Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 8, the Golden Finger?

Jiang Lili finished eating and began to clear the dishes and prepare to wash them.

Chen Fan quickly snatched the bowl and chopsticks from her hands, saying, "You cooked the food, so I should wash the dishes."

He looked around, holding several empty bowls, and asked, "Where should I wash these dishes?"

Jiang Lili stared blankly at him, then realized what was happening and raised her hand to grab it, "No, no need, I'll wash it."

Chen Fan held the bowl high, just looking at her without saying a word.

Jiang Lili couldn't help but laugh when she saw his expression, then quickly lowered her head. "I'll scoop up the leftovers, put them in the pot to wash, and wash the pot too."

Chen Fan: "Understood."

He placed the bowl on the stove, turned around and opened the cupboard. He immediately saw a rice sieve that still contained half a bowl of leftover rice. He took out the sieve, quickly scooped up the rice with a spatula, and then found a water ladle to scoop water from the earthenware jar.

Jiang Lili watched for a while, then lowered her head, bit her lip tightly, and quietly turned and walked out.

Chen Fan washed the food in the kitchen, and quickly cleaned the oil-free dishes.

He put the bowls and chopsticks in the cupboard, scooped the swill from the pot into a small wooden bucket, used a bamboo brush hanging on the side of the cupboard to clean the pot, and finally put the lid on. He then shook the water off his hands, let out a long breath, and said, "Perfect."

Suddenly I heard a voice in my head:
"You washed the dishes, reward: +1 housework experience point, current housework skill level: 3."

Chen Fan was stunned. What did that mean?
He blinked, thinking about the voice he had just heard, and suddenly several lines of subtitles appeared out of thin air in front of him:
Chen Fan: 16 years old, male.

Basic properties:
Physique: 6/10
Strength: 5/10
Agility: 7/10
Intelligence: 8/10
Spirit: 8/10
Skill: Housework LV3.

……

Chen Fan's eyes widened. And then?

Just one household chore? And then what?
If time travel has already occurred, then having another cheat ability doesn't seem so unacceptable.

All I learned in my past life were so many skills: driving, computers, foreign languages, plumbing and electrical repair... and you leave me with just one chore? And one of those chores was earned from washing dishes?
Chen Fan felt he needed to have a proper conversation with this cheat code.

After silently calling out dozens of times, he finally realized that this cheat wasn't a system, or rather, it was a stupid system. Not only was there no response, but there wasn't even an instruction manual. There was just a character attribute panel, and how to accept quests and how to improve attributes was all up to him to figure out on his own.

What a pit!

Chen Fan then opened the properties panel and carefully examined it.

The first column, needless to say, contains basic information. The key is the attribute points that follow.

Besides skills, each attribute ends with a "10", which could have two meanings: either the average value or the maximum value.

Chen Fan leaned towards the latter. After all, he had gone to university in his previous life and even worked as a junior manager in a small company; there was no reason why his intelligence couldn't be above average!
It must be the maximum value!
So apart from being a little weak and having a little less strength, I'm fine.

I just don't know if I can exceed the maximum value if I receive rewards in the future?
As for skills, they probably only appear after being triggered. There's no reason why someone who can drive wouldn't even be given a Driving LV1 skill.

Finally, and most importantly, is the method of obtaining the reward.

The voice prompt just now was: "You washed the dishes, and you are rewarded with +1 housework experience. Your current housework skill level is 3."

So, the key point is in the first half of the sentence: Does doing something always result in a reward?

Or is doing things just one way to get rewards?

Anyway, just try it and you'll know.

Only at this moment did Chen Fan have the confidence to live in this era.

Even a life skills system is better than fighting bare-handed!

As I came out of the kitchen, I saw Jiang Lili walking from the backyard, carrying a pair of buckets on her shoulder. The carrying pole and the two large buckets looked out of place on her thin frame.

When she saw Chen Fan, she quickly looked away and whispered, "The water tank is almost empty. I'll go get some water. You should go back to your room and rest."

Chen Fan stared blankly at the two large buckets, wondering if he would gain experience points if he went to fetch water himself.

Seeing that Chen Fan didn't say anything, Jiang Lili continued walking forward.

But as soon as she walked up to Chen Fan, the load on her shoulders was snatched away.

Chen Fan snatched the carrying pole and hoisted it onto his shoulder, saying righteously, "How can a girl be made to do something like carrying water? Leave it to me!"

After that, he walked out.

I wonder what the reward will be for carrying water?
Jiang Lili quickly followed behind him, saying, "You just fell into the water and you're still sick. You should go back to the room and rest. I can do it myself."

Chen Fan ignored her and strode towards the courtyard gate.

Jiang Lili looked at his small frame with worry in her eyes, "Really, I usually carry it myself, you should give me the load."

Just as Chen Fan was about to speak, there was a sudden knock on the courtyard gate, which was then pushed open with a creak.

The storekeeper, Huang, was carrying a half-full sack and a scale when he entered. He saw Chen Fan carrying buckets of water, with Jiang Lili following behind, holding onto the carrying pole. He was taken aback and asked, "What are you doing? Going to fetch water?"

Jiang Lili quickly pulled her hand back, her ten fingers twisted into a tangled mess.

Chen Fan smiled calmly, "Yes, the water tank is empty. I'll go fetch some water."

The storekeeper, Huang, said "Oh," and put the sack on the ground, saying, "There are 30 jin of rice here, which is your ration from the team."

As he spoke, he picked up the scale, hooked it onto the sack, lifted it up, and weighed it in front of Chen Fan. "Look, 30 jin and 4 liang, that's right. The sack weighs 4 liang, and the rice weighs 30 jin."

He then opened the bag again, scooped out a handful of grains, and showed them to Chen Fan to prove that there was no grain mixed in.

Chen Fan blinked blankly, "So meticulous?"

Seeing that the custodian Huang was still looking at him, he quickly nodded, "Ah, yes, that's right."

Seeing that he had no problems, the custodian Huang took out a small notebook and a pen from his pocket and handed them to him, saying, "Sign if there are no problems."

Chen Fan put down the bucket, took it and looked at it. It read, "January 20th, Chen Fan, a temporary resident of the educated youth settlement, borrowed 30 jin of white rice as rations."

He then signed his name after that line.

The custodian, Huang, took back his notebook and said, "When you need vegetables, you can pick them in the backyard of the educated youth settlement. There are cabbages and radishes. Anyway, they're not here, so it would be a waste not to eat them. I'll bring you some sweet potatoes later. You can mix them with rice. The sweet potatoes are from my family's private plot, so I won't put them on your tab."

Chen Fan nodded immediately, "Thank you, thank you."

The custodian, Huang, put away the notebook, waved his hand while holding the scale, and said, "Alright, I'll head back now. Go fetch the water."

He glanced at Jiang Lili, who was standing behind him with her head down, before turning and leaving.

He appeared nonchalant on the surface, but inwardly he was starting to have doubts.

This boy, barely out of school, couldn't resist the temptation. On the very first day, he rushed to help fetch water and curry favor with the staff. Captain Yang's words were all for naught.

What use is Jiang Lili besides her pretty face? She's skinny and weak, not even as strong as a bamboo shoot. She can only earn seven or eight work points a day. Only a naive boy who's never seen the world would treasure her.

When looking for a wife, you should find one who is strong, healthy, and has a big bottom, someone who can work in the fields as well as a strong laborer, and who is also good at bearing children.

That silly boy doesn't know anything!
(End of this chapter)