"Niang..."
Gu Dou finally opened his eyes, weakly parting his lips.
His eyes were swollen shut, now just slits, and his mouth was puffed up like a steamed bun, slick and red.
If he didn't make a sound, his mother would have shaken his already broken body to pieces.
"Oh, my child! How could you be beaten so badly?"
Liu Cui wailed.
Earlier, the couple had gone to confront Liu the butcher.
But Liu the butcher had directly drawn his cleaver at them. They had never seen such a scene and were immediately terrified, scrambling back in disgrace.
"I want food, Da Zhuang wouldn't give it to me..."
Gu Dou stammered.
But Liu Cui couldn't understand him. She shook and jostled him again, finally causing Gu Dou to cry out in pain and faint.
All night, Gu Dou felt like he had fallen apart, tossing and turning in pain, crying out like a slaughtered pig whenever anyone touched him.
Even though their campsites were far apart, Gu Dou's screams were still clear.
Gu Lao Liu's family expressed their satisfaction.
As Gu Qingcheng drifted off to sleep, she could still hear Gu Dou's screams.
Gu Qingcheng continued to unlock the system's satisfaction points in a state of pleasure.
Every time Gu Dou screamed, she gained at least one satisfaction point, originating from "the joy of revenge!"
Gu Qingcheng realized then that satisfaction points for the same event could persist. The system didn't care if the source of "satisfaction" was different; as long as the host was satisfied, it generously awarded satisfaction points.
This continued until the latter half of the night, when Gu Dou finally became too tired and fell asleep (fainted).
Only then did Gu Qingcheng stop harvesting Gu Dou's satisfaction points.
By this time, she had gained 120 satisfaction points from Gu Dou, totaling 218 satisfaction points.
218 satisfaction points translated to 6104 yuan.
For Gu Qingcheng, this was a considerable amount of wealth, enough to purchase food to sustain her family.
Gu Qingcheng went to the third floor of the Mountain Cat Supermarket's fresh food section to redeem enough food.
With the "huge sum" of six thousand yuan, most of the fresh food on the third floor was unlocked for Gu Qingcheng. Instead of the dim grayness she had seen on her first entry, the shelves were now brightly lit with dazzling packaging, as if beckoning to her.
"Come buy me!"
"Eat me! I'm deep-sea snow fish, delicious!"
"I'm Alaskan frozen shrimp, rich in nutrients!"
"I'm Wagyu, beef that grew up listening to music, with a fat content of... melts in your mouth!"
Gu Qingcheng swallowed hard, her mouth watering. She was so hungry!
However, to be safe, she decided to buy sixty catties of meat first. She didn't want to risk not being able to gather the sixty catties later if funds became tight, giving the Gu family an excuse to break the division agreement.
The Gu family must be regretting their decision now.
Gu Lao Liu was a capable hunter and a strong laborer, an essential and hardworking member of the household.
When Gu Lao Liu was still with them, they had thought his family was just a drain on resources. Now, without Gu Lao Liu's family to command, they found themselves with more chores, realizing what a foolish decision it was to let Gu Lao Liu's family split off.
To be on the safe side, Gu Qingcheng chose the cheapest frozen pork, buying sixty catties, and stored it in the locker.
Frozen pork cost 8.8 yuan per catty, totaling 528 yuan for sixty catties.
Gu Qingcheng still had 5576 yuan left, enough to buy many other delicious items.
Of course, her priority now was basic sustenance, so she wouldn't be buying expensive luxuries like Wagyu or Alaskan deep-sea shrimp.
She thought for a moment and bought twenty catties of pork belly. For fleeing famine, barbecue was the most convenient, and pork belly barbecue was delicious. Pork belly cost 10.8 yuan per catty, totaling 216 yuan for twenty catties.
Frozen fish balls could be skewered and grilled with pork belly. Also Orleans-style grilled wings, chicken legs, chicken breast, beef, lamb...
Her family was currently weak and needed a large amount of high-quality protein. Therefore, Gu Qingcheng bought 3,500 yuan worth of meat and 100 yuan worth of vegetables, all of which were placed in the storage locker.
With 1760 yuan remaining, Gu Qingcheng bought 760 yuan worth of baguettes, chocolate, mineral water, and tea drinks, also placing them in the storage locker.
With 1000 yuan left, Gu Qingcheng went to the comprehensive area on the 8th floor, where the "Bai Xing Pharmacy" was located, stocking all common medicines.
Gu Qingcheng spent the entire thousand yuan on medicine: two bottles of Yunnan Baiyao, ten bottles of red iodine, five boxes of Metronidazole, five boxes of Amoxicillin; two boxes of San Jiu cold medicine, two boxes of antiviral cold granules, one thermometer; two boxes of Zheng Chang Sheng, two boxes of Zheng Chang Wan, two boxes of San Jiu Wei Tai, three boxes of Smecta; one bag of rehydration salts, enough to mix with five catties of water; one box of Zheng Qi Shui.
One bottle of Jiu Xing outdoor disinfectant tablets, containing 100 tablets, with each tablet capable of purifying one liter of water. Adding one tablet could kill viruses, bacteria, and spores in a liter of water, ensuring water safety. In the future, they could purify and disinfect the water they used for cooking.
Of course, the amount of medicine purchased was far from Gu Qingcheng's safety threshold. However, with limited funds at the moment, she could only prepare common medicines for immediate use, in case of emergencies.
All these supplies were placed in the storage locker. Since time was static inside the locker, there was no concern about spoilage or expiration dates. They could be stored indefinitely.
All satisfaction points were now used up.
It felt good to have spent all the money.
No wonder women loved shopping when they were angry, bored, or upset.
Nothing was more satisfying than buying things!
Gu Qingcheng sighed contentedly, looking at the abundant food reserves. The thought of not having to starve for a while filled her with joy.
Just as she felt the surge of dopamine-fueled happiness, the system generously awarded her another five satisfaction points, sourced from "the joy of shopping!"
Gu Qingcheng chuckled.
She had been worried about running out of satisfaction points, fearing she wouldn't have any for shopping when needed. But now, the system had proactively given her five points because she had enjoyed her shopping spree and spent generously.
Gu Qingcheng fell asleep with a smile.
She slept soundly until dawn.
Gu Qingcheng was awakened by her biological clock as the sky began to lighten. She rolled over and stood up, her mind still groggy, but her body instinctively moved.
"Qingcheng, what are you doing?"
Hu Lanfang called out to her daughter.
Seeing her daughter's eyes half-closed, holding a wooden bucket and walking towards the river, she called out.
Gu Qingcheng stopped and instinctively replied:
"I'm going to fetch water."
"Mother has already gotten some. Go back to sleep. It's still early!" Hu Lanfang said with concern.
"Grandma will scold me!" Gu Qingcheng mumbled.
But as she spoke, Gu Qingcheng woke up.
Before Hu Lanfang could react and understand what she meant, Gu Qingcheng rubbed her eyes, let out a chuckle, and said:
"Mother, I've been brainwashed by the Gu family. All I do is work for them from morning till night."
"My poor child."
Hu Lanfang stepped forward, hugged her daughter, and stroked her head, taking the bucket from her hand.
"Go back to sleep. We'll have roasted flatbread later."