The third day of Li Wei's new life began in the pitch black of pre-dawn.
There were no alarm clocks in the ancient world, only the internal body clock forged by years of labor and the distant, rhythmic crowing of the village roosters.
Li Wei's eyes snapped open. The heavy arm of his second brother, Li Jun, was draped over his chest, and Li Chen's foot was pressed against his calf. The room was stuffy, but the chill of the early morning crept through the cracks in the window paper.
He moved silently, slipping out from under the quilt. He didn't wake his brothers. The original owner of this body had been weak, but Li Wei was determined to toughen it up. A rancher couldn't be soft.
Stepping into the courtyard, the air was biting. Dew clung to the packed earth. He grabbed a wooden bucket and headed to the well.
"Creak… thud."
The sound of the well pulley echoed in the silence. He drew water, splashed the freezing liquid on his face, and shivered. It was a shock to the system, but it cleared the fog of sleep instantly.
He grabbed a handful of grain mixed with the crushed garlic and ginger he had prepared the night before. The smell was pungent, but the system indicated it would boost their immune systems.
He walked to the backyard coop. The structure stood solid against the fading night.
"Good morning, ladies," he whispered.
He opened the small door. The chickens, roused by the light, clucked softly, jostling for position at the feeder. They looked alert. Their eyes were bright.
**[System Check: Flock Health – Optimal.]**
**[Stress Level: Low.]**
**[Current Status: 2 Hens showing signs of imminent laying.]**
Li Wei's heart skipped a beat. *Imminent laying?*
He checked the nesting boxes he had lined with soft, dried grass. He needed to make sure they were perfect.
"Wei'er?"
A soft voice came from behind. He turned to see his younger sister, Li Mei, standing there with a basket of vegetable scraps. She looked sleepy but smiled when she saw the chickens pecking enthusiastically at the feed.
"They really do look lively," she observed, tilting her head. "Healthier than Mother's old hen."
"That old hen spent all day sitting in the mud," Li Wei said, sprinkling the last of the feed. "These ones have a clean home and good food. Mei, can you help me? I need to check for pests in their feathers later."
"Of course," Mei said, stepping closer. She watched him with a new found curiosity. "You've changed, Third Brother. You never cared about chores before."
"People change when they see the precipice," Li Wei said quietly, wiping his hands on his tunic. "I saw how close we were to starving. I can't just watch anymore."
Mei's expression softened. She reached out and straightened his collar. "Father is worried too. But he won't say it. The landlord's steward is coming today."
Li Wei's jaw tightened. "I know. Let's go help with breakfast."
***
**The Steward's Cart**
By mid-morning, the atmosphere in the Li family courtyard was tense.
The news had spread quickly. Master Zhang's steward, a man named Liu, was making his rounds. In this world, the landlord wasn't just a property owner; he was the law for the peasants. He determined how much grain you kept and how much you gave.
The Li family was gathered in the main hall. Grandpa Li sat in the central chair, smoking his pipe in silence. Father Li Dazhong stood by the door, looking out.
"They're here," Dazhong announced.
Through the gate, a donkey cart rattled in. It was driven by a man in a blue silk robe—Steward Liu. He looked to be in his forties, with a thin moustache and calculating eyes. Behind him stood two burly hired hands, carrying measuring baskets.
"Paying respects to Steward Liu!" Father Li Dazhong bowed low. The rest of the family followed suit.
Steward Liu stepped down from the cart, dusting off his robe. He didn't return the bow. He simply looked around the courtyard with an air of superiority.
"Li Dazhong," Liu said lazily. "Master Zhang sends his regards. The harvest tax is due. And as you know, due to the drought last season, the Master has graciously allowed you to keep farming his land. But the rent adjustment… needs to be discussed."
"Please, Steward, come inside for tea," Dazhong said, his voice strained.
"I don't have time for your dishwater tea," Liu waved a hand dismissively. "Let's settle the account. Where is the grain?"
Li Wei stood in the back, observing. He saw the subtle tremble in his mother's hands. He saw the fear in his younger siblings' eyes. This was the reality of being a peasant. No dignity. No security.
The burly hands went to the granary shed in the corner.
"Wait," Steward Liu suddenly held up a hand. He sniffed the air, his nose wrinkling. "What is that smell? Ginger? Garlic? And… feed?"
His eyes darted to the back of the courtyard.
