“It hurts…”  

Damn it, he must have stolen her money again to go gambling.

She had worked tirelessly since the start of the month to save this little bit, and now the child’s medicine fees…

Wang Zhaodi suddenly opened her eyes and stared at the blood-stained straw in front of her. Slowly, she pushed herself up and turned to look at the small kitchen.  

Is she… reborn?  

When she was nine, she had fallen once, leaving a scar on her forehead. Her heartless parents hadn’t even glanced at her, leaving her to fend for herself.  

She still remembered her mother saying, “What a pity. If she had died, we could’ve at least married her off.”

(Her mother meant that if the girl had died, they could have arranged a ghost marriage, which was a tradition where a dead woman is married posthumously-sometimes bringing money or spiritual peace to the family.)

A chill ran through Wang Zhaodi’s body. Gripping the edge of the pot, she peered inside.  

Only the thinnest layer of rice porridge remained at the bottom—barely enough to wet her lips. Still, she scooped it into a bowl and drank it.  

After the meager sip of porridge, Wang Zhaodi was fully awake.  

She really had been reborn—back into the nightmare of her childhood.  

“Too bad you didn’t die. Otherwise, we could’ve married you off.” Liu Guihua walked in and glanced at her. “Stop dawdling. Go wash the clothes.” 

Without another word, Liu Guihua left.  

Wang Zhaodi looked at her swollen, cracked hands and held back her tears. She couldn’t even muster the strength to resist.  

She was too weak, too poor—she wouldn’t survive if she didn’t endure.  

But… there was a chance in the future.  

Her first step now was to study hard. No matter how much her family beat or scolded her, she had to stay in school. She had suffered enough from being illiterate.  

Wang Zhaodi wiped her tears. But… had there been a shop in the village in her past life?

…

Su Ling looked at Hua Hua: “So now there’s another female lead?”  

Hua Hua nodded. “I just checked. It’s the female lead from a rebirth-themed supporting character novel—Wang Zhaodi. She studies hard, seizes opportunities, and uses her eidetic memory from her past life to eventually become the richest woman.”

Su Ling nodded. Fine, just one more female lead.

Hua Hua: “But the contrast to the ‘Lucky Koi’ female lead is this reborn supporting character—meaning Wang Baozhu and Wang Zhaodi. Their fates are completely reversed between lifetimes.”

“In the first life, Wang Baozhu had incredible luck, while the supporting female lead, consumed by jealousy, met a tragic end.”

“In the second life, Wang Zhaodi is reborn, and Wang Baozhu’s ‘Lucky Koi’ aura turns her into a villainess who steals others’ fortunes—ending in tragedy.”

Su Ling: “…Following this logic, wouldn’t the sweet romance novel’s main couple also get a contrasting pair?”

Hua Hua: “I don’t know anymore. And I’m not sure if this will affect our energy accumulation. Positive plot development is needed to generate energy.”

Su Ling: This business is getting harder…

…

The next day.

Su Ling woke up early and began organizing the store. She set up the vertical freezers and stocked them with frozen meat.  

When placing the frozen chicken, she paused, then added some cheaper frozen chicken breasts and drumsticks.  

Since she had chosen fattier cuts of pork belly, they should sell quickly—every household needed oil for cooking.  

As for the lamb slices, they were perfect for warming the stomach in winter. Once she added a vegetable section later, she could stock white radishes, and sales would probably do well.  

After arranging everything, Su Ling glanced at the display screen—7:00 AM. Right on time, she opened the shop door.  

Since coming here, her sleep schedule had adjusted—early to bed, early to rise.  

“Ding-ling—”

An elderly man, bundled tightly and hunched over, shuffled inside.  

He first glanced at Su Ling behind the counter, noting her lack of disdain, then quietly approached.  

“Boss… do you buy things here?”  

His voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper, as if his vocal cords had been surgically removed.  

“Elder, I’d need to see what it is first before deciding if I can take it,” Su Ling replied.

The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a wristwatch, handing it over.  

Su Ling took it and examined it. She could tell it was an old piece, but she had no idea if it was valuable.  

“Put it on the checkout counter,” Hua Hua transmitted silently.  

Su Ling placed the watch on the counter, and the system immediately displayed a number: 100 yuan.  

A prompt popped up:  

[Recycle? Yes / No]  

Just as Su Ling was about to tap, a furry paw slammed down on her hand.  

Without a word, Su Ling pulled her hand free and pocketed the watch herself.  

“Elder, I’ll take the watch. It’s worth 100 yuan. Would you like the cash directly, or do you want to buy something here?”

The old man’s head jerked up, his eyes wide with disbelief. If one looked closely, tears were welling in the corners of his eyes.  

He wiped them roughly with his sleeve, his voice choked.  

“Boss… I’d like some cheap rice and cornmeal, twenty jin each. Also, a thermos flask, an electric kettle, and… two pairs of those rubber shoes over there—one men’s size 41 and one women’s size 34.”* 

Su Ling nodded, first scooping the rice, then fetching the shoes, and finally purchasing the thermos and kettle on the spot.  

“Anything else? We also have instant noodles in the back—just add hot water and wait five minutes. Three flavors: old hen soup, braised beef…”

“Old hen soup, please. Three bags.”

“How about frozen chicken? Three yuan for a whole one. We also have cheaper cuts—chicken breast and drumsticks. Let me show you.” Su Ling opened the freezer and placed three items on the glass counter.  

“And pork belly—fattier cuts.”

The old man nodded eagerly. “One jin of pork, one frozen chicken, and three chicken breasts.”

After packing everything, Su Ling rang it up and handed him 40 yuan in change.  

“Boss… do you have any tarps? Windproof ones, preferably cheap…” the old man asked nervously.  

“We have insulated windproof tarps, but they’re not cheap. The cheaper option is foil insulation.”

Su Ling pulled out a roll from under the counter—essentially repurposed takeout thermal bags. They weren’t expensive, and she’d seen survival videos where people lined their walls with them for warmth.  

This old man’s watch was probably his last valuable possession. If he needed to save money, the foil was the better choice.  

The old man rubbed the foil between his fingers, carefully asked how to attach it to walls, then took two rolls for 10 yuan.  

“Boss… do you have painkillers? Or cold medicine?”

“Yes.”

Su Ling glanced guiltily at Hua Hua. Having everything in stock wasn’t exactly normal, was it?

Hua Hua lazily rolled over and transmitted: “Our existence is already rationalized. What’s a little more?”

Su Ling pulled out a small bottle of ibuprofen (100 tablets) and pre-packaged cold medicine, charging 8 yuan in total.  

“Medicine… this cheap?”

The old man looked like he might cry again.  

Su Ling handed him the change and the neatly packed medicine. “It’s available, but it might not be as effective as some traditional remedies. These are all Western pharmaceuticals.”

In their world, medicine prices varied wildly—sometimes imported drugs cost several times more than domestically produced ones, even if the effects were similar.  

Hua Hua transmitted indignantly: “Cheap doesn’t mean bad! These are system-produced meds—flawless!”

The old man carefully stashed the medicine, gathered his purchases, and hurried outside.  

Someone was waiting for him, and the two left cautiously together.  

….

Not long after the old man left, a figure burst into the shop.  

“You… have instant noodles?!” Wang Zhaodi blurted out in shock.