Chapter 24.1

When Wen Xin first arrived at the Yan household, her plan was to obtain the certification letter and money as soon as possible so she could leave. But after staying for a while and getting used to the place, she became more relaxed.

There wasn’t much to do at the Yan family home—just preparing two meals a day, picking up and dropping off a child, and doing some household chores. During the day, the house was mostly empty, giving her complete freedom.

Moreover, under the Yan family’s protection, she had no trouble selling her imperial-style skincare products. Wasn’t anyone in the compound envious of her earnings? Of course, they were. But as long as she stayed at the Yan household, no one dared to cause trouble. Besides, both father and son from the Yan family commanded a certain level of fear among the people in the compound.

That’s why, despite selling for so long, she remained unscathed.

Since she had grown comfortable here, she wasn’t in a hurry to leave anymore. She figured she would take her time saving money—save up as much as possible before making a move.

But after today’s incident, she was feeling uneasy.

Normally, she would brush things off, but for some reason, the more she thought about it at night, the harder it was to sleep. This was an unfamiliar world, an unfamiliar era. Deep down, she had always felt lost, as if she didn’t belong here.

But then, where did she belong?

It felt like there was no place for her in the entire world.

That thought brought a sudden pang of sadness. And when she was sad, she tended to trace things back to the source. If only she hadn’t read that book! Speaking of books, she thought of her best friend Song Qian, and that only made her even more upset.

…

The next morning, after the Yan family left and she dropped off Yan Miaomiao at school, Wen Xin headed straight for the local community office. She needed to start planning for her future—at the very least, she needed a place to live.

But she knew nothing about this world. Everything had to be asked about and investigated.

In this era, it seemed that only homeownership allowed for proper household registration. But buying a house required money, and leaving the house required a certification letter.

Money could be earned, but how would she get the certification letter?

After dropping off Yan Miaomiao, she made her way to a nearby state-owned store. At this time, private stores didn’t exist—everything was monopolized by the state. The first floor housed several counters, selling goods that couldn’t be bought with just money; ration tickets were also required.

Of course, some items didn’t require tickets, but they were incredibly expensive. Wen Xin browsed for a while and could only afford to buy a few of the costly, ticket-free pastries.

The shop assistants in these state-owned stores were notoriously arrogant. When customers inquired about prices, they would roll their eyes and ignore them. If someone was too slow in paying, they would even get scolded.

As she left the store carrying her pastries, she noticed a regulation posted on the door:

“Employees are prohibited from verbally abusing customers!”

Only in this era could the service industry be so brazen and overbearing.

…

The certification letter had to be issued by the local community office where her personal records were kept. After asking around extensively, she finally found the place. The area was filled with dilapidated, rundown single-story houses.

People from this era probably didn’t consider it rundown, but to Wen Xin, it looked no different from a poverty-stricken county.

The entire wall was covered in a layer of dust and grime.

After asking two people for directions, she finally found the street office. A sign hung at the entrance. Since it was still early in the morning, there weren’t many people around. When Wen Xin peeked inside, she saw three desks, two people seated at them, and posters with slogans plastered on the walls. In the corner, there was a basin stand with hand towels. The two women at the desks were chatting while sipping water from white porcelain mugs.

One of them noticed Wen Xin peeking around and was the first to speak, “Hey, comrade, what do you need?”

In this era, whether it was clerks at state-owned stores or government workers at offices, they all had a condescending attitude, as if looking down at others through their noses. Their arrogance was so overwhelming that if it weren’t for the shabby desks in front of them, one might think they were sitting on imperial dragon thrones in a grand palace.

Wen Xin found their attitude irritating but didn’t let it show. She was never the type to argue over such things. If they wanted to act superior, so be it—her priority was getting things done. Flashing a bright smile, she stepped inside and said, “I’d like to get a proof-of-visit letter for traveling out of town.” As she spoke, she subtly placed a package of pastries on the desk in front of them, smiling warmly. “I picked these up on the way here. Take them home for the kids or the elders.”

No matter the era, small gifts always made things easier. Even in such a strictly regulated time, this unwritten rule still applied. Of course, handing over cash wasn’t appropriate in this period, but gifting food was generally acceptable—especially in times when food was scarce.

