The two families visited each other frequently after that, growing closer and closer, until Ye Yunjuan gave birth.
Song Qi's family went to visit her in the hospital. The baby was a little girl, fair and tender and utterly adorable. Little Song Qi liked her the moment he saw her, too.
Shen Moxi's father jokingly asked Song Qi whether he would like the little girl to be his wife someday. Song Qi was only a little over two then; how could he know what a wife was? Her father explained that a wife was someone who would play with him, grow up with him, and stay with him from then on.
Song Qi hurriedly nodded in agreement. He really liked this little girl and held on to her tiny hand, refusing to let go.
From then on, Song Qi went to the neighboring village every day to play with the little girl, calling her "wifey" at every turn.
When they started school, they were in the same classroom and even shared a desk. Little Moxi liked playing with Song Qi, too. As they grew older, Song Qi enlisted in the military, and only then did they part.
At the time, Song Qi had wanted to confess his feelings to Shen Moxi before leaving, but he worried that something might happen to him during his military service, so he decided to tell her when he returned.
Of course, Shen Moxi knew nothing of Song Qi's feelings. She had always regarded her as an older brother, just like her two older brothers at home. In the years since Song Qi had left, Shen Moxi had gradually forgotten him, studying hard, getting into university, and graduating.
Quite a few people at school pursued her, some openly and others secretly, but she devoted all her energy to studying and paid no attention to anything else. Only after graduation was she bewildered to be summoned home to get married.
"Sigh." Having gone through those memories, Shen Moxi could not help feeling some pity. Pity for what? A girl in the flower of her youth had passed away just like that, and there was no telling where she had gone, or whether her soul had gone somewhere else like hers had. In any case, her own body was gone, so swapping souls was out of the question.
Since I'm here, I might as well settle in. Now that I've become you, I'll definitely treat your family well. As for marrying to bring good luck and ward off illness...
Like you, I'm not going to resign myself to fate so easily. I'll wait and see. If he's a decent person, I can help him out for the sake of the friendship between our families. But if that man really can't wake up, I won't spend my entire life here keeping watch over him. I'm no saint, after all, right? If I get the chance, I'll take him to a better, bigger city to see whether he can recover. If nothing works, I'll take care of their living expenses, but I won't sacrifice my whole life, Shen Moxi said silently.
Shen Moxi got up and stepped down onto the floor, carefully examining the room. Judging by the furnishings and the brick-and-tile house, this family was fairly well-off. Although some of the household items were a little old, everything was clean and tidy. The people who lived here were probably quite decent.
She thought of that system, Xiao Tao. It was a golden finger for her! She called out to it, "Xiao Tao, what functions does your system have? Can I call your name in my head from now on? I can't keep calling out loud, can I?"
"Host, just call Xiao Tao's name in your head. We're bound at the soul and connected through our minds." Then it added with a touch of haughtiness, "Xiao Tao has lots of abilities! Our interstellar civilization has the most advanced technology in the universe. Let me explain it all to you."
Shen Moxi sat cross-legged on the kang, propping her head on one hand as she listened to Xiao Tao explain what this golden finger could do. Half an hour later, she finally understood. This golden finger was no ordinary powerhouse, but its other feature, a points system, left her crying inside.
Apart from buying and selling things, this system also awarded points. Every hundred yuan spent in the system earned one point. That hundred yuan was not the equivalent of a hundred yuan in the future, but a hundred yuan in the 1980s.
For convenience, the system had already converted every item's price to its corresponding price in the 1980s, based on the era she was in.
Buying a hundred yuan's worth earned one point, and selling a hundred yuan's worth earned one point. Thirty thousand points unlocked the farm, sixty thousand unlocked the ranch, ninety thousand unlocked the workshop, and a hundred and fifty thousand unlocked the storage room.
At five hundred thousand points, the daily output and production capacity of the farm, ranch, and workshop would reach the highest level, and the storage room would upgrade into a space-the legendary kind of space that could hold people! That was incredibly exciting, but five hundred thousand points meant fifty million yuan! Holy crap! In the 1980s, how long would it take me to earn fifty million through my own hard work?
