“Uncle Jiang, here’s 888 yuan—this is the betrothal gift for Comrade Jiang Moli.”  

It was 388 yuan more than the 500 Jiang Moli had asked for.  

Originally, he had wanted to make Jiang Moli happy, but she wasn’t home.  

Still, it didn’t matter. Winning over her father first was just as good.  

Jiang Dahai’s hand trembled with excitement as he took the money.  

It was a thick stack, every bill crisp and new, neatly bound with red paper—proof of how much thought had been put into it.  

To Jiang Dahai, the Lu family’s sincerity and respect were far more valuable than the money or gifts.  

The Zhang family was stunned.  

The red envelope Zhang’s mother had given Jiang Qing contained just 8.8 yuan—that was the Zhang family’s betrothal gift for her.  

The Lu family’s gift was a full 100 times more than the Zhangs’!  

The neighbors gasped in shock.  

888 yuan!  

This was the highest betrothal gift ever recorded in the history of the machinery factory’s residential area!  

A couple of years ago, when the factory director married off his daughter, the groom’s family had given 666 yuan, and people still talked about it to this day.  

But now, Jiang Dahai’s daughter had received a betrothal gift of 888 yuan.  

How?!

Someone like Jiang Moli—a lazy, good-for-nothing gold-digger—should have been left unmarried and unwanted. How had she managed to climb so high?  

This was so unfair!  

So infuriating!  

If any other girl had married so well, people might have been envious for a few days.  

But for such good fortune to land on Jiang Moli—everyone was just furious and resentful.  

The system watched as the disdain points kept rising, completely baffled.  

[Host, why is this happening? You haven’t done anything particularly annoying today, so how are you gaining so many disdain points?]

Jiang Moli pinched her chin. “Hmm, maybe it’s the seeds I planted earlier finally bearing fruit.”  

“Humans are social creatures—they love gathering and gossiping. Maybe they’re talking about me, about all the terrible things I’ve done before. Through word of mouth, even people who didn’t know me or understand my true nature are starting to dislike me, contributing to my disdain points.”  

[I see! Host, you’re so clever.]

It wasn’t that she was clever—it was just human nature to spread gossip.  

The system just didn’t understand human behavior.  

In just a short while, Jiang Moli had gained over 50 disdain points, and the number was still climbing.  

Every disdain point earned her 10,000 yuan.  

Jiang Moli smiled.  

Ah, the joy of making money while doing nothing.

…

At the Jiang Household

An Hui surveyed the Jiang family’s home, noting how clean and tidy everything was, and her impression of them improved slightly.  

They seemed like a decent family.  

What she didn’t know was that the only indecent one in the Jiang household was Jiang Moli.  

But soon, that indecency would become the Lu family’s problem.  

An Hui had no idea what Jiang Moli looked like, so her eyes lingered on Jiang Qing, who appeared gentle and refined, silently speculating.  

Jiang Qing was sharp—she immediately realized An Hui had mistaken her for Jiang Moli, and bitterness surged in her heart.  

Why does Jiang Moli get to be so lucky in both lifetimes?

She lost Zhang Jiaming, only to pick up someone even better—Lu Cheng.  

And this stroke of luck had been her doing. That hurt more than her miserable death in the countryside in her past life.  

Noticing An Hui’s gaze, Jiang Dahai hurriedly introduced everyone.  

When An Hui learned Jiang Qing was a stepdaughter, she lost interest and asked about Jiang Moli instead.  

“Moli went out. Xiaopeng—ah, that’s Moli’s younger brother—has gone to look for her. She should be back soon.”  

Jiang Dahai apologized nervously, afraid An Hui might take offense and leave. He personally poured her tea to smooth things over.  

Hearing that Jiang Moli wasn’t home, An Hui felt a flicker of displeasure.  

What could be more important than meeting her future mother-in-law?

Jiang Dahai glanced at Jiang Xiaoguang standing beside Lu Cheng, unsure of his identity. “Is this Xiao Lu’s younger brother?”  

If he was a guest, he’d need to be properly seated and served tea.  

“Xiaoguang is my father’s bodyguard.”  

The moment his identity was revealed, everyone was stunned.  

Only high-ranking officials were assigned bodyguards.  

Jiang Qing’s heart itched with curiosity—she desperately wanted to ask Zhang Jiaming just how powerful Lu Cheng’s father was to warrant a bodyguard.  

Jiang Dahai’s voice trembled. “Then Xiao Lu’s father is…?”  

An Hui replied calmly, “Just an ordinary retired cadre. The organization assigned him a bodyguard out of consideration for his age.”  

“Oh, of course.”  

Jiang Dahai nodded repeatedly, but inwardly, he scoffed. An ‘ordinary’ cadre who gets special treatment from the organization? Not a chance.

An Hui hesitated, then added, “My husband is a stubborn man. He and our son had an argument a couple of days ago and still aren’t speaking. That’s why he didn’t come today—only I accompanied Cheng’er. I hope you’ll understand.”  

On the surface, it was an explanation for her husband’s absence, but the subtext was unmistakable.  

As the saying goes, don’t air your dirty laundry in public.

An Hui could have made up any excuse, yet she chose to mention the father-son quarrel.  

