The clerk couldn’t be bothered to listen further. With a few swift strokes, she wrote out a notice and held it up for the mother and daughter to see.
“Comrade Ji Meiling, given your repeated delays in reporting for duty and your attempt to provide invalid documents to evade your obligation to go to the countryside,”
“You are hereby notified that your job assignment is revoked. Within three days, prepare your luggage. The neighborhood office will arrange for you to be sent to the countryside, to the most arduous area, to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants!”
“The most arduous area?”
Ji Meiling felt the world spin. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the floor, wailing, “No! I won’t go! Mom! I won’t go to the countryside!”
Lin Xiumei stared at the notice, then at her daughter sobbing and rolling on the floor. She thought of all her schemes coming to nothing, losing all her money, and now even her own daughter had to pay the price.
A metallic, sweet taste rose in her throat. Lin Xiumei could no longer hold on. Overwhelmed by rage and despair, her vision went completely black, and she fell straight to the ground, foaming at the mouth and losing consciousness.
“Mom? Mom, what’s wrong? Somebody! Help!”
The neighborhood office instantly descended into chaos.
Meanwhile, Ji Shuyu, using the money she had left from yesterday, rented a small, inconspicuous but clean single room on the urban-rural fringe. She locked the door securely.
Now, she just had to wait for the telegram from her nominal husband.
Calculating the time, Lin Xiumei and Ji Meiling should be at the neighborhood office by now.
‘Suffering a double loss after a failed attempt’—how did that taste? Pretty satisfying, she bet.
She leisurely opened the system mall and exchanged some delicious food to reward herself.
Lin Xiumei, after fainting at the office, was sent to the hospital and stayed for two days. When she finally returned home, she was utterly dumbfounded.
Empty. Completely bare. Was this her home?
So, Lin Xiumei, fresh out of the hospital, saw black again and fainted once more.
Ji Guodong had been staying at his workplace dormitory for the past couple of days and naturally knew nothing about this. It wasn’t until Ji Meiling sought him out, crying and sobbing, that he learned about the major events at home.
Unfortunately, even after reporting it to the police, their household belongings couldn’t be recovered immediately. He could only grit his teeth and buy some basic items to use for the time being.
About five or six days passed like this for Ji Shuyu in her rented room. Finally, her telegram arrived.
“Telegram for Ji Shuyu!”
After leaving the Ji house, Ji Shuyu had first gone to the telegraph office to change her delivery address.
She had originally prepared herself to wait ten days for news.
She hadn’t expected the telegram to come this quickly.
“Coming!”
Ji Shuyu swallowed the delicious pastry in her mouth, walked to the door, and opened it.
The postman handed over the telegram along with an envelope. Ji Shuyu signed for it.
After closing the door, Ji Shuyu opened the telegram and read its contents.
The message was concise and to the point.
It essentially said that He Yuan was tied up with a mission and couldn’t get away. He had arranged for his comrade-in-arms, Zhao Qiang, to meet her.
They would meet at the ticket office of the West City train station at 10 a.m. three days later.
She was to board the ship using this telegram and her marriage certificate.
It ended with a line stating that housing in the military family compound on the island was ready, and he looked forward to their reunion.
Ji Shuyu opened the other envelope. Inside were two hundred yuan and some vouchers.
A line was attached: ‘Use the money and vouchers as needed. Rest assured, I will handle everything.’
A smile spread across Ji Shuyu’s face, sweeping away the frustration and scheming of the past few days.
Her nominal husband, He Yuan, was certainly efficient. Departure in just three days—time was tight.
‘I will handle everything…’
These words warmed her heart inexplicably. Even though this husband was still a complete stranger, the promise sounded solid and reassuring.
The original host was truly blind, brainwashed by Lin Xiumei to such an extent that she ended up jumping to her death.
He Yuan had given her money, probably intending for her to buy some things.
After all, supplies on the island were scarce, and if you wanted anything, you had to buy it from the outside.
Sometimes, when the sea was rough, you could wait ten days or a half-month without any supplies arriving.
He Yuan was probably worried she wouldn’t adjust well, wanting her to buy everything she needed at once while on land.
“Comrade He Yuan, I appreciate your kindness.”
“But your girl here has cheats!”
She stored the telegram and the remaining money in her space.
