CHAPTER 70: CHAPTER 70: THE SYSTEM GETS OUTPLAYED

Zhao Xiaohua, as sharp as a tack, noticed the confusion on Li Chang’an’s face and immediately spoke with pride, "Cousin, isn’t my mother amazing?"

Li Chang’an nodded lightly.

"Let me tell you, it’s not my mother who’s amazing, it’s my father!" Zhao Xiaohua spoke with an air of mystery, "Everything my mother knows, my father taught her! To think he could teach my mother to become such an impressive person, you can imagine how amazing my father must be!"

Uncle?

Li Chang’an had some memories of Zhao Ting.

While he was still around, he used to visit Li Chang’an’s father quite frequently, and his father often took him along in his daily activities, so he felt quite close to this uncle.

In private, his father even mentioned that his uncle was definitely not an ordinary person.

That bearing of his was something ordinary people couldn’t possess.

Back then, he was still young and aside from noticing his uncle’s upright and handsome appearance, he was deeply impressed by the elegance in his every move. Looking back now, there was one word that described it—standing out among the crowd.

When the tragic news came, he was sad enough to cry.

Li Chang’an untied a small black round token from his belt and placed it in Zhao Xiaohua’s hand, "Xiaohua, this was given to me by your father. Over the years, I’ve kept it safe. Here, keep it as a memento."

Zhao Xiaohua was a bit emotional; she had almost no impression of her father.

After all, by the time she could remember things, her father was already gone.

Initially, she asked her mother about him, but each time, her mother ended up crying.

Later, when she asked again, her mother’s response was harsh, and gradually, she stopped asking.

It was only these past few months, as if her mother had turned into a different person, that she learned how incredible her father really was.

Slowly, she started to feel regret in her heart.

So, the small round token from Li Chang’an was very meaningful to Zhao Xiaohua.

"Cousin, thank you. This is very precious to me," Zhao Xiaohua said sincerely.

Nearby, Zhao Dahe glanced at the small round token. Yes, he vaguely remembered it. His father used to wear it on his belt, but later he didn’t notice where it went. Unexpectedly, it was given to Li Chang’an.

It wasn’t given to him.

He felt a bit unhappy about that.

Meng Yao came out from the room after settling Meng Zhu.

Zhao Xiaohua happily held up the small round token to show Meng Yao, "Mother, can you make me a pretty knot for it?"

A small black round token, heavy in hand, its texture felt like wood.

Meng Yao couldn’t tell what kind of wood it was.

In her original memory, there was this small round token. When she found Zhao Ting, he had it with him. She had asked what it was for. Zhao Ting told her he didn’t know; anyway, it was just with him.

Engraved with strange patterns without knowing what it was, she had complained about its ugly appearance.

Yet she had still personally made a matching knot for Zhao Ting.

When the original met Zhao Ting, all he knew aside from his name was nothing about his family, friends, past experiences, or how he ended up in Anyang Town.

Except for his bright eyes, he was in a sorry state.

The original was probably attracted by those eyes, maybe also because she wanted to rebel against the elder members of the Meng Family, so she bought Zhao Ting a full meal and a set of clothes.

After washing up, Zhao Ting was a refined young man.

More handsome than any young man the original had ever seen.

Just how handsome was he?

The original was illiterate; her description of Zhao Ting was simply that he was so good-looking that even when looking at him, she wouldn’t feel hungry without eating.

If Meng Yao were to describe him, there were plenty of words, such as as handsome as Pan’an, graceful like a dragon’s posture, tall and slender like jade...

In fact, the original was a sucker for looks.

Of course, the original wasn’t ugly either. If she had been really ugly, no matter how much she treated him to dinner or bought him clothes, Zhao Ting probably wouldn’t have been willing.

Meng Yao withdrew her thoughts and smiled, "Okay, mother will make you a beautiful knot."

[Host, this token of yours looks quite nice. If you give it to me, I’ll upgrade the storage space for you.]

During the first upgrade, Meng Yao lost three hundred taels of silver.

After that, she had the thought of upgrading further, but each time nothing happened.

Later, when the system awakened, she asked about it, and the system said it was because there wasn’t enough silver.

To double the volume from one cubic, it needed one hundred of three hundred taels.

Thirty thousand taels.

Meng Yao immediately gave up.

The system was very cunning, always trying to take advantage of her. This time, waiving thirty thousand taels so readily, showed that the token’s value was definitely more than thirty thousand taels.

Meng Yao didn’t respond, and the system seemed a bit restless.

[In the future, anything you purchase will be at an 80% discount. Of course, this doesn’t include items needed for the missions issued by this system to save people.]

No one knew how the system worked, but those missions didn’t require Meng Yao to actively seek them out; they would come to her.

And indeed, Meng Yao didn’t have to pay out of her own pocket.

"There’s no price list, whether it’s at a discount or not, isn’t it up to you?" Meng Yao complained.

[I can open up a price query channel for you. Then, with a thought of what you want to buy, the sale price will appear, and you can calculate 80% yourself.]

The more the system conceded, the more it proved the token’s worth.

One cubic was usually enough to store some things.

She didn’t need to stockpile supplies or anything now.

[Okay, the query channel is open now.]

"Can it be canceled after being opened?" Meng Yao asked.

[No.]

Meng Yao felt a small sense of pride. She had always been pressured by the system, and this unexpected small reversal made her feel refreshed.

"As you can see, the item isn’t mine, so I don’t have the authority to decide." Meng Yao replied calmly.

[You’re her mother. If you want it, wouldn’t she give it to you?]

Meng Yao could hear the urgency in the system’s mechanical voice.

Clearly, the system really wanted this small round token.

"Do I seem like the kind of person who would use my status to pressure someone? I’m the most democratic person there is." Meng Yao stated righteously.

No matter how the system tried to tempt her, Meng Yao remained unmoved.

Not to mention that this belonged to Zhao Ting, even if it weren’t, she wouldn’t easily give it to the system since it wanted it so badly; she had to keep a card to play against the system, right?

The system seemed to realize that Meng Yao was dead set on not giving it, and could only admit defeat.

If Meng Yao were truly its host and they were bound, it could still punish her. But now, it was on the brink of complete breakdown, trying to coax Meng Yao into completing tasks to collect energy for gradual repair.

In other words, it couldn’t do anything to Meng Yao.

Its breakdown wouldn’t result in any loss for Meng Yao.

As for making Meng Yao a fool, that was just the system’s bluff.

It now seemed that this woman wouldn’t always be fooled by it, and someday, she might learn the truth.

Sigh.

It was really hard.

While Meng Yao was communicating mentally with the system, her hands were not idle; she quickly finished making the knot, a ’Five Blessings’ knot with five small bats forming a tiny circle a bit smaller than the small round token, beautifully complementing it.

Zhao Xiaohua cheerfully tied the small round token to her belt.

"Mother, can you make me a knot too? I don’t have my father’s small round token, but I can tie it to my pouch." Zhao Dahe spoke up, a look on his face as if saying if she didn’t make it, she’d be showing favoritism.