Jacqueline Spann, feeling aggrieved, had no heart for gathering medicinal herbs anymore. Besides, she now looked down on the few dimes she could earn from it. It would take forever to save up for tuition that way; she had to find another method.

Standing on the hillside, Jacqueline Spann gazed down and saw Tang Xiaonan chatting happily with Old Master Tate, and Adrian Hawthorne weeding in the fields. A knot tightened in her chest. None of the beautiful scene before her belonged to her; she felt as if she had been abandoned by the world.

’It wasn’t like this before. I felt my future was bright, and everything was going so smoothly. I had a detailed plan: I would learn from Grandpa Tate, find a way to earn money, get into college, leave Millstone Peak, and become a successful woman admired by all.’

’This was my ideal future.’

’I was confident I would make it a reality.’

But now, her confidence was shaken.

Grandpa Tate refused to teach her. She had no idea where to earn money, and no idea if she could even get into college. She might not even be able to attend junior high. Phoenix Golding had said long ago that after finishing her five years of primary school, Jacqueline was to come home to work, and then get married and have children a few years later.

Jacqueline Spann shivered, her heart sinking to rock bottom. She didn’t want to marry some crude country bumpkin. She liked Clayton Xavier, but Phoenix Golding would surely never agree to her marrying him, not with his family’s "landlord" class background.

’Only by getting into college can I control my own destiny.’

Jacqueline Spann gritted her teeth and gripped her sickle tightly. ’I can’t just sit here and wait for my doom. I have to find a way to earn money.’

’As long as I have money, I can control my own destiny, even if I don’t get into college.’

Digging for herbs was definitely not going to work; there was too little money in it. She had to think of something else. Jacqueline’s gaze fell on Adrian Hawthorne, who was weeding energetically. An idea struck her. She shouldered her basket and headed down the mountain.

Adrian Hawthorne wiped the sweat from his brow. Thanks to Jim Thorne’s advice, the potatoes were flourishing, growing better than in previous years. It looked like they were in for a bumper crop. The soybeans were doing well, too. Everything was going smoothly this year. Though his body was tired, Adrian was in high spirits. He wiped away another bead of sweat and prepared to continue weeding.

"Kenneth." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Jacqueline Spann had approached without a sound. Adrian Hawthorne frowned slightly, but his expression smoothed into a calm mask as he looked up. He watched her coolly, his back ramrod straight. He was automatically on guard. "What is it?"

He glanced at Jacqueline’s basket and saw motherwort. Adrian understood immediately. She wanted to sell herbs for money, but motherwort wasn’t valuable. You could work yourself to death and still not make more than a few dimes.

Jacqueline bit her lip, not saying a word for a long time. Growing impatient, Adrian went back to his weeding, deciding not to bother with her.

"I know you’re selling movie stills in the city. You make good money, don’t you?"

Adrian Hawthorne’s hand paused for a moment, but he calmly resumed weeding. ’So what if she knows?’ he thought. He and Grandpa Tate had already analyzed the situation. In half a year at most, the government would surely introduce new policies, allowing him to run his small business openly.

Receiving no response from Adrian, Jacqueline started to panic. She had a strong urge to turn and leave, but she couldn’t. She hadn’t achieved her goal yet.

"Can you wholesale some movie stills to me? I won’t tell anyone else."

"I don’t have any movie stills. You’re mistaken."

Adrian replied coldly and moved to another spot to continue weeding.

Jacqueline hurried after him, saying urgently, "Stop lying to me! If you weren’t selling movie stills, where would you get the money to buy sandalwood soap for Aunt Green? Where would you get the money for a bicycle? Besides, someone saw it with their own eyes! When you fell, photos scattered all over the ground—hundreds of them. If you’re not selling them, why would you develop so many photos?"

PS: In the 1970s, primary school was a five-year system. It was later changed to six years.