Seeing that Director Zhao was still trying to persuade her, Feng Qingqing felt grateful in her heart, but she still resolutely said:
"Auntie, I have already made up my mind. Everywhere here holds memories left behind by my mom and dad. I want to go to the countryside and start a new life, and I'm sure my parents' spirits in heaven would also like to see me have a fresh start."
Seeing how resolute her attitude was, Zhao Xiaojuan said no more. She patted her chest and promised that the matter of the job was on her, telling Feng Qingqing to come find her tomorrow afternoon.
Actually, Zhao Xiaojuan could have made the decision right then and there, but she still needed to go back and discuss the amount with her husband first.
After coming out of the factory, seeing that it was still early, Feng Qingqing walked along the road toward the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
She still had some ration tickets in her possession, which would become unusable once she went to the countryside. To avoid wasting them, Feng Qingqing decided to go on a massive shopping spree today.
Once she went to the countryside, buying things wouldn't be nearly as convenient, nor would she have so many tickets. Besides, she had her Space Necklace, so taking things with her would be a breeze.
Upon arriving at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, since it was working hours, there were only a sparse few people inside.
Feng Qingqing looked around, chose a counter, and pulled various tickets from her pocket—which was actually from her space.
At present, she had 4 soap tickets, 2 washbasin tickets, 2 towel tickets, 1 kettle ticket, 5 pastry tickets, 5 glove tickets, and cloth tickets...
Forty minutes later, when Feng Qingqing emerged from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, two string bags were completely stuffed.
She quietly walked over to a deserted alley, gave a wave of her hands, and all the items vanished straight into her space.
Feng Qingqing leisurely strolled all the way back to the family quarters. When she was still two or three hundred meters away from the compound, she spotted her dear cousin pacing back and forth alone downstairs with her head bowed.
Her hands crossed from time to time, making her look somewhat anxious.
Seeing this, Feng Qingqing let out a cold snort in her heart, knowing full well that this cousin of hers wouldn't let the matter rest.
In her past life, the Jiang family's ability to rise to prosperity was inseparable from the schemes and strategies devised by this very cousin.
Take that Space Necklace, for instance—that was a secret Feng Qingqing only discovered because she retained memories of her previous life and followed Jiang Yun around in a soul state for a long time.
Yet Jiang Yun at this present moment seemed to have known in advance, deliberately tricking her out of the necklace.
At this thought, Feng Qingqing narrowed her eyes. It seemed her cousin had quite a few secrets hidden on her.
No, she had to figure them out; otherwise, with this ticking time bomb around, many future events would become completely unpredictable.
As she thought about this, she walked up to Jiang Yun:
"Cousin, what are you doing, pacing back and forth downstairs at my place?"
Seeing her return, Jiang Yun immediately put on a happy face and said:
"Cousin, you're finally back! I've been waiting for you for ages. Where did you go?"
Feng Qingqing knew that while this remark sounded casual, it was actually a deliberate probe.
Jiang Yun had come here today for two reasons: on one hand, her mother had sent her to keep an eye on Feng Qingqing; on the other hand, she had her own agenda.
"Nothing, I was just feeling cooped up at home and went for a casual walk."
"Why did you come? And you didn't even let me know." Not wanting to dwell on the subject, Feng Qingqing deftly changed the topic.
Seeing that Feng Qingqing didn't want to talk about it, Jiang Yun stopped pursuing the matter.
"My mom sent me over to keep you company. She was worried about you being home all alone. See how much my mom cares about you? Even more than she cares about me, her own daughter. I'm almost getting jealous."
With that, she feigned a jealous expression as if it were all real.
In her past life, this mother-and-daughter duo had used this exact trick to keep her completely under their control, making her truly believe that her aunt's family were all wonderful people who treated her like their own flesh and blood.
As for how she felt about them now—well, the less said, the better.
"That's right, Auntie has been very good to me, and I'm getting ready to repay her properly." Feng Qingqing replied with neither warmth nor coldness.
Although there was nothing wrong with these words, Jiang Yun somehow felt today that Feng Qingqing was acting a bit strange, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what was odd.
