Before she could finish speaking, Shen Qingqing interrupted her.
“You can give the other things to her, but that bracelet was something my mother left for me. I want to keep it as a memento.”
Bai Nianyun wanted to stall a little longer, but Shen Qingqing didn’t bother wasting words with her. She simply walked into the room, squatted down, and began rummaging through the chest.
As she searched, she casually said, “It’s not really anything valuable. I just want to keep it as a memento. Mom, surely you won’t object, right?”
Bai Nianyun still wanted to say something, but after hearing that, she couldn’t very well refuse.
She could only give an awkward smile.
However, her eyes remained fixed on Shen Qingqing’s every movement, afraid that she might take something valuable while she was at it.
These were her daughter’s dowry. They all belonged to her daughter. Shen Qingqing had no right to take them!
Shen Qingqing moved quickly.
Soon, she found the bracelet at the very bottom of the chest.
It was a chain made from an unknown material. Because it had been stored for so long, it was covered in rust. A single dull, grayish bead was strung onto the thin chain.
Bai Nianyun had thought it was something valuable.
She hadn’t expected it to be such an ordinary-looking bracelet.
It didn’t look valuable at all.
Her attitude immediately changed, and she put on an enthusiastic smile.
“You silly child, what are you saying? As long as you want it, Mom and Jiaojiao are willing to give you anything. It’s only a bracelet. If there’s anything else you want, Mom will get it for you too.”
Shen Qingqing sarcastically curled the corner of her lips.
She had finally seen through her stepmother.
Her mouth was always full of nice words, but whenever there was anything good, she wanted to snatch it all back for herself.
Shen Qingqing smiled faintly and waved the seemingly ordinary bracelet in front of Bai Nianyun.
“Then thank you, Mom.”
With that, she turned and left.
Looking at the bracelet in her hand, Shen Qingqing smiled with confidence.
She didn’t care about the other things.
If they wanted to give them to Shen Jiaojiao, then so be it.
But this bracelet was the key to carrying out her plans.
Fortunately, the bracelet looked completely ordinary. Since Bai Nianyun didn’t notice anything special about it, she had willingly handed it over to Shen Qingqing.
What she didn’t know was that this bracelet contained a miraculous dimensional space.
The moment Shen Qingqing got the bracelet, she returned to her room, locked the door, and eagerly prepared to activate it.
She picked up a needle and pricked her finger.
A bright red bead of blood immediately welled up.
Shen Qingqing quickly dripped it onto the bracelet.
A flash of white light appeared.
In the next instant, she found herself in an entirely new space.
Looking around, she saw a vast stretch of lush green land.
Beside the farmland was a small patch of woods, while everywhere else was shrouded in thick mist.
She had tried entering that area in her previous life as well, but there seemed to be an invisible barrier blocking her. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get through.
In the middle of the farmland stood a small house.
And in front of the house was a pool of clear spring water.
The space hadn’t changed at all.
It was exactly the same as when she had first contracted with it in her previous life.
Shen Qingqing couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
This was her greatest protection and trump card.
To make things look good on the surface, Bai Nianyun had also given Shen Qingqing some money, telling her to buy whatever she liked herself.
Shen Qingqing simply took the money, hopped on her bicycle, and headed toward the countryside nearby.
The city they lived in, Yuncheng, wasn’t very large. There were villages just outside the city.
This era was nothing like several decades later, when you could walk out your door and buy all kinds of things.
There were no convenience stores or supermarkets.
Aside from the supply and marketing cooperatives, vegetable seeds could only be found in rural households—and unlike at the cooperatives, they didn’t require ration coupons.
After cycling for more than half an hour, she finally left the urban area.
Fields stretched out before her.
From a distance, she could see several tiny black dots moving around in the fields.
Only after getting closer did she realize they were farmers working the land.
Shen Qingqing didn’t approach them.
Instead, she rode directly into the village, took out her money, and bought some vegetable seeds from an elderly woman who was looking after the house.
Then she cycled home.
Unlike Shen Jiaojiao, she had the spiritual spring in her dimensional space.
No matter what kind of seeds they were, she could grow them successfully.
So she bought a little of everything she could find.
Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, scallions, chives, pumpkins, tomatoes, and several other seeds she couldn’t even identify.
She bought a small packet of each.
With the spiritual spring at her disposal, she wasn’t worried about whether they would grow, so even one small packet was enough.
Seeds in this era were also different from those several decades later.
After these vegetables matured, she could save the seeds and plant them again.
Therefore, Shen Qingqing wasn’t worried about running out.
