The woman froze, feeling a chill run through her. This girl’s gaze was neither warm nor angry—just calm and flat—but somehow it felt terrifying.
Although startled, she didn’t want to show weakness, so she stiffened her neck and said, “Little girl, why are you so cold-hearted? We’re your customers, after all. Just taking a quick look won’t damage your house. Why be so stingy!”
Cheng Junyi opened the door but didn’t go inside. Instead, she turned to face the woman.
“Customer? No, you’re not. I’ve decided I won’t rent my house to you.”
“You—” The woman was furious.
Seeing this, the others hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “Little girl, don’t be upset. Everyone’s just having a hard time finding housing. When we come across a good place, we naturally get excited and can’t help wanting to take a look.”
Cheng Junyi stepped aside, gesturing for the young man to wheel the cart inside, then looked at the crowd. “I made myself clear just now. Whether you want to view the house or rent it, come back after I’ve left.”
The atmosphere grew tense. Finally, an old man chuckled and said, “Alright then! We’ll come back after the little girl has left.”
With that, he waved his palm-leaf fan and walked away.
Seeing this, the others left reluctantly as well.
Cheng Junyi stepped inside and saw the young man unloading the goods. When he noticed her coming in, he asked, “Where should I put these?”
“Put the iron wok and coal stove in the hallway. Carry the bolts of cloth into the living room.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the boy grabbed a bolt of cloth and ran into the house.
The young man carried the coal stove and iron wok to the hallway, while Cheng Junyi brought the candy and other food items into the living room.
After everything was moved in, she took out two meat ration coupons and handed them to the boy—each worth one jin. She instructed, “These meat coupons are about to expire. Use them soon.”
The boy grinned. He’d use them today, no way he’d wait until tomorrow. Their family hadn’t had meat in days, all because they had no coupons.
“Mm, don’t worry, big sister. I understand.”
Cheng Junyi gave him a gentle smile, then turned and grabbed a handful of White Rabbit candies to hand him.
The boy put on a serious face and firmly refused. “Big sister, we’ve already been paid. I can’t take these.”
Cheng Junyi kept her hand extended, waiting for him to accept. “You called me big sister, so this is candy from your big sister to her little brother. Take it!”
The boy’s face instantly turned red. He felt guilty because he had a sweet tongue—in his alley, anyone older than him who wasn’t married, he’d call them “big sister” no matter who they were. Sometimes he even called strangers that.
“I can’t take it. I’ve called a lot of people ‘big sister.'” He lowered his head, his voice tinged with shame.
Cheng Junyi couldn’t help but laugh. This kid was really honest.
“So that’s how it is! Well, you still have to take the candy. You’re very honest, so this candy is a reward for that.”
The boy looked up, eyes sparkling, grinning from ear to ear. “Then… then I’ll take it!”
This was the first time someone had ever rewarded him. He treasured it.
Cheng Junyi extended her hand a little further, and the boy took the candy with a beaming smile.
“Big sister, is there anything else you need help with?”
Cheng Junyi actually tilted her head and thought for a moment before asking, “I have a lot of ration coupons that are about to expire. Can I trade these coupons for coal coupons?”
The boy’s eyes lit up, and he looked at his brother. The young man asked, “What kinds of coupons do you have?”
Cheng Junyi took out all the ones about to expire and placed them on the table. “Just these.”
A whole pile of colorful tickets lay spread out before them. The boy and the young man stepped closer to examine them carefully and couldn’t help but draw in sharp breaths of cold air.
This elder sister was truly wealthy—these were all rare items, especially the industrial tickets.
“Si… Sister, are you sure you want to exchange all these tickets for coal tickets?” The young man wasn’t as familiar with her as the boy was, and calling her “sister” felt awkward on his tongue.
Cheng Junyi nodded.
“All of them?”
Cheng Junyi nodded again. She had thought it through—rice, grains, vegetables, fruits, and even cotton could all be grown in her Spatial Dimension, so there was no need to buy them, which made those tickets useless.