Pushing these distracting thoughts aside, Jiang Yun and Feng Qingqing entered the house together as if they owned the place.Knowing that Jiang Yun was coming today, Feng Qingqing had already eaten something on her way back and wasn't hungry. She told Jiang Yun to fix something for herself, then washed up and went straight to her room to lie down.
So much had happened today that Feng Qingqing was truly exhausted.
When she woke up the next day, she found Jiang Yun sitting at the end of the bed, looking as though she had been awake for a long time.
Seeing Feng Qingqing get up, Jiang Yun squeezed out a smile:
"Cousin, you're awake. Hurry up and get up for breakfast. I've already made it and was just waiting for you."
At the breakfast table.
Seeing Feng Qingqing about to eat, Jiang Yun hesitated and stammered for a long time, glancing at Feng Qingqing every now and then. Knowing what she was up to, Feng Qingqing ignored her and went on eating.
Must be said, Jiang Yun's cooking was still as good as ever.
Seeing that Feng Qingqing ignored her for a long time, Jiang Yun finally brought it up herself:
"Cousin... well, you see, when I came over before, I saw Auntie wearing a necklace around her neck, and I liked it so much. Could you let me have a look at it?"
Afraid that Feng Qingqing might refuse, she repeated it a few times:
"I just want to look at it, don't overthink it. I really, really like it, or else I wouldn't be bringing this up now. Do you think you can grant me this wish?"
With that, she lowered her head with a wronged expression:
"You know how poor my family conditions have been since I was little. Let alone a necklace, I've never even seen a bracelet." She put on a pitiful display. Had it been the Feng Qingqing of her past life, she would have taken it out without a second word.
But the present Feng Qingqing looked at her with a blank and confused expression:
"What necklace? When did my mom ever wear one? Why do I have no memory of it?"
With that, she looked like she was seriously and carefully trying to remember.
"It's that silver one with a tiny heart-shaped pendant. Ring a bell?"
"Let me think some more..." She looked at Jiang Yun with curiosity.
"Why did you suddenly think of asking about this?"
"Um... well... just suddenly thought of it."
Feng Qingqing suddenly had a strange feeling: perhaps Jiang Yun was the kind of person who either had extraordinary luck or possessed an innate, razor-sharp intuition for good things.
Otherwise, there was no explaining how such an ordinary family in her past life could rise to such heights so smoothly, with the whole family riding on their coattails. She refused to believe Jiang Yun played no part in this.
Whichever it was, it spelled no good news for her.
A sudden sense of urgency gripped Feng Qingqing. She wanted to hurry back to that man's side, back to where he was. That was her real home and where she felt safe.
"I have no idea what necklace you're talking about. You can look for it yourself if you want. I have things to do and am heading out." With that, Feng Qingqing went out.
All the valuable things at home had already been stored away in her Space Necklace. As for the other large items, Jiang Yun had visited her house plenty of times and probably knew her way around better than Feng Qingqing herself did by now.
Once outside, knowing that opportunities to return would be scarce after heading to the countryside, Feng Qingqing decided she had to rush and get all her unfinished business settled.
First, she made a trip to the state-run bookstore. Knowing about the future reinstatement of the college entrance examinations, she planned to buy a few sets of study materials to take back with her.
After buying some stationery and other odds and ends, she emerged from the bookstore.
After stepping outside, Feng Qingqing thought it over and decided to head to the salvage station anyway.
Had she not possessed the space, she wouldn't have bothered coming. But since she had it now, she figured she would see if she could pick up any discounted treasures to take back.
The gatekeeper of the salvage station was an old man half-dozing in a reclining chair, eyes half-closed.
Hearing her greeting, he let out a grunt as Feng Qingqing walked inside.
Feng Qingqing's space was still at the initial level; once it reached Level 1, it would gain scanning capabilities. By then, visiting salvage stations would definitely yield some real treasures.
Thus, amidst much regret, she picked and chose for over an hour, finally settling on two books of quotations, three very old-looking books, a stack of newspapers that appeared to have been recently collected, and an antique-looking jewelry box.
When she came out, the old man glanced at the pile, demanded two yuan, and let her leave.