Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 73: Cut Off from the World

Right, how could she forget about Leng Qi? That eagle is quite impressive, and Yanlan should know a lot of information.

Hmm, let’s handle the current matters first, and then go find Leng Qi to ask.

"Village Chief Grandpa, providing clean filtered drinking water is such a great thing for the village. How could Xiaoxiao not be willing to contribute? However, this filtering cloth is something I ordered at a high price from the cloth shop in town. If we replace it with other fabric, I’m afraid it won’t work effectively." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Dahua chimed in, "Indeed, this kind of cloth can’t be bought outside."

Everyone scrutinized the cloth Cheng Xiaoxiao used for filtering, and indeed it was different from the cloth sold in the fabric shop.

The village chief hesitated, "Xiao, do you have more of this kind of cloth?"

"I have a little more, but..."

The village chief understood, "Don’t worry, Village Chief Grandpa won’t take your things for free. How about 200 copper coins for this special cloth and the filtering technique?"

Then, he turned to his son, "Zhao’er, register those who need to buy filters."

Cheng Jinzhao was eager to come to Cheng Xiaoxiao’s house and didn’t expect he had to work. He didn’t bring paper or ink!

Cheng Hao noticed Cheng Jinzhao’s embarrassment and kindly said, "I’ll get some paper and pen."

"Thank you, big nephew."

Cheng Hao was choked!

Cheng Jinzhao also realized that he used to joke about the gentle Cheng Hao because they were classmates. Now, however, if he ends up with Xiaoxiao, he would have to call him Second Brother, which makes him feel awkward about the seniority gap.

But what can he do? He still likes Xiaoxiao! He can’t address him as a big nephew anymore.

Cheng Xiaoxiao didn’t know about Cheng Jinzhao’s wild imagination. If she did, she’d probably give him a good knock on the head—what a dreamer! Overthinking is an illness that needs curing.

With the village chief being so sensible, Cheng Xiaoxiao was very satisfied. Even though this thing isn’t valuable, she can’t let everyone have it for free. People never cherish what they get for nothing, and after a while, they come to expect it.

Just like with the sprouts last time, most people thanked Cheng Xiaoxiao for letting them have vegetables during the rainy days, but a small group had no beans or work points and shamelessly asked for some. When Cheng Xiaoxiao refused, they cursed her outright.

Who could she turn to for reason?

There are always one or two thankless people who cause trouble. She wholeheartedly tries to do well for the village, and those people don’t appreciate it. She won’t put up with them.

That’s why she can’t spoil the villagers’ appetite. In the future, whatever they take, they need to provide appropriate payment or compensation.

Upon hearing that money was involved, some people hesitated.

Others thought the village chief was making a fuss over nothing, saying it was absurd to charge 200 coins for something like that. A piece of cloth should only cost around ten or eight coins, so they said, "Xiaoxiao, we’re all neighbors. Isn’t it inappropriate to charge money?"

The women causing a ruckus: "Exactly, it’s just a piece of cloth. You might as well rob us!"

"Xiao, you see, Auntie doesn’t have that much money, and your family doesn’t lack this bit of money. Why make things difficult for us?"

Erya, hearing their words and seeing their ugly faces, angrily said, "Ladies, you’re going too far. This is something my sister made herself. Why should she teach you for free?"

Aunt Liu said, "Oh, come on, aren’t we all family since we share the last name Cheng? In the future, if Auntie has something good, I’ll save a piece for you sisters."

Erya was about to explode. Everyone knew that Aunt Liu was stingy and mean. No one ever got even a needle from her, yet here she was making sarcastic remarks.

The village chief said, "Enough, enough. If you don’t want it, keep quiet. It’s settled then. Those willing to pay come here to get the cloth and learn how to make the filter. Those unwilling should just leave. Stop thinking about taking advantage of others. The things people have are not blown in by the wind. Cheng Yong’s family has already done a lot for the village. Don’t push it."

Hearing the village chief’s words, a few women awkwardly shut their mouths.

Only Aunt Liu, who hadn’t gained any advantage, was still muttering, "Fine, fine, we just won’t use it. What’s the big deal? I don’t believe that there will be any problem without her water. People still drink well water without issue, it’s just her being picky."

Even though she was muttering softly, her voice wasn’t low enough, and everyone around heard it.

At this point, Cheng Hao came over with the writing materials.

The village chief said sternly, "Alright, alright, those who need to register, register, and those who don’t need anything, scatter!"

Throughout, Cheng Xiaoxiao didn’t say a word. This is the ugliness of human nature — everyone wants free benefits, and when they don’t get it, they start to denigrate. Truly incomprehensible.

Hasn’t Aunt Liu caused trouble before? If she dares to run her mouth again, she won’t show any mercy.

That night, thirteen households bought Cheng Xiaoxiao’s filter devices. Cheng Xiaoxiao thought since everyone paid, she kindly asked her uncle to make the support frames as well. Once home, they just needed to add some stones, assemble, and it was ready for use.

Everyone, eager to try, hurried home to test the water.

Overall, Cheng Xiaoxiao was quite pleased. She received another 180 Gratitude Points.

Lying in bed, Cheng Xiaoxiao opened the system mall, checking her balance. She had 781 System Coins and 31 Energy Values. It was still not enough! How could she quickly earn more System Coins?

Darn it, she thought, she’d almost exhausted all the Gratitude Points in the village. Even if she tried more, she’d get nowhere.

She realized she had to change her approach. "77, how far can you scan now?"

"Host, I can now scan within a radius of 1000 meters."

"Such a small range; if I want to help more people, staying here won’t work," she thought. She realized she had to be proactive, but the village chief said the road to the town and paths to Shangqiao Village and Yangliu Village were all blocked.

The road to town was blocked 3 kilometers from the village, where half a mountain side had collapsed. To pass, they would have to climb over the mountain, which was full of jagged rocks and tangled trees, with the risk of collapsing at any time. Someone like Cheng Beiniu might barely make it over, but others might not survive the trip.

The village chief had organized a road-clearing crew, but progress was slow. He was pondering whether to send Cheng Beiniu across the mountaintop to scout the town’s situation.

The road to Shangqiao Village was washed away by the river, making passage impossible unless they crossed the river. But there were no boats in the village, so that was unfeasible too. Meanwhile, the road to Yangliu Village was impassable due to multiple landslides of varying sizes.

So Qingshan Village was now isolated from the world.

Right, didn’t she say she’d ask Leng Qi to inquire about the situation? How could she forget?

Well, she reminded herself to ask during breakfast the next day.

Suddenly, a thought struck her, "77, does it only notify me of rescue tasks for people who appear around me?"

It seemed like she hadn’t received any tasks for a while.

"I’m not sure about that. Let me ask the System Headquarters," 77 replied.