Ch 1: Those who wronged me are now begging me for mercy

Thingyan: I just love farming novels. I initially didn’t intend to translate this and just quietly read (it’s a lot of effort to translate) but it’s so good that I changed my mind. Hope you guys enjoy it too ☺️

xxx

Damn! What a Messed-Up Reality

It was August, the hottest time of the year in Yanjing.

In a village near Yanjiao, two middle-aged women had Rong Ziyin sandwiched between them, forcing him to examine two small flocks of withered-looking ducks in front of him.

“Xiao Rong, take a look. Their ducks brought some sickness to mine. Ever since their ducks came over, my female ducks have stopped laying eggs!”

“That’s nonsense! Your ducks are just loose. They latch onto any male they see. What does that have to do with my precious ones? It’s your ducks that are sick. After eating just a bit of your food, my ducks started losing feathers.”

“Oh dear, I can’t go on like this! We rely on selling duck eggs to make money. If my ducks are sick, my whole family will be left with nothing but the four winds to drink…” One of the women started to cry, but before she could continue, the other interrupted with a dramatic wail.

“You heartless person! I only have one male duck for breeding, and now it’s as good as dead! How am I supposed to raise ducklings later this year? If I’m going to die of hunger, I might as well hang myself at the village chief’s door with my eighty-year-old mother!”

“Oh, heavens! I can’t live like this!”

The two women put on quite the show, drawing a crowd of villagers who watched the scene unfold, occasionally sighing and shaking their heads at the sight of the limp-looking ducks.

“These ducks really do look sick. They might not survive.”

Survive…

Hearing this, the two women started crying even harder, as if they were mourning a tragic death rather than sick ducks.

Rong Ziyin tried to speak several times but couldn’t get a word in edgewise, so he simply squatted down and carefully inspected the two flocks of ducks.

Eventually, the situation became too chaotic, and one of the onlookers went to the village committee to call the village chief to mediate.

The village chief was a good-natured man. Seeing the women in tears, he quickly tried to calm them down. “Ladies, there’s no need to cry. We have a vet from the livestock station here, don’t we? Xiao Rong is a top student from the city.”

As he spoke, the village chief patted Rong Ziyin on the shoulder. “So, Xiao Rong, what’s wrong with these ducks?”

Now that the noise had subsided, Rong Ziyin stood up, looked at the village chief, and calmly replied, “They’re sick.”

“…” That was the most obvious statement ever. Not just the village chief, but everyone watching fell into an awkward silence.

Rong Ziyin could clearly see a line of floating comments above their heads: “Awkwardness +1.”

His system promptly chimed in: “You’ve earned 56 coins ~ Panda-style cute.jpg.”

Rong Ziyin casually accepted the system’s cute sticker and refocused on the two flocks of ducks.

It really was a series of unfortunate events.

Rong Ziyin had been a top student in the veterinary program at the Agricultural University, winning a national scholarship three years in a row. He was supposed to continue his studies through a combined master’s and Ph.D. program, but just before everything was finalized, he was framed by someone and ended up tangled in a high-interest loan scandal.

Despite reporting it to the police and going to court, he ultimately lost his place in the program due to the tarnished reputation.

Fortunately, the court got involved, and the loan sharks stopped harassing him at school, switching to sending threatening messages instead.

But even so, Rong Ziyin’s future was bleak. Once on track to become a leading researcher, he was now stuck working as a vet in a remote village, with a debt of 200,000 yuan hanging over his head.

“What a waste,” his professor had sighed. With Rong Ziyin’s expertise, being stuck in a village livestock station was a real loss.

But when sending him off, the professor offered some encouragement. “There are advantages to village life too. Relationships are simple, so don’t forget to keep researching. If money is tight, I can help a bit. As for those loan sharks, they’re bound to slip up eventually.”

“Come back soon; I’ll be waiting for you,” the professor had said.

“Thank you, Professor.” Rong Ziyin had respectfully bowed to his mentor, but as he left the office, each step felt like it weighed a ton.

He knew the professor’s words were meant to comfort him, but deep down, he realized he might never return.

Two hundred thousand yuan—unless he had some miraculous stroke of luck, it would take him five years of living frugally to pay it off. As for finding evidence against the loan sharks, he wasn’t so sure.

In short, his future was uncertain.

