Chapter 49: System Upgrade, Resource Exchange

1962, the last year of the natural disasters, also the darkness before dawn.

When Zhao Jianguo finished delivering the steamed buns and returned to the Siheyuan, the sky had just begun to turn a pale fish‑belly white, and the Courtyard was cold and empty, with only a few figures. He carefully closed the room door, fearing any sound might disturb others, then walked straight to the bedside and sat down. At that moment he still clutched tightly the shabby notebook; opening it, he saw it densely filled with a heap of matters: Liu Guangfu was so thin that his cheekbones stuck out like little hills; the second son of the Jia family coughed like a broken bellows as soon as night fell, unable to sleep at all; the deaf old lady had been staggering when she walked two days ago, nearly falling headfirst into the well platform… He stared at those entries for a while, let out a long sigh, and then slipped the notebook under his pillow.

In these hard years, merely providing rations could not save anyone's life. Even if a person was so hungry that his chest pressed his back, he might endure a few days, but once fever broke out or the stomach turned, without medicine one could only await death. He recalled passing the Liu family yesterday evening, hearing the children's whimpering inside, and hearing Liu Haizhong hoarsely reciting a quotation aloud; that scene made his skin crawl. Thinking of Jia Dongxu's family cramped on the kang, tormented by coughing as if dying, only deepened his heaviness, like a huge stone pressing down.

He closed his eyes and habitually murmured in his mind, "Sign in."

He had thought this would be another ordinary day, but as soon as the thought dropped, his mind buzzed with a sudden "hum" and felt as if electrified. Immediately, a line of clear text appeared before his eyes—

"System upgrading… Detected host has signed in continuously for seven years, completed 17 covert mutual‑aid tasks, survival adaptation index meets the target, system level raised to LV. 5."

Zhao Jianguo snapped his eyes open, nearly springing off the bed edge, as if a spring had bounced him.

Upgraded?!

He hurriedly closed his eyes again to verify, fearing it was a hallucination from hunger. When he opened them, the system interface had been completely refreshed: the formerly dull gray function bar was now much brighter, and the most conspicuous addition was a new column—【Resource Exchange】—with a tiny bell icon beneath it, flashing like a mischievous sprite winking.

He couldn't wait and clicked into it; his eyes widened instantly, like a copper bell.

Medicine! It can actually be exchanged for medicine!

Banlangen powder, 30 points per pack; Tetracycline tablets, 80 points per bottle; also cold medicine, anti‑inflammatory pills, anti‑diarrhea granules… all the things he dreamed of getting. But his points balance read—87.

He grinned; the number was stuck as if deliberately calculated, allowing only basic medicines. If he wanted to splurge on a big purchase, he'd still be far off.

He quickly pulled up the points ledger and examined each entry. Sure enough, for the past three months he had signed in daily at the abandoned pharmacy site, and the system quietly logged those, earning over twenty points just from that. Adding the recent times he helped Jia Dongxu revise blueprints to save material, secretly slipped wild‑vegetable seeds to Qin Huairu, and delivered the nest at midnight, the system marked all as "covert mutual aid", granting an extra one or two points each time.

Hey, doing good deeds really can earn points; it's the same principle as the old saying "good deeds bring good rewards."

A warmth rose in his chest, as if he carried a small stove, and he immediately began to calculate. The most urgent matter now was epidemic prevention; children and the elderly were frail and couldn't endure illness. Banlangen was cheap, 30 points per pack, so he would exchange two for emergencies; Tetracycline, though pricier, was especially effective against diarrhea and inflammation, so he had to get it. As for cold medicine and anti‑inflammatory pills, he noted them in his little notebook to exchange later when he accumulated more points.

With the plan set, he acted at once. Today it happened to be his turn to go to the factory to collect tools, and on the way he could swing by the old pharmacy. That place had long been shut down; the door panels were rotted away to half, looking like a toothless old man, yet the location remained unchanged, still the former street health station site.

At noon, he pretended to pass by casually, stopped at the pharmacy doorway, and silently muttered "sign in" in his mind. The System Prompt sounded immediately: "Historical medical point detected, activating special exchange channel, today's exchange discount +10%."

Zhao Jianguo almost laughed out loud; the system was really on point, recognizing the local vibe.

He didn't hesitate to open the exchange page, selecting one bottle of Tetracycline and two packs of Banlangen, total 86 points (exchanging doesn't deduct points; it only sets a points ceiling—e. g., with 87 points you can exchange items worth up to 87, and daily sign‑ins increase the ceiling!). The System Prompt said: "Exchange successful, please choose delivery method."

He thought it over and chose "manual pickup" (instead of the storage space, since the items were few and could be slipped into his pocket conveniently).

The next second, his pocket felt heavy; reaching in, he pulled out three small cloth bundles and a glass bottle, all tightly wrapped in old newspaper, inconspicuous as if hiding a little secret.

Done!

He carefully tucked the medicine into his chest and hurried back to the Siheyuan. After lunch, every household was napping, and no one noticed his movements. Taking advantage of the quiet, he slipped to the well platform, tucked a pack of Banlangen into a stone crevice, and left a note: "Prevent epidemic, dissolve and drink." He knew Sha Zhu was as diligent as an old ox, so when fetching water he would surely find it.

Next, he tiptoed to the Liu family doorway, which was ajar, and heard Liu Haizhong's voice intoning a quotation with varied tones inside. He gently hung another pack of Banlangen on the doorknob, the note reading: "Two tablets daily, don't let the child's fever worsen." Liu Guangfu's little face was wax‑yellow; if it got any worse he'd likely end up in the hospital.