Then, she clicked into the Points Mall. At the very top, her point assets shone brightly: [Points: 7700]
Supplies on the island were definitely going to be even tighter. She had to stock up on everything she could think of.
Once she got there, she probably wouldn’t be able to use the system mall so freely, as she’d have to explain the origin of any items.
Ji Shuyu didn’t plan to use the money He Yuan gave her for now.
Her current points were more than sufficient, so that money would naturally be saved for when it was most needed.
She immediately opened the Points Mall. A dazzling array of product icons instantly filled the light screen.
But thinking about all the things she needed to buy, Ji Shuyu felt she should first use some points to upgrade her storage space.
After painfully spending 500 points, the storage space instantly expanded to one hundred square meters, roughly equivalent to a three-bedroom apartment.
That much space was more than enough for her needs.
Her fingers flew across the screen as she began a frantic shopping spree.
This was even crazier than shopping on Taobao during Singles’ Day.
Basic necessities were a must. Grain, oil, meat, eggs – the fundamentals for survival.
Rice, flour, grain, oil, free-range eggs, and even high-grade flour – buy, buy, buy!
Top-grade white sugar, iodized fine salt.
Soy sauce, aged vinegar, cooking wine, five-spice powder, chili flakes, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and other spice combinations.
And also, Ji Shuyu’s favorite, Lao Gan Ma flavored fermented black bean chili sauce.
She didn’t know if the island was short on these things, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Buying them now was like getting a bargain.
After looking through these, Ji Shuyu went to check out the snacks and pastries.
Meeting the He family for the first time, she ought to prepare some gifts, right?
She heard He Yuan had two older brothers, two younger brothers, and a younger sister.
Not knowing the He family’s tastes, these candies were probably the best universal currency.
She got some of each: White Rabbit creamy candies, animal crackers, calcium milk biscuits, and fruit hard candies.
The idea was to have something for all ages, nothing anyone could fault.
After selecting cleaning and personal care items, along with some pots, bowls, ladles, and basins, Ji Shuyu also bought various other miscellaneous things.
A Flying Pigeon brand flashlight, a Great Wall brand premium thermos, and a sturdy, durable large canvas travel bag.
As Ji Shuyu clicked frantically, her mind was simultaneously calculating the cost, her eyes not even blinking.
The points decreased like flowing water, but the satisfaction of hoarding supplies was immense.
If she had to buy all these things at the supply and marketing cooperative or on the black market, not to mention 250 yuan, even 2,500 yuan might not cover it.
On top of that, she’d need countless precious vouchers, and she might break her legs standing in line and still not manage to buy everything.
And with so many items, how could she possibly carry them all back by herself?
It really took the system to handle this, worth its weight in gold!
“Done!”
Ji Shuyu looked at the final settlement on the light screen.
[Points consumed in this exchange: 3355 points!]
[Remaining points: 4345 points!]
She let out a long sigh of relief, looking at the small single room that had instantly become packed.
The items exchanged from the system appeared directly in the empty space she designated, neatly stacked. The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming.
Rice, flour, grain, and oil were piled up like small hills. Various bottles, jars, and daily necessities were a dazzling array.
The air even seemed to carry a mix of various fragrances.
“For the rest, I’ll top up as needed after I get to the island and see the situation.”
Ji Shuyu stood with her hands on her hips, looking at her spoils, feeling immensely proud.
This wasn’t just going to join the army; this was practically going to the island to be a wealthy lady.
She picked out the most essential items.
A few jin of rice and flour, some oil and salt, a few eggs, some biscuits and candies, plus the thermos, washbasin, towels, toothbrush, soap, and other toiletries, and packed them into a canvas bag for the journey.
With a single thought, she stored the vast majority of the remaining supplies back into her newly purchased three-bedroom, one-living-room space.
A house worth several million – she could now buy one just by waving her hand.
The impoverished Ji Shuyu from a few days ago was gone forever. Now, she was Ji Shuyu the wealthy lady.
The previously crowded room instantly became empty again, leaving only the canvas bag she had just taken out.
Ji Shuyu clapped her hands together, her gaze falling on the telegram.
Although He Yuan was a nominal husband, he seemed reliable and his attitude was decent.
This trip to the island didn’t seem as bad as she had thought.
When the time came, she would finally meet this officer husband she had never seen.
But before leaving, Ji Shuyu had one more thing to do.
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