April 1971, Beijing. The weather had already begun to warm up. It was still barely dawn, yet beneath the ginkgo trees beside Liuye Alley, a group of elderly men and women had already gathered.
Anyone passing by—whether they were heading out to use the public restroom, rushing to work early, or simply walking through—would become a topic of conversation.
After buying breakfast outside, Su Qingwan hurried toward Courtyard No. 1 with a bag full of meaty steamed buns, not lingering for even a second.
“Wasn’t that the youngest daughter of the Song family just now? What a spendthrift. She’s gone and bought food outside again.”
“Her father, Song Houdong, is nothing but a pretty boy. A useless coward. Who would let their own child take their maternal grandfather’s surname?”
“Hmph, I think you’re just jealous. If your father-in-law were willing to leave his property to your children, with the only condition being that they take his surname, would you refuse?”
“Hahaha, if I ever came across such a thing, I wouldn’t be as stingy as Little Song. I’d have all my children change their surnames.”
“That would require finding someone like Old Su, someone with a substantial family fortune and no sons. Otherwise, why would anyone bother changing their surname?”
No matter the era, property had always been something ordinary people desperately sought after. In the city, it was common for three generations of a family, more than a dozen people, to be crammed into a room of barely a dozen square meters.
Years ago, Liuye Alley had been allocated to Hongqi Machinery Factory. Aside from a small number of houses that families had purchased with their own money years earlier, the rest belonged to the state. In other words, the entire Liuye Alley could essentially be considered housing for Hongqi Machinery Factory employees and their families.
Su Qingwan’s maternal grandfather, Su Linqiang, had once been a famous chef in Beijing. Many years ago, he had bought two main rooms in Liuye Alley and settled down there.
After her mother, Su Tongyu, married her father, Song Houdong, they happened to benefit from the machinery factory’s housing allocation and were gradually given two more rooms. With the two rooms her grandfather had purchased, their family had considerably more living space than most.
Su Qingwan returned to the main house, took the meat buns out of the net bag, and placed them on the table. She took a deep breath, savoring their aroma. The buns had thin wrappers and generous fillings. One bite left a delicious fragrance lingering on her lips. Her half-hour walk that early in the morning had definitely been worth it.
In her previous life, she would never have eaten such greasy, meaty buns. Now, she could easily eat three in one sitting. There was simply so little oil and fat in her stomach these days that naturally, her appetite seemed huge.
“You’ve got money to burn, don’t you? Do you even intend to make ends meet? Look how many meat buns you bought. You might as well have bought a pound of meat and cooked it yourself at home. Wouldn’t that have been much more economical?” After using the public restroom, Su Tongyu saw the meat buns her youngest daughter had bought and immediately frowned, scolding Su Qingwan.
Su Qingwan immediately grabbed a meat bun and ran outside, shouting, “Mom, I’m going to work!”
If she didn’t leave now, Grandpa would be coming out soon, and she might have to endure another lecture. She had wanted to share her good news with them, but she would just have to wait until she came home from work.
Su Qingwan walked toward Hongxing Garment Factory. Liuye Alley was only about a ten-minute walk from the factory. That was why, despite having worked there for three years, Su Qingwan had never bought a bicycle. It certainly wasn’t because she couldn’t afford one.
Su Tongyu called out toward the two rooms, “Come out and eat!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Song Houdong laughing and chatting outside the courtyard. He came rushing in, followed by her father, Su Linqiang, and her eldest son, Song Hongjun. All three had uncontrollable smiles on their faces.
Su Tongyu was just about to call out to them when Song Houdong quickly closed the door after her father-in-law and eldest son entered.
Su Tongyu frowned, completely puzzled. “What’s going on?”
Song Houdong beamed with excitement.
“Our Wanwan is getting a house!”
Su Tongyu looked incredulous. “Hongxing Garment Factory is just a small factory. They’re already building family housing? Besides, Wanwan is still so young and unmarried. She’s worked there for three years and hasn’t even been named an outstanding employee once. How could they possibly allocate a house to her?”
Although she wasn’t particularly proactive at work, she had never been late or left early. At least she was always honest and conscientious and had never made any mistakes.
