3:40 PM. March 15, 2002. Mill Street Compound, West Gate.
School ended. Lin Yu walked ahead, talking to two girls from Class 2. He hung back ten steps. The Sense was quieter now. Twelve dots at school became background noise. Like the mill. You only heard it when it stopped.
But Lin Wu's dot stayed warm. 61/100. Ankle wrapped. X-ray clear. Two weeks rest. Would not limp for life. Would not be slow in 2018.
Maybe.
He touched his jacket. 668. Useless now.
He passed Hardware Store 6. Father was inside, arguing with a man about rebar. Father saw him. Nodded once. _Mood: Stern. Loyalty: 95/100._
Hardware Store 1 was already closing. Second uncle counted nails, muttering. _Mood: Focused. Loyalty: 71/100._
Across the walkway, Grandfather stepped out of Textile Workshop 1. White hair, back still straight despite sixty years on the looms. He looked at him. Didn't speak. Just raised one eyebrow.
*[Family Ledger Update: Grandfather. Mood: Curious. Loyalty: 88/100.]*
Grandfather knew. Not the System. But that something was different. Grandfather always knew.
He climbed the stairs to his room. Third step creaked. Seventh step creaked. Same as morning.
Seventh uncle was coming down. Carrying a bucket of coal. Saw him, grunted. "Dinner soon. Don't be late again."
*[Family Ledger Update: Seventh uncle. Mood: Irritated. Loyalty: 64/100.]*
He shut the door. Locked it.
*[5 Unopened Gift Boxes Remaining.]*
*[Open next?] [Y/N]*
"Open all."
The blue text flickered.
*[Batch open confirmed. Processing...]*
Air changed. Like before lightning. Hair on his arms stood up.
*[Opening Progeny Gift Box x1...]*
*[Item Acquired: Progeny Insight Lv.1]*
*[Effect: View potential of all bloodline members under age 18. Academic. Physical. Craft. Business. Arts. One-time scan per day. Shows current ceiling, not destiny.]*
*[Opening Prosperity Gift Box x1...]*
*[Item Acquired: Compound Map Lv.1]*
*[Effect: Mental 3D map of Mill Street Compound. All 43 buildings. All rooms. All businesses. Live inventory counts. Cash flow snapshot. Updates every 24 hours at 00:00.]*
*[Opening Bloodline Gift Box x1...]*
*[Item Acquired: Twin Bone Amplifier Lv.1]*
*[Effect: Passive. Twin Bone trait strengthened in 2,000m radius. Birth rate of twins/triplets: 18.4% → 22.1%. Also: Twins in radius gain +10% learning speed when together. Applies to existing twins immediately.]*
*[Opening Newbie Gift Box x1...]*
*[Item Acquired: System Shop Access]*
*[Note: Shop unlocked early due to batch open. Available now. Currency: Family Points. Current balance: 0.]*
*[Note: Earn Family Points by raising Family Cohesion, completing Milestones, or individual Loyalty breakthroughs.]*
*[Opening Sign-in Gift Box x1...]*
*[Item Acquired: 100 Family Points]*
*[Effect: Starting currency for System Shop.]*
*[All Gift Boxes Opened.]*
*[System Status: Fully Unlocked.]*
The room went quiet. His head rang. Like the compound bell, but inside.
Five boxes. Five hits. No pause.
He sat on the bed. Springs creaked.
First: Progeny Insight. Thought it on.
287 names under 18.
Lin Yu. Age: 17. Academic: A. Physical: B. Craft: C. Business: B. Arts: A. Current ceiling: High.
Lin Wu. Age: 16. Academic: C. Physical: A. Craft: B. Business: S. Arts: D. Current ceiling: High.
S in Business. Hardware Store 7. Last time, dropped out in April. Died 2018. This time, ankle caught early.
Second: Compound Map.
It opened. 43 buildings. He zoomed to Hardware Store 7. Fifth uncle inside, checking accounts. Cash box: 842 yuan. Inventory low. _Mood: Stressed. Loyalty: 59/100._
Textile Workshop 1. Grandfather's domain. Looms: 6. All running. Silk output today: 42 meters. Cash box: 2,110 yuan.
Brewery Fermentation Hall 1. Thirty-first uncle checking vats. _Mood: Focused. Loyalty: 73/100._ Sorghum: 300kg. Wine aging: 12 vats. Est. value: 9,600 yuan.
Every business. Every uncle. Every yuan. As of 00:00 today.
Third: Twin Bone Amplifier.
He felt it. Lin Yu downstairs. _Worried about Brother. Brother acting strange since morning. Brother hiding something._
She was doing homework. He could feel her learning. Faster. +10%. Because he was nearby. Because they were twins.
Fourth: System Shop.
*[System Shop]*
*[Balance: 100 Family Points]*
*[Healing Poultice Recipe: 50 FP]* - _Cures common injuries. Broken bones, sprains, fever. Requires herbs. One-time use teaches recipe permanently._
*[Ledger Upgrade Lv.2: 200 FP]* - _Adds Skill and Potential fields to all members. Range: 5,000m._
*[Sense Range Upgrade Lv.2: 150 FP]* - _Bloodline Sense 50m → 100m._
*[Cohesion Bonus Lv.1: 300 FP]* - _Passive. All craft work in compound +5% quality._
He bought the poultice.
*[Purchased: Healing Poultice Recipe. 50 FP deducted. Balance: 50 FP.]*
*[Recipe learned: Dried ginger, white wine, crushed loquat leaf, boiled. Apply hot. Sets bones in 3 days. Cuts fever in 6 hours.]*
Mother grew loquat. Great-grandfather kept white wine under the stove.
Fifth: 50 FP left.
Ledger. Filter: _Health: Fever._
Four results. Lin Wu, 38.2°C, dropping. Three kids. Ages 6, 8, 11. 37.8-38.5°C. Different branches.
One was in Textile Workshop 1. Grandfather's building. Another in Hardware Store 3. Second uncle's nephew. Third in the east wing, near Thirty-first uncle's diesel engines.
He could make the poultice. Tonight.
Downstairs, the compound bell rang. 6:00 PM. Dinner.
*[Family Ledger Update: Great-grandfather. Mood: Hungry. Loyalty: 100/100.]*
*[Family Ledger Update: Grandfather. Mood: Watching. Loyalty: 88/100.]*
*[Family Ledger Update: Father. Mood: Calculating. Loyalty: 95/100.]*
*[Family Ledger Update: Fifth uncle. Mood: Stressed. Loyalty: 59/100.]*
*[Family Ledger Update: Lin Yu. Mood: Suspicious. Loyalty: 89/100.]*
Grandfather was watching. Fifth uncle was stressed about money. Second uncle was still counting nails. Seventh uncle was probably eating already.
He went downstairs. Third step. Seventh step.
Main hall. Twenty people. Grandfather sat to great-grandfather's left, silent, eyes on him. Father by the stove. Second uncle at the end, still smelling like nails. Fifth uncle across, barely eating, ledgers in his head. Thirty-first uncle near the door, hands stained with engine grease.
Lin Yu didn't kick his shoes. She just watched. _Worried_ pressed against his Sense.
He sat. Picked up his bowl.
He had 50 Family Points. A recipe. 695 people. Four fevers. One stressed fifth uncle. One curious grandfather. 84 days.
He ate fast.