The Female Supporting Character Has a Group-Buying Chat [The 1970S]

Completed novels: The Supporting Female Lead's Blade Is Forty Meters Long [The 1970s], I Didn't Know My Dad Was Reborn Too, Rewriting Life in the 1990s. Feel free to check them out. Upcoming novels: Life in the 1970s Is as Sweet as Honey, After Switching Souls with Grandma. Please visit my author page and add them to your reading list! ☆ My new novel, My Eldest Sister Returns from Her Cultivation Travels [The 1970s], will begin serializing soon! ** Blurb: Zhou Jianie's reputation in Hongxing Commune has gone completely rotten. Because she's beautiful, male comrades are always eager to do her work for her, making the aunties and older women spit on the ground whenever they mention her. By contrast, Liu Ailing, who went to the countryside with her, is praised by everyone as a fine comrade. From the moment she arrived, she got along with the locals, worked hard without complaining, was diligent and dependable, and knew just what to say. The aunties and older women all adored her. Later, Liu Ailing returned to the city and married the son of a factory director. She had two sons, and her whole life went smoothly, full of happiness. Zhou Jianie, meanwhile, was taken advantage of by a lazy bachelor from the neighboring village. Under pressure, she had no choice but to stay in the countryside, marry, and start a family. Her life was unbearably hard. Even her family in the city was ashamed of her. Decades later, the two met in the city. One was beautiful and elegant; the other was the mother of a beautiful woman. One was furious about her son's girlfriend and smashed up several million yuan's worth of things to break them up. The other sent a "Thanks, boss" to the group chat over a few cents' worth of red-envelope money. Liu Ailing looked at Zhou Jianie's weathered face and said, her red lips parting, "Jianie, wouldn't it have been better if you hadn't made such a fuss back then?" Memories flooded back. Zhou Jianie felt a lump in her chest and never recovered. Only after she died and saw the comments floating before her did she learn that she'd been living in a book as the foil to its heroine, Liu Ailing. When she opened her eyes, Zhou Jianie was sitting on an ox cart headed for Qianjin Brigade, and a giant red envelope was flashing before her: Boss, tap me! Tap it she did, but why was it clinging to her and refusing to leave? Zhou Jianie held up her left hand and stared silently at the interface on it: A daily group-buying deals chat?! Whoever wants to be the heroine's foil can have the job. I'm out. The group-buying chat let her buy and sell things, opening up a whole new world. Zhou Jianie waved a hand and declared, "I'm starting a group buy today!" "Wild shepherd's purse, organically grown and pollution-free! Only ten portions available. Today's special price: 15 yuan per portion, three jin per pack. Click the link to snap one up..." "Heirloom white-fleshed sweet potatoes! Handpicked large ones. Today's special price: 18.9 yuan per portion, ten jin per pack. Click the link to buy..." "Enamel mugs, original stock from XX Enamel Factory. Limited group-buy quantities..." "Traditional handmade cotton-soled cloth shoes. Every stitch made with love. Today's group-buy special..." Upcoming novel: Life in the 1970s Is as Sweet as Honey. Blurb: Not long after Tan Lixia returned to the city, her former middle-school classmate Yu Jinfeng sent someone to propose marriage. They began dating, and after they married, the Yu family arranged a job for her. Everyone in the alley envied her. But because she owed them this favor, it was only right that she keep her head down and make herself small in her husband's family. When she was wronged, Yu Jinfeng would only say, "My parents got you that job, so just put up with it." She put up with it for five or six years. After having a daughter, she still couldn't get pregnant again. Her mother-in-law, displeased, made her try all sorts of folk remedies, one bowl of herbal medicine after another, insisting, "Our family absolutely needs a son. Otherwise, who'll take over Jinfeng's job in the future?" As talk of tightening family-planning rules grew, her mother-in-law's expression at home grew ever more gloomy. Then came the devastating blow. Seeing the two of them sleeping together in bed, Tan Lixia felt as if thunder had struck her. Her mother-in-law sighed in her ear, "What can you expect when your womb's no good? Once I have a boy, I'll let you raise him." Then she put on a superior air and added, "After New Year, I'll use my connections to get you made permanent." She'd spent five or six years slaving away as a temp, handed her wages over to her mother-in-law to manage, been scorned for failing to produce a son, and had to endure betrayal in her marriage. The world spun. Tan Lixia fell, then opened her eyes. She froze for a moment, then covered her eyes and giggled. "That dream felt so real." And it had felt real. Every last detail was vivid. For example, Yu Jinfeng was sitting in the main room right now, talking to her mother: "Auntie, once we're married, I'll make sure my mother gets Lixia's job made permanent..." It was exactly the same as in her dream. Tan Lixia's face instantly turned pale. Once she had confirmed that the dream was real, whoever wanted to live through those years steeped in bitter medicine could go ahead. She was done. ** Ping Zhen was an orphan from the crowded courtyard houses on Back Street. After serving in the military for several years, he returned home after being discharged, and someone introduced him to