When Fu Yurou emerged from the Youth Hostel Office, she felt refreshed and invigorated.
With the household register in hand, one could register people for resettlement to the countryside. Fu Yurou had signed up all four members of the Fu family, taking the opportunity to collect their ration coupons and resettlement subsidies as well. A family, she believed, ought to stay together—in every sense.
She couldn't help but wonder if the Fu family had completely let their guard down, giving her the household register so easily. She didn't dwell on it for long; she had no way of knowing that Huang Meifeng, distracted by the chaos surrounding those hidden treasures, had simply wanted Fu Yurou out of the house as quickly as possible, leading to this oversight.
At that moment, Fu Yurou’s consciousness sank inward, checking her points.
【Congratulations to the Host for completing the mission: Register Zhang Pan, Fu Jianye, and Fu Yuqing for resettlement to the countryside to build a better homeland. Mission reward: 1,000 points. Please claim them.】
"System, how many points to open the System Mall?"
"Ten thousand points."
Fu Yurou paused in her tracks. "So, I have to complete ten missions? Where do I find these missions?"
The System replied: "Missions are triggered randomly."
This particular mission had been triggered the moment she obtained the household register. She mused that if there were other missions, they likely required a specific catalyst. It was frustrating that the System wouldn't provide a hint as to where those catalysts might be.
Lost in thought, she walked toward the bank. After a round of questioning by the staff, she successfully withdrew the two thousand yuan using the bankbook and seal. Once outside, she slipped the cash into her personal space in a deserted alley.
Her current assets included a trunk full of treasures—though she couldn't use those yet—the two thousand yuan Fu Aiguo had given her, and four hundred yuan in resettlement subsidies for the four of them. Each person received one hundred yuan now; she’d heard that just a few years ago, the subsidy had been double that. Plus, there were various ration coupons and the seven yuan and thirty cents in private savings belonging to her and Fu Yuqing.
Looking at the coupons, she remembered that Fu Aiguo hadn't given her a single one along with the money. He really was ruthless, ensuring that even with cash in hand, she wouldn't be able to buy anything. But never mind; she wasn't a saint herself, so there was no point in the pot calling the kettle black.
She had staggered the registration dates. Her own train ticket was for three days later, while the other three were scheduled for seven days after that, with instructions for the Youth Hostel Office to notify them only when the time came. The thought of the expressions on the faces of the Fu family once she was gone and they realized that Zhang Pan, Fu Jianye, and Fu Yuqing were all being sent away brought a smirk to her lips. It was a pity, she thought, that she wouldn't be there to see it.
She had heard that the countryside in this era was impoverished and barren. In her previous life, she had spent half her time in hospital rooms and the other half confined to her home; she had barely stepped outside, knowing only what she had gleaned from the internet and research. With so little life experience, she couldn't help but sigh. She decided she had better stock up—it was better to be over-prepared, especially since she wasn't short on money.
Following the original owner’s memories, she went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and began a buying spree, using every coupon she had. Pastries, fruit candies, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, water bottles, and tea mugs—four of everything.
"Comrade, you can't possibly use four of these yourself. Buying so much is a waste of state resources. You're undermining the foundations of socialism!"
The clerk looked down her nose, her tone sharp as she immediately slapped a political label on her.
Fu Yurou wasn't about to stand for it. A crowd had gathered, and she knew that in this era, such accusations were dangerous. Her voice turned stern. "Comrade, I insist you apologize. I am buying these because my sister and my younger brother and sister are also being sent to the countryside. See, here are their resettlement certificates."
The clerk looked them over and muttered ungraciously, "How was I supposed to know so many of your family were heading to the countryside?"
"Our family is responding to the state's call, sacrificing our small home for the sake of the greater good," Fu Yurou said, wearing an expression of righteous duty before casting a sidelong glance at the clerk. "I never expected to be accused of undermining socialism. I feel as wronged as Dou E herself."
As she spoke, she raised her hand to wipe her eyes, as if she had been bullied into tears. Seeing the young girl crying, the surrounding crowd began to murmur and point at the clerk.
"She did the same thing to me when I bought supplies last time."
"That poor girl; she's been bullied into tears."
The clerk: (⊙ヮ⊙)
She had gone from righteous indignation to sobbing in a heartbeat. Feeling the weight of the crowd’s gaze, she had no choice but to apologize and hand over the items.
After Fu Yurou’s little scene, the other counters didn't dare question her bulk purchases. As people lined up, everyone was able to buy what they needed. When she calculated the cost, it was incredibly cheap—everything was just a few cents or dimes. The total for all four sets came to just over ten yuan. At this rate, she had no idea when she would ever finish that small fortune of two thousand four hundred yuan.
However, struggling out of the store with a pile of goods, Fu Yurou felt a twinge of regret—she’d bought too much to carry at once. But then she looked at the long line still snaking behind her and thought about how it had taken two hours to queue for just a few minutes of shopping. She decided to stick with it.
After this incident, she was even more eager to unlock the System Mall. Once she could shop online, who would ever need to wait in line again?
"Yurou."
A gentle, skin-crawlingly soft male voice drifted toward her from ahead.
Fu Yurou looked up and felt her heart skip a beat. The man approaching was in his early twenties, standing at six feet tall. He wore a simple white shirt and black trousers—an outfit that would look like a disaster on anyone else, but on him, it looked like he’d stepped off a runway. As he walked toward her against the light, he looked like the protagonist of a romantic drama.
When he reached her, she finally caught a clear look at his face. His skin was fair and his features were strikingly refined—a rare sight in this drab, gray era.
"...Song Zhishu."
Thankfully, she still had enough sense to dig the name out of the original owner's memories.
*Ding-dong!*
【Host has triggered a mission: Convince Song Zhishu to go to the countryside together to build a better homeland.】
Fu Yurou: (??w??)???
This system clearly had a screw loose; it wanted to send everyone it encountered to the countryside. Still, better him than her. For the sake of the Mall, she was in.
"Let me help you."
Song Zhishu reached out and took most of the items from her hands.
"Thank you," Fu Yurou said, casting her eyes down modestly.
She mentally organized the information she had on him. Song Zhishu was the son of the Machinery Factory director and a high school classmate of hers—someone she had been eyeing as a potential husband. The two were in that ambiguous "more than friends, less than lovers" stage, just a thin veil away from breaking through.
If this resettlement business hadn't come up, they might have made it official with a bit of effort. But if he went to the countryside with her... well, could it still work? Unfortunately, she wasn't the original girl, so it didn't matter to her. Completing the mission was the priority.
"Why buy so many things?" Song Zhishu asked.
"I'm heading to the countryside," Fu Yurou replied.
Just as she was brainstorming how to trick—or rather, persuade—him to join her, she heard him say, "What a coincidence. I’m heading to the countryside, too."
"What?"
Fu Yurou turned in surprise, completely dumbfounded. Was the original heroine’s charm really that powerful? She hadn't even opened her mouth, and he was already volunteering. It was like preparing to haggle hard over an item, only for the seller to drop to the lowest price before she could even speak. The sense of anticlimax left her feeling strangely hollow.
"You... why are you going to the countryside too?"