“Liu Jie, this is the only way I can think of. Someone has their eyes on us, and with so many children, I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect them all…”
“But can you guarantee that those people will leave you alone once you move to the countryside?” Gu Zhi Tao asked.
“At least we’ll be together as a family! In a couple of years, my older daughters will all become educated youths, scattered across the country. That would worry me even more.
It’s better to have all four of them go to the same place. Then I can use the excuse of worrying about the children to apply for relocation myself, and taking the three younger ones along will be perfectly reasonable.”
“Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll help you arrange it! As for your job, I’ll give you twelve hundred yuan, along with some ration coupons. I’ll also send you the children’s survivor’s subsidy every month!”
After Tong Linsheng’s sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded a first-class merit. Because he had many children, in addition to the compensation payment, each child under fifteen received a monthly survivor’s subsidy of five yuan.
So, aside from the two older ones, the five younger children received a total of twenty-five yuan per month in subsidies.
Of course, Linglong was almost fifteen, so her subsidy would soon be canceled. Still, in the countryside, fifteen yuan was enough to cover daily expenses like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar for the whole family.
“Gu Dage, you don’t need to give me that much. I’m transferring Lin Sheng’s job to a good friend, so eight hundred is enough, especially since you’re giving me so many coupons too!”
“How can that be? Your job in the Propaganda Department is a good office position. Others might not even get it for fifteen hundred yuan. Giving you twelve hundred is already a bargain for us.” Gu Zhi Tao wanted to provide them with a little extra support.
“No, no, Gu Dage, I’d feel too guilty if you did that. Your family shouldn’t always be the one helping us.”
After some back-and-forth, Liu Lijing finally settled on one thousand yuan. However, they couldn’t proceed just yet. They had to wait for the four girls’ graduation certificates to be issued before transferring the job and registering for relocation.
They also needed to sort out the things at home. Anything usable had to be packed and shipped over. Oh, there were still so many things to take care of!
Tong Yuheng: I’ve been so busy with exams that I forgot about something important!
What was it? Of course, the Golden finger! I actually forgot to open the space! With the space, wouldn’t it be convenient to bring anything along, and without paying postage too!
Tong Yuheng took out the jade pendant. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, crystal clear, with what seemed like flowing light inside. Even if it wasn’t imperial green, it was definitely glass-grade—an absolute treasure!
She took a needle, pricked her middle finger, squeezed out a large drop of blood, and let it fall onto the jade pendant. The blood spread across the surface and disappeared within a second or two!
Was it really that magical? But why wasn’t there any other reaction? Was the amount of blood not enough? Let’s try again! She dripped a few more drops, but they were quickly absorbed again, and the jade pendant still showed no change.
Didn’t the book say that Fan Yaqing accidentally cut her finger, and the blood on her finger accidentally touched the fallen jade pendant, opening the space? Why doesn’t it work for me? Is it because I’m not the female lead?
At least this jade pendant belongs to our Tong Family. Don’t be so picky, okay? I refuse to believe that my genuine Tong Family bloodline is inferior to that green tea scheming female lead!
Tong Yuheng threw down the needle, found a fruit knife, and slashed it across her finger.
This time the blood flowed much faster, soaking through the jade pendant in just a few seconds. At that moment, the pendant grew warm in her palm, emitting a gentle, soft glow!
Suddenly, Tong Yuheng appeared on a piece of land shrouded in white mist all around.
There was a small farmhouse here. Walking inside, she saw four or five farmhouses, and in the courtyard was a well, its stone platform covered with a wooden lid.
Opening it, she found it was a spring, bubbling upward, but it stopped rising at the level of the well opening.
Tong Yuheng scooped up some water with her hands and drank a mouthful—it was cool and sweet, with excellent quality. Looking at her finger that had been cut earlier, because it had been soaked in the spring water, the wound had vanished!
Holy crap! The legendary Spirit Spring? This is way better than the space the female protagonist opened!
Could it be that the space’s functions are unlocked based on character? Ha ha ha, I’m not boasting, but my character is at least a hundred times better than Fan Yaqing’s!
Tong Yuheng was extremely excited and wanted to thoroughly study its functions.
When she left the space, she found the jade pendant gone. After searching for a long time without finding it, while looking in the mirror, she noticed a red mole the size of a sesame seed had appeared at the end of her right eyebrow!
The red mole was hidden within her eyebrow; without careful observation, it was hard to spot. She gently touched it with her hand, silently thinking "enter," and immediately returned to the space.
"This is great—no need to worry about losing the pendant again!"
The land outside the farmhouse was fertile. If vegetables and fruits were planted here and watered with the Spirit Spring, they would probably grow exceptionally well, right?
But were there any requirements here? No space spirit or electronic screen to give some hints or anything—really not considerate!
The space seemed to know her thoughts, and the ground shook slightly, startling Tong Yuheng, who thought it was an earthquake!
The few houses also shook a bit, then calmed down. Tong Yuheng pushed open the door in the center, hoping inside would be filled with gold, silver, and jewels, or that it was a door to another time and space, allowing her to reunite briefly with her family from her previous life.
However, none of that! The room was very simple: a table with a thread-bound book on it, and against the wall was a massive herbal medicine cabinet that reached the ceiling.
The original owner had learned some basic medical principles from her grandfather since childhood and recognized many medicinal herbs, but she wasn’t interested in studying medicine and hadn’t pursued it deeply.
Picking up the thread-bound book on the table, she saw the cover written in traditional Chinese characters: "Mysterious Jade Space Operation Guide." She hurriedly opened it to read.
On the title page was a message from the previous owner of the space, also a warning:
"My descendant, you who have opened the Mysterious Jade Space must be someone with extraordinary experiences. I hope you use it wisely and never use it to harm the world. Remember, remember!"
Tong Yuheng thought inwardly: Tong Family ancestors, rest assured, I definitely won’t commit evil deeds. Sometimes using more intense methods is just to punish bad people.
Continuing to flip through: All new owners of the space must start from scratch, requiring the owner to diligently farm and raise livestock, contributing part of the harvest to accumulate energy for upgrades.
Each level upgrade unlocks new functions, expands the area, and increases the variety of crops and livestock. The growth of the Mysterious Jade Space depends on the owner’s diligence. I hope the space owner works hard!
Following were methods for planting and raising various plants and animals. All seeds and seedlings were stored in that enormous medicine cabinet, with each drawer containing one type.
Those that can be opened are currently permitted by the space level, while those that cannot are not yet of sufficient grade and cannot be cultivated for the time being.
Tong Yuheng left this room and moved to the adjacent one. She discovered it was a training room, and unlike its small appearance from the outside, the interior space was remarkably expansive—almost as large as a basketball court!