1950s: After transmigrating into a capitalist, I relied on military industry to achieve a comeback.

In Harbin in November, the wind already carries a whistling sound, and it feels like fine knives when it hits your face.

But in the secluded courtyard deep in this old alley, the Lin family lived a life filled with a unique warmth.

Lin Hongsheng would go to work at the Hongxing Machinery Factory before dawn, carrying a cornbread in his hand. His hands, which had been using abacuses for half his life, were now able to move boxes quite skillfully thanks to the blessing of the spiritual spring water, demonstrating his ability to be flexible and adaptable.

Su Wanqing completely shed her airs as a wealthy wife and polished this supposedly haunted house until it shone. The window paper was now tightly sealed, the heated kang bed was scalding hot, and the old, unsettling water vat was now filled with cool well water, making it a comforting sight.

As for Lin Jiaoyue, her life was as regular as a wound-up alarm clock.

By day, she is a well-behaved and sensible "poor family's daughter" who helps her mother with chores; once the door is closed, she becomes "Engineer Lin" with a god-like perspective, greedily devouring various professional books in the space by the light of a kerosene lamp.

She knew perfectly well that in this era of impending upheaval, space supplies were a lifesaver, while the knowledge in her mind was the ladder to heaven.

It was a rare sunny afternoon.

Lin Jiaoyue was helping her mother hang up the bed sheets. Su Wanqing, with a wooden clothespin in her mouth, mumbled instructions, "Jiaojiao, pull it tighter."

Looking at her daughter's nose, reddened by the cold wind, Su Wanqing felt a pang of heartache.

"Yes, sir," Lin Jiaoyue replied playfully, standing on tiptoe to reach the clothesline.

Just then, a series of "thump-thump" sounds came from the neighboring courtyard wall, followed by the "creak" of the wooden door being pushed open.

A burly figure squeezed in, her blue cotton-padded jacket gleaming, a handful of sunflower seeds in her hand. It was none other than Wang Dama, the neighborhood's notorious gossipmonger. Her eyes scanned the area, taking in her surroundings as soon as she entered.

"Hey, Su, washing the sheets? You're so diligent!"

Aunt Wang munched on some sunflower seeds as she approached, her eyes scanning the room before finally settling on Lin Jiaoyue and lingering there.

Lin Jiaoyue's heart tightened, and she immediately put away her relaxed demeanor. She subtly turned to the side, blocking the few pieces of clothing with overly fine stitches behind her.

"Sister Wang, take advantage of the nice weather and wash up quickly." Su Wanqing laughed it off, her hands still busy, trying to use her busyness to discourage this uninvited guest.

But Aunt Wang clearly didn't consider herself an outsider. She took a few steps closer, her gaze fixed intently on Lin Jiaoyue's neck, as if hooked.

Just now, when she tiptoed, her neckline opened slightly, revealing a touch of warm and delicate mutton fat white.

That was the safety buckle Lin Jiaoyue had worn since childhood, made of top-grade mutton fat jade, its surface shimmering with an oily luster in the sunlight. Against the backdrop of this dusty old cotton-padded coat, its brilliance was almost like a jarring flaw.

"Oh my! What kind of treasure is that girl wearing around her neck?"

Aunt Wang's voice suddenly rose, and her rough hand instinctively reached out, "This quality... tsk tsk, it doesn't look like glass at all!"

In those years when even food was scarce, this piece of jade was worth ten years' wages for an ordinary worker, and it was enough to label a "poor peasant" family as having "hidden social class"!

"Don't move!"

Lin Jiaoyue let out a low shout and suddenly pulled back.

The change happened in that very second.

The red string, which had been tied for over a decade, was already brittle, and with Wang Dama's excessive force, it snapped with a "bang."

The safety buckle, which held the life and fortune of the entire family, slipped down the hem of the garment.

"Clang—"

A crisp impact resounded on the bluestone slab.

Su Wanqing's face turned deathly pale instantly, her heart leaping into her throat.

Aunt Wang's eyes widened like saucers, her greed mixed with suspicion: "My goodness! Such a crisp sound! This must be something good! Sister Su, didn't you come here as refugees? How come you have such goods?"

Lin Jiaoyue's heart was pounding, but her mind remained unusually calm.

Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately squatted down and gripped the jade pendant tightly in her palm. The pain from the pressure on her palm only served to sharpen her senses.

