Tian Sangsang made a quick decision and flipped to the third clause on page 102 of the Space User Manual: The space allows for cross-ti-and-space internet connection, but it’s not WiFi, and you can’t leech off anyone’s WiFi either. 1MB of data requires 1 green currency point.
The rules for generating green currency are as follows:
Whenever you plant one unit of a particular crop, you get 10 green currency points. Then, each fruit harvested from this crop equals 1 green currency point. For fish in the water, each species sets the baseline at 10 green currency points, with every offspring born granting another 1 green currency point. Of course, this isn’t unlimited. For instance, the quantity of each planted crop cannot exceed 24. As for aquatic and other biological organisms, once they breed 24 offspring, the space will silently perform a sterilization procedure on them—essentially making them incapable of further reproduction. Otherwise, wouldn’t earning green currency be a breeze? Besides, if organisms were allowed unlimited reproduction and their owner didn’t manage them, the resulting overpopulation would overcrowd the space. Although the space’s rivers can grow endlessly, never underestimate nature’s ability to go wild!
However, 24 is a relative number. For example, for larger species like fish and fruit trees, the cap is 24. But for smaller species like oysters, flowers, and herbaceous plants, the range is between 24 and 124.
"How fascinating." Tian Sangsang exited the space. Her son and Gou Sheng hadn’t returned from their outing yet.
She sneaked outside, plucked a green onion from her own field, and fetched a small iron spade from the main hall before entering her space. She wanted to test if transferring a living green onion into the space’s soil would allow it to survive.
Loosening the soil, she dug a small pit with her hands, inserted the green onion into the hole, then filled it back up gently, patting it flat. Next, Tian Sangsang widened her eyes, ready to witness a miracle.
After five minutes, the wilting green onion slowly straightened up. It grew visibly, inch by inch, until it transford into a lush and vibrant stalk of green onion.
In the air, the green currency counter updated to 10. Feeling thrilled, Tian Sangsang extended her consciousness back into the modern tropolitan world. This ti, however, what she saw was different from before. This ti, everything had clearly marked prices. She drifted into a KFC, where the prices displayed were 9 green currency, 15 green currency... and so on. Essentially, it appeared that 1 green currency point was equivalent to 1 RMB.
As Tian Sangsang did the ntal math, she realized that there were too many things she wanted to buy, but she simply couldn’t afford them yet. Ten green currency was just 10 yuan. Earlier, when she explored the old courtyard house, she noticed no one had lived there for a while. There wasn’t much of use inside. Take the bedrooms, for instance—the bedding was too outdated. As for the kitchen, there was no refrigerator or oven, aning she’d need to re-buy everything. The courtyard house gave off an odd vibe: its renovation felt sowhat modern, yet its furnishings were distinctly traditional.
Tian Sangsang had planted the green onion in her vegetable patch, which counted as one crop species. When she exited the space, she saw three green onions left in her field. She picked two more, leaving one behind, and replanted them in the space. Sure enough, before long, her green currency increased to 30. The rice she had been eating from the original owner’s ho was coarse and not particularly pleasant. Her top priority was to buy a bag of Thai Fragrant Rice to store in the space and use as needed for cooking. However, a single bag of Thai Fragrant Rice cost more than 30 green currency, which wasn’t enough.
That said, tomorrow morning’s breakfast still needed to be settled. Tian Sangsang wandered around the supermarket and decided to buy a few things to tide herself over for breakfast. She couldn’t stomach eating sweet potatoes again, could she? Tomorrow, she also planned to head to the back mountain to go treasure hunting, gathering so items for the space so she could earn more green currency.
Oh, right! She could also buy so seeds first. However, after scouring the entire street, she couldn’t find any seed sellers. Truth be told, this modern tiline had limited functionality—it only featured this one street. The shops lined the road in neat succession, along with a large departnt store, but so things just couldn’t be found here. Tian Sangsang eventually went into the supermarket and bought three peaches. She eagerly washed the peaches, ate them, and then tossed their seeds into the orchard. After waiting a long ti, however, nothing happened. Unable to resist, Tian Sangsang flipped through the Space User Manual, only to find a clear rule: any items purchased with green currency could not be used for reproduction.
Left with no choice, Tian Sangsang weighed out 6.2 RMB worth of Daohuaxiang rice at the supermarket—not much, but enough for one day. She also picked up six fresh eggs and two cucumbers. Most people around here had congee with so small side dishes for breakfast. Her son needed nutrition, so she planned to fry an egg and make a cucumber salad to get through the morning.
These purchases cost her a full 25 yuan.
Tian Sangsang didn’t dare take the groceries out of the space—what if soone ca into her ho uninvited? She had no choice but to store them in the space for now. Then, a thought struck her: would she need to be just as cautious whenever she ate sothing moving forward? Even though this was the 1980s, she lived in a small mountain village, and she was, after all, just an uneducated villager who hadn’t even finished high school. She had to tread carefully, more carefully than ever.
If anyone discovered even the smallest hint of her secret, trouble would co knocking. Having the space wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows; it felt more like living as a thief.
It was ti to seriously think about how to use the space effectively. It was also ti to draft a weight loss plan.
Weight loss, after all, boiled down to two main approaches: internal control through diet and external effort through exercise.
Tian Sangsang decided her breakfasts would consist of apples or congee. Lunch and dinner would be proper als but with strict dietary restrictions—minimal at and sugary foods. She would eat more fruits that aided digestion, as they were good for the stomach. Every morning and evening, she planned to jog one lap around the village. Nothing too complicated—just the basics. Add in so tree-planting sessions in the space, and she ought to see results. Based on her mories, the original owner had gotten excessively fat from eating way too much pork.
Being fat wasn’t even the biggest issue. The real issue was how dark her skin was. Tian Sangsang leaned over the crystal-clear river and saw her reflection: a pitch-black figure, with a charcoal-like face staring back at her.
Tian Sangsang grimaced in pain. People always say, "Fair skin covers a hundred flaws." Even if she wasn’t ugly, she had definitely been made to appear ugly. No wonder the villagers shunned the original owner—there was so logic to it. Putting herself in their shoes, if she saw soone this dark, she’d want to cover her face and run away too. On the brighter side, the original owner’s skin was still smooth, her hair was black and shiny, and her features weren’t too bad. She just needed to slim down.
ng Shuyan and Gou Sheng returned one after the other. Around here, in the neighboring villages, every evening after dinner, kids liked to gather in groups to play around, while the adults ca out too—with straw fans in hand and bowls in tow, eating and chatting casually.
Tall and skinny Gou Sheng walked in the front, while the well-behaved ng Shuyan followed a few steps behind. As they got closer, Gou Sheng dashed back to his own house.
"Mom," ng Shuyan’s eyes lit up with joy when he saw her. Tian Sangsang ruffled his hair. "You’re back."
"Yeah." With a couple of pats on the head, ng Shuyan’s big eyes squinted with excitent. "Mom, I’m going to feed the chickens," he announced enthusiastically.
"Huh?" Tian Sangsang watched her little bundle slowly walk toward the chickens, crouch down, and place sothing in his right hand onto the ground. A chicken quickly lowered its head and pecked at it with lightning speed.
The movent was so fast, it was hard to catch what had happened.
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