The cannon fodder in the control group of the "lucky koi stepmother" article - Mwah!
Jiang Ning felt increasingly frustrated, but she couldn't confide in anyone about it.
Faced with Chen Mo's concern, she could only say that the jade pendant was a keepsake left to her by her deceased grandmother.
She had promised her grandmother that she would keep it safe, but she never expected the jade pendant to suddenly break. She couldn't accept it and did something foolish to cover it up.
Chen Mo knew that Jiang Ning valued that jade pendant very much; she always wore it close to her body and wouldn't even let him touch it. Now that the jade was broken, it was normal for her to be sad.
He could only offer dry words of comfort: "I know you're upset, but jade is just an inanimate object. If it's broken, it's broken. Out with the old, in with the new. I'll find you an even better one next time."
Jiang Ning lowered her head and mumbled an "Mmm": "I'm a little tired, I want to sleep for a while, let's talk about the future later."
Her heart was bleeding. What future was there? Did she really think that koi fish pendant could be found so easily?
She transmigrated into the book and, knowing the plot, managed to get her hands on the koi fish pendant that originally belonged to Jiang Fubao.
There are no other opportunities in this world... No, it seems there really are.
One night, Jiang Ning suddenly remembered that in the original book, Jiang Fubao came to the island with the army after marrying Chen Mo.
Once, I went beachcombing with some of my sisters-in-law and found a quaint brass key on the beach.
She picked up the key because she thought it was pretty, but later discovered that the brass key was actually a magical key to any door.
As long as he had his destination in mind, he could reach it simply by opening the door with the key. Jiang Fubao relied on it to frequently travel to the port city to buy things, exchange foreign currency, and even do business, living a prosperous life.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ning could no longer lie still. She got up in the dark, grabbed a flashlight, and ran towards the sea.
Her spirit was commendable, but her luck was not so good. She hadn't been searching for long, bending over with a flashlight, when the tide silently rose.
Fortunately, Chen Mo was awakened by the noise she made when she got up. Worried, he followed her to the beach, and seeing the situation was bad, he immediately rushed over and pulled her back. Any later, and she probably would have been swept away by the tide.
The next day, after breakfast, the rest of the family went to work or school, leaving Chen Xia as the only one with nothing to do. She took the half-finished sweater she was knitting and went to visit her neighbor, Aunt Zhao.
Upon entering, she found several women already sitting inside. Seeing Chen Xia come in, they all waved and smiled, saying, "Xiaxia, come quick, we have big news!"
Chen Xia jogged over with a grin and pulled a small cloth bag from her pocket: "Come on, I just roasted some pumpkin seeds, they smell so good! Let's chat while we eat some!"
The women didn't stand on ceremony and each grabbed a small handful. They were happy to listen to gossip with Chen Xia. This girl was honest and always liked to bring some snacks when she went out to chat. She didn't eat alone and was a good chat partner.
Zhao Dasao is the wife of Zhao Lianping, the political commissar of the regiment. Her real name is Du Xiaohua, but everyone is used to calling her Zhao Dasao.
She was well-liked and a well-informed person in the area. Whenever there was any trouble in anyone's home, it was always good to ask her for information.
Once everyone was almost there, Sister-in-law Zhao lowered her voice and began to vividly recount how Jiang Ning had gone to the beach with a flashlight in the middle of the night the previous night and almost got swept away by the tide.
As Chen Xia listened, he mentally called out to the system: "System, go check it out. Jiang Ning going to the beach in the middle of the night is definitely not just for beachcombing. I guess she's looking for something important."
Scan this little world carefully and see if there are any hidden cheat codes we don't know about.
The little system perked up at the mention of "golden finger" and vanished in a flash. Half an hour later, it returned, dejected.
"It's been investigated. This is a small world derived from a sweet and doting stepmother novel, but in the first playthrough, the lucky stepmother is not Jiang Ning, but her cousin Jiang Fubao."
Jiang Ning's original name was Jiang Zhaodi. After falling into the water, a modern soul transmigrated into Jiang Zhaodi's body and changed her name to Jiang Ning.
