Su He mustered a smile, trying to look friendly, and said, "I won't hit you, really—I'll just see what food we've got and make you something."
She tried to sound gentle, but her bulky, intimidating frame made her seem anything but.
The two children flinched backward, unwilling to let her get close.
Su He was stuck cleaning up the mess left by the original owner of this body.
But there was no helping it. Since she had taken over this body, she had to atone for the wrongs committed by its previous occupant.
She walked past the children to inspect the kitchen. "Dirty" was an understatement—it looked like a junkyard.
With a sigh, she pushed aside the urge to tidy up and went straight to the rice jar, hoping to at least cook a meal for the kids.
But—
It was completely empty!
After rifling through the kitchen and turning it upside down, Su He couldn't find a single scrap of food.
No wonder the kids hadn't eaten since yesterday—there was literally nothing left to eat.
She sighed again and turned to the children, who, though keeping their distance, had been hovering nervously behind her. "Why is there no food left at home?" she asked.
At her question, the little boy glared resentfully. "You used all the food to pay off your gambling debts. There's nothing left," he said bitterly.
The original owner gambled too? Su He's blood ran cold.
This damn woman had gambled away what little food they had, leaving her own children to starve?
It seemed there was truly nothing left—no food, no money. Su He, still reeling from her sudden body-swap, was at a loss.
Then she remembered the space she had entered before waking up. Could it have been real?
She had just declared she didn't need anything from it, and now reality had slapped her in the face—talk about bad timing.
But to exchange for food, she needed trade items of equal worth. This house had nothing of value left—what could she possibly use?
Looking at the boy's fierce glare and the girl's tearful, fearful expression, Su He decided that no matter what, she had to find them something to eat.Stay here, okay? I'll check for money," she told the siblings. "I'll try to buy some food."
With that, she ducked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Seeing their mother shut herself away again—though at least she hadn't yelled or hit them this time—the kids' hopes crumbled.
There was no hope of getting food from her.
Their mother couldn't care less about them. She didn't give a thought to whether they lived or died.
"Brother, what do we do? I'm so hungry," the little girl whimpered.
"I'll defiantly go to Grandma and Grandpa later and ask them for food," the boy said through gritted teeth.
"But Mom won't let us go there, and Grandma doesn't like us," the girl choked back tears as she replied.
"Stop listening to that woman! She's not our mother! Grandma might not like us, but she won't let us starve," the boy said, frustrated she still obeyed that woman.
"I miss Dad," the little girl suddenly said.
The thought of their gentle and handsome father, who had always taken such good care of them, made even the little boy's eyes redden.
If it weren't for their father telling them to wait at home for his return before he left, the two children wouldn't have obediently stayed home, enduring Su He's beatings and scoldings.
Meanwhile, as soon as Su He entered the room, she immediately called out, "Supply Exchange System, are you there? Supply Exchange System?"
Suddenly, a flash of white light enveloped her, and when she opened her eyes again, she was back inside that high-tech space.
"Hello, this is Agent 757. How may I assist you?" The standard customer service voice rang out again, though it wasn't the same agent as before. Not that Su He minded.
"Hello, I'd like to exchange for some food," Su He said.
"Your account currently has no points," the agent replied.
Hearing this, Su He's heart tightened. "Your system is seriously lacking in user-friendliness. I just arrived in this world with nothing—how am I supposed to exchange anything? Can't I get some credit?"
After a long pause, the agent responded, "We appreciate your feedback. We've received a response: as a new user, you can receive 100-point trial credit, which will be deducted later."
Relieved, Su He immediately went to browse the shelves for food.
Steamed pork *baozi* cost 2 points each, fresh steamed buns 1 point, and *hua juan* (scallion rolls) 2 points. If 100 points equaled 100 Chinese yuan, the prices were reasonableWithout hesitation, Su He ordered two *baozi*, two steamed buns, and two *hua juan*—enough to fill the children's stomachs first.
Then she headed to the milk products area and picked up two cartons of regular milk, which were pretty expensive at 4 points each.
But considering how skinny and underfed the children looked, she decided the milk was necessary.
She also grabbed four packs of instant ramen for herself—she was starving by now.
Next, she exchanged for a few pounds of rice, meat, and vegetables, along with some salt. She skipped soy sauce and such, thinking it wasn't good for young children to consume those too early.
When all was said and done, all 100 points were gone.
Still, Su He was satisfied. This should be enough to get her through the next few days while she adjusted to this world and figured out a way to make money.
She'd originally thought this space was useless to her, but now she realized how wrong she'd been.
It was incredibly useful. Without it, she'd probably be out foraging for wild greens to feed the kids.
But it was still summer, wasn't it? The meat wouldn't keep without a fridge.
"Can I retrieve the meat only when I need it?" Su He asked the female agent.
"Of course. Storage is limited to 15 days. Beyond that, points will be required for extended storage. The space has a preservation function, and you can summon us anytime if you wish to store other items in the future," the female agent replied politely.
Ah, so the system could also function as a fridge—no, even better. Everything stays exactly as you store it.
"Great, thanks!" Su He said enthusiastically.
"This 100-point trial lasts one week. If you fail to repay the 100 points by then, your account will be frozen, and you'll be permanently blacklisted from the Supply Exchange System. Please repay the points as soon as possible."
Su He brushed off the warning—she'd cross that bridge later. For now, the system was far too useful, and she'd definitely find a way to earn the points.
When she exited the space, she saw all the supplies she'd brought out neatly arranged on the floor around her, and she sighed in relief.