Mr. Zhan used to work very hard, focusing on improving his skills and getting higher pay. However, the birth of three daughters completely destroyed his spirit. He felt hopeless and gave up on life, just getting by at work and becoming indifferent to his family.

When his fourth son, Zhan Hongyu, was born, Zhan's father was overjoyed. His spirit, which he had lost for many years, returned. He wanted to work hard and save more money for his fourth son. However, after 1963, the rating system was abolished... and he grew to hate Zhan Chunlan even more.

So Zhan Chunlan was at the bottom of the food chain in this family; she had to go to school, cook, wash the family's clothes, and clean the house...

You asked her if she was tired?

The little girl died because she worked too much and ate too little. She got sick in the dead of winter and had to wash clothes with cold water. She developed a high fever at night and passed away.

Zhan Chunhua and Zhan Chunyun, who shared a room with her, were completely unaware of the situation. They heard her groaning unconsciously due to a high fever and even threw a piece of clothing at her to tell her to be quiet.

She truly fell silent, enduring her thirst without making a sound.

She didn't feel any pain when she passed away. She only felt an unprecedented warmth and comfort. She wanted to lie down for a while, and then she just lay there and was gone.

When Zhan Chunlan arrived, the discomfort of a high fever left with "Zhan Chunlan," but years of malnutrition and hard work had caused her to have poor physical development, difficulty breathing, and her thin body made it uncomfortable to lie in bed.

Normally, sorting out memories wouldn't take that long, but perhaps because she's now her, as an only child, she simply can't understand the parents' disgust and exploitation of their child. She actually spent the rest of the night sorting out her emotions and didn't fall asleep until dawn.

Zhan Chunlan tidied herself up before going to school, walking slowly along the road, looking at everything around her that had a sense of history. If she were a tourist, she would have the leisure to appreciate it slowly and quietly feel the historical imprints attached to the old objects.

But now that she is a part of this era, she is somewhat afraid. Having experienced the convenience and freedom of the 21st century, can she adapt to going back to the barren history? Can she ever return to her original world?

"Chunlan?" A sweet voice rang out, pulling Zhan Chunlan out of her low spirits.

Turning around, I saw a little girl with an oval face, bangs, braids, round eyes, and a big smile that instantly put me in a good mood.

"Why are you going to school so late today?" Li Xiuxiu saw that Zhan Chunlan was lost in her own emotions, but she wasn't angry. She had been spacing out like this from time to time.

"Yes, I overslept today and just finished tidying up the house," Zhan Chunlan replied softly, snapping out of her reverie.

"I'll let you in on a little secret: the grain station is getting new rice tomorrow. Go back and tell Aunt Xu to take her grain coupons and line up early," Li Xiuxiu whispered happily, linking arms with her classmate as they walked, her voice close to Zhan Chunlan's ear. Her aunt was a grain station clerk, and she always shared information about available grain with Zhan Chunlan.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Zhan Zhiqiang and his wife, although they didn't like Zhan Chunlan, still agreed to let her continue her studies. After all, the tuition wouldn't cost much, and she was still doing the housework. Continuing her studies would also allow her to learn a lot about the grain station and department store from her classmate Li Xiuxiu.

Li Xiuxiu wasn't annoyed to see Zhan Chunlan lost in thought again. She looked at her thin body and recalled when she shared this interesting classmate with her aunt. She said, "Perhaps it's because she's malnourished and her body can't handle it. To reduce energy consumption, she unconsciously spaces out."

"Okay, thank you, Xiuxiu." Coming back to her senses, Zhan Chunlan quickly thanked Li Xiuxiu, completely unaware that in Li Xiuxiu's eyes she was just a pitiful little thing with only one bar of battery left, always on standby.

The two chatted all the way to the school. By this time, you could hardly learn anything at the outside schools. As family members of the machine factory, Zhan Chunlan and her friends attended the factory-run school, which was more peaceful than the outside schools. Most of the students in the class were still there, but the teachers did not dare to discipline as strictly as before.

Sitting in the classroom, Zhan Chunlan listened quite attentively, after all, she could only rely on herself now.

Although she is a college student in the 21st century, everyone knows that for ordinary people like her, the peak of their knowledge reserves is in their senior year of high school. Once they graduate, that knowledge is like a VIP membership expiring, all locked up, and they can only preview fragments.

After class, she sat in her seat watching the lively scene in the classroom, like watching a teen idol drama, only a period version, and not very beautiful. Looking back at the teenagers, they all seemed quite immature.

"Chunlan, what are you looking at? Xiao Cheng?" Li Xiuxiu noticed Zhan Chunlan staring blankly in one direction and came over with a grin.

"Xiao Cheng? No, I was just spacing out." Zhan Chunlan snapped out of her reverie, shifting her gaze slightly to the scenery outside the window.

"To be honest, I'm quite envious of Xiao Cheng," Li Xiuxiu said with a hint of envy in her voice.

"How so?"

“He’s their only child. His mother is an obstetrician and gynecologist, and his father is the head of the logistics department at a machine factory. Only children don’t have to go to the countryside. I heard his parents are already asking around about jobs for him…” Li Xiuxiu’s voice was so light that it was almost inaudible to Zhan Chunlan.

"He won't graduate until next year, but he's already found a job. We're just waiting for him to start working as soon as he graduates. It feels so good to have parents who care about you!" Zhan Chunlan watched Xiao Cheng playing with his friends. She hadn't noticed before, but now that she observed him closely, she realized that he was genuinely happy, without a trace of worry. His parents really raised him very well!

Suddenly, Zhan Chunlan thought of a problem: many of her classmates actually came from well-off families. Almost all of them were dual-income households, and many of their parents were also minor leaders.

The Zhan family wasn't actually that bad off; it's just that all the resources were geared towards Zhan Hongyu. The other three girls would live if they were capable, and if they died, their parents wouldn't feel sorry for them.

Nowadays, there are only a few ways to find a job: either take an exam, buy a job, or change jobs.

She has no money and no job, so buying or replacing things is irrelevant to her, but what if she takes an exam?

Many people fail the exam not because they can't pass, but because they lack information. They don't know where jobs are being offered. Many factories post job advertisements and then take them down after ten minutes, mainly to serve only a specific group of people.

Although she doesn't have this information, her classmates certainly do. If she just keeps an eye on her classmates' activities in the coming days, she might be able to find out about job openings. It's a passive approach, but it's better than casting a wide net.

"Xiuxiu, what about you? Has your family been keeping an eye out for you?" Zhan Chunlan put aside her thoughts for the time being, and would think about it more carefully when she got home.

"Me? My mom told me quietly that she would keep an eye out for me and told me not to run around outside on my own."

"Aunt Hu really cares about you. Don't tell anyone until you get a job. I heard your second sister-in-law is still a temporary worker."

"Chunlan, you're so smart. My mom said the same things to me." Li Xiuxiu looked at Zhan Chunlan with bright eyes, thinking that her friend was also a very smart person to be able to say the same things as an adult.