Travel through famine years and awaken a post-apocalyptic survival system.

"Mom, how's Dad?"

After coming in, I saw my father lying there eating a steamed bun, and I asked him with a smile.

His mother breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him return.

"It's alright, but it's not going to get any better now."

"Hmm, will I need to get an IV drip afterwards?"

"I still need to get an IV drip. They said it would start at six o'clock, so I'll have to wait a while."

Zhao Qingsong nodded slightly upon hearing this, and seeing his younger sister rubbing her stomach, asked, "Haven't you eaten?"

"We ate. Your sister and I just ate."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingsong slapped his forehead.

That's when it dawned on me.

My father was a patient and could eat the hospital food, but my mother and younger sister couldn't. He left a few loaves of bread for them at noon, which I guessed would be their food for the day.

I definitely ate, but I wasn't full.

However, by this time, the bread in his hand had been completely used up.

There are only 6 cans of pork left.

Without food coupons, you can't just eat vegetables.

"I understand. I can get the food coupons tomorrow, then we'll have food. I'll go pay the money now."

He tried to exchange for food coupons today, but he couldn't get a single one.

After saying that, he left the hospital and paid 10 yuan.

I'll submit the rest tomorrow.

When I got back, my mother asked anxiously, "You... got the money?"

Zhao Qingsong smiled and took out the remaining 10 yuan, handing her 5 yuan.

"Okay, got it. Take this money. I'll open a guesthouse for the rest later. After Dad finishes his IV drip, you can go back to sleep and come back tomorrow morning."

"No need, I'll stay here and watch the room. Aren't there any empty beds over there? I'll sleep here."

After finishing her sentence, the mother glanced outside and hesitated, saying, "You...did you do all this? Won't something bad happen?"

The more money her son made, the more worried she became.

Zhao Qingsong calmly shook his head: "Don't worry, I'm confident."

After saying that, he glanced at the empty bed next to him, hesitated for a moment, and then agreed: "Alright, you can sleep here tonight. I'll take my little sister to the guesthouse. I have things to do tomorrow morning, so I'll take my little sister back first. Please keep an eye on Dad tonight."

There's no need to worry too much if you didn't have surgery.

Upon hearing this, the mother swallowed the words she was about to say.

"Okay, go ahead then!"

Zhao Qingsong looked at his little sister, whose eyelids were already trembling. In the countryside, people go to bed as soon as it gets dark and get up too early in the morning, so the little one was already very sleepy.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the guesthouse."

He shoved the younger sister.

"Huh? Oh!"

The younger sister agreed, and her mind cleared up a little.

"Dad, Mom, we're off now!"

He said hello and left the hospital.

……

After everyone left, the mother looked at the money in her hand, then at her husband.

With a hint of worry in her heart, she asked, "What did Qingsong do? How did he get so much money? Is he in danger?"

She felt uneasy about having too much money.

The father glanced at the doorway and sighed, "I don't know, sigh... The child is grown up and has his own ideas. Do you think we can still stop him now? I'm so useless."

The mother sighed upon hearing this.

……

Rural.

Zhao Tiezhu and his family returned in a huff and started banging on Zhao Qingsong's front door.

"Tiezhu, what are you doing! What's wrong that you're so angry?"

Someone in the village saw this and asked a question out of curiosity.

Zhao Tiezhu said angrily, "That brat Qingsong stole Qingshan's job."

Today I spent the whole day taking my mother to the steel factory, only to be told that the job opening had already been taken by Zhao Qingsong.

And they even got all the paperwork done.

I wanted to come back, but the other party replied that the formalities had already been completed.

There's no way to change it unless Zhao Qingsong himself is willing to transfer it.

That's how this scene came about.

The man curled his lip.

This job was originally Zhao Qingsong's, so how did it become Zhao Qingsong stealing someone else's job?

However, this is someone else's family matter.

He couldn't very well get involved.

"Oh, I heard from the brigade leader that Jianguo's family went to the city for medical treatment. I don't know if they will be back today."

"Go to the city for medical treatment? Where will they get the money?"

Zhao Tiezhu was stunned for a moment, then his face turned ashen: "You little brat, just wait until I get back and teach him a lesson for daring to steal my son's job."

After saying that, he stormed off in a huff.

The man shook his head inwardly upon seeing this.

……

At the guesthouse, Zhao Qingsong spent 6 cents to book a room with two beds.

"Little sister, I might have to go out tonight. If you can't find me when you wake up in the morning, don't worry about me. Just go to the hospital and find Mom and Dad. They're right across the street."

We specifically chose a guesthouse that was close by, just in case the little girl couldn't find her way.

"Okay, I got it, bro!"

The younger sister readily agreed.

After washing up, the two lay down on the bed.

Zhao Qingsong lay down on another bed, took out an alarm clock, and set the time.

This is a secondhand item I bought for two dollars at a consignment shop.

He needs to get up early tomorrow, otherwise it will be a big problem.

"Are you cold?"

I asked the little one in the blanket next to me, but I didn't get a response; he was already asleep.

Seeing this, Zhao Qingsong didn't go to call out.

Lying in bed, I was pondering things.

Fabric recycling can't be done indefinitely. After all, if the stores you entrust keep collecting old clothes, it will eventually attract attention.

If only we could find the gang.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any underlings.

Forget it, we'll see when the time comes. Once he's completed his initial capital accumulation, he won't lack anything for the time being, so there's no need to take such a big risk.

Once I made up my mind, I stopped thinking about these things.

I went to bed early that night.

……

next day

The alarm clock woke him up, and he groggily turned on the light. His younger sister was still sleeping.

After tidying up, I quietly left the guesthouse.

The first black market is two kilometers away from here, which isn't too far.

He had already scouted out the locations when he sold cloth during the day.

"Radar, activate!"

For safety, he turned on the radar.

In an instant, three or four people were scattered around, clearly residents of the area. The most densely populated area, however, was in the alley ahead, where there were probably dozens of people.

In the darkness, he wrapped his head tightly and headed towards the black market.

He was carrying a large cloth bag.

……

"What are you doing?"

Just as he approached the alley entrance, a voice asking a question came from a dark corner.

A dark figure emerged from the darkness.

Zhao Qingsong already knew there were people here, but he wasn't scared. He guessed they were the gatekeepers of the black market.

He pointed to the contents of the package: "I'm here to sell something on the black market."

The other party sized him up: "What is this? If it's grain, we can buy it directly at a fair price."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingsong raised an eyebrow.

When I felt sleepy, someone delivered a pillow to me. I had been hoping to find a big buyer!

Here it comes.

He smiled and said, "It's not food, it's cloth, work cloth."

"Cloth!"

The man asked, somewhat disappointed, "How much?"

"Over two hundred feet!"

"What?"

The other person was surprised: "So many? New fabric? All of it is workwear?"

"Yes! New, workwear! Not defective."

After listening, the man pondered for a moment and asked, "Where did you get all this cloth?"

"Isn't this exactly what you should be asking about? If you want to buy, I'll sell; it's a cash transaction."

Zhao Qingsong appropriately revealed some of the seasoned veteran's demeanor; he couldn't just pretend to be naive all the time, and there's a limit to how much naivety one can feign.