Year after year, time quickly reached 1968, and Shūxīn had blossomed into a young lady. Her eyes were bright and expressive, her figure graceful, slender waist poised.
Shūxīn admired herself in the mirror, looking at her small oval face, large eyes, rosy lips, and delicately painted brows—truly the most beautiful girl in the surrounding villages, even more refined than in her previous life.
She no longer lacked food. Having secretly prepared many small treats for herself, she had gained just enough to look slender when clothed yet have a little fullness when unclothed—perfectly balanced.
Now sixteen years old, she had started helping in the fields for labor points. With her strength, she could easily earn full points every day. But she wasn’t satisfied. Though she could eat her fill, she wanted to improve her quality of life.
In this era, being a worker was a point of pride. She planned to find a proper job in the near future—partly to have a way to use items from her space, and partly to make her family proud. As a high school student, she needed to make good use of her grandmother’s tuition.
Indeed, in a rural village where most girls didn’t study, she had completed high school. Coming from another world, she knew only education could take her further; she would never be seen as illiterate.
Once she was strong enough, she begged her grandmother to let her attend school alongside her older brother. Loving her dearly, Grandma Liú gave in after two days of coaxing.
Over the years, Shūxīn often brought things home—sometimes wild chickens or rabbits, sometimes valuable mountain goods. The Liú family gradually saved money. When giving Shūxīn a coin for school, Grandma Liú didn’t mind at all.
With the mind of an adult, Shūxīn couldn’t fall behind the other children. The five-year primary program she didn’t follow step by step: first year normal, then she skipped directly to fifth grade. She completed junior high in one year and entered the city’s top high school. The junior high and high school programs were both two years each, so she graduated high school in only four years.
Grandma Liú was extremely proud. In all the surrounding villages, only her granddaughter Xīnbǎo had been admitted to the city’s top school. For a while, the Liú family had a reputation wherever they went.
During those years, Shūxīn also monetized some of the items from her space while attending school in the county. She became wealthier than the rest of her family, occasionally selling grain and meat. A few years back, she had even dug up two ginseng roots in the mountains—she kept the larger one in the space as a seed and sold the smaller one for cash.
Speaking of the space, over these years her power had grown, and naturally, the space itself expanded. During the first two years, she mainly grew grain—enough for her to eat for over a decade. After attending the county school, she realized that the real hard currency now was eggs and sugar. So, last year, she planted sugarcane to make brown sugar, using methods she had learned from the library.
Shūxīn didn’t just copy down sugar-making techniques—she transcribed every useful book she could find in the library. Whether about food, clothing, housing, or science and culture, she left nothing out. Over the years, she trained her body with her powers, developed her brain, and achieved near-photographic memory, making transcription effortless. Those three years at the county school were fulfilling.
The space wasn’t limited by seasons, so she didn’t have to worry about planting schedules. The second batch of sugarcane was about to be harvested, and she would plant another batch this year. Next year, she wouldn’t need to plant anymore. Her space already held about 1,000 jin of brown sugar; with the remaining two harvests, she would have roughly 1,700 jin—enough for several years.
The next morning, after washing up, Shūxīn saw Grandma Liú bringing breakfast. Noticing that she was awake, Grandma hurriedly handed her a fresh egg. Shūxīn gratefully accepted and ate it in a few bites.
With Shūxīn contributing so much labor, the Liú family naturally allocated the largest share of grain to her this year. Grandma Liú cooked her a daily egg for nutrition. Others shared one among a few people. Grandma Liú’s reasoning was simple: she cherished her granddaughter, and Shūxīn’s hard work earned her plenty of points, plus she often brought meat home. No one would complain.
The Liú family didn’t grumble either. Grandpa Liú thought supplementing his hardworking granddaughter was only right. Aunt Liú reasoned that it wasn’t fair to begrudge Shūxīn’s ability. Her eldest son, four or five years older than Shūxīn, couldn’t match her productivity, so he deserved what was left. Dad and Mom Liú didn’t need to worry—they naturally favored their daughter.
Shūxīn left with Grandpa Liú, chatting as they walked: “Grandpa, I plan to go to the city soon to look for a suitable opportunity, maybe a job.”
“Alright, go if you have a plan. If it doesn’t work out, don’t be discouraged. You’re strong, and your fieldwork skills are better than your peers’,” Grandpa reassured her, knowing she was capable but wary of potential obstacles.
Dad and Mom Liú overheard the conversation and stayed quiet—they couldn’t help much, but at least they wouldn’t hold her back.
Seeing his competent daughter and comparing her to his less industrious sons, Dad Liú grew annoyed and smacked one of them lightly.
“Dad, why’d you hit me?” protested Liú Jiànguó, caught in the middle.
“Because you deserve it! I’m your father—do you expect me to pick a lucky day to hit you?”
The family laughed, not intervening. Shūxīn’s cousins, Liú Jiànjūn and Liú Jiànhóng, sympathized with Jiànguó—they knew their parents always looked for reasons to discipline them because of Shūxīn’s abilities.
Shūxīn ignored the playful chaos. Once in the fields, she collected her daily task from the captain and worked swiftly, aiming to finish by noon. In the afternoon, she planned a trip to the mountains.
In a couple of days, she would head to the county city. She needed to retrieve items from her temporary mountain base, which had been carefully concealed from the Liú family over the years. She packed everything she had stored. If anyone discovered it, it would be a loss.
That afternoon, Shūxīn arrived at the mountain cave, packed the air-dried wild chickens and rabbits on the walls into her space, and stored pots, pans, and utensils there too. The large pot, found in her space, was high-quality. Today, buying such a pot would cost ten or more coins and industrial vouchers. Less valuable items she left in the cave for future trips.
After touring the mountain, she collected a batch of medicinal codonopsis root and carried her full basket down, covering the contents with wild vegetables for concealment.
On the way, she met her cousin Shūlán, who was collecting pigweed. Shūxīn helped lighten her load, tossing two bundles onto her own basket with ease.
Shūlán was eighteen. At the age for marriage arrangements, Grandma Liú had stopped her from fieldwork, so she mainly helped with household chores.