Chapter 3: The Connected Livestream Room

---

Zeng Yan was having a great time exploring the livestream room, and an entire morning passed quickly.

Sun Jiazhi brought lunch back from the hospital cafeteria. The main dish was white flour steamed buns, and the side was stewed cabbage with tofu.

The buns were not pure white; they were mixed with wheat bran, which gave them a slightly coarse texture, but they were still a million times better than the rough corn cakes that scratched her throat.

The stewed cabbage and tofu were bland. There was a lot of cabbage, not much tofu, and two pieces of fatty pork. The presence of that little bit of grease was why the mine’s food was considered so good.

Zeng Yan was still recovering and only ate half a bun and half a bowl of vegetables before putting down her chopsticks.

She turned to watch Sun Jiazhi eat. She chewed slowly, in small bites, with an elegant grace. She made the stewed cabbage and tofu taste like a gourmet meal.

The original owner’s memories included her mother’s past. When she was a child, she had been brought to Xiangyang Village—as it was called then—by a lonely old man who claimed she was the daughter of an old friend.

In those chaotic times, it was common for people to send their children to remote villages for safety. The arrival of the strange girl did not attract too much attention. The old man died soon after returning to the village, and Sun Jiazhi, with no one to rely on, had to get married to survive.

Her qìzhì, or natural temperament and demeanor, could not be faked. Zeng Yan had a hunch that her cheap mother’s background was not simple and that she was a woman with a story.

She had no intention of confronting her directly. From the way Sun Jiazhi treated the original owner, she could tell that this woman’s mind was deeper than the ocean surrounding Xiangyang Brigade. Asking her directly would not get any answers.

Sun Jiazhi was full and in the mood to interact with her daughter. She reached out and gently stroked her daughter’s hair. “Yan, you did a great thing today. If you hadn’t blocked the tree, the three cows from the brigade would definitely have been crushed into meat patties. I’m so proud of you.”

“The brigade head is always fair. You’ll definitely be an ‘Advanced Individual’ for the commune this year. Not many women get that award, and you’ll be the first in our brigade. An Advanced Individual at fifteen, Yan, aren’t you happy?”

Here we go again!

The performance wasn’t over. The loving mother now became a stern one, and Sun Jiazhi continued her earnest instruction. “Child, it’s good to be happy, but don’t get complacent. Wang Yufen from the Marine Red Brigade is an advanced individual for the entire county. She’s not even twenty yet, but she goes out to sea with the men and can carry hundreds of pounds of fish on a skiff. Everyone who sees her says she’s more capable than any man. I hope you look up to her, and one day, you’ll surpass her and become an advanced individual for the city.”

First praise, then a push for more. If this woman were in modern times, she would be a perfect corporate manager.

After she finished, Sun Jiazhi didn’t get the expected response. Normally, the silly girl would eagerly express her determination. What was wrong with her today?

What determination? An ordinary worker can quit their job, and a patient who nearly died is ready for a rebellion!

Zeng Yan’s voice was full of anger and grievance. “You want me to compete with Wang Yufen? You know why she’s so capable, don’t you? She was born strong and can eat two pounds of corn cakes in one meal. What do I have to compete with her? Do I have some divine strength, or do I get enough to eat? I almost died today. Do you want me to die again? If you do, just say so. I’ll hang myself in this hospital room right now. What’s the point of living a life worse than a donkey? I might as well just die.”

Who says I can’t act? A young woman, having suffered a great tragedy, would naturally become rebellious. From now on, she was no longer her mother’s good daughter.

Step one to changing her fate: create a new persona.

“If you become an advanced worker,” Sun Jiazhi said, her face now a mask of hurt innocence, “you have a chance to be recommended to work in the city. I’ve got no hope left in this life; it’s all up to you. Being out in the sun and wind all day in the countryside is nothing like the comfort of working in the city. Aren’t I doing this for your own good?”

Zeng Yan’s voice held a sharp edge of mockery. “You’re not old at all, and your body is much better than mine. If you’re willing to work as hard as I do, scraping away a layer of your own skin, you still have hope of becoming an advanced worker and moving to the city. Don’t give up so early.”

Sun Jiazhi was visibly choked by her words, her brows furrowing. “What’s wrong with you, child? You’ve never been so sharp-tongued.”

“I almost met the King of Hell today, and it made me see things clearly,” Zeng Yan retorted, her eyes wide with a defiant fire. “From now on, whoever wants to be an advanced worker can be one. If you keep pushing me, you’re not my real mother.”

In this clash of wits, the schemer was no match for the rebel. Sun Jiazhi gave in first. She brushed at the corner of her clothes and stood up to leave. “Your head hurts and you’re in a bad mood, so you need to be alone for a bit. Think about what I said; I’m your mother, and I would never harm you.”

“I don’t trust your sister-in-law to cook properly, and there isn’t much grain left at home, so I have to go back to watch over it. The road is long, and I won’t be back tonight. If you need anything, just call the nurses and ask them to get your food.”

What kind of loving mother doesn’t even stay overnight? When things got serious, she couldn’t even be bothered to act the part.

Zeng Yan turned over in the bed, a physical expression of her anger, determined to maintain her new persona.

Only after the sound of footsteps faded down the corridor did Zeng Yan lie back down. It was time for some serious business. She had a feeling the livestream room had even bigger surprises waiting for her.

Using a timer and comparing it with the sun’s position outside, she discovered that while time was static in the storage room, the rest of the space moved at the same rate as the outside world. This was good; it would make it much easier to use in the future.

The livestream room couldn’t just have one function, could it? As this thought formed, Zeng Yan was astonished to find that the cameras on her phone and computer had automatically turned on, and the image of her empty hospital room appeared on the screens.

The space had no barriers; she could observe the outside world!

It was a bit of a risk to have modern equipment visible to others, but the ability to see through the walls of the space was incredibly useful.

Zeng Yan tried to control the cameras with her mind and found that she could only see from her own perspective. Forget about moving the camera or changing the angle, unless she took the risk of bringing the phone out of the space.

It was as if she now had a camera on her forehead, but with no front-facing function, which was perfect, as she didn’t want to show her face anyway.

After the initial excitement, Zeng Yan realized what the silent system wanted. It wanted her to continue documenting her life, didn’t it?

Following this line of thought, she realized she could edit videos with the software, and since the internet was connected, she could create a new account and become a video blogger again. Once she had enough followers, she could even start selling things through livestreams.

What would she sell? The readily available, organic, and pollution-free foods of the 1960s.

She was sure items could be sent across time and space. She just needed to test it.

Her test brought a devastating thunderbolt of a discovery. All of her assets were gone—her bank accounts, pending payments, stocks, funds, and even the deeds to her properties were all void. Everything she owned, except for this rented livestream room, was wiped clean!

Transmigration had a cover charge!