"I heard a rumor," Liu said, a greedy glint entering his eyes. "That the third son of the Li family suddenly became a businessman. Bought a flock of chickens?"
Li Wei stepped forward before his father could speak.
"Steward Liu," Li Wei bowed respectfully, keeping his posture low. "It is just a few chickens. A small hobby to help the family."
"Hobby?" Liu sneered. "Livestock requires grain. Grain that belongs to Master Zhang's land. Are you stealing from the Master to feed your pets?"
The accusation was ridiculous, but in this world, logic didn't matter. Power did.
"Absolutely not, Steward," Li Wei said calmly, though his heart hammered against his ribs. He had prepared for this. He knew that in a society with no rights, you had to pay for protection. "The chickens eat scraps and weeds. They do not touch the grain meant for the tax."
Liu walked towards him, stopping inches away. He looked Li Wei up and down.
"You look clever," Liu said softly, tapping Li Wei's chest with his folding fan. "Clever people usually know how to be sensible. Raising chickens on the Master's land… surely there should be a… management fee?"
Here it was. The shakedown.
The family froze. Father Li Dazhong's fists clenched at his sides. "Steward, we have already paid the—"
"Quiet!" Liu snapped. "I am talking to the clever one."
Li Wei met Liu's gaze. He wanted to punch the man. He wanted to use the modern laws he knew to tear this corrupt system apart. But he couldn't. Not yet. He was an ant. An ant could not fight an elephant.
He had to pay the toll.
"Steward Liu is right," Li Wei said, forcing a smile. "Managing the hygiene of the village is a hard job. We wouldn't want to trouble the Master."
He reached into his sleeve. He didn't have any copper coins left. He had spent them all.
But he had something else.
"Wait here, Steward," Li Wei said.
He turned and ran to the backyard.
Inside the coop, the chickens were restless. He checked the nesting boxes.
There, in the corner nest, amidst the soft straw, lay a single, perfect egg.
It was small, light brown, and still warm.
The first egg.
Li Wei picked it up. It felt heavy in his hand. It was supposed to be the first step of his empire. The first product of the System.
He closed his eyes for a second. *This is the cost of doing business.*
He returned to the courtyard. He didn't bring the egg directly. Instead, he went to the small shrine in the corner of the main room where a small jar of "medicinal wine" was kept. It was a family treasure, meant for Grandpa's aching joints. It was worth more than a few copper coins.
He poured a small cup of the wine and placed the egg on a clean leaf.
"Steward," Li Wei walked over, presenting the cup and the egg. "Please, have a drink to moisten your throat. And this… this is the very first egg from our flock. It is fresh. It has *vitality*. Eating it brings good luck and strength. A man of your stature deserves the first pick."
Liu blinked, surprised by the smoothness of Li Wei's offer. He looked at the egg, then the wine.
He wasn't a monster, just a greedy middleman. He knew that crushing a peasant too early meant no harvest next year. If they were willing to pay tribute, that was better.
"Heh," Liu chuckled, taking the wine and downing it in one gulp. He picked up the egg and tossed it up and down. "At least you know how to speak, boy. Better than your stubborn father."
He tossed the egg to one of his hired hands. "Cook this for me later."
He turned back to the family, his demeanor slightly more relaxed.
"Since you are sensible, the rent increase will be… delayed until the autumn harvest assessment. But the tax on the chickens… I expect a basket of eggs every month. Understand?"
"Understood," Li Wei bowed. "Thank you for your care, Steward."
Liu huffed, feeling magnanimous. "Measure the grain!"
The burly hands went to the shed. They measured out the rent—a heavy sack of millet and wheat that left the Li family granary looking depressingly empty.
When the cart finally rolled away, the family let out a collective sigh of relief that sounded like a gust of wind.
But the tension remained.
Father Li Dazhong turned to Li Wei. His face was dark.
"That wine was for your grandfather."
"I know," Li Wei said quietly.
"And the eggs… a basket every month?" Dazhong's voice trembled with suppressed anger. "We barely have enough for the chickens to lay for us! You gave away our future for a delay?"
"I bought us time, Father," Li Wei said, looking his father straight in the eye. "If I hadn't, he would have declared the chickens 'illegal livestock' and taken them all. Or he would have raised the rent immediately. We would starve before winter."
