This was never a choice.
It was a blatant threat.
“You’ve gone completely insane!”
Shen Yong bit down hard on his lip, his eyes churning with overwhelming fury and humiliation. He knew Shen Zhouzhou would do exactly what she said. If this matter reached the factory, his campaign to become workshop supervisor would certainly be ruined, giving his rivals the perfect opportunity to suppress him. Clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, he finally forced out a sentence through gritted teeth after a long silence.
“W… Why do you need so much money?”
“So I can leave this family.”
Shen Zhouzhou’s voice was icy.
“I’ve already prepared the agreement to sever our family ties. Once you’ve signed it and the money is in my hands, I’ll disappear immediately. Whether I live or die afterward will have nothing to do with the Shen family.”
Seeing Shen Yong wavering, Shen Fangfang stamped her feet anxiously.
“Dad! You can’t give it to her! If you do, what are we supposed to live on? She’s an ungrateful wretch. Once she gets the money, she’ll definitely run away!”
She threw herself into Shen Yong’s arms, crying and making a scene.
“If you give her the money, I’ll kill myself!”
Already irritated by her tantrum, Shen Yong shoved her aside.
“Shut up! Keep making trouble and I’ll beat you too!”
Looking at Shen Zhouzhou’s frost-covered expression, his heart felt as though it were being pierced by countless needles. He knew that this daughter truly intended to cut all ties with him.
After a long silence, he finally slumped into his chair in defeat. Pulling an old cloth bundle from inside his jacket, he counted the money again and again before pushing it toward Shen Zhouzhou.
“There’s… there’s three hundred yuan here, twenty jin worth of grain coupons, and one zhang of cloth coupons. As for the rest… I’ll… I’ll borrow it tomorrow…”
Shen Zhouzhou did not expose his act. As long as the money ended up in her hands, she did not care what tricks he used.
She made no move to accept it, only stared at him steadily.
“By tomorrow evening, I want the full fifteen hundred yuan. Not a single cent less. Otherwise, we’ll go to the neighborhood office and have a proper discussion about all of this.”
With that, she turned and returned to the storage room, slamming the door shut behind her with a loud bang, leaving Shen Yong and Shen Fangfang staring at each other in the main hall while the air filled with despair and resentment.
The moment Shen Zhouzhou entered her room, she locked the door and immediately entered her space, looking over the seeds and fruit saplings she had bought that day as she considered how to plant them.
After locking the door, a single thought carried her into the space. The black soil gleamed with a rich sheen under the nourishment of the spiritual spring stream. She first walked over to the spring and drank a cup of spiritual spring water, instantly feeling refreshed in both body and mind.
She then retrieved a shovel and a hoe from the villa, rolled up her sleeves, and began turning over the soil.
The black earth was as soft as a sponge. Every stroke of the hoe revealed earthworms burrowing beneath the surface. She divided the land according to the different seeds she had purchased from the black market. On the left, she set aside three fen of land for rice and wheat. On the right, she marked out vegetable plots. A path down the middle was reserved for corn, while the outermost edge was dug into planting pits for the fruit saplings.
After all that work, even with the spiritual spring water sustaining her, she was utterly exhausted and had no choice but to stop and catch her breath.
As she rested inside the space, she suddenly remembered reading about “mental control” in the novel. An idea flashed through her mind.
Since this space was so miraculous, perhaps she did not have to plant everything herself.
Closing her eyes, she focused on the unopened packet of cucumber seeds and silently commanded, Go to the vegetable plot.
When she opened her eyes again, the paper packet floated through the air on its own. It hovered above the vegetable bed, opened automatically, and the tiny seeds scattered themselves evenly across the damp soil as though they had eyes of their own, each one perfectly spaced.
“It really works!”
She clapped her hands in delight.
“This space really is a treasure made just for me. Planting crops will be so much easier from now on.”
Using only her thoughts, she finished planting every seed and fruit sapling she had bought that day, each in its designated area. Once everything was planted, she used her mind again to irrigate the fields with spiritual spring water.
