The cold touch on her face told Zhang Hongmei she was crying again. She wiped away her tears and stood up, realizing how weak she was. Without her mother by her side, she had to rely on herself for everything. What good would crying do? No one would comfort her, no one would support her or encourage her. She had to depend on herself for everything.

He scooped a ladle of hot water from the pot and poured it into an earthenware basin. He then wet a rag and wiped down the kang mats in both bedrooms, as well as the cabinets. Finally, he cleaned up the kitchen as well. Only then did he lock the kitchen door, enter his own bedroom, and without even covering himself with the blankets, went straight into his spatial dimension.

Although I was wearing snow boots, my feet were still freezing from riding in the oxcart without having to walk. I already had chilblains on my feet, and once I got into the warm space, they felt incredibly itchy. I decided to take a shower first, indulging myself a little and washing my feet with spiritual spring water. I'll leave the chilblains on my hands as they are for now, otherwise they'll become too noticeable. I remember in my previous life, almost all my friends had chilblains on their hands and feet, back in the 1980s, when we wore much thicker clothes than we do now. I took a comfortable hot shower, cooked rice in the electric pressure cooker, and since I still had some braised pork from yesterday, I'll also stir-fry some eggs and tomatoes, and make some stir-fried bok choy with garlic. Everything's ready.

I sat at the dining table, very hungry, but with no appetite. I used to eat alone when I was working, and I never felt lonely. But now I felt incredibly lonely, isolated, and pathetic. I ate a few bites hastily and took the rest to the storeroom. I couldn't bear to waste anything now.

After soaking her feet in the spring water, Zhang Hongmei lay down on the bed to sleep. This bed cost her a lot of money; she had only thought that buying a good bed would make her sleep comfortably and have plenty of energy the next day.

After taking a nap, I checked my watch outside my spatial dimension. It was only eleven o'clock, still the early hours of the night. I decided to read a book. I took the book Li Juying had lent me into my spatial dimension and sat on the sofa to read it. It was still in traditional Chinese characters, but I really knew how to use them; I had specifically studied them in college.

As for arithmetic, it was much simpler. I roughly looked through it all, and if I were to take an exam at the beginning of the school year, I should be able to pass the elementary school exam.

Finally, I picked up the book "Biographies of Great Men" and started reading it seriously.

The book begins with a biography of the great man. Zhou Shixiong himself came from a prominent family in Beijing. From a young age, he was lively and intelligent, but he did not acquire the bad habits often associated with children of wealthy families. On the contrary, he was extremely strict with himself. He was strict with himself and others, and treated people with sincerity. As a result, he had many friends, and they were all people who would go to great lengths for him.

As for the rest, it's all about his friends, and how they, a group of like-minded young people, united to resist Japan and fight the war. This is similar to his previous life, and the time and place are the same. The only difference is that all the leaders are different.

After reading it, Zhang Hongmei was confused. Was this the same historical trajectory as her past life, or different? Perhaps she should just let nature take its course. She was just an ordinary person. She should just live her own life well.

The five acres of land in the space were all planted with fruits and vegetables. It seems I should pull up the vegetables and plant corn instead. I should prepare in advance so that I can do my part if there is a natural disaster.

Let's get right to it! Change your clothes and head to the fields to work! Go for it, Zhang Hongmei!

After tidying up about three acres of land, I refused to do any more. I was already quite thin and weak, and this was the limit of what I could do. I drank a glass of water, ate a plate of fried rice with eggs, took a shower, and had a good night's sleep before leaving the space.

It's still dark outside, but it's already six o'clock. I need to start a fire quickly, otherwise the house is too cold. Thinking about the taste of the fried rice earlier, I realize I don't have many eggs stored, only a little over a hundred pounds. Looks like I'll have to raise chickens this spring, and more of them. I also need to get a dog; I'm scared living alone, having a dog for company would be nice. I wonder if Auntie is coming today? I'll ask her where I can get some puppies.

It's not safe for me to go into the space during the day, so I'll cook outside. I'll just steam some buns. There's still flour in the storeroom, it's coarsely ground, but it'll definitely taste better than cornmeal. I took an enamel basin from the cupboard on the wall, scooped out half a basin of flour from the storeroom, and found some sourdough starter in the cupboard, but I don't know how to use it, so I'll just use the yeast from the space.

Mix the dough with warm water, cover it with an earthenware bowl, and place it on the stove. It should be ready by noon.

Before dawn, we put the sweet potatoes that had been steamed the day before into the stove, and soon we'd have a roasted sweet potato to eat.

I took the borrowed books out of the space and sat down by the stove to read them. I needed to familiarize myself with the traditional Chinese characters again, lest I lose everything due to carelessness.

"Hongmei, open the door quickly, it's your third aunt."

"Hey there! Auntie, have you eaten yet? I roasted some sweet potatoes, would you like a piece?"

"I've eaten! This morning, your eldest sister made sweet potato porridge and sorghum buns. You ate roasted sweet potatoes this morning?"

"Hmm, I'm not hungry yet. I've prepared the dough; I'll steam buns for lunch."

"Hmm, you should eat more. You're too thin and short. Do you have any sauerkraut at home? How about we steam some sauerkraut buns? Then we'll have both rice and vegetables."

"Anything else? I haven't eaten much of it, I don't like the taste."

"Do you still have cabbage and potatoes? Or should I have your older sister Da Ya bring you some?"

"No need, there's still plenty in the cellar. I'm just one person and don't need much. Your family has a lot of people, so Auntie doesn't need to worry about me."

"Okay, as long as you know what you're doing. I came here today just to see if you need anything. Yesterday you told me you wanted to learn how to make clothes and shoes, so I'm here today to make some for you, and you can learn from me."

Auntie San was a straightforward person, and she was efficient in everything she did. Zhang Hongmei led her into her room and took out cotton and dark blue coarse cloth from the cabinet. "Auntie San, can you make me a cotton coat? The cotton coat I'm wearing is all patched up, all lumpy."

"Okay, I'll cut it out first. Take a good look. By the way, do you have any newspaper at home? I'll cut out a pattern for you to keep. Cut all the clothes like this. The main thing is that even if there are new patterns, your third aunt won't know how to do them. You can learn slowly later. Maybe you'll even have to teach me then."

"Okay, if I learn a new trick, I'll definitely teach it to Third Aunt. It's too dark in the room, I'll light a candle."

"You didn't use a kerosene lamp? Candles are too expensive."

"I bought a few at the supply and marketing cooperative yesterday; they're brighter than kerosene lamps. Auntie, do you want one?"

"I don't want it, it's too expensive. The price of one candle is enough to buy a month's worth of kerosene. You'll have to be careful with your money from now on. You can't be extravagant."