Chapter 1: Rebirth at Eighteen
Lu Yixuan realized that he had truly been reborn, going back to the autumn of 1977.
At the moment, he was a young man of 18, in the prime of his youth, with a vast amount of time to squander and enjoy.
Without his smartphone, without Wi-Fi, unable to post his latest life update on social media... he couldn't share his new life's happenings with anyone...
All kinds of uneasiness, total disarray of his life rhythm.
In such a state, it took him three days to barely get himself steady.
Home.
In his previous life, he had worked hard for most of his life, and he was about to retire, ready to enjoy the leisure of his old age. But then he was reborn, and his loving wife, his young son, and his career disappeared as if they were nothing but a dream.
And now, this home.
His father, Lu Tiezhu, had been driving a rubber-tire mule cart for the production team a week ago, taking autumn grain into the county town. A truck suddenly blew its horn in his face, scaring the beast, overturning the cart, and crushing his father's leg, rendering him disabled.
The mainstay of this family had suddenly collapsed.
In a rural village in the 70s, if the household lost its able-bodied laborer, it was as if the sky was falling.
Lu Yixuan is the eldest of five siblings, beneath him are two sisters and two brothers; his elder sister Lu Yixue and the second brother Lu Yidong are twins, both 16 years old; his younger brother, Lu Yiyong is 11; the youngest, sister Lu Yiping is just four.
Their mother, Liu Yulian, is an illiterate and ordinary rural woman.
In the past few days of adaptation, he remembered many things from his previous life. After his father's misfortune in his previous life, their entire family also suffered. They lived in fear for many years.
Back then, they relied on their mother's maiden family for some support, along with his thin, inexperienced shoulder as the oldest sibling. This continued for about three to five years.
Everything changed when he began working as a village primary school teacher. His excellent performance earned him a transfer to a middle school in the town, bringing a little more income home. Gradually, this allowed for his younger siblings to each establish their own households, or go back to school. Their lives slowly started to get back on track.
They lived under the gloom from their disillusioned parents.
In the early nineties, a second wave of national crackdowns led to his third brother being executed for fraternizing with the worst of society and committing gang crimes.
Everything came apart after that. Their parents were in despair, and passed away shortly afterwards.
Before this, he was on track to become a permanent teacher in a private school, possibly even in a high school in the county town as a state-funded teacher. However, the debacle with his third brother left his hopes in ruin.
Even his first wife left him, taking their son with her to a far-off place. He never heard from them again.
In his frustration, he quit his job and moved south.
Over a decade later, he ventured in Shenzhen City alone, met his second wife, a delicate woman sixteen years his junior, and started a new family.
But all of this happened after the dawn of the new century.
Who could have guessed - fate toys with us all.
Just as he was starting to enjoy life after a bitter struggle, he was reborn, finding himself back to when he was eighteen, at the end of the 1970s. It was a time where the country had just exited ten years of special period, on the eve of the implementation of the opening up and reform policy...
"Brother, the water is ready!" his eldest sister, Lu Yixue, called out.
"Brother, all the persimmons are washed clean!" his second brother, Lu Yidong, joined in.
"Brother, I've also prepared the big water tank!" his third brother, Lu Yiyong, was extremely excited.
"Big Brother, I want to eat persimmons..." Little sister Lu Yiping's nose was running, and her face was smeared with dirt. She had obviously been out playing in the mud again.
The calls from his younger siblings brought Lu Yixuan back from his reverie.
They were preparing to prepare softened persimmons.
This was the first money-making plan that Lu Yixuan came up with after his reincarnation. He planned to soften a batch of wild persimmons and sell them in the county town.
The process of softening persimmons was not overly complex.
With water of about 45 degrees Celsius, the hard, raw persimmons would be immersed in a large water tank. Then, the tank would be sealed with a thick cotton quilt, preventing any outside air from entering. After stewing in this manner for about a day and a night, the astringent taste in the raw persimmons could be eliminated, making the persimmons crunchy and sweet.
Renhe Village was located at the foot of the Qinling Mountains, and wild persimmon trees were abundant in the mountainous areas.
In Lu Yixuan's memory, back in his previous life when he had been teaching in a rural school, the villagers would go up to the mountains to harvest persimmons at this time of the year every year. Afterwards, they would soften the persimmons before selling them in the city, their business was always booming.
However, it was only 1977 now.
At present, despite the initial stirrings of reform within the higher echelons of the government, activities such as street vending and personal trade could still be labeled as 'policies of capitalism' or be viewed as risky speculations, and were subject to severe regulatory scrutiny.
His idea to soften wild persimmons and sell them in the city was something he dared not mention to anyone else, so he could only attempt to do it secretly.
As someone who had reincarnated, Lu Yixuan had several decades of life experience from his previous life. Now, his perception of this era was naturally different as a result.
The family he lived with now was extremely poor.
Regardless, since he had been given a second chance at life by fate, he couldn't allow himself to live the mediocre life he lived in his previous life.
The hardships and regrets from his past life, he was determined to not let them occur again in this life.
To earn money and, as quickly as possible, find the best orthopedic doctor to treat his father's broken leg.
This is his current priority, a small goal that must be reached as soon as possible.
Actually, in his opinion, his father's broken leg could definitely be cured given sufficient medical resources.
In his previous life, due to their poverty, the matter was delayed, in this life, he absolutely cannot let this tragedy be repeated.
In 1977, another significant event was about to take place.
An event, big enough to completely change the fate of many ordinary people, was quietly nearing.
In the winter of this year, after the country resumed the regular college entrance examination policy, the only winter college entrance examination in history was about to be held......
"Yo, Brother Xuan, what are you and your siblings bustling around the yard for?"
The gate of Lu Residence was squeakily pushed open.
An old lady with an exaggeratingly swaying gait stepped into the yard.
The old woman's surname was Zhang, famously known in the village as the matchmaker, Zhang Chunlan.
As soon as she stepped into the yard, her eyes flitted stealthily around the entire compound in a swift scan, while she chewed sunflower seeds and 'tsked tsked' in amazement, observing the busy Lu siblings.
Liu Yulian, who was inside the house, heard the voice of the matchmaker, Zhang, and hurriedly stepped out to meet her.
"Oh, Sister Zhang is here, come inside. Xuan, your aunt Zhang is here, you should at least greet her! You child...."
The sudden appearance of matchmaker Zhang made Lu Yixuan suddenly recall something.
In his previous life, around this time, after his father met with a mishap, the matchmaker, Madam Zhang, was commissioned to visit their home.
She came to dissolve the engagement, withdrawing the intended marriage between him, Lu Yixuan, and the maiden from the Lin family in town.
In his last life, when Madam Zhang visited his home, he was working at the production team and missed the meeting at home.
However, after finishing work from the team and returning home, he ran into Madam Zhang and the entire Lin family by chance at the entrance of the village. He was so thrilled that he ran up to greet them.
After all, it was a rare opportunity to see his bride-to-be and future-in-laws. His naivety as a hapless groom-to-be was almost endearing in its innocence.
But at that moment, he was abruptly warned that his bride was no longer his; he was forbidden from approaching Miss Lin anymore, or else someone would break his legs...
