Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

"free?"

Long Lifan was somewhat taken aback; this damn system was giving her ice cream for free. Believing there's no such thing as a free lunch, Long Lifan increasingly suspected that this damn system was up to something.

"Yes, host," the system replied with absolute certainty.

"Then I don't need it."

Long Lifan refused the dog system's benefits without hesitation, wondering if it was just a trick. Lately, she hadn't paid much attention to it or bought anything from it, but she'd gotten quite a few books for free. Her intuition told her that the dog system was brewing some big move waiting for her!

I, Long Lifan, am a very intelligent person. How could I not see through the conspiracy of your little system?

Trying to trick me? No way!

"Why?!" The system was dumbfounded. This was the first time it had offered its host a benefit, but it had been rejected so ruthlessly.

"Then tell me, why did you treat me to free ice cream!"

"Haha, I just thought you were too hot, so I gave you an ice cream to cool you down."

"I'm just a simple system administrator, what bad intentions could I possibly have!"

"Really!" Long Lifan asked with a somewhat doubtful voice.

Why couldn't I believe that this damn system would actually show such kindness?

"Really, I swear on the system's reputation," the system repeatedly assured. It was true that it delivered ice cream, but it was also true that it wanted to fish for people.

Now that the weather is getting hotter, if the host eats ice cream, it will definitely want to buy more when it's hot in the future. This fishing skill was learned from watching the host sell sickles, so it plans to put it to good use.

"Alright, since you've sworn so sincerely, I'll reluctantly accept it! Give me a chocolate one then."

Long Lifan was now 100% certain that this damn system was up to something, but since things had come to this point, she figured she might as well take advantage of it and immediately spoke to the system.

"OK…"

The trading system was getting angry at Long Lifan's words. She was giving the host a free gift and she made it sound so high-sounding, as if she was begging her to eat.

System: Fine, I'll bear with it. I've cast the bait; now I'm just waiting for the host to take the bait.

As soon as she finished speaking, a chocolate-flavored ice cream radiating a chill appeared in Long Lifan's hand.

"Wow"

Long Lifan took a small bite, and a refreshing coolness instantly ran from head to toe. Savoring the ice cream in her hand, the pleasure from the inside out seemed to melt into her heart along with the coolness, instantly dispelling the summer heat.

An unprecedented sense of satisfaction and happiness filled my body, and I couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.

"How about it, host? Not bad, right!" Seeing how much Long Lifan was enjoying her meal, the system popped up excitedly, its tone full of boasting, as if waiting for the host's praise.

"Good job, keep it up! Try to deliver one every day." Long Lifan rarely praised it like that.

System: What? Still trying? That ice cream you just made used your own savings, and you want me to deliver it every day? Host, you must be dreaming. I'm waiting to fish you out!

"Ha, you little brat!"

Seeing the system fall silent, Long Lifan smiled smugly. No matter what schemes the system might have, it would eventually reveal its true colors, so she decided to remain unchanged and wait for the right moment to unfold.

Because they both worked at the same chicken farm, Long Lifan and Lin Yue often walked together to and from get off work. This day, they were feeding the chicks (oh, no, they shouldn't be called chicks anymore; after a month of careful raising, each chick weighed about a pound, so they should be considered young chickens).

As time went by, the fluffy yellow feathers that used to cover the whole body transformed into fuller and harder brown-black feathers, and it was no longer as cute as it was when it was a kitten.

"Wow, this rooster is so fat! I really want to eat it!"

Lin Yue turned her gaze to a domineering rooster, whose size seemed to determine its status, and the other chickens dared not compete with it for food. Seeing this, Lin Yue said half-jokingly.

Long Lifan also turned her gaze to the domineering rooster. Looking at its size, for some reason, the image of the family bucket she bought from the system a while ago came to mind. The chicken legs in it were about the same size.

Thinking of the family bucket meal, Long Lifan couldn't help but swallow hard. But then she thought about the price, and decided she really couldn't afford it. Hearing Lin Yue's words, she echoed, "I want to eat it too, but it's not within my means!"

"Hey…"

The two of them stared blankly at the chickens, each expressing their own thoughts. Lin Yue was unaware that Long Lifan was lamenting how expensive the system's products were, making it impossible for her to achieve the freedom to eat chicken freely.

Little did they know, Qi Shishen, who had come to clean up the excrement, overheard their words. He was standing by the fence outside when he heard Long Lifan's words, and a smile appeared on Qi Shishen's usually indifferent face.

"So she wanted to eat meat!"

Qi Shishen seemed to have found the little girl's need, and he was particularly happy. Remembering his mother's instructions, and looking at the high mountains behind him, he made a decision.

Of course, Long Lifan was unaware of Qi Shishen's thoughts. Hearing the sounds of shovels and pestles coming from the village, Long Lifan knew that the villagers who had gone to repair the road were returning to the village.

Actually, she admired the decisiveness of the brigade leader and his team. After she proposed road repair that day, starting the next day, hundreds of people went out every day carrying tools such as hoes and shovels, and did not return until evening.

That day, two more people rode bicycles into the village. Miao Dashan and the others recognized them immediately—it was Director Xu from the machinery factory, along with his driver, Xiao Wang. What was he doing in Dongwan Brigade? Was he looking for Long, the educated youth?

"Director Xu, are you here to see Long Zhiqing?" Although he already knew for sure, he still asked tentatively. Miao Dashan and Lin Guodong had met Xu Tiansheng before and remembered him.

"Yes!"

Xu Tiansheng stamped the mud off his feet and said with a smile, "Captain, you guys are repairing the road!"

Hearing that Xu Tiansheng had indeed come to see Long Zhiqing, the group was somewhat disappointed. People from their village rarely came before, but recently they had been coming more often, always looking for Long Zhiqing.

"Yes, as Long Zhiqing said, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. That's why we've gathered the commune members to speed up the road repairs."

"Road repairs are great!"

Xu Tiansheng nodded. If the road to Dongwan Brigade was really repaired, they could drive in. They had originally planned to drive, but later heard that cars couldn't get in at all, so they switched to bicycles. Since he joined the machinery factory, it seemed like a long time since he had ridden a bicycle on this dirt road, and he was a little unaccustomed to it.

"Director Xu, what brings you here!"

Upon seeing Xu Tiansheng, Lin Guodong immediately sent someone to notify Long Zhiqing, which is why Long Lifan arrived so quickly. Looking at Xu Tiansheng and her driver, Xiao Wang, Long Lifan greeted them with a smile.

"I came here specifically to thank you. Here's my thank-you gift," Xu Tiansheng said with a smile, pointing to a new bicycle behind him.

"This is a gift for me?" Long Lifan looked at herself with some disbelief.

Is it common to give bicycles as a thank you gift these days? Last time the county public security bureau received one, and this time Director Xu sent another one.

Staring at the brand-new bicycle, Long Lifan was slightly lost in thought. She had seen the bicycle the moment she arrived and felt sorry for Director Xu; such a good bike had unfortunately run into road construction, and now it was covered in mud.

"Yes!" Xu Tiansheng nodded, then said with some regret, "It's just unfortunate that there was road construction when we came, and some mud got splashed on the road. You don't mind, do you?"

"I don't mind, I don't mind!"

Long Lifan shook her head repeatedly. This bicycle was clearly designed for women; both the frame and the tires were much smaller than the previous one. It was obvious that Director Xu had put thought into buying it especially for her.