"Aunt Wang, you've misjudged her."

Lin Jiaoyue slowly stood up, a smile that was three parts shy and seven parts embarrassed on her face. "It's just something I polished from a stone. I was so naive. I picked it up by the river when I was little, and I wore it because I thought it looked nice. I was afraid it would break, so I quickly hid."

Su Wanqing also realized what was happening, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and stepped in front of her daughter to smooth things over: "Yes, it's just childish stuff. Sister Wang, there's water boiling inside, would you like to come in and sit down?"

She was polite in words, but her hand was gripping Lin Jiaoyue's arm tightly.

Aunt Wang stared suspiciously at Lin Jiaoyue's clenched fist, and curled her lip: "A stone? A stone can have that kind of water content? I'm telling you, Su girl, these days we working class don't hide things. If it were something from a landlord's house back in the day, we'd have to hand it over..."

"Sister Wang, you're joking. If we had such good stuff, would we be living in this haunted house and eating cornbread?"

"Mom, go inside and boil some water first." Lin Jiaoyue whispered and gave her mother a look, then turned around abruptly.

Instead of dodging, she took a big step forward, closing in on Grandma Wang.

Lin Jiaoyue's once innocent face was now as cold as ice, her eyes sharp enough to pierce through anyone: "Aunt Wang, what were you doing just now? In broad daylight, were you trying to 'rob' me?"

Grandma Wang was taken aback by the young girl's imposing manner, scattering several sunflower seeds in her hand. Feeling guilty, she exclaimed, "Oh dear, how can you talk like that? I just thought the thing on your neck looked interesting and wanted to take a look..."

"Look? Look, it can even break my red string?"

Lin Jiaoyue gave her no chance to breathe; her voice wasn't loud, but every word carried immense weight, just enough for passing neighbors to hear:

"Although my family fled famine, we are still legitimate working-class people! My father sweats and toils at the Hongxing Machinery Factory, and my mother works hard to take care of the household chores. And you, not only did you come in uninvited, but you also tried to steal this whetstone I picked up from the riverbank?"

"A whetstone...?" Aunt Wang's eyes widened.

"Otherwise what? What did you think it was? Gold or silver?"

Lin Jiaoyue sneered and slowly opened her palm.

In the instant she turned around, she had used her spatial ability to swap the jade safety buckle with a new one. Now, lying in her palm was a smooth, grayish-white pebble, its surface roughened by the water in the spatial stream.

"Aunt Wang, what you just did almost shattered my only hope."

Lin Jiaoyue's eyes reddened, and she burst into tears, her voice trembling with grievance:

"You're questioning our class background and even trying to steal our things. Haven't you shaken off those old-fashioned thuggish habits? Come on, let's go to the neighborhood committee right now and find Aunt Zhang to settle this! I want to ask, are we, the newly arrived poor and lower-middle peasants, just supposed to be bullied like this?"

Upon hearing the words "street office," Aunt Wang's legs immediately cramped.

The kind of person she fears most is the government. Especially Lin Jiaoyue's comment about "old-fashioned hooliganism," once that label is attached to her, she'll never be able to hold her head high in the alleyways for the rest of her life.

"Oh dear, little miss, could you please keep your voice down?"

Grandma Wang was no longer the arrogant woman she had been moments before. Her face flushed red as she backed away, waving her hands as she went.

"I...I was just joking! Who knew that rope would be so fragile? Um, Su-meizi, I have something to do at home, I have to go now!"

Grandma Wang didn't even bother to pick up the remaining sunflower seeds; she dashed out of the yard like she was being chased by a dog.

Lin Jiaoyue stood in the courtyard, coldly watching the fleeing figure until she was sure that Aunt Wang had run far away, before she put away her aggrieved look.

"Jiaojiao..." Su Wanqing pushed open the door, the fear in her eyes still lingering. "You scared your mother to death just now! What if she really dragged you there..."

"Mother, this kind of person is a bully who preys on the weak."

Lin Jiaoyue slammed the door shut behind her and bolted it, her movements swift and decisive.

"The more you try to avoid her, the more she'll think you're hiding something. After my outburst, she'll avoid us from now on and won't dare to gossip about us outside—after all, I have the leverage over 'stealing' her."

Looking at her daughter's calm and composed demeanor, Su Wanqing felt both gratified and heartbroken.

"Come inside, Mother. This time, we have to get rid of this 'hidden danger' completely."