“It doesn’t hurt—how could it possibly hurt? You just sleep, have a scary dream, and bam—you wake up and there it is.”
“Euphoric? What, you think I’m taking drugs? It’s a space! A space given by the heavens. It’s not like I gave birth to it myself. I’m still human, not a god!”
From a distance, Qin Sang could already hear Second Aunt’s vibrant, booming voice. She was mid-flow, dramatically describing the process of acquiring a space to a few elderly women and aunts around her. Spittle was flying everywhere.
Well, there was a bit of artistic exaggeration. What did she mean by “bam—wake up and there it is”? If Qin Sang hadn’t personally witnessed that Second Aunt’s space came from a blood-bound jade ring, she would have been completely taken in. Just look at the envy on the faces of the women around her.
Especially after the Manman supply robbery incident, they were even more envious. Everyone verbally condemned Manman, but deep down, not a single one of them didn’t envy how she had scored so many supplies for free.
“Oh, what a coincidence, Sangsang. Are you up early to go shopping?” Second Aunt greeted Qin Sang warmly.
Qin Sang shook her head. “Second Aunt, I’m going to the village office to volunteer.”
Second Aunt said, “Young people really have a sense of duty. Are your parents going too? A few of the village men went to line up for numbers at the supermarket at five in the morning. If we leave now, we should just about get our numbers.”
These days, all stores selling goods had implemented a numbered rationing system. No matter what you wanted to buy, you had to get a number first. And purchases were still rationed. The night the authorities announced the impending disaster, they had issued detailed shopping regulations.
A rationing policy had been implemented on all goods.
As a result, unless their jobs were essential, many people had stopped working. Even if they were willing to work, their bosses chose to close shop. Simply put, everyone wanted to use this time to stock up as much as possible.
Of course, you could also buy high-priced goods on the black market, but that was only for the wealthy. After all, at twenty bucks a pound for rice, how much could an ordinary person afford?
“No need, Dalinzi already helped us buy some food and drink supplies.” Qin Sang smiled and shook her head.
“Oh, Dalinzi. He’s a capable one. Your family is really lucky!” An aunt nearby said enviously upon hearing this.
Someone even looked like they wanted to hitch a ride, but Qin Sang pretended not to notice and quickened her pace toward the village office.
Watching Qin Sang’s retreating figure, that aunt said, “Dalinzi is really generous. Being able to help buy supplies like that. Should we have our kids get in touch with him? Speaking of which, why hasn’t he been around the village lately?”
“Get in touch for what? Everyone is short on supplies right now! Don’t bother him. Just go line up like everyone else.” Second Aunt shot the woman a disdainful look. Know your place and don’t do anything shameless.
She snorted, gathered a few of her closer friends, and continued on her way.
The aunt left behind muttered, “Hey, hey, hey… you… just because you have a space, you think you’re something?” Grumbling to herself, she still quickened her pace to catch up.
After all, it was safer to stock up in groups.
Over the past couple of days, Qin Sang’s senses had become sharper. She naturally overheard the aunt’s words. She shook her head, thinking that this kind of green-eyed envy would only become more common. And sure, shopping in groups was safer. But it also meant others would know exactly what supplies you had. Right now, supply wasn’t too tight, so it wasn’t a problem. The trouble would come when supplies became scarce.
——
The village office was essentially the old village committee. After the area was incorporated into the city, the concept of a “village” officially ceased to exist. But the committee members weren’t disbanded. Instead, they transformed into a village collective company, primarily responsible for managing and distributing the village’s collective assets.
Now, in these special times, the village collective was once again playing a role.
Qin Sang arrived early and still had to wait ten minutes for everyone to assemble.
“There are twelve people in total for this population verification. We’ll split into four teams, each with two men and one woman.” The village chief stood with his hands behind his back, assigning tasks.
Qin Sang put on a red vest and walked with her teammates toward the designated building.
“You live next door to Qin Wenqiang’s place, right?” As soon as they set off, a young guy on Qin Sang’s team asked curiously.
Both young men on the team were university students from the village. Because of the disaster news, their schools had closed, and they had returned from the provincial capital the night before.
“That’s right.”
“So did Manman really steal supplies into her space and then run off?” The other young man immediately pressed. They had come back very late the night before and had missed all the action.
Qin Sang nodded. “It’s pretty much like the video on the trending page today. I didn’t see her actually steal the supplies into her space.”
“Sigh, I wish I had a space.” Both young men looked deeply regretful. Then they started telling Qin Sang about the situation at their university.
That was how Qin Sang learned that among university students, prophetic dreams had started quite early.
“A few people in our major had prophetic dreams. When they first told us, we thought they were joking.”
“So do they all have spaces?” Qin Sang asked.
“Two of them do. After the official announcement, they came out and admitted it themselves. Sang Sang Jie, you have no idea. They just posted videos of themselves in the group chat, showing off. It was really something.” At this point, both young men looked quite annoyed.
Qin Sang smiled and didn’t comment. It was normal to feel envious and jealous. If she didn’t have a space herself, she’d probably be feeling just as lost and anxious right now.
