The newborn child, just a few days old, was held up to the mouth.
The little mouth was as small as a cherry, and without teeth, how could it possibly eat.
A Jiu tilted her head and glanced at her grandmother, silently wishing the old fool would die.
She looked away again, and as dusk fell, she saw with her own eyes that the thin-skinned, juicy peach had shriveled.
The crying gradually faded.
Before long, the child softly nestled in A Jiu’s arms and fell into a deep sleep.
A Jiu, holding the shriveled peach, was dumbfounded. Only the skin and the pit remained inside. Good heavens… this—
“Ding-dong, Merit points +6, your total score is 17. Please continue to persevere.”
A Jiu had no mind to listen to the system’s report.
She continued to stare at the peach, then looked up at Wang Shi, hoping for an explanation.
Wang Shi closed her eyes and slowly brought her dangling legs up to her chest as she sat on the beam, her eyes shut, saying nothing.
A Jiu carefully placed the baby next to the woman and tore off a strip of cloth to bandage Aunt Wu’s wound.
Only then did she stand up and point at Wang Shi on the beam, saying, “Have you been following me every day?”
Otherwise, how could her well-hidden fruit have been stolen and eaten by Grandma?
“I’m too lazy to follow you.” Wang Shi, without opening her eyes, pointed to her own nose and muttered,
“Nothing with spiritual energy can escape these two eyes of mine. But I only ate five peaches and two watermelons.”
What? Did she expect praise for not being greedy and eating it all?
What? Watermelons?
No wonder Grandma’s belly was so large it pressed down on her cross-legged legs.
“You… why didn’t you eat the peach tree too?” A Jiu remembered her eating straw then, and was filled with anger.
“Too hard, my teeth aren’t good.”
“…” A Jiu frowned. Seeing his nonchalant and composed demeanor, she snorted in anger and turned to leave.
Forget it, the tree had grown at least forty peaches. The watermelons were already unusually large, ten per vine.
Even if he ate two, there were still eight left.
Thinking this, A Jiu stopped being angry.
Wait, why was Aunt Wu silent?
A hint of shock flashed across A Jiu’s brow. She hurried back into the room to check. To her dismay, Aunt Wu had very little breath left.
“Auntie? Auntie…” A Jiu shook her a few times. She only moved her pale lips, without making a sound.
A Jiu immediately entered the spiritual spring space.
She was extremely anxious.
“System, is that ear acupuncture medical book still available? Are there any methods to treat someone with excessive blood loss?”
This was the first time A Jiu had proactively made a request. She could treat existing illnesses with ear acupuncture, but her needles couldn’t create blood for bodily loss.
“Your Merit points are 17. You can advance to extract system gifts at 100 points.”
Only 100 points to receive gifts?
A Jiu was stunned. She had thought earning Merit points was easy just moments ago, but now it seemed difficult.
A Jiu pondered. Fortunately, she hadn’t returned empty-handed.
She had brought three water skins, and the water from the enlarged spiritual spring mouth was finally filled.
“Miss A Jiu, you… you have such a kind heart.”
As soon as A Jiu left the space, she gave Aunt Wu some water, hoping it would be useful.
Uncle Wu knelt by her side with a contrite expression. He looked closely at the woman’s arm, his pupils contracting:
“What happened here?”
“When you and my father went out, Aunt Wu used this wooden board to cut her wrist while feeding the child.”
As A Jiu finished speaking.
Wu Da Lei’s eyes widened, and his face turned ugly. He remained speechless for a long time.
“Zhao Di!” Wu Da Lei cried out.
As A Jiu closed the stopper of the water skin, she subconsciously looked up.
Indeed, Wang Shi’s covetous eyes were looking down. When she met A Jiu’s gaze, she quickly looked away.
A Jiu got up with disdain and went to the corner of the wall.
Since the incident yesterday, Wu Shi had been listless, too lazy to even open her eyelids.
It was as if she was waiting to die.
“Da… Da Lei, it’s all my fault. I can’t keep our child alive. I am truly ashamed of my ancestors.”
Behind them, Zhao Di’s weak voice could be heard.
A faint smile appeared on A Jiu’s lips. Her voice was much clearer than before. Spiritual spring water, oh spiritual spring water, it’s not me, Meng A Jiu, saving people, it’s you saving people.
A Jiu was merely benefiting from your grace.
“Ding, Merit points +2, your current total is 19 points.”
“Grandma Wu, please drink some water.” A Jiu propped up the old woman’s head and poured a small amount of spiritual spring water into her mouth.
Grandma Wu’s pupils suddenly brightened. Water?
She grabbed the water skin with both hands and tilted her head back, gulping down several mouthfuls.