Chapter 383

Sheng Juanhua and Su Youfu did not stay in the village until the 15th day of the Lunar New Year. They went into the city on the 7th day.

In previous years during the Lunar New Year in the village, the biggest entertainment activity was actually playing cards, from the 1st day to the 15th, the kind where money is wagered. Originally, they didn't make much money throughout the year, and after the New Year, they were even more broke and had to start from scratch.

But this year was different. This year, the people in the village didn't play cards. Even the laziest slackers didn't play cards - they had started live streaming instead.

All kinds of things could be live streamed - carpenters live streamed woodworking, farmers live streamed cultivating the fields, vegetable growers live streamed growing vegetables... Surprisingly, there were people who actually paid for it, with some donating a few dozen yuan a day, and some over a hundred yuan, even if they didn't sell anything. After all, these were activities they had to do anyway, they just had a phone recording everything on the side.

However, the best live streamers in the village were not Sheng Juanhua and her husband. Their live stream was average - not particularly good or bad, just steadily improving with more viewers every day.

The ones who suddenly exploded in popularity were Xiao Qi's two uncles. The younger uncle caught various edible things while working, and the older uncle provided commentary. They were often in the mountains and streams, roasting crabs they found, cooking rabbits they dug up, or making mushroom soup from mushrooms they picked. Their live stream unexpectedly became very popular. The younger uncle's dopey look - his single eyelids, skinny tall figure, and resemblance to a poor man's version of Chen Xiaochun - was unexpectedly endearing. The older uncle was more handsome, even wearing a black-framed pair of glasses and looking the part. But the older uncle was quite stingy - out of habit, every time they ate rabbit, he would set aside a rabbit leg, saying it was for his sister-in-law. When they ate mushrooms, he would save a few for her too... Although he tried his best to hide it while live streaming, his stingy yet devoted-to-his-wife persona unintentionally became part of his appeal.

The two brothers - one dopey, the other stingy - complemented each other perfectly. The scenery of Gumula Village was also exceptionally beautiful. Now that there was signal even deep in the mountains, when the two went into the mountains, they could sometimes capture footage of running foxes. Even if you ignored everything else and just treated it like a nature documentary, it was still very enjoyable to watch, with their down-to-earth commentary.

This also made the villagers wonder if Sheng Juanhua and her husband had some secret technique for live streaming that they hadn't shared, since their own live streams weren't as popular.

Xiao Qi's parents went to the city, and she followed them as well since school was about to start again soon.

She wanted to come clean about the house matter and surprise her parents, so as soon as the real estate transaction center opened, she went to change the owner's name on the property deed to her parents' names.

Originally, she had planned for her parents to use the money they had to buy another house in the city. But Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua didn't want to - they felt that it was their daughter's money, so it should be saved. Whenever their daughter found a job in the future, they could buy a house in that city for her. As for themselves, they would just rent, since they already had a house in their hometown and didn't need to spend that money. Although they said that, it still seemed like they felt a bit reluctant when talking about rent and not quite at ease.

When she went to the transaction hall, the staff politely asked her which property she wanted to change the name for.

She had only bought one property in Lvshan City, right? But when they looked it up, the over 200 square meter property in the Commercial City downtown was actually under her name... Xiao Qi hadn't even noticed. The key, access card - she must have brought them from home and just tossed them in her bag.

She changed the name for the property she had bought.

As for the other property, Xiao Qi called Zaizai.

She knew Zaizai's family was wealthy, but giving her a house was still too excessive.

"My parents and brother all know about it. They helped buy it for you. My dad just wants you to paint a painting for him," Zaizai said.

Xiao Qi: ...

She felt Zaizai's parents were quite eccentric and lively, unlike her own parents who were very steady and solemn.

But they also didn't seem like other classmates' parents who tried to act refined and sophisticated when she visited their homes as a student at No.1 Middle School. Zaizai's parents seemed more casual and approachable instead. Only Zaizai's brother seemed a bit odd - she couldn't quite put her finger on how to describe him.

Zaizai said her brother was an excellent student, which was probably why he didn't talk much, like most academic overachievers.

When she got home, she only came clean about the one property, shifting the timeline of when she bought it slightly. She didn't mention the Commercial City property - if she revealed everything at once, her parents would probably feel uneasy.

With so many sudden windfalls, they might think she was trying to sell herself.