Taking a deep breath, Rong Ziyin forced himself to stay calm. Just then, his phone buzzed. He opened it to see a picture of a severed hand covered in blood. The image only appeared for a second before it automatically deleted.

He knew it was a warning from the loan sharks. But Rong Ziyin was just an ordinary broke student. He had done everything he could, so all he could do now was endure.

Things got worse when he returned to his dorm to pack. His roommates couldn’t resist taunting him.

“Wow! No wonder you’re a top student; I didn’t know universities still guaranteed jobs these days!”

“Right? The school’s got your back. After all, if you don’t start working soon, how will you pay off that 200,000-yuan loan? Heh heh.”

Rong Ziyin had heard similar jabs all his life, mainly mocking his good grades and poor background.

His parents had died young in an accident, and without insurance or compensation, he had to work hard just to survive. Dealing with petty remarks was the least of his worries.

But now, things were different. This was a final farewell to these roommates. They’d likely never meet again, and pride was the last thing on his mind.

Besides, he had lost a promising future and was now saddled with a massive debt. Even someone as laid-back as Rong Ziyin couldn’t help but feel a bit of anger.

So, after packing his bags, the usually silent Rong Ziyin gave his roommates a warm smile and said something rather blunt: “You guys ready for the retakes?”

“……”

“As for the whole job placement thing, I was surprised too. But what’s even more surprising is how hard it seems to be for you guys to actually get a diploma.”

“Good luck, everyone. I’m off.”

His words hit the mark, leaving the dorm in silence. The underperforming students glared at Rong Ziyin with eyes that wished they could eat him alive.

But Rong Ziyin didn’t care about any of that as he walked out with his luggage. He was about to start a new chapter in his life, and the most pressing matters were the 200,000 yuan debt to the loan sharks and finding a way to clear his name.

Stay calm, don’t lose your composure, he reminded himself. Although the situation was grim, Rong Ziyin had never been particularly lucky, so he was used to it by now.

After all, blessings or misfortunes depend on your mindset.

Maybe it was this outlook that finally brought Rong Ziyin some good fortune.

After a four-hour journey, Rong Ziyin finally arrived at the small village. As soon as he stepped into the village livestock station, a mysterious message appeared in his mind.

It seemed that due to his terrible luck, he had been granted compensation by the Heavens:

Heavenly Voice: The first object you touch will determine the nature of your “golden finger.” Follow the system’s guidance, and you’ll become the unrivaled technical master of that field.

It sounded promising. But when Rong Ziyin looked at the pregnant sow that the villagers had just brought to him, he fell silent.

Was he destined to become a pig farming tycoon?

One minute later, Rong Ziyin noticed a change in the world around him. Anything related to agriculture or livestock now had floating comments above it. At the same time, a system interface appeared in his mind.

System: Newbie task: Pay off the 200,000 yuan debt. It’ll be a breeze, Host! Let’s do our best, quack!

Rong Ziyin couldn’t help but feel the system’s cheerfulness was a bit out of place, but he quickly regained his composure and began to explore the system’s features.

The system was divided into two sections: Exchange and Lottery. The Exchange function wasn’t available yet due to insufficient coins.

The Lottery function cost 1,000 coins per draw. The items won could be brought into reality, ranging from miraculous skills to cold hard cash—nothing was off-limits.

According to the system, if Rong Ziyin was lucky enough, he could even win a diamond or an antique that would easily pay off his debt. And he didn’t have to worry about drawing attention because the Heavens would seamlessly weave the items into his life’s narrative without causing any trouble.

The most fascinating part was that the system’s coins came from the emotional fluctuations of any living beings around Rong Ziyin.

For instance, the other day when he successfully helped a sow through a difficult birth, the grateful sow and its owner generated 500 coins for him. The emotions, whether positive or negative, were converted into system coins on a one-to-one basis.

Initially, Rong Ziyin thought only positive emotions could generate coins. But now it seemed that even awkwardness contributed, making the system all the more intriguing.

The best part was that through this system, Rong Ziyin finally saw a glimmer of hope for a brighter future.

As for the ducks in front of him, Rong Ziyin had a rough idea of what might be wrong, but a precise diagnosis would require some tests.

So he asked the two women directly, “Have any of your ducks died in the last two days?”

“How could that be?!” Both women were shocked by his question. “Our ducks just have minor issues. They couldn’t possibly die!”

