That night, the guesthouse gradually fell into silence. Most of the soldiers had already retired for the night after a long day of drills, and the once lively compound was now quiet.
Inside her small room, however, Li Shuying remained wide awake. She lay on the narrow bed, staring at the dark wooden beams of the ceiling, her mind turning restlessly.
The events of the evening replayed again and again in her thoughts. Her fingers unconsciously tightened on the thin quilt.
Earlier that day, in the heat of the moment, she had not merely humiliated Zhao Depeng, she had struck directly at the sorest point in his heart. At the time it had felt satisfying, even necessary. Yet now, as the night deepened and reason returned, she could not ignore the unease creeping into her mind.
Zhao Depeng was not a man who would quietly swallow humiliation. Especially not humiliation inflicted in front of her father. A faint frown appeared on her delicate face.
For some reason, Zhao Depeng had always been hostile toward her father. It was not the ordinary friction that sometimes arose between stepbrothers, it ran far deeper than that. It was the kind of resentment that had accumulated for years, layer upon layer, until it had hardened into something poisonous.
In her previous life, Li Shuying had once overheard Grand Aunt Li speaking about it to her mother.
According to her, Zhao Depeng had spent his entire childhood comparing himself to Li Guoqiang. Every small achievement of her father had been treated by Zhao Depeng as a personal defeat. At first, it had merely been childish competition. But with time, competition turned into jealousy… and jealousy into hostility.
And behind it all stood one person who constantly fanned the flames was Wang Chunhua. A cold glimmer passed through Li Shuying's eyes.
Zhao Depeng had never liked studying. Yet when he saw that Li Guoqiang performed well in school and was praised by teachers, he stubbornly insisted on attending classes as well. Unfortunately for him, no matter how hard he tried, he could never surpass her father.
Unable to win fairly, he and Wang Chunhua had resorted to other methods. Together they schemed and pressured Li Guoqiang to abandon his education. In the end, they succeeded. If not for the sent-down teacher Li Guoqiang might never have completed high school at all.
Later, when her father joined a railway construction team, Zhao Depeng followed.
When her father enlisted in the army, Zhao Depeng followed again.
It was almost absurd.
Yet Zhao Depeng never truly wished to surpass Li Guoqiang through effort. Whenever he found himself unable to compete, he would simply resort to underhanded tricks. That was his nature.
Li Shuying sighed softly in the darkness. "Such a person…" she murmured inwardly, "…will never let today's humiliation pass quietly."
Her intuition told her clearly that Zhao Depeng would retaliate. The only question was how.
She turned slightly on the bed, pulling the quilt closer around her shoulders. Then suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.
Those apples had been sold this morning. The money they earned should have been enough to trigger the next upgrade. A faint spark of excitement immediately replaced her earlier worry. Without hesitation, Li Shuying closed her eyes.
In the next moment, she slipped into the familiar System Spaces control room.
And right in front of her, a golden notification slowly appeared.
[Congratulations!]
Farm Space has upgraded to Level 5.
Li Shuying's eyes immediately brightened.
The notification continued to unfold line by line.
New features unlocked:
Five new plots of farmland unlocked.
New crops unlocked: Wheat, Barley, Turnip, Garlic, and Eggplant.
Two cages unlocked in the Ranch section.
New livestock unlocked: Pig.
New fruit in orchard unlocked: Hawthorn
New equipment unlocked: Pig Cleaver, Automatic Pork Processing Machine, and Automatic Stone Mill.
For a moment, Li Shuying simply stared at the glowing text.
Then suddenly she jumped in place like a delighted child. "Wheat! And pigs!" Her voice echoed excitedly through the quiet control room. "Now we can finally have white flour and pork!"
In this years, these were luxuries that even many city households could not easily obtain. For a rural family like hers, they were practically unimaginable.
Still, Li Shuying quickly forced herself to calm down. "Work first," she muttered with determination.
She immediately moved toward the farmland interface and began managing the plots with swift, practiced motions. All mature crops were harvested instantly into the storage inventory.
Then she began replanting.
One plots were assigned to hay.
One plot with Soybean
One plot was planted with corn.
Another with sweet potatoes.
One with Chinese cabbage.
One with turnips and garlic mix.
One with eggplants.
One with barley.
And finally she planted the remaining four plots entirely with wheat.When the planting completed, a timer quietly appeared above the wheat fields of 48 hours. Li Shuying glanced at it but did not mind at all. Instead, she clasped her hands together with shining eyes. "Perfect," she said happily.
After finishing with the farmland, Li Shuying walked toward the poultry section of the System Space.
She first approached the rabbit cages. Several rabbits had already reached maturity. With practiced efficiency, she selected them and sent them directly into the automatic processing machine. The neatly packaged processed meat was than automatically stored in storage area.
Next came the chickens. One mature hen was processed in the same manner. Then she carefully collected the eggs laid earlier that day, placing them into storage as well. She than fed both with hay.
Once this work was complete, she walked toward the newly unlocked cages. Two clean enclosures stood there, empty and waiting.
Without hesitation, she summoned two pairs of piglets, placing all four of them carefully inside the cages. The small creatures immediately began snuffling around curiously before discovering the piles of fresh hay she had placed inside.
The piglets squealed softly, happily burying their noses into the feed.
Li Shuying leaned against the wooden fence of the enclosure, watching them with bright eyes.
"This," she whispered softly to herself, a delighted smile spreading across her face, "is going to be the best Mid-Autumn Festival our family has ever had."
For a rural household, pork was a luxury that appeared only during the most important festivals. The thought that her family would soon be able to enjoy it freely felt almost surreal.
Just as she was about to head toward the orchard a sudden sound echoed faintly in her ears.