She had only been particularly enthusiastic when she first joined Hongxing Garment Factory. At fifteen, she had somehow heard that a new factory was going to be built, so she took the initiative to contact her school and graduate from high school early. Afterward, she immediately found a way to get a temporary position at the newly established Hongxing Garment Factory.
There had been countless people waiting for their work units to allocate housing over the past few years, but only a handful had actually received one. That alone showed how difficult it was to get a house at this time.
Song Qingzao had just come out and overheard her parents talking about Su Qingwan being allocated a house. He also thought it was unlikely. How could something like that happen so easily?
Seeing that neither mother nor daughter believed him, Song Houdong continued, “It’s true. Kangmei said the housing allocation policy and the list of people receiving houses have already been posted on the factory bulletin board. Wanwan’s name is right there.”
“No wonder that stingy girl went out first thing this morning to buy meat buns. She must have been so happy about getting the house.”
Song Qingzao and Song Hongjun were both happy and envious of their younger sister. Who wouldn’t want a house of their own?
And their little sister wasn’t even twenty years old yet. She was unmarried, too! Yet she was already getting a house!
“Come on. It’s still early. Let’s ride our bicycles to Hongxing Garment Factory and take a look,” Su Tongyu said as she opened the door and walked toward the bicycles parked nearby.
Su Linqiang waved his hand. “You all go ahead. I have to head out.”
Su Linqiang worked at the municipal police station, which was quite far from Liuye Alley. If he didn’t leave now, he would be late. He was a model worker every year and certainly couldn’t afford to be late just because he wanted to watch the excitement.
Song Houdong carried Su Tongyu on his bicycle, while Song Hongjun carried Song Qingzao. The two bicycles sped toward Hongxing Garment Factory.
“Stop! What are you doing here?” The factory gatekeeper, Uncle Ding, stopped the four of them and asked warily.
Su Tongyu got off the bicycle and handed him her work ID.
“Uncle, we all work for Hongqi Machinery Factory. Su Qingwan is my daughter. We heard that your unit is allocating housing, so we came over to take a look.”
“Oh, you’re Little Su’s parents. Little Su was also allocated a house this time…”
Before Uncle Ding could finish speaking, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the factory.
“Uncle Ding! Uncle Ding! Hurry and get someone to rescue them!”
Sheng Molly shouted as she ran toward them, her forehead covered in tiny beads of sweat and her face flushed red.
The moment she saw Uncle Ding, tears began streaming down her face. She put her hands on her waist, bent over, and trembled from head to toe.
“There are some children in the moat up ahead… They fell into the water… Qingwan went down to save them… I don’t know how to swim.”
Sheng Molly’s voice choked with sobs.
“There’s no one else around. Hurry and go!”
The moment Song Houdong and the others heard that Su Qingwan had fallen into the water, they immediately jumped onto their bicycles and rushed toward the moat.
Although the weather was beginning to warm, the river water was still bitterly cold. And going into the water to rescue someone was even more dangerous. With Su Qingwan’s small frame, what if she failed to save the child and ended up getting herself into trouble as well?
Su Tongyu was frantic. She kept slapping Song Houdong’s back anxiously.
“Ride faster! Wanwan is still waiting!”
Song Houdong pedaled as hard as he could, the wheels practically smoking from how fast he was riding.
By the moat, Su Qingwan was already completely exhausted after rescuing two children. But she couldn’t afford to rest even for a moment. There was still one child struggling in the water. If she waited any longer, the child would really die.
Su Qingwan wasn’t exactly the most selfless or warmhearted person, but she couldn’t simply stand by and watch such a young child die right before her eyes.
She had no choice.
Gritting her teeth, Su Qingwan used the last bit of strength she had left and swam toward the child. She reached out, grabbed the child tightly by the arm, and desperately tried to lift and support the child toward the shore.
But she could no longer hold on.
Her body plunged into the water.
Her consciousness began to fade.
Could it be that in both of her lives, she was destined to die young?
And she hadn’t even finished eating the meat buns in her pocket…
The icy river water instantly swallowed her whole. She never heard the crackling electrical sound that suddenly appeared in her mind.
Ding! Justice System successfully activated!
Ding! Host detected to be in critical condition. Protection mode is now activated.