With three superpowers at his fingertips, he could dominate the 1970s.

Jiang Zhiyu paced back and forth in the space twice, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the hemp rope of the burlap sack—it contained everything she needed to take that night: steamed buns from a time-honored Shanghai brand, char siu buns from Hong Kong (she had bought a bit too many, and they had cooled down by the time she put them in, so she reheated them in the space), and a pot of braised pork covered with an enamel basin.

Besides food, there were two thick cotton quilts, three sets of cotton-padded clothes, and even enamel mugs, soap, and face cream. She deliberately chose the most ordinary pattern, thinking that her mother could cover herself with an old quilt cover to avoid attracting attention.

"0047, are you sure there's anyone around?" she asked in her mind.

[Don't worry, host. We've scanned the area within 50 meters; there are only a few stray cats.]

Jiang Zhiyu flashed out of the spatial dimension and opened the courtyard gate. A cold wind rushed in, carrying the chill of the mountains. She walked briskly towards the cowshed on the west side of the village, using the moonlight as her guide.

The closer Jiang Zhiyu got to the cowshed, the more unsettled she became. The row of low, mud-brick houses looked lonely and cold in the night. She dared not be careless and used her psychic abilities to reach out and scan each house.

There were two couples inside. The one in the east room was already asleep, but the one in the west room… was talking. Jiang Zhiyu held her breath and used her mental power to listen. She could hear voices coming from inside.

"I heard that among the new educated youth who arrived today, there is a girl who is exceptionally beautiful, like she stepped out of a painting." It was my mother's voice, a little tired, but still gentle.

"No one is as pretty as Zhiyu, like you." The father's voice was low and hoarse, tinged with a sigh. "I just don't know if her uncle has taken good care of her..."

Afraid of disturbing the neighbors, she manipulated the vines to climb to the windowsill of the room on the east side and gently shook out a little sleeping powder—it was extracted from the juice of some plant in the space, and it would only make people sleep more soundly, with no side effects. After confirming that the breathing on the other side had become even, she walked to her parents' door, her finger hovering for a long time before finally knocking three times lightly.

"Who?" The father's voice was wary.

Jiang Zhiyu didn't say anything, but knocked twice more.

The door creaked open a crack, and the father's head peeked out. The dim light of the oil lamp illuminated his face, making the white hair at his temples glaringly obvious. When he saw who was standing in the doorway, the old cotton-padded coat he was about to put on fell to the ground with a thud. He stood there as if nailed to the spot, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Dad..." Jiang Zhiyu said, her voice trembling and choked with sobs. The person in front of her looked exactly like her father before the apocalypse, except that he had aged a bit.

Hearing the commotion, the mother came over and, upon seeing her daughter clearly, covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls.

"Yuyu?" Her mother's voice trembled uncontrollably. She pulled her into the house and hugged her tightly. "My Yuyu... how did you get here? How did you come here?"

The father closed the door behind him, put one arm around his wife and gently patted his daughter's back with the other, letting out a suppressed sob, his eyes red as if they were about to bleed.

The cowshed was small, containing only a broken wooden bed, a table with a missing leg, and some dry straw piled in the corner. The oil lamp flickered, yet it still exuded a touch of warmth.

After a long while, the mother finally let go, cupping Jiang Zhiyu's face in her hands, looking her up and down, tears streaming down her face: "You've gotten thinner... darker... you silly child, why are you so foolish? This isn't a place for you!"

The father's eyes were also red, his tone tinged with reproach, but even more so with heartache: "Who sent you? Where's your uncle? Didn't he take good care of you?"

Jiang Zhiyu opened her mouth, but all the words she had prepared along the way stuck in her throat. Looking at the face before her, exactly the same as before the apocalypse, and feeling the warmth of her mother's palm, she could no longer hold back and threw herself into her mother's arms, bursting into tears. The longing and grievances that had been suppressed for so long all erupted at this moment.

The mother patted her back, her own body trembling with sobs. The father stood to the side, his eyes red-rimmed, wiping his face every now and then.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Zhiyu gradually calmed down. She broke free from her mother's embrace and wiped away her tears: "Dad, Mom, I'm fine. Please see what I brought."

She opened the door, dragged the large sack of jujubes inside, untied the ropes, and took things out one by one.

"These are xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), they're still warm."

"Braised pork belly, your favorite."

"There's also a cotton quilt, which is warmer than what you're using now."

When the steaming pot of braised pork was placed on the table, tears welled up in my mother's eyes again. During the two weeks they had been sent down to the countryside, they had hardly eaten any meat, let alone fine grains. They ate coarse grain cakes and drank thin porridge so watery you could see your reflection in it. Their lives were as bitter as gall.

