Chapter 3: 03 Song Niannian Looks for a Job

Originally, Song Suisui had thought about going out to look for her, but then she remembered that in the novel, Song Niannian's rebirth wasn't caused by danger, but rather because she felt unwell.

Therefore, she wasn't quite as anxious.

【Host, hello!】

"Pfft—!"

The abrupt voice startled Song Suisui so much that she sprayed the half-finished water she was drinking!

"Cough, cough—" After finally managing to stop coughing, she asked curiously, "Are you the legendary System?"

【Yes~】

Song Suisui frowned slightly. Why did this system feel so lethargic?

Where was the task panel?

Where was the system space?

At the very least, a system inventory would do!

"Uh~ Can you introduce what kind of system you are?"

【This system is the Salted Fish Blind Box System from the A7SM Galaxy! Every day at 6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 9:00 PM, you can draw three blind boxes. For other functions, the Host must explore them on her own...】

After saying that, the system seemed to go offline; no matter what other questions Song Suisui asked, it remained as quiet as a chicken.

Fortunately, the system released a panel, allowing her to see what this Salted Fish System looked like.

In truth, there was nothing in the panel except for a nine-grid page of golden treasure chests.

She looked closely; besides the number 1.23 on the page, there was also a countdown timer.

Seeing that the 30-second countdown had already begun, Song Suisui clicked on three treasure chests based on instinct.

Once she finished clicking, the page disappeared, leaving only three treasure chests hovering in the pitch-black space.

She opened one of the chests. As the golden chest opened, a burst of golden light immediately erupted, followed by a firework special effect.

Once the effect faded, she finally saw what had popped out of the Golden Blind Box.

A piece of pork belly weighing about two catties.

She opened the other two blind boxes, obtaining one hundred yuan and a bar of essential oil soap, respectively.

The three items left Song Suisui dazed for a moment. She was very satisfied with the meat and the money.

As for the essential oil soap, she took it out and sniffed it; it was rose-scented.

After a bit of experimentation, Song Suisui discovered that the small space provided by the system could only hold items obtained from the blind boxes; external items could not be placed inside.

Recalling the system's self-introduction just now, Song Suisui couldn't help but ask, "System, when you said 'salted fish,' were you talking about yourself or me?"

【...What do you think, Host?】

"It must be you!" Song Suisui said without thinking.

Although she occasionally felt lazy, she had no intention of lying flat and becoming a salted fish.

Besides, after the 1977 College Entrance Examination, the Reform and Opening-up would begin. At that time, she would be standing at the forefront of the era. If she couldn't fly high, would she be worthy of having traveled through time?

Of course, she also had to hold onto her elder sister's "golden thigh," but that didn't stop her from wanting to work hard.

Song Suisui felt she could strive to retire before the age of thirty.

However, it was still early for that. The most important thing right now was to quickly find a job and try her best not to be sent to the countryside.

After all, she had done enough farm work as a child; even with machinery, it was exhausting, let alone in the materially impoverished 1970s.

So, going to the countryside was out of the question.

Thus, she turned her attention to the system.

"System! Can you really only draw blind boxes?"

【Other functions must be explored by the Host. I am going to sleep. Goodbye, Host!】

With that, the system left in a cold and aloof manner.

Song Suisui was speechless. Other people's systems were all incredibly powerful; at the very least, they could farm.

Her system truly lived up to its name.

It was blatantly telling her that it was just a salted fish and not to bother it.

Looking closely, Song Suisui found that this system really was just a blind box system; it didn't seem to have any other functions.

Looking at the items in the system space, Song Suisui felt that this system was not only a salted fish but also stingy.

Still, it was better than nothing. Having something was better than having nothing at all.

...

After waking up from her afternoon nap, Song Niannian left home and went to a supply and marketing cooperative in the eastern part of the city.

Last time she passed by an alley, she happened to overhear that family talking.

A staff member at this cooperative wanted to sell her job because she had to follow her husband to the military. It was just that her asking price was quite high, so she hadn't been able to sell it for a while.

She had come specifically today to inquire about the situation.

Entering the cooperative, she wandered around casually and arrived at the food counter, casting a glance at the person there.

Seeing her approach, Yao Lan asked, "What would you like?"

Salesclerks in this era didn't offer any kind of "smiling service."

Whether their attitude was good or not depended entirely on their mood. At this moment, Yao Lan was in a bad mood because of the long-standing issue of being unable to sell her job, so her attitude was naturally poor.

Song Niannian didn't mind; instead, she asked in a low voice, "Sister, I was introduced by Auntie Zhang."

Upon hearing this, Yao Lan immediately understood her purpose.

"Wait for me outside for a moment."

"Okay."

Hearing this, Song Niannian left the cooperative and walked outside to stand under the eaves of a building to shade herself from the sun.

Three minutes later, Yao Lan came out of the cooperative.

"Since you were introduced by Auntie Zhang, then you know my terms, right?"

Song Niannian nodded. "I know."

"In that case, let me tell you the specific details of this job..."

Although Yao Lan's asking price of 500 yuan was above the market rate, her monthly salary was 28 yuan. Because it was a supply and marketing cooperative, she could occasionally purchase some defective goods without needing coupons, and the employee benefits were good.

If she weren't moving to follow the military, she wouldn't have been willing to part with this job.

After listening, Song Niannian thought for a moment and said, "Sister Yao, can you hold the job for three days? I'll find a way to scrape the money together."

Yao Lan nodded. Holding it for three days was no problem; she felt that a young girl of this age would definitely be able to buy her job.

There was no other reason; it was just that the sailor shirt this girl was wearing was a fashion popular in Shanghai.

Her family certainly wasn't short of money, so she agreed.

After saying goodbye to Sister Yao, Song Niannian hurried home.

She had felt somewhat unwell since yesterday, but because the symptoms were mild, she hadn't paid much attention to it.

But after staying out all afternoon, she felt increasingly uncomfortable!

Seeing Song Niannian return with a terrible complexion and covered in sweat, Song Suisui poured her a cup of boiled water!

"Sister, you look like you're not feeling well. Why don't you go back to your room to rest? I'll handle dinner."

Hearing this, Song Niannian nodded. She indeed felt unwell, so she agreed to Song Suisui's arrangement.

Upon returning to her room, her vision went dark, and she collapsed onto the bed.

Hearing the commotion, Song Suisui hurried to push open her room door. Seeing that she had fainted, she helped adjust her posture.

Then, she left the room and went to her parents' bedroom to rummage through it, finding a small medicine box to see if there was any medicine Song Niannian could take.

Sigh~

Medicine nowadays was all wrapped in paper, without even an instruction manual; she had no idea which one was safe for Song Niannian to take.

Since she couldn't tell, Song Suisui put all the medicine back. After all, taking the wrong medicine could cause problems, and she wasn't about to let Song Niannian take medicine haphazardly.

Fortunately, Song Niannian's condition wasn't serious. She went back to the room to check again, felt Song Niannian's forehead, and found she didn't have a fever, and was sleeping soundly.

Feeling that it wasn't a major issue, Song Suisui placed an enamel mug of boiled water on the small table in her room so she could drink it when she woke up.

(End of Chapter)