Chapter 7 : Taking Inventory of Space

Su Mo sorted the money and ration tickets into neat categories, planning to store them in her personal space later. Once that was done, she turned her attention to the original owner’s belongings and took stock of what she had. Most of it consisted of clothes and daily necessities.

There were two long woolen coats, several dresses, shirts, coats, sweaters, and trousers all made from high-quality, comfortable materials. She also found four sets of underwear, three pairs of small leather shoes, and two pairs of cloth shoes. These items were purchased by the original owner from the Friendship Store in Hai City using overseas remittance coupons.

Among them was also a Dacron shirt, which the original owner had bought to keep up with fashion trends. However, she had only worn it once, finding it uncomfortable, and never wore it again. Despite that, she brought it along.

In addition to clothes, there were accessories such as hair ties, hairpins, vanishing cream, hair oil, soap, eyebrow pencils, and even a lipstick. While none of these items were useless, they were impractical for life on a farm. The only truly suitable items were the two sets of work clothes the original owner had purchased from the supply and marketing cooperative before heading to the countryside. She had been rotating between these two outfits during the autumn harvest.

The rest of her wardrobe, while appropriate for spring, summer, and autumn, was unsuitable for the harsh winters of Northeast China. She lacked essentials such as cotton-padded clothing, pants, shoes, and a warm quilt all necessities for surviving the cold season.

In terms of daily necessities, the original owner had only brought two towels. There were no enamel pots, washbasins, toothbrushes, or toothpaste. Her plan was to purchase them locally, but she hadn’t had time in the past ten days. She had been borrowing basins to wash up and could only rinse her mouth with water.

Su Mo couldn’t help but wonder how someone like the original owner had captured Lu Changzheng’s heart at first sight. Amused by the thought, she grabbed a dressing mirror to take a look at herself. What she saw startled her.

Although she had gleaned from the original owner’s memories that she was beautiful, Su Mo hadn’t expected such striking beauty. She had gracefully arched willow-like eyebrows, enchanting peach blossom eyes, a delicate and straight nose, and a cherry-like mouth with no need for makeup. Her skin was creamy and fair, and although a bit tired from over ten days of farm work, her beauty remained dazzling.

No wonder Lu Changzheng had fallen for her instantly.

“Haha, men!” Su Mo thought, laughing to herself.

Her own appearance before transmigrating had been merely average. For practical reasons, she used to wear thick bangs and glasses that made her look plain and unassuming. Now, she had unexpectedly become a great beauty, and she couldn’t resist taking a few more glances at her reflection in the mirror.

After her moment of self-admiration, Su Mo carefully organized the original owner’s belongings. Items that required special storage like property deeds, passbooks, and cash were set aside for placement in her space.

There were three property deeds, labeled “Land and Property Ownership Certificates.” Unlike modern real estate certificates, these were single sheets of paper with the owner’s name and the address of the property, stamped with the seal of the local government. Dated 1951, these documents were likely issued shortly after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. From the book’s narrative, Su Mo knew these deeds were for three houses, which would become extremely valuable in the future.

After finishing with the original owner’s property, Su Mo decided to inventory her own. Confirming that the youth camp was deserted, she locked the door and waved her hand, summoning everything stored in her space. In an instant, the once-empty room was filled with an assortment of items.

Before transmigrating, her space had been expansive, with everything neatly categorized for easy access. After arriving in this world, the space had shrunk considerably, leaving everything piled together in disarray. It took nearly an hour for Su Mo to reorganize and sort everything into categories, grouping them for convenient future use.

She began by arranging basic necessities such as grains, oil, rice, and noodles. Food: Rice: 10 bags (30 jin each), Flour: 8 bags (20 jin each), Egg noodles: 3 boxes (4 jin each), Rice noodles: 1.5 boxes (5 jin each), Oil: 3.5 barrels of 6L peanut oil, Meat: Chinese ham: 2 pieces (~10 jin total), Chinese sausage: ~4 jin, Canned goods: 16 cans of dace with fermented black beans, 9 cans of luncheon meat, and 3 boxes of braised pork  

She had no fresh meat, it had become scarce by the time she awakened her spatial abilities. Any fresh meat she managed to get would be eaten the same day to satisfy her cravings. Seasonings: Soy sauce: 3 bottles, Oyster sauce: 2 bottles, Salt: 13 packets (500g each), White sugar: 3 packets (400g each), Old brown sugar: 3 cans (2 jin each), Nutritional products: Milk: 6.5 cartons, Milk powder: 8 cans  

Daily Necessities: Bedding: 1 duvet, 4 quilts, 1 mattress, 2 pillows, Personal care: 23 towels, 16 toothbrushes, 3 boxes of toothpaste, 2 bottles of shampoo, 3 bottles of shower gel, and various skincare and cosmetic products, Kitchenware: A complete set, including pots, pans, knives, etc.  

Clothing: Outerwear: 2 down jackets, Sportswear: Over ten sets , Thermal underwear: A dozen sets, Pajamas: Several sets, Underwear: More than ten pairs , Footwear: Six to seven pairs of sneakers, Socks: Several pairs. These items were accumulated bit by bit through years of selling fruits and vegetables she had grown.  

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Additionally, her space contained a large stockpile of crop seeds, various fruits ready for sale, and miscellaneous items. However, the space had become much smaller after transmigrating, with fruits alone occupying nearly two-thirds of it, leaving it quite cramped. Su Mo resolved to visit the black market to sell the surplus and free up space.  

After organizing everything, she stored the passbooks, property deeds, and cash in the space, feeling a sense of relief once everything was in order.  

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As the workday for others neared its end, Su Mo decided to take advantage of the quiet to boil water and take a bath. She hadn’t washed her hair since falling into the river, and the lingering smell had been bothering her.  

Su Mo was adept at making a fire. In the post-apocalyptic world, people like her had often relied on firewood. After setting the water to boil, she headed to the vegetable garden, ostensibly to pull weeds but actually to absorb the wood energy from them. Though small, the weeds still contained energy that was useful to her.  

Under her touch, the weeds quickly dried out. She uprooted them effortlessly, clearing the garden and its surroundings in no time. The dried weeds were then gathered and taken to the kitchen to fuel the fire.  

The educated youth’s bathroom was a small adobe-brick compartment adjoining the kitchen. Taking advantage of her space, Su Mo discreetly filled two plastic buckets with water and carried them to the bathroom for a thorough bath, washing away the remnants of her ordeal in the river.