Chapter 8: Hoping the Father Becomes a Dragon and the Mother Becomes a Phoenix

Upon learning that her older sister and mother intended for her to go to the county seat to set up a stall and sell sweet potato starch, Gao Qingmiao bolted out of the house like a rabbit.

Setting up a stall was so undignified; he couldn't even bring himself to say the words.

Besides, Xiao Hu and his gang of friends often hung around the streets of the county seat. If they saw him selling starch at a stall, they would surely laugh their heads off.

Gao Qinghe watched her younger brother’s retreating back as he sprinted away and snorted.

"Just wait until you get back, I’ll deal with you then!"

A "thump-thump-thump" sound came from nearby.

Gao Qinghe smiled and looked toward the source of the noise; the old lady was chopping up chicken feed.

Two large hens, followed by a brood of chicks, were excitedly circling her.

"Grandma, do you want to raise pigs? Let’s start a pig farm, and we can eat meat at every meal from now on."

Gao Qinghe carefully avoided the chicken droppings and squatted down beside her grandmother, intending to help by handing over some vegetable leaves.

But upon seeing a fat green caterpillar wriggling on the rotten leaves, she immediately dropped them.

Old Lady Tian: "And you want to raise pigs with that attitude? Raising pigs is dirty and smelly. Can you stand the house reeking of pig manure?"

Gao Qinghe said that as long as they cleaned up often, it would be fine. She hooked her arm through her grandmother’s and coaxed her

"Grandma, you’re only fifty-eight this year; this is the prime time to venture out."

"If we don't raise pigs, we can raise cows or sheep. Fluffy little lambs are so cute."

Old Lady Tian glanced at the sky, thinking to herself that the sun certainly hadn't risen in the west.

Her eldest granddaughter had been afraid of dirt and smells since she was a child; when she was little, she wouldn't even wear her shoes again if they got a speck of chicken poop on the soles.

Why was she so obsessed with pigs, cows, and sheep today?

However, Old Lady Tian had actually been thinking about buying two piglets to raise at home this year.

But the space at home was small, and they would have to build a new pigpen, which might be a bit of a hassle.

Seeing her grandmother’s expression soften, Gao Qinghe pressed her advantage.

"Grandma, let’s do it. Once they grow up and we sell them, we can make a lot of money. Then we’ll have more meat than we can eat at home, and I’ll cook meat for you every single meal."

"You’ll cook?"

Old Lady Tian couldn't hold back a laugh this time.

"I’ll thank the heavens if you don't burn down my kitchen."

But seeing how much her eldest granddaughter wanted to eat meat, Old Lady Tian didn't insist on refusing.

"Fine, when the town market day comes in a few days, you come with me and see if anyone is selling piglets."

Gao Qinghe: "Okay!"

Having finally convinced one family member in a single morning, Gao Qinghe was happy.

She returned to her room and flopped onto the bed once more.

"Dog system, come out. Let’s talk."

The system hummed twice: [Didn't you tell me to shut up? Now you know you need me?]

The little thing was quite smug.

Gao Qinghe: "I didn't expect you to be so obedient. You stopped talking when I told you to. Wouldn't it have been better to be this well-behaved from the start? Big sister would definitely dote on you~"

The system was embarrassed and angry: [Bad woman, I was not listening to you!]

Gao Qinghe didn't care: "Tell me what kind of abilities you have."

The system was delighted.

Had she finally come around and decided to listen to it so she could complete her tasks properly?

[My abilities are vast. As long as you follow the tasks I issue, I guarantee your life will never go down the wrong path.]

[You will definitely be able to change your tragic fate from your past life, become a virtuous wife and mother praised by everyone, and become a model of morality.]

Gao Qinghe impatiently interrupted: "Give me something practical. What benefits do I get if I do these tasks?"

Martial arts manuals, beauty elixirs, spatial powers like in novels—anything.

Even a cash reward would be better than nothing.

The system was astonished: [Are you not satisfied with receiving people's praise and envy?]

Gao Qinghe was deeply disappointed.

"Forget it. I see that relying on you to live a good life is worse than relying on my parents and siblings."

The system raged: [If you rely on everyone else, what do you do yourself?]

