A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

pain!

It hurts so much!

The intense pain felt like countless steel needles piercing his temples. Chen Mo abruptly sat up from the earthen bed, propping himself up on his arms.

He looked around.

Mud walls, thatched roof, a small window covered with yellowed paper, letting in very little light.

This is...home?

A thought cleaved through his mind.

He was reborn!

Heaven took pity on him, not only allowing him to travel through time but also giving him a second life!

"Brother, you're awake?"

A weak voice came from the side.

Chen Mo turned his head sharply and saw his younger sister, Chen Ling'er, lying on the other side, her face sallow and her lips cracked.

"Ling'er!"

Chen Mo rushed over, his trembling hand touching his sister's forehead.

Thankfully, it's not hot.

But her gaunt face and sunken eyes told him that she was dying.

"Where's Dad?" Chen Mo asked anxiously.

"Father...Father is lying in the inner room. He said...he said he has no strength..." Chen Ling'er's voice was barely audible.

Chen Mo's heart was gripped tightly by an icy hand.

Chen Mo, an orphan from modern society, chose to end his life in his previous life due to an accident, but unexpectedly transmigrated to this strange world called the Great Qian Dynasty.

This place is experiencing a once-in-a-century famine, and the people are suffering terribly.

But by a twist of fate, he came to have a family that, though poor, loved him dearly.

He once thought that even if he didn't have enough to eat or wear, he could still live freely in this hard-won family affection.

Until... this day!

On this day in his past life, his wife, Lin Qingxue, would have come to his door with a worried expression.

She would use the gentlest words to make the cruelest demands.

"Chen Mo, your father and sister are starving. You have to think of something."

"Chen Mo, I know your family is out of food, but we can't just stand by and watch."

"Chen Mo, how about... you give me that half-bag of life-saving seed grain from your house?"

"I'll go beg my family to see if I can get some food in return..."

I was such a complete idiot back then!

Simp!

For her few crocodile tears, for her false promise, he unhesitatingly gave her the family's last hope for getting through the winter—half a bag of seeds to be planted in the spring.

The results of it?

That bitch Lin Qingxue!

She turned around and ran off with the grain alongside the village bully, Wang Mang!

Wang Mang!

The mere thought of that name brought a surge of bloodshot to Chen Mo's eyes.

That beast who monopolizes the village's water source and robs men and women! The Wang family has been running rampant in Qingshui Village for quite some time. His father, Wang Laoqi, was a notorious bandit who roamed the Black Wind Ridge in his younger days. Later, the Great Qian Dynasty offered him amnesty and he spent a sum of money to launder his identity and become the village head. But his banditry was ingrained in his very bones.

He had already started an affair with Lin Qingxue!

The two of them, clinging to the last means of survival for the Chen family, were living happily in town!

As for Chen Mo, he could only watch helplessly as his father breathed his last two days later, and watch his most beloved younger sister slowly grow cold in his arms.

Finally, like a stray dog, I died in that cold winter, filled with endless regret.

Unexpectedly, Heaven took pity on me and allowed me to be reborn.

"Brother... I'm so hungry..."

Chen Mo's sister's voice interrupted his recollection.

Looking into his sister's pleading eyes, his heart ached.

Just then, the wooden door creaked open.

Lin Qingxue walked in. Today she was wearing a rare floral-patterned jacket. Although it was old, it was much cleaner and tidier than the others in the village.

Her delicate face was now filled with just the right amount of anxiety.

"Chen Mo, you're finally awake!"

"You've been asleep all day! You scared me to death!"

Lin Qingxue walked quickly to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), reached out to touch Chen Mo's forehead, her eyes full of heartache.

In his previous life, Chen Mo would have been moved to tears long ago, wishing he could give her his heart.

but now……

Chen Mo felt a wave of nausea churning in his stomach.

play.

What a great actress!

The Oscars owe you one!

He subtly tilted his head away, dodging her hand.

"I'm fine."

Chen Mo's voice was indifferent.

Lin Qingxue's hand froze in mid-air, a look of surprise flashing across her face.

We must get our hands on that half-bag of seed grain from his family as soon as possible.

Wang Mang said that as long as she got the grain, he would take her to town to live a good life.

She had long been fed up with this dirt-poor family and with Chen Mo, this good-for-nothing!

Thinking of this, Lin Qingxue's eyes reddened, and she was on the verge of tears.

"Chen Mo, what's wrong?"

"Is it because I didn't take good care of you?"

She lowered her head, revealing her fair neck, her shoulders trembling slightly, looking as if she had been wronged.

"Look at you, you've gotten so thin."

"And Dad, and Ling'er... It breaks my heart to see them like this."

As she spoke, she glanced at the burlap sack in the corner.

"Chen Mo—"

From the inner room came the old man's weak groans, accompanied by violent coughing.

"father!"

Chen Mo's heart tightened, and he quickly turned around.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Qingxue rushed to Chen Mo's side, grabbed his arm, and cried out:

"Chen Mo! We can't wait any longer!"

"If we wait any longer, Father and Ling'er will really be dead!"

"I...I'll go and beg my family!"

"Give me that half-bag of seed grain, I'll go exchange it!"

"Even a bowl of rice porridge could save a life!"

coming.

The same rhetoric as in my previous life.

The same expression, the same tears.

Chen Mo looked at her, his heart burning with murderous intent.

He wished he could strangle this wicked woman right now!

But he can't.

Taking action now would only alert the enemy and could lead to trouble involving murder.

Wang Mang wielded considerable power in the village, and his brothers were no pushovers either.

I am currently unarmed and physically weak; fighting head-on would only lead to my death.

A gentleman takes his revenge, even after ten years.

A smile slowly crept onto Chen Mo's face.

That was Chen Mo's signature expression from his past life as a simp.

He took Lin Qingxue's hand in return, his eyes filled with love once again.

"Qingxue, thank you... thank you for still thinking of our family."

Lin Qingxue sneered inwardly, but her face softened: "Fool, we're husband and wife. If I don't think of you, who else should I think of?"

Just as Chen Mo was pondering how to break the deadlock, a system notification suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Resource detection system successfully bound!]

[Daily resource information is being refreshed... Refresh complete!]

Please select one of the following three pieces of information.

What the hell?!

Chen Mo was stunned.

System? A cheat system that's all the rage in online novels?

[Daily exploration attempts refreshed, 1 attempt remaining.]

Should we begin exploration?

A blue screen appeared in front of Lin Ye's eyes.

The screen is simple and clear, with only one yes or no option.

Lin Ye suppressed the turmoil in his heart and silently recited a sentence.

"Yes."

[Exploration begins... Scanning the surrounding 10km radius... Intelligence being generated...]

A few seconds later, three messages appeared on the virtual screen.

[Intelligence 1: On a hillside 300 meters from here, there is a patch of undisturbed bushes growing abundantly with edible wild vegetables, such as purslane and dandelion, enough to feed three to four people for a day. There is no risk, and the harvesting process is safe.]

[Information 2: Downstream from here, about one kilometer away, there is a fishing net left behind by villagers yesterday, containing a few small fish trapped inside. However, the river is quite deep, posing a risk of falling in, and other villagers might get there first. The threat level is low.]

[Intelligence 3: A small wild bee nest has been discovered deep in the mountains, with an estimated yield of about one pound of honey. The bees are aggressive and may sting; the forest is complex and there is a risk of getting lost. This is extremely dangerous; please proceed with extreme caution!]