This was the warehouse-style supermarket she had built after decades of hard work in her previous life.
But before it could even officially open, she was killed by Qin Lie, Qin Xiaofeng, and Zhao Xue.
Her footsteps unconsciously carried her toward the entrance, but she noticed a small puddle of water in front of the building. Water was continuously bubbling up from the center of the puddle, yet it never overflowed its edges.
Recalling the Lingquan novels she used to read in her spare time, Su Nanzhi’s eyes lit up. She bravely reached out, scooped up a handful of water, and took a sip.
It was sweet on the tongue, with an endless aftertaste.
Even the dull ache in her head seemed to ease considerably at that moment.
A suspicion formed in Su Nanzhi’s heart. She let out a long breath before continuing toward the supermarket.
Upon entering, rows upon rows of shelves came into view, stocked with all kinds of dazzling goods.
The first floor was the snack section, the second floor was fruits, vegetables, and meat, the third floor was daily necessities, the fourth floor was furniture, and the fifth floor was shoes and clothing.
Su Nanzhi wandered through each floor one by one, finally stopping before a huge mirror in the shoe and clothing section on the fifth floor.
A young woman appeared in the mirror.
She was about 1.6 meters tall, with sallow skin and a slightly swollen, reddened area above her lip. Her head was wrapped in gauze. Because she was so thin, her large eyes looked almost unsettling.
This was her at eighteen.
Years of malnutrition and low self-esteem made her a pitiful sight to behold.
In her previous life, it wasn’t until she was thirty-seven—when Qin Xiaofeng was eighteen—that she finally saw Qin Lie and the Qin family for who they truly were. Years of exhaustion had left her skin without the fairness of youth, and wrinkles had begun to form on her face.
In this life, everything could still be set right. While taking revenge on Qin Lie and Zhao Xue, she would also learn to love herself.
Suddenly, a voice sounded in her mind.
“Comrade Su, time for your injection!”
Su Nanzhi snapped back to reality. The supermarket vanished, replaced by a female nurse looking at her with sympathy.
The nurse chattered as she bent down to administer the injection.
“You’re so thin, no wonder you fell over with a single push.”
The sting of the needle made Su Nanzhi’s hand clench involuntarily, but she felt a soft texture in her palm. She looked down and saw that she was somehow holding a spinach bun.
Wasn’t this the very spinach bun she had grabbed from the supermarket because she was hungry, and hadn’t finished eating?
“Comrade Su, you’re a patient. You should have Deputy Battalion Commander Qin buy you something nutritious to eat.”
As she spoke, the nurse tossed the spinach bun in Su Nanzhi’s hand into the trash can nearby.
“That bun in your hand is moldy. You can’t eat it.”
Su Nanzhi cast a reluctant glance at the spinach bun she had only managed a few bites of.
Because it had a bit of spinach added and was marketed as a diet meal, it cost two yuan apiece.
But from the nurse’s few words, she could already guess that in just this short time, the whole hospital had heard about the spectacle involving her, Qin Lie, and Zhao Xue.
At that thought, her expression of reluctance grew even more pronounced.
Seeing how much Su Nanzhi hated to part with a moldy bun, the nurse silently cursed Deputy Battalion Commander Qin a few more times for being a heartless bastard.
Su Nanzhi’s eyes welled with tears. “Comrade, back in the countryside, we only get to eat meat once a year during New Year. Forget about nutrition—just staying alive is enough.”
The nurse wasn’t so out of touch with reality.
In this day and age, nutrition didn’t matter. Being able to fill one’s stomach was already a blessing.
But that was the standard of living for poor families. With someone in the family serving as a battalion commander in the army, even if they couldn’t afford meat every day, they should at least manage a bite once a month, right?
This Deputy Battalion Commander Qin was using his military allowance to support a fallen comrade’s wife and daughter while letting his fiancée back home go hungry. No one would believe there was nothing going on between them.
Seeing the disdain in the nurse’s eyes, Su Nanzhi added fuel to the fire. “As long as my future in-laws and sister-in-law are well-fed, that’s enough for me. I’m just a woman—I can make do with anything. This bun was given to me by an old lady on the train who took pity on me when I came to visit.”
The nurse’s look at Su Nanzhi became complicated. This woman was truly too honest—Deputy Battalion Commander Qin and his family were even worse than she’d thought.
“Comrade Su, this is a new society now. We don’t advocate blind arranged marriages anymore. Women hold up half the sky. Deputy Battalion Commander Qin isn’t a good man—you should find someone else.”
“How about I introduce you to someone? What kind of man are you looking for?”
The young nurse was still naive and full of youthful enthusiasm.
But Su Nanzhi liked her for it.
She put on a shy expression.
“A woman follows her husband wherever he goes. I’ll just live my life properly with Brother Qin. He’ll see my worth eventually.”
Whether he’d be happy or furious when he saw it would depend entirely on her mood.
Seeing Su Nanzhi’s submissive attitude, the nurse was so frustrated she silently resolved to find Comrade Su a man.
The man didn’t need to be handsome, but he had to be honest and wouldn’t bully her.
After seeing off the warm-hearted nurse and confirming that she would be a righteous spreader of gossip, Su Nanzhi finally lay back on the hospital bed with satisfaction.
Sometimes showing weakness is not shameful—in fact, it can be quite useful.
Just like Zhao Xue, who used her status as a martyr’s widow to stand on a moral high ground, treating her like a blood bag while making everyone look down on her.
This life, she would be the one playing the weakling.
The heartless fiancé, the arrogant widow with a child, and the honest, pitiful her.
After sorting out her thoughts, Su Nanzhi finally began to study the Kongjian that had suddenly appeared.
She was very familiar with the supermarket, but the spring water in the Kongjian…
She suddenly thought of how in her previous life, Zhao Xue, though middle-aged, still looked like a woman in her twenties.
When others asked her secret to maintaining her youth, she always said it was natural.
Many people envied her for that.
Perhaps this Kongjian spring water could keep one’s appearance from aging?
Guessing this in her heart, Su Nanzhi had already decided to drink the Kongjian spring water as her daily boiled water.
As for the supermarket.
Even if the food inside couldn’t be preserved, the rest of the items would be more than enough for her to use for several lifetimes.
This solved her food and clothing problems after her Rebirth.
Gu Xizhou left the hospital and had just sat down in his office when a knock came at the door.
Wang Yong, the squad leader of his 2nd team, walked in with an excited expression.
Wang Yong was a soldier under his command, capable in all aspects, but a bit gossipy.
“Regiment Commander, is the matter with Deputy Battalion Commander Qin true?”
Gu Xizhou frowned and looked at Wang Yong.
Wang Yong was still immersed in the joy of the gossip. “I said it long ago—Deputy Battalion Commander Qin being so close to a comrade’s wife would cause trouble. Look, his fiancée got caught red-handed on her very first day at the military base.”
“Ah, but I heard that his fiancée made a fuss for a bit and then forgave Deputy Battalion Commander Qin.”
“Well, what else can a country woman do?”
Wang Yong’s expression changed with his words, creating a very comedic effect.
When Gu Xizhou heard the latter half of the sentence, a shadow of darkness flickered in his eyes.
“How do you know?”