Due to time constraints, Lin Ying’s first blind date was scheduled for the weekend. At this time, there were no two-day weekends; people worked a six-day week, leaving only Sunday for rest and personal matters.
Two days prior, Su Yulan had visited the matchmaker, Aunt Wang, to learn about the man’s situation and Aunt Wang had presented the details with practiced ease:
“The young man is a good person, twenty-five years old, and works in a nearby machinery factory. His family is very well-off; his father is a high-ranking skilled worker [an ‘Eight-Level Worker,’ the highest technical rank with a salary often exceeding that of factory directors] who earns a high salary, easily supporting the whole family. He also has three older sisters. They are all married, but they remain close and can help out if anything happens.”
People in this era were practical. The first things Aunt Wang mentioned were job stability and family finances. However, Su Yulan felt a flicker of doubt.
“Sister Wang, if the family is so well-off and the young man has a job, why is he still on blind dates?”
Su Yulan wasn’t just being paranoid. If the conditions were truly that good, a twenty-five-year-old man should have been married years ago. A matchmaker’s job is to paint a beautiful picture, but Aunt Wang had a reputation to maintain. So she leaned in to explain the catch:
“Sister, don’t be in such a hurry. His conditions are good, but I’ll tell you the truth: he just started working. He was unemployed for a while, and right now, he’s only a temporary worker [a ‘Linshigong,’ someone without a permanent state-allocated position, meaning no job security or benefits]. It’s a bit unstable. Also… the young man isn’t very tall. That’s why he’s been delayed.”
Su Yulan understood then. She didn’t mind his height so much, but a woman’s livelihood depended on her husband’s “iron rice bowl” [a ‘Tie Fan Wan,’ a permanent state-mandated job that could never be lost]. A temporary worker was always a cause for worry.
Aunt Wang sensed her wavering and doubled down. “But think of the family! He has no brothers, only sisters. Won’t all his parents’ savings eventually go to the young couple? Besides, his father will surely pass his permanent position down to his son eventually. If it weren’t for your daughter’s striking looks, I wouldn’t have even offered this match!”
Su Yulan thought it over and finally agreed to the meeting.
So onthis sunday morning, Lin Ying dressed in the same white shirt and black pants she had worn to the matchmaker’s house. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to change, but this was her only “nice” outfit; and anything else was just rags.
The date was set for lunch, with the meeting point at a nearby park. In 1975, there were no sprawling malls or cinemas. Young couples usually met by strolling through public gardens. Even if there were shops, they were too expensive. A movie ticket cost two cents equal to the price of a pound of rice—so most people preferred free outdoor screenings.
Before Lin Ying left, Su Yulan reluctantly pressed two cents into her hand. “This is for your bus fare and lunch. Be careful with it.”
Lin Ying tucked the coins into her cloth bag carefully. As she walked, she checked her “secret stash.” It was mostly one-cent and five-cent coins, totaling about two yuan. For a student in a poor household, this was a small fortune saved over a long time.
After waiting thirty minutes at the bus stop under a melting sun, the bus finally arrived. It was packed with weekend travelers, and the air was thick with the smell of sweat. Between the heat and the jerky motion of the bus, Lin Ying felt a wave of carsickness and heatstroke. So when she finally got off, she had to sit by the roadside for a long time to recover.
Thankfully, she reached the park early and found a shady bench and drank some water she had brought from home.
The man she was meeting was named Li Zhiqiang. Her mother said he would be wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt and black pants. Without a watch, Lin Ying tracked the time by her shadow. When the sun climbed high and her shadow grew short, she walked toward the main gate.
There stood a man who fit the description. Su Yulan had said he “wasn’t tall.” Lin Ying was about 1.63 meters; Li Zhiqiang was barely 1.68 meters, even with the slight heel on his leather shoes. He looked well-off, but his eyes were busy sizing her up. He clearly liked what he saw; as he hadn’t expected his date to be such a beauty.
“You must be Lin Ying. I’m Li Zhiqiang. He introduced himself and than said.
Shall we walk in the park first, then go eat?”
“Sure,” she replied.
As they walked, Li Zhiqiang talked non-stop. Lin Ying, on her first-ever blind date, tried to analyze him. Ignoring his height, she quickly realized she didn’t like what came out of his mouth.
“I know this park better than you,” he bragged. “Just follow me. Afterward, we’ll go to Jinwang Restaurant. Their braised pork [Hong Shao Rou] is amazing—fatty but not greasy. You have to try it.”
Lin Ying felt a prick of worry. “Is Jinwang Restaurant expensive?” She only had her mother’s two cents and her tiny stash. She expected to pay her own way.
“It’s just a small place, not expensive,” he insisted, completely ignoring her concern. To Lin Ying, this showed a lack of respect for her opinion.
