It was a very ordinary piece of paper, but what was extraordinary was the content within.
To Shen Zhiyi: I hope this letter finds you well.
Hello, I am He Zhiyi. I wonder if you and your parents are doing well in 1975?
My adoptive parents and I have traveled through time to 2026, taking over your positions. Presumably, you have done the same with ours.
Upon arriving in this unfamiliar world, we felt lost and bewildered, which is why we came to the island for a vacation.
By chance, I discovered your existence and am sending this letter specially.
I look forward to your reply.
Shen Zhiyi was stunned—it was actually the original owner, He Zhiyi!
So it turned out that their family of three and the other family of three had swapped places with each other.
That was good, that was good. Otherwise, if they had squeezed out the other family for no reason, she would probably feel guilty for the rest of her life.
According to the letter, she could tell that the original owner had also been at the island villa these past few days, but they simply couldn’t sense each other’s presence.
The supplies on the island belonging to 2026 could be taken to 1975 through the Island System.
But what about supplies from 1975? Could they be brought to 2026?
With that thought in mind, Shen Zhiyi walked to the living room, found some paper and a pen, wrote a reply, and placed it on the kitchen island in the dining area, just like before.
Since it was the original owner, she had nothing to fear. The gun she had been keeping tucked at her lower back was put away again, placed somewhere within easy reach.
She had been worried about her parents even before going to the countryside, and now that she had arrived, she worried about them even more.
She didn’t have much of an appetite, so she decided to just boil a pack of instant noodles.
But she couldn’t just eat plain noodles—how boring would that be? Add a fried egg, a handful of greens, a small portion of beef rolls…
Five minutes later, Shen Zhiyi stared dumbfounded at the huge bowl piled high with instant noodles.
Clearly, she had only grabbed a tiny bit of each topping.
In the end, she ate a lot of the toppings but only took two bites of the noodles, wasting the rest.
This time, she remembered to clean up the kitchen.
When she left her room, Wang Xiaoxia and the others had already finished eating. She turned around, locked her room, and walked out of the educated youth compound’s gate.
Liu Peilan watched her retreating figure, narrowed her eyes slightly, held back again and again, and finally sidled up to Zhang Sumei.
“Hey, is what you said really true?”
Zhang Sumei patted her own chest and assured her, “Absolutely true!”
“We were junior high classmates, and she always lived in the leadership family compound.”
It was just a pity that she had never once gotten inside—all because of Shen Zhiyi, who was so stingy it was infuriating.
“She wasn’t like this before. She used to wear floral print dresses, dacron shirts, and changed into leather shoes and sandals every single day. Even her hair clips were made of pearls.”
Zhou Hong discreetly glanced down at her own skirt. In all her years, this was the first time she had ever worn a floral print dress.
She never expected that what she dreamed of was someone else’s everyday life.
She gritted her teeth. “Then it seems… something must have happened to her family.”
On the train, she had really been putting on an act.
But then again, if her family was really that wealthy, how could they not even afford a single meat dish?
Zhang Sumei nodded vigorously. “Exactly.”
“You don’t know—in the past, she was always flirting with men left and right. But look at her now…”
…
Soon it was time for the afternoon work shift. The villagers who had been taking their midday naps were gradually getting up.
Except for the five, six, seven, and eight-year-old kids—children of that age had far too much energy, enough that even dogs would avoid them.
Hardly any of them napped; they were all running wild across the hills.
Shen Zhiyi waved at one little tyke. “Hey, kid, come here.”
There were five or six kids playing with him, and when they saw her, they all ran over.
“Big sister!”
“Big sister.”
Wow, this big sister was way too pretty.
Could she be a fairy from heaven?
Shen Zhiyi pulled a handful of fruit candies from her pocket. “Why are you all staring at me like that?”
“Come on, big sister will treat you to some candy.”
The kids exchanged glances, not daring to take any.
“My mom said we can’t just eat things from strangers.”
Especially something this expensive.
“My grandma said the same.”
If her grandma found out, she would definitely get a beating.
Shen Zhiyi nodded. “Mm, that’s actually the right principle.”
The little tyke was instantly full of question marks.
Huh? Is that right?
That’s not how it usually goes.
Then Shen Zhiyi changed her tone. “But I’m not an outsider.”
“Once you eat this candy, we’ll be friends, okay?”
One fruit candy each, and Shen Zhiyi quickly won them over.
During their chatting and playing, she not only found out the location of the cowshed but also learned a ton of village gossip.
Before long, the gong for the afternoon work shift rang out, and the kids reluctantly said goodbye to her.
“Big sister, we’re leaving now. Time to go to work.”
“Yeah, it’s time. I still have two baskets of pig grass to cut this afternoon.”
Shen Zhiyi was taken aback. Ah, they were still this young, and they already had to go work in the fields.
“Alright, see you next time.”
After bidding farewell to the little kid, she returned to the small courtyard of the educated youth point and went straight into the villa early, not even eating dinner.
The educated youth point was quite far from the cowshed, so she needed to bring food that was easy to carry and wouldn’t have too strong a smell.
She thought for a moment, then pan-fried two steaks, brought some fruit, two baguettes she had baked herself, and a small handful of nuts.
When the night was deep and quiet, she took her insulated bag and, without even opening the courtyard gate, climbed over the wall and went out.
Though it was called a cowshed, it was actually a thatched cottage at the foot of the mountain. After all, in the eyes of the villagers at this time.
These rightists who had been sent down were even less valued than the yellow cattle in their brigade.
The house was a wooden shack with a straw roof, so there was no point in expecting a courtyard.
Shen Zhiyi walked to the door and had just raised her hand to knock when the door in front of her was yanked open from the inside.
“Father, Mother!”
“Zhizhi!”
“Daughter!”
All three of them had red-rimmed eyes at the same time.
As soon as the door was locked behind them, Mother Shen sniffed her nose. “Quick, Zhizhi, did you bring something delicious?”
“I’m dying of craving!”
Shen Zhiyi handed over the insulated lunchbox, a deep look of helplessness on her face. “Alright, alright, here you go.”
The heiress of a financial conglomerate, once doted on with a thousand favors, after eating coarse grains and chaff for a few days, couldn’t even bother to cut her steak when she ate it.
She just stabbed it with her fork and ate it directly.
Father Shen was also extremely helpless. “Eat slowly, don’t choke.”
As he spoke, he handed over a bowl of cold boiled water.
Mother Shen sniffed her nose. “Can’t eat slowly, I’m dying of craving.”
She swallowed the steak in her mouth and then looked at her daughter. “Zhizhi, next time bring your mother some durian.”
“I’m craving that.”
At the same time, in the capital, at the Bai residence.
Old Master Bai, who was always gentle and refined in temperament, flew into a rage. “This is simply going too far!”