When she returned home, Shen Luanfeng hadn’t returned from work yet.
Bai Nianyun had also gone out shopping with Shen Jiaojiao.
She was the only person home.
Shen Qingqing entered her room, locked the door, and immediately slipped into the dimensional space.
The farmland inside the space had already been divided into separate plots.
She had turned over the soil earlier whenever she had free time.
She took out the seeds and planted a row of each variety.
She had bought a ceramic basin from outside to use for watering the vegetables.
Fortunately, the money and ration coupons Bai Nianyun had given her included industrial coupons.
Otherwise, she really wouldn’t have known where to get these things.
In this era, the government strictly controlled supplies.
Even something as ordinary as a ceramic basin required an industrial coupon.
And yet, these were precisely the kinds of tools she lacked inside her space.
If she hadn’t been limited by the amount of money and coupons she had, she would have bought a couple of proper farming tools as well, such as a hoe.
After watering everything, Shen Qingqing straightened up and rubbed her aching lower back.
She had to admit, farming was genuinely exhausting.
Without proper tools, she had used sharpened wooden sticks to till the soil.
Fortunately, the earth inside this space was relatively soft.
If it had been like the soil outside, full of rocks and weeds, trying to work the land with nothing but a wooden stick would probably have exhausted her to death before she could finish.
But when she looked at the carefully tended farmland in front of her, she smiled with satisfaction.
The island lacked everything.
With all these vegetables, she wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry once she got there.
She felt incredibly secure.
When Shen Qingqing had gone to the countryside that day, she had also seen chicks and ducklings being raised by the farmers.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t brought enough money that day.
Otherwise, she would have bought them on the spot.
Looks like she would have to make another trip to the countryside tomorrow.
Speaking of meat, pork was still the best.
Unfortunately, piglets weren’t available for purchase in this era.
They were all raised by the agricultural cooperatives and were considered public property.
If a private individual raised pigs, they could be reported.
But she had a dimensional space.
Wouldn’t it be a waste not to raise animals in such a wonderful place?
If necessary, she could go to the black market and ask around.
She could get two piglets and raise them inside her space.
Then, by the time Chinese New Year came around, she wouldn’t have to worry about lacking meat.
Thinking about this, Shen Qingqing swallowed.
Ever since being reborn, she had barely seen any meat.
In this era, forget about eating meat—being able to eat one’s fill was already considered fortunate.
No household was an exception!
She could let anyone else suffer, but she absolutely wouldn’t let herself go without!
Shen Qingqing made up her mind.
She tidied her clothes slightly, left the dimensional space, and calculated the money and ration coupons she had.
It should be enough to buy some chicks and piglets.
She tucked the money securely against her body.
The next day, after everyone in the household had gone out to work, Shen Qingqing got on her bicycle as well.
She was careful this time.
Instead of going to the same village as before, she headed toward a village farther away.
It took her a full hour and a half of cycling to get there.
Although rural households were allowed to raise chickens and ducks, there was a quota.
Each household was allowed to raise no more than five chickens or ducks.
And the closer a village was to the city, the stricter the regulations were.
She was worried that the people in yesterday’s village might refuse to sell to her.
So even if she had to travel farther, she felt more at ease.
More importantly, it happened to be the fifteenth of the month.
That meant today was the large market day for several nearby villages.
Things like chicks and ducklings weren’t easy to find.
But rural markets were held only two or three times a month, and there were far more things for sale there.
To ensure that farmers could meet their daily needs, the government permitted rural markets to operate.
That was why she had deliberately traveled so far.
Sure enough, on the flat stretch of land beside the river, she could see the market from a distance.
People were coming and going, and the place was bustling with activity.
Most of the vendors carried several woven baskets on their backs and displayed the things they had brought to sell along both sides of the road.
In the middle was a dirt path worn down by countless footsteps.
As people walked back and forth, clouds of dust rose from the ground.
But Shen Qingqing’s sharp eyes quickly spotted several upside-down baskets.
Clear, high-pitched chirping sounds came from inside them.
Shen Qingqing pushed her bicycle along and browsed several stalls before finally stopping in front of an elderly woman.
When the old woman saw her stop, she asked curiously,
“Little girl, I’m selling chicks and ducklings here. I might not have what you’re looking for.”
Shen Qingqing smiled.
“Auntie, those chicks and ducklings are exactly what I’m looking for. How much are they?”
The old woman suspiciously sized her up.
This girl didn’t look like a rural girl at all.
Her skin was fair, she wore two thick black braids, and she was even riding a bicycle.
How could she possibly look like one of the girls from the countryside?