semi-transparent simulated interface appeared before her eyes.
The interface framed the rice field before her, and on the paddy bank, a wild plant was marked with a red check, clearly noted as bitter lettuce.
【Natural, unpolluted bitter lettuce, 1 jin for 10 wen.】
Cheng Luanluan pulled up two wild plants by her feet, and the mechanical sound rang out in her head for the second time.
【Ding! Two liang of natural, unpolluted bitter lettuce, worth 2 wen. Sell?】
【Sell!】
In that instant, the bitter lettuce in her hand vanished, replaced by two coins.
Cheng Luanluan’s eyes were filled with disbelief.
At this moment, the ethereal interface changed, and a shop similar to Taobao appeared.
The prices of all goods were in coins; two coins could buy a meat bun, or a bottle of mineral water.
She finally understood: this was a transaction system connected to another dimension.
After she selected to buy, the two wen coins in her hand vanished, transforming into a meat bun.
Cheng Luanluan was truly famished. She devoured the bun in two or three bites, and with food in her stomach, strength returned to her body.
She decided to dig up more wild vegetables to exchange for money; there were too many things she wanted to buy.
Bitter lettuce was a type of wild vegetable that thrived during droughts. After a long period without rain, many weeds had withered and died, but bitter lettuce grew in large patches, covering the paddy banks.
As Cheng Luanluan squatted on the paddy bank, pulling up vegetables, a voice suddenly exploded beside her ear.
“Who has a death wish, daring to steal this old woman’s rice!”
The wind blew, causing the rice stalks to sway and reveal a figure.
“Oh, so it’s Auntie Zhao!”
Auntie Wang gritted her teeth. The two were neighbors, constantly bickering and fighting, and Auntie Wang could never win an argument against Auntie Zhao. But today, she had finally caught her opponent red-handed.
“Everyone, come quickly and see! Auntie Zhao is stealing our Wang family’s rice!”
She shrieked, and many people looked over.
This rice field belonged to the Wang family, and Cheng Luanluan was squatting on its paddy bank.
Earlier this morning, Auntie Zhao had returned from her maternal home with a broken, bleeding head, which had given the villagers a good laugh. Now, everyone began to gossip again.
“Oh, is she stealing the Wang family’s grain to subsidize her maternal home?”
“Auntie Zhao is getting bolder and bolder. She even resorts to thievery now. What else is she incapable of?”
“Next, who knows, maybe she’ll even steal a man. She is a widow, after all, ha ha ha…”
Cheng Luanluan’s face darkened.
This plot of land was right by her house; she had thought it belonged to her own family. Who would have guessed it was the Wang family’s?
She patted the grass off her clothes and slowly straightened up.
She threw down the wild vegetables in her hand and said in a cold voice, “What, you don’t even know what rice looks like?”
The villagers saw clearly that it was xiaoe vegetable.
Bitter lettuce, also known as xiaoe vegetable, had a very bitter taste and tough roots that were not easy to cook. In the village, it was typically fed to pigs and chickens; no one would consider eating this wild vegetable unless they were on the verge of starvation.
In modern times, people sought out such unpolluted wild vegetables, but in this era, bitter lettuce was far from popular.
Auntie Wang put her hands on her hips and scolded, “Your family doesn’t even have chickens or ducks, so why are you digging bitter lettuce? I think you’re just making excuses to steal our family’s rice!”
Cheng Loan Loan sighed mournfully, saying, "Don't we have any food at home? To ensure the children can eat their fill, we can only dig up some wild greens to mix with our rice... You elder sisters disdain these wild greens, so you must have plenty of surplus food at home. Why don't you lend our family some food...?"
She had an injury on her head, and coupled with this expression, she looked utterly pathetic.
Everyone's eyes nearly popped out. Sister-in-law Zhao, always so sharp-tongued and harsh, was actually acting weak, and even wanted to borrow food!
In these times, you could borrow anything but food. The onlookers instantly dispersed.
Auntie Wang spat. Borrow food from her? Dream on!
But ultimately, afraid of being latched onto, Auntie Wang turned and immediately ducked into the fields to weed.