“Nuannuan! Nuannuan!”
A cheerful voice sounded, and Su Nuannuan turned around to see a fair-skinned young girl, about sixteen or seventeen, waving at her.
The girl had her hair in two braids, was wearing the currently popular Peter Pan dress, black leather shoes, and a pearl headband, making her the most eye-catching person in the crowd.
Su Nuannuan recognized her. She was the original body’s deskmate and best friend, Yu Weiwei.
The two were kindred spirits; the original body was lazy and foolish, and Yu Weiwei was no better, though the former had a few petty schemes, while the latter was completely empty-headed.
When Su Nuannuan walked over, Yu Weiwei pulled her toward an empty classroom.
Along the way, the girl chattered incessantly. Although Su Nuannuan knew the other girl was still her good sister, memories were memories, and experiences were experiences. They made awkward small talk the whole way.
“Nuannuan, how did you do on the exam?”
“It was okay. How about you?”
“Not good, very bad! My mom said if I don’t get into university, she’ll break my legs.”
“That’s impossible, Auntie is just trying to scare you.”
“Nuannuan, you’re so nice. I think so too. My mom made my favorite Braised Pork and scrambled eggs today. Let’s eat together.”
Su Nuannuan truly admired the original body’s taste in friends.
After years of schooling, she only had Yu Weiwei as a close friend. However, this one was worth more than a thousand others.
It wasn't that no one else wanted to befriend her, but those people either wanted to take advantage of her or had nothing to gain from her. Therefore, the simple-minded and generous Yu Weiwei, who was an easy target for exploitation, caught the original body’s eye. Yu Weiwei quickly regarded the original body’s intentional approach as her closest little sister.
From then on, whenever Yu Weiwei had meat to eat, she would save a bowl of soup for the original body.
The college entrance examination lasted for two days. The classrooms in the school were requisitioned as examination rooms, leaving them only one classroom for eating and resting during the midday break.
Arriving at the empty classroom, they found an unoccupied desk.
Yu Weiwei took out three aluminum lunch boxes: one filled with Braised Pork, one with scrambled eggs with green onions, and the last one contained three Steamed Buns. Su Nuannuan stared blankly at the delicious-looking meal and swallowed her saliva.
Just then, Su Nuannuan’s stomach rumbled. She awkwardly covered her stomach, remembered the White Flour Steamed Buns in her Shoulder bag, and immediately reached for it.
However, before Su Nuannuan could even put her hand into her Shoulder bag, she was handed a pair of chopsticks and a Steamed Bun by Yu Weiwei.
“Nuannuan, don’t just stand there, hurry up and eat.”
After speaking, Yu Weiwei picked up her chopsticks first, grabbed a piece of Braised Pork, put it in her mouth, and ate with relish.
The Steamed Bun was already pressed into her hand, making it difficult to refuse. Moreover, the original body had already taken advantage of Yu Weiwei many times, so one more time wouldn't matter.
Once she figured this out, Su Nuannuan felt much less constrained while eating.
She picked up a piece of Braised Pork; it melted in her mouth, the meat soft and tender, paired with a bite of Steamed Bun, bringing a feeling of complete happiness.
The two ate like that, alternating between Steamed Bun and dish, finishing in less than half an hour.
Looking at the three empty aluminum lunch boxes on the table, Su Nuannuan felt a little embarrassed about eating someone else’s food, so she wanted to take out the White Flour Steamed Buns from her Shoulder bag to share with her.
But as her hand touched the Steamed Buns, the scene of her three older brothers drooling over the Steamed Buns flashed before her eyes, making her feel quite uneasy.
Giving up the idea of the White Flour Steamed Buns, Su Nuannuan used her Shoulder bag as cover and took out six Large Meat Buns from the Space. The Large Meat Buns were bought by Su Nuannuan at an old-fashioned morning tea shop; they were famous for having thin skins and plentiful fillings.
The buns were packed in a Kraft paper bag, and Su Nuannuan directly shoved the bag into Yu Weiwei’s arms.
“Nuannuan, what is this?”
Yu Weiwei reached out and opened the Kraft paper bag, seeing six plump Large Buns squeezed together, immediately followed by a rich aroma of meat. Before Su Nuannuan could speak, Yu Weiwei exclaimed in surprise.
“Wow, they’re Large Meat Buns!”
Seeing the undisguised craving on Yu Weiwei’s face, Su Nuannuan’s eyes curved slightly; she really liked Yu Weiwei’s simple and cute personality.
“These are Large Meat Buns I just bought; they were supposed to be my lunch. But since a certain little cutie already treated me to a meal, these meat buns are for you.”
Hearing Su Nuannuan call her a little cutie, Yu Weiwei’s face instantly flushed red. Looking at Su Nuannuan’s smiling eyes, she shyly covered her hot little face. Only when her face cooled down did she stammer out.
“Then… then I’ll accept them.”
Truly a little cutie.
Su Nuannuan thought to herself.
