“What secret?” Mu Yunxing asked, instantly on guard.
Qi Ruobing’s expression was dazed and unfocused. “Don’t worry about that. Just tell your father what I said. He’ll definitely get me out of here and reconcile with me.”
This was her final trump card—the last hand she had held close to her chest.
“But…” Mu Yunxing hesitated.
Exasperated by his indecisiveness, Qi Ruobing snapped, “Do you want to wait for me to get out so we can team up against Mu Zhaozhao or not? Do you still want to get back your lost treasure?”
Mu Yunxing mumbled awkwardly, “Of course I do.”
“Then do as I say,” Qi Ruobing said, her tone brimming with absolute confidence.
Mu Yunxing nodded and turned to leave.
Now that Mu Zhaozhao had money and coupons in hand, she planned to stock up on supplies.
She went straight to the local Supply and Marketing Co-op, heading straight for the agricultural supplies counter.
In her past life, Zhaozhao had lived in the countryside with her grandmother and was no stranger to farm work, so she was well-acquainted with planting and tilling the land. If she wanted to cultivate the land inside her pocket dimension, she would need agricultural tools.
She bought rakes, harrows, sickles, pickaxes, sieves, buckets, various knives, and shovels—buying anything she could potentially use, which exhausted a significant amount of her industrial supply coupons.
At the entrance of the co-op, Zhaozhao looked for strong laborers to help carry her purchases.
During this era, taking private odd jobs was strictly forbidden, so she singled out a few men waiting around for work and approached them with a familiar tone to keep up appearances.
“Brother Liu, hurry over and help me carry these things home for my sister-in-law!”
As she spoke, she discreetly slipped him three yuan.
The man caught on instantly, grinning brightly. “You got it, little brother! Come on, let’s lend a hand.”
He called another man over, and together they carried the tools Zhaozhao had bought into a nearby secluded alley.
Once the men left, Zhaozhao immediately transferred all the tools into her pocket dimension.
She recalled that magical spring dimensions usually came with automated features like One-Click Tilling, One-Click Hoeing, and One-Click Planting.
Curious, she explored the spatial interface and indeed found a menu in the bottom right corner packed with various functions.
She casually tapped One-Click Tilling. The dimension automatically registered the tools, and over a dozen hoes and rakes began working the soil on their own.
Zhaozhao watched with delight, already planning how to allocate the land inside the space and what to plant.
Since she didn’t have any seeds yet, she decided to buy some as soon as she had time. She also planned to dig a few ponds inside to raise fish, shrimp, and seafood.
Her life was going to be sweet!
Exiting the pocket dimension, Zhaozhao went straight to buy seeds. She purchased a wide variety of vegetable, bean, and rice seeds, as well as saplings for pear, apple, and peach trees.
Eating more fruit was good for the health—plus, she was curious to see if fruit watered with spiritual spring water would truly have miraculous healing properties.
Using the same trick as before, she found a deserted spot, transferred the seeds and saplings into the dimension, and tapped One-Click Planting. She watched in satisfaction as the space automatically sorted the seeds and saplings, planting them neatly into the soil.
Satisfied, she rubbed her hands together with a smirk, left the space to its automated work, and continued her shopping spree.
Thinking of the massive fortune in coupons back at the Mu family estate, Zhaozhao knew that while they were valuable now, they would be completely useless once the wind of economic reform swept through the country.
Her best strategy was to convert every last coupon into physical goods and store them in her spatial pocket—especially high-demand vouchers like watch coupons, bicycle coupons, fabric coupons, and grain coupons.
With that in mind, Zhaozhao headed to the department store.
She intended to pick out a few watches, bolts of fabric, and some daily necessities.
Just as she reached the fabric section, a sharp, sarcastic voice sneered from behind her.
“Well, well! Look who it is—the little show-off! I knew I shouldn’t have left the house today; I keep running into unpleasant people.”
Zhaozhao recognized the familiar voice immediately. Frowning slightly, she turned around. What a coincidence—it was Song Tingting from the train!
Beside her stood Song Zhoubai.
When Zhaozhao turned around, Song Zhoubai looked surprised. “Mu Zhaozhao! It’s you.”
“Cousin, you know her?” Song Tingting asked, taken aback.
Song Zhoubai nodded. “Yes, I do. But why are you being so rude?”
He hadn’t expected the person Song Tingting was picking on to be Mu Zhaozhao. Ever since meeting her at the old Mu family residence, he had felt that she was no ordinary girl. To live under Mu Shangyu’s roof and still handle everything with such composure—she clearly had a quick wit about her.
Zhaozhao greeted him politely, ignoring Song Tingting entirely. “Hello, Song Zhoubai. Nice to see you again!”
Furious at being ignored, Song Tingting snapped, “Mu Zhaozhao, what are you so smug about? So what if you know a few words of a foreign language?”
Zhaozhao smirked mockingly. “Well, at least I actually can speak it—unlike certain people who volunteer just to embarrass themselves.”
“You!” Song Tingting clutched her fists in rage. “Cousin! You said I was being rude, but look at her!”
Unable to win the argument on her own, she tried to get backup.
Song Zhoubai looked at Zhaozhao, who radiated poise and confidence, and said apologetically, “I’m sorry. My cousin has been spoiled by her family. Please don’t take it to heart.”
Zhaozhao snorted coldly. “You’d better keep her on a tight leash so she doesn’t go around biting people in public!”
“Mu Zhaozhao, who are you calling a dog?!” Song Tingting blurted out without thinking.
“I never said you were a dog—you admitted it yourself.” Zhaozhao couldn’t be bothered with her anymore, and truth be told, she didn’t feel like dealing with Song Zhoubai either.
She barely knew him anyway; they had only met once. The only reason she had greeted him was out of courtesy because he had defended her last time. But since he was the cousin of someone like Song Tingting, it was best to act as strangers from now on.
Unaware that Zhaozhao had already blacklisted him in her mind, Song Zhoubai would have scrambled to distance himself from Song Tingting if he knew.
“Mu Zhaozhao, you’re just a pitiful, parentless orphan relying on charity to live under someone else’s roof. I have no idea what you have to be so proud of,” Song Tingting sneered, intentionally poking at her sore spot.
After getting off the train, she had returned to Shanghai and looked into Zhaozhao’s background. It just so happened that her aunt knew of her, which was how she learned Zhaozhao was the lone survivor of the Mu household.
Hearing this, Zhaozhao’s gaze instantly chilled. She glared at Song Tingting with eyes sharp enough to kill. “I, Mu Zhaozhao, stand tall and proud as the true master of the Mu estate! The ones living off charity are Mu Shangyu and his family! Speak out of turn again, and I’ll tear your mouth apart.”
Intimidated by her fierce aura, Song Tingting choked on her words and fell silent.
Song Zhoubai hastily stepped in as peacemaker. “Mu Zhaozhao, please don’t be angry. My cousin is just spoiled and reckless—I’ll scold her properly.”
Zhaozhao didn’t bother listening to them. She swept a cold glance past them, turned around, and walked away to continue browsing the fabrics.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Song Tingting hovered around her like a persistent fly.
Reaching out, she grabbed the bolt of dark green silk Zhaozhao had been looking at and shouted loudly, “I want all of this fabric! Wrap up every last bit you have!”
The salesclerk was stunned. “Miss, are you sure you want all of it? That’s no small amount. Besides, do you even have that many fabric coupons?”
Song Tingting straightened her back proudly. “I want it all. Don’t leave a single inch for her!”