Early the next morning, Tang Jin woke up at six o’clock. She planned to go for a run.
In her previous life she had practically lived in the gym—she even had visible abs.
The original owner of this body had been far too lazy. Her stamina was terrible. Besides, for good food and good health, Tang Jin needed to get back into exercising.
According to her memory, there was a river behind the military district, and along the river ran a quiet asphalt road.
She found a pair of cloth shoes under the bed.
Although they looked old-fashioned, they were still better than wearing sandals.
She also realized she didn’t have any sportswear, so she had no choice but to keep wearing the red-and-green outfit. At least the short-sleeved top was cotton and the pants were linen—breathable and good at absorbing sweat, much better than running in a dress.
Tang Jin decided that later, when she bought fabric, she would make two sets of sportswear for herself and buy a pair of soft-soled shoes suitable for exercise.
Following her memory, Tang Jin jogged all the way and soon found the river.
At six in the morning, the sun had just risen, shining across the water. The river sparkled beautifully.
A light breeze blew across the surface, bringing waves of cool air. It felt like a natural oxygen bar, the air fresh and clean.
Tang Jin breathed deeply and began jogging along the asphalt road by the river.
But the original body’s stamina was terrible. After running for only a short while, she was already panting heavily and sweating all over.
Tang Jin gritted her teeth and kept going for a little longer, but eventually she couldn’t run anymore and had to slow down to a walk.
Without a phone or a watch, she had no idea how long she had been running.
Tang Jin made up her mind—once she had a little more money, she had to buy a watch.
The weather was so hot that she also needed a fan.
There were so many things she needed to buy.
The only solution was to make money quickly.
Her face was drenched in sweat. It was too hot.
Tang Jin decided to go to the riverbank to wash her face.
She found a shallow area and splashed water onto her face.
The cool water immediately made her feel much better.
Looking at the crystal-clear river water, Tang Jin thought that later she should make herself a swimsuit so she could swim around in the river like a mermaid.
Just as she was imagining swimming around, she suddenly spotted a fish swimming in the water.
And it wasn’t small—it looked like it weighed two or three pounds.
Tang Jin was overjoyed.
She looked more carefully along the riverbank and soon spotted crabs too—and they were quite big.
Thinking about delicious steamed crabs made her mouth water.
After walking a little farther, she suddenly discovered a big softshell turtle!
Without hesitation, she decided to catch it first.
With a splash, Tang Jin jumped straight into the river and swam toward the turtle.
Softshell turtles moved quite slowly on land and in shallow water.
Sure enough, Tang Jin managed to catch it.
Completely soaked, Tang Jin was so excited she looked like a child.
She waved her arms around happily.
She had actually caught a turtle!
In her previous life, she could only see things like this at markets or supermarkets—and those were farm-raised.
But this one was wild.
Today was really her lucky day.
However, her clothes were completely soaked, clinging tightly to her graceful figure.
Going back like this would be a little embarrassing.
Tang Jin looked around. There wasn’t a single person nearby.
She quickly took off her clothes, wrung out the water, and put them back on. She did the same with her pants.
After tidying up, Tang Jin happily headed back carrying the turtle.
She had already decided—she would make a net bag and come back tomorrow to catch fish.
The rivers in the 1980s weren’t polluted, and people didn’t overfish.
The water was clear enough to see the bottom.
This river was truly a treasure.
When she reached the entrance of the family compound, it happened to be the time when people were going to work, so there were more people than usual.
Division Commander Lu was sitting in a jeep when he spotted Tang Jin.
She was completely soaked and holding a turtle. The sight was quite amusing.
He rolled down the window and asked,
“Comrade Xiao Tang, did you fall into the river? And you even caught a turtle.”
The driver, Xiao Li, quickly stepped on the brakes.
“Good morning, Commander. I didn’t fall in—I went into the river specifically to catch it,” Tang Jin said with a cheerful smile, wiping the water that was about to drip into her eyes.
She held up the turtle proudly.
Tang Jin was wearing her bright red shirt and green pants. The pants were rolled up to her knees. She was completely soaked, holding her shoes in one hand and the turtle in the other, her feet covered in mud.
She looked absolutely ridiculous.
Commander Lu couldn’t help laughing.
“Alright, alright. But be careful. That river is quite deep.”
“Okay, thank you for your concern, Commander. Turtle soup is very delicious. I’ll bring you a bowl at noon to try.”
Tang Jin thought it was always good to build a good relationship with the leader. Besides, she couldn’t finish the soup herself anyway. The weather was so hot and she didn’t have a refrigerator.
“Alright,” Lu Wensheng replied. He actually quite liked this young girl.
He only had a son and no daughter.
Ever since Tang Jin had saved his wife, his wife had been talking about wanting to see her again to thank her in person.
After speaking with Commander Lu, Tang Jin ran into Fang Xiangdong.
She knew he was the political instructor of the Third Battalion and a close friend of Mu Heng.
But since she was “suffering from amnesia,” she didn’t greet him first.
Seeing her messy appearance, Fang Xiangdong also wanted to laugh, but he still greeted her.
“Sister-in-law, why did you go into the river to catch a turtle? The river is dangerous. Don’t go again.”
Recently this woman seemed to have stopped causing trouble. He had even heard she saved the commander’s wife.
But after behaving for only a few days, she was making a spectacle again—jumping into the river to catch turtles.
What if she drowned?
Mu Heng wasn’t even home.
As his friend, he felt he had to say something.
“I know how to swim. Turtle soup is really delicious,” Tang Jin replied.
Fang Xiangdong looked confused.
Turtle soup?
Could she even cook?
Mu Heng had once said she never cooked before.
Would she just throw the thing into boiling water?
Besides, could this ugly thing even be eaten?
Maybe she was really starving.
What if Mu Heng hadn’t left her any money before leaving?
“Well, sister-in-law, I’m Mu Heng’s good friend, Fang Xiangdong. If you don’t have money for food, I can lend you some. Don’t go into the river to catch turtles again—it’s too dangerous. And besides, that thing looks so ugly. It probably doesn’t taste good anyway.”
Fang Xiangdong felt like he was really overworking himself as an instructor—now he even had to worry about the life of his friend’s soon-to-be ex-wife.
“Thank you, but I do have money. Turtle soup really is delicious. I’ll bring you a bowl at noon to try.”
Tang Jin felt that Fang Xiangdong seemed like a kind-hearted person—a real warm-hearted guy.
She wondered how someone like him became good friends with Mu Heng, who was like an iceberg.
“No need. I’ll just eat at the cafeteria,” he said.
Although he loved food, he really didn’t dare try something so ugly cooked by such an unreliable woman.
Along the way, Tang Jin ran into several other acquaintances.
They secretly laughed at her messy appearance.
She ignored them.
You just don’t understand the value of this turtle, she thought.
When Tang Jin got home, she immediately took a hot shower and boiled two eggs for breakfast.
After eating, she took the bus into the city again.
Turtle soup was best when cooked with chicken, so she planned to buy one at the market.
That morning, Tang Jin only visited the market.
She bought a chicken, some vegetables, and ingredients needed for soup.
She even began to regret promising Commander Lu turtle soup.
Now she didn’t have time to buy other things—she was worried about delaying the soup.
There were still many things she needed to buy.
She would have to make another trip later.