"Eat quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold." Jiang Zhiyu stuffed the chopsticks into her mother's hand.

Watching his daughter bustling about, and seeing the obviously expensive items, the father frowned even more deeply: "Yuyu, has something happened at home? Your uncle..."

Jiang Zhiyu didn't answer. She simply spread the new quilt on the broken wooden bed, then carefully removed the old quilt cover and draped it over the new one. "That way, it won't be noticeable," she said as she spread the quilt. "You should also wear your cotton-padded coat inside, and then wear the old clothes on top."

Watching her skillful movements, the mother felt a pang of sadness and pain in her heart—the family's little princess used to be quite inept at everything, but now, seeing her so adept at these movements, her heart ached with both sadness and pain.

"Eat first, I'll talk to you after you've finished." Jiang Zhiyu handed the chopsticks to her parents and picked up a char siu bao for herself.

The father and mother exchanged a glance and picked up their chopsticks. The aroma of braised pork wafted into their noses, and the long-awaited deliciousness melted on their tongues. Their eyes reddened as they ate.

After they finished eating, Jiang Zhiyu slowly opened her mouth and told them about how her uncle had tricked her into going to the port city and then pushed her into the sea on the boat.

"He said you were being bullied here and asked me to bring you money, so I gave him the box my mother had given me..." Jiang Zhiyu's voice was very soft. "After I was pushed into the sea, I quickly regained consciousness and used my last bit of strength to climb to the warehouse, barely escaping with my life." She didn't dare tell her parents the truth, after all, he was no longer the original Jiang Zhiyu.

"Beast! Beast! How dare he, how dare he!" Father Jiang trembled with rage, his eyes bloodshot. "I've respected him, loved him, and always helped him since I was little. How dare he, how dare he really treat you like this? Yu Yu, I'm sorry! It's Dad's fault, Dad has ruined you, it's all my fault." He pounded his chest hard as he spoke.

Jiang's mother was also furious. She grabbed an empty bowl from the table and was about to smash it when Jiang's father stopped her. She then started hitting and yelling at him, "It's all your fault! If you hadn't always sided with him, would he be so arrogant? He almost killed our daughter!"

"It's my fault...it's my fault..." The father held his head, his face full of guilt.

"Dad, Mom, don't be angry." Jiang Zhiyu pulled her mother back. "I'm fine, I found you, didn't I?" She paused, lowered her voice, and changed the subject. "Besides, I suspect someone is watching our family."

The father looked up abruptly: "You mean...?"

"It's either because of what Grandma left behind, or it's because of your manuscript, Mom." Jiang Zhiyu looked at her mother. "Besides the hospital director, who else knows about that prescription?"

The mother was stunned: "How did you know about the manuscript?" She hadn't perfected that recipe yet, and it had been hidden at the bottom of a box, never told anyone.

"That's my guess." Jiang Zhiyu didn't elaborate. "If they came for the formula, then the person watching us might not be simple."

The mother frowned, lost in thought. She came from a family of doctors, and the formula she had compiled from her grandmother's notes was indeed valuable, but very few people knew about it. How could it have alarmed outsiders?

"I've moved Grandma's things to a safe place," Jiang Zhiyu said softly. "Don't worry."

Mr. and Mrs. Jiang exchanged a glance, both seeing worry in each other's eyes. This situation seemed to be deeper than they had imagined.

"No matter who it is, we have to be careful," Jiang's father said in a deep voice. "Don't come here again; it's too dangerous."

"I know," Jiang Zhiyu nodded. "I live nearby, so I'll come back when it's quiet at night." She looked out the window. "It's getting late, I have to go back."

"Oh, by the way! Are those couple next door trustworthy? Don't let them suspect anything."

"You mean your Uncle Qi and his family next door? We've only been here for half a month, and so far it seems like things are going well."

Her mother held her hand, reluctant to part: "Are you used to living at the educated youth settlement? Are you tired?"

"I rented the old hunter's house and I live alone. It's fine," Jiang Zhiyu said with a smile. "After a while, I'll find a way to make things easier for you."

Mr. Jiang saw her to the door and whispered, "If you run into her at the production team, pretend you don't know her. Don't give yourself away."

"I know." Jiang Zhiyu nodded, then turned and disappeared into the night.

The father stood in the doorway, watching his daughter's figure disappear into the darkness, his eyes welling up with tears again. He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms—whoever dared to hurt his daughter was unforgivable.

Jiang Zhiyu walked quickly back to the courtyard. She relaxed and felt quite tired. "0047, I'm going to rest in my space. Keep an eye on things."

A good host.