Chapter 4

Zhai Da's home was in an old factory residential area called "Maofang Third District."

Dongyang County is in the bulk province, but it belongs to the northernmost part. By comparison, it is a typical absolutely underdeveloped area in the province and a relatively underdeveloped area in the country.

It ranks first in poverty-stricken counties in the province.

The earliest 31 Wool Textile Factory was one of the few industrial industries in Dongyang County, mainly engaged in wool spinning and weaving, for both military and civilian use. In summer, they made military coats, and in winter, they made short-sleeved shorts.

In that era, basically every place had its own wool textile factory, which was the most primitive light industry.

It had been prosperous once. As a state-owned factory, building houses for employees was a routine operation. Dongyang County had four or five from "Maofang X District" to "Maofang New Village."

So the locals were used to calling each district "Da Mao" or "Er Mao," so his home was in "San Mao."

Of course, it's a different story now; this factory has been half-dead for more than ten years.

As for this house, it was allocated when his grandfather was alive. It is said that it was related to some professional title evaluation, so it was larger than the houses allocated to ordinary employees. It had two bedrooms, one living room, and a storage room, over 60 square meters with no shared area.

He was from a single-parent family. His father passed away before he could remember, leaving only a vague impression and some relatives with whom he didn't have a very harmonious relationship.

So living with his mother, it was more than enough, and it was still very spacious.

Zhai Da followed his mother upstairs, looking calm and relaxed, but actually looking around. He hadn't been back here for too long.

In his previous life, after his mother passed away, this house wasn't sold. It was vacant for a few years, and after he got over that hurdle in his heart, it was rented out.

In a few years, he only came back once because the tenant was operating a business inside and was caught by the "hat uncle."

Really bad luck!

This building was "factory-built" at the beginning, so the idea was quite unique. There were four floors in total, all doors facing one direction, in a long corridor, the same as the factory dormitory.

Zhai Da's home was at the very end, and he had to pass seven or eight doors along the way.

Every family was familiar with each other, and it was mealtime again, so the doors were all open for smoke exhaust. Along the way, he had to chat a few words.

"Xiaoli, preparing to cook? Xiao Da has a treat again~"

"Aunt Liu is right, my mom's craftsmanship is nothing to say~"

"Xiao Da, out of school so early today? Caught by your mom at the internet cafe?"

"Grandpa Wang, your legs are still there! Really healthy!"

Grandpa Wang: ?

In fact, Zhai Da couldn't call most of these neighbors by their full names, just their surnames, but this was already a closer neighborhood relationship than in the big city. Not to mention helping each other, having a few familiar faces when returning home made it lively.

In case a tenant was secretly operating a business, the neighbors could help report it!

Walking to the deepest household, Zhai Da was stunned because a girl was standing at his door.

Her hair was very long, tied into the simplest ponytail. Her skin was slightly pale, her features were three-dimensional, and she had a pair of big eyes, but the corners of her eyes were relatively long, which gave people a cold and unapproachable feeling out of thin air. In fact, if you look closely, you can find that the other party is just "expressionless."

The long eyelashes were dyed warmer and more delicate by the light, and the shallow lip line had no blood color, almost blending with the pale skin, making the girl look exceptionally... clean.

He couldn't find a more suitable adjective.

The most important thing was that Zhai Da actually felt this girl was a bit familiar...

But, he only remembered the legs of Lin Shuyao, who wrote the love letter, and this girl who was at least two levels better than Lin Shuyao... he really couldn't remember who she was.

The girl leaned against the wall, holding a book in her hand and reading. The sunlight spilled from the corridor window, and the spine of the book read "Mathematical Olympiad Small Series."

Holding such a book in a small county and an old residential area reminded Zhai Da of the young people in big city cafes holding a copy of "To Live" or "The Moon and Sixpence."

Of course, Olympiad math is definitely more advanced. Ordinary people wouldn't think of showing off in this direction...

The girl saw Yu Xiaoli and took the initiative to say: "Teacher Yu, you left in a hurry this afternoon. The paper pattern didn't seem to be finished. Manager Liu said it would be used tomorrow, so he asked me to send it to you."

Yu Xiaoli smiled and took a plastic bag. The so-called "paper pattern" is the template for making clothes drawn on paper, setting the rules for cutting and sewing to achieve standardized production.

She heard that her son fainted and was in the hospital this afternoon, so how could she care about work? The meaning of Manager Liu asking someone to send it was very clear: he hoped she would work overtime at home.

The girl delivered the things and bowed politely. It was just that when she raised her head, her gaze stayed on Zhai Da's face for a moment.

Zhai Da also met the eyes of this clean girl.

Calling Mom "Teacher"? Judging by her age and speaking habits, she was completely a student, but she was a factory girl in the wool textile factory?

