Volume One, Chapter Fifteen: A New Skill, the Aura of Fortune

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"You're fine chasing crabs and fighting without getting tired, but doing some housework wears you out? Hurry up, I'm waiting at home. Bring me a mop." With that, Ye Cheng kicked his bicycle and headed back.

The two wooden doors of the courtyard creaked continuously; no one knew how long they would hold up.

Ye Cheng found a broom, tied it to a bamboo pole, and began sweeping the bedroom walls.

Damn, still those old whitewashed walls, without a bit of paint or anything—the dust came off in heaps with just a sweep.

The spiderwebs on the ceiling had been spun and respun so many times, old and new webs intertwined. Ye Cheng swept them all down at once, sending several little spiders scurrying angrily away.

Under the bed—well, one never knows until they look, and what he saw was shocking.

He swept out a few foul-smelling socks so stiff they could be used as clubs, and even one rat dashed out. Startled, Ye Cheng swung wildly at it, but the creature was too quick and disappeared before he knew where.

Damn it, it had been years since he’d seen such deadly weapons in a human dwelling.

By the time Xiao Hu arrived, the entire bedroom was covered in debris.

"Bro, what are you doing? Cleaning up this much—are you planning to get married?"

"Get lost. This is where people live. How can you live here without cleaning?"

"But you lived like this before."

Ye Cheng was speechless; that was the original owner’s style, but he was reborn.

"Here, take this and clear the spiderwebs from the living room ceiling." Ye Cheng handed the long broom to Xiao Hu.

"Oh, my mom said she could come over to help clean." Xiao Hu said as he started sweeping.

"How old is your mom? I can’t have her cleaning for me—I couldn’t bear it."

"Damn, clean up better—the webs are still there."

Xiao Hu obviously wanted to slack off, but Ye Cheng caught him.

After fixing up the bedroom, Ye Cheng spread out the new quilt and pillows. Looking at the pristine bedding brought him great comfort.

"Bro, what about the old quilt?"

"Throw it away. It’s covered in mold."

"Why the sudden fussiness?" Xiao Hu muttered.

The two of them spent nearly two hours before the bedroom and living room were barely presentable.

Though not shining like a place from another era, at least everything was clean, and the floors were spotless.

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Ye Cheng felt satisfied. He glanced at the courtyard outside—it was quite spacious, with soil. Next time, he thought, he would grow some vegetables, plant flowers, and maybe even raise a dog. This pastoral life would be wonderful.

Seeing Ye Cheng’s gaze fixed on the courtyard again, Xiao Hu shivered in fear—he definitely did not want to clean anymore.

"Bro, my mom said to come over for dinner tonight. It’s almost ready, and she’s prepared those sandworms for you."

Ye Cheng was tired and didn’t want to cook.

At dinner, Xiao Hu’s parents were very hospitable, drinking a bit with Ye Cheng. The sea cucumber stir-fried with chives was absolutely delicious.

After a few rounds of drinks, Xiao Hu’s father suddenly asked, "A Cheng, my second uncle said he’s going fishing tomorrow. Are you still going?"

Xiao Hu’s second uncle, Wang Haisheng, owned a boat. He usually went out to fish and checked traps, returning the same day without staying overnight.

Usually, Wang Haisheng invited Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu to help, paying twenty yuan for the day. That was their main source of income before.

Now, Xiao Hu’s father didn’t understand why Ye Cheng still wanted to accept the twenty yuan, so he asked.

Ye Cheng thought for a moment. Wang Haisheng seemed to care for his nephews by giving them work, but mainly wanted to get some cheap labor—no one else would work all day for twenty yuan.

Only his nephew and Ye Cheng, two slackers, went for fun.

There wasn’t much to do at sea, mostly just helping to collect traps that Wang Haisheng had set earlier.

Considering he now had a system and could earn money by foraging on the shore, spending the whole day at sea was a waste.

But...

"Let’s go. We’ll ask my uncle to drop us off on that island over there. We’ll just spend two hours foraging the shore." Ye Cheng said.

"Going to forage on the island?" Xiao Hu’s father muttered, "Is there anything there?"

The island Ye Cheng meant was unnamed, about the size of a palm. Fishermen occasionally stopped there to rest, and it had fresh water for replenishment.

Following along just to work was boring, but Ye Cheng remembered the island had a small beach where foraging might be interesting.

"Dad, with my brother here, you’re not worried about not finding anything, right? This bottle of wine we’re drinking was earned from foraging." Xiao Hu said.

Xiao Hu’s father fell silent, pouring himself another glass.

So it was settled. After dinner at Xiao Hu’s house, Ye Cheng went home alone. Since they had to leave early, he planned to sleep early.

Before sleeping, Ye Cheng checked the system. His points had reached 64—today’s gains were good.

Wait, something in the system store was glowing. Ye Cheng looked closely:

[Fortune Aura]: Requires 50 points. When activated, it shares your luck value with others who also have the system tool. Currently low level, providing only a modest luck boost.

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Damn!

This is great.

Ye Cheng’s biggest headache had been Xiao Hu’s poor yields while foraging because he didn’t have system bonuses.

This kind of cooperation wasn’t sustainable in the long run.

More importantly, damn it, Ye Cheng was always the one doing all the work—he was exhausted.

Now, with this aura, Xiao Hu could also enjoy system bonuses. Though not as strong as Ye Cheng’s, it would greatly increase his harvest.

Without hesitation, Ye Cheng redeemed it. An invisible halo appeared briefly around him before fading away.

A switch appeared in the system interface, allowing him to toggle the aura on or off. It was an active skill. Not bad.

To help Xiao Hu contribute more, Ye Cheng also redeemed a shovel. Now they had a perfect combination.

Tomorrow was bound to be a day of great harvest.

...

At 6 a.m., Ye Cheng woke up.

He checked the system:

Luck: 80
Points: 4

Good, today’s luck was even higher than yesterday. He was looking forward to it.

He called Xiao Hu, who was still half-asleep. "Here, take this shovel from now on."

Xiao Hu yawned and looked at the shovel in his hand—identical to Ye Cheng’s. Curious, he asked, "Bro, when did you buy another one? How come I didn’t see it?"

"You only care about eating and drinking. Hurry up." Ye Cheng replied curtly.

Wang Haisheng’s boat was docked at the pier. The two rode their bikes to the dock before the sun came up, where quite a few people had already gathered.

Going fishing was never an easy job.

"Xiao Hu, hurry up!" shouted Xiao Hu’s second uncle from the boat as they arrived.