Then, his talk became even more irritating. “I heard you’re still in school. Honestly, it’s a waste of time. Junior high is plenty. I only went because it was mandatory. I’m taking over the family business eventually, so school is useless. You’ll see when you start working—factory work doesn’t need books, it needs connections.”
He leaned in closer. “My boss really likes me. If you marry me, you’re guaranteed a high life. What’s a restaurant meal compared to that?”
Lin Ying felt a wave of disgust hearing this. He was talking as if she were already his property. So after a period of time she couldn’t hold back. “But I heard you’re just a temporary worker. Don’t you have to be promoted to a permanent position first? Can temporary workers even be promoted?”
Li Zhiqiang’s face darkened. “What do you know? My dad’s spot will be mine sooner or later.”
Lin Ying internally marked a giant X over his name. She stayed silent as he continued to boast about his “importance” at the factory for the rest of the walk.
But as the sun grew scorching. Lin Ying, still weak from her earlier heatstroke, felt her legs grow heavy. “I see a chair over there. Let’s sit for a bit.”
Li Zhiqiang scoffed. “We haven’t walked that far. Your physique is poor; you need more exercise. It’s almost lunch; we need to hurry.”
Lin Ying didn’t argue—she simply sat down. Seeing her defiance, Li Zhiqiang’s temper flared. He reached out, grabbing her arm to forcibly pull her up.
Lin Ying wasn’t just a student; she was a survivor of a ten-year apocalypse. Even in this thin body, her instincts were sharp. With a swift pull and a calculated twist of her wrist, she sent Li Zhiqiang sprawling into the dirt.
He scrambled up, his face red with humiliation, and raised a hand to strike her. Lin Ying stood her ground, her eyes cold. “This is a public park. You dare hit me here?”
Li Zhiqiang’s hand trembled. He looked around at the growing crowd and hissed, “You’re so fierce, no one will ever want you!”
“That’s none of your business. A grown man attacking a girl—are you even a man?”
The commotion drew onlookers. Humiliated by being overpowered by a girl, Li Zhiqiang turned and fled.
The crowd buzzed with curiosity. Lin Ying was too exhausted to explain, but a kind older woman, Aunt Zhou, rushed to her side.
“Young lady, are you alright?” Aunt Zhou turned to the crowd, shouting, “I just saw it! That man tried to grope her! Luckily she was quick and fought him off. He ran off so fast I couldn’t catch him. If I had, he wouldn’t have gotten away so easily!”
The onlookers immediately began condemning the ‘hooligan’ who fled, praising the young girl for her bravery. In their eyes, Li Zhiqiang was now a marked man.
Lin Ying was confused. As Aunt Zhou spoke, she didn’t just hear the woman’s voice. A cold, mechanical sound rang in her mind:
“Detecting a gossip scene. Host involved. Gossip System activated.”
Lin Ying froze. Could this be my cheat code in this new life?
Ten years into the apocalypse, Lin Ying had always fantasized about having a spatial storage dimension or an AI system, just like the protagonists in the web novels she’d read.
Until the moment she starved to death, it had all been a cruel dream. Who could have guessed that by transmigrating into a book, she would finally land a cheat code?On the other hand Aunt Zhou was still fussing over her, asking if she was hurt. Seeing Lin Ying standing there in a daze, she gave her shoulder a firm pat making her snapped back to reality, and to assured the kind woman she was fine, and headed off to find some food.
Nearby the park, she found a small eatery and ordered a bowl of soup noodles for eight cents. While waiting, she delved into the strange voice that had echoed in her mind.
“Dear Host, I am Gossip System 777. Completing tasks related to ‘eating gossip’ [witnessing or participating in social drama] will grant you card-drawing opportunities. Cards are graded from N to UR.”
A light blue holographic panel appeared before her eyes, displaying her stats. More importantly, it showed she had already completed an automatic task by being the center of the park “hooligan” drama.
Lin Ying clicked ‘Draw.’ A white box shook on the screen and popped open. It was a Common ‘N’ Grade card. The image showed a bamboo steamer filled with plump, white buns.
[Item: A Basket of Fresh Xiaolongbao]
Note: Average taste, but hot, juicy, and plentiful. Ten per basket. A local favorite.
Lin Ying was stunned. She had been with the Lin family for over a week and hadn’t seen a scrap of meat. If this system could materialize actual food, her quality of life was about to skyrocket.
After finishing her noodles, she ducked into a secluded alleyway. With a single thought, the card vanished, and a steaming basket of buns appeared on a clean stone ledge. She grabbed one instantly, the hot soup inside nearly scalding her tongue, but she didn’t care. The fluffy dough and savory meat filling were the ultimate delicacies.
