Mi Duoduo racked her brains, trying to figure out where this sense of familiarity came from.
Su Qingyao, Deputy Factory Director Chen… These names lingered on the tip of her tongue but got stuck in her throat, just out of reach.
"Duoduo, what did the doctor say?" Mi Jianye's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting her train of thought.
Mi Duoduo was momentarily stunned before she responded, "Huh? Oh, the doctor said the wound is almost healed. It just needs one more dressing change."
Xiao Sheng chimed in from the side, his tone full of pride: "Sister's dressing change only cost ten cents—much cheaper than at the hospital!"
Mi Jianye nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face. "That's good. Children heal fast."
Mi Duoduo touched the back of her head and said softly, "Dad, Xiao Sheng and I bought a chicken, but… neither of us knows how to kill it."
"What's so hard about that?" Mi Jianye rolled up his sleeves. "Wait a bit, and Dad will stew the chicken for you. You need to nourish yourselves."
The three of them returned home. Mi Jianye took the chicken to the backyard, with Xiao Sheng eagerly following to help—boiling water, finding a knife. Mi Duoduo, meanwhile, was ordered to go back to her room and lie down.
Leaning against the headboard, she turned over those vague clues in her mind again—Su Qingyao, Deputy Factory Director Chen's house being emptied out, no commotion… The more she thought about it, the more familiar it felt, as if she had seen this plot somewhere before.
"Deputy Factory Director Chen's wife is Lu Xiaocao, and his son is Chen Guangzong…" she murmured to herself, then suddenly sat up and called out to Xiao Fu in her mind: "Xiao Fu! Did Deputy Factory Director Chen marry into the Su family?"
Xiao Fu's virtual avatar wobbled slightly. "Yes, host. You were the one who told me yesterday—Deputy Factory Director Chen married into the family back then, and Su Qingyao took her mother's surname."
Mi Duoduo's eyes lit up, as if a connection suddenly clicked in her mind—Su Qingyao, Deputy Factory Director Chen, marrying into the family, the house being emptied…
Piecing these fragments together, wasn't this exactly the plot of Transmigrating to the 70s: Emptying the Family Fortune to Go Down to the Countryside, the novel she had read before on Tomato Fiction?
She flopped back onto the bed and said weakly to Xiao Fu, "Xiao Fu, we might have transmigrated into a book."
"Transmigrated into a book?" Xiao Fu's lines twisted into a question mark. "Host, what's that? I don't understand."
"It means the world we're in now is the world inside a book," Mi Duoduo explained. "The novel I read before, Transmigrating to the 70s: Emptying the Family Fortune to Go Down to the Countryside, has a plot identical to what's happening with the Chen family now—even the names are the same! The female lead is Su Qingyao, who is also a transmigrator. After a car accident, she transmigrated into the body of the original owner who had starved to death. She also obtained a Space, which contains her family's small supermarket and a small Spiritual Spring. Drinking the Spirit Spring Water increases strength, improves health, and makes the skin fair, smooth, and glowing."
She paused, then recounted the plot from the book: "The book says that after discovering her scumbag father and stepmother had signed her up for rural labor, she waited until the house was empty and used her Space to clear out everything movable. She didn’t even miss the gold, silver, jewelry, silver coins, ration coupons, famous calligraphy and paintings, or antique porcelain hidden in the secret room. When transferring her household registration and grain relations before going to the countryside, she also signed up Chen Guangzong, sending him to labor in the remote northwest. Then she cut ties with her family and wrote an anonymous letter reporting her father and stepmother for illicit relationships, getting them sent to Reform Through Labor. She herself went to the Laba Flower Production Brigade in Heisheng Province, where she met an educated youth from the capital. They married and studied together to prepare for the college entrance exams… I haven’t had time to read the rest yet."
Xiao Fu’s avatar instantly perked up, its lines radiating excitement: "Host, so Su Qingyao has a Space and a Spiritual Spring?"
"Maybe," Mi Duoduo replied uncertainly. "That’s what the book says, after all."