She found the koi fish jade pendant before Jiang Fubao could, and used it to drain the luck of her biased grandparents. Her grandfather was gored to death by a cow, and her grandmother fell to her death while gathering firewood on the mountain.
Previously, any member of the Jiang family who had treated the original owner badly either died or was crippled; none of them had a good ending.
Later, she plotted to steal Jiang Fubao's official partner, Chen Mo, and encouraged her second uncle to marry Jiang Fubao off to a lame old widower, where she was subjected to domestic violence every day.
After the koi fish jade pendant broke, she suddenly remembered that Jiang Fubao had found a key to a magic door on the beach when he was with the army.
She ran out in the middle of the night yesterday to look for that key.
Chen Xia: "So she ran to the beach in the middle of the night to find that Anywhere Door key?"
This key isn't very useful to us. But we can't let this ruthless time-traveling woman get it.
Tongzi, you'll have to work a little harder these days. Keep an eye on the beach. If you see any trace of the key, come back and call me right away.
"It's better to dig it up ourselves or hand it over to the army than to let Jiang Ning get it for free."
The little system wasn't initially interested in the Anywhere Door Key, but after hearing Chen Xia's explanation, it thought it made sense and eagerly went to the beach to keep watch.
Chen Xia dismissed the small system and continued knitting while listening to her sisters-in-law gossip.
Wang Dacheng's wife beckoned to them mysteriously, and then whispered something when they got close.
"Two days ago, on the day Jiang Ning was hospitalized, Wang Li, Sister-in-law Ai Hong, and Mei Juan all went to help.
Meijuan came back and said that they saw with their own eyes that the table in Jiang Ning's room was covered in blood. It was blood she had drawn by stabbing her hand with scissors. The table was covered in blood, and there were several pieces of broken jade floating in the blood. It was terrifying.
Upon hearing this, Battalion Commander Zhang's wife frowned, her knitting slowing down: "This sounds so eerie..."
When I was little, my grandma told me that in the past, some people would use their own flesh and blood to offer sacrifices to unclean things…
Before she could finish speaking, she shivered and looked hesitantly at the crowd.
"That Battalion Commander Chen's son looks refined and scholarly, like someone who's been to school. Surely he can't believe in these things too, can he?"
Chen Xia shrugged: "Who knows? I heard she's very lucky, maybe she worships some kind of lucky koi spirit at home!"
The group exchanged bewildered glances, remaining silent for a moment. But the more they thought about it, the more they realized that Chen Xia's offhand fabrication might actually be the truth.
After all, Jiang Ning has had exceptionally good luck since she came to the family compound, and the key is that she really does have a koi fish jade pendant.
The only sound in the room was the soft clinking of knitting needles. These days, who doesn't know we're destroying the Four Olds, promoting science, and opposing feudal superstition? How dare Jiang Ning...? Does she have a death wish?
Jiang Ning has recently attracted much attention from military families. Everyone wants to see if Jiang Ning will still have good luck as usual after her jade pendant is broken.
After observing for a while, several military dependents who were on good terms huddled together and whispered, "It seems that Jiang Ning's luck has turned bad ever since the jade pendant broke."
She's been going to the beach every day lately, but she always comes back empty-handed.
It seems what Sister Zhang said might not be just idle talk; she might actually have been practicing some kind of evil or heretical religion in the past.
Under the guise of watching the excitement, Chen Xia followed behind the group of women who loved to watch the drama unfold, carrying tools and going to the beach every day as if she were on a job.
She had only dug a couple of times with a small shovel when she unearthed an antique-looking key, which Chen Xia then casually put into her spatial storage.
Jiang Ning, who was frantically digging sand in the distance, seemed to sense something. He dropped his shovel and ran over. After circling around and finding nothing, he still asked, unwilling to give up.
"Did anyone dig up a key on the beach just now? It has a very old-fashioned design with subtle patterns, and it looks quite old."
If you see it, please let me know. It's nothing valuable, but it's very important to me.
