Chapter 7 – Returning Fully Loaded

Ruan Xi stood pale and motionless, like a marionette with its strings cut.

Just the thought that she had almost slept with someone like Tao Ronghua for a ship ticket to Hong Kong made her stomach churn with disgust.

Now that most of the Tao family had been taken away by the Red Armbands, that quick-ticket plan had likely gone up in smoke.

She had to come up with a new way to escape this place.

Otherwise, when the purge list came out, her scumbag father and stepmother’s whole family would’ve already fled to Hong Kong—leaving her, the so-called “capitalist’s daughter,” behind to suffer.

If people didn’t get their benefits, they’d make her pay tenfold—maybe even more.

Pity she was just a girl with a dead mother and an unloving father. Even if she were strung up and whipped in the street, that scumbag dad wouldn’t lift a finger to help her.

To them, she was just a burden.

But she was his biological daughter, while the stepmother’s two children were from other men!

Ruan Xi pressed her lips into a thin line. Then suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she turned to leave.

…

As soon as Sang Feiyu stepped out of Granny Zhang’s house, she saw someone standing not far away. The moment that person spotted her, they walked over quickly.

“Feiyu, I heard what happened to your family,” she said solemnly. “My condolences.”

As she spoke, she shoved a small bundle into Sang Feiyu’s arms.

Sang Feiyu looked up in surprise. “Ruan Xi, what’s in this?”

“Just a couple of clothes I’ve worn before—I hope you don’t mind. I haven’t bought anything new in a long time.”

After a pause, Ruan Xi lowered her voice and added, “There’s fifty yuan hidden in the lining of the blue top.”

She looked suddenly remorseful. “I’m sorry, Feiyu. I only have cash, no ration coupons. If you want to buy anything, you’ll probably have to go to the black market.”

Sang Feiyu knew that Ruan Xi had lost her job to her stepmother’s daughter, so it was normal she didn’t have coupons.

Ruan Xi went on, “I heard our families are on the next purge list.”

Actually, she had overheard her stepmother and scumbag dad talking. Otherwise, she’d still be in the dark!

“I’ve been abandoned… I might not be able to help you. You’ll have to figure out a way to get that ship ticket to Hong Kong on your own.”

Sang Feiyu opened her mouth, hesitated, then pulled Ruan Xi aside and whispered, “Ruan Xi, I have a suggestion. I don’t know if it’ll help you.”

“Since your scumbag father has already chosen to abandon you, why not strike first—make a clean break before it’s too late?”

“If you can get your job back, great. If not, apply to go to the countryside.”

“Going to the countryside is better than being sent for reeducation or hard labor.”

She also reminded, “Try to get something valuable from your father and stepmother. That way you’ll have something to fall back on.”

Ruan Xi stared at her, a little stunned.

When she realized she’d been abandoned, she had thought about revenge.

But after weighing the risks, she’d planned to quietly escape instead.

Before she could respond, Sang Feiyu added, “Right now, very few people are denouncing their own family. The authorities will want to set an example. If you report them, you’ll become a model ‘Red Capitalist.’ That title might keep you safe—at least for a while.”

Ruan Xi nodded. “I’ll think carefully about everything you’ve said.”

“Feiyu… even after everything you’ve gone through, you’re still looking out for me…”

“Compared to you, they’re nothing but animals!”

Sang Feiyu didn’t have time to talk more with Ruan Xi. She found an excuse to slip away.

She had to call her maternal grandparents in Shanghai.

In her past life, she had always been the type to report only good news, never bad. But after everything she’d gone through, she no longer thought that way.

If she didn’t ask her grandparents for help now, was she supposed to wait until she was killed before they could avenge her?

She stood at a phone booth for less than ten minutes before her grandmother called her back.

“Xiao Yu, is that you?”

Hearing the familiar, loving voice, Sang Feiyu’s nose tingled. “Grandma.”

Without hesitation, she recounted everything that had happened—leaving out only the parts about her rebirth and the space dimension.

There was a brief silence on the other end, then her grandmother spoke again—this time with unmistakable fury in her voice. “If they act like animals, then we won’t treat them like humans!”

“Xiao Yu, your grandfather and I are taking the train to come see you tonight. Be careful in the meantime.”

“Are you staying at home these days?”

Sang Feiyu answered honestly, “I can’t stay at home anymore. I’m staying at a guesthouse for now.”

“Let’s meet at Granny Zhang’s place. That way, even if I move, you’ll still be able to find me.”

Her grandmother had spent some time in Yangcheng and used to chat often with Granny Zhang—they were old friends.

After hanging up, Sang Feiyu found a quiet spot and slipped into her space. There, she disguised herself as a middle-aged woman, took the money and ration coupons she’d confiscated from her uncle’s family, and headed to the largest department store in Yangcheng to stock up.

Unlike Ruan Xi, she couldn’t afford to openly apply to go to the countryside—she still had a blood debt to settle. So she had to prepare an extra layer of backup.

Even if she was eventually exiled, she wouldn’t starve or freeze—because she had the supplies.

With that in mind, Sang Feiyu hurried into the department store.

She bought 50 jin of rice, 50 jin of flour, and quantities of oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. She also picked up some vegetables and fruit.

Not daring to buy everything at once, she stashed the goods in her space, changed her appearance again, and returned for more shopping.

This time, she bought large quantities of traditional Cantonese cured goods—30 jin of sausage, 20 jin of preserved pork.

She also grabbed lots of dried goods—10 jin each of black fungus and shiitake mushrooms.

Knowing that people from Cantonese regions were prone to “heatiness,” she also stocked up on herbal cooling teas like honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, prunella, licorice root, and grass jelly.

After paying, she again changed her disguise and went back.

Next stop: the meat section—10 jin of pork belly, two pork ribs, 5 jin of beef brisket.

She wanted to buy more, but the customer in front of her kept glancing back suspiciously, so she held off.

She switched to the daily necessities section and bought two bars of soap.

If not for a lack of soap coupons, she would’ve bought more.

She also bought a thermos, an enamel cup, two aluminum lunch boxes, a roll of cotton cloth, and a pair of rubber boots.

Before leaving, she circled back and stopped at the medicine section. There, she bought a bottle of Po Chai pills, a box of loquat syrup, and a box of pear syrup candies.

Looking at the increasingly packed storage space, Sang Feiyu finally felt secure.

To be safe, she also bought ten sanitary belts and some toilet paper.

Lastly, she didn’t forget to grab some snacks to comfort her soul:

2 jin of White Rabbit candy, 2 jin of peanut nougat, 1 jin of candied winter melon, 1 jin of coconut candy, a box of animal biscuits, 1 jin of crispy pastries, 2 jin of chicken biscuits, 1 jin of preserved plums, and 1 jin of chenpi candy…

Sang Feiyu returned fully loaded.

As she walked down the road, she suddenly remembered something—without hesitation, she turned and walked in another direction—