When someone is good to another person, there’s always a reason.

Chen Qing racked her brains and finally came up with one—she wanted his gold.

The original host had always wanted it, even to the point of beating He Yuxiang half to death, but the boy stubbornly refused to hand it over.

As for why the major antagonist, being such a doting brother, didn’t use the gold to save his sister later on, Chen Qing speculated that it was either a matter of time or that he wasn’t very familiar with the black market’s exchange rules.

He Yuting’s fever had come on fiercely.

No matter how much of a future antagonist he was, he was still just a six-year-old child.

But based on the original plot, it seemed the gold had gone missing…

As for the specifics, Chen Qing wasn’t sure.

In any case, to cut a long story short, although she might bully the two children a bit, she wasn’t so heartless as to snatch the only keepsake their father had left behind.

Chen Qing stood with her hands on her hips in front of the original host’s wardrobe and heaved a heavy sigh. “Whether I can survive depends entirely on you all.”

The moment she opened the wardrobe, even though Chen Qing was fully prepared, clothes came flooding out like a torrent.

Dresses, sweaters, shirts, padded jackets, cotton pants, socks—all tumbled out toward Chen Qing.

She coughed violently from the dust floating in the air, but then her heart settled back into place.

Pushing the clothes aside, she stood up and suddenly found it amusing, remembering how cautiously the original host used to open the wardrobe door.

The original host might not have truly loved dressing up; she just wanted to outdo the deputy factory director’s daughter.

As for her, she needed to figure out how to make money.

There was no other way. Anyone from modern times who read novels knew that once you transmigrated into a book, there was no going back. Since she was here, she might as well make the best of it.

Chen Qing began sorting the clothes one by one.

In the dining room, the two children exchanged puzzled looks.

He Yuxiang said, “Xiao Yu, eat quickly.”

He frantically piled meat into his sister’s bowl, stacking it up like a small mountain.

“But… isn’t that a bit inappropriate?” He Yuting hesitated.

Once, her brother had secretly taken some food and was beaten until his face was swollen badly. Compared to filling her stomach, she’d rather her brother not get beaten.

“Being able to eat plain rice today is already pretty good. Maybe we shouldn’t take the meat.”

He Yuxiang insisted, “No matter what we do, we get beaten anyway. We might as well fill our stomachs!”

He forcefully stuffed the meat into his sister’s mouth. Her cheeks, once chubby and adorable like a New Year’s painting doll, had lost all their baby fat under their aunt’s mistreatment.

The more He Yuxiang thought about it, the angrier he became. “Anyway, she owes us!”

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know—before their mother passed away, she had given their aunt a large sum of money, meant for their upbringing.

But instead, Chen Qing only let them eat half a catty of coarse grains a day!

Sometimes, she didn’t even give them that!

He Yuting, her cheeks stuffed full, also pushed some meat toward her brother’s mouth, mumbling, “Brother, you eat too.”

“I know.”

He had been hiding some meat for himself.

The two siblings enjoyed their meal together in harmony.

They paid no mind to the intermittent tearing sounds coming from Chen Qing’s room.

Meanwhile, Chen Qing, busy at work, felt she was born to be a workhorse—adaptable, energetic, proactive, and diligent!

Who else would start thinking about making money on their very first day after transmigrating?

Chen Qing sighed deeply, looking up at the ceiling where geckos and spiders lurked…

Then she lowered her head and continued working.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t scared; she was just used to coexisting with these creatures. After all, she didn’t dare to move them!

Chen Qing worked busily late into the night before finally going to take a bath.

In the kitchen, there was a stove with a cooking pot and a large wok on it. The cooking pot was suitable for stewing things or boiling water, while the large wok was used for stir-frying.

Chen Qing lifted the lid of the cooking pot, and a wave of steam rushed toward her. She used a ladle to scoop hot water into a bucket, then added some cold water from the tap.

They were in the provincial capital, where conditions were genuinely good. Chen Qing glanced around—the small courtyard was at least three hundred square meters.

Just thinking about it, if she could just repay the 178 yuan debt left by the original host, she could outright own this place once the two children came of age. How satisfying was that?

This was Guangdong Province.

The provincial capital!

A 300-square-meter courtyard!

In the future, it would be worth at least twenty million, right?

How many designs would she have to draw, how many late nights would she have to work, how much fabric would she have to cut to earn that much money?

Chen Qing’s mood lifted a little, and she even felt a sense of delight as she bathed.

Her own house!

The thing she had scrimped and saved for so obsessively in her previous life was now hers outright.

Although… well…

She was really grateful to her brother-in-law and the original host’s parents.

After her bath, Chen Qing went to bed. The next day, her internal clock woke her up.

At the machinery factory, workers generally followed a four-shift, three-rotation system, with each shift lasting eight hours. The shifts were early-early, mid-mid, late-late, rest-rest.

As for the factory committee staff, they didn’t have to work day and night rotations. Their working hours were from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an hour for lunch, and two days off per week.

It perfectly embodied the ideal Mr. Li Dazhao once spoke of:

“Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for oneself.”

Chen Qing was suddenly a little moved when she woke up early in the morning, her eyes welling with tears.

He Yuxiang’s pupils dilated in shock, and he quickly scurried away, a smirk playing on his lips.

She’s unhappy.

That makes me very happy!

If He Yuxiang had known that Chen Qing’s tears were from gratitude, he certainly wouldn’t have been pleased.

In the 21st century, Chen Qing’s job was supposedly from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but in reality, she often stayed until her boss left, frequently catching the last subway home. Even after clocking out, her phone had to be on standby at all times!

If it weren’t for that damn salary keeping her tied down, Chen Qing would have long since flipped the table and quit.

But now? The original host had been reckless and even argued with leadership, yet she still held her position firmly.

How satisfying was that!

Wait, no.

Yesterday, the factory committee director had assigned her and the deputy factory director’s daughter to collect data on the longest-serving workers, in preparation for future arrangements to move them into tube apartments. She found the task troublesome and felt the director was targeting her, so she ended up arguing with him.

Chen Qing broke into a cold sweat.

No wonder the director’s hair was thinning.

The original host bore some responsibility for that.

After washing up, Chen Qing ate a sweet potato the children had steamed for her. Reluctantly, she pulled out fifty cents from her pocket. “Go buy groceries at the farm produce store later. Buy enough for two days—I won’t give you any more money tomorrow. Tell me, is there any aunt in the world as good as me, actually giving her nephew and niece fifty cents!”

Whoosh—

The money was snatched away by He Yuxiang.

He knew Chen Qing wanted his gold.

But so what? He’d take the benefits, but he’d never, ever hand over the gold.

Seeing He Yuxiang’s expression that seemed to say “the whole world owes me,” Chen Qing reached out and pinched his cheek.

No flesh, just skin.

He Yuxiang winced in pain and bared his teeth at her.

Chen Qing looked a bit embarrassed and even somewhat guilty. “I have to go to work now.”

The two children remained silent.

Chen Qing hurried out the door and soon merged into the crowd.

The workers at the machinery factory all wore blue-collar uniforms, and Chen Qing was no exception. As a member of the factory committee, she occasionally had to inspect the workers’ appearance and attire.

She looked around curiously, taking in the vibrant scene unique to the 1970s.

Suddenly, someone lightly bumped her shoulder. Chen Qing turned and saw a refined-looking man smiling at her. He handed her a piece of sponge cake. “I know you like this, so I specially bought it for you.”