Chapter 118: Just Look at What Was Found!

Xu Lin nodded repeatedly as she listened. Regardless of anything else, the system’s ability to perceive a person’s fortune was truly impressive. Wang Jingcong and Wang Jingren were currently the most outstanding young men in the village; not only was their fortune excellent, but they were also handsome. Many young girls from the surrounding villages had their eyes on them, and even Chen Zhaodi and Liu Pan-di harbored feelings for the pair. Unfortunately, the two men had high standards and their own ambitions; they had no particular interest in the educated youth and maintained a polite, distant relationship with them.

Because of the system, Xu Lin refrained from any underhanded moves, fearing that if the books in her possession suddenly vanished, it might attract the system's attention. After hearing the plans of the person and the system, Xu Lin took a few comic books and a stack of newspapers and left. As for the system’s suggestion to change targets, Xu Lin felt that Qin Fang would eventually regret it, as the punishment would surely be of a severity beyond her imagination. Perhaps, after all her effort in the "conquest," Qin Fang would end up working for the system for nothing.

Xu Lin was now certain that Qin Fang’s system was not to be trifled with and held no genuine regard for her. Compared to her own system, it was like heaven and earth; at the very least, her system would never dare to trick her like that. No, wait—it had tried to trick her at the beginning, but once she had experienced more and learned enough, the system had ceased such behavior. Xu Lin carried the newspapers and comic books, looking up at the sky; she actually found herself missing her "Little System." Sigh, it was a pity. Her Little System had gone off to find a new host, and in this lifetime, they would likely never meet again. Xu Lin pushed those thoughts aside, hopped on her bicycle, and left.

Qin Fang had used every ounce of her strength to get the system to help her. However, to her disappointment, the system hadn't found much of value. Just look at what it had turned up: broken porcelain shards, scraps of copper, and an old painting with only a third of it remaining. Could one actually exchange these things for money? Forget it; one would likely get beaten for trying to trade such trash. Even if they could be sold, the profit would be limited, and Qin Fang felt she was losing out. But if she didn't put them away, she felt she would lose even more.

Qin Fang couldn't help but complain, "Why can't you find some gold or silver? Even copper coins or silver dollars would be better than this."

The system rolled its eyes. "Host, you’re talking nonsense. Those things aren't here. Do you want me to conjure them out of thin air?"

"Then what do you expect me to do? Put this garbage into my storage space? You know how small the space you provided is—it’s only a few square meters. If I fill it with this junk, how much else can I fit in there?"

"Heh, you think I don't want to provide a larger space? Why don't you complete missions to earn points? As long as you have enough points, I can provide as large a space as you want. The problem is, do you have any points?"

The system’s words silenced Qin Fang. She indeed had no points. Her own genetic makeup wasn't particularly outstanding, and to become beautiful and charming, she had to spend many points on genetic improvements. Consequently, she hadn't saved many points at all. Sigh, she would just have to work hard on missions in the future. As long as she completed enough tasks, she would eventually be able to exchange for a large space.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Xu Lin arrived at the photography studio. The proprietor was quite pleased to see her. Although the deadline was tight, the pay was good; his monthly salary was only thirty yuan, and he had made twenty yuan in extra income in just one day. He wished such good fortune would happen every day.

Xu Lin picked up her photos and hurried to the post office without delay. She placed the letters she had written in advance into their envelopes, applied stamps, and mailed them out. Sister Zhang was quite happy to see Xu Lin and, without carefully checking the addresses, stamped the mail and whispered, "I’ve found quite a few more old stamps here. Do you want them?"

"I do!" Xu Lin said, her eyes curving into crescents. "Thank you for saving them for me, Sister Zhang." As she spoke, she slipped a handful of White Rabbit candies to her. "Could you please let me take a look?"

"My pleasure, my pleasure." Sister Zhang quickly tucked the candies away and placed the letters into the collection box before bringing out a stack of stamps for Xu Lin. "Take a look at which ones you like, and then I’ll calculate the price for you."

"Sounds good." Xu Lin happily began flipping through them, noticing that some were covered in dust. Sister Zhang must have dug these out from the bottom of her storage. To Xu Lin's surprise, she even found stamps from 1958; they had been hidden away for over a decade! Sister Zhang was a real talent!

Xu Lin mused to herself while her hands kept moving. Regardless of their collection value, they were nice to look at. For every set she didn't already have, she bought two. One to keep for her collection, and one to give away—you never knew when they might come in handy. They weren't worth much anyway. Seeing Xu Lin choose so readily, Sister Zhang beamed, her gums showing. These were all items from the bottom of her stash, many of which weren't recorded in any official ledger. She could surely pocket a few yuan from this. Just thinking about it was delightful. She decided she would keep digging whenever she had the chance; everything she found was money.

Leaving the post office, Xu Lin was in a wonderful mood. She had spent another twenty-odd yuan on stamps, which might increase in value many times over in the future. Feeling great, she rode her bicycle back to the commune, arriving just in time for dinner. Without a second thought, she walked into the restaurant. She ordered one meal for herself and several more to go. The waitress watched Xu Lin’s generosity with envy; she, a member of the working class, wasn't even living as comfortably as this educated youth.

As Xu Lin was enjoying her meal, she saw Qin Fang and Su Liang walk in side-by-side. Su Liang’s expression was dark; she didn't know what he was angry about, while Qin Fang muttered to him in a low voice. After listening for a while, Xu Lin understood: Su Liang and Qin Fang had argued after arriving at the commune, and Qin Fang had stormed off in a huff. Well, perhaps it was a calculated argument—Qin Fang had gone to the county seat to earn money, leaving Su Liang behind at the commune. Poor Su Liang had almost turned the commune upside down looking for her, then ran back to the educated youth dormitory, but still couldn't find her. Left with no choice, he had returned to the commune. After a whole day of tossing and turning, Su Liang hadn't even eaten lunch.

Seeing Qin Fang return from the county seat unscathed made Su Liang’s liver ache with anger; his affection rating for her dropped significantly, which pained Qin Fang deeply. She hadn't expected that instead of breaking Su Liang’s spirit and increasing his affection, she had actually lowered it. Qin Fang cursed inwardly while having to speak sweetly to him.

After using her mind-reading technique to understand what had transpired, Xu Lin felt that Qin Fang was exceptionally foolish. If one wants to play the game of "tormented love," one must assess the situation first. Su Liang, having experienced the misunderstanding and abandonment of his own family, was currently in a phase where he lacked security. At this moment, she didn't even need to torment him a thousand times; just a few instances would be enough to make him want to go home. He was a young master, after all—why should he suffer all this for a woman who didn't love him all that much? Was the bed at the Su family not big or soft enough, or was the food not good, or was there not enough money to spend?

Qin Fang, focused entirely on trying to raise the affection rating, did not notice Xu Lin watching the drama unfold from the sidelines.