The 2nd World: Social Media of the 1970

Arden Forster held a white porcelain bowl, inside of which was a lump of black rice wrapped in dried leaves and a half of a sweet potato. This was her dinner for the night.

The rice ball was made from dried rations mixed with wild vegetables. In the memories of the original host, this was a common meal.

Food was rationed, and often they were not full, so they had to figure out how to make the wild vegetables stretch to alleviate hunger.

In this era, even wild vegetables had become a rarity. The mountains and hills were stripped clean, not even a blade of grass remained.

The young intellectuals who came to the countryside had little experience and could only manage to find a meager amount of food.

It was already winter, and there was no more wild food to gather.

Arden tasted the rice ball, and like its appearance, it was difficult to eat. Her throat felt dry and uncomfortable.

Reluctantly, she ate the sweet potato first to soothe her throat, then braved herself to continue eating the rice ball.

Since there was no work to do in the evening, she dared not eat too much. She was the one who ate the least, just enough to fill her stomach, but never to the point of satisfaction.

In such a harsh era, many people still had to think like this. It was unimaginable.

Indeed, the world Arden had crossed into was a popular historical novel genre on the most famous online platform, Silkyroad.

The protagonist of this world was named Sylvia Greene. Arden Forster was a member of the Greene family's production team in the countryside.

However, the real protagonist was not the peasant Sylvia Greene, but Sylvia Greene from the 21st century who had crossed over.

Sylvia Greene was originally a modern citizen who unexpectedly crossed into the difficult era of 1970, becoming a rural girl. She also discovered that she had a mysterious red envelope group.

The members of the group came from different worlds and could exchange items.

The original host of Arden Forster was the fiancée of the male lead. However, the male lead didn’t like her and preferred Sylvia Greene.

So the original host created many misunderstandings and caused trouble, eventually being dealt with by the two leads, who then lived happily ever after.

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“Arden, what are you planning to do?”

While Arden Forster was reminiscing about the script, she was called by name. She looked up, and it was the oldest intellectual among them, Jackson Hawthorne.

The others had finished eating and were silently chatting while Arden had been lost in thought, not hearing their conversation.

“Pardon?” Arden responded.

“The college entrance exam!” Another intellectual, Lila May, exclaimed in surprise. "Everyone's been talking about it these last couple of days. How are you not worried? If we pass, we can go back to the city! Aren’t you in a hurry? Do you want to stay here your whole life?”

Arden understood what they were talking about. The knowledge she inherited from the original host made her realize how important going back to the city was to these young intellectuals sent to the countryside.

Hard labor in the countryside wore them down, and most of them longed to return to the city.

But only one person could go back each year, and they had to pass a rigorous examination to do so.

The return to the city seemed like an impossible dream for most.

But now, there was hope — the reinstatement of the college entrance exam.

The announcement had ignited excitement among the intellectuals, and everywhere Arden went, she overheard them talking about the exam.

In the past two days, the excitement hadn’t waned.

Among them, Arden had only been in the production team for a little over a year, the shortest among them.

The longest was Jackson, who had been in the countryside for almost ten years.

From a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth, he had grown into a nearly thirty-year-old rural man, unmarried and childless, with the best years of his life buried here.

Returning to the city was now their most urgent hope.

But the opportunity to go back was rare and distant, so when the college entrance exam was reinstated, it became a new hope for them.

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Passing the exam meant leaving the countryside, returning to the city, where they would receive better education and training and eventually get assigned work, no matter where they ended up. It would still be better than staying in the countryside.

For these intellectuals, this was their only chance.

So, when this opportunity arrived, everyone wanted to grasp it, as if it were a lifeline.

Arden, of course, also wanted to return to the city, so she nodded lightly, “I want to return to the city.”

The others didn’t think much about her response. Of course, all of them wanted to return.

“The announcement was so sudden, there’s only a little over a month left. We’ve forgotten most of what we learned before. It’s too late to cram!”

“But we have to work every day! How will we have time to study? The syllabus is huge, how can we cover it all?”

“We don’t even have textbooks! Where will we find study materials? Even if we join, it’s not certain we’ll pass.”

“I sent a letter to my family, but waiting for them to send the books, it’ll take at least ten to fifteen days.” The entrance exam was less than two months away, and every second counted. Missing half a month would take away a third of their study time, so it’s no wonder they were anxious.

The group murmured, increasingly unsure, their faces filled with worry about the future, yet also a bit hopeful.

The college entrance exam was difficult, but it was their hope.

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“By the way, Arden, isn’t your family from the capital? You must have known the news already, right? Did they send study materials to you?” Lila May asked.

Everyone knew that Arden’s family treated her very well and often sent her many things, including clothes, food, and daily necessities.

So, among the young intellectuals sent to the countryside, Arden was an exception. She ate well, dressed nicely, and lived like a young lady in the countryside.

