Over there, Aunt Wang was still enthusiastically sharing gossip, but Lin Baiyu’s thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
Remembering that the original story began with Zhang Meifeng’s rebirth, Lin Baiyu discreetly glanced at Zhang Meifeng, who was listening to the gossip along with everyone else.
Seeing that her behavior was no different from anyone else’s, Lin Baiyu came to a conclusion. Zhang Meifeng had not yet been reborn.
She thought that once Zhang Meifeng returned after her rebirth, the system’s energy collection progress would probably speed up considerably.
Perhaps because Aunt Wang had started the topic and stirred everyone’s curiosity, people quickly joined the discussion, talking over one another.
Lin Baiyu ended up hearing quite a few fresh pieces of gossip, and at the same time, she did not forget to exchange them for melon eating points with the system.
By the time they entered the city, she had earned another four melon eating points, finally bringing her balance back into positive numbers.
Perhaps because she had been an orphan in her previous life, Lin Baiyu appeared cold and detached on the surface, but in reality, she understood human relationships and worldly affairs extremely well.
However, she had her own principles. She firmly believed that there was no such thing as a free lunch, a lesson that more than twenty years of experience in her previous life had taught her.
Therefore, she disliked owing favors to others. Even though she and the system shared a mutually beneficial relationship, she maintained a certain level of caution and never intended to rely on it too much.
After getting off the vehicle, everyone agreed on a time and place to meet up again before splitting off to take care of their own business.
Lin Baiyu also informed Aunt Lin that she was going to mail a letter to her older brother, Lin Bai’an. Knowing that Lin Baiyu was familiar with the city, Aunt Lin merely gave her a few reminders before they parted ways.
Following her memories, Lin Baiyu arrived at the post office and mailed the manuscript she had prepared for Qingchun Newspaper, along with the letter to Lin Bai’an.
Checking her watch, she saw that there was still plenty of time before the agreed meeting time, so she decided to stroll around.
As for the family’s food situation, Grandpa Lin had already said that he would find a solution, so Lin Baiyu did not dwell on it.
After all, in her memories, Grandpa Lin had always been a capable man. If he wasn’t confident about something, he would never make promises lightly.
At present, she had no worries regarding food, clothing, shelter, or transportation. Although she wanted to improve her quality of life, she also knew that the current environment called for keeping a low profile.
She could only avoid mistreating herself in places where others would not notice, such as dealing with the troublesome issue of her monthly period.
Fortunately, Lin Baiyu’s weak constitution had caused her to mature later, and her family had always doted on her.
Out of concern for her health, although outwardly she merely enjoyed slightly better food, clothing, and daily necessities than other girls her age in the village, privately her family always did their best to ensure she lived more comfortably.
Life was difficult for many people in this era, and ordinary families certainly would not spend money on such “luxuries” for girls. Most women used folded cotton cloth or rough paper, while those in poorer circumstances resorted to plant ash.
But Grandma Lin was an experienced and knowledgeable woman who understood the importance of hygiene and health for women.
Fortunately, Lin Bai’an had already joined the army by then, and Grandma Lin used some of the ration coupons he sent home, which she found unnecessary, to exchange for menstrual belt coupons.
After Lin Baiyu started earning money from her writing, she found ways to exchange coupons with female classmates from wealthier families and no longer needed Grandma Lin to worry about such matters.
Thinking about this, Lin Baiyu once again felt fortunate that she had become part of the Lin family. Even now, she still had some psychological resistance toward using menstrual belts.
As she walked toward the department store, she summoned the system and asked, “Xiao Bai, I remember that the system store can only be activated for one day at a time, right?”
“That’s right, Host,” Xiao Bai replied.
Hearing this, Lin Baiyu opened the store interface and quickly found sanitary pads under daily necessities.
The description read:
One pack of sanitary pads (15 pieces). Exterior designed to imitate the style of the Host’s era. Single use item. Automatically destroyed after use.
One pack cost one melon eating point. Since each pack contained fifteen pads, Lin Baiyu exchanged two packs.
And just like that, the melon eating points she had just obtained that day disappeared entirely.
Lin Baiyu finally understood that she, the “employee,” simply could not outplay the system, the “big boss.” Her expenses consistently exceeded her income.
Thinking of the system’s habit of operating logically, she purchased sanitary products at the department store as usual before using the sanitary pads she had just exchanged.
Finding a secluded corner where no one would notice, she opened the basket containing her belongings and, as expected, discovered that the number of “menstrual belts” inside was far greater than before.
After confirming her guess, she drank some water from the flask she carried with her, put the basket back on her back, and used the grain Grandma Lin had given her, along with the loose change exchanged from the system, to enjoy a bowl of meat noodles at the state run restaurant.
After leaving the restaurant, Lin Baiyu planned to continue wandering leisurely before heading to the meeting point.
And she really was just wandering around, simply experiencing life in this era firsthand.
After Grandpa Lin had warned her in advance, she valued her current happy life more than satisfying dangerous curiosity. Even with the system as her cheat ability, she had no intention of casually roaming around the black market.
After all, not everyone was like the heroine, the world’s favored daughter, who could recklessly navigate the black market, emerge unharmed, and accumulate a substantial fortune.
Perhaps fate was simply that mysterious. Lin Baiyu had only just thought about Zhang Meifeng when the system notification sounded.
“Detected energy fluctuations nearby. The host may begin eating the melon.”
Good grief.
Before Lin Baiyu had time to think further, she spotted Zhang Meifeng chatting and laughing with a man who appeared refined and honest.
She thought that this city man who was so close to Zhang Meifeng must be her scumbag ex-husband.
Pretending not to notice, Lin Baiyu lowered her hat and blended into the crowd, maintaining some distance while staying close enough to clearly observe their interactions with her sharp eyes and ears.
The two behaved intimately, and at first glance, the man seemed to treat Zhang Meifeng very well.
But with Lin Baiyu’s experience in judging people, she quickly sensed that something was wrong.
Whenever Zhang Meifeng spoke to him, she subconsciously tried to please him, while the man appeared to enjoy and take pride in that.
Yet whenever Zhang Meifeng said or did something he disliked, displeasure immediately showed on his face, and his attitude turned cold in an instant.
Seeing this obvious PUA behavior, Lin Baiyu gained a much clearer understanding of why the original story described Zhang Meifeng’s ex husband as a complete scumbag.
Good grief. Not only had this bastard cheated during their marriage, despised Zhang Meifeng for giving birth only to “money losing daughters,” and later abused her physically after suffering setbacks in his career, causing her miscarriage, but he had actually started brainwashing her before they were even married.
No wonder Zhang Meifeng became corrupted in the later stages of the story and, after being reborn, crazily sought revenge against his entire family.
The thought made Lin Baiyu shiver involuntarily.
At the same time, the system announced the completion of the task.
“Congratulations, Host, on completing the melon eating task. The system is now Level One, and the energy collection progress has reached fifty percent.”
Seeing that the two were about to part ways, Lin Baiyu stopped paying attention to them. Pretending that they happened to be heading in the same direction, she “coincidentally” ran into Zhang Meifeng after the latter separated from the man.
The two women then headed toward the meeting point together.