"We are still starving!" Dazhong shouted, his patience snapping. "We have no money! You spent it all on birds! And now you give away our wine!"
The courtyard was silent. Li Chen hid behind Mother. Li Hua looked angry but scared.
Li Wei didn't back down. He understood his father's fear. It was the fear of a man who had failed to protect his family too many times.
"I have a plan," Li Wei said, his voice steady. "The first egg was taken. But there will be more. The hens are healthy. They will lay. And when they do, we won't just eat them. We will sell them."
"Sell them? To whom?" Dazhong scoffed. "The village has no money."
"Not the village," Li Wei said. "I will go to the town. To the restaurants. I will sell the eggs for copper, and I will buy more grain than the steward took from us."
"You dream too big," Dazhong shook his head, turning away. "Dreamers get crushed in this world. Get back to the fields."
He walked away, his back bent.
Li Wei stood there, the echo of his father's hopelessness ringing in his ears.
*He's wrong,* Li Wei thought. *Dreamers don't get crushed if they build foundations strong enough to hold the weight.*
He turned and walked back to the coop. He needed to check on the hens. He needed to make sure that tomorrow, there would be more eggs. He needed to make good on his promise.
***
**Night – A Small Victory**
The family dinner was somber. The porridge was thinner than usual because of the grain taken by the steward. No one spoke.
Li Wei ate quickly and excused himself.
He went to the backyard. The sun had set, leaving the sky a deep indigo. He lit a small oil lamp and sat on a stool near the coop.
He was exhausted. Mentally and physically. Dealing with the steward, the confrontation with his father, the fear of failure—it drained him.
He looked at the coop.
**[System Update: Day 3 Quest Progress – 3/7 Days.]**
**[System Alert: Stress Test Passed. Flock Resilience increased.]**
**[Hidden Achievement: Diplomatic Maneuver. You successfully navigated a corruption checkpoint without violence or total loss.]**
**[Reward: Blueprint – Simple Incubator (using clay pots and warm water).]**
Li Wei looked at the blueprint in his mind. It wasn't a magical item, but a design for increasing hatching rates without a hen sitting on the eggs. It was advanced knowledge.
"Useful," he muttered.
Suddenly, a soft clucking sound came from inside the coop.
*Cluck… cluck… cluck.*
It was a specific rhythm. The sound of a hen finishing a job.
Li Wei's heart raced. He lifted the lamp and opened the inspection hatch.
In the second nesting box, a hen was standing up, shaking her feathers.
Nestled in the straw were two eggs.
Not one. Two.
Li Wei reached in, his hands trembling slightly. They were warm.
He held them up to the lamplight. They were perfect.
He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. A laugh bubbled up in his throat, dry and quiet.
The steward took one. But the system, and nature, had provided two.
"Two eggs," he whispered. "That's two days of salt. Or half a bowl of rice."
It wasn't much. It was barely anything. But it was proof of concept. The machine was working.
He carefully placed the eggs in a padded basket he had prepared.
Tomorrow, he would collect more. And the day after that.
He stood up and looked at the dark outline of the hills behind the house. He imagined them covered in grass, dotted with white and black cattle.
One egg at a time.
He turned to walk back to the house, but stopped. His little sister, Li Hua, was standing at the corner of the house, watching him.
"Hua? Why are you here?"
She walked over. She looked at the basket in his hand.
"Two?" she asked.
"Two," he confirmed.
She bit her lip, looking at the eggs, then back at the dark house where their father slept.
"I heard what you said to Father," Hua whispered. "About selling in town."
"I meant it."
"I want to help," she said, her chin jutting out stubbornly. "I'm good at talking. Better than you. You're too stiff. If we go to town, let me do the haggling with the shopkeepers. You just… do the smart things."
Li Wei looked at his sharp-tongued sister. He saw the fire in her eyes. She wasn't just a burden. She was a resource.
"Alright," Li Wei nodded. "When we have enough eggs to sell, you come with me. We'll be partners."
Hua grinned, a flash of white teeth in the darkness. "Partners. Now go to sleep, Partner. You look like a ghost."
She turned and ran back inside.
Li Wei watched her go, a genuine smile touching his lips.
The day had been hard. The steward was a threat. The family was hungry. The money was gone.
But he had two eggs in his hand, a sister watching his back, and a system in his head.
The ranch was still just a dream, but the foundation was being laid, one brick, one egg, one negotiation at a time.