Chapter 3: Jijang Mall

Rows of neatly displayed products lined up across a perfectly rectangular screen, each with its own price tag.

It looked exactly like an online shopping mall.

Even the products and the user interface were identical to the shopping site she had used most often.

“What is this… Jijang Mall?”

She was briefly bewildered by the unfamiliar name.

Then, all at once, a conversation she’d once had with her mother flashed through her mind.

“Yeonhee, do you know where the saying ‘Even the smallest good deed returns as a great blessing’ comes from?”

“Santa Claus?”

“That’s from Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. This saying comes from the teachings of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.”

Her mother had explained:

Long ago, when Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva vowed to save every soul suffering in hell, everyone said it was impossible.

“The fate of all living beings is determined by the karma they themselves have accumulated. How could anyone possibly erase all of those sins?”

But the compassionate Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva declared that if even the tiniest speck of goodness remained in a person’s heart, he would never give up on them and would willingly step forward to help.

Perhaps this website, Jijang Mall, was a system created from that very compassion.

A way of encouraging people never to give up on living kindly, no matter how difficult life became.

…Wait!

Then could this have something to do with that notification I saw earlier?

The one that had appeared immediately after she shared her porridge with her siblings.

It definitely said something about completing a Minor Good Deed…

Her heart began racing.

After making sure her siblings weren’t paying attention, So Yeonhee discreetly moved her finger and scrolled all the way to the bottom of the page.

There, on the footer banner, she found the words:

Current Points: 6 pt

Beneath that was a tiny instruction manual.

[Jijang Mall User Guide]

Products sold in Jijang Mall can only be purchased using Good Deed Points.

Good Deed Points are earned whenever you perform altruistic acts, and the number of points awarded depends on the significance of the good deed.

Prices within Jijang Mall are based on modern-day market values, with 1 point roughly equal to 1,000 won.

However, purchasing items that do not exist in this era may incur an additional fee depending on their influence.

© Ksitigarbha Corp. ∞ All Rights Reserved.

“Holy… This is insane.”

“I really get points just for doing good deeds?”

And she could freely spend those points on modern-day products?

“Then of course I’ll be a good person!”

“I’ll become an actual angel walking the earth!”

Joy surged through So Yeonhee.

Only now did her mother’s words truly sink in.

“Being kind never leaves you at a loss.”

With this… rebuilding the So family isn’t impossible anymore!

Although they were currently exiles…

There was still a way for her father to regain his freedom.

After all, if genuine evidence of treason had existed…

He would have been executed, not merely exiled.

I need to earn great merit here and make Father’s good deeds known to the imperial court.

When enough achievements pile up… even the Emperor won’t be able to refuse granting him a pardon.

How could an exiled criminal possibly earn merit?

There were actually plenty of ways.

Like the great scholar Jeong Yak-yong, who returned from the brink of death during persecution and was eventually pardoned after eighteen years, leaving behind works remembered throughout history.

Or like Fan Zhongyan of the Northern Song Dynasty, who saved tens of thousands of starving people through what could practically be called an ancient version of the New Deal.

As a last resort…

She could even follow the example of Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

Though…

That would require the nation itself to face destruction.

She’d rather not consider that option.

Realistically speaking… Fan Zhongyan’s route is the best.

Build a system that could prevent famine.

Ultimately save the people.

Win the hearts of the masses.

Leave her name in history.

And, as a bonus…

It would almost feel like playing SimCity.

Three birds with one stone.

There’s no way I’m passing this up.

Of course…

Such a plan would require an enormous amount of money.

The So family, stripped of all its wealth, could never have dreamed of funding such a relief project.

That was probably why even her wise father had never dared attempt it.

But I have the Good Deed Point System… and Jijang Mall.

Thanks to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s compassion…

Good deeds and wealth generation had become one and the same.

How could she not devote herself to doing good?

The corners of So Yeonhee’s lips curled upward.

All right.

Let’s see what this shop actually sells.

Claiming she was still tired, she sent her siblings away and firmly shut the door behind them.

Then she reopened Jijang Mall.

