The instant the drop of blood landed on the jade pendant, it was completely absorbed.
A warm, gentle glow spread across the pendant, enveloping Shen Zhouzhou in soft light. The radiance gradually condensed around her wrist before disappearing altogether.
When it faded, a tiny mole appeared on her wrist. It was so inconspicuous that no one would notice it without looking closely, while the jade pendant itself had returned to its original appearance.
Shen Zhouzhou stared in shock.
This couldn’t be… the legendary cheat ability, could it?
Remembering the novels she had once read, she silently thought, Enter.
In the next instant, she found herself standing in a warm and pleasant place.
Sure enough, those novels hadn’t lied to her.
Beneath her feet stretched an endless expanse of rich black soil. At the center bubbled a crystal clear spring, its water flowing into a small stream that meandered peacefully into the distance.
Off to one side stood a villa.
It was actually her villa from the modern world, the eighteenth birthday present her family had given her.
It had somehow transmigrated along with her.
The space wasn’t particularly large and consisted of three floors.
The first floor featured an open kitchen fully stocked with every kind of food and appliance imaginable.
The second floor contained two bedrooms, serving as the living and sleeping quarters.
The third floor housed a fitness and leisure area along with a small balcony.
After taking a look around, Shen Zhouzhou discovered that all the supplies she had previously stocked up on were still there. Food, drinks, entertainment, everything was available.
That was largely thanks to her job.
She rarely had time to go shopping, so whenever she did have free time, she would buy everything she needed in bulk.
Opening the door to another building beside the villa, she discovered an enormous shopping mall inside.
Everything one could possibly need was there.
With so many supplies, no matter how extravagantly she used them, she probably would never run out.
Happiness flooded her heart.
The overwhelming sense of security almost made her cry.
She casually grabbed a bottle of milk and took a sip.
The moment she finished, she noticed that another identical bottle had already reappeared inside the refrigerator.
Just as she had expected.
The supplies replenished themselves endlessly.
Looking around again, Shen Zhouzhou noticed another small building behind the villa.
She walked inside.
The room was divided into two sections.
One side was neatly stocked with countless varieties of Chinese medicinal herbs.
The opposite wall was lined with shelves of traditional Chinese medicine texts, arranged in perfect order.
Beside them stood a desk holding a complete set of golden acupuncture needles, making the place resemble a small traditional Chinese medicine clinic.
Amazing! This is incredible!
The other section was equipped with a high standard operating room filled with every kind of advanced medical equipment.
“Ah! Ah!”
Shen Zhouzhou couldn’t help crying out in excitement.
This was practically the ultimate setup tailored specifically to her interests.
Then she remembered the black farmland.
She could simply buy seeds and grow whatever crops she wanted.
She could eat the harvest herself or sell it for money.
Wouldn’t that solve her income problem?
In an era where food and clothing were both scarce, possessing something like this meant she could happily coast through life if she wanted to.
Still, she wanted more than that.
Otherwise, what would make her any different from a lazy bum?
Walking over to the spring, Shen Zhouzhou recalled another common trope from the novels she had read.
She crouched down, scooped up a handful of spring water, and took a sip.
An immediate wave of refreshing coolness spread throughout her body, making her feel completely rejuvenated. The aches and soreness she had been carrying vanished almost instantly.
She splashed another handful of water onto her face.
The cool droplets soaked into her skin, making it feel as though every pore was breathing.
It was indescribably refreshing.
This must be the legendary Spirit Spring that every cheat ability comes with.
Not only could the Spirit Spring nourish the skin and enhance one’s appearance, but it could also neutralize countless poisons and heal damaged flesh and broken bones.
Excellent!
She had originally expected restoring this frail body to require a tremendous amount of effort.
With the Spirit Spring, however, recovery would only be a matter of time.
Shen Zhouzhou placed the jade pendant, her mother’s photograph, the medical books, and the only six yuan she possessed inside the space.
There was no safer place to keep them.
If she left them outside, Shen Fangfang might rummage through her belongings and steal everything again someday.
Listening carefully, Shen Zhouzhou realized that even while inside the space, she could still hear Shen Fangfang’s ghostly wailing outside.
Reassured, she decided to remain inside the space for the time being and only go out if anything happened.