Since time flowed much faster inside the space than it did outside, she believed it would not be long before everything reached harvest.
When Shen Zhouzhou left the space, the outside was completely quiet.
She had no idea what the others were doing, nor did she care. As long as they stayed out of her way, they could do whatever they pleased.
She was not worried that Shen Yong would go back on his word. Between his reputation and his daughter, her selfish excuse for a father would not need much thought to decide which mattered more.
To him, Shen Zhouzhou was nothing less than a ticking time bomb. Only by severing ties with her could he finally rest easy.
As far as Shen Zhouzhou was concerned, Shen Yong was simply a selfish man. If she did not distance herself from someone like him, was she supposed to keep him around until the New Year? Besides, she would soon be accompanying the army and leaving with Chu Yunli. They would likely have no further contact in the future. Cutting ties now would save her from being dragged down by him later.
With another thought, she returned to the space.
She wandered through the supermarket and, upon seeing the tanks full of fresh, lively seafood, could not help swallowing in anticipation.
Before transmigrating into this body, Shen Zhouzhou had loved spending her free time browsing Douyin videos and studying all kinds of recipes. Over time, she had gradually developed excellent cooking skills.
She selected a bluish gray lobster from the seafood tank, trimmed away its antennae and legs, split the shell open, removed the vein, rinsed it with spiritual spring water, then laid it over slices of ginger and scallions before steaming it over high heat for ten minutes. Once it was done, she drizzled hot oil over chopped scallions, releasing an irresistible aroma. The lobster meat was snowy white, tender, and springy.
Next, she prepared the squid, scoring it with crosshatched cuts before blanching it briefly. She stir fried it over high heat with green and red peppers, seasoning it with light soy sauce and oyster sauce. The squid curled into neat wheat ear shapes, delightfully chewy and crisp.
Finally, she stir fried a plate of fresh green vegetables with minced garlic, finishing them with a sprinkle of salt.
The three dishes looked absolutely mouthwatering. The lobster gleamed a brilliant red, the squid was fragrant and appetizing, and the vegetables were fresh and vibrant. Looking at the feast before her, all the gloom she had carried over the past several days disappeared. She happily sat down and enjoyed every bite.
After eating her fill, she returned to the villa and soaked in a wonderfully relaxing bath.
Looking at the countless bruises scattered across her shapely body in the mirror, Shen Zhouzhou could not help recalling the passionate night they had shared. The veins standing out along his neck, his deep, heavy breathing blending with the chirping cicadas outside the window, and the dark intensity surging in his eyes when he finally lost control.
Her fingers unconsciously curled, and the tips of her ears flushed bright red as though they had been scorched by fire.
She dared not think about it any longer.
Turning to gaze at the moonlight outside the window, she found her heart still pounding like a drum.
After applying a facial mask, she examined herself in the mirror once more.
Compared to the previous day, her complexion had become far more hydrated and radiant, and her skin felt noticeably smoother. Nourished by the spiritual spring water, she no longer carried the dull, lifeless appearance of the original owner. Instead, she seemed to glow from within.
Since it was still early, Shen Zhouzhou casually selected a medical classic from the traditional Chinese medicine room and quietly began reading.
Having this space did not mean she could become complacent. It merely gave her a greater chance of surviving in this era and living with a little more confidence. She believed that only by doing everything she could to help those in need would she truly live up to this gift bestowed upon her.
She slept peacefully through the night until dawn.
Inside the space, Shen Zhouzhou prepared herself a sandwich and a cup of hot milk, leisurely enjoying her breakfast.
When she checked the farm afterward, she found tiny shoots already sprouting from the vegetables and fruit she had planted.
Overjoyed, she believed it would not be long before she enjoyed a bountiful harvest.
Her goal was to become a wealthy woman as soon as possible.
Remembering that Chu Yunli would be coming to propose marriage that day, Shen Zhouzhou deliberately changed into a clean set of clothes. Though they were patched in many places, they had been carefully washed and neatly pressed, ensuring that she would at least appear presentable and courteous.