To please others? It's better to please yourself.

The train swayed and rattled all the way. After getting off at the train station, we took a bus back to school. Only then did the teacher let the students go home.

Xu Jing'an secretly checked the time: 4:10. Zhao Xiaofang had been absent-minded all afternoon, constantly glancing at the main entrance.

She knew as soon as Xu Jing'an and the others entered the school gate.

Zhao Xiaofang quickly asked her homeroom teacher for sick leave. Then she secretly followed Xu Jing'an to the steel factory. They found Director Guo and obtained the recruitment list, and Xu Jing'an's name was prominently listed on the "Finance Department Recruitment List."

Zhao Xiaofang was finally relieved.

After the two finished their work, Zhao Xiaofang thanked Director Guo repeatedly before leaving.

Tomorrow, the name on the job posting will be changed to Zhao Xiaofang. It has absolutely nothing to do with Xu Jing'an.

"Ding—" A sound rang in my mind, and then the space expanded to 10 meters * 10 meters * 3 meters.

As Xu Jing'an guessed, there would be a reward as long as the things in the book related to her were changed.

Xu Jing'an put the graduation certificate that Zhao Xiaofang handed her into her backpack and then secretly transferred it to her spatial dimension. Then she followed Zhao Xiaofang to the vicinity of her home.

"Jing'an, look, my home is right at the entrance of the second floor." Zhao Xiaofang pointed to the family building that was right next to the first row of buildings on the west wall.

"There's a movie showing at the steel mill tonight at 7 pm. Ninety percent of the people in the building will be there."

"I'll tell them to wait until their classmate comes later. You can come and move your things around 7 o'clock."

Xu Jing'an nodded: "Okay, I got it. I'll go home now, have dinner, and then come back."

After watching Xu Jing'an leave, Zhao Xiaofang also walked home with light steps.

...........................................................................

As soon as Xu Jing'an entered the family compound, someone greeted her.

"Jing'an is back?"

"How did the exam go?"

"What's the difference between the provincial capital and ours?"

"Is it fun there?"

……

Xu Jing'an kept talking the whole way, responding with "Auntie", "Grandma", and "Sister-in-law".

There is no privacy in this day and age. If anything happens in any household, it will spread everywhere in no time.

Xu Jing'an returned home just as her mother entered the house. She was overjoyed, holding the things Xu Jing'an had bought.

The colorful floral fabric has a pattern that is distinctly different from those in the city's department stores.

There are also snacks that are not convenient to buy here, and some daily necessities that are obviously not bought locally!

Xu's mother was overjoyed; now she had noodles!

Xu Jing'an took over the kitchen work and quickly started cooking. Before she finished, her mother kept urging her to return the receipts for the purchases and the remaining money.

During the meal, Xu Jianguo and Xu Jingping were clearly in good spirits. It seemed that the things they had bought from the provincial capital were exactly what they wanted.

"My classmate told me that the steel mill is showing a movie at 7 o'clock today." Xu Jing'an took a bite of pickled vegetables. "You'll have to go early if you want to see it."

"I'll go, I'll go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the fourth brother, Xu Jianshe, immediately chimed in, then picked up the large bowl and gulped down mouthfuls of porridge.

The rest of the family also sped up; it seemed they all wanted to go. Indeed, there aren't many entertainment options these days; a movie is shown over and over again, so it's hard to see one often.

Before 7 o'clock, everyone in the family went out. All you could hear outside was people calling to each other, walking in groups towards the steel mill.

As usual, Xu Jing'an stayed behind to do the housework.

Estimating that it was past 7 o'clock, Xu Jing'an locked the door. Then she slowly walked towards Zhao Xiaofang's house.

When they arrived at the gate, Zhao Xiaofang was already waiting there.

She asked in surprise, "You're doing this all by yourself?" There were quite a few things, and they were heavy too. There was a lot of furniture and a sewing machine.

When will one of the female classmates move out? It's making too much noise; everyone will know about it by then.

Although Zhao Xiaofang wasn't afraid, it was easy to say something bad, and if any more rumors spread, it would be difficult for her to handle the situation.

Xu Jing'an immediately replied, "There are others behind us. They're walking together because we're afraid too many people will see us."

Zhao Xiaofang finally felt relieved and less nervous.

As soon as the two entered the house, Zhao Xiaofang immediately closed the front door. She pulled a key from around her neck and unlocked the door to the dowry room.

When Xu Jing'an opened the door, she saw a lot of dust falling from the door frame.

The room itself wasn't big, and there were so many things crammed together, one on top of another, all touching the ceiling, making the room feel completely full.

"You guys carry on first. I need to show my face to my stepmother and the others, otherwise she'll definitely come back to haunt me."

Xu Jing'an: Okay, hurry back, I'll be there soon too.

It took Zhao Xiaofang more than an hour to go out and come back, and she was sweating profusely.

Xu Jing'an had already packed everything into her spatial dimension. Inside were a 1.8*2 meter trunk bed, a large wardrobe with four doors, four large camphor wood chests, a dressing table, a washbasin stand, an eight-immortal table, five chairs, a desk, a tall stool, and six shorter stools. The sewing machine was still on it, its packaging still intact.

The wardrobe, chests, and even the bed were crammed full of things: large items included four eight-pound thick cotton quilts, two five-pound cotton quilts, and two four-pound mattresses; two pink towel blankets, two bed sheets, a mosquito net, and more than a dozen different colors and patterns of cotton fabric; five large and small jars and containers for storing grain and pickled vegetables, nested one inside the other; and small everyday items such as a large iron pot for cooking, a steamer, a wok, two kitchen knives, a kettle, ten bowls and plates of different sizes, two thermos flasks, a military-style drinking canteen, and two jars of brown sugar… Feng Chuncao had prepared everything she could think of and buy for her daughter.

Xu Jing'an also discovered a small wooden box inside the jar. The box had two layers: the first layer contained a pair of exquisite purple jadeite bracelets with floating patterns; the second layer contained a pair of imperial green jadeite bracelets of glassy quality. She took out the two pairs of bracelets and tapped them together; the sound was crisp and melodious.

There were two pairs of gold bracelets wrapped in red cloth inside the kettle.

Xu Jing'an's initial shock and excitement turned into a bittersweet, indescribable sadness. "If you need any help, come find me."

Zhao Xiaofang didn't say anything else, but hugged Xu Jing'an and sobbed, "Thank you, Jing'an."

Xu Jing'an patted the other person on the back reassuringly: "I think we're friends now, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are friends," Zhao Xiaofang said firmly, wiping away her tears.

It's not too late to move into this room after all the household registration and employment procedures are settled. It'll save us from alerting my stepmother!

When the time comes, Zhao Xiaofang will open a bank account and save her monthly salary, carrying it with her at all times. Then she can eat and live at home—how wonderful!

After some time, the stepmother realized that all her scheming had come to nothing. When she learned the truth, she had no choice but to accept it.

Just thinking about her stepmother's face made Zhao Xiaofang feel incredibly comfortable.

After Xu Jing'an left, Zhao Xiaofang cleaned the room. Only a bicycle and a watch remained. Zhao Xiaofang locked the door again and went to find her downstairs neighbor, Grandma Luo.

I remember that Grandma Luo's family owns two houses. Among the three of them, the granddaughter hasn't found a job yet. I'd like to ask about her situation.

Xu Jing'an walked out of the steel plant's dormitory building and quickened her pace to get home.

She also wants to take advantage of the fact that no one is home now to think about how to make better use of the space. Perhaps she could divide it into different rooms, like a kitchen or a bedroom.