Su Yun arrived back at the Educated Youth Office. By now, quite a few people were inside asking questions, and the place was buzzing with noise.
Most were parents of the soon-to-be-sent-down educated youth, inquiring about subsidies and specific destination addresses.
Many wanted to mail their children’s packages a few days in advance — after all, they were heading north this time and would need thick quilts and heavy clothing. Too much luggage would be hard to carry on the train and easy to lose, so spending a little money to ship it ahead made more sense.
Su Yun joined the queue. There were two people ahead of her.
Right now, a woman in her forties or fifties was at the front, asking about subsidies.
From what Su Yun could hear, she’d come secretly without telling her son, hoping to pocket the subsidy herself first.
The round-faced girl rolled her eyes, her expression full of disdain.
Too bad she was going to be disappointed today!
In previous years, most subsidies never reached the educated youth themselves — the state would issue them, but some families would take the money and provide nothing, leaving their children to freeze or starve in the countryside.
“Subsidies can no longer be collected from us now. They’re distributed locally. In the first year of going to the countryside, each educated youth receives 8 yuan in living expenses and 32 jin of grain rations per month, collected at the local level.”
“What?! It used to be 200 yuan paid to the family! Why aren’t you giving it anymore?” the woman shrieked, her wide mouth spitting as she spoke, nearly hitting the staff member in the face.
“The policy changed this year! That’s how it is now, and that’s how it’ll stay!”
The staff member thought to herself: This is exactly to stop people like you.
“If you’re done, step aside — there are people behind you. And the certificate? Have the person it’s for come pick it up themselves!” The round-faced girl waved her hand, signaling her to leave.
The police station was right across the street — she wasn’t afraid of any trouble this woman might cause.
Su Yun, standing further back, felt a weight lift off her shoulders. This system was actually pretty good — at least it guaranteed that even if an educated youth struggled to adjust in the first year, they wouldn’t starve.
With the monthly living stipend, they could buy whatever they needed.
She’d also been worried that if she took the money home, she’d have to deal with Su’s father and mother.
No matter how awful Su’s father and mother were, they weren’t her parents. Since she’d taken over the original owner’s body, she didn’t want to go too far or act too harshly.
The other three siblings had little affection for Su’s father and mother — even some resentment. But in her memories, the original owner still had a childlike longing for them, even hoping that one day they’d change and treat her a little better.
Su Yun didn’t judge.
She also didn’t plan to ask the Su family to prepare anything for her. She’d just take a few of the original owner’s clothes and an old quilt — at least enough to keep up appearances.
In her past life, Su Yun had never liked owing people favors. She kept everything clear with everyone — always split the bill evenly when eating out with roommates, and if someone treated her once, she’d make sure to treat them back within a couple of days.
She certainly wasn’t going to ask Su’s father and mother for anything now — after all, in her heart, they were just strangers.
She’d only have to deal with them for a few more days before leaving. Unless absolutely necessary, she didn’t plan to see them again — at most, she’d send some living expenses when they were old, to repay the debt of life for the original owner.
…
The person ahead collected their certificate and left without wasting any time. Soon, it was Su Yun’s turn.
She handed over the household registration booklet, received her certificate, and was about to leave. But just as she reached the door, she suddenly remembered — she hadn’t checked in yet!
She was curious what she’d get from checking in at the Educated Youth Office. Rubbing her hands together, she silently chanted in her mind, “Oh mighty luck, grant me your power!”
She pressed the check-in button as she walked out.
[Check-in successful! Special check-in triggered!]
[Congratulations, host! You have received: a Going-to-the-Countryside Gift Pack!]
Huh???
She actually got a gift pack?
The prompt said “special check-in successful” instead of “check-in successful at the Educated Youth Office” — was it because she was holding her assignment certificate?
Su Yun was a bit puzzled. It seemed the system still had a lot it hadn’t told her. She’d have to figure things out slowly on her own.
She still had 4 check-in attempts left. Su Yun had already planned it out — one at the department store, one at the supply cooperative, and one at the state-run restaurant.
She hadn’t prepared anything for her trip yet, and those three places were the most likely to give her what she needed.
That left one more attempt. After she got back and opened the gift pack, she might even get extra attempts. In the afternoon, she’d check out a few food factories and textile mills.
She’d see which places gave her the most useful items, and then spend her remaining days revisiting the best spots.
Back at the Su household, Su Yun headed straight for her room, closed the door, and pulled out a steamed bun.
The bun had come from checking in at the state-run restaurant — 20 fist-sized white buns stuffed with mushrooms and cabbage.
Su Yun couldn’t help but wolf down two in a row. Since arriving at the Su family, she’d only had two meals — each just a small bowl of porridge. She hadn’t been full even once!
The buns were delicious — fresh and fragrant!
Su Yun had initially felt a bit disappointed that they were just vegetable buns, so she couldn’t resist using her last check-in attempt, hoping to get some meat-filled buns instead. She wasn’t asking for her favorite spicy red-oil lamb or beef fillings — even plain pork would do.
But the second check-in gave her [3 Large Bowls of Spicy Tripe and Blood Curd].
