“Lin Susu, I really didn’t expect you to change so much. From now on, as long as I’m in our class, no one will dare bully you.”
From the original owner’s memories, Liang Hui was impulsive and righteous but easily provoked by the protagonist.
Hmm, a simple and easily influenced child—she could work with that. Concluding this, Lin Susu smiled and thanked her.
When class ended, Liang Hui pulled a candy from her bag and handed it to Lin Susu, taking one for herself as well.
“Here, have some candy. It’s orange-flavored—really delicious. By the way, your sister Lin Xinyao is staying at my house now. She’s so annoying.”
“Lin Xinyao isn’t my sister. My father isn’t Lin Dalaoye; my father was the original Lin family accountant. Before he passed away, he asked Lin Dalaoye to take care of me, which is why I stayed in the Lin household.”
Lin Susu explained seriously. Since she had earned a new identity by her own ability, she needed to make it widely known. Liang Hui’s expression turned to one of understanding, and she immediately accepted the explanation.
“No wonder the Lin family treated you badly before. So that’s why… um… are you an orphan now?”
With her real father gone, Lin Susu was truly pitiful. But since she wasn’t Lin Xinyao’s sister, it felt rather good.
“Yes. My father left me a small courtyard. I live there by myself, so no one will bully me, and I can always eat well.”
“I knew Lin Xinyao wasn’t a good person—she bullies people and doesn’t let them eat enough. No wonder you’re so skinny.”
The morning classes passed quickly. After class, students living nearby usually went home for lunch, while those living farther away brought their meals to school.
At lunchtime, everyone took out their meals. Some had simple corn buns; others had plain steamed buns.
Lin Susu hadn’t brought anything on her first day. She had planned to just register today and start classes properly tomorrow, but Teacher Liao had been too enthusiastic and had her report to the class immediately.
“Liang Hui, what time do afternoon classes start? I’ll go home for lunch and return later.”
“Two o’clock. It’s good that your home is close; you can rest a bit at home too.”
After confirming the afternoon schedule, Lin Susu left the school. She had a full two hours at noon and didn’t want to waste it at school.
She quickly cooked a simple vegetable and egg noodle dish, then dived into the space to continue sorting supplies.
These past two days, Lin Susu had been busy in the space—either farming or opening treasure boxes. The items she had collected after the Lin family left hadn’t yet been organized.
She had roughly gone through the treasure boxes in the Lin family secret storage. About a third contained gold bars and ingots, another third held antique paintings, porcelain, and decorative items, while the remaining third was more miscellaneous—jade jewelry, pearls, and various gold-inlaid jade pieces.
Now she needed to organize the things collected from various branches of the Lin family, starting with Lin Xinyao’s belongings.
The rosewood carved wardrobe was stacked with clothes she definitely wouldn’t wear, but they could be sold secondhand.
Books on the shelves were sorted—school textbooks kept, frivolous novels discarded, anything worthless for resale tossed.
Bottles and jars on the dressing table—skincare and cosmetics—could also be sold secondhand. The drawers even contained a good number of receipts—perfect, she stored them. The shoe rack held well-maintained shoes and boots, all ready to sell.
It seemed Lin Xinyao had tidied up quite thoroughly—valuable jewelry and money were gone.
After over an hour, Lin Susu had only organized the belongings from Lin Dafu-ren and Lin Xinyao’s rooms. She had a pile of secondhand goods to sell, a number of receipts she could use, and, importantly, all the primary school textbooks she needed were complete. She even found Lin Xinyao’s first-year junior high textbooks.
Lin Susu didn’t know if anyone was watching her, so she didn’t dare take risks—no selling on the black market, no trading grain. She intended to live cautiously and normally for now. Only once she was sure no one was observing would she venture to nearby towns.
Afternoon classes proceeded as usual, ending at five o’clock. On the way home, she saw neighbors returning from work. They curiously observed her and then asked:
“Little girl, did you just move here? Why haven’t we seen your parents these past few days?”
“My parents went out to work. Did you need something from them?”
Lin Susu feigned innocence. The neighbor cheerfully replied that they hadn’t seen her parents, assuming only a child lived there, and offered to help if needed.
“Oh, little girl, what’s your name? I’m your neighbor. If you have any troubles, you can come to me.”
Another neighbor, who had probably been watching for some time, overheard and came out to speak.
“Aunt Tao is still so kind-hearted—no wonder my wife always says that a close neighbor is better than a distant relative.”
Through the conversation, Lin Susu quickly learned about the two neighboring households.
The neighbor on the left, surnamed Zhu, was under forty. His elder son was old enough to serve in the military, the younger son was in high school boarding at school. Zhu himself was the security captain at the textile factory, and his wife, surnamed Gu, worked in the factory canteen.
The neighbor on the right, Aunt Tao’s husband, surname Cheng, was a technician at the bicycle factory with a good salary and benefits. Their only daughter was a junior high teacher, recently involved in matchmaking. Aunt Tao didn’t work due to health issues and handled household chores or small crafts at home.
From this chat, it was clear that neither family was devious. How things would go in practice, Lin Susu would have to see for herself.
“Lin girl, I made some pickled vegetable buns. I’ll give you two to try.”
Seeing such a well-behaved child living alone, Aunt Tao’s heart softened. Though food was precious now, she was willing to spare a few buns.
“Oh, Aunt Tao’s pickled buns are amazing! Lin girl, you have to try them.”
Uncle Zhu smiled, not offended that his wife hadn’t made him any.
“Yes, you must try them. Xiao Zhu, your family eats at the factory canteen, so you won’t get any today—these are for Lin girl. Uncle Cheng, please get two buns from the kitchen for me.”
“No need, Aunt Tao, you’re too kind…”
Before Lin Susu could refuse, Uncle Cheng brought the bowl, and Aunt Tao quickly handed it to her.
“Don’t refuse—neighbors share. Just two buns. Eat them while hot; they taste best that way.”
Lin Susu hadn’t expected such warmth from neighbors. From novels, she had thought this era was full of difficult people. But in the few days she had been here, the only real troublemakers she had encountered were Lin Dafu-ren and her daughter.