After having lunch with Yu Weiwei, Su Nuannuan’s opinion of her changed significantly. Before, she only saw her as a rich young lady who was easily fooled, but now Su Nuannuan genuinely considered her a good friend.
There were two subjects in the afternoon: Chemistry and Chinese and Foreign History/Geography. Su Nuannuan easily handled the former, and based on memory, she managed the latter reasonably well. In short, the first day of the college entrance examination concluded perfectly.
To make it convenient for Su Nuannuan to take the exam, Mother Su gave her ten yuan when she left home, telling her to stay at the Guesthouse that night.
After saying goodbye to Yu Weiwei, Su Nuannuan headed straight for the county’s Guesthouse. When she arrived, many High school students were already there; they had also come from the countryside to the county town to take the college entrance exam.
The person receiving them was a woman in her thirties, dressed neatly and efficiently, skillfully handling the check-in procedures for them.
Only when everyone else had left did it become Su Nuannuan’s turn.
Su Nuannuan stepped forward, took out the crumpled money from the innermost pocket of her clothes, and handed over her Letter of Introduction.
“Comrade, I’d like to book a room.”
She took the Letter of Introduction Su Nuannuan handed over and glanced at it.
“Sixty cents per night, how long will you be staying?”
“One night.”
The older woman returned the Letter of Introduction and the remaining money to her. Su Nuannuan took the key and was led to a room. Besides a wooden plank bed and a table, there was nothing else in the room.
The room was cleaned very well, which was acceptable. After entering the room, Su Nuannuan immediately entered the Space.
After a busy day, she could finally examine this body carefully.
Standing next to the full-length mirror, Su Nuannuan looked at the withered and thin body in the reflection and couldn't help but compare it to her past self, realizing the vast difference. Her features had also changed significantly from her previous life; now her features were delicate, her face and eyes were round, and her jawline was slightly upturned. Although her complexion was poor, it was evident that she had a sweet appearance, full of approachability.
Su Nuannuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, this was truly a good appearance for playing the pig to eat the tiger.
After examining herself, Su Nuannuan put the original body’s White Flour Steamed Buns and the remaining nine yuan and forty cents into the Space. Then, she took out a portion of stone pot bibimbap from the Space to serve as dinner.
After eating her fill, Su Nuannuan once again marveled at her foresight in stocking up on this takeout food in the Space beforehand. Otherwise, she would have starved to death upon arriving in this world.
Afterward, she took a quick shower in the Space and retrieved a set of sheets and a quilt, spreading them over the existing bedding.
Tossing the changed clothes into the Washing Machine in the Space, Su Nuannuan lay on the bed and began contemplating her future life.
As far as she knew, every household in Hongqi Village was about to run out of grain, only eating one meal a day, and even that was only half-full.
The Su Family had many children, making their situation even more severe. The White Flour Steamed Buns Su Nuannuan brought were saved and lent to them by the villagers out of respect for Father Su being the Village Captain.
The Su Family had taken very good care of her, and she had to repay them. Thinking of the mountain of supplies piled up in the Space, Su Nuannuan let go of her worries. As long as she was there, they wouldn't starve to death.
She had to continue the exam tomorrow, so Su Nuannuan set her alarm and drifted off to sleep.
At six in the morning, Su Nuannuan was awakened by a familiar alarm sound.
Before her consciousness fully returned, Su Nuannuan thought she was still in modern times until she saw the grayish-white ceiling and the simple furnishings in the room. Only then did she remember that she had arrived in the sixties.
Stretching her back, she got up, quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face, and put on the clothes she had changed into yesterday.
After finishing breakfast, Su Nuannuan put everything that didn't belong to the Guesthouse into the Space. Before leaving, she took her temperature and found that her fever was completely gone. Su Nuannuan guessed this was because her soul and body had fully merged.
Returning the key, Su Nuannuan headed toward the college entrance exam venue with her small Shoulder bag. On the way, there were groups of two or three High school students walking together; some were reading books while walking, and others were discussing the previous day's exam content.
By the time Su Nuannuan arrived, the classroom was already full.
Compared to the listlessness of the first day, she was now full of energy, as if she had taken a powerful tonic. The remaining exams went very smoothly.
In the evening, Su Nuannuan walked out of the examination room, bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.
After agreeing with Yu Weiwei to visit her the day after tomorrow, Su Nuannuan walked out of the school grounds.
Remembering that her family was out of grain, Su Nuannuan took two catties of White Flour out of the Space.
Looking at the snow-white flour inside, Su Nuannuan added one catty of sorghum flour, making the color slightly grayish, which matched the production standards of that era.
She took out the five White Flour Steamed Buns Mother Su had prepared for her from the Space, paused for a moment, and then added ten Large Meat Buns.
As soon as she stepped out of the school gate, she saw three boys of similar height wearing similar clothes waving at her.
Su Nuannuan’s heart skipped a beat; these were her triplet older brothers. She hadn't mentally prepared to meet her relatives so soon.