Chapter 14

Campus Family Courtyard

Zhang Hong’s enormous house felt empty, with only her left inside.

She stood by the window, watching as her stepmother, Chen Yin, and her younger sister, Zhang Zhirou, walked away arm in arm.

Their elegant, upright backs, their tasteful clothing, the refinement that extended from head to even their hair exuded sophistication.

That kind of refinement took decades of privileged living to cultivate.

Meanwhile, her own hands were rough.

Her skin was sallow.

Everything about her screamed the difference between them.

What kind of life had she lived for the past twenty years?

The sophistication and status that mother and daughter enjoyed should have been hers!

She had only fought for a tiny piece of what was rightfully hers, yet they treated it like charity.

They had taken over her nest like cuckoos and felt not a shred of guilt. Zhang Hong’s anger burned fiercely.

Even though she had been reborn and changed part of her fate, the suffocating oppression remained.

Taking Zhao Huizhou from Zhang Zhirou wasn’t nearly enough.

She had returned to her own home, yet she lived like an outsider.

Whenever the three of them laughed and chatted behind her back, it was like a slap to her face.

Furious, Zhang Hong slapped the wall, letting out a few sharp cries to keep herself from losing control.

The pounding of her heart gradually calmed her down.

She began to think.

In her past life, there had always been one mystery.

Zhang Zhirou was a pampered girl who only cared about romance, foolish and naïve.

She was nothing more than a small-minded woman without ambition or achievements, so how had she suddenly become a businesswoman after the economic reforms?

And the connections she made had nothing to do with the Zhang family.

What opportunity had she encountered?

Zhang Hong paced back and forth in the room.

A shocking thought flashed through her mind could Zhang Zhirou have had a cheat ability too?

In her later years, Zhang Hong had once watched a TV drama where the male lead had supernatural powers. She thought it was nonsense.

Her granddaughter had mocked her ignorance, saying she didn’t understand what a “cheat” was.

Later, Zhang Hong learned about cheats and golden fingers from novels.

She had even sighed, thinking that if she had such a cheat, she wouldn’t have suffered so much.

Now, recalling everything, the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that Zhang Zhirou must have had some kind of golden finger.

Otherwise, her rise had been too abrupt.

It was as if she had suddenly grown extra arms and heads overnight, effortlessly making powerful connections.

How exactly had Zhang Zhirou built her empire?

After 1980, she had started in the grain business.

Yet she had never known the first thing about crops how laughable!

It felt as if an invisible thread was guiding Zhang Hong’s thoughts.

Her mind raced wildly.

What was the most likely golden finger?

Jade ornaments.

Zhang Hong recalled with precision before her wedding in her past life, her stepmother had casually thrown her a jade pendant as part of her dowry.

Yes.

It was the jade ornament.

---

“This overwhelming fortune is pouring in!”

A burst of ringing jolted Lin Qing awake.

She sat up and instinctively reached for her phone.

Her hand was already stretching toward the pillow before she fully woke up.

Where would a phone even come from?

System 118 was still singing.

Lin Qing rubbed her temples, nearly laughing in exasperation.

System 118: “Your golden finger has arrived. Two spatial dimensions are now available please check your rewards!”

Two interfaces suddenly appeared before her.

One displayed an endless grassland, with a faintly visible lake, evoking a sense of serenity.

The other was a simple depiction of farmland, with a well in the middle.

A picture of peaceful rural life.

Lin Qing stroked her chin so…

Had Zhang Hong discovered a space after stealing her stepmother’s jade ornament?

In the novel, Zhang Hong had stolen what originally belonged to Zhang Zhirou a jade pendant.

After dripping blood on it, she had discovered an internal space a vast farmland with a house and a time-stopping storage area for food.

The space also contained a cold spring well.

Just standing near it brought a refreshing chill, and the water was a legendary spirit spring.

Not only could it prolong life, but it also had beautifying properties.

One night after drinking it, Zhang Hong’s previously sallow skin had turned fair and radiant.

Some readers had questioned the logic of this.

But the shameless system had ignored them and continued writing its over-the-top drama.

From then on, Zhang Hong had relied on the spirit spring to farm and live a completely different life.

Now, Lin Qing had a well too could it also be a spirit spring?

She chose to enter the space with the well first.

As soon as she thought of it, her vision blurred, and the scene around her changed into an endless stretch of farmland.

Looking around, there was nothing except the well beside her.

Lin Qing walked up to it, but unlike the novel’s description, she felt no chill.

Instead, a rich, fragrant aroma wafted out, making her feel instantly refreshed.

Lin Qing suspected the water had some kind of special effect.

She scooped up a bucket of well water and poured a handful onto the ground.

The grass absorbed the water, but there was no immediate change.

She decided to check again tomorrow.

Then, she entered the other space.

How to describe it…

A gentle breeze blew.

A cool, refreshing sensation spread.

The waist-high wild grass rippled like waves.

The sky was vast, the land expansive, and in the distance, cows and sheep appeared when the grass moved.

This great prairie left Lin Qing speechless.

So this was the system’s so-called doubled reward?

Duly noted…

Lin Qing was an optimistic person.

Good or bad, having a space at all was already a win.

After exiting the space, she hummed a tune, straightened her posture, and walked with confidence, exuding sunshine and self-assurance.

Lin Dahua and Wang Lanfeng exchanged glances.

Looked like she had done well on the exam.

Neither of them asked about her results.

In their eyes, passing was good, but failing was just as normal.

No need to kill another chicken.

During dinner, Lin Xia batted her big eyes.

“Mom, why didn’t you kill another chicken for Third Sister’s soup?”

Lin Qing shot her a glance. What, you want another chicken just like that?

Is that even drinkable?

In the countryside, children started school late, most after the age of ten.

Lin Xia was already eight but still only knew how to play.

Lin Qing suggested, “Dad, Mom, it’s time to send Siya to school.”

Even though university entrance exams would be suspended during the coming turmoil, staying connected to books meant she could still aim for the 1977 or 1978 exams.

Even a technical school would guarantee a government job.

It was the fastest way to change her fate.

In the village, kids who didn’t go to school helped with farm work.

Girls started discussing marriage at fifteen or sixteen.

By eighteen or nineteen, they were already mothers.

Lin Qing was twenty and had just finished high school.

If she wasted another two years, she’d be considered an old maid, the kind no one wanted to marry.

Zhao Huizhou was a pit she couldn’t afford to fall into.

Lin Qing didn’t want her little sister to end up marrying young and having kids.

“Alright, we’ll send her when school starts,” Lin Dahua agreed.

Lin Xia pouted unhappily.

How did they go from talking about chicken soup to forcing her to go to school?

She didn’t want to study!

She just wanted to play!

Lin Qing poked her forehead and said, “If you want good food and clothes, you have to study and leave this place. Otherwise, in a few years, you’ll be getting married and having kids.”

Every child is curious about how they were born.

When they learn they came out of their mother’s stomach, they develop an irrational fear of childbirth.

What? Having kids?

Lin Xia’s face was full of horror. “I’ll go to school!”

Wang Lanfeng and Lin Dahua: “…”

Something about this felt off.