Knock… knock…
Li Shuying froze, her brows furrowed slightly.
"That's my door!" Immediately, she exited the System Space.
Li Shuying walked toward the door, her expression cautious. "Who is it?" she asked from inside.
A deep and steady voice answered from the other side. "It's me, Comrade Li."
The voice was calm, resonant and unmistakably familiar. Li Shuying frowned slightly. "Officer Gu?"
She opened the door. Standing outside in the dim corridor light was Gu Zhenhua.
His tall figure seemed even more imposing under the yellow glow of the hallway lamp. His military uniform was neat as always, and his expression carried the same composed seriousness she had come to associate with him.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her curiosity evident.
Gu Zhenhua studied her face for a moment and sighed inwardly, thankfully she hasn't been sleeping yet.
"Comrade Li," he said after a brief pause, his tone respectful yet slightly hesitant, "I know it is improper to disturb you at this hour. However… there is something I must discuss with you."
Li Shuying blinked. For a fleeting moment, an unexpected flush crept onto her cheeks.
Standing in the quiet corridor at night, being visited by such an extraordinarily handsome man, it was a somewhat surreal situation.
Then she immediately scolded herself inwardly. What are you thinking? You are thirteen years old right now.
She quickly suppressed the stray thoughts and composed her expression.
"Officer Gu," she said calmly, "what matter could be so urgent that it cannot wait until tomorrow?"
Gu Zhenhua opened his mouth, intending to say that the situation was indeed urgent.
But then he paused. After reconsidering his words, he simply said, "I came to discuss a deal."
Li Shuying's confusion deepened, "A deal?" she repeated.
Gu Zhenhua nodded, "Yes." He glanced briefly down the quiet corridor before continuing. "Would you mind coming downstairs to the guesthouse lounge so we can speak privately?"
At first glance, the request might have seemed suspicious. Yet several factors reassured her.
First, Gu Zhenhua did not strike her as someone with malicious intentions.
Second, and more importantly this was a military compound. Guards were stationed at the entrance of the guesthouse as well, and soldiers moved around the area even at night.
Nothing improper could realistically occur here. After weighing the situation, she nodded. "Very well, Officer Gu," she said calmly. Then she stepped out into the corridor and gently closed the door behind her.
The guesthouse lounge was quiet at that late hour.
Li Shuying and Gu Zhenhua sat opposite one another at a small table near the window.
For a moment, neither spoke. Then Gu Zhenhua straightened slightly in his chair and spoke first.
"Comrade Li," he said in a steady voice, "before anything else, I must apologize for disturbing you at such an hour. However, the matter I wish to discuss could not easily wait until tomorrow."
Li Shuying gave a small nod, signaling him to continue.
Gu Zhenhua clasped his hands loosely on the table as he gathered his thoughts.
"Recently," he began, "I have been assigned to lead a detachment of fifteen soldiers in Taonan County for a period of training and field drills. As you know, Taonan County lies some distance from Baicheng. Under normal circumstances, supplies would be delivered from the regiment here. But transporting food supplies regularly from Baicheng to Taonan has become… problematic."
Li Shuying listened quietly, her expression composed. In truth, she had already guessed the direction this conversation would take. Nevertheless, she allowed him to finish without interruption.
Gu Zhenhua continued after a moment. "You may recall I told you earlier in train, that the first time we met, I encountered you at the black market selling certain food supplies."
He spoke this plainly, without accusation, merely stating a fact.
"Allow me to say honestly, those supplies were of exceptional quality. That evening, my soldiers were able to eat a proper meal for the first time in many days."
A faint pause followed than he spoke, "I realize that what I am about to ask may sound unreasonable," he said carefully. "Even so, I must ask it."
He drew a slow breath.
"Would it be possible for you to supply similar food provisions on a regular basis… until our training mission in Taonan County is completed? I have no other way out of this, the situation across the region has become increasingly difficult. The drought this year has severely affected agricultural production, so due to food shortage I can't see any other way to obtain food."
Silence settled over the room. Li Shuying did not answer immediately. Instead, she observed him quietly.
She noticed the tension in his posture, the careful choice of his words, the effort he had clearly made to explain the situation properly. For a man who rarely spoke more than a few concise sentences, this speech alone revealed how serious the matter was.
Finally, she leaned slightly back in her chair. "Officer Gu," she said calmly, "you must be joking."
Gu Zhenhua's expression did not change, but he waited for her to continue.
"I do indeed sell supplies on the black market," she said frankly. "And yes, I have channels through which I can obtain food."
Then her gaze sharpened.
"But do you realize what would happen if I began supplying food regularly to your soldiers?" Her voice remained steady, yet every word carried weight. "That would immediately out me under official scrutiny. I have a family to protect. And more importantly, my father is a soldier in this very unit. If anything about such an arrangement were exposed, my father's military career could be destroyed overnight."
Gu Zhenhua looked momentarily taken aback. The composure and clarity with which this thirteen-year-old girl analyzed the risks impressed him once again. Yet he maintained his steady expression.
"I understand your concerns, Comrade Li," he replied evenly. "In truth, I share them." He paused briefly before continuing. "However, the situation of my men is not a trivial matter either. Fifteen soldiers depend on the supplies we receive. Their physical strength and morale are directly tied to it."
His voice lowered slightly.
"When weighing the circumstances, I cannot ignore the potential benefit… even if there is a certain degree of risk involved."
Li Shuying raised one eyebrow slightly. "A certain degree of risk?" she repeated. Then she tilted her head, her gaze suddenly becoming sharper. "So, in your calculations, Officer Gu, the safety of me and my family is considered merely a small risk?"