If anyone sees this, please let me know. I will prepare a generous gift and personally visit to express my gratitude. Thank you all in advance.
The news that Jiang Ning was looking for a bronze key spread like wildfire throughout the entire residential compound.
When people were out beachcombing, the beach was a bit more lively than usual.
Many people whispered among themselves that the key that Jiang Ning almost risked his life to find must be a valuable item.
Since we're going to go beachcombing anyway, we might as well dig around and see if we get lucky and find something.
After Chen Xia got the key, he tested it a few times. It was indeed as magical as the little system had described. He could think of a place to go, turn the key at the door, and when he pushed it open, he was already standing at his destination.
But after the initial novelty wore off, she realized that this thing was a bit of a waste for her.
This key can only be used in this small world and cannot be taken away. She thought it was a bit of a waste to keep this thing in her hands as a teleportation tool for grocery shopping, so she pulled Su Yuanchao along and went directly to find the division commander and political commissar.
Chen Xia and Su Yuanchao stood before the division commander and political commissar; the atmosphere in the office was somewhat serious.
Without exchanging many pleasantries, Chen Xia directly took out the antique-looking brass key and placed it on the desk.
Division Commander Li Zhenguo picked up the key and examined it several times, but couldn't see anything special about it: "Comrade Xiao Chen, is this the treasure you dug up on the beach?"
Although Political Commissar Sun Weimin didn't say anything, his eyes were full of inquiry, clearly wondering if these two young men were just bored and were using an old object to joke with them.
Chen Xia knew that words alone were not enough, so she took the keys from her superior and said, "Now comes the moment to witness a miracle, please don't blink, both of you..."
Holding the key, she silently recited a place name in the port city before inserting it into the lock on the wooden door leading to the lounge.
With a soft click, the door opened, and Chen Xia walked in and waved to them: "Commander, there's no one here, it's very safe, you can come in and take a look."
Division Commander Gao Zhihong and Political Commissar Zheng Jianxun had expressions of disbelief on their faces. They quickly walked through the Anywhere Door, and the scene behind the door left them stunned.
After a long pause, they finally believed this seemingly unscientific fact: it really was a magic key.
Gao Zhihong sat back in his chair, his expression becoming extremely serious, tapping his fingers on the table: "This...this key, where did you get it?"
His worldview was greatly shaken, but his soldier's intuition made him immediately realize that this thing was anything but simple.
Chen Xia glanced at Su Yuanchao and answered seriously, "I found it on the beach while beachcombing. Many people have been going to the beach to look for this key these past few days."
The person who first mentioned this key was Battalion Commander Chen Mo's wife, Sister-in-law Jiang Ning.
About two weeks ago, I heard from some of the women in the residential compound that Jiang Ning went to the beach with a flashlight in the middle of the night and almost got swept away by the tide.
We were all quite curious at the time, since there had been some rather strange rumors about their family before.
Now, her sudden appearance at the beach in the middle of the night looking for something has piqued our curiosity.
Later, everyone intentionally or unintentionally followed her to go beachcombing. She would say that she had lost a key, and that whoever found it on the beach would be rewarded with a generous gift.
I dug it up a few days ago. I was curious at the time; the key looked like an old object. If it really belonged to Jiang Ning, how could it be buried so deep?
I took the key home with me. Yesterday, I accidentally discovered how to use it, and it almost scared me to death.
After thinking about it all night, I felt that if such a magical key were lost, or if someone discovered and stole it, it might be used for illegal activities. It would be better to hand it over to the state.
Gao Zhihong and Zheng Jianxun highly praised Chen Xia's awareness and instructed them to keep this matter absolutely confidential.
This is a very serious matter; they need to report it to their superiors immediately. As for how Jiang Ning knew about the key, that also needs to be investigated as soon as possible.
These matters had nothing to do with Chen Xia and Su Yuanchao, who were just small fry. They left the trouble behind and strolled back to their family compound.
If used properly, this key to any door could break the blockade and embargo imposed on China by the United States and other Western capitalist countries. This is better than letting it gather dust in her hands.
