“Just think of it as one golden finger—but because both of us transmigrated, for some reason this one system got split in two. You do the check-ins, I receive the items.” He Qiutang quickly summarized. Honestly, she couldn’t help but think the mysterious system was a bit stingy—two people sharing one golden finger?
“Better than nothing. It’s more like a conceptual god anyway—whatever you check in, it can show up,” Zhao Huaian said, surprisingly content now. The only problem was that he still didn’t know where the storage space was. To him, the whole thing still felt like a useless gimmick.
The two briefly exchanged basic information, especially where they lived, so they could find each other later. “I came out today mainly to buy some things. Let’s go, you come with me.”
Zhao Huaian ate another bun, finally easing the hunger in his stomach. “Alright!”
He then brought up the issue of work. For someone like her—who basically had no practical skills—going down to the countryside would only be a burden. Zhao Huaian didn’t approve of it either. Both of them had just graduated this year, but his family situation was complicated, and the pressure between getting a job and being sent to the countryside had already made the household atmosphere tense.
“As for work, you just focus on the recruitment exam. I’ve got my own way of staying in the city,” he said.
“What’s your plan?” she asked.
Zhao Huaian had actually spent the entire morning wandering around not just to familiarize himself with the area, but also to think about how to stay in the city. He was already struggling to eat enough—going to the countryside? Was he supposed to chew on wheat stalks out there?
“Of course it’s something related to vehicles. Don’t forget what your husband did before he transmigrated,” he said confidently. After all, having a skill mattered everywhere. He was actually glad he hadn’t gone to an ancient world—no matter how good his driving or repair skills were, they would’ve been useless there.
“Are modern cars even the same as future ones?” she asked, not worried at all about his ability. In the past, Zhao Huaian had even obtained a heavy truck driver’s license and ran his own auto repair shop.
“They’re not exactly the same, but don’t worry. A lot of the basics are similar—I’ll get the hang of it quickly,” he replied, fairly confident.
He Qiutang reminded him, “Everyone around here knows the original body’s life experience. Don’t do anything too outrageous. If people ask where you learned it from, you won’t be able to explain.”
“Hmm… you’re right. I do need to find a reasonable explanation for that skill,” Zhao Huaian thought seriously. No matter where he went, he had to earn money and support a family. Especially since his original family situation wasn’t great—staying in the city was only the first step. Without financial strength, he didn’t want his wife to suffer after marrying into his family so early.
The two of them only visited the department store. On the first floor, there were a few food stalls, but they didn’t buy much due to limited money. When they parted, He Qiutang only kept two meat buns for herself and gave all the rest to Zhao Huaian, even slipping him two yuan.
Seeing his young wife so thoughtful and chatty made Zhao Huaian feel deeply satisfied—if only this weren’t an era where they couldn’t casually hug or be close.
“The bus is coming soon, you should go home first. Just stay home and prepare for your exam,” he said.
“Alright. If anything happens, come find me. If not, I’ll mostly be at home,” she replied.
That evening, when the mother and daughter returned home, they saw He Qiutang sitting at the kang table under a lamp, reading books. Beside her were many scattered newspapers.
“Mom, big sister, you’re back. I’ve made dinner—it’s kept warm in the pot,” she said.
When He Suqin entered and took off her coat, she casually checked her notes and nodded slightly. The handwriting was neat—clearly she had been serious.
Seeing her eldest daughter approve, Shen Lanxiang finally felt relieved. Good, she was willing to study. As expected—her own children were smart; it was just the youngest who had been lazy and unwilling to learn.
“There are only three days left until the exam. I’ll take leave that day and stay with you. Your sister also found a lot of materials for you today. Tonight we’ll focus on key points—you’ll stay home and study hard these next two days!”
As she spoke, she took out a lunchbox from her bag.
“Smell that? It’s a dish from the state-owned restaurant. If you behave and study, I’ll bring you something good every day these next two days.”
Seeing her youngest daughter’s eyes light up, Shen Lanxiang felt even more convinced—just as the eldest said, this girl was simply greedy and couldn’t endure hardship. And not just her—the eldest was the same.
To Shen Lanxiang, going to the department store to buy some egg cake would have been enough to coax her, but her eldest insisted on dragging her to the state-owned restaurant. The aroma of braised pork was so strong it could travel for miles, and once there she couldn’t help but spend money and tickets.
In terms of food, Shen Lanxiang never mistreated herself. She had grown up starving, once even nearly eating “guanyin soil” just to survive.
The braised pork was reheated and divided equally into three portions. As expected, meat was still the best—better than scrambled eggs. And today’s eggs were made by He Qiutang herself; she thought she hadn’t used much oil, but in this era it was already considered quite a lot. Even so, it still couldn’t compare to the rich aroma of the pork.
After dinner, He Suqin pulled He Qiutang to the kang table again and took out propaganda materials and her notebook.
“Today at noon I went to the daily chemicals factory. The head of the publicity department is my classmate. I got some materials from the past couple of years. I’ve already selected them—you need to memorize all of this. It might appear on the exam.”
He Qiutang looked over them and found that most were production regulations, basic chemical knowledge, and safety measures for hazardous materials and accidents.
“Sis… the exam is this detailed?”
“Of course. Listen, this time they’re even recruiting lower-level cadres—you need to take this seriously,” He Suqin said while opening her notebook. “These slogans also need to be memorized. If you really can’t, just write more slogans on the paper. Fill it up—there’s no harm in that.”
“Huh?”
Seeing her sister still looking confused, He Suqin sighed.
“Honestly, sometimes I don’t even know what to say about you. The reason the daily chemicals factory is recruiting so many people—and only for one day of registration—isn’t it obvious? Many of their leaders were reported and purged for corruption. After removing those people, the organization is opening recruitment to bring in fresh blood. If you follow the leadership’s direction, what matters most in this exam? It’s character.”
She continued, “Even if you don’t have talent, it’s more important not to lack morality. If you can’t think of anything to write, just copy a few meaningful leader slogans. At least it shows the examiners that your character is fine.”