Are factory girls configured so highly now? No wonder Ms. Yu always wants him to enter the factory.

After Lu Wei left, Zhai Da asked curiously:

"Mom, who is that?"

"A newcomer in the factory, she just came not long ago. She's my apprentice. This child calls me teacher every time, making me feel embarrassed."

That's what she said, but Ms. Yu still liked to hear it. It was better than being called "Aunt Yu"...

In Zhai Da's memory, there was no such thing in his previous life. However, it was reasonable. In his previous life, he didn't faint in the exam room, so naturally, there was no such thing as sending "paper patterns" now.

But why did he still feel that girl was familiar?

Craving her body again?

After returning home, Yu Xiaoli went straight into the kitchen, while Zhai Da stood at the door, changing his shoes slowly, actually looking at his "former home" constantly.

It was clearly an ordinary, old-fashioned "old, broken, and small" renovation, but the corners of Zhai Da's mouth were harder to suppress than an AK.

Even the inexplicable "smell" accumulated in the air because of the old renovation was so sweet~

Returning to his room, the feeling of being slapped in the face by youth was even more obvious.

One Piece posters, Jay Chou's album CDs, a desk lamp that claimed to protect eyes, reference books on the table, "Men's Health" under the mattress...

This room used to be a teenager's everything.

Reborn to 2008, every object could make him become a machine, falling into memories.

Like the One Piece poster, given away when buying "Anime Frontline." There were a lot of gifts every time. I don't know what the magazine company relied on to make money.

Like Jay Chou's CD, bought at an audio-visual store at the school gate. The boss patted his chest and guaranteed it was genuine, priced at 18.8. As a result, Zhai Da took it back and listened to it, and it was "Lonely Sandbar Cold."

That CD player didn't have a track announcement, it started singing from 0 frames. Jay Chou was printed on the disc, so he always thought it was little Jay, but after listening for a month, he found it was old Jay.

Not to mention "Men's Health," he occasionally needed it when pretending to be a man.

Hmm... occasionally...

However, Zhai Da didn't have the time to reminisce so much for the time being. He had more important things to do.

That is to rummage through boxes and cabinets! See if there is any more [Equipment].

He almost rummaged through everything in his room, and took advantage of Yu Xiaoli's cooking to rummage through many places outside, until his nasal cavity was full of dust.

Even in an old box, he found a few boxes of old "Angong Niuhuang Pills"!

He thought: Holy crap, the startup capital is here!

Looking closely, it was "Antai Niubang Pills."

After tossing and turning, Zhai Da finally found with disappointment that there didn't seem to be any special items in the house that could be converted into [Equipment]...

That is to say, if you don't count the [Clown's Love Letter] forcibly converted by the system, their family only had one "28-inch bike" that counted as a special item.

Everything else, even some gold jewelry that Yu Xiaoli treasured very much, and his own miscellaneous items stained with the taste of youth, were ordinary objects and were not recognized by the system.

"It's reasonable, otherwise the system's definition would be too loose... It's impossible for the whole street to be full of special items..."

"Strong emotions, obsessions, and moods will linger on objects... so the probability of old objects is higher, and new objects are basically impossible... Change the thinking, items with stories? Do antiques count?"

"From the perspective of the whole world, there will be many, many special items that can be converted into [Equipment]. Maybe this small Dongyang County has hundreds of them, but starting from himself, the ones he can discover and own are still relatively scarce."

Currently, there are two white [Equipment]. [Clown's Love Letter] is of no use, just for fun. [Permanent 28-inch Bike] is for his mother to ride, so she can be safer going to and from the factory.

Rounding it up, his cheat is equivalent to not being turned on yet!

And a sense of humor can't be eaten as a meal.

"Xiao Da~ ready to eat!"

"Coming!"

Zhai Da used the last bit of time to take out a piece of draft paper and write a few lines on it.

"One: Explore the system more."

"Two: Save the grades, strive to get into an undergraduate degree. Can't date at all, just pay in installments later."

"Three: I don't want to be so tired in this life. At worst, wait to buy that lottery ticket again. If I can earn money, I will, but I must have some. The premise of lying flat is having money. Lying flat without money is called waiting for death."

"Four: Accompany Mom well, listen to Mom, don't make her angry, find an opportunity to take her to the big city for a checkup."

"Xiao Da~ hurry up~"

Zhai Da got up, ready to enjoy the dinner his mother had made, which he had missed for ten years.

Just as he was about to open the door, Zhai Da pulled his hand back.

He turned back and added a sentence to that piece of paper.

"Five: Be a better self... chase the sun and moon, don't forget the mountains and rivers."

Then, he raised his eyebrows at the young and tender self in the small round mirror on the desk.

He turned and grasped the old brass handle that had been worn down.

A gentle twist.

Open the door to enjoy a brand-new life.