Chapter 610: Chapter 597: Mooching Food and Drinks
Zhuang Qingning saw Chu Jinnian off to the edge of the village and only returned home after his and Jing Zhao’s horses had vanished from sight. She sat in the courtyard, sipping her tea for a while.
However, the more she drank the tea, the more tasteless it became. She called over Xiangqiao to bring her a fresh pot.
Upon hearing this, Xiangqiao frowned and sighed inwardly.
This was the fourth pot of fresh tea Zhuang Qingning had asked her to replace in just half an hour.
Xiangqiao felt that it wasn’t that the tea tasted bad, but rather that Zhuang Qingning felt empty in her heart after Chu Jinnian’s departure, and thus, found no taste in the tea. She became somewhat worried about Zhuang Qingning.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Qingning, looking downcast, suddenly slapped her thigh, “How could I forget about that?”
“Miss, what’s wrong?” Xiangqiao jumped in surprise.
“No, nothing.” Zhuang Qingning waved her off, “Go and make me some more tea.”
Xiangqiao, seeing Zhuang Qingning’s repeated shocks, worried that she was overly upset and started to worry more. Even when she entered the kitchen, she kept glancing in Zhuang Qingning’s direction.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Qingning deliberately turned her back to Xiangqiao and summoned her system.
[What does the host need?]
Nothing in particular, just wanted to call you out for a chat, see what you’ve been up to recently.
[…] (This sudden concern somehow smells of a plot…)
[The system has not been busy with anything recently…] (Carefully)
It’s clear you haven’t been busy recently since you have been missing for a while and stopped releasing any tasks. Obviously, you must be enjoying your leave.
Are you sure you’re a diligent and ambitious system? I have a feeling you only want to lie down all the time now?
[Ahem…]
[The host misunderstands me. The system has not been issuing tasks lately, not because it’s been slacking off.]
Then what is the reason?
[It’s because of the host’s marriage stone.]
Marriage stone?
Zhuang Qingning blinked in confusion.
Isn’t the marriage stone supposed to bring good luck and simplify tasks or increase the task rewards? It should be an excellent aid, how can it affect the system’s task release?
[During the growth of the marriage stone, it does assist with the system’s operation, but as the stone grows larger, it absorbs a significant portion of the energy required to maintain the system, thereby interfering with the system’s task release.]
Zhuang Qingning thought for a while, her brows furrowed when she raised her head.
In other words, love can hinder career progress to a certain degree.
[…To put it succinctly, yes, that’s the idea.]
Zhuang Qingning lifted the air of resignation that hung around her head and sighed.
I never expected that such a relationship exists between the marriage stone and the system.
Now that Chu Jinnian has returned to the capital, does this mean the marriage stone will stop growing, and you, as the system, can continue issuing tasks again?
[Well… theoretically, yes…]
[Yet, it depends on the actual situation. The system needs to check whether there are now random tasks that the host can complete.]
A moment later.
[Wow, there really are tasks.]
[The host has triggered a random task: scrounge for food and drinks. Once the host completes this task, the host will receive generous rewards.]
Zhuang Qingning, “…”
Is this even considered a task?
She could complete that task naturally every single day.
[Warm reminder, this scrounge for food and drinks task must meet two basic requirements: first, there must be no fewer than six dishes; second, the joy of the person being scrounged upon must reach 99 points. Both requirements must be met simultaneously to complete the task.]
With these two conditions, the task does seem to have a more task-like nature.
Zhuang Qingning touched her chin.
Ordinary households, who don’t live particularly well-off lives, would only eat one dish per meal, which is quite common. Even in a relatively wealthy village like Enji Village, there would only be two or three dishes per meal.
Six dishes would imply that it was a holiday, or the family was entertaining relatives.
However, what if it’s not an ordinary farmhouse…
Zhuang Qingning thought for a moment and then began chuckling. She didn’t even bother to take a sip of the freshly brewed tea brought by Xiangqiao and headed out.
“Miss, your tea.” Xiangqiao called out.
“I suddenly remembered something I need to do outside. Won’t be drinking it for now.” Zhuang Qingning waved her off, “You stay home and look after the house. I’m going to check if Brother Sifu has left yet. If not, I’ll accompany him on a trip to town.”
“I probably won’t be back for dinner tonight. You take care of your own meal. Oh yes, Aunt Wang delivered some ribs today. If we don’t eat them, they might go bad. Cook them for dinner tonight and send some to Aunt Wen’s house as well. Sister Zhou has been very busy lately and probably doesn’t have time to cook for Aunt Wen.”
Without Zhou Daya to cook, given the culinary skills of Mrs. Han and Uncle Wen’s stubborn eating habits, Uncle Wen was probably living in despair these days.
Xiangqiao didn’t know what Zhuang Qingning intended to do in town, but seeing her lively and cheerful demeanor, she felt more at ease. She agreed and saw Zhuang Qingning out the door.
Afterward, she took the ribs and soaked them in cold water to drain the blood, while also considering what to pair with the ribs for tonight’s stew.
Here, after leaving the house, Zhuang Qingning went straight to the tofu shop where she found Zhuang Sifu loading the tofu onto the cart. She decided to help him.
With the increasing business of tofu shop and tofu delivery, Zhuang Sifu alone wasn’t enough. Hence, they called in another young lad from the village named Zhuang Dacheng to transport tofu and tofu skins to the tofu branch with him.
A few people worked together to load everything onto the cart and then headed to town.
Upon arriving at the tofu branch, Zhuang Qingning chatted with Zhang Xiangrong and Mrs. Cao for a while. After helping sort everything out, she went to Ruyi Pavilion.
It was mid-afternoon, and Lian Rong and Ma Tong were chatting idly and picking vegetables in the backyard. Seeing Zhuang Qingning, they both stood up, enthusiastically helping her with her stool and pouring her some tea.
“Miss Zhuang, it has been a while since you last visited. Have you been busy?”
“Yes, between the business in the county town and the workshop at home, there’s been a lot of work to do, so I’ve indeed been quite busy,” Zhuang Qingning replied with a smile.