a woman. She thought he looked fierce and had a scar on his chin, but she liked that he was an orphan, since she wouldn't have to serve her mother-in-law after marriage. Ping Zhen explained that he had adoptive parents and would certainly support them in the future. The woman thought there was something wrong with him and walked out. As Ping Zhen turned around, he saw the woman he'd met during field exercises the previous year. Half a month later, the woman who'd been introduced to Ping Zhen learned that he was the new leader who'd just been assigned to her younger brother's unit. She also learned who his adoptive parents were, and came to him of her own accord. "Comrade Ping, I've thought it over. I'd still like to talk with you." Ping Zhen frowned and took a step back to put some distance between them. "Which department are you in? Our workplace doesn't allow people to bypass their superiors. If you have something to discuss, talk to your supervisor." He tried to step around her, but she stopped him again and said shyly, "What? I meant I want to date you." "I'm seeing someone." Ping Zhen hurried away as if his life depended on it. At the wedding, Yu Jinfeng saw the bride standing beside his direct superior and felt as if thunder had struck him. Blurb for After Switching Souls with Grandma: What happens when a sharp-tongued, mean grandmother who favors boys over girls switches souls with her vain, rebellious granddaughter who hates school... Fan Xiuhua had a fight with her eldest daughter-in-law, Zhao Yejuan. After the battle, she went back to her room in a rage and lay down for a while. When she opened her eyes, her most hated daughter-in-law was sitting by the bed, looking at her affectionately. "Sweetheart, you're awake. Want to get up and eat something?" Fan Xiuhua: ...Did her daughter-in-law go crazy because of me? Wen Youyou had been so angry that her parents wouldn't buy her the latest fruit-brand smartphone that she went on a hunger strike at home. She kept it up until she fell asleep. When she woke, she met her father's adoring, concerned gaze. He asked, "Mom, does your head still hurt?" Wen Youyou: Oh no! Did I starve myself into hallucinating? A few minutes later, the Wen family's grandmother and granddaughter let out cries of alarm one after the other... After that: Fan Xiuhua, illiterate, was forced by her "dad" and "mom" to study at home. Holding her textbook, she felt as if she were reading the heavens. Wen Youyou, who wanted a fruit-brand phone, squinted at the caller ID on an old person's phone. She didn't want a fruit-brand phone anymore. She couldn't even chew fruit, and her love life had been nipped in the bud before it even began. The one bright side was that she didn't have to go to school anymore. A little scene: At the dinner table, Fan Xiuhua, in her granddaughter's body, instinctively picked up her chopsticks and started eating. Her filial son saw that his "mom" hadn't touched her chopsticks yet, but his "daughter" was already eating. He smacked her with his chopsticks. "The elders haven't started eating yet, and you're already digging in? Where are your manners?" Afterward, he gave the "mom" beside him a fawning look. Fan Xiuhua, used to eating first: ... Wen Youyou, still acting like a younger family member but now with an old woman's body, saw what her father had done and snapped, "How dare you talk to your daughter like that? Apologize!" Wen Dad: ??? Why did his mother's tone sound strangely coquettish? Zhao Yejuan kicked her husband hard under the table. The bastard had dared to hit her daughter! Then she put a big chicken drumstick in her "daughter's" bowl. "Eat up. Don't mind your dad." "Old daughter" Fan Xiuhua: ...Being doted on feels kind of nice. Meanwhile, Wen Youyou was jealous. She looked at Zhao Yejuan with drooping eyelids and a wounded expression, screaming inwardly, Mom, I'm your daughter!!! Zhao Yejuan thought she'd successfully made her "mother-in-law" angry. She gave a smug little snort and put another helping of food in her "daughter's" bowl, then leaned in and whispered, "Eat more. That old bag, your grandma, is about to die of anger!" The young old bag: ... Content warnings: Dual heroines x a family full of oddballs, none of them particularly good people. Grandma Fan Xiuhua is sharp-tongued and favors boys over girls. Her son and grandson are treasures; her daughter and granddaughter are worthless. Wen Youyou, the granddaughter, is vain and going through a rebellious phase. She hates school, has confessed to her crush, and is in the ambiguous talking stage with him. Wen Dad is indecisive, a mama's boy, and poor at reading people. Wen Mom is relatively okay. She was an innocent young woman before marriage, but became a shrew afterward. Her usual routine is cursing the heavens, the earth, men, and her mother-in-law. Wen Youyou's younger brother, Wen Pengcheng, is Grandma's precious darling and a little spoiled. Wen Aunt is her family's delivery service. Raised by her mother to believe that daughters must spend their whole lives sacrificing for the men in their birth family. Wen Uncle is a university professor who loves putting on airs and lecturing people, and looks down on his eldest brother for staying in the countryside. Wen Aunt-in-law is snobbish and dislikes her mother-in-law from the countryside. Wen Cousin is the daughter of highly educated parents, but was driven into becoming a timid people-pleaser because she struggles in school. (More to come if I think of anything.) (The title is tentative and may change later.) Theme: Strive upward and live life on your own terms.