Chapter 35: Surpassing the Task

The men and women, young and old, before her were all beaming with joy, their happiness stemming from the large vegetable flatbread each cradled in their arms. As soon as the young mistress arrived, everyone hurried to restrain their smiles, and one by one, they knelt solemnly on the ground.

"Don’t kneel, everyone. Relax a little—just sit," Wang Keyue said.

But no one dared to move, and she knew there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t waste time here; there were more important matters waiting for her.

"Did everyone eat their fill just now?" Wang Keyue adopted a casual tone, sitting lightly on the largest stone as if she were chatting with family.

"Thank you, young mistress. Everyone had a hearty meal," Old Zhou replied.

With Old Zhou’s words, the tension that had gripped everyone dissipated, and the memory of the delicious food seemed to linger, satisfaction blooming on every face.

A few bold children chimed in, "I’m full too!" "So full!"

The children’s voices brought a lighthearted atmosphere, gradually easing the mood.

"Zhou Mingkai, catch!" Suddenly called upon, Zhou Mingkai was flustered.

The young mistress tossed him a small object. He caught it instinctively and glanced down—it was a yellow piece, about the size of a thumb.

"Young mistress? This... what is it?" Zhou Mingkai asked, puzzled.

"It’s fruit candy." Wang Keyue showed the group another candy, unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth. "Line the children up. I’ll give each of you one."

The children’s mouths watered instantly. Without waiting for permission, they scrambled to form a line before Zhou Mingkai, who quickly set about organizing them.

"This... Young mistress, this candy is so precious..." Old Zhou tried to intervene. Farm children rarely saw candy, and fruit candy was a luxury beyond imagining.

"Old Zhou, don’t worry! From now on, these children are mine, Wang Keyue’s, and no candy is more precious than they are! Hahaha!" Wang Keyue’s hearty laughter warmed everyone present.

Her words unexpectedly stirred heartfelt gratitude in the adults kneeling nearby.

The children received their candies with unending gratitude; they couldn’t bear to eat them right away. They peeled off the wrappers, offering a lick to their mother, then to their siblings, then taking a taste themselves. Wang Keyue shivered at the sight.

"Go on, eat up! If you behave, there’ll be more treats in the future!" The children slurped their candies, gratitude flowing endlessly like a melodious chime.

Next, Wang Keyue took out two bolts of coarse linen and handed them to the eldest, Granny Zhou.

"These two bolts of linen and all this cotton should be enough for everyone to have a new set of winter clothes. Work quickly—can you finish by noon tomorrow?" Wang Keyue asked.

Granny Zhou’s calloused hands trembled as she stroked the linen and the heap of soft cotton, so moved she could barely speak. "Oh... oh... young mistress... no... no problem."

"Cheng Yi, take them to collect needles and thread." With confirmation, Wang Keyue turned to instruct Cheng Yi. After kneeling to thank her, everyone followed Cheng Yi away, faces bright with joy.

Wang Keyue listened to the chimes still ringing in her system, utterly satisfied.

"Host, time is almost up. You’ve collected a total of eighty-seven tokens of gratitude. Ready to submit the task?" 9538 prompted.

"Submit!" Wang Keyue returned to her tent, lay down to rest, and let her consciousness enter the system.

"Host, please wait. There are two minutes left in the task. After two minutes, the main program will rank performances and issue rewards," 9538 said.

With nothing to do, Wang Keyue remembered the two reward light clusters she’d obtained while dealing with the bandits that afternoon—the bandit chief’s and the one-eyed rogue’s.

She’d been so busy she hadn’t had time to open them.

With a thought, the white light cluster belonging to the one-eyed rogue appeared in her hand.

"Open!" As the white light faded, a green skill card appeared. Turning it over, she read: "Intelligence Boost—Strongest Brain."

Wang Keyue chuckled at the name and stored the card away. Now she had two green cards: one was Eagle Eye, the other was Strongest Brain. She wondered if the next would be Big Mouth!

With this in mind, she opened the other white light cluster, the one from the bandit chief. Surely this one would contain something good.

As the light vanished, a piece of red cloth appeared—more precisely, a magnificent red cape.

Unfolding it, Wang Keyue was reminded of Superman! She couldn’t help but laugh; could this cape truly be the one worn by the hero?

"9538, can you check the description for this cape?" Wang Keyue didn’t see any explanation on the cape and had to ask 9538 for help.