Finally the Jia family. He circled to the back window, saw Qin Huairu gently soothing a child to sleep, and slipped the Tetracycline bottle and the last pack of medicine into the tile gap beneath the windowsill, leaving a note: "For diarrhea, three times daily, do not overdose."

Having done all this, he clapped his hands in satisfaction, returned to his room and lay down, feeling much more at ease, as if he'd taken a calming pill.

Early the next morning, Zhao Jianguo just got up when he heard movement in the Courtyard. He peeked out and saw Jia Dongxu clutching a child, hurrying out, his face as white as paper. His heart gave a sudden thump; could it be that the medicine hadn't been found? Or had the child's condition worsened?

He was about to go out and ask, when he saw Jia Dongxu circle the Courtyard once, then turn back, tightly clutching a small paper packet. Jia Dongxu stood at the Zhao family doorway, cleared his throat, and called, "Jianguo! Are you there?"

Zhao Jianguo quickly opened the room door.

Jia Dongxu grabbed his arm and exclaimed, "Jianguo, last night I found a medicine bottle under the windowsill, with a note saying it treats diarrhea. I gave the child two tablets, and this morning the fever subsided and there's no diarrhea! Where did you get this medicine? From the factory?"

Zhao Jianguo laughed, "Of course not; the factory has been doing preventive work lately, giving each person a bottle of Tetracycline, saying it prevents gastrointestinal illness. I took an extra bottle, thinking your child is small and weak, so I slipped it under your windowsill."

Jia Dongxu widened his eyes, surprised, "You could get an extra one? The factory's management is that lax?"

"Ah, I have a distant relative among the health workers, so I sweet‑talked my way in," Zhao Jianguo waved his hand, "Just don't spread the word; if anyone knows I used a backdoor, they'll stop giving it out."

Jia Dongxu quickly nodded, shook his hand vigorously, and said gratefully, "That was perfectly timed! If it weren't for the medicine, I'd have had to carry the child to a hospital; these days there's no transport, even a broken leg would be too slow to get help."

As the two were talking, Sha Zhu came over carrying a water bucket, approached mysteriously, and said, "Jianguo, was the medicine pack in the well‑platform stone crevice placed by you?"

Zhao Jianguo pretended to be confused and asked back, "What medicine? Who put the medicine there?"

"Stop pretending!" Sha Zhu lowered his voice, "I fetched water yesterday and found a pack of Banlangen with a note saying epidemic prevention. You're the only one in the whole courtyard who can get this stuff; you can't hide it from me."

Zhao Jianguo shrugged, nonchalantly saying, "Believe it or not, it's good medicine, not poison; it won't kill you."

Sha Zhu stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly grinned, "Fine, I won't ask. But next time bring more; my stomach's been acting up lately."

"Stomach trouble? Then you should eat less pickles; that stuff is unbearably salty," Zhao Jianguo replied offhand, silently noting the matter.

At noon, he returned to his room, opened the notebook, turned to a blank page, and neatly wrote in large characters: "Medicine Demand Priority Order."

Below he listed three items:

Children's fever — Banlangen + antipyretic (to be exchanged).

Gastrointestinal infection — Tetracycline, anti‑diarrhea granules.

External injury inflammation — red tincture, anti‑inflammatory tablets (insufficient points, postponed).

He added at the page bottom: "Sign in at the old pharmacy site every Wednesday and Saturday for priority point accumulation."

After writing, he closed the notebook, leaned against the headboard, and his mind already began calculating the next exchange target. If he could earn another 100 points, he could trade for a box of anti‑inflammatory pills, so that if Qin Huairu caught a cold again, she wouldn't have to tough it out.

In the evening, Qin Huairu came over holding her child to thank him, tears glistening in her eyes, choking as she said, "Jianguo, you truly saved our family. That medicine was so expensive, we never even dreamed of affording it…"

Zhao Jianguo quickly waved his hand, smiling, "Don't mention it; the medicine came from the factory, I didn't conjure it. As long as you use it well, that's enough."

Qin Huairu nodded, and before leaving turned back, saying, "Dong Xu said that if you ever need help, just ask, we'll be there at once."

Zhao Jianguo smiled in agreement and saw her out the door.

At night, lying in bed, just as he closed his eyes, the System Prompt cheerfully sounded: "Today's sign‑in complete, reward points +2. Current total points: 89."

He felt a surge of joy; at this rate, within a month he could exchange for another round of medicine.

He was just thinking about it when a faint sound came from outside. He pricked up his ears and listened; it turned out the Liu family door had a crack open, and Liu Guangfu stuck out half his body, furtively glancing left and right, then quickly snatched the medicine packet from the doorknob, slipped it into his chest, and gently shut the door.

Zhao Jianguo squinted in the room, making no move.

The kid is clever, but too afraid of his father, like a startled rabbit.

He turned over, about to sleep, then suddenly remembered something, sprang up, pulled out the notebook, and added a line of small text at the end of the "Medicine Distribution" page: "Consider establishing fixed drop points to avoid frequent contact that could raise suspicion. Suggested: well‑platform stone crevice, backyard firewood pile, exterior wall groove of the toilet."

After writing, he blew out the lamp and lay down.

In the darkness, he heard a few Dog Barks from outside the Courtyard, followed by Footsteps growing nearer. He didn't pay much attention, assuming it was a neighbor returning late.

But those Footsteps reached the Courtyard Gate and suddenly stopped.

Immediately after, the door ring was lightly knocked twice.

Zhao Jianguo suddenly opened his eyes.