Magical Cat

"But that's a lot of money!" Elaine said pitifully.

"If we had that much money, our family would be much more relaxed, and we wouldn't even have to work in the fields to have enough to eat and wear."

Elaine wasn't after the money for her own enjoyment, but rather because she didn't want her family to continue suffering.

Li En sighed. He was also a child from the village and knew the hardships of farmers. He understood that crops grew not only by absorbing nutrients from the soil, the rain, and the sun, but also by the lives of the farmers.

Feet steamed by the hot earth, back scorched by the blazing sun.

Most people have probably only heard the phrase "facing the loess soil with their backs to the sky".

But those who haven't experienced it simply can't imagine the suffering involved.

In Li En's memory, her parents had to take two painkillers before going to work in the fields, otherwise they simply couldn't bear it.

In the village, the older the person is, the more painkillers they need to take before going to the fields.

Eat them handful by handful...

Li En was in a daze for a moment, and memories of his past life surfaced, flashing past several dark faces with honest smiles.

People who take handfuls of pills are always reluctant to give him this kind of painkiller.

Only when there is absolutely no other way will I break off half of it to save him from an emergency.

Once, Li En remembered his parents telling him that they were sending him to school so that he would never have to take this medicine again.

They weren't unaware that the medicine was bad for people, but someone had to do the work in the fields.

ฅ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ฅ

(The kitten is sad)

Li En's memories as a human being are actually quite blurry.

But occasionally, such vivid memories would surface, plunging him into an emotional vortex.

"Li En, Li En..."

Elaine used her demonic power to awaken Lee En, who was lost in his emotions.

Li En looked up blankly at Elaine.

"So what do you suggest we do now?"

Elaine asked the question, glancing at the students who were still enthusiastically offering their prices.

A dozen or so gold coins is already their limit; having more money would be a considerable challenge for them.

Some people did want to write IOUs or pay in installments, but neither of these were on Li En and Elaine's radar.

"Ask Safina. If she wants to go, she can go for free. Her skills and knowledge are more valuable."

Lee En finally looked at the girl with glasses.

But after saying that, Li En changed his mind.

"No, ask her for a higher price, and say that if you spend some time together, your relationship might improve."

Elaine tilted her head: "I feel like I get along really well with Safina."

"I'm talking about my relationship with him!" Lee Eun emphasized.

"Huh?" A question mark flashed above Elaine's head.

Elaine couldn't understand why Lee En, who always breathed on Safina and gave her a cold shoulder, would agree to such a condition unless Safina had some kind of special fetish.

If Elaine hadn't trusted Lee En quite a bit, she wouldn't have wanted to do as he said.

Holding the extra envelope, she approached Safina amidst the chaotic shouts of her classmates.

"Safina, do you want to come with me?" Elaine asked.

The other students fell silent, regretting that they hadn't cultivated a better relationship with Elaine.

They didn't expect Elaine to be so loyal, always thinking of her academically gifted deskmate when something good happened.

But Safina shook her head: "I'd like to go too, but I don't have that much money."

Unexpectedly, Safina's allowance wasn't enough.

Elaine scratched her head. She had a good relationship with Safina before, especially after the special lessons, and they often communicated. She really didn't want to appear too mercenary.

She looked back at Li En and saw that her cat was constantly urging her on, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth.

Before she could even speak, Safina pulled out her wallet and emptied out all the money inside.

Safina counted carefully, then spread the coins out to Elaine, saying, "There are only four gold coins and sixty-six silver coins in total."

Safina didn't have a single copper coin in her wallet.

Elaine turned to look at Li En and saw her cat shaking its head repeatedly, clearly dissatisfied with the amount.

Then she saw Lee Eun-chong winking at himself, and Elaine had no choice but to go up to Safina and whisper a few words in her ear.

After saying that, they both looked in Li En's direction.

Li En feigned arrogance, turning her head to the side as if she didn't care, but one of her ears was already perked up, pointed in that direction.

"That bookworm won't back down, will he?"

This was Li En's first time doing something like this, and he didn't know how to gauge the situation.

He was hesitating whether to strike a pose and flaunt his figure to make Safina lose control, but his little ears perked up and heard Safina's excited voice.

"Wait for me!"

Suddenly, Safina reached into her lower back and started rummaging around, seemingly looking for something.

After a while, Safina took out a monocle.

The monocle was simple and unadorned, with a finely woven silver chain.

"This is my old monocle. It's a magical item; how about I give it to you?"

Safina didn't have any more money, but she had other good things.

"What are magical items used for?" Elaine asked curiously.

She had only seen her classmates use it; she hadn't experienced it herself yet.

Safina helped Elaine put on her monocle, and Elaine immediately felt refreshed, as if the whole world had become brighter.

"Huh, do I have vision problems?" Elaine asked in surprise.

Children from poor families have never had their eyesight checked. If they can't see clearly, they can only squint and bring their eyes close to see; they have no other way.

"This monocle doesn't correct vision; it only slightly enhances mental attributes and allows one to faintly perceive magical flow."

Safina explained the function of the monocle.

"Holy crap, a magical item that boosts attributes!"

"Isn't that magical equipment?"

"Safina doesn't lack money, she lacks cash!"

The students were in an uproar, as if the monocle was incredibly valuable, far more expensive than their previous reports.

Hearing this reaction, Li En turned around with satisfaction and winked at Yilian.

But the girl was busy studying the monocle with Safina and didn't even glance at Li En.

(๑ↀᆺↀ๑)

Lee En glared at Elaine angrily until Elaine felt stung by her own gaze.

Safina glanced at Li En and Elaine, and she could tell that Elaine seemed to respect Li En's ideas.

"This monocle is one I used before, but I have a better one now, so I haven't used it."

"Don't worry, the materials alone would cost more than a dozen gold coins on the market, so you definitely won't lose out."

Elaine nodded; she was quite satisfied with the deal.

However, we still need to hear Li En's opinion.

"I, um, I'll be right there."

Elaine hesitated, not wanting to directly ask for Li En's opinion, since there were other classmates around, and she was afraid of being seen as a weirdo.

Safina understood Elaine's meaning and told her to hurry up and not worry about herself.

The students whispered among themselves, extremely anxious, because Elaine was already leaning towards making a deal with Safina instead of taking their dirty money.

Elaine walked over to Li En, then knelt down and put the monocle on Li En's head.

"Look, Safina said that besides the money we have, she can also give us this. I think it's pretty useful." Elaine clearly already had an idea.

When Li En put on the monocle, he found that his vision was much clearer, and he also felt that his mind was sharper.

"Safina said this monocle adds a bit of mental attribute; it's a magical item, and the materials alone cost over a dozen gold coins."

"Is it really that good?" Li En asked suspiciously, concentrating as she looked around.

Suddenly, a message appeared before my eyes, fixed next to my monocle.

The Thinker's Monocle

Quality: Excellent (Green)

Defense: +1

Additional: Spirit +1

Special effects: None

Note: I think, therefore I am