Since she had been given such an incredible ability…

She wanted to understand it thoroughly.

It’d be even better if I could actually buy something.

The family rice jar was practically empty.

Aside from that…

They had only a few wilted vegetables and a little seasoning left.

Considering her family’s poor nutrition…

What they desperately needed was meat.

Though she wasn’t particularly optimistic.

Meat is expensive these days…

As expected.

A single package of fresh beef cost 12 points—

Far beyond her current budget.

Even canned ham was more expensive.

Apparently, the additional fee greatly affected products that didn’t belong in this era.

“Potatoes are twenty points per kilogram?”

“Wow… that’s almost three times supermarket prices.”

Then again…

Potatoes were practically a cheat crop in alternate-history novels.

They filled stomachs well and produced excellent harvests.

No helping it.

I’ll have to wait until next year’s planting season.

Once planted, potatoes could practically multiply food supplies on their own.

Paying points for them every single time would be ridiculous.

Not a chance.

Fortunately…

Some items were much cheaper because they didn’t require additional fees.

The best example was the humble radish, already widely cultivated in this world.

A huge radish cost only 2 points.

Practically a gift from heaven.

“Oh?”

“As expected of a commoner’s vegetable.”

“The value for money is incredible.”

Autumn radishes were sweet.

Nutritious.

And because they were root vegetables, they were fairly filling as well.

After finishing her deliberation, So Yeonhee immediately bought one.

The moment she confirmed the purchase—

A fairly large cardboard box suddenly popped into existence in midair and landed at her feet with a thump.

“Wow.”

“This really is instant delivery.”

The item arrived the instant she ordered it.

Calling it “rocket delivery” almost felt inadequate.

At this speed…

It was more like the speed of light.

Grinning from ear to ear, she opened the box.

Inside sat one large radish.

Nothing else.

No packing material whatsoever.

“Yep.”

“This strangely lazy oversized packaging…”

“It’s exactly like that company’s style.”

After taking out the radish, she carefully examined the empty box.

She wondered whether it would disappear now that she’d removed the item.

Fortunately…

It stayed.

“Oh?”

“This could actually make decent insulation.”

Since the Daejin Empire was modeled after ancient China, homes had no ondol floor-heating system.

Naturally…

Cold air seeped up through the floor every night, making her back ache from the chill.

Didn’t they make cardboard beds during the Tokyo Olympics?

If I save enough of these boxes, they’ll definitely come in handy.

It would certainly be warmer than laying bedding directly on top of a straw mat.

Carefully folding the cardboard box, she stored it in a corner of the room.

“Now then…”

“What should I do with this radish?”

The simplest answer was soup.

But what was the point of boiling nothing but a radish in plain water without any meat?

That was hardly different from simply boiling the vegetables they already had.

“No…”

“I’ll have to get the meat myself.”

Well…

Meat was meat, after all.

Placing both hands on her waist, So Yeonhee shrugged confidently.

It was time to put her skills to use.

Bordered by rugged mountain ranges stood Cheongyang County, a frontier town.

And deep within those mountains lay Mangok Village—

A tiny settlement at the very edge of civilization.

People who had grown up in the luxury of the capital had suddenly been exiled to a place like this.

How could anyone expect them to make a living?

They’ll be lucky if they don’t freeze or starve to death.

There was a reason exile was often considered a “lenient death sentence” in the Daejin Empire.

Anyone unable to adapt to their new environment was quickly weeded out.

By that standard…

The So family had been incredibly fortunate.

Because So Yeonhee possessed expert knowledge in exactly this sort of survival.

After organizing her thoughts, she hurriedly gathered her siblings.

“What?”

“You’re going to catch fish with dojang?”

(A fermented soybean paste made by fermenting soybeans together with other grains.)

“Well… technically, it’s doenjang.”

She had just chased them away saying she was tired.

Now she’d suddenly called them back.

Had the mushroom poison not completely left her system yet?

Watching So Yeonhee—whose eyes had somehow changed completely in less than a single shikgyeong (about thirty minutes)—the children of House So scratched their heads in confusion.