The next morning, Feng Qingqing washed up and sat down at the dining table. She noticed that while she looked radiant, the rest of the family appeared rather listless. It made sense; for them, heading down to the countryside was practically the end of the world.
Feng Damei was the first to speak. Her eyes were filled with an unshakable sorrow. Even though Jiang Yong had warned her, she was a mother, and how could she not worry about her children going to the countryside? Her anxiety this time was truly sincere. She rambled on and on, but Jiang Yun, impatient with her whining, interrupted:
"Mom, instead of saying all that, why don't you just prepare more food and supplies for us?"
Without waiting for a response, he went back to eating.
The topic of supplies only made the situation more dismal. To scrape together the 600 yuan for his job, the family had emptied their savings and taken on debt. Feng Damei had no spare money left to prepare anything for them. Still, when she thought of the 240 yuan in resettlement subsidies that Jiang Yun would receive, she felt a pang of regret that it hadn't landed in her own pockets. But, realizing it was for the children’s expenses in the countryside, she bit her tongue.
She decided that since the family had nothing else, she would spend the next two days making plenty of dark-flour steamed buns for them to take on the train. They could buy whatever else they needed once they arrived.
With the move to the countryside finalized, there was nothing for Feng Damei to do but accept the inevitable. Her focus now shifted entirely to the matter of transferring Feng Qingqing's job.
After breakfast, Feng Qingqing returned to her room. The train for the countryside left at 6:30 in the morning in three days. She had two full days to figure out what to do. She had already purchased the local tickets she needed and had some national ration coupons left. Since staying at Feng Damei’s house meant she hadn't dared to enter her spatial dimension, a thought suddenly struck her, and her eyes lit up.
She had completely forgotten! Her spatial dimension was capable of farming, livestock raising, and upgrading.
She wasted no time. After offering a brief excuse, she headed out. Because the Jiang family assumed her job was already secured, their previous enthusiasm had faded into cold indifference. They hardly paid attention to what she did, though Jiang Yun remained curious about her whereabouts and often asked where she was going.
Feng Qingqing had already grasped the essentials of planting and animal husbandry within the space. While the system offered seeds and animal hatchlings for purchase, they required points. As she was currently at the initial stage with zero points, she had to find a way to buy them in the real world.
Her first stop was the grain station. Common grain seeds were available there. Since she had grain coupons, she estimated the size of the planting area in her space, bought the appropriate amount, and left.
With the planting area sorted, she needed livestock. She considered where she might find chicks, ducklings, or goslings, and decided to try the black market. If she couldn't find any there, she would check with local farmers.
She didn't know the exact location of the black market, only that it was near the hospital. Taking a chance, she managed to find it. By the time she arrived, it was late, and only a few people were lingering. She didn't see what she wanted, but since she was already there, she didn't want to leave empty-handed, so she bought some grain and flour.
At the last stall, she saw someone selling sponge cakes—her favorite snack. She hardened her heart and spent a premium to buy them all. Snacks like these would be hard to come by in the countryside, and with her spatial dimension, not utilizing it would be a complete waste.
After buying the cakes, she prepared to head back. She hadn't found any chicks, but it was still a productive trip. She decided to try again tomorrow.
As she left the black market, she passed the hospital, where many people were carrying supplies to visit patients. Feng Qingqing immediately spotted an older woman carrying a large hen. The bird looked lively and was clucking away. Her eyes lit up—this was exactly what she needed. She approached the woman, "accidentally" bumped into her, and struck up a conversation.
Fifteen minutes later, Feng Qingqing walked away, perfectly satisfied, carrying the old hen. She had paid a high price of 3 yuan, but considering it would lay an egg every day, she felt it was well worth it.
"This trip was definitely worth it," she thought happily.
She ducked into a secluded corner near the hospital and placed the clucking hen into the livestock area of her spatial dimension. The seeds she had bought earlier were already planted. The most convenient feature of the space was that planting and harvesting could be done with a single click—incredibly fast and easy.
Watching the flourishing scene in her mind, she felt a surge of motivation and hope for the future.
When she returned home that evening, she was surprised to find her aunt, Feng Damei, asking her questions with forced kindness, while her uncle, Jiang Yong, sat by with a gentle expression. She was puzzled at first, but then it clicked: *Here it comes.*
At dinner, there was an unusual dish on the table: chives with scrambled eggs. For the past few days, all Feng Qingqing had seen were dark-flour buns, cabbage, potatoes, or salty pickles.
Sure enough, Feng Damei placed the bowl of meat—which everyone else was eyeing greedily—in front of her and said with great warmth:
"Qingqing, eat, eat. This is all prepared for you. Life in your aunt's house is hard, and we don't have much. You've been here for days and haven't had a proper meal. If your uncle and cousin succeed, I'll make sure to serve you braised pork every day."
She lowered her head, feigning a look of sorrow.
Feng Qingqing had developed a complete immunity to this act. She reached out and snatched a quarter of the eggs into her own bowl, replying:
"I know your heart, Auntie. I understand. Let's not say anything else. Let's just eat."
The blunt response left Feng Damei speechless, frozen in place. *This stubborn girl,* she thought, *is she acting stupid or does she really not understand?* Just as she was about to continue, Jiang Yong interrupted:
"Yes, yes, eating is what matters. Eat, eat. We can talk about other things after dinner."
The rest of the meal passed in silence.
After dinner, Feng Qingqing didn't head straight to her room as she usually did. She knew she couldn't avoid this conversation forever, and since she was heading to the countryside, she needed to give them some hope to keep them pacified.
"Qingqing, look, you're almost off to the countryside. What did the factory say about your parents' pension?"
Feng Damei was, as expected, the first to speak.
Feng Qingqing put on a look of hesitation. "I went to the factory today and asked Director Zhao about the pension."
"And what did she say?" Feng Damei didn't know who Director Zhao was, but it sounded like a position of some authority.
"She said... she said because I'm not yet eighteen, the factory will hold the money for safekeeping. I can only collect it once I turn eighteen."
The Jiang family’s expressions soured visibly.
Ignoring them, Feng Qingqing continued:
"She also said that the factory had a similar case before. Both parents died, and the child was under sixteen. The pension was issued to the child, but within a week, it was all 'borrowed' away by various relatives under all sorts of excuses. Later, the child was found starved and unconscious at home. The factory had no choice but to provide a small monthly living allowance—they couldn't just let the child starve."
After she finished, the Jiang family looked even more miserable. Any thought they had of going to the factory to press the matter vanished. They didn't want to be mistaken for people who would covet their niece's pension.
Jiang Yong and his wife were furious, but they kept in mind the eldest son's job and the fact that their other three children were heading to the countryside with "that dead girl." The money would be theirs sooner or later; for now, the job was the priority. As for the house, they hadn't even considered it—after all, with a job, surely a house would follow?
It was this line of thinking that would later make them wish they were dead when they discovered there was no job, no house, and that they had also thrown 600 yuan down the drain.
"As for the job," Feng Qingqing said, "Director Zhao said that in a week, two people will retire. When the positions open up, she'll arrange a suitable one for me. She even gave me a reporting form. The personnel department only recognizes the form, not the person, so she told me I must keep it safe."
With that, Feng Qingqing reached into her pocket and pulled out a thin piece of paper.