Reborn with a Space: Building a Fortune Amidst Famine

The Zhao Family siblings were quite moved, the things they had been given were now things that couldn't be bought even with money or tickets.

Both of them were dressed warmly and carrying travel packs, sitting in the car.

"Yuanyuan, lean against me. I'll block the wind for you."

Su Yuanyuan didn't feel shy, the wind on her face stung like it was being slashed by a knife.

The three weren't in a hurry, they'd get off for a walk when cold and make a fire to boil water to drink.

Upon reaching the city, Tan Shaoting went around and brought back some steamed corn buns for Zhao Qingjie, "Be careful on the road."

"You two as well, I see it's going to snow. Taking a train has its risks too."

The two watched Zhao Qingjie leave before heading to the train station.

There wasn't a direct train, but they could take one to the provincial capital, and from there train directly to the border.

There's a train at ten o'clock this morning to the provincial capital, so the two waited in the waiting hall.

There's nothing being sold here, so the two decided to eat once on the train.

It takes three days from here to the provincial capital. Tan Shaoting thought about trying to get sleeper tickets, but didn't know if there were any available for short distances?

Once on board, Tan Shaoting traded a winter melon for two sleeper tickets, even though there were already people in them. But it was quite good enough.

At noon, the two went to the dining car for lunch. The train provisions were quite basic, so the two discreetly supplemented their meal. After eating to their fill, returning to their seats they found the carriage empty, likely everyone was out eating too.

Both had top bunks, which was inconvenient, but at least there was a place to rest, right?

They didn't sit on others' berths, each holding a cup of hot milk, they lay down after finishing.

Lying there, it was truly boring, so they each picked up a book to read.

About half an hour later, the other two passengers returned.

Su Yuanyuan smelled a strong odor of alcohol; the two had been out drinking.

In Liangjiang North, drinking is quite common. Winters here are bone-chillingly cold, and drinking can quickly warm you up.

The two middle-aged men, reeking of alcohol, loudly chatted about everything.

Su Yuanyuan listened and unwittingly fell asleep.

Tan Shaoting wasn't as lucky, helplessly listening to them chat until they too fell asleep, and it finally quieted down.

He was quite impressed by Su Yuanyuan's ability to fall asleep like that.

On the train, this was how they passed the time. As long as the two men in the carriage were awake, there would definitely be chatter, though some topics were quite interesting.

Su Yuanyuan felt it was pretty nice to learn about things they didn't know before.

Though inconvenient in living conditions, the two didn't feel lonely anymore.

Until their stop, they didn't engage in the conversations, just listened.

At the provincial capital, Su Yuanyuan felt the place was just ordinary.

Their plan was to sell off the cabbage and radishes they had.

Yet after looking around, they couldn't find anyone who'd buy them.

Their train tickets to the border had been bought as sleepers, so there wasn't any more hassle. But the train only departed at eight in the morning the next day.

With some time to spare, they decided to explore the provincial capital a bit.

Su Yuanyuan suggested they split up to cover more ground, but Tan Shaoting wouldn't agree to that.

The two wandered into a bustling alley.

"Is this the black market?"

"Looks like it."

"Do you think we're being watched?"

Tan Shaoting looked at this girl speechlessly, wondering what was going through her mind.

"Let's not sell here, we won't get much for it anyway."

Su Yuanyuan nodded, and after browsing around without finding anything they wanted, they left.

"We have introduction letters, how about we stay at a hotel and suffer less?"

Su Yuanyuan didn't object. With nothing pressing to do, why make themselves uncomfortable?

The restaurants here didn't have much to offer either. So, they returned to the hotel, ate meat buns, drank milk tea, as they certainly wouldn't compromise on food.

Having eaten their fill, they went out to wander again.

"Let's check out the scrapyard, find a few books to read on the train."

When they got there, Tan Shaoting gave the manager a box of cigarettes, allowing them to browse freely for two hours without being rushed.

They didn't find anything particularly valuable, but they picked out dozens of books to keep boredom at bay on the train, some with a hint of value.

They also found some beautiful small mirrors, the kind with handles, with elegant patterns.

Nothing else caught their interest,

The manager, having accepted the cigarettes, saw they didn't take too much and led them into another room.

Turns out there's a whole hidden world here, plenty of good stuff.

"Sir, if we take too much, would that be a problem?"

"No worries, take what you want," he said, thinking about how little the two people could carry and went out for another smoke.

Su Yuanyuan and Tan Shaoting started rummaging and actually found many ancient books and paintings, albeit stained, but they should be cleanable. So, they set them aside.

"Yuanyuan, look? What's this?"

Su Yuanyuan glanced at it, then whispered to Tan Shaoting, "Could this be a treasure map?"

"Then let's keep it; it was found inside this book."

Su Yuanyuan took a closer look, then also examined the book.

"Look, isn't this the provincial capital?

And see here, does the writing make sense this way?"

Su Yuanyuan used her hand to trace a pattern, making an exciting discovery.

The two enthusiastically put it away, without revealing the map or book. They packed their selected items and left.

When tallying up, they spent three yuan, paying by weight.

Upon leaving the scrapyard, they found a secluded spot to stash the books and study the map.

The conclusion was that something was hidden beneath the fake mountain in the park.

"Let's go check it out." While others would need to dig to know what lay beneath, Tan Shaoting and Su Yuanyuan didn't.

It took them half an hour to reach the park and find the fake mountain. Tan Shaoting used his divine sense to probe below and indeed found over ten boxes.

So, he nodded towards Su Yuanyuan. The two had developed a strong sense of teamwork and left the area.

Back at the hotel, "It's all stuff you like."

Su Yuanyuan nodded with a smile, "I didn't expect this kind of find. Let's go check it out at midnight."

"I can go alone. It's too cold at night, and both of us going would be too conspicuous. You stay, and I'll bring it back to you."

Su Yuanyuan thought about it and agreed, not objecting further.