The Zuo Family's Fine Eldest Son

Old Master Zuo had been dead for many years. This was Ming Jiu's first time coming to pay her respects, and likely her last.

Ming Jiu could not make heads or tails of graveyard feng shui, but the cemetery's location truly was excellent.

What made it excellent was that it was right next to the center of Future First Safe Base.

Throughout the natural disasters, the country had remained orderly, especially in the early days after the bases were established. There had been no forced requisitions or seizures. Whether it was housing, land, or other resources, as long as the property owner was still alive and living within the base, the base would provide corresponding compensation.

At the very least, Old Master Zuo's gravesite could get Zuo Zhenrong's family a small two-bedroom apartment after demolition.

Ming Jiu prayed devoutly, Old Master, bless me. Bless the house I get after the courtyard you left me is demolished, so that it falls within the First Base's planned site. Then I won't need to trade for another property.

After making her wish, Ming Jiu placed the flowers in her hands before the gravestone.

As expected of a "premium" burial plot, someone maintained it regularly every day. The old man's photo was crisp and new, and there was not even a speck of dust on the gravestone.

Ming Rong stood quietly beside Ming Jiu. The cemetery was very well maintained, so she did not feel afraid.

Taking out a notebook from her bag, Ming Rong lowered her head and quickly wrote a few sentences before handing it to her sister.

[Is Grandpa here? Where's Grandma? Isn't she here? Will Grandpa feel cold and bored underground? Dad and Mom didn't like being underground. They liked the sea.]

Looking at the pinyin that had replaced the character for "chat," Ming Jiu almost laughed.

When Ming Jiu had been very young, and Ming Rong even younger, their mother and Father Zuo had given them lessons about death.

From the time they had vaguely begun to understand death, they had known that their mother and father wanted to be buried at sea after they died. They did not want to stay in a cold cemetery, much less have their two daughters visit to mourn them again and again.

Ming Jiu still remembered what they had said back then—when you miss us, just go have fun by the sea.

Ming Jiu reached out and patted the tightly wrapped hat on her little sister's head.

Unfortunately, they would probably find it difficult to visit the sea in the future.

"The situation's a little complicated. Eldest Uncle didn't like our biological grandmother, so Grandma isn't here. After Grandpa died, Dad took Grandma away and sent her to the sea too."

Ming Rong's face was full of confusion, but she still nodded firmly to show that she understood.

Ming Jiu had only heard Father Zuo talk about the specifics once. Their biological grandmother had died before he came of age and was buried in a joint grave at a cemetery somewhere in City B. That had also been the burial plot Old Master Zuo had chosen for himself.

Who would have thought that the moment the old man breathed his last, his fine eldest son would promptly arrange for him to be buried in his current cemetery?

It was not quite as exaggerated as the online joke of "one buried in Hainan, the other in Mohe," but it was not far off.

Father Zuo truly had not expected Zuo Zhenrong to be so vicious. Not only did he disregard the old man's wishes while he was alive, he would not even allow him to pay his respects. So Father Zuo simply took his own mother away.

Who cared about a joint burial or not? As if his mother had been that fond of some rotten old man.

Ming Jiu still remembered how Father Zuo had gritted his teeth in fury while talking about it.

Ming Jiu did not stay at the cemetery long. When they came out, the Zuo Family's driver was still waiting outside.

The driver once again offered to take them to the Zuo Family home for a meal. Ming Jiu did not want to make things difficult for a working man, but her time was limited.

"Just take us straight to the trust company, or I can call a cab myself. We won't disturb Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt."

Seeing how firm Ming Jiu's attitude was, the driver did not try to persuade her further. He called to inform his employer, then drove the Ming sisters back into the city.

Their return happened to coincide with the morning rush hour, and the traffic was infuriatingly jammed.

Having gotten up too early that morning, Ming Rong leaned against Ming Jiu, half-asleep. Ming Jiu also closed her eyes as if resting, though her consciousness had actually sunk into her space to frantically harvest crops.

On the way to the cemetery, she had already harvested half the crops that had matured overnight and replanted them. After paying respects to Old Master Zuo, the other half had gradually ripened as well.

All the way there, Ming Jiu repeated the same routine—harvest crops, sell them to the system, plant crops—and the number of gold coins on the system's personal panel kept increasing.

When the car was stuck less than two kilometers from the trust company, the farm's upgrade progress bar finally jumped to [100.14/100].

The system notification sounded.

[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully upgraded the farm to Level 1. Reward: Farmland ×1, Backpack Slot ×1.]

[Detected that the Host has upgraded 'Backpack Slot' to 'Spatial Warehouse.' Spatial Warehouse area increased by 100 square meters.]

Two rewards?

Ming Jiu opened her eyes, her mental state of immersion in the space interrupted.

[Are the rewards this generous after starting over?]

System: [The crops produced in the Host's space are of better quality, so I applied for double rewards from above.]

Ming Jiu opened her personal panel—

[Name: Ming Jiu

Gender: Female; Age: 23

Place of Origin: Golden Crow System—Blue Star

Farm Level: Level 1 (0.14/300)

Gold Coins: 7218; Silver Coins: 95; Copper Coins: 63

Farmland: 105

Orchard: 0 (Unlocks at Level 5)

Processing Plant: 0 (Unlocks at Level 10)

Breeding Farm: 0 (Unlocks at Level 10)

Backpack: 3/5

System Warehouse: 1100 square meters]

Ming Jiu was very satisfied with her progress. She closed her eyes, sank her mental power into the space again, and continued harvesting, planting, and selling crops.

More land meant faster earnings. As long as she worked hard enough, she could earn back the money spent on upgrading the land and buying seeds and saplings in fifteen days.

The only downside was that she could not plant fast enough.

Ming Jiu could not help opening the system shop for a look.

[All-Purpose Farm Management Robot. Suitable for Level 10–20 small farms. Keep your farm operating around the clock!]

[Purchase unlocked at Level 10.]

[Price: 100,000 gold coins.]

One hundred thousand gold coins—what a foreign number. Damn it, the ability activation potion only cost eighty thousand!

But the temptation of having the farm run around the clock was simply too great. Once the orchard, processing plant, and breeding farm were all unlocked, the speed at which she earned gold coins would only increase.

No rush. After the blizzard, she would have plenty of time to grind the farm.

"Miss Ming, we're here."

The car stopped downstairs from the company. Ming Jiu gently woke Ming Rong, thanked the driver, and got out directly.

She checked the time. It was exactly nine o'clock.

It was the start of the workday. Men and women with an elite air about them streamed toward the company entrance. Ming Jiu and Ming Rong passed through the bright revolving doors, and warmth rushed over them.

Ming Jiu walked straight to the company's front desk. The receptionist was highly professional. After quickly asking and confirming several necessary questions, she arranged for them to wait in a small reception room, soon bringing them hot tea and snacks.

"The person in charge has just arrived at the company and still needs to organize and retrieve some documents. Please wait a moment. It won't take more than half an hour."

It had already been late at night when she had read the old man's will yesterday, so she had not had the chance to make an appointment in advance. A half-hour wait was already highly efficient on their part.

Ming Jiu smiled and nodded, then immediately called on the system to check for surveillance cameras and other equipment in the reception room.

[Don't touch anything yet. Just deal with the cameras in the first few days after the snow season begins. I want to make a few calls now. Can you blur out my voice?]

System: [Understood, Host.]