The two women, who had initially eyed her with suspicion, immediately softened when they saw the package. One of them pinched it gently, recognizing the familiar scent—it was the expensive yellow sponge cake from the state-run store, made with real eggs and flour. It was well known for being delicious but was also prohibitively pricey. Even though both women had stable incomes, they had families to support. Buying such luxuries was out of the question. But if someone gifted it to them? That was a different story.

One of them coughed lightly, put on a friendlier expression, and beckoned Wen Xin over. “Oh, you’re such a polite young comrade! Providing residents with proof-of-visit letters is part of our duty to serve the people! Now, tell me your name and household registration details, and I’ll check for you.”

However, the moment Wen Xin mentioned she was from Wen Jian She’s household, both women’s faces fell. They exchanged a glance, looking troubled.

“So, you’re Wen Xin…”

The original owner of this identity had only been living with the Wen family for a month, and many neighbors still didn’t recognize her. No wonder the two clerks had thought she looked unfamiliar at first. But now that they knew who she was, their attitudes changed.

One of them awkwardly pulled the package of cakes back toward Wen Xin. “You should take this back. We can’t issue you a proof-of-visit letter.”

Wen Xin wasn’t so tactless as to actually take the cakes back and offend them. They weren’t worth much, but building rapport with these two was more important. Smiling, she said, “Auntie, please keep the cakes. I just wanted to ask—how can I get the letter? I really do have urgent business out of town. Why can’t it be issued?”

The clerk hesitated for a moment. She clearly wanted the cakes, and after some thought, she slipped the package into her desk drawer. Only then did she explain in a gentler tone, “It’s not that we don’t want to help you. Normally, issuing this kind of letter is easy. It’s just that…”

The other clerk cut in, “You’re Wen Xin, the daughter of Wen Jian She from the Meat Processing Plant, right? In that case, your mother has to agree before we can issue the letter. You need to convince her first. If she approves, we can print the document for you immediately, no problem.”

So it was true—her so-called mother had meant what she said. There was no way Wen Xin was getting that letter.

Seeing the disappointment on her face, the clerks consoled her, “We’re really not trying to make things difficult for you. But your stepmother is… quite formidable. If she finds out we issued this document without her approval, she’ll raise hell with our superiors. And if anything happens to you while you’re away, we’ll be held responsible. It’s best if you go home and talk things over with her. If she agrees, we’ll issue the letter for however many days you need.”

Wen Xin left the street office, walking aimlessly down the road. She kicked at a few pebbles absentmindedly, feeling utterly dejected.

There was no way to get the certification letter.

Did this mean she had to follow the exact path of the side-character in the book? The one who snuck onto a train heading south, found herself with nowhere to stay, and ended up relying on the kindness of a stranger? Wen Xin was confident in her ability to judge people, but following that route felt like she was deliberately stepping into the storyline.

She didn’t want that.

But then again, did she really have to go south? She could head north instead.

Wait—wasn’t she already up north?

So was south her only option after all?

She had also asked the clerks about housing while she was there. If she wanted to buy a home in another city, she would need proof of household registration transfer. But since her registration was still with the Wen family, getting it transferred would likely be even more difficult than obtaining the proof-of-visit letter.

So, buying a house was out of the question too?

Feeling downcast, Wen Xin returned to the military compound. Several military wives were gathered under a tree, chatting. Among them was the wife of Staff Officer Wang, who had a dark expression and was speaking to the others in a hushed voice. When they saw Wen Xin, the other wives greeted her warmly.

“Wen Xin, you’re back!”

Wen Xin quickly perked up and responded with cheerful small talk. She had a knack for getting along with people—friendly, easygoing, and generous with small gifts when she sold her products. Her good nature meant that the wives generally liked her.

But Staff Officer Wang’s wife let out a disdainful “hmph” and muttered, as if talking to herself, “Some people should really know their place. If they reach too high for something they don’t deserve, the consequences could be quite unpleasant.”

The other wives paused, looking confused.

Who was she talking about?

Very few people knew about Wang Jia Jia’s embarrassing incident from the previous night. It wasn’t something the Wang family would willingly publicize.

But Wen Xin understood immediately. This was aimed at her.