Starting from 1950

Su Yang focused his attention on the small black dot in his field of vision and stared at it for about ten seconds.

"Whoosh!"

A transparent interface unfolded before Su Yang's eyes.

"This is... a cheat code!"

Su Yang was overjoyed, thinking to himself that as expected, every transmigrator has a cheat code; the author was right.

Name: Su Yang

Race: Human

[Class]: Hunter (Level 1)

[Attributes]: Strength 4, Agility 5, Stamina 4

[Experience Points]: 0/100

"This is... the hunter character panel in the game!"

Su Yang was overjoyed. He knew this all too well; it was the data of his level 1 character in the game he played every day.

Most importantly, he could feel that as he summoned the panel, his body seemed to change, and his limbs became more powerful.

The wind blowing in through the window cracks didn't seem so cold anymore, and my feet, which had chilblains, no longer hurt or itched; they seemed to have been healed instantly!

The game panel enhanced his body!

"Is this even possible? The game's control panel is actually appearing in reality?"

"Wait a minute! I've already time-traveled, what's the point of talking about science?"

He quickly prepared himself mentally, suppressed his excitement, and looked at the panel again.

"Open your backpack!"

"Open the skill book!"

"Open your major!"

"Open the map!"

"......"

There was no movement; the character panel remained the same lonely figure in view.

Su Yang scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

He's been playing this game for over a decade, and his main class is Hunter. He's thoroughly familiar with all the game's features.

But what's going on now?

Could it be that only the character panel can be opened, and my cheat system is a stripped-down version?

"Little Yangzi, where have you been playing? Come out here!"

Just as he was racking his brains trying to figure it out, he heard a call coming from downstairs.

"Coming, coming!" Su Yang suppressed his doubts and responded.

With a thought, the interface vanished with a "whoosh," turning back into a small black dot.

When Su Yang came downstairs, there were already forty or fifty children of similar age in the courtyard.

They were all holding aluminum lunchboxes and chopsticks, and had already lined up at the kitchen door, with boys in one line and girls in another.

Two female People's Liberation Army soldiers in khaki uniforms are supervising the children as they line up to receive their meals.

"Xiao Yangzi, I heard you're feeling better?" one of the female soldiers, who was about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, said with a smile.

"Yes, Officer Wang, I'm fine." Su Yang nodded with a smile. This female soldier was named Wang Cui, and she was the manager of this reformatory.

"Tch, I bet he's faking it, trying to avoid work," said the tallest boy in the group. His voice was like a broken gong, probably because he was going through puberty.

"He Dazhuang, shut up! Get in line properly!"

Wang Cui reprimanded He Dazhuang, saying he was the most difficult child to manage in the courtyard, always ganging up to bully others. In comparison, she preferred Su Yang, a quiet and well-behaved boy with a handsome appearance.

He Dazhuang was still quite intimidated by Wang Cui, so he chuckled awkwardly and obediently shut his mouth.

Wang Cui then said to Su Yang, "It's good that you're feeling better. Go back to your room and get your lunchbox so you can line up for food."

"yes!"

Su Yang responded and quickly ran back to his dormitory. After getting his lunchbox, he returned and joined the end of the queue.

In those days, it was common for people in reformatories to eat only two meals a day.

Even farmers who cultivate the land only eat two meals a day during the off-season.

The meal consisted of two spoonfuls of cornmeal porridge and a small sweet potato flour bun for each person.

This is clearly not enough for children around ten years old.

After getting their food, everyone would find a corner to squat down and wolf down their food, afraid that if they ate too slowly, someone else would snatch it from them.

In fact, if Wang Cui hadn't been watching over him, a kid like He Dazhuang might have actually snatched something from someone else.

"Su Yang, I'm not very hungry today, I'll share half of my steamed bun with you."

A crisp sound rang out, and Su Yang, who was engrossed in eating, looked up.

A girl of about twelve or thirteen years old stood in front of him, stretching out her fair little hand with her palm facing up, holding half a steamed bun.

This little girl was dressed like everyone else in a khaki military uniform that had been altered into a cotton-padded coat and trousers, yet she looked like a phoenix fallen into a flock of chickens.

She was tall and slender, with her long, ebony hair loosely tied back with a red ribbon.

She had an oval face, cherry lips, and a nose with a still-childish curve, like a newly blooming flower bud.

What's most special are her eyes, with a shape like peach petals, yet the pupils are as clear as a mountain stream, glistening with the sunlight, and a natural blush of red at the corners of her eyes, giving her a feeling that is a blend of childlike innocence and delicate charm.

"Sister Xinxue, you eat by yourself. I don't have much of an appetite today."

Su Yang had already eaten a cornbread before the meal, and with the food he had just received, it was indeed enough to fill his stomach.

"Okay." Wu Xinxue turned around with some disappointment.

"Sister Xinxue, if Su Yang won't eat it, I will! Give it to me!" He Dazhuang said with a grin.

Wu Xinxue glanced at him but didn't reply, and went back to the group of girls on her own.

Seeing that Wu Xinxue ignored him, He Dazhuang's expression turned ugly, and he glared at Su Yang fiercely.

Su Yang shook his head helplessly.

Although these boys and girls were all around ten years old, they were all precocious because they grew up in the Eight Great Hutongs.

The original owner was not well-liked among the boys, largely because of Wu Xinxue.

Wu Xinxue was also sold into the Eight Great Hutongs at a young age and was groomed to be a future courtesan.

While male prostitutes only need to be handsome, courtesans must be proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

Although Wu Xinxue was only 13 years old, Su Yang felt that in terms of talent, even the members of girl groups in later generations were not worthy of carrying her shoes.

Perhaps because Su Yang was the most handsome among boys his age, Wu Xinxue always liked to hang around him.

......

"Huh? It's snowing!"

"It's snowing!"

Just after we finished eating, snowflakes as big as goose feathers began to fall from the sky.

The children cheered in unison.

The reformatory doesn't just raise these children for nothing; it regularly organizes them to do small jobs at various workplaces or on the streets.

After it snows, there's no need to go out to work in the afternoon.

"Everyone stay in the yard this afternoon, and no one is allowed to go out," Wang Cui said with a smile and a shake of her head as she called out to the children.

"Yay!"

Many children started running into the house.

Wang Cui gave Ruan Sumei a few instructions and then left with another female cadre.

Su Yang was about to go back to his room to lie down and think about what to do next when he saw Ruan Sumei beckoning to him.

"Xiao Yangzi, and Xin Xue, you two come here!"

Su Yang was puzzled, but he still followed Ruan Sumei into the kitchen.

Because there was no sun today, an oil lamp was lit in the kitchen. Although the reformatory had electric lights, the residential areas of Beijing did not have electricity during the day.

Su Yang saw a large piece of pork on the cutting board, and two chickens were locked in a bamboo cage by the stove.

"Oh my! Aunt Mei, are we going to improve our lives?" Wu Xinxue exclaimed in surprise.

Even if she had just finished eating, the sight of pork would make her mouth water again.

Su Yang frowned. Although it was already December, the New Year was still far away, and the reformatory couldn't possibly be so extravagant.

As he was pondering, he saw Ruan Sumei place one hand on his shoulder and the other arm around Wu Xinxue.

Her face showed reluctance, and her eyes were a little red.

"We'll have dumplings and chicken soup tonight, and tomorrow... tomorrow we'll be sending you off!" Ruan Sumei finally couldn't hold back her tears and sobbed.

"What?"

"Send us away?"

Su Yang and Wu Xinxue exclaimed in unison.