——
Despite their mixed feelings, the two young men worked very efficiently. Qin Sang barely had to exert any effort. She just watched them coordinate—one knocking on doors, the other asking questions—while she was responsible for confirming entries on the tablet.
Sure enough, any task becomes easy in the hands of university students. And on top of that, university students were especially cheap.
Qin Sang was even tempted to hire some of the village’s university students to farm for her.
After the tenants upstairs moved out, the empty rooms had all been fitted with vertical planting wooden racks. Her parents hadn’t gone out because they were busy laying soil and germinating seeds.
Unfortunately, all of this was just a cover for her Roast Goose Space later on. It couldn’t be exposed to others for now. Only the family could work on it.
The morning’s work went very smoothly, without any of the dramatic confrontations you’d find in novels.
Qin Sang had even secretly thought about how she would handle such situations. She felt a tiny bit disappointed that none arose.
Of course, the morning wasn’t without its gains. For example, more than half of the village’s tenants had terminated their leases and gone home. Those who remained were all scrambling for tickets. As soon as they got tickets, they would leave immediately. So, when registering these people, their permanent addresses were all marked.
According to the village chief, once the permanent resident population was confirmed, the authorities would make a major move.
Additionally, two more people with hidden spaces were confirmed. The official registration required disclosing whether one had a space, but both had chosen to conceal it. Qin Sang didn’t expose them. She just waited to see what would happen next.
Soon, it was noon. Qin Sang checked her watch and called the two young men to head home for lunch.
By then, the outside temperature had already exceeded fifty degrees. It was fine inside the stairwell—there was still some cross-breeze. But once they stepped outside—oh boy. The heat shimmered, and everything looked distorted.
Just then, one of the young men yelped.
Qin Sang looked down. Good grief! The flip-flops on his feet were stuck to the road. Their village road had been paved with asphalt just two months ago. Now, the asphalt had melted.
“Here, use these rags to wipe the soles.” Qin Sang pinched her nose. Only then did she notice that the air was thick with the stench of asphalt.
“Let’s go, let’s go. Don’t walk on the road anymore. Stick to the sidewalk.” As she spoke, Qin Sang posted about the melted asphalt in the village group chat. Only then did she realize many people were already complaining about the same thing.
The most serious case involved a child who had fallen directly into the melted asphalt, getting it all over his face and suffering burns with multiple blisters. He had been taken to the nearby community hospital for treatment.
The village chief quickly sent a message in their group of twelve, announcing that they wouldn’t go out in the afternoon and would resume work in the evening.
The two young men cheered and made plans to game at home in the afternoon. Qin Sang waved goodbye and headed home, thinking to herself: I’ve only just graduated. Why don’t I have such a carefree mindset?
She walked along the paved sidewalk. Even though she was wearing heat-resistant shoes, the soles of her feet felt like they were burning. She could only hop and skip, hurrying home.
But halfway there, she ran into someone walking on the road.
How strange!
Because of the melted asphalt and the extreme heat, almost no one was outside.
Taking a few more steps closer, Qin Sang recognized the person.
Upon seeing Qin Sang, the person immediately pulled down the brim of their hat, moving furtively. Qin Sang could tell they were trying to avoid the village’s surveillance cameras.
Qin Sang didn’t want to meddle. But the person was Qu Meijing, who lived upstairs. She was genuinely afraid that Qu Meijing might cause trouble that would implicate their family.
“What are you doing?” Qin Sang called out directly.
Qu Meijing was startled by Qin Sang’s voice. She had intended to pretend not to see her. But now that Qin Sang had called out, she didn’t dare run off. She couldn’t bear to abandon the sturdy fortress she had painstakingly built. Thinking about what had happened today, she gritted her teeth and ran toward Qin Sang.
Qin Sang: … She really wanted to ignore her.
“Qin Sang, Qin Sang. Little landlord. Please, help…”
Only then did Qin Sang notice the smell of blood on her. And she was limping. Earlier, from a distance, Qin Sang had thought she was just walking weirdly to avoid the cameras. But it turned out her leg was injured.
“How do you want me to help?”
By now, they were standing in the shade of an alley with no surveillance cameras. Nearby was a garbage disposal area. The air stank, making Qin Sang very impatient.
Qu Meijing clearly sensed Qin Sang’s irritation. Gritting her teeth, she produced a dark, menacing object in her hand.
Qin Sang’s pupils contracted. She tried to keep calm. “That thing is fake, right?”
With the object in hand, Qu Meijing finally gained some confidence. “One hundred percent real. Truer than pearls.”
“Alright, what exactly do you want me to do?” Qin Sang put on an impatient expression again. But no one knew how fast her heart was racing. Not from fear—from a bit of excitement. As a law-abiding citizen, this was the first time she had been so close to such an object.
Qu Meijing was thrown off by Qin Sang’s demeanor, her confidence wavering. But her left leg hurt too much. She could only grit her teeth and say, “Take me back first. Then help me treat my wound.”
Qin Sang glanced down at Qu Meijing’s calf. That was where the smell of blood was strongest.
“This is a bit difficult. That thing of yours probably isn’t enough payment, is it?” Having tested Qu Meijing’s intentions, Qin Sang said bluntly.
At the same time, she lit up her phone screen. On it was a news alert that had popped up five minutes ago.
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