In rural areas, disease in livestock is the biggest fear. Minor ailments are one thing, but if it’s a contagious disease, it could mean the extermination of their entire flock and even the village’s livestock. That would not only ruin families but also make them targets of the village’s anger—a life-threatening situation.

Initially at odds with each other, the two women now united in their outrage and turned on Rong Ziyin.

“You’re just a wet-behind-the-ears youngster. What do you know? My family has been raising ducks since my great-grandfather’s time, and we know every little illness.”

“Some random college student comes to our village just to pad his resume! What a scam! Hmph!”

“Xiao Rong, uh… what do we do about this?” The village chief was flustered, unsure how to address the situation.

Rong Ziyin wasn’t in a hurry. He pointed at the sickest duck and said, “If none have died, we can slaughter one for testing.”

He paused, then added, “Or if you prefer, we could burn both flocks right now.”

“……” Another awkward silence.

Auntie 1, Auntie 2: Rage points +700.

It was clear they were seconds away from grabbing weapons to teach him a lesson.

Rong Ziyin took a moment, then explained in as gentle a tone as possible, “It’s a contagious disease. There’s nothing else we can do.”

“Bullshit!” The two women exploded, and even the village chief and the surrounding villagers’ expressions darkened.

Poultry farming isn’t like other forms of livestock. Contagious diseases are serious. If one family’s flock gets infected, the whole village is at risk.

Although duck farming was just a side business in the village, it helped supplement their income. If something went wrong, no one in the village would have a good year.

And it wasn’t just the ducks; they also had chickens. Though they were different species, they shared similar diseases.

The village chief quickly tried to smooth things over. “Now, Xiao Rong, you can’t just throw around accusations of a contagious disease.”

Rong Ziyin pointed to the sickest duck. “If you don’t believe me, I can prove it right now.”

Rong Ziyin’s confidence made the village chief hesitant to gamble with the village’s livestock. Ignoring the women’s protests, he ordered someone to kill the duck.

Rong Ziyin took out a sharp scalpel from the medical kit he always carried.

“The liver is enlarged, with nodules,” Rong Ziyin expertly removed the duck’s liver and showed it to the village chief, the two women, and the surrounding villagers.

“Why does it look like that?” The village chief frowned deeply.

The village chief didn’t quite understand what nodules were, but he had spent most of his life farming and taking care of livestock, and he knew that a duck’s liver shouldn’t have these tiny grain-sized lumps.

Some of the onlookers, feeling disgusted, instinctively stepped back.

Meanwhile, Rong Ziyin had already removed the duck’s spleen, which looked just as nodular as the liver.

The most alarming part was the duck’s heart; the pericardium had nodules ranging from the size of mung beans to soybeans, resembling dried insect cocoons.

“Has it got worms?”

“No. The initial diagnosis is avian tuberculosis. To confirm, we would need to send samples for lab testing, but given the symptoms in these two flocks, testing probably isn’t necessary.”

“Depression, neck retraction, weakness, reluctance to move or swim, hunching, reduced appetite, emaciation, and decreased egg production—these symptoms combined with the autopsy findings are enough to confirm avian tuberculosis.”

“So, what’s the treatment?” The village chief was getting anxious.

Tuberculosis is serious enough in humans, let alone in ducks.

The two women were extremely nervous.

Rong Ziyin sighed. “There’s no treatment. You’ll have to cull them on-site.”

The two women: Grief value +1000.

Seeing that they were about to faint, Rong Ziyin quickly added, “You can apply for compensation for avian tuberculosis. You should be able to recover the cost of the ducklings.”

The two women immediately felt relieved, each contributing 400 consolation points to Rong Ziyin.

With those points, Rong Ziyin now had 10,000 system coins, just enough for a ten-draw lottery.

System: Come on, let’s do this! First ten-draw, with double the drop rate, and a guaranteed Dragon Slayer Blade!

Ignoring the people around him, the system eagerly urged Rong Ziyin. Rong Ziyin, curious to see what would happen, decided to indulge the system and agreed, “Draw!”

Inside the system, the lottery wheel spun rapidly in response to Rong Ziyin’s command. A few seconds later, a row of items appeared in Rong Ziyin’s system inventory.

Pale green, smooth, and round—they were lined up in a neat row of ten.

Rong Ziyin: …A Dragon Slayer Blade?

System: What the heck! How is this possible? Is your dad secretly an African tribal chief?

🍉🫐🍇🍒🥝