"What are you saying?"
Huang Meifeng thought she had misheard.
The official from the educated youth office had no choice but to repeat himself: "We still have to notify the others heading to the countryside; the times are on the notification slip."
Huang Meifeng grabbed the person, refusing to let go. "No, our family already has someone going to the countryside, and my eldest daughter has a job. Why does she still have to go?"
The official from the educated youth office kept his composure and said, "Everyone in your family signed up to go to the countryside voluntarily. The names have already been submitted and the assignments finalized. Even if she has a job, she still has to go."
"Impossible, we didn't sign up..."
Halfway through her sentence, Huang Meifeng suddenly remembered giving the household registration book to Fu Yurou and telling her to go sign up.
The world turned black before her eyes. Between the exhaustion from lack of sleep over the past few days and the sudden shock, she fainted on the spot.
The rest of the Fu family had been inside listening to the commotion. Hearing the news and seeing Huang Meifeng collapse, they all fell into a panic.
...
[Congratulations to the host for completing the mission to accept Song Zhishu’s braised pork. Reward: 1000 Points. Please check.]
Fu Yurou checked her balance. Her total was now 1500 Points.
"System, open the System Mall immediately."
"Please wait a moment, Host."
The 1500 Points were instantly reduced to 500.
It really is true: you save up for a year only to spend it all in seconds!
After a moment of heartache, Fu Yurou waited patiently for a few minutes before hearing the system’s pleasant electronic voice.
"Host, the System Mall is now open."
"Really?"
Fu Yurou rubbed her hands together and submerged her consciousness into the void to inspect the store.
It was essentially an electronic interface floating in mid-air with the words "System Mall" written at the top. Below were various categories, a list of recommendations, and a search bar.
Having experienced online shopping before, Fu Yurou got the hang of it in no time.
But once she finished browsing, her smile vanished.
"Why is everything so expensive?"
A single dress cost tens of thousands of Points, and even the cheapest items were several thousand.
The system explained: "Host, those are just page recommendations. There are cheaper items as well; you can adjust the point settings yourself. Actually, we do not recommend purchasing items that exceed the technology of this era. What you lack now is food, and the System Mall is well-stocked with supplies, so the prices are very low."
Fu Yurou thought about it and decided the system was actually making sense for once.
Even if she bought those expensive dresses and shoes, she couldn't wear them out. They would just gather dust in the void for decades, and by the time she could wear them, she wouldn't have this young body anymore.
It would be a waste.
It was definitely not because she couldn't afford them.
Fu Yurou then searched for food.
Sure enough, it was incredibly cheap. One Point could buy ten steamed buns; one Point could buy ten catties of rice; one Point could buy...
Never before had Fu Yurou realized how valuable a single Point could be.
Perhaps to give Fu Yurou some motivation to earn more, the system tempted her: "If the host doesn't know how to cook, besides buying raw ingredients, you can also order takeout."
"There's such a thing?"
Fu Yurou’s eyes lit up. She promptly typed "takeout" into the search bar.
A wide variety of restaurants appeared, and the dishes looked incredibly appetizing.
However, the prices weren't at the "one Point for ten buns" level. A single dish cost anywhere from dozens to tens of thousands of Points.
She could afford the cheaper ones.
"System, you’ve finally done something useful."
Mom, you’ll never have to worry about me going hungry again.
Looking at her remaining 500 Points, Fu Yurou decided she really needed to take on a few more missions.
The system sensed her thoughts and quietly breathed a sigh of relief in a place Fu Yurou couldn't see: she finally took the bait.
The train started and stopped frequently, and to Fu Yurou, who had experienced the speed of the modern age, it was as slow as a snail crawling.
Waiting in line for the restroom was even worse. She teamed up with Wang Fangfang, with the thick-skinned Li Qiuyan tagging along behind. After waiting for over twenty minutes, they finally got to use the restroom, but they were all squeezed to the point of smelling like sweat.
As for Gu Qingya, she seemed to disdain associating with them and went to the restroom by herself.
The three of them were squeezing their way back when, halfway there, a sudden wail rose from ahead.
"My money was stolen! My money was stolen! That was my life-saving money—my child is sick and needs to go to a big hospital!"
The three of them subconsciously reached to check the money they had hidden on their persons.
Fu Yurou was halfway to her pocket when she remembered her money was in the void where no one could steal it. She casually moved her hand to tuck back a strand of hair instead.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wang Fangfang reaching for her chest and Li Qiuyan reaching into her trousers.
Fu Yurou: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
Well... that’s a safe place to hide money, if a bit vulgar.
After confirming their money was still there, the three calmed down and squeezed forward to watch the commotion. They had to pass by there anyway to get back to their seats.
Li Qiuyan and Wang Fangfang were formidable in a crowd; Fu Yurou followed behind them and managed to score a front-row spot to watch the drama.
A middle-aged woman sat on the ground in despair, crying with her hair disheveled and matted against her face, her eyes red and swollen, and her cheeks covered in tears. She held a sleeping, unresponsive child in her arms.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. It was enough to make anyone feel sympathetic.
Why couldn't she have learned from Wang Fangfang and Li Qiuyan and kept it in a safer place?
The people around just watched; no one stepped forward to help, mostly because they didn't know how.
Just then, a "heroine" in yellow stepped forward to seek justice.
Gu Qingya emerged and said, "Auntie, tell us, how was your money stolen? Who was around you at the time, and was there any identifying mark on the money?"
"It was just stolen a moment ago. I took it out to look at it, put it back in my pocket, and in the blink of an eye, it was gone! There were thirty-three yuan, five mao, and one fen. There were no marks on the money."
Gu Qingya noticed a small, blackened cloth bag hanging from the woman’s neck, the bottom of which was ripped open.
"Auntie, let me see the bag you kept your money in."
The woman took it out and handed it to her. "Miss, you’re a kind soul. Please help me find the person who stole it. My child needs that money."
"Don't worry, Auntie. I will do my best."
Gu Qingya spoke with care, promising only to try rather than guaranteeing she would find the money.
She examined the tears at the bottom of the bag—they were sharp and clean—and then took a sniff.
"There’s a smell of machine oil on this."
The woman said, "My husband works in an oil factory. Everything he touches smells like it."
"Since that’s the case, then this will be easy."
Gu Qingya opened her bag, took out a small bottle, and said, "I have something here that reacts with machine oil. Anyone who has touched it will have their hands turn black. Since the auntie said the money was stolen just now, that proves the thief is still in this carriage, perhaps even among the crowd watching. To prove everyone’s innocence, I hope you will all cooperate."