Chapter 535: Chapter 535

Zhou Yiyi was born in 1987, and by the year 2000, she was just thirteen years old, yet she had already skipped grades to enter the eighth grade. It was evident that she was truly a good student. If it hadn’t been for her previous life’s Zhou Family, her future might have been bright. Unfortunately, a good hand dealt was rendered passive due to her being alone and unsupported.

But her return was different. No matter how poor, she would never give anyone the chance to strip away her right to an education.

Yiyi’s family was very poor. After her father died, her mother, a rural woman, had no way to earn money aside from digging in the ground; selling vegetables and grain to pay for her daughter’s tuition was their only option. Had it not been for her own health reasons, her mother might not have passed away so early.

Because her mother was always ill, she left no money behind. Instead, she owed several hundred yuan to the village because the villagers had helped with the funeral arrangements.

Her father was a hero, and there was a pension; every month, there was one hundred yuan. Even though it wasn’t much in the year 2000, it was still better than nothing.

It’s just that she shouldn’t have lived like that if she had been just a little more resilient herself.

The family’s house was still made of mud bricks. Even though it was shabby, it didn’t leak rain or let the wind through, so it was still habitable.

School had already started, but she had taken leave due to her mother’s funeral. This year was her last in junior high school, and whether she could get into a good high school depended entirely on this year.

Zhou Yiyi had been dispirited for so many days, and not many villagers had come to see her. Zhou Yu and his wife were among the ones who visited more frequently, but in this life, she definitely would not be as foolishly tricked by them again.

She had not eaten for two days, so she felt a strong acidity in her stomach when the Tangyuan was handed to her. She looked around at the condition of her home.

Her clothes and bedding were old but warm enough, and the kitchen was tidy, with various household items available. However, her family was poor; even now they still used firewood for cooking. Many people in the village had switched to coal, and those who could afford it used liquefied gas. There were few households like hers in the village.

When she was not at home (because she lived at school), her mother didn’t use electricity. She would go to sleep once it got dark, didn’t watch TV, and didn’t use appliances at all. As a result, when the electricity bill collectors came to check their meter, they suspected her mother of stealing electricity until the villagers spoke up for her.

"This is the home of a veteran family, just a mother and daughter left. The child is at school and doesn’t come home, and her mother doesn’t go out after dark. Anyone could be stealing electricity, but it’s impossible for their household!"

After sorting out her emotions and inspecting the state of the household, she saw there was still some rice and flour. In the cellar were sweet potatoes and radishes that had sprouted due to being old. There were also cabbages about to flower—after all, it was March already, and the winter-stored cabbages and radishes were past their time to be eaten.

Zhou Yiyi lived in a rural village in the outskirts of an eighteenth-tier small county town in Henan; passing the college entrance examination was very difficult. In her previous life, she was admitted to Fudan mainly due to her father’s influence, which granted her bonus points. Of course, her own excellent performance was a crucial factor. Otherwise, how could she have secured a place?

In her previous life, she found herself dwelling in the Zhou Family as a soul, hearing her mother’s nighttime ramblings and only then learning that she had gotten into university. God knows how angry she was, but what use was her anger? Nothing could be reversed. In this life, she lived for her past self; whatever was owed to her had to be repaid in full.

Turning on the TV at home, she confirmed the current date and time. Then, she rolled out some dough with the flour at home and made a simple bowl of noodles with cabbage from the cellar. The home had no eggs, no meat, and certainly no refrigerator. The small television was the only electrical appliance they owned.

Only after eating did she go to check her "space." Sadly, because her Merit Value wasn’t enough in her previous life, the land utilization rate was low, and the frequency of using the Space Mall was insufficient. This life, they had simply cut those features out. In other words, this life’s "space" had nothing more than the storage function.

"Who says that? You can drink the water in this space,"

Tangyuan rolled her eyes at Liang Tian, "That’s harsh. How could you say that I didn’t use it much in my last life?"

"Ever since you moved into the Imperial Palace, you’ve become lax and neglected it. What, do you not admit it?"

Tangyuan sighed and scratched her head, looking exasperated, "I admit it, how could I not? All because of that Rong Heng,"

At the mention of Rong Heng, her gaze dimmed, "Does this mean I’ll never get to see them again?" she referred to her relatives. Check latest chapters at novèlfire.net

Liang Tian said bluntly, "Please restrain your grief. You have already died, and they have turned to ashes. If you miss them, watch the VCR or look at the photos to express your longing."

"You heartless System, you simply don’t understand love."

Liang Tian ignored her, "This life, fight hard. Strive to get the Mall and space back in the next life."

Without the Golden Finger, her starting point this life was much lower. What she could rely on were just her own two hands.

She was only thirteen years old and still had schooling to attend. She definitely had no time to work in the field, as it required fertilizing, watering, and weeding. And with just one acre of land owned by her family, which was pitifully little, how could she manage?

Previously, her mother had depended on this one acre of land to grow vegetables and grains, scraping together tuition and living expenses (the nine-year compulsory education was only truly implemented in the fall of 2008).

But now her mother was gone, and she couldn’t farm the land herself. After some thought, she went to the village chief’s house.

"You want to lease out the land?"

Zhou Yiyi nodded, "Yes, village chief. I don’t know how to farm, and leaving it idle is a waste. I’d rather lease it out. In addition to my one acre, I also have a quarter acre of vegetable garden. I want to lease that out too. Whoever in the village wants it, I’ll lease it. I don’t want grain, only money. For the whole lot, two hundred yuan a year is fine."

Renting one and a quarter acres of land for just two hundred yuan a year was really cheap. The village chief agreed on the spot.

"There’s no need to look for anyone else. I’ll rent it."

Yiyi stood up gratefully and bowed to the village chief, "Thank you, village chief. You truly are my benefactor."

The village chief sighed and looked at her, "What thanks? Isn’t this what I should do? But what are your plans for the future?"

"Uncle village chief, my mom’s funeral borrowed quite a bit of money from the village, right? May I take a look at it?"

"Silly child, you don’t need to worry about this. Your mother’s funeral was organized by the villagers, and the money was collected by everyone. You can rest assured, we’ll apply for subsistence allowances for you in the future. Everything will get better. As for the money, consider it the village’s contribution. You don’t have to think about anything, just focus on your studies."

In her former life, Zhou Yiyi had never thought of leasing out the land because, as soon as she was engaged to Zhou Songlin, the land naturally became the Zhou Family’s property. As for the subsistence allowances, she didn’t know if there were any. But if there were, the Zhou Family had certainly taken full advantage of them.