As for industrial tickets and subsidiary food tickets, she still had plenty of those. She would spend them later to buy daily necessities and tools to store in her Spatial Dimension.
The reason she wanted to exchange for coal briquettes was that after being sent to the countryside, she had no desire to go chopping firewood.
The young man frowned, thought for a moment, and asked, “About how many coal tickets do you need?”
“I’ll take however many you can get.”
“Then if you trust me, I’ll take the tickets and exchange them for you, then deliver them to you.” The young man looked at Cheng Junyi nervously, afraid she wouldn’t believe him.
Cheng Junyi: “Alright, take them! But you must get the coal tickets within five days—if it takes longer, I won’t want them anymore. Also, when you help me exchange for the coal tickets, I’ll give you a reward. As for what the reward should be, think about what you lack, and I’ll provide it.”
The young man nodded in agreement and left with his younger brother.
Cheng Junyi checked the time—it was already noon. Although there was gas at home, there wouldn’t be any once she went to the countryside, so she decided to familiarize herself with using a coal stove first.
Following the steps for lighting the stove that she remembered from the old man’s routine, she cooked herself a simple batch of dumplings. These dumplings had been made and stored in her Spatial Dimension by her mother.
Every bite meant less remaining. Cheng Junyi felt a little worried—she wasn’t a good cook, and her stomach would suffer in the days to come.
In the afternoon, she didn’t go out. Instead, she entered her Spatial Dimension and began cultivating. After experiencing the situation where she couldn’t even push a bicycle, she was desperate to increase her strength.
Not enough Spiritual Qi? Supplement it with Spirit Stones. She didn’t open her eyes until the afternoon of the next day.
Joy shone in her eyes—she had reached Qi Refining Level One.
She ate, bathed, changed clothes, and went out.
Yesterday she had gone to the supply and marketing cooperative in the morning, and the line for buying vegetables had been too long. Going this afternoon should mean fewer people, right?
She took six 5-liter white plastic liquor jugs and hung them on her bicycle. After leaving, she tentatively mounted the bike. It wobbled at first, but she quickly steadied herself.
She reached the supply and marketing cooperative in less than ten minutes, and sure enough, there weren’t many people around.
Cheng Junyi parked her bike, carried the six empty jugs inside, set them on the counter, and pulled out various tickets and money from her bag.
“Comrade, please fill 2 jugs with soy sauce, 3 jugs with oil, and 1 jug with vinegar.”
The sales clerk: …This was the first time she’d seen someone buy things this way.
“That much won’t be cheap—do you have enough tickets?”
Cheng Junyi nodded and pointed at the money and tickets on the counter.
The sales clerk gave them a casual glance, then looked at the capacity of the jugs, and began writing out the receipt in a flurry.
Cheng Junyi took the slip to the payment counter, where a bespectacled man was the cashier. He looked up at her briefly, then lowered his head again.
After paying the money and tickets, she still had quite a few tickets left. She thought she’d come back once more later, since she still needed to buy salt.
Six jugs—two tied to the back rack, one hanging from each side of the rear seat, and one hanging from each handlebar.
The moment Cheng Junyi mounted the bike, she felt the handlebars were hard to control. She tried getting on and off several times before she could barely ride away.
The moment she left, the sales clerks at the supply and marketing cooperative started gossiping.
“Hey, do any of you know that girl from earlier? She was really pretty.”
“Don’t know her, never seen her before.”
“She’s probably new to the area—otherwise, there’s no way we wouldn’t have run into her.”
“Yeah, she might just be a new arrival. Hey! What do you all think—if she comes by again, how about I set her up with someone?”
The middle-aged woman knitting yarn chuckled, “You’re going to fix someone up? Why don’t you find yourself a partner first!”
“Haha, exactly—you’re already twenty-three. If you don’t find one soon, you’ll be an old maid.” Another chimed in.
“Stop teasing me. I’m serious—that girl really is pretty. I want to introduce her to my younger brother. What do you all think?”
The cashier looked up and said coolly, “Stop dreaming. That one lives in the villa district.”
Hiss—
The three women all gasped at once.