The next day, the two of them went to the Steel Factory together, with Peng Luwei bringing along a pile of fruit and candy.
The office director of the Steel Factory remembered both Song Zhiyi and Peng Luwei.
Song Zhiyi said she was getting married, and since Peng Luwei was the second-highest achiever among the graduates, she suggested the job be transferred to her.
After a round of discussions among the three, the matter was finally settled.
Once outside, Peng Luwei was overjoyed and couldn’t help but gloat in front of Song Zhiyi.
“Song Zhiyi, I think you’ve lost your mind too—giving up such a good job to marry into some poor, remote village. But remember, you’ve already taken the money, so this job is mine now. No backing out!”
Song Zhiyi listened without getting angry.
As Peng Luwei chattered away in front of her, Song Zhiyi suddenly heard a “ding” in her mind, followed by a mechanical voice.
[Detected that the host has altered the course of fate, meeting binding conditions. Apricot Grove Space System successfully activated.]
[Initializing space…]
[Level 1 space activated. Function: Storage. After Level 2 space is activated, functions such as one-click house building and one-click planting will be available. Stay tuned.]
Song Zhiyi was stunned. Was this a perk of her rebirth? She wanted to find a secluded spot quickly to test it out.
“I’m leaving first.”
“Hey! Song Zhiyi, you… I’ll treat you to a meal next time!”
Without bothering to engage with Peng Luwei further, Song Zhiyi tossed out a reply and walked away without looking back.
When she reached a deserted area, she closed her eyes and silently thought: Space.
Upon opening her eyes again, she found herself in a vast, open space that stretched as far as the eye could see, with fertile soil beneath her feet.
Not far away, a clear spring flowed gently, its soothing sound of running water particularly pleasant. Beside the spring stood a wooden cabin.
As she approached the cabin, she noticed many Chinese medicinal herbs planted around it.
“Angelica dahurica, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Xanthium sibiricum, Notopterygium incisum… Oh my, there’s even ginseng! This is a medicinal garden!”
At that moment, a floating panel appeared before her eyes.
[Friendly reminder: After activating Level 2 functions, one-click planting will be available, automatically utilizing the spiritual spring to irrigate plants and animals, shortening growth cycles.]
It could shorten growth cycles?
She knew medicine, and with this space offering one-click planting and the ability to accelerate the growth of rare medicinal herbs, she could easily support herself in this lifetime by practicing medicine and selling herbs. Why would she need to marry and have children?
After understanding the space’s functions, she exited and hurried back to the Song household.
Song Household.
As soon as Song Zhiyi returned home, she heard Song Yating’s sharp, questioning voice from inside the house.
“Mom! How could you give her ten thousand yuan! I’m your own daughter! But that’s ten thousand yuan! Not a hundred! Where would our family get that much money? And I’m not even married yet!”
Song Zhiyi listened calmly, having long expected Song Yating to make a scene.
She reached out and pushed open the front door.
The mother and daughter, who had been arguing, turned to look at her in unison.
Song Yating’s face was still flushed with anger, while Wen Shufen’s eyes flickered with a hint of guilt.
Song Zhiyi’s gaze swept over Song Yating’s reddened face as she said coolly, “That ten thousand yuan really wasn’t appropriate.”
Song Yating was taken aback, thinking Song Zhiyi had finally come to her senses, and was about to show a smug expression.
But Song Zhiyi abruptly changed her tone.
“It’s too little.”
“What?” Song Yating’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Song Zhiyi stared coldly at Wen Shufen, enunciating each word clearly and deliberately.
“After all, I even gave up such a good job at the Steel Factory for you, my dear sister.”
With that, she tossed out the newly purchased registration certificate. Wen Shufen’s eyes lit up at the sight.
“You!” Song Yating nearly lost her temper but was pulled back by Wen Shufen.
Wen Shufen quickly put on a different face, speaking softly to Song Zhiyi:
“Zhiyi, dear, what kind of talk is this? We’re family—what’s yours is ours.”
She affectionately patted the back of Song Zhiyi’s hand, but her words were laced with urgency to send her away:
“Have you packed everything? You’re leaving for Beiqiao Village the day after tomorrow. It’s an unfamiliar place, so you must be fully prepared. Do you need help packing?”
Song Zhiyi calmly withdrew her hand.
“No need.”
With those three words, she returned to her room.
The top priority now was to test the storage function of the space.
She walked to the table, picked up an enamel cup, and silently thought, “Store.”
In an instant, the sensation in her hand vanished.
The enamel cup printed with “Serve the People” disappeared into thin air.
Song Zhiyi’s heart pounded wildly.
She closed her eyes, focused her mind, visualized the cup, and silently thought, “Retrieve.”
The next moment, the cup returned to her palm.
It really worked!
She then looked at the bulky old wooden chest in the room, left behind by her mother, which contained some old clothes and books.
She placed her hand on the chest and concentrated her thoughts again.
“Store!”
A flash of light flickered before her eyes, and the chest vanished instantly.
Song Zhiyi was so excited she nearly cried out.
She tried several other large items, and all could be stored and retrieved without issue.
That evening, her father and Wen Shufen coaxed Song Yating over the ten thousand yuan matter. They didn’t call her, and the three of them went out for dinner.
Seizing the opportunity, Song Zhiyi went to her father’s room and stored the suitcase and jewelry box left by her mother into the space.
Ever since her mother passed away, her father had taken up with Wen Shufen, the widow of his younger brother, treating Song Yating better than he treated her.
The belongings her mother had intended for her had been withheld by her father, Song Nanfeng, under various pretexts.
Song Zhiyi had long suspected that Song Nanfeng had cheated on her mother with Wen Shufen. After her mother’s death, he showed no grief, and when her second uncle passed away not long after, the two remarried almost seamlessly.
She couldn’t leave her mother’s things to this scumbag of a father.
Before leaving the room, she caught sight of a tin can.
In her previous life, her aunt had told her that her uncle sent her five hundred yuan every year, but she had never seen it. It was likely withheld by her scumbag father.
She opened the tin can and, sure enough, found several bundles of ten Da Tuanjie banknotes, along with ten pastry coupons, thirty feet of cloth coupons, ten sugar coupons, and ten jin of grain coupons.
Well, well, this father of hers owed her quite a lot.
She stored everything into the space!
Next, she took back everything she had bought for this family with her own savings: the Shanghai-brand watch she had given Song Nanfeng, the washing machine for Wen Shufen, the Seagull-brand twin-lens camera and Parker pen for Song Yating—not a single item she had paid for was left behind.
She had no attachment left to this Song family without her mother.
She stored all her luggage into the space and left the Song household under the cover of night, heading to the Xie family to call off the engagement!