I’m here, Host!

“If I repay the gold coins from the loan early, does that mean I don’t have to pay interest?”

We’re sorry, Host. Once you borrow from the loan service, every 100 gold coins will incur a 10-coin service fee. After two days, additional penalties will accumulate daily.

Su Cen wiped her face. Forget it… better to just sleep.

After waking up, it was already time to head back to the fields in the afternoon.

She continued pulling weeds, occasionally sneaking some medicinal plants into her space.

While resting, she suddenly remembered what Lin Jiajia had said the day before about talking to the team leader.

“Jiajia, did you talk to the team leader yesterday?”

“I did. I told him I want to build a small house.

They’re still building Yan Mingyuan and Tang Qiuyue’s houses these days, and Chen Xiangdong’s hasn’t started yet. The team leader said mine can be built together with his when the time comes.”

As she spoke, she moved closer to Su Cen. “Su Cen, do I look easy to fool?

Yesterday, when Zhang Yingying heard me telling Sister Xiuxin that I was going to talk to the team leader about building a house, she asked if she could live with me. She said she doesn’t have enough money right now and wants me to pay for her first, and she’ll pay me back later.”

Su Cen burst out laughing. “You just look kind and easy to talk to.”

“Hmph.” Lin Jiajia turned away, pretending to be annoyed.

“Alright, alright. Just ignore her. Once you move out, you won’t even be in the same team anymore—there won’t be much interaction,” Su Cen coaxed.

They chatted and laughed while working, and the afternoon passed quickly. They each earned another five work points.

The next day—still pulling weeds.

Su Cen glanced at her worn-out gloves, feeling they’d be completely useless after another two days.

Lin Jiajia sat beside her. “Good thing you lent me gloves, or my hands would be torn up. I’ll buy a pair in town next time and return yours.”

Then she sighed. “I just don’t know if these will last until then.”

They had barely rested when they saw the team leader heading their way and quickly got up to continue working.

At noon, Su Cen sold her sweet potatoes for 95 gold coins, repaid 110 coins, and had 75 left. After repaying 115 the next day, she would finally start making a net profit. The thought made her a little excited—she didn’t even feel tired carrying sweet potato seeds anymore.

It was just a pity—after planting those medicinal herbs the day before, she realized her idea of introducing outside plants into the system didn’t really work. Unless transplanted on a large scale, they were useless.

And if she were going to transplant on a large scale, she might as well just buy seeds directly from the trading market.

So after saving seeds from those few herbs, she didn’t plant them again. Today, she planted only sweet potatoes, leaving her with 137 jin of seeds afterward.

Another steady five work points. Even the recorder didn’t know what to say about their consistency anymore.

The team leader came over and said, “Tomorrow you’ll follow Sister Cuihua to pinch off side shoots and remove lower leaves.”

But the next day, it rained—no work.

The rain gave the new educated youths a chance to catch their breath.

Seeing the rain, Su Cen simply went back to sleep and didn’t wake up until noon.

After getting up, she harvested the sweet potatoes, sold them for 100 gold coins, repaid 115, and had 60 coins left.

She planted another 100 jin of seeds. With today’s addition, there were now 187 jin of sweet potato seeds piled in storage.

Since seeds were retained every time anyway, and the land wasn’t large enough to use them all, keeping so many seeds just took up space.

She checked the market price for selling seeds—it was half the purchase price. Originally, 1 gold coin bought 1 jin of seeds; now they sold for 0.5 coins per jin. Selling 187 jin earned her 93.5 coins, bringing her balance to 153.5.

Looking at the food in the market, the prices weren’t high. Su Cen felt like her good days were coming!

She immediately spent 10 coins on a bowl of fried-egg luosifen and another 5 coins on milk tea, leaving her with 138.5.

Full and satisfied, she lay on the rocking chair, completely relaxed.

Once people have money, it’s hard not to spend it. Su Cen browsed the trading market, ready for a shopping spree.

Sanitary pads—5 coins. Based on her memory, her period should be coming soon, so she bought five packs.

Shampoo and body wash set—10 coins. Bought.

Sunscreen—10 coins. Bought.

Skincare set—20 coins. Bought.

Tissues—2 coins. Thinking about the rough paper of this era… absolutely necessary.

Then she bought three sets of underwear for 30 coins, a cushioned hairbrush for 2 coins, and a mirror for 2 coins.

A washing machine—1,000 coins. A necessity! …She checked her balance again. Only 37.5 coins left…

“Sigh, I still need to earn money. There’s so much I haven’t bought yet!”

Hearing her sigh, Xiao Fu’s voice chimed in:

Dear Host, would you like Xiao Fu to apply for another loan? Based on your previous borrowing history, your credit limit has been increased to 1,000 gold coins.

“No.” Su Cen firmly decided she would not borrow from the system again. She would earn it herself, step by step!

Why didn’t she plant other crops? She later discovered that the trading market used a system of:

Sequential seed unlocking with rotation restrictions.

Starting with sweet potatoes, once she planted the same crop five times, she could unlock the next type of seed. But after unlocking a new crop, the previous crop could still be grown but would no longer be accepted by the market.

After this round of sales, she would unlock cabbage.

The day passed quickly.

Today, Su Cen and Lin Jiajia followed Sister Cuihua to learn how to pinch side shoots and remove lower leaves.

“Watch carefully—these small shoots growing from the stem are side shoots,” Sister Cuihua demonstrated, snapping one off cleanly and tossing it aside. “If you leave them, they steal nutrients, and the corn won’t grow well! And these yellow, crowded lower leaves—pull them off too. It improves airflow and reduces pests.”

Su Cen worked gently and asked sincerely, “Sister, how do you control the force? I’m afraid of breaking the plant.”

“Use skill, not brute force!” Sister Cuihua laughed, adjusting the plant for her. “Do it a few times and you’ll get it.”

Su Cen picked it up quickly. Before long, she had mastered it and even helped teach Lin Jiajia.

The afternoon sun grew even harsher.

Her legs went numb from squatting, and the corn leaves scratched her skin until she felt itchy all over. But with more people in the field today, and the occasional chatter from the nearby aunties, it didn’t feel as stifling.

“The East is Red, the sun rises—”

One of the aunties started singing, her clear voice carrying through the field, instantly setting the mood.

Sister-in-law Cuihua immediately joined in, her voice loud and crisp:

“China has produced a Mao Zedong!”

Soon, several aunties joined together:

“He works for the people’s happiness—hey! He is the people’s great savior!”

More and more voices joined, their singing echoing across the cornfield.

Su Cen softly followed along with the familiar tune in her memory, and Lin Jiajia sang along with a smile.

“The Communist Party is like the sun, shining wherever it goes.

Wherever the Communist Party is—hey!—the people are liberated!”

When the song ended, the cornfield filled with bright, hearty laughter.