Chen Xia didn't care what the key was used for after that; anyway, not long after, Jiang Ning was taken away.
Then, just as the movement was gaining momentum, it was abruptly halted, and the scientists who had been purged and demoted were urgently recalled.
The National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) has not only continued, but many technical schools have been expanded.
The country's development seems to have entered a fast track, changing almost every day.
Su Yuanchao's promotion was also quite rapid. After being recommended to study at a military academy to make up for his lack of formal education, he was promoted.
His promotion speed was like a rocket, skyrocketing upwards.
When Chen Xia gave birth to his eldest daughter, Su Tiantian, he was already a colonel and regimental commander.
Su Manyun attended a medical vocational school and was assigned to an island hospital after graduation. The job was close to home and easy.
The youngest, Su Weiguo, is still in junior high school. Su Yuanchao has the highest expectations for him, hoping that he will go to high school and get into a good university.
When Chen Xia married Su Yuanchao, she was prepared to endure hardship. But after the marriage, she discovered that she hadn't experienced any hardship at all.
Su Yuanchao did all the heavy work at home, and as for other miscellaneous household chores, her capable sister-in-law never had to lift a finger.
She finally managed to get the cooking job thanks to her excellent culinary skills. The main problem was that she felt bad about not doing anything all day.
After giving birth, she was completely pampered and had everything done for her. Apart from breastfeeding, she didn't have to worry about anything else.
When their daughter grows up, she will have another person to protect and pamper her, and this pampering will last a lifetime.
Perhaps seeing how smoothly Chen Xia had fared in his previous life, he had barely left the previous small world when he opened his eyes again and found himself in a new mission world.
"My darling, my child, you're finally awake! You scared your mother half to death..."
Chen Xia's portrayal of Baochai barely managed to sit up, her body still limp: "It's all my fault, Mother, for worrying you. Where's my brother? Has he gone out to cause trouble again?"
Just then, Xue Pan strode in carrying a red lacquered food box. Upon hearing Baochai's words, he immediately cried out that he was innocent.
"Little sister, you've really misunderstood your brother this time! These past few days you've been sick, Mom and I have been staying by your side every day, not even stepping out of the door. I only went out today because your fever broke. I didn't go out to play; I went to Gui Xiang Zhai specifically to buy your favorite jujube and yam cake!"
Baochai quickly smiled and praised him, "Brother still loves me the most."
Upon hearing this praise, Xue Pan beamed with joy. Even when Baochai suggested hiring a tutor for him to study properly, he chuckled and didn't object.
Chen Xia comforted Aunt Xue a few more times, and after the two of them left, she calmed down and sorted out Baochai's memories, then breathed a sigh of relief.
They arrived just in time. Xue Pan hadn't killed anyone while trying to take Zhen Yinglian, nor had he killed Feng Yuan. Thank goodness.
The person making the wish for this mission was Baochai. Her wish was for the mission takers to urge her brother Xue Pan to improve himself and get rid of his arrogant, domineering, and ignorant habits.
She helped him escape the calamity of being killed by Feng Yuan, prevented the Xue family from living under someone else's roof, and refused to marry Jia Baoyu herself.
At the same time, she must be filial to Aunt Xue, protect the Xue family's business, and marry in a grand and glorious manner, so that she and her husband can live in harmony and be surrounded by children.
Chen Xia will not comment on Xue Baochai and the Xue family's actions in the Dream of the Red Chamber. She has done good deeds, and Chen Xia has helped her fulfill her wishes. It is a fair exchange.
To be honest, if Chen Xia had a choice, he might not have accepted this mission. The merit points were plentiful, but the wishes were too numerous.
Remembering the original owner's wheezing cough that she had been born with and that would flare up from time to time, Chen Xia took out a Rejuvenation Pill from her spatial storage and swallowed it with two sips of spiritual spring water.
Before long, the tightness in her chest completely disappeared. It seems the analyses on the internet in later generations were right; Baochai's heat toxicity was most likely congenital asthma.
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