She wasn’t very capable of hard labor and often pretended to be sick to take time off, much like a spoiled princess.

But recently, she had been working without complaints, a rare sight.

They didn’t understand why someone like her, used to a comfortable life, had come to endure the hardships of the countryside. They had heard her family was influential and that she could have avoided being sent here.

Although she was spoiled and had a bad temper, she wasn’t a bad person. Her family was the wealthiest among the intellectuals, and others would often borrow money from her, to which she never objected.

Therefore, Arden had a good relationship with the others.

Arden thought for a moment. Indeed, her family had mentioned the news, but the postal service was slow, so the materials hadn’t arrived yet.

So she told them, “They’ve sent it, but it hasn’t arrived yet.”

Hearing that, the others were a bit disappointed. Jackson Hawthorne chuckled, “Don’t rush. It’s all good. If we don’t have the materials, others don’t either.”

“We’re all starting from the same place, it’s not a big deal.”

As the oldest and most dependable of the group, Jackson Hawthorne reassured them, making them feel a little better. His calming influence kept everyone from panicking.

After a little more conversation, everyone washed their bowls and returned to their rooms to rest.

Tomorrow, they would need to work again, and free time was scarce.

The moonlight bathed the courtyard in a soft glow.

The living quarters for the intellectuals were small. The kitchen had been set up in a tent, and the bathroom was outdoors.

There were only three small rooms, side by side, where they lived.

The largest room housed four men, while the two smaller rooms were for the women.

At first, Arden had been reluctant to share a room with the others, so she had insisted on having her own space.

Her room wasn’t big, but it was sufficient for one person.

A simple wooden bed was placed against the wall, with a neatly arranged quilt. The bed linens were high-quality and didn’t match the humble surroundings, clearly sent by her family.

On the other side of the room was a wooden cabinet, and beside it, a bookshelf with a few items like a mirror and a wooden comb.

The original host had covered the walls with wallpaper to conceal the stains, and the floral-patterned wallpaper added a touch of color to the room.

As Arden prepared, she checked the group chat. Sylvia Greene had just sent a red envelope to Lucas Han, from Earth.

Lam Jing was the dimension where Arden was currently located, and the group members came from different dimensions, including the sci-fi dimension, the beastmen dimension, and of course, the cultivation dimension.

But as Arden observed, Linh Hư Tử, from the cultivation dimension, had only just reached the Golden Core stage and was far from Arden’s previous abilities.

Despite this, Linh Hư Tử had magical talismans and elixirs, which made other dimensions fear him.

Thus, Linh Hư Tử was one of the most respected members in the group.

But right now, Sylvia Greene was most excited about Lucas Han.

【Sylvia Greene - Lam Jing】: @Lucas Han - Earth, can you help me find the exam papers from 1977?

The college entrance exam! Oh my god, I need to review high school material quickly. I’ve already returned all the notes to my teacher [crying].

【Lucas Han - Earth】: Sure, I’ll find them online. Which province do you need?

【Sylvia Greene - Lam Jing】: Thank you so much! I need the JL province papers.

...

The Lam Jing dimension had a history similar to Earth, with only about a 100-year difference. Sylvia Greene asked Lucas Han, from the future, to help her find the exam papers.

Perhaps because of the protagonist’s fortune, the exam papers this time were exactly the same as those from the past in Lucas Han’s world, which was why Sylvia Greene ended up at the top of the rankings.

However, Sylvia Greene had already graduated from university. Though she had forgotten most of it, the exam was simple enough for her to pass, though topping the exam was impossible.

But Sylvia Greene didn’t keep the exam papers to herself. Using the excuse of tutoring, she leaked the papers to her relatives and friends.

When the results were announced, the entire Greene family had skyrocketed — five members entered university!

Sylvia Greene had the best results, and she was the top scorer of the province.

The least successful was her cousin, but even she ranked in the middle.

But it should be noted that her cousin hadn’t even graduated from high school!

Without Sylvia Greene, no one in the Greene family would have passed the exam.

From the perspective of the protagonist, this was a satisfying plot, but the number of people accepted was more than expected. Some people who shouldn’t have passed did, while those who deserved to pass were pushed aside.

In this era, the college entrance exam was the only chance to change one’s fate — a step to heaven or a step to hell.

As in the original story, Jackson Hawthorne missed university by just one point. He had been in the countryside for so long that he had forgotten much of his knowledge.

Yet, it was just one point. The effort he put in was unimaginable.

Studying was extremely exhausting. Some people spent long hours reviewing, taking time out of their busy schedules to fight for that slim chance.

While others did nothing, taking shortcuts by using the exam papers they had obtained to achieve good results.

Arden Forster thought for a moment. This would be her first time using her position as group leader.

Lucas Han - Earth was banned from sending messages after Arden restricted his ability to send red envelopes.