Shen Moxi felt so frustrated that she wanted to scream to vent it. The meat was right before her eyes, yet she could neither eat nor touch it. The itching frustration inside was unbearable.
"Host, don't be discouraged! Believe in yourself. This baby will be with you. With me around, reaching our goal won't be that far off." Xiao Tao comforted her in a very human manner. "You can start by doing some business to earn a little money, then collect more antiques from this era. Auctioning them off can be very profitable."
Shen Moxi rubbed her head. "All right, I understand. I'll go out and look around first, get to know this era."
She let out a breath, stepped down, put on her shoes, and pushed open the door to walk out. The scene and furnishings outside came into view.
Beyond the door was a central hall, with a square table in the middle and a chair on each side. She went closer for a careful look and sucked in a breath. Damn, it's actually huanghuali wood! Holy crap, this stuff fetched a fortune at auction in our time! Well, well, this family is doing pretty nicely.
Turning, she examined the surrounding furnishings and layout. Along each of the eastern and western walls of the central hall were two old-fashioned wood-burning stoves. A large iron wok sat on one of them. They were probably used to heat the kang beds in winter.
The room she had been staying in was on the east side, and there was another room opposite it on the west.
Her so-called "husband" had not been in her room, so the male lead presumably lived in the western room. But it was so quiet here, without a single person around. She had no idea where the rest of the family had gone.
The front door of the central hall was open. She walked to the doorway to look around the courtyard. There was another door in the western wall. She went over and looked inside; it was another bedroom. Judging by the furnishings, a girl lived there, probably his younger sister.
There was a room on both the western and eastern sides, one a kitchen and the other a storage room. Beside the storage room was a small fenced enclosure where chickens and ducks were kept. After looking around outside, she went back in and headed toward the western bedroom. She wanted to see what her "husband" looked like, whether he was square or round. She had no idea what he looked like; the original owner's memories were very hazy.
Pushing open the door, she first surveyed the room. Its furnishings were much like those in the eastern room. Someone lay on the kang. That should be her "husband," right? With the quilt over him, she could not make out his appearance clearly. Shen Moxi shut the door and walked over.
Once she got close enough for a look, Shen Moxi felt her weakness for handsome faces flare up. This man's looks suited her tastes far too well.
He did not have the dark, sallow skin of a country person. His smooth, fair face had sharply defined, coolly handsome features. His eyes were tightly shut, his long lashes curled upward, and he had thick brows, a high, straight nose, and beautifully shaped lips. How did he look like a country person at all?
"Dating you probably wouldn't be too bad, huh? With a face this handsome, I wouldn't be losing out. Hurry up and wake up." Shen Moxi poked his cheek and nose. Looking at that high bridge, she suddenly thought of a cheeky line: I really want to slide down your nose, handsome. Haha.
Just then, Song Qi's lashes stirred, and he abruptly opened his eyes, meeting Shen Moxi's shining gaze.
Uh... Shen Moxi instantly froze. Since when did my words become so effective??
Then another thought struck her. Wait, wasn't this man supposed to be unable to wake up? Did the good-luck marriage really cure him? His stare made her a little uncomfortable all over. Putting on what she thought was a very charming smile, she raised a paw and waved. "Hi, handsome. You're awake?"
Song Qi was bewildered for a moment. He tried moving his body, but not only did he ache all over, he had no strength either.
He turned to look at the young woman before him. She was quite pretty, just a little... But then something occurred to him, and he asked, "Who are you? Who saved me?"
"Huh?" Shen Moxi's waving hand stopped in midair. Her eyes shifted, and she smiled. "Well, you could put it that way." I was brought here to marry you to ward off illness, so doesn't that mean I saved you? Hehe, that's not wrong.
"You..." Song Qi looked at the young woman's clothes. Which continent dresses like this? Why does she look like that? This is far too... Then another thought struck him. Wait, wasn't I set up by those shameless old geezers, ambushed during my ascension, and sent falling into the Nether Abyss, where the blazing flames backlashed against me? Did I survive? Was I rescued? That's impossible, isn't it?