Just at that moment, the system transmitted its rules into Lin Tang's ears.
So, this was a sign-in system!
She could sign in once every day at midnight.
She could randomly receive item rewards and points rewards.
There was a chance to draw a lottery once a month.
Lotteries were also available during festivals and holidays.
The prizes were random and included various skills such as cooking, driving, and farming, as well as points that could be exchanged for items, and tangible goods like bicycles, cars, sewing machines, and grain.
They had everything one could think of!
There was nothing you could think of that wasn't inside.
The items and points gained from lotteries and sign-ins would be automatically saved in the System Space for use at any time.
The system had a Mall, but it required 100 points to open.
Lin Tang looked at the system panel—
[Name: Lin Tang]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 16]
[Total Points: 0]
Those points, they felt like an insult.
Tragic!
And, not a very reliable feeling.
Lin Tang looked at the transparent screen before her, her face slightly stiff, with traces of disbelief in her expression.
"Points, zero?"
"Persistent sign-ins will bring points rewards, please keep signing in," the system's voice was without a ripple.
Lin Tang: "..." She felt something swiftly passing over her heart and completely lost the desire to speak.
Forget it, it's not important anymore.
The important thing was, if she didn't eat soon, she would starve to death.
The door creaked.
Li Xiuli entered.
She was short, about 1.55 meters tall.
Quite thin, with eyes not particularly large, a mole above her mouth, and an air of efficiency about her.
She wore a grey plaid top and what looked like cumbersome black trousers.
Covered in patches upon patches, her face looked very old.
"Tangtang, you must have been anxious!" Li Xiuli, seeing Lin Tang's moist eyes, showed a trace of a smile on her weathered face and spoke gently.
"...Mother!" Lin Tang, suppressing the excitement in her heart, with eyes reddening, said to her mother.
Li Xiuli saw the white cloth on her daughter's head, and her own eyes reddened too.
Handing over the food she brought, "Ai! Eat quickly, my girl must be starving!"
Only then did Lin Tang see something blackish in her hand.
Right, food was especially scarce at this time.
She ended up accidentally killing Wang Zhaodi after climbing the mountain to look for food because she couldn't find enough to eat.
"What's wrong? Eat quickly," her mother urged, seeing Lin Tang staring at the bowl but not eating in a hurry.
The child must be very hungry!
Lin Tang took the bowl and wolfed down the food.
She couldn't taste a thing.
Watching her finish, Li Xiuli somehow produced an egg and gave it to her.
"Tangtang, take this egg, you've lost so much blood, you need to nourish yourself well."
She had originally planned to make an Egg Custard for her daughter.
But the eggs at home had just been traded away yesterday, and this egg was even a gift from her uncle's wife!
With that, she tidied up the bowl and chopsticks and left.
Lin Tang watched her mother's retreating figure, tears dropping down like rain, her chest heaving with emotion.
It took a while before she could calm herself down.
Li Xiuli had just gone when Lin Family's three brothers finished their workday.
Hearing from their mother that their sister had woken up, they came to see her.
"Tangtang, how are you? I heard from mom that you've awakened, so I came to see you," said Eldest Brother, Lin Qingshan.
"Sister, look what Third Brother has brought you?" Third Brother, Lin Qingmu, said excitedly, holding a bunch of red fruits in his hand.
As for Second Brother, Lin Qingshui, he followed his brothers, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at Lin Tang.
The three Lin brothers followed their family's head, Lin Lu.
They were tall, with well-proportioned faces, only dark and thin; otherwise, they'd be considered handsome young men.
Lin Tang looked at her brothers in a row, her reddened eyes brimming with smiles.
"... Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother..."
More than twenty years of lonely life.
Suddenly being back with family, she didn't quite know what to do with herself!
The clear, moist eyes of the young girl softened the hearts of the three Lin brothers, and smiles spread across their lean, dark faces.
"Third Brother, how did I end up at home after I fainted?" With a full stomach, Lin Tang gathered enough energy to think about what had happened, and asked.
At the mention of this incident, Lin Qingmu's face turned a shade darker.
He patted his sister's shoulder and said, "Shuanzi was coming back from gathering firewood and saw you had fainted. He told me, and I carried you back home."
After a pause, he continued, "Wang Zhaodi cracked open your head. Her family paid a fine of one dollar, and Wang Zhaodi was punished to pick up cow dung for a month."
At that time, one dollar was not a small amount.
Wang Zhaodi's mother was nearly driven mad with anger and gave Wang Zhaodi a severe beating, leaving her with a bruised nose and a swollen face.
"Picking up dung?" Lin Tang murmured.
Thinking she wasn't satisfied with the punishment, Lin Qingmu hastily consoled her, "She has paid a fine, and it didn't lead to irreparable consequences, so the community could only impose a lighter punishment.
The work of collecting dung is tough; her hard days are still to come! Don't worry, Third Brother will find a way to avenge you."
Eldest Brother, Lin Qingshan, also advised, "Wang Zhaodi caused her family to lose a large sum of money for nothing. Wu Chunhua gave her a beating almost to death. Once she recovers, I'll help you beat her again."
"Wang Zhaodi wouldn't just accept the punishment without a fuss, right?" Lin Tang felt that Wang Zhaodi didn't seem like an honest person and probably wouldn't accept the punishment without argument.
Lin Qingshui let out a cold laugh, his face darkening as he said, "She was unwilling, but she couldn't withstand the evidence. Tang Kairui saw everything, leaving no room for Wang Zhaodi's excuses – she had to accept the punishment whether she liked it or not."
Mentioning Tang Kairui, a glint of envy crossed Lin Qingshui's eyes.
The children of the wealthy, dressed well and occasionally enjoying meat, were truly enviable.
Lin Tang, having heard the details, nodded in satisfaction.
As for revenge, she didn't rely on her three brothers; she would take her own revenge.
-
That night, at the Liu Family.
Liu Dazhu, having returned from the county to his home, learned that his son had called off the marriage with the Lin Family and was almost furious enough to faint.
He immediately grabbed a broom and started beating Liu Guohui, shouting, "You rotten kid, did you even inform me before calling off this marriage? You're stomping my reputation into the ground!"
Saying this, 'thwack, thwack, thwack,' he struck Liu Guohui's back repeatedly.
"That's for forgetting where you come from!" He hit him hard on the shoulder with the broom.
"That's for being ungrateful!" With a 'smack,' he hit his behind.
"Do you have any idea if it wasn't for Lin Tang's dad, I wouldn't be alive today! How could you, this stinking brat, lead a good life?!" Liu Dazhu gasped in fury.
Of course, Liu Guohui wouldn't just stand there to be beaten; he kept his eyes on his father, trying to dodge the hits.
But the room was too small, and eventually, he did get hit a few times, crying out in pain.
"Dad, am I even your biological son? You might as well just beat me to death.
So what if Lin Tang's dad saved you? Why must I end up with Lin Tang anyhow?"
"I simply don't like her; I'm annoyed just seeing her,
Now that the marriage is called off and the people offended, even if you beat me to death, it won't change a thing."