Chapter 5 – Endless Supplies

The moment she saw the endless supply of goods before her, all her sadness instantly vanished.

She wandered around the villa. It was spacious and exquisitely decorated, and every single item inside was something that simply didn’t exist in this era.

Behind the villa was a huge garden with a little stream running through it, fish darting happily in the clear water, and flowers blooming in a riot of colors.

Ran Jinnian truly wished she could live here for the rest of her life.

She picked up an apple, wiped it on her sleeve, and took a gentle bite.

The juice was sweet, the flesh crisp—utterly delicious.

Happily munching on the apple, she noticed that as soon as she finished half of it, another apple automatically appeared in its place. Her eyes widened.

She quickly finished eating, and to make sure she wasn’t just seeing things, she picked up a piece of chocolate.

Sure enough—

Another chocolate instantly appeared to replace it.

Staring at the goods before her, Ran Jinnian finally realized with a shock: the supplies in this space were infinite.

It felt so unreal, like she was dreaming.

It took her a long moment before she remembered—how was she supposed to get out?

Could she be trapped in here? Even with endless supplies, she didn’t want to be stuck forever.

Suddenly, her vision went black and she heard the sound of a man’s breathing in her ear.

She was out.

Ran Jinnian wasn’t sure if she was dreaming. If this was real… then how could she get back in?

As soon as she thought about it, her whole body instantly returned to the space.

It’s real!

It’s really real!

Overcome with excitement, she realized that she had gotten out earlier just by thinking about leaving.

She tried again, and sure enough—she was out.

She thought about going back in, and there she was again. She quickly mastered how to enter and exit the space.

Ran Jinnian was so thrilled that she didn’t feel the slightest bit sleepy.

She tossed and turned in bed.

A large, warm hand reached over, and a low, husky voice murmured, “Wife, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“No… I’m going to sleep now.” Ran Jinnian’s body stiffened.

Lu Jinyuan rolled over and pinned her beneath him. “Is it because I didn’t feed you enough, so you can’t sleep?”

No!

Oh no no no…

……

The next day.

When Ran Jinnian woke up, there was no trace of him beside her.

This man’s stamina was terrifying.

She quickly got out of bed. Since she married into the Lu family, her mother-in-law had been making breakfast every morning.

If word got out, she’d be seen as a lazy wife.

Just because her mother-in-law had a good temper and doted on her didn’t mean she could be without manners.

“Niannian, you’re up. Breakfast is in the pot, I kept it warm for you,” Lu’s mother said with a beaming smile when she saw her come out—without the slightest hint of reproach.

Looks like it won’t be long before I have a big grandson, she thought happily.

Ran Jinnian’s face flushed. “Mom, thank you for all your hard work.”

“It’s not hard at all.”

“Where’s Lu Jinyuan?”

“He went to get coal.”

In this era, people living in apartment blocks burned coal for heat. You had to go to the coal station with ration tickets to buy it and then carry it home yourself.

Since Lu Jinyuan was returning to the army camp tomorrow, he wanted to finish all the heavy chores before he left.

“You eat first, I’m off to work,” Lu’s mother said. Though already a mother-in-law, she was only forty-one, still in her prime, and a worker at the textile factory.

She had only taken a long leave because of her son’s wedding.

“Mm.”

Ran Jinnian nodded.

Once her mother-in-law left and she saw the house was empty, she remembered the space from last night and wondered if it had all been a dream.

She silently thought about going in—and the same scene she saw last night appeared before her eyes.

A grin spread across her face. She raised her wrist to check on her bracelet—only to find it was gone.

Huh?

Where’s my bracelet?

Then she noticed that on her left wrist, a tiny red mole had appeared.

She knew her own body well—there had never been a mole there before.

Could it be… the bracelet had turned into this mole?

If so, that was perfect.

No need to worry about it getting lost or stolen.

After eating, Ran Jinnian cleaned the entire house.

When she saw there weren’t many vegetables in the kitchen, she thought of the fruit in the space. But eating it all by herself would feel a bit uneasy.

So she picked up a basket, “planning” to go buy groceries—thinking that if Lu Jinyuan came back and didn’t see her, she could explain.

She left a note and headed out, pretending she was going to the supply store.

“Ran Jinnian!” an angry voice shouted.

She turned around to see Song Zehan storming toward her. “Didn’t we agree to meet at the grain station last night at eleven? Why didn’t you show up?”

He had waited at the grain station for hours, getting bitten by countless mosquitoes, and still she hadn’t come.

He was itching all over.

Glancing around, Ran Jinnian said, “Why are you yelling? You want the whole world to know we’re eloping?”

In truth, she was checking for any acquaintances nearby.

Song Zehan: “…”

His expression turned sour. “Why didn’t you come last night?”

“You told me to bring more money, but all the money at home is locked up. I don’t have the key.”

“…”

Song Zehan was momentarily speechless.

Ran Jinnian continued, “When no one’s home, I’ll try to find the key. Just wait a bit longer.”

“I’ve been waiting for you all this time. How much longer do you want me to wait?” he asked, softening his tone into fake sweetness.

Ran Jinnian felt a wave of disgust, but didn’t let it show.

“If we don’t bring money, we can leave tonight.”

“No way.”

There was no way Song Zehan would give up.

After thinking it over, he said, “Get that key as soon as possible.”

Ran Jinnian nodded obediently, then deliberately took out ten yuan and said, “Here, keep this for now.”

You can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb.

“Good, good, good,” Song Zehan said, grinning widely at the sight of the large denomination bill. “I’m leaving now before anyone sees us.”

Watching his departing back, Ran Jinnian’s lips curved into a bright smile.

The play was about to begin.

She went to the grocery store, bought some paper and a pen, and wrote an anonymous report letter.

She also bought a few candies, then found a child near the public security bureau. “Hey kid, take this letter to the police station, and these two candies are yours.”

“Okay!”

The child, seeing free candy, snatched them up along with the letter and ran inside.

“Where’d this kid come from? Go play outside,” a policeman said when he saw the boy rush in.

“This is for you,” the boy said, tossing the letter to someone before running off.

Seeing it was a report letter—and knowing no one in this era dared to joke about such matters—the officer immediately opened it.

“Someone is engaging in illegal trading at the abandoned factory in the west of the city.”

Illegal trading! The officer quickly reported it up the chain.

In this planned economy era, private trading was forbidden. Selling goods for profit in private was a serious crime—illegal speculation.

A heavy sentence.

Ran Jinnian didn’t mention gambling, because illegal trading was the current focus of crackdowns.

She had given Song Zehan ten yuan precisely to lure him into gambling—he had been trading illegally for a while anyway—so he could be caught and sentenced.

How did she know? Because in her past life, years later in Guang City, she had overheard Song Zehan reminiscing with an old friend from his hometown, boasting about those “glorious” days.

She had remembered every word.

This time, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.