"Then let’s go try to duplicate it!" Xiao Fu urged, bouncing eagerly in front of her. "It only costs one Duplication Point—we’ll know once we try! Hurry up, Host, I can’t wait!"
Mi Duoduo was convinced. Whether it was true or not, trying to duplicate it once would clear things up.
"But wouldn’t it be awkward to get close to her now?" she asked, remembering that the System required direct contact with someone to duplicate their items.
"Host, level up quickly! Once you reach Level 2, you can duplicate items from within a meter of her!"
"Xiao Fu, how many Integral Points does it take to level up to Level 2?"
"Host, it requires 100 Integral Points to reach Level 2."
"But we only have 39 points right now!" Mi Duoduo felt disheartened again.
Xiao Fu’s voice was full of urgency: "Host, you earn Integral Points by successfully duplicating items! Take advantage of the first three days when there’s no limit on duplication attempts. Hurry and duplicate more things. Tomorrow, this opportunity will be gone."
Mi Duoduo’s eyes lit up. That’s right—duplicating things earns points!
Why hadn’t she thought of it earlier, when there were so many people outside the Chen family’s yard?
"Xiao Fu!" She sat up abruptly. "Let’s go now!"
She threw off the covers and got out of bed, calling out to Mi Jianye, who was slaughtering a chicken in the backyard: "Dad, I’m going to the restroom!"
Mi Jianye, busy plucking the chicken, replied without looking up: "Go ahead, walk slowly."
Filled with excitement, Mi Duoduo hurried toward Chen’s house.
The crowd there hadn’t dispersed yet. The police were still investigating, and neighbors continued to gather at the entrance, chatting even more animatedly than before.
She squeezed through the crowd and spotted an elderly woman wearing a floral-patterned shirt, who looked well-off. She quickly approached her, supporting Granny Chen with a smile as she asked, "Granny Chen, has the thief been caught yet?"
At the same time, she urged Xiao Fu anxiously in her mind: "Quick, check how many valuable items she has on her!"
Xiao Fu’s voice soon responded: "Host, this granny has 5 small yellow croakers (gold bars) hidden in her waistband, along with quite a few ration coupons! But duplicating ration coupons doesn’t earn points for now. Should we duplicate the small yellow croakers first?"
"Duplicate!" Mi Duoduo replied without hesitation.
"Ding! 1 Integral Point exchanged for 1 Duplication Point. Successfully duplicated 2 small yellow croakers. Reward: 6 Integral Points! Current Duplication Points: 0, Integral Points: 44."
Mi Duoduo felt a surge of joy and asked, "Can we duplicate the remaining small yellow croakers?"
"Host, you’ll need 2 more Duplication Points to duplicate the remaining 3 small yellow croakers. Reward: 9 Integral Points!"
"Duplicate!"
"Ding! 2 Integral Points exchanged for 2 Duplication Points. Successfully duplicated 3 small yellow croakers. Reward: 9 Integral Points! Current Duplication Points: 0, Integral Points: 51."
Clutching her "invisible gains," she squeezed back into the crowd. Spotting Aunt Liu, who had just lent her bicycle to Su Qingyao, she quickly pretended to bump into her accidentally and said, "Aunt Liu, your bicycle looks really new."
"Just bought it not long ago," Aunt Liu replied, smiling as she patted the bicycle seat.
"Xiao Fu, duplicate the bicycle!"
"Ding! 1 Integral Point exchanged for 1 Duplication Point. Consumed 1 Duplication Point. Duplicated several bicycle parts. Reward: 10 Integral Points! Current Duplication Points: 0, Integral Points: 60."
Mi Duoduo's lips twitched. Why were they just parts?
Refusing to give up, she set her sights on Aunt Li, who was wearing a wristwatch nearby. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she quickly instructed Xiao Fu to act.
"Ding! 1 Integral Point exchanged for 1 Duplication Point. Consumed 1 Duplication Point. Duplicated several watch parts. Reward: 10 Integral Points! Current Duplication Points: 0, Integral Points: 69."
Still just parts! It seemed the System's level was too low. Duplicating valuable items came with this kind of hassle.