And they really were large bowls — the kind used for serving soup in big basins. Su Yun took one out, took one look at it, and immediately put it back in storage.
The smell was too strong! The fragrant, spicy, numbing aroma lingered in the air and wouldn’t dissipate.
If Su’s second sister and little brother came back, they’d definitely smell it!
This spicy tripe and blood curd dish was the signature specialty of the restaurant chef. Although the original owner had never tried it, she’d heard Su’s father mention it many times.
Whenever this dish was available at the state-run restaurant, Su’s father would take Su’s mother there for a treat.
Back then, every household was short on salt and oil, let alone various seasonings. Few people ate offal with its strong smell, so it was cheap. The blood used in the dish was also pig’s blood, which explained the generous portion size.
Su Yun estimated that one bowl could last her five or six meals on its own — the spicy, heavy flavor made it perfect for eating with rice. A few bites could polish off a whole bowl of rice.
She glanced at her storage grid — 12 slots total, only half used.
[19 Yellow Apricots], [Going-to-the-Countryside Gift Pack]. She’d already taken out the clam oil to use for herself.
She’d eaten two of the buns from the state-run restaurant check-in, so she now had [18 Mushroom and Cabbage Buns] and [3 Large Bowls of Spicy Tripe and Blood Curd].
From the supply cooperative, she’d gotten [2 Jars of Snow Cream].
From the department store, she’d gotten [1 Yellow Dress] — a bright, soft-yellow buraji style dress with a round collar, slightly puffed sleeves, and some lace trim that Su Yun personally found a bit tacky.
But in this era, it was undeniably a beautiful dress — wearing it out would earn her envious glances from countless young girls.
She’d even asked about the price inside the department store — a whopping 28 yuan!
To put that in perspective, Su’s second sister only earned 18 yuan a month!
And Su Yun herself was still a penniless beggar!
Su Yun clutched her chest in anguish and decided to walk further in the afternoon — maybe try checking in at a bank.
But she had no check-in attempts left. She turned her gaze to the [Going-to-the-Countryside Gift Pack].
She set the dress and snow cream on the bed for now, freeing up two grid slots. What if the gift pack gave her a lot of things and there wasn’t enough room? Su Yun raised an eyebrow and thought greedily.
Once again, a burst of cheap sparkly fireworks lit up her screen.
[Toiletry Set], [Women’s Ready-made Clothing Set +2], [Women’s Cloth Shoes +2], [Daily Necessities Set], [1-jin Food Coupons +30], [Storage Slots +5], [Check-in Attempts +5], [Getting Rich in the 70s].
Su Yun looked through everything carefully — this was truly “surprise opening the door for surprise and bringing it all the way home!”
The [Toiletry Set] contained an enamel basin, an enamel mug, toothbrush and toothpaste, two towels, and one bar of soap and one of laundry soap.
The [Daily Necessities Set] included a thermos, a canteen, a flashlight, a 10-jin quilt, a four-piece set of coarse cotton bedding, two rolls of toilet paper, and two packs of sanitary pads.
She’d even gotten a book. Su Yun looked at the title and figured it might be a guide on how to raise pigs and chickens to get rich.
She’d put it aside for now and read it later when she had time.
Su Yun pulled out the sanitary pads and examined them — they looked familiar. Weren’t these the exact same ones she’d seen in the department store display case?
That entire counter was for imported foreign goods, which required foreign exchange certificates to buy.
She’d tried to take a closer look but was stopped by the shop assistant, who just shot her a dirty look.
So sanitary pads did exist in this era — they just weren’t accessible to ordinary people, who had to make do with menstrual belts.
The text on the packaging was in a language she didn’t recognize — probably Russian. Su Yun could only open them and count herself — two packs totaling 28 pads. If she was frugal, they’d last her quite a while.
The original owner was young and had been poorly nourished since childhood — her flow was light and only lasted three or four days at most.
Used sparingly, these could last her months. She could try checking in at the department store regularly — maybe she’d get more.
If not, she’d just alternate with menstrual belts like everyone else. It was a bit more hassle, but she could manage.
Su Yun gazed at the items in her storage grid, overflowing with a sense of contentment. Truly worthy of being called a “Going-to-the-Countryside Gift Pack”! It had almost everything she’d need! The only downside was that she still had no money — she was a penniless hoarder of supplies!
She now had 17 grid slots. All the combo sets only took up one slot each, and even after taking items out, they could be put back.
Su Yun put the snow cream and the dress back into storage, leaving 6 empty slots.
Over the next few days, she’d see if she could find suitable containers to bundle together items she wouldn’t need right away, saving grid space.
She now had five more check-in attempts. But it was already 11 AM — she’d have to wait until the afternoon to try the bank.
She also wanted to check out the food factory, cannery, and textile mill. She’d make the rounds, even if it was tiring.
Su Yun clenched her fists in self-encouragement, but her pretty little face scrunched up in dismay — it was really exhausting, having to rely entirely on her own two feet. Her legs were going to get thinner at this rate!
And Su’s second sister would be off work soon, so she had to hurry up and wash and chop all the vegetables, and get the porridge cooking.