Chapter 15: With no one to rely on and nothing to hold me back, I am free to venture forth!

The west wing was indeed spacious, yet it was completely empty—devoid of any furniture, not even a bed. If Shen Zhiyu intended to move in, her first priority was to secure a bed. Since new beds were hard to come by, she decided to visit the consignment store to see if there were any decent second-hand options.

Before that, however, the room needed a good cleaning. Shen Zhiyu made quick work of it, giving the floors a rough sweep and wiping down the windows. During this time, Old Mrs. Li offered to help, but Shen Zhiyu politely declined. The old woman was quite elderly and had bound feet; if she were to trip or fall, Shen Zhiyu could not bear the responsibility. After all, nobody wants to suddenly find themselves taking care of a stranger like an ancestor. Being a newcomer, caution was her top priority. It wasn’t that Shen Zhiyu was paranoid, but one must always guard against others. After all, beneath a person's skin, how could one truly know the color of their heart?

Once the cleaning was done, Shen Zhiyu left the windows open and headed out to buy furniture. After walking for a few minutes and waiting over ten minutes at a temporary bus stop, a bus finally arrived. As she boarded, the conductor greeted her warmly. After purchasing a ticket and sitting by the window, she traveled a few stops, transferred, and rode a few more before finally reaching her destination.

She had read in period novels that goods in these stores were often divided into two categories: the high-quality items were kept in special warehouses, either reserved for connections or saved for wealthy buyers. Perhaps Shen Zhiyu had gone about it the wrong way, but this particular consignment store had no such secrets. Everything, good or bad, was piled into a large, open-air shed rather than a proper storage facility. Shen Zhiyu knew nothing about antique furniture, and as for the types of wood, that was even further outside her knowledge base. Rather than taking someone else’s word for it, she preferred to choose for herself. Oh, and she had previously tried to exploit a bug in the airdrop system, but it proved to be a dead end. Aside from the fact that the system’s storage space could be expanded by one cubic meter with every airdrop, the remaining opportunities could not be used to exchange for anything else.

She simply picked out a few pieces of furniture that looked decent enough—including a bed, a wardrobe, a table, chairs, and even a vanity. After leaving her delivery address, she paid and left with her receipts. Now that the furniture was settled, she had to prepare the essentials for cooking. Although the west wing was large, it lacked a dedicated kitchen, so she needed to procure the necessary supplies. Pots, bowls, and ladles were a must. Furthermore, she needed a stove; without a proper kitchen range, a portable stove would have to suffice. Honestly, Shen Zhiyu found it difficult to adapt to this lifestyle, but given the circumstances, she had no other choice.

Housing could not be bought or sold freely, so dreaming of a larger home was just that—a dream. Equipping her new place had cost her a significant amount of money, and she had spent most of her ration coupons, but at least the essentials were covered, and she wouldn't have any major expenses for a while.

Returning to the compound, she was carrying several bags when she ran into Old Mrs. Li at the gate again. The old woman insisted on helping, and unable to refuse, Shen Zhiyu handed over some fabric, and the two made their way slowly into the middle courtyard. The fabric was intended for curtains and door hangings. As a single woman living here, she needed proper coverings for her windows and doors to ensure she wouldn't be targeted by some lecherous voyeur. While she wasn't afraid, it was a nuisance! More importantly, if something were to happen, the blame would inevitably be cast upon her, and nobody would care whether she was innocent or not. The world had always been harsh on women. Even decades later, it was still the same old story. Some mainstream media outlets even took the wrong side, blaming the victims instead of the perpetrators, spouting nonsense about "victim-blaming" and "avoidance choices." Are decent people just supposed to live at the mercy of others? What a load of rubbish! That decent people should live in such stifled misery? It was absolute garbage!

In Shen Zhiyu’s view, anyone who said such things had a brain full of dung. Unfortunately, her opinion didn't matter; she lacked the power of discourse. Regardless of the era, the power of discourse was a valuable thing. If she had a sewing machine—well, she used to have one, but she had sold it—she would have managed. As it was, she had to do the curtains by hand.

Old Mrs. Li impressed her at this moment. Though the elderly woman was a bit farsighted, it didn't affect her threading at all, and her needlework was far more dexterous than that of a young person like Shen Zhiyu.

"You young girls today are all spoiled by your parents!" the old woman remarked. "In our day, we had to practice needlework from a young age. Ordinary families did mending, and those with a bit more means would embroider things to sell!"

"Grandma, do you think your time was better, or is the present better?" Shen Zhiyu asked.

"It’s all the same!" The old woman didn't take the bait. "People, no matter what time they live in, the key is how they think and what they do. Complaining about heaven and others won't change a thing. If your heart is at peace, even hardship tastes sweet."

Listening to the old woman, Shen Zhiyu was truly impressed; she was quite the philosopher of life! "Grandma, you certainly have a clear perspective." Shen Zhiyu admired her insight, though she realized she might not reach that level of detachment for decades. At the very least, she couldn't accept things as they were right now.

To protest against injustice! That was the life Shen Zhiyu wanted. It was just that this era was too constrained by rules and regulations. But that was fine. In a few years, when the college entrance exams were restored, she would definitely find a way to attend university. People often spoke of "riding the wind" to success, claiming that even a pig could fly if it stood in the path of a gale. To that, Shen Zhiyu wanted to say: sure, you can put a pig in the wind and it might fly, but once the wind stops, the pig is still just a pig!

In her previous life, she had seen many "flying pigs." When the wind died down, their wealth withered away, and they eventually returned to obscurity. This happened quite often. Ultimately, a sharp mind is a valuable asset. If you are empty-headed and rely on the dividends of an era, you might eventually end up with nothing, or lose everything overnight due to some unforeseen circumstance. Therefore, one must always keep their mind sharp and learn as much as possible; even if it isn't useful later, at least you won't be ignorant. Furthermore, if you're lucky, you might even make some good friends at school.

Life is full of opportunities. Whether you can seize them depends entirely on the individual. Beyond that, the most important thing is whether you have the courage to take the gamble. Courage is not something everyone possesses. When you have no one to rely on but still have many burdens, it is very difficult to take a risk. Conversely, if you have no attachments and no one to rely on, you are free to go wherever you please.

Shen Zhiyu felt she belonged to the latter. Thus, in this life, she could strive without restraint and live a bold, uninhibited, and vibrant existence.