"Ah! Don't run away!"
In a small courtyard enclosed by a simple wooden fence, Xiaoyan was running around on her short little legs, chasing a butterfly.
Lu Qing sat on a stone stool, holding a plant with small red flowers in his hand, quietly examining it.
At that moment, in his field of vision, the plant with the red flowers emitted a faint white glow, and two lines of text floated above it:
[Oxbone Grass: Average quality. Medicinal use.]
[Appears to be effective for treating bone injuries; may come in handy when wounded.]
After spending some time observing, Lu Qing had more or less figured out what was going on with the strange text he was seeing.
Simply put, it seemed that due to his transmigration, he had gained a supernatural ability.
At present, the main manifestation of this ability was that whenever he focused his gaze on an object, after a certain period of time, a soft glow would appear around it, followed by a brief textual description.
Moreover, the longer he stared, the more information he could obtain — though the information wasn't limitless. There appeared to be some kind of standard or threshold.
Lu Qing guessed that the standard was probably related to the color of the glow.
Items that emitted a gray glow only displayed a single line of description, no matter how long he stared at them.
Items with a white glow, on the other hand, would show two or more lines of description.
And the Oxbone Grass in his hand was the only plant he had found near the courtyard that emitted a white glow.
What is this, a game interface or something?
Lu Qing thought of some open-world exploration games he had played back in his previous life.
Thinking of this, he waved his hand. "Xiaoyan, come here for a moment."
"Big brother, what's wrong?"
The little girl scampered over excitedly.
"Let me take a look at you."
Lu Qing picked a few dry grass strands from her hair and focused his gaze on her face.
After a short moment, a faint white glow appeared around her, and a line of text floated above her head:
[Lu Xiaoyan: A young human, female.]
What kind of lame description is that!?
Black lines formed across Lu Qing's forehead.
Still, he kept looking.
After a bit longer, another line appeared:
[A pitiful young human. She appears to be slightly malnourished.]
Lu Qing paused and glanced at her dry, yellowed hair, falling silent for a moment.
"Big brother, are you done looking?" Xiaoyan asked innocently, tilting her head up at him.
"Yeah, I'm done. Xiaoyan is going to grow up into a real beauty," Lu Qing said, gently ruffling her hair, his tone full of affection.
Xiaoyan tilted her head. "What's a beauty?"
"Haha, you'll understand when you grow up."
Hearing her innocent words made Lu Qing smile.
Whatever the future held, for now, the most important thing was to take care of this little girl, the only family he had in this world.
It was also the greatest lingering wish of the body's original owner before his death.
And if he wanted to live a good life in this unfamiliar world, he had no choice but to rely on this strange supernatural ability.
With that in mind, Lu Qing held out the Oxbone Grass to Xiaoyan.
"Xiaoyan, do you know what this plant is or what it's used for?"
Xiaoyan looked at the plant with tiny blue flowers, scrunched up her little brow in thought, and then shook her head.
"I don't know. But Grandpa Zhang's big ox seems to really like eating this kind of grass."
Lu Qing couldn't help but laugh at her answer — he was being silly. Even the original owner's memories had nothing about Oxbone Grass, and yet he expected a little kid to know.
But what she said next surprised him.
"Big brother, if you want to know what kind of grass this is, you should ask Grandpa Chen! He really loves these plants and herbs, and he always uses them to make bitter water for us to drink."
At the mention of the bitter water, her face scrunched up in discomfort.
Grandpa Chen?
Lu Qing searched his memories and quickly recalled the image of a kindly, thin old man — the respected doctor in the village.
A doctor?
Lu Qing's mind stirred.
Based on the text description, Oxbone Grass was definitely some kind of medicinal herb. Maybe the old doctor would know how to use it.
"Xiaoyan, when big brother was sick, did Grandpa Chen come by?"
"He did! You were asleep the whole time, no matter how I called you. I was really scared and kept crying. Then Grandpa Chen came and checked on you. He said you were sick — something like wind chill, I think? He made some bitter medicine, and after you drank it, you got better the next day!"
She suddenly exclaimed, "Grandpa Chen is amazing! Big brother only drank one bowl of bitter water and got all better!"
Lu Qing fell silent.
Only he knew — the medicine Grandpa Chen made hadn't actually saved the boy's life.
But now that he thought about it, during his unconscious state, he did vaguely feel someone pour something warm down his throat. That warmth protected his heart and carried him through the tough period of memory fusion.
If not for that, with how frail the body was, he might not have even woken up.
So, it was true. That old doctor did have real skill — and Lu Qing owed him a debt.
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly felt a gaze and looked down to see Xiaoyan watching him.
"What's wrong, Xiaoyan?"
"Big brother, I'm hungry."
Lu Qing realized he was hungry too.
He hadn't been full before, and the half steamed bun from earlier had long since been digested.
But he had already checked — there was nothing left to eat in the house.
The rice jar was so empty not even mice would bother with it. If Grandpa Zhang hadn't helped them out, Xiaoyan probably would've starved during the two days he was unconscious.
Thinking of this, Lu Qing realized he really should thank Grandpa Zhang and Doctor Chen — without them, neither he nor Xiaoyan might have survived.
But right now, they were just too poor. There wasn't even anything in the house that could be offered as thanks.
First things first — they had to find something to eat. Gratitude could wait.
But where to get food?
Most of the farmland the family once owned had been sold off by the original owner to pay for his parents' burial.
The small plot that remained hadn't been tended and yielded next to nothing.
So trying to grow anything was out of the question. It was too late in the season — they'd starve long before anything grew.
After thinking for a while, Lu Qing went into the room that had belonged to the boy's parents and rummaged through their belongings. Eventually, he found a small box with an iron needle and a bit of hemp thread.
The needle was much thicker than the embroidery needles from his past life — it looked sturdy.
Lu Qing took it out, heated it over a flame, then bent it into a hook using chopsticks. He then twisted several strands of the hemp thread together into a stronger line and tied it to the hook.
Next, he cut a strong bamboo stalk from behind the house and tied the other end of the hemp thread to it.
Finally, he tied a piece of dry wood just above the hook to act as a float.
And just like that, Lu Qing had crafted a simple fishing rod.