Her parents were already shocked enough to learn that their daughter had bought this one property, surprised yet delighted.

But their demeanor changed. Previously, although they had kept their home tidy, they hadn't dared to make any additions or renovations. Now Sheng Juanhua was discussing renovating the front courtyard, and even converting the storage room into a small study.

The two of them were actually discussing renovations...

Xiao Qi thought about it, and still didn't mention the Commercial City property. Although it was extremely well furnished, if her parents were to live there, they definitely wouldn't feel at home or settled. She also didn't think it was appropriate for them to move into such a place. She would tell them after going back to school.

The days at home always seemed to fly by. After going to the city, Xiao Qi met up with Sister Wenwen again for a meal - or more accurately, Sister Wenwen invited her out, asking her when she would be going to Meng City so they could go together.

Sister Wenwen came to find her, visiting her parents' museum storefront as well as her aunt's basement apartment. She was very affectionate with her aunt, calling her "Auntie" constantly. To an outsider, they would seem like actual niece and aunt, especially when she saw the paintings of herself in her aunt's room and became overjoyed. However, she was going out to eat with Xiao Qi, so she asked her aunt to pack up the paintings and take them home for her. Gao Wenwen knew that her cousin... well, officially her cousin now, since her aunt had gotten married to her dad after the New Year and met her grandparents from her dad's side, who didn't object since they found her aunt to be down-to-earth. Her grandparents from her mom's side were worried she might have an issue with it, but she didn't - she just hoped they would get married soon so she could officially have a cousin.

As for Su Simei, she had said that after the 15th day, she would quit her job to help take care of an old friend's fruit store.

Gao Wenwen knew that Xiao Qi was having an art exhibition in Meng City. Xiao Qi's paintings had been driven up to astronomical prices, supposedly priceless and impossible to obtain. She loved the painting of herself so much, feeling that the girl in the painting looked even more lively and adorable than she did in real life, filling her with delight.

Xiao Qi saw that Sister Wenwen got along well with her aunt, and her Uncle Gao seemed like a good person too, even coming over to their home. The two families had meals together, which made Sheng Juanhua and Su Youfu very happy - it meant they had gained another proper relative in the city who were true locals of Lvshan City and worked for the municipal government. They felt it was very satisfactory.

Gao Muen also didn't expect his little brother-in-law Su to have a storefront next to the city museum and be such a skilled artisan. The couple were very nice people. Considering how outstanding their daughter was, it made sense - you can't raise an exceptional child without being good people yourselves.

There wasn't anything major happening at home anymore, as everything had been taken care of. Xiao Qi was going back to school as well.

Gao Wenwen was excited to go to school together with Xiao Qi, though unfortunately not with Lin Min, who had already gone to school early due to work at his company according to Xiao Qi.

Xiao Qi didn't run into Lin Min at all during the winter break - he seemed very busy. So she didn't disturb him either.

This time, there were four elders seeing them off at the station:

Xiao Qi's parents, her aunt, and Uncle Gao.

They were loaded up with a lot of food items.

Xiao Qi looked at her parents standing next to Uncle Gao and her aunt, completely at ease, unlike the previous time when they had come to see her off. Back then, compared to the other parents, they had seemed very rustic and anxious, always feeling out of place in the city.

This past half year, Xiao Qi felt that he had made progress and changed himself, but he felt that his parents had made even greater progress and changes.

Xiao Qi thought to himself, they just didn't have good conditions before, but if given the opportunity, they could do even better.

It's just that not everyone has the same opportunities, and not everyone would suddenly have a system like he did.

As he thought about this, a vague idea seemed to be emerging in his mind, but there was still something missing.

As the train started moving, the familiar city scenes outside began to turn into a moving picture, gradually speeding away and disappearing from sight.

At that moment, Xiao Qi heard the familiar mechanical sound in his ear again: "Host, through your influence, you have transformed the entire backward and ignorant village, allowing the villagers to go out and see the world, broadening their horizons and changing their living conditions. You have brought positive and progressive influence to society, increasing positive energy for progress. Your system has been upgraded to Level 15 Progress System. Host will now earn 1.5 yuan for every step taken, up to a daily limit of 30,000 steps."

Xiao Qi was stunned. Previously, it was only Level 11, and now it had jumped up several levels at once?