Su Muqing called back.
The phone was picked up almost immediately after the first ring, and Song Ranran’s anxious voice came through:
“Qingbao! How are things on your end? I’ve found out some things here!”
Su Muqing briefly recounted the events of the night, and Song Ranran breathed a sigh of relief.
“Qingbao, when you told me yesterday that you had traveled through time, I felt your experience sounded so familiar, like a novel I once read!”
“What?”
Su Muqing sat up abruptly. “What novel?”
“A period novel I bought during college called The Wild Rose on the Black Soil Land, which tells the story of the construction of Beidahuang in the 1960s and 70s.”
“The male lead, Xie Liaoyuan, and the female lead, Ye Jinchun, were childhood sweethearts from the same military compound. They volunteered to go to the countryside in Beidahuang, where they supported each other and contributed to the construction of the ‘Great Northern Granary.’”
“The character named Li Zhaodi in the book is almost exactly like your experience!”
“Back then, didn’t I lend you the book and complain about how the tragic female supporting character’s name was exactly the same as yours?”
Su Muqing understood now. When Song Ranran had lent her the book, she was busy preparing for exams and had completely forgotten about it.
Thinking back now, this kind of experience was probably exactly that of a cannon-fodder female supporting character in a novel—a shadow under the protagonists’ brilliance, a backdrop to highlight the tragedy of the era.
“Ranran, do you remember the plot in the book related to this Li Zhaodi?”
The sound of pages turning came from Song Ranran’s end. “I found the book yesterday. Li Zhaodi is only mentioned briefly.”
“She went to the countryside in the same batch as the male and female leads, but while they went to the Production and Construction Corps, Li Zhaodi was sent to a natural village.”
“It’s said that she was harassed by local hooligans as soon as she arrived, and later married a local farmer who was abusive.”
“When she couldn’t bear the beatings anymore, she reached out to her family for help, only to discover that she wasn’t their biological daughter.”
“So she bought a packet of rat poison and poisoned her entire family.”
“In the book, her last appearance is in Ye Jinchun’s words, lamenting that this was just a microcosm of the lingering poison of the old society.”
Su Muqing felt a pang of sorrow.
If she had encountered such a person before, she might have only felt pity. But now, having inherited the original body’s memories,
she couldn’t truly empathize with the pain of being dragged into the mud by fate’s heavy hand, struggling desperately only to sink deeper, but it still struck her as shocking.
“Qingbao, you couldn’t possibly be…” Song Ranran’s voice was filled with worry.
Su Muqing snapped back to reality and looked out the window, where the sky remained clear and cloudless.
She wasn’t that Su Muqing, but she could live a more brilliant life on her behalf.
Su Muqing’s heart suddenly felt lighter, and her voice calmed. “Ranran, I won’t follow the book’s plot.”
“I have you, the Small Apartment, the medical skills I’ve studied and practiced for eight years, and even a System that may or may not be useful.”
“Even if I go to Beidahuang, I can live my own life and reclaim what was lost for her too!”
On the other end of the phone, Song Ranran fell silent for a few seconds before bursting into cheers. “Well said! To hell with the original plot!”
“We’ll write our own story!”
Even so, Su Muqing carefully reviewed all details about Li Zhaodi from the original book, wanting to avoid risks as much as possible.
When she learned that all tragedies began with that little hooligan, Su Muqing had already set her goal.
If that little hooligan didn’t provoke her, fine. But if he dared to come again, she would definitely pull out the stun gun Song Ranran had prepared and give him a hundred thousand volts!
Although the book didn’t mention the hooligan’s name, she just needed to steer clear of anyone who looked shady.
Su Muqing also checked whether the extra stamps she bought could be sent to Song Ranran. It turned out they could.
She immediately asked Song Ranran to look up stamps with collectible value from this period.
Not checking was one thing; checking gave her a shock.
At the end of 1968, there was an incident where a stamp was withdrawn from sale, making that one red stamp a legend.
There were also the unique "Wen" character stamps from this period, which were relatively valuable.
The one she bought at the post office yesterday was the most ordinary "Beijing Architecture" stamp, with a large circulation and little value.
It was now late August. Several classic "Wen" character stamps had already been issued. Perhaps she could find a way to get more after heading north.
Buying them here would be too conspicuous. The post office wasn’t far from the machinery factory. Given how fast rumors spread in this era, if she used her resettlement money to buy stamps, she didn’t even dare imagine how the story would twist.
Over three days, Su Muqing left early and returned late, wandering around several places in the city, pretending to prepare her luggage.
Director Chen worked with remarkable efficiency. On the afternoon Su Muqing arrived at the guesthouse, he handed her the resettlement money.
A full three hundred and eighty yuan.
The extra eighty was subsidized by the factory. On one hand, Su Muqing had volunteered to go to Beidahuang, setting an example for the factory.
On the other hand, the Li family matter was resolved at the factory level without being reported. Li Jianguo and Wang Xiujuan lost their jobs, and Su Muqing’s household registration was transferred out for her to handle independently, effectively severing family ties.
Since the former machinery factory director had just been sent down, the new director couldn’t afford any more trouble. The extra money served as hush money for Su Muqing.
Su Muqing gladly accepted.
Director Chen, however, felt somewhat guilty.
He hadn’t been able to secure a spot for her in the Production and Construction Corps. Instead, she was assigned to a natural village near the border.
In the end, he could only help her exchange for a slightly better train ticket.
If she took the educated youth special train, which had lower priority, the journey would take even longer. But this direct express train No. 56 wasn’t much faster either.
The entire trip would take five or six days, including a transfer in Harbin. Su Muqing truly dreaded it.
After all, trains at this time were all green hard-seat carriages!
She couldn’t just disappear into the Small Apartment on the train without raising suspicion. She’d have to endure it.
On the last day of August, carrying her prepared luggage and holding the letter of introduction from Director Chen, Su Muqing finally boarded the northbound train.
She had warned Song Ranran in advance that she might not be able to enter the apartment for several days.
The platform was packed with people, red flags waving, and slogans posted everywhere.
Amid the looped broadcast of revolutionary songs, Su Muqing finally found her seat and breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, it was empty.
A two-seat row by the window was decent enough.
This carriage was mostly filled with educated youth heading north. Sitting across from her was also a girl, with braided hair and wearing a somewhat faded blue outfit.
In the aisle seat next to her was a bespectacled young man, engrossed in reading a magazine.
"Comrade, are you also going to Beidahuang?"
Noticing Su Muqing's glance, the girl opposite her smiled and initiated conversation.
"Yes, I'm going to Dumuhe Village," Su Muqing nodded.
"Oh, that's actually not far from us! We're heading to 850 Farm," the girl's eyes lit up as she immediately introduced herself. "I'm Ye Jinchun, and this is Xie Liaoyuan," she said, pointing to the young man beside her, then gesturing toward the seat next to Su Muqing. "That's my cousin Lin Fangfang over there. She went to fetch hot water and will be back soon."
Su Muqing was stunned—what a small world indeed.
But she quickly composed herself and offered a polite smile. "I'm Su Muqing."
"Su Muqing? Is your family from the Shanghai Machinery Factory?"
Xie Liaoyuan, who had been silent until now, looked up.