Liu Wei couldn’t figure things out, but he kept cursing loudly anyway.

“You ungrateful little brat! Smashing up the house and refusing to live properly? Then get out!

And once you leave, don’t ever come back. Go starve to death out there!”

Yun Xi tossed the wooden stick to Liu Wei’s feet. Startled, he jumped three feet into the air. Only after realizing it hadn’t been thrown at him did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Yun Xi curled her lips in disdain. “Even if someone’s leaving, it should be you taking your mistress and your bastard child with you. Don’t forget this house belongs to the Yun family—it’s my family’s ancestral home.

Not the Liu family’s. You’re just a live-in son-in-law.”

Those three words alone nearly made Liu Wei explode with rage, and he fainted on the spot.

Seeing the chaos around her, Yun Xi returned to her room and locked the door behind her. She still wanted to study the mysterious space some more.

Next, she needed to gather evidence of Liu Wei’s embezzlement. After all, he worked in the procurement department…

The original owner of this body had died from being drugged too heavily—and it was all caused by this family!

Since she had inherited the girl’s body, she naturally had to avenge her.

This era wasn’t like the apocalypse, where you could casually slit someone’s throat and be done with it. Besides, killing them outright would be too easy. Better to make them suffer through every hardship this special era had to offer.

At the cotton mill.

When the deputy factory director learned that his precious son had been beaten up and dumped in a corner of the guesthouse overnight, he was furious.

If they weren’t willing in the first place, why put on this whole act? Sure, his son wasn’t always mentally sharp, but with his status, plenty of girls would gladly marry him.

After Zhao Mei pinched Liu Wei awake, he hurried off to work. The deputy director, hearing Liu Wei had arrived, immediately had someone summon him to the office.

The moment Liu Wei entered, the deputy director slammed the table.

“Since yesterday’s matter failed, don’t bring it up again in the future.

My son is clearly not worthy of your daughter. You’d better look after yourself from now on.”

After speaking, he waved dismissively. “You may leave.”

Though Liu Wei appeared calm on the surface, he knew his good days were coming to an end.

Since the deputy director had declared the matter over, Yun Xi would never marry into that family now.

Thinking about Yun Xi’s actions filled Liu Wei with rage. He was absent-minded the entire workday, thinking only about how to teach that rebellious daughter a lesson once he got home.

When Bai Wangshu reunited with his teammates, the men stared at him in shock.

One thick-headed soldier blurted out, “Captain, what happened to your face? And your neck?”

As he spoke, he even reached toward Bai Wangshu’s collar, trying to peek inside to see if there were marks elsewhere.

The other two soldiers smacked their foreheads.

“Erxiong, stop!”

One grabbed him from the front while the other pinned him from behind.

Even restrained, Erxiong kept shouting, “Captain, why’s your face so red?

And who slapped you? I’ll avenge you!”

Bai Wangshu glared at the chatterbox. “Shut up!”

Then he strode toward the train station, leaving the others whispering behind him.

“Our captain’s finally fallen in love.”

“If you ask me, maybe Captain’s the irresponsible type?”

“Bah! Don’t talk nonsense. Captain would never be irresponsible.”

“Then how do you explain the handprint on his face?”

“In my opinion, it’s definitely some lovers’ quarrel…”

“Come on, stop it. Didn’t they say Captain was ambushed?

I bet he got injured fighting enemy spies.”

At that moment, Erxiong stuck his head out again. “Then what about the marks on his neck? Don’t tell me the spies did that too?”

Everyone turned and glared at him simultaneously.

“You really can’t read the room.”

As they spoke, they motioned for Erxiong to look ahead.

Their captain had already shot them a warning glare earlier. If they kept talking, he might actually come back and cut out their tongues.

And judging by the increasingly fast pace of his steps—

His face was completely dark now.

After this mission ended, they were definitely getting extra training.

Yun Xi tinkered around in her room for quite a while before hunger finally drove her outside.

She headed toward the state-owned restaurant. She had heard that in this era, the braised pork at state-run restaurants was especially delicious.

The original owner had never tasted it, so naturally she didn’t know what it was like.

Only after walking out the door did she suddenly remember she had neither money nor ration coupons. That wouldn’t do.

She turned back, rummaged through the house, and took all the cash and silver notes Zhao Mei had hidden away.

At the restaurant counter she called out, “Comrade, two servings of braised pork, one spicy-and-sour cabbage, and a bowl of rice.”

As Yun Xi ordered, her stomach growled loudly.

She hadn’t eaten much that morning—the family had ruined her appetite. After paying, she found a seat and waited.

Just then, a young woman walked up and tapped on her table.

“Hey, Yun Xi, it really is you! I spotted you from far away but didn’t dare believe it.”

Yun Xi looked up and recognized her former classmate, Wu Xiangxiang.

“Xiangxiang, you came to eat too? Sit down.”

Wu Xiangxiang looked surprised. “You actually have money to eat at a state-owned restaurant? Your biased father and evil stepmother must’ve changed quite a bit.”

Yun Xi shook her head but didn’t talk about family matters.

Realizing she had misspoken, Wu Xiangxiang quickly changed the topic. “What are you eating? My treat.”

“I already paid.”

“I’ll go order first, then I’ll come sit with you.”

Yun Xi acknowledged her with a nod as the girl walked toward the ordering window.

Soon both their dishes arrived. Clearly, the girl loved meat too—she ordered braised pork, braised pork chops, and a soup.

The table was packed with food as they chatted while eating.

Mostly it was Wu Xiangxiang reminiscing about their school days while Yun Xi quietly listened.

But after talking for a while, Wu Xiangxiang sighed.

“It’s just so hard finding a job. My family’s been worrying nonstop trying to get me one.

Who would willingly sell their work position these days?”

Yun Xi had been quietly listening to the girl chatter away about old memories, but the mention of work made her look up.

“You want a job?”

Wu Xiangxiang nodded vigorously. “Of course! If I can’t find one, I’ll have to go to the countryside.

My mom says life there is miserable—hard labor, never enough food. How could it compare to city life?”

Wu Xiangxiang came from a family with two working parents, so they lived fairly comfortably. But now that their daughter had graduated, every family was expected to send someone to the countryside.

The whole family had been searching everywhere for a job opportunity for her.

Yun Xi thought for a moment before asking, “How much can your family pay for a job?”

Wu Xiangxiang considered it. “My mom said anything under a thousand yuan would work. My dad even said he’d grit his teeth and pay fifteen hundred if necessary.”

Yun Xi knew a position like hers normally sold for six or seven hundred yuan at most. But jobs were scarce, and even if someone demanded a thousand, there would still be buyers.

Besides, the original owner had been fairly close to Wu Xiangxiang, and back in school Wu Xiangxiang had often helped her.

So Yun Xi said, “Get the money ready in the next couple of days. I happen to have a job position available. But my family already signed me up to go to the countryside.

Rather than let someone else benefit from it, I’d rather sell it to you. At least I’ll have some money to use after I leave.”

Wu Xiangxiang leapt up from her seat in excitement and clasped Yun Xi’s hands tightly.

“Yun Xi, thank you!

Really, thank you so much. But won’t going to the countryside be too hard for you?”