Love learning pen

Hearing this, Zhao Dongchuan gave up exploring and prepared to boil some water to drink.

There was still some water in the water vat, so he used a ladle to scoop water into the sooty, blackened iron kettle on the stove, then lit a fire with matches.

Soon, the fire grew strong, and after about ten minutes, a kettle of water boiled. Zhao Dongchuan poured the water into a thermos and the remaining bit into a bowl.

Zhao Dongchuan felt something was missing. What was it? Some tea leaves.

He thought a bit pretentiously, wondering if he should go into town again in a couple of days to buy some things. Now he was a “rich man,” and he couldn’t treat himself poorly. Also, that bicycle ticket needed to be cashed in as soon as possible.

Once the hot water in the bowl had cooled slightly, Zhao Dongchuan blew on it and then gulped down the plain water.

After gnawing on a carrot from the system and drinking a bowl of plain boiled water, Zhao Dongchuan, feeling refreshed, walked towards the assembly point for the first team. Everyone was already there, except for him.

Sun Shaoan, the team leader, was already assigning tasks.

Seeing Zhao Dongchuan arrive, Sun Shaoan didn't say anything. After everyone else was assigned, he walked up to Zhao Dongchuan and said, “Let’s go. Today, I’ll take you to weed.”

Whether it was due to improved physical fitness or a psychological effect, Zhao Dongchuan clearly felt that everything was so “effortless” today.

His movements were no longer clumsy; he learned simply by watching Sun Shaoan do it once, a complete change from before. Previously, although he was very serious, his thoughts and body couldn't synchronize; it looked easy, but doing it was hard.

Now, he understood after one look; not only did his mind grasp it, but his hands and feet did too.

Sun Shaoan also looked at him with surprise, as if he was seeing him for the first time.

“You rascal, were you fooling us before?” Sun Shaoan asked Zhao Dongchuan, a bit annoyed. Such great progress, like a changed person, made him suspicious.

“It’s like this, Brother Shaoan, I just hadn’t really done much farm work before. These past few days, I’ve been busy with my private plot, and I’ve gotten more skilled as I’ve worked,” Zhao Dongchuan could only explain it this way. He couldn’t very well say he had a “cheat,” could he?

Sun Shaoan was somewhat skeptical, wondering if this kid had suddenly become enlightened. He had no idea about the system's magic; system-produced items were always top-notch!

And so, Sun Shaoan took Zhao Dongchuan and started working. After a whole morning, they had only completed less than half, and this was with Zhao Dongchuan having eaten the system-produced “carrot.”

If it had been under previous circumstances, he would have probably only managed a third by now, and Zhao Dongchuan would have already been exhausted.

At this moment, he deeply realized the meaning of: “Every grain of rice, every drop of water, consider its hard-won origin; every thread, every fiber, always remember the difficulty of obtaining resources.” (Everyone should cherish food!)

It was now noon, and everyone knocked off work. Today, they were eating at the public kitchen. Zhao Dongchuan took two black steamed buns and a bowl of vegetable soup, then squatted in a corner and slowly ate.

Although that “carrot” from the morning was indeed delicious, it was, after all, “a rare find.”

Although he now had the “huge sum” from the system's treasure chest and “fine grains” like “rice,” he couldn't just take them out to eat without a reasonable excuse.

At this time, every household was “struggling.” During these special times, many things were complicated, and the poorer the mountain village, the more intense the conflicts. So, at this time, it was still best to keep a low profile; “silently making a fortune” was the kingly way.

The entire day, Sun Shaoan took Zhao Dongchuan to weed. Although Zhao Dongchuan was tired, it was still within his physical limits. Sun Shaoan didn't know if he was trying to cure his old bad habit of “being lazy and gluttonous” or something else.

He just kept him working, strictly demanding, not giving him any chance to slack off, which left Zhao Dongchuan speechless. Generally, when working, everyone would more or less smoke a cigarette or slack off a bit.

Zhao Dongchuan finally understood: Sun Shaoan was going to “cultivate” him with special attention.

After a day's work, when it was time to knock off, everyone packed up their farm tools, returned them to their designated places, and then went home. Except for occasional “public kitchen meals” in the village at noon, all other meals had to be eaten at home.

Zhao Dongchuan returned home, poured himself a bowl of water, and leisurely drank it. If it had been a few days ago, he would definitely have been exhausted by now, barely eaten dinner, and then fallen asleep on the kang.

As Zhao Dongchuan drank his water, his mind had already activated the system to check his item inventory.

Looking at the 【Fountain Pen】 entry, he had a slight guess about the system's description, “Study hard and make progress every day.” Just like the carrot he ate before, he figured this must also be an extraordinary item.

He needed to verify it; if it was true, then he would hit the jackpot. Anything related to studying would become “twice the result with half the effort.”

He dug out a novel he had brought from the city earlier, “How the Steel Was Tempered,” and found a few sheets of paper. He mentally retrieved the fountain pen from his inventory. It looked like a very ordinary fountain pen, even a bit old, and he didn't know who had used it before.

Sitting cross-legged on the kang, he placed the novel and paper on the small table, then found a small piece of wood in the room to prop up the table's wobbly leg. Once everything was ready, he began to copy seriously.

First, he copied a page with his own pen. Afterward, he estimated about ten minutes had passed, then he tried to write that same page from memory. The result was obvious: he basically only remembered some general content, recalling less than 20%, and as time went on, he remembered even less.

Then, he used the 【Fountain Pen】 that the system had dropped, started on a new page, and followed the same process. After about ten minutes, he began to write from memory. The result was a pleasant surprise, confirming his hypothesis.

This time, he actually recalled about 50%, and the part he wrote from memory was very clear, unlike the fragmented memories from before that required a lot of thought.

Damn, this is amazing!

This was simply a “learning artifact”! With this powerful weapon, exams and such would be a breeze. Before, Zhao Dongchuan was worried, thinking that he hadn't studied for many years, his knowledge had long been returned to his teachers, and he feared he wouldn't pass the college entrance exam. With this “artifact,” from now on, he was a “top student.” What was a “poor student”? He didn't know them.

Zhao Dongchuan couldn't hide his excitement and began copying enthusiastically. After multiple tests, he finally estimated that, overall, the system-produced 【Fountain Pen】 could increase memory success by 20%.

Other things like thinking and calculation couldn't be tested temporarily due to lack of material, but he guessed there should be a bonus for those as well. Accumulated over time, this was a considerable bonus.

Thinking of this, Zhao Dongchuan's heart burned with excitement, and his eyes gleamed as he looked at the system's item inventory. At this moment, in his eyes, these items seemed to emit brilliant, dazzling light—they were all treasures.