After all, the person who recommended this novel said the female lead was a complete idiot. She had a Dimensional Space full of supplies, ate well and drank well, yet she still foolishly ran around obsessed with the male lead, crazy for him, even banging her head against the wall for him.
Su Mi had no interest in such novels.
When looking for a partner, she didn’t necessarily need someone much stronger or smarter than herself—someone on equal footing would do just fine!
But that male lead seemed like a freeloader. Despite being set up as a top figure in the military district, exuding an overbearing aura and having boundless prospects, whenever trouble arose, it was almost always the female lead running around handling things, practically throwing herself at him.
The plot was even more melodramatic—without the female lead’s golden finger, the male lead’s entire family would be doomed.
It was as if the female lead existed solely to protect the male lead’s family.
That aside, the father-in-law was a military district commander and a decent person, but the key issue was that the male lead had a troublemaking mother and a meddlesome aunt who stirred up family drama.
It was utterly ridiculous.
As the female lead, being manipulated and even humiliated by such people was simply laughable.
Recalling her friend’s complaints when recommending this novel, Su Mi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Comrade Su, I’m going to fetch hot water. Do you need any? I can bring some for you.”
A fellow educated youth named Zhang Qiang, sitting across from her, was holding his lunchbox and preparing to stand up when he noticed the person opposite seemed to be awake, so he politely asked.
“Thank you, but no need.”
Su Mi declined his offer. The passengers in this train carriage were all heading to the same destination—Northeast Province—all of them educated youths sent down to the countryside.
It was truly something—probably all arranged this way.
But then she remembered an old saying she’d once heard: “Beat a roe deer with a stick, scoop fish with a gourd, and pheasants fly right into the pot.”
She wondered if that was really true?
Taking advantage of a trip to the restroom, Su Mi entered her Dimensional Space. Everything inside remained intact—nothing was missing, and nothing had mysteriously appeared.
As long as she had this Dimensional Space, Su Mi felt an inexplicable confidence that she could survive well in this unfamiliar world.
Standing in front of a full-length mirror, Su Mi examined this new body that now belonged to her. To her surprise, the original host was a natural beauty.
Her bone structure was excellent, with curves in all the right places—slim where she should be slim and nicely rounded where she should have some flesh.
Her waist was slender, and her skin was elastic and smooth.
Naturally arched willow-leaf eyebrows, peach-blossom eyes, and an oval face paired with cherry-red lips that needed no lipstick, a high nose bridge, and a rounded nose tip.
These features were a perfect match. Su Mi was extremely satisfied. Her previous nose had been a bit flat, but everything else was fine. With her facial features and some makeup, she had been considered an 80-plus beauty. The only thing she hadn’t been satisfied with was her small nose. As for surgical procedures like rhinoplasty or cosmetic surgery—forget it!
She wasn’t about to go under the knife just to look prettier.
After checking, she found no particularly noticeable scars or birthmarks anywhere on her body.
Satisfied, Su Mi put her previous clothes back on.
As for the style of these clothes… well, it left a lot to be desired.
Unfortunately, these clothes were the common style here, and people nowadays didn’t pay much attention to fashion—or perhaps they didn’t dare to.
If she wanted to wear pretty clothes, she’d have to wait a few more years.
Returning to her seat, to avoid conversation with others, Su Mi chose to close her eyes and rest.
Apart from necessary meals, bathroom breaks, and drinking water, Su Mi declined to talk to anyone.
The train finally arrived at its terminal station a little past nine in the morning on the fourth day.
Carrying a large backpack, Su Mi followed the crowd and got off the train.
At the station entrance, there was a designated reception point for educated youth.
Everyone gathered here, then were assigned according to the arrangements made by the educated youth office.
Su Mi followed the large group, which gradually shrank into smaller groups, and finally took a bus to the final destination.
“Niujia Village, those assigned to Niujia Village, come over here!”
“Wangjiagou, Wangjiagou, come here, Wangjiagou!”
“Red Star Commune, Red Star Commune, Red Star Commune!”
“Lizigou, Lizigou…”
Su Mi endured the journey and finally arrived. Before the bus even came to a complete stop, she could hear the clamor outside.
This was the village cadres from various communes and villages picking up the educated youth assigned to them.
The village representatives from each village shouted loudly, creating quite a lively scene.
Two large passenger buses emptied out completely right here.
Su Mi was assigned to Niujia Village, so she naturally grabbed her bag and hurried over.
By then, several men and women were already standing there.
Zhang Qiang, who had been sitting across from her on the train earlier, was also there.
“Everyone, stand properly now. I’m going to call the roll. Zhang Qiang, Liu Jinbu, Zhao Xianjin, Fu Dongqiang! These are the male comrades’ names. Are you all here? If you are, speak up.”
“Here.”
“I’m here.”
“Yeah, I’m here too.”
…
The brigade leader looked at the young men and women before him, his inner eye-roll nearly reaching the sky.
“Alright, all the male comrades are here. The female comrades are Liu Wenli, Wang Yajuan, Caiwen, Su Mi, Li Meixian, and Shi Caixia.”
On the girls’ side, each called out “Here!” as her name was read.
The other teams holding flags were in similar situations.
Niujia Village’s conditions were probably average, as two production brigades had arrived driving tractors.
The educated youth who got to ride on the tractors, with their large and small bags piled on the vehicles along with themselves, grinned from ear to ear.
Looking at the dusty oxcart nearby and the other educated youth also sent to the countryside, they instantly felt superior. Some people always harbored a secret sense of superiority.
“Alright, everyone’s here. I’m Niujia Village’s village chief, Niu Dakui. Don’t call me by the wrong name later.”
“Put all your bags and belongings on the oxcart. Our production brigade isn’t far from here. You’ll just follow the oxcart on foot.”
“It’s still early now. Those of you who need to buy anything or send word home, be quick about it. Don’t waste time. It’s 1:34 now. I’ll wait here at most until 2:30. Leave your things here; I’ll keep an eye on them. If you’re not back by then, you’ll have to walk to our village on your own.”
“If you’re unhappy about it, you can stay in town overnight and go home tomorrow. It’s up to you.”
After calling the roll, Niu Dakui glanced perfunctorily at the proof documents each educated youth held, then waved his hand as if shooing flies, urging everyone to hurry up and do what they needed to do.
He folded the name list repeatedly and tucked it into his shirt pocket, then wiped the wristwatch he had worn for who knows how many years.
Su Mi had been standing on the outermost edge all along. She only had one large handbag, containing just two changes of clothes and some miscellaneous items.
She really hadn’t prepared thoroughly at all—no wonder her family had been anxious.
After placing her bag on the oxcart, she didn’t want to team up with anyone else and headed into the town alone.
This was a habit formed during the Apocalypse—preferring to walk alone rather than teaming up, because you never knew if the teammate who had just fought alongside you would push you into a horde of Zombies the next moment.
Or perhaps you were eating the food you had finally managed to find, only to be stabbed in the back by someone just to snatch the food from your hands.