Arguments weren’t unusual—every family had them.  

But no matter how heated things got, they shouldn’t interfere with important matters.  

Unless… the argument was about this marriage.  

So, Lu Cheng’s father looks down on my daughter.

Jiang Dahai couldn’t even blame him. If Jiang Moli weren’t his own flesh and blood, he’d dislike her too.  

…

Jiang Peng searched all along the No. 2 bus route but couldn’t find Jiang Moli.  

On his way back, desperate to pee, he spotted a public restroom not far away and hurried over.  

From a distance, the person guarding the restroom entrance looked strikingly like his sister.  

Was he hallucinating from searching for her too long?  

As he got closer—holy crap, it really was her!  

“Sis! What are you doing here?!”  

Jiang Moli tossed a stack of folded toilet paper into the paper box and shot him a glare. “Use your brain when asking questions. What else would I be doing here? Waiting for dinner?”  

Too urgent to even pee now, Jiang Peng grabbed her arm to drag her away.  

“Sis, come home with me right now!”  

Jiang Moli pushed him off. “I’m not going back. I’m working.”  

Jiang Peng was baffled. “Working at what?”  

She pointed at the restroom sign. “Starting today, this place is under my management.”  

Jiang Peng was floored.  

Jiang Moli waved him off. “Go home. Don’t interfere with my job. I had to pull strings to get this arranged.”  

Gritting his teeth, Jiang Peng said, “I’ll cover for you. You go back.”  

“Okay.”  

Jiang Peng: “…”  

I was just being polite, but you didn’t even hesitate.  

…  

After instructing Jiang Peng on his duties, Jiang Moli patted her butt and left.  

She’d been holding back vomit all morning from the stench of piss and shit.  

Unlike modern toilets that flush after every use, this era’s public restrooms had one continuous trench. Everything—piss, shit, even diarrhea—was on full display until enough accumulated to trigger a water flush into the septic tank. It was easy to imagine the revolting stench inside.  

Just thinking about it made her want to yuke~  

…  

As soon as she entered the residential compound, Jiang Moli noticed the neighbors eyeing her.  

Unlike their usual disdain, their expressions were… complicated. A mix of envy (20%), jealousy (30%), and disgust (50%).  

Too bad most of them had already contributed their “disgust points” to her before.  

So, by the time she got home, she’d only collected 8 new disgust points in total.

But when combined with the disgust points from the morning, her total had already broken three digits.  

This was her best harvest so far.  

Jiang Moli was in a fantastic mood, humming the tune of Good Days as she walked.  

However, her good mood didn’t last long.  

Because she saw Zhang Jiaming standing at her doorstep.  

The man was dressed in a military uniform that accentuated his tall, straight frame. His short hair was neatly trimmed, and beneath his full forehead, his sharp, handsome eyes gleamed with cool intensity.  

While she was sizing up Lu Cheng, he was also staring fixedly at her.  

Unlike the charming, alluring woman from last time, today his wife-to-be looked more like a little girl who hadn’t quite grown up.  

Her upper half was clad in a faded floral blouse, paired with blue trousers that swayed loosely around her ankles as she walked—too big for her slender frame.  

Her shoulder-length hair was pinned up messily with half a pencil, and the loose strands around her forehead and ears were damp with sweat.  

Her heart-shaped face, no bigger than a palm, was flushed pink like a ripe peach.  

Her almond-shaped eyes glistened as she looked at him, as if trying to steal his soul.  

Without realizing it, Lu Cheng stepped forward. “Where have you been running around all day? I thought you’d fled the marriage.”  

“None of your damn business.”  

Rolling her eyes hard, Jiang Moli sidestepped Lu Cheng and walked into the courtyard.  

The moment she entered, she was stunned.  

Bicycles, sewing machines, radios, a whole pig’s leg, cigarettes, alcohol, candies, tea, gift boxes of pastries, canned fruits—the yard was filled to the brim with betrothal gifts. A row of young soldiers stood at attention by the wall, all staring at her without blinking.  

Jiang Moli couldn’t help but think: As expected of the male lead, even a marriage proposal has this much prestige.

“You little rascal, where have you been? The family’s been looking for you all morning!”  

Jiang Dahai scolded while giving her a once-over, clearly dissatisfied.  

Showing up disheveled in front of her future mother-in-law wouldn’t do.  

“Quick, go inside and change into something nice, comb your hair, and wash your face.”  

Lowering his voice, he added, “Put on that lipstick Xiao Peng bought you too. Hurry up.”  

“What’s the point of dressing up? I’m not ugly—only ugly people need fancy clothes.”  

The jab was clearly aimed at Jiang Qing.  

After all, anyone could see Jiang Qing had put in effort to look her best today.  

Sure, Jiang Qing had originally stolen the male lead from the original Jiang Moli, but since she was now the one in this body, by extension, that meant Jiang Qing was stealing her man.  

So, wasn’t it fair to throw some shade and earn a few extra disgust points?  

But her plan failed—no new points came in.  

Guess she wasn’t hateful enough yet.  

Jiang Moli walked over to the canned fruits, wanting to open one and eat it.  

But the net bag was tied in a tight knot. After struggling for a while, she was about to fetch a knife from the kitchen when a large hand reached over.