She managed to eat four before she was full. To her relief, the remaining six transformed back into a card and tucked themselves into her system “Backpack.” Nothing would go to waste.
When she returned home, her mood was soaring. Her father, Lin Siqing a man of few words merely nodded as she entered the house. “You’re back?”
“Yes. Where’s Mom?”
“At the hospital with your grandparents. Your grandfather felt dizzy from the heat, so she went to check on him.”
Lin Ying headed to her room, where her younger sister Lin Qiu was supposed to be doing homework. The moment Lin Qiu saw her, she dropped her pen. “Second Sister! Can you do a scorpion braid [a complex French braid that sits tight against the scalp]?”
Lin Ying, covered in sweat and needing a wash, agreed anyway. She remembered the style from her old life. However, her hands were out of practice. By the time her mother, Su Yulan, returned, the braid was a tangled mess.
Seeing her mother’s stern face, Lin Qiu scrambled back to her desk, pretending to be a model student. Su Yulan walked in, looking tired but curious. “How was the date? Did it go smoothly?”
Lin Ying shook her head. “Not really. Li Zhiqiang is incredibly selfish. He doesn’t care about others at all.”
“He’s an only child with three sisters,” Su Yulan sighed, sitting down. “He’s spoiled. Don’t be too picky.”
“It’s more than that, Mom. He insisted on an expensive restaurant I couldn’t afford. Then, when I wanted to rest, he tried to use force to pull me up. He even tried to hit me! I had to defend myself and take him to the ground. He has a violent streak.”
Su Yulan’s face darkened instantly. Selfishness was one thing, but a man who raised his hand to a woman on the first meeting was a “bad sprout.” If she let her daughter marry a man like that, she’d be sending her into a pit of fire.
“I’ll go talk to Aunt Wang again,” Su Yulan growled. “No wonder that boy is twenty-five and still single.”
Later that night, Lin Ying finally perfected the scorpion braid for Lin Qiu. The little girl was so obsessed she refused to take it off. “I want to sleep in it! I’m going to outdo Su Lingling at school tomorrow!”
Su Yulan was too exhausted to argue and let her have her way.
“Who is Su Lingling?” Lin Ying asked from the top bunk.
“Our neighbor! Su Beibei’s sister,” Lin Qiu chirped.
Lin Ying realized then that the author of the book was quite thorough with the “Comparison” theme: Su Beibei was matched against Lin Ying, and now even the younger sisters were rivals.
As monday morning arrived with a groggy start. On her way to the washroom, Lin Ying spotted Su Beibei. Usually, the girl would offer a sweet, fake greeting, but today she walked past Lin Ying as if she were invisible, her eyes cold and sharp.
Lin Ying froze. That cold, decisive gaze… the ‘Original’ Su Beibei was gone. The transmigrated female lead had officially arrived.
Walking to school, Lin Ying felt a strange existential dread. If the lead was here, where did the original souls go? She whispered a question to the Gossip System 777.
The screen flickered:
“The original ‘Lin Ying’ knew she was in a book and chose to reincarnate to avoid her fate. The original ‘Su Beibei’ saw the plot and felt she couldn’t live up to the lead’s perfection, so she also voluntarily withdrew.”
Knowing they weren’t “erased” but had moved on to new lives brought Lin Ying a strange comfort.
At school, she shared some of her “system buns” with Lü Xiaoju during lunch. As her friend was in a slump.”I asked around,” Lü Xiaoju said, her mouth full of bun. “My grandpa really did have to hustle at the crack of dawn just to find food for us. And the family downstairs? Their son said the countryside is a nightmare. The toilets are just holes in the ground with a board over them! I can’t do it, Ying’er.”
“So, what did your parents say?”
“My mom agrees, but we don’t have enough money to ‘buy’ a factory spot. My grandma thinks it’s a waste. Most parents our age don’t want to give up their own jobs yet—they’re only forty! Why would they retire early and take a pay cut just to keep me in the city?”
Lin Ying felt for her. In 1975, the “Iron Rice Bowl” was a parent’s lifeblood. “If you can’t get a job, at least try to pick a better location. Ask your dad to find a village on a plain with a bus route. Don’t let them send you to the deep mountains.”
“I’ll try,” Lü Xiaoju sighed.As they walked back to the classroom to nap, a shrill voice cut through the hallway.”Su Beibei, you think you’re so tough now? Daring to yell at me like that?”
A golden box suddenly appeared in Lin Ying’s vision:
[Gossip Mission: Watch the drama between Su Beibei, Zhang Lili, and Hu Weidong. Reward: One Premium Draw.]
Lin Ying’s eyes lit up. She nudged Lü Xiaoju and hurried toward the classroom. It was time to eat some “High-Grade” gossip.
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