She inspected the “Myriad Realms Warehouse.” Its area was massive, larger than the indoor sports arena at her son’s school.
Currently, Bai Lu’s account balance in the Myriad Realms Mall was zero. She couldn’t buy anything yet, nor did she have anything to trade with the mall, so she had to leave it for now. Her priority tonight was to retrieve her belongings; once she had a day off, she would head out to see if she could find items to trade.
Arriving at Jin Jialiang’s house, Bai Lu held the flashlight in her mouth, pulled out her keys, and opened the door. Once inside, she found the light cord on the wall and gave it a gentle tug. A dim light filled the room.
As soon as the room was illuminated, the Myriad Realms Mall interface popped up.
The layout of the entire room appeared on the screen, showing exactly what was where. Gold, glittering text appeared over every item.
A basket of dried wood-ear mushrooms in the corner displayed: “Authentic wild dried wood-ear mushrooms, 50 Mall Coins per catty. Trade?”
The basket itself displayed: “Hand-woven farmhouse basket, 30 Mall Coins. Trade?”
Bai Lu had picked these mushrooms herself with others during her time off, so they were her property. She briskly tapped “Confirm Trade.” Her balance jumped from zero to 210 Mall Coins.
It appeared there were over four catties of dried mushrooms.
Next, Bai Lu sold the basket. She removed her personal items from the kang cabinet (a storage chest for the heated bed) and proceeded to sell the cabinet, the kang table, and several other items she had purchased. Her balance rose to 1,200 Mall Coins.
What could these Mall Coins be used for? Could she buy things, or could they be converted to cash?
To find out, Bai Lu returned to the main page of the Myriad Realms Mall. The interface looked similar to the shopping apps from her past life—a search bar at the top, categories below, and various products listed.
The first category was “Vegetables.” Bai Lu clicked in and found everything was incredibly cheap. Tomatoes, cabbage, and cauliflower were only 2 Mall Coins; carrots, potatoes, onions, and sweet potatoes were only 1 Mall Coin. They were even cheaper than the discounted items at supermarkets in her previous life.
In her past life, though she had eventually worked her way up to Head Nurse and earned a decent salary, she had become extremely frugal after Jin Qiu died to raise her child alone. She used to buy only clearance or near-expiry items at the supermarket.
With things being this cheap in the Myriad Realms Mall, her 1,200 Mall Coins could buy a great deal.
Experimenting, Bai Lu spent 6 Mall Coins to buy a large bottle of cola. The next second, a two-liter bottle appeared beside her—weighing about four catties.
This price was a steal. In a regular shop, a small bottle of cola cost three yuan; a large bottle like this would cost at least twelve. This mall was essentially half-price or better.
The Myriad Realms Mall was truly a treasure.
Bai Lu picked up the cola. The bottle was plain, without a label, branding, or even a production or expiry date. If she took it out, no one would be able to tell where it came from.
She quickly twisted off the cap and took a sip. It was sweet, the carbonation dancing on her tongue. A wave of refreshment washed over her.
She only took one sip to test the taste, then capped it and put the bottle into the Myriad Realms Warehouse.
Now that she had confirmed Mall Coins could buy real items and the warehouse worked for storage, she didn’t have to fear anything anymore.
Bai Lu didn’t rush to leave. Instead, she sat on the edge of the unused kang, opened her belongings, and inspected them one by one. Inside was a receipt for the money she had spent to pull strings to get Jin Qiu and Jin Jialiang into the army years ago.
She couldn’t understand why, in her past life, when Jin Jialiang repeatedly used “gratitude” to criticize her for not cooking or being a “good” daughter-in-law, she had never shown him this proof.
Clearly, Jin Jialiang was the one who owed her. He should have been the one repaying the favor, not the other way around.
Perhaps, in her heart, she had known that no matter what she said or showed him, he wouldn’t have believed her anyway.
In this life, whether Jin Jialiang believed it or not, she was going to make sure he knew: she owed him nothing. On the contrary, he owed her a massive debt of gratitude.
Next, she found two photos: one from her middle school graduation and one from her nursing school graduation. In the middle school photo, she was standing in front of Jin Qiu. Her hands were at her sides, but Jin Qiu’s hand looked as if it were reaching out to hold hers.
Bai Lu stood up in shock, staring at the photo in disbelief.
What did this mean?
Had Jin Qiu liked her even back then?
If he truly liked her, why didn’t he step forward to marry her? Why was it Jin Jialiang instead?
What hidden details was she unaware of?
If she had married Jin Qiu from the start, she wouldn’t have suffered through those eight years of misery.
Bai Lu composed herself and placed these precious items into the Myriad Realms Warehouse. She turned off the light, locked the door, and pushed her bicycle away.
“Nurse Bai.”
Someone called her name. Bai Lu squeezed the brakes and stopped, turning to see a figure standing in the shadows.
It took her a moment to recognize the woman: Aunt Zhao Yonghong. In her past life, they had been neighbors after she and Jin Jialiang moved into the allocated housing. Zhao Yonghong had provided her with a lot of help.
“Auntie, why are you out so late?” Bai Lu asked, puzzled.
Zhao Yonghong gave a bitter smile. “I went out to try and sell some dried wood-ear mushrooms. I didn’t sell a single bit, so I’m bringing them all back.”
Seeing Zhao Yonghong’s sweat-soaked collar and flushed face, Bai Lu could tell she had walked the whole way. After all, there were no ox carts available this late at night.
As Bai Lu’s gaze landed on the basket, the Myriad Realms Mall popped up again: “Authentic wild dried wood-ear mushrooms, 50 Mall Coins per catty. Trade?”
Bai Lu couldn’t very well sell the woman’s mushrooms right in front of her; it would scare her to death.
Recalling how much Zhao Yonghong had helped her in her previous life, Bai Lu decided to help her now. She would buy the mushrooms at current market prices and then sell them to the Myriad Realms Mall. She could even make a small profit on the price difference.