Gao Qinghe gave a cheeky smile. "I lie here, hoping my father becomes a dragon and my mother a phoenix, while urging my siblings to work hard so they can give me pocket money for clothes and cosmetics."

"Envious?"

"Too bad you don't have parents. You really are a pitiful little orphan."

"You can't even offer a single benefit. If I were you, I'd be too embarrassed to be a system. I'd just go find a block of tofu and smash my head against it."

The system: [Host, you are a super big bad guy! If I had known you were this mean, I wouldn't have bound myself to you.] *Sob, sob.*

Gao Qinghe raised an eyebrow: "You're crying already? Your work stress tolerance isn't very good, is it?"

She hadn't even started yet.

The system sniffled: [I am not crying.]

[Actually... I can see everyone's favorability toward you.]

It waited for her to show a look of surprise.

Gao Qinghe scoffed.

The system collapsed.

If it could, it would definitely punish this hateful, wicked woman once.

But the memory of Gao Qinghe’s reckless fighting style last time still made it feel lingering fear.

In the end, it could only leave behind a toothless "Big bad guy" and hide away in silence.

Gao Qinghe couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Her system was just too useless; it was nothing like the ones in the novels.

Just as she was regretting not being able to take advantage of the system, a loud female voice rang out in the courtyard.

"Little Aunt, Mom, is everyone home?"

The only people who could call Huang Ying and Old Lady Tian like that were the Zheng family living at the west end of the village.

That is, the family of the two stepsons of Old Lady Tian’s late second husband.

Gao Qinghe turned her head to look out the window, and sure enough, her eldest aunt had arrived.

"Sister-in-law, why are you here?"

Huang Ying walked out of the kitchen with a surprised smile, inviting the eldest sister-in-law of the Zheng family to come inside and sit.

But the eldest sister-in-law wore an annoyed expression and refused to enter.

"We agreed to meet at the county people's park on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, so why did you stand him up?"

"The man just called to ask about it, and I didn't even know what to say! I didn't know anything about it!"

The eldest sister-in-law grabbed Huang Ying’s hand and asked anxiously: "Give me a straight answer today. What exactly is Bao'er thinking? If she doesn't like him, I'll go tell him so he can stop wondering."

Her heart was still biased toward her own niece.

She had earnestly told Huang Ying that the coal boss was a perfect match for Gao Qinghe in every way.

With so many eyes in the surrounding villages watching, she had kept the news tightly under wraps.

As soon as she heard the coal boss was looking for a partner, she immediately introduced her niece.

She had confidence in her niece; as long as the coal boss saw her, he would definitely be won over!

In the room, Gao Qinghe slapped her forehead.

She remembered now!

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month was the day she was supposed to have a blind date with Jiang Baohai in her past life.

But back then, her heart and mind were entirely occupied by Zhou Zhenghua, so she hadn't gone at all.

It wasn't until three years later that she met Jiang Baohai again.

"Eldest Aunt!"

Gao Qinghe rushed out of the room and grabbed her aunt’s hand, showing her the bruise on her forehead.

"It wasn't that I didn't want to go, but I had a small accident and was hospitalized for two days, so it got delayed."

"Good Auntie~"

Gao Qinghe’s sweet voice made the eldest aunt’s body go numb.

"I know you love me the most. I’m so grateful for your kindness; if I hadn't been hospitalized, I wouldn't have missed the appointment."

"Auntie, could you go tell them the situation and reschedule a date?"

The eldest aunt smiled. "Alright then, I’ll go make the call."

She took a rare look at Gao Qinghe’s graceful figure and her sweet, well-behaved appearance.

She enviously praised Huang Ying for her good fortune in giving birth to such a beautiful daughter.

Only then did she walk quickly toward the village shop with a smile.

The other party was waiting for her call, so she had to be quick.

Gao Qinghe watched her aunt walk away until she was out of sight.

She immediately dropped her smile, her eyes full of suspicion.

Strange. In her past life, her aunt never came to ask after she stood him up. What was going on?

Could this be the butterfly effect of her rebirth?

...

Meanwhile, in Zhao Village.

Jiang Baohai, who had been sleeping off two consecutive all-nighters, suddenly woke up from a nightmare.