She first headed to the villa to enjoy a relaxing hot bath.
She soon discovered that the water flowing from the taps carried the faint fragrance of the Spirit Spring.
Apparently, all the household water was connected directly to the spring itself.
That made everything much more convenient.
After finishing her bath, Shen Zhouzhou looked at herself in the mirror.
Although her face was still thin, it had gained a healthy glow, and her complexion looked much better than before.
Even the bruises and marks she had suffered earlier that day had already faded somewhat.
It seemed the ancient stories hadn’t deceived people after all.
The beauty enhancing effects had already begun.
Returning to the bedroom, she eagerly threw herself onto the soft, comfortable bed and enjoyed a wonderful night’s sleep.
When she awoke naturally, she glanced at the clock.
It was already nine in the morning.
She headed to the villa’s kitchen, where she fried herself a sizzling steak and warmed a glass of milk.
After leisurely enjoying her delicious breakfast, Shen Zhouzhou began planning her day.
She needed to go out and settle the matter of selling her job.
As for Shen Fangfang…
There was no way that women would simply let things go.
Since that was inevitable, Shen Zhouzhou decided she might as well take the initiative and pay her a visit herself.
With that thought, she stepped out of the space.
The house was completely silent.
Shen Yong was nowhere to be seen. He had either gone to work or was out trying to pull strings.
Shen Fangfang was gone as well.
She was probably discussing how to deal with Shen Zhouzhou with her street punk boyfriend.
As for Shen Jianjun, he had no doubt run off somewhere to play.
No one’s home?
Hehe…
Shen Zhouzhou noticed that every bedroom had been locked, clearly because they were guarding against her.
But picking locks was hardly a challenge for someone from the twenty-first century.
She casually found a piece of wire, inserted it into the keyhole, fiddled with it a few times, and the lock clicked open.
Her gaze swept across the worn wooden table in Shen Yong’s room.
At one corner sat half a tin of malted milk, the label proudly proclaiming “Fortified Nutrition.”
She had only ever seen this during Shen Fangfang’s illnesses, when Li Hongxia would dissolve spoonful after spoonful into warm water and personally feed it to her precious daughter.
Whenever the original owner had a fever, however, all she received was a bowl of cold porridge.
At the center of the table sat a jar of moisturizing cream.
Several unopened jars bearing the “Youyi” brand logo were stacked beside it.
One lid hadn’t been fastened properly, allowing the sweet fragrance to mingle with the smell of tobacco smoke, making her nose sting with bitterness.
She had no interest in the ones that had already been used.
But the unopened ones…
She certainly deserved her share.
After all, Li Hongxia no longer had any use for them.
Without hesitation, she packed them away as well.
She lifted the tablecloth, revealing the drawer beneath.
The lock was already broken, opening with a simple pull.
A sheet of old newspaper lined the top layer.
Underneath rested a red passbook embossed with the golden characters of the People’s Bank of China.
The moment Shen Zhouzhou opened it, her pupils contracted sharply.
Three thousand yuan.
The figure stabbed into her eyes like a needle.
In 1975, three thousand yuan was equivalent to seven or eight years’ wages for an ordinary worker.
Yet Shen Yong had secretly hidden away such an enormous fortune while forcing the original owner to wear patched clothes and work odd jobs to survive.
Her fingers trembled.
For now…
She couldn’t touch it.
She carefully returned the passbook to its original place.
Digging deeper into the drawer, she found several bundles of ten yuan notes tied together with rubber bands.
Ten bills per bundle.
Five bundles in total.
Fifty ten yuan notes.
Five hundred yuan altogether.
It was enough to buy the original owner half a year’s worth of grain.
Good heavens.
Shen Yong had clearly embezzled quite a bit from the Textile Factory over the years.
How could an ordinary factory worker possibly have so much money saved?
Her household registration was still under Shen Yong’s control.
In the end, Shen Zhouzhou resisted the temptation.
She was afraid that if Shen Yong were pushed too far, he would lash out like a cornered dog.
Just wait a little longer.
Then she spotted the household registration booklet tucked beneath everything else in the drawer.
An idea immediately came to her.
Wasn’t the government actively promoting the “down to the countryside” program?
Shen Fangfang didn’t even have a job.
She seemed like the perfect candidate.