[October 17, 1999, Sunday]
Ge Xiaotian stared intently at the black plastic watch on his wrist, his heart filled with inexplicable horror.
You might not believe it, but he had been reborn!
One moment he was shooting the breeze with his cellmates, and the next, there was a flash of lightning and he found himself in a cornfield!
The sun was shining brightly overhead, dust flying beneath his feet, and the sound of rustling dry leaves filled the air.
To his left was his father, and to his right was his mother, two familiar yet strange relatives, both holding onto four or five cornstalks while swinging their hoes to chop away at the ground.
In the distance, several green mountains stretched out, while a lake lay at their feet. A small river wound its way through the vast farmland before disappearing around a corner in a village piled high with broken bricks and tiles.
What a beautiful and impoverished place!
Was this Ge Village?!
No, that’s not right!
Logically speaking, in 1999, at 18 years old, he should have been living it up in college!
Why was he here?
Was school on break?
“Ah, my second child!”
His mother dropped a bundle of cornstalks, stood up, and rubbed her waist. “A few days ago, I went to the big fair in the township and met your classmate, Li Xiuxiu. She also dropped out of school to help at home. That girl has a big waist and is perfect for giving birth to a boy. Her father also asked someone to inquire about a match. How about you go take a look tomorrow?”
His father, Ge Feng, nodded in agreement. “I’ve seen that girl before. She can carry a whole pig on her back! She’s definitely got the strength for farming! It’s settled, then. Tomorrow you’ll ride your uncle’s second-hand mule and pay her a visit. Be presentable!”
Ge Xiaotian was dumbfounded.
What the heck?
Was this some kind of blind date?
Li Xiuxiu?
Suddenly, the image of his primary school deskmate appeared in Ge Xiaotian’s mind.
That dark-skinned, round and plump little girl.
Back in school, she had often bullied him!
Going on a blind date with her?
Hiss…
The upgraded version of her now might just crush him to death!
“Dad, Mom, what are you talking about? I still need to go to school!” Ge Xiaotian replied shyly.
“Huh?” Old man Ge Feng looked puzzled. “You haven’t been to school for three or four years, and you still want to go? Just stay at home and work the fields. After you get married, do whatever you like, even if you go to the sky, I won’t care!”
Ge Xiao Tian was stunned.
What?
Hasn’t been to school for three or four years?
Do we have some kind of misunderstanding?
“Second child, Old Li has only one daughter and no sons. He has a big family business, and if you marry into his family, you won’t suffer!” his mother tried to persuade him.
“Yes, our second child is tall and strong, with a handsome face. Old Li will definitely agree to this marriage!” Old man Ge Feng smacked his lips, “By the way, Old Li is rich. The betrothal gift should be at least 8,800 in reverse!”
Ge Xiao Tian was dumbfounded and couldn’t help but exclaim:
“I’m marrying into their family?”
“And the betrothal gift is to be paid back 8,800?”
“What is all this nonsense?!”
Old man Ge Feng’s eyes were cold, “If you don’t marry into their family, how will your big brother pay for college? Next year, your little sister will also have to take the college entrance exam, and we’ll need another sum of money! With your good-for-nothing attitude, it’s already great that you can find a wife, and you’re still picky about marrying into another family?”
Marrying into another family?
Ge Xiao Tian felt like he had been struck by lightning and couldn’t recover for a while.
Are they trying to sell me off?
“Father, are we really that poor? And weren’t you working at the construction site? Why did you come back to do farm work?”
“Nonsense! If it weren’t for your nonsense in the past few years, would our family have ended up like this?” Old man Ge Feng, full of regret that iron couldn’t become steel, took out the childhood trauma-inducing belt and gave Ge Xiao Tian a smack on the buttocks. “If I don’t come back, can you, a little beast, work the fields?!”
“Stop! Dad, I was wrong!”
Ge Xiao Tian dodged while rubbing his buttocks, suddenly realizing that there were several swollen marks on them.
It was burning with pain!
Had he been beaten before?
What has this body been through?
His mother put down her hoe, patted the dirt off her body, and said, “It’s noon. You two take a break and smoke a cigarette. I’ll go home and cook. Finish the remaining three acres in the afternoon!”
“That’s fine!” Old man Ge Feng handed over a crumpled half-pack of Red Plum cigarettes. “I’m going to take a bath in the river. Are you coming?”
“No, my butt hurts!”
Ge Xiao Tian instinctively caught the cigarettes, his mind already a mess.
Is something wrong here?
I’m starting to doubt my life!
Did Ge Xiaotian from the parallel universe ruin my life?!
I vaguely remember that back in 1995, my father Ge Feng had already started his own construction team, riding a Dayang motorcycle to recruit workers everywhere. As time went on, our life became more and more prosperous. The motorcycle was replaced by a car, and by 2018, we were successful.
As his son, I enjoyed my time in college and graduated, then followed my father to work on the construction site, eating and drinking well. In 2018, we shared the good and the bad, working together side by side.
Ge Xiaotian thought that he was reborn to save his father and prevent him from investing in a soon-to-be-bankrupt and murky company, but things were not that simple.
Now, the most important thing is to save myself!
Marriage?
No way! Not in this lifetime… or at least not until I make a fortune, and definitely not marrying Li Xiuxiu!
Marrying into her family?
Becoming a son-in-law?
Whoever wants to do that, go ahead!
For 8,800 yuan?
Am I that cheap?
As long as I don’t get married and don’t get crushed by a big fat lady, Ge Xiaotian believes he can definitely make money!
Although I don’t remember the success stories of those big companies and I didn’t have any skills except working on construction sites in my previous life, I can still read blueprints, operate cranes, and excavators, right?
Just get a few certificates, patiently accumulate wealth, buy some Bitcoins when they come out, sell them after a few years and invest in real estate. By then, I can just sit back and collect rent from my small restaurant, enjoy fitness, travel, and a luxurious life. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Tsk, tsk…
No, I must leave!
But I have no money!
Ge Xiaotian set up a cornstalk, ready to build a straw shed to rest his feet and carefully plan his escape.
Should I sell some grain to raise travel expenses?
Hmm, not a bad idea!
Tonight, I’ll eat my fill, then quietly pack up half a bag of wheat…
However, just as he was thinking this, two burly men suddenly jumped out from the unfinished shed.
“Damn!”
Ge Xiaotian was so scared that he dropped his cigarette.
The two men, dressed in coarse cloth, were strong and burly. They knelt on one knee and shouted in unison, “Greetings, my lord!”
What the…?!
You must be crazy!
Ge Xiaotian grabbed the cigarette box and turned to flee the scene, only to find two strong men with floating lines of small text above their heads.
Farmer 01, excellent physical strength, skills: farming, construction.
Farmer 02, excellent physical strength, skills: farming, construction.
What is this?
Alien high-tech?
Then, a series of translucent characters appeared in Ge Xiaotian’s field of vision.
‘Level 1 Town Center completed, comes with two farmers.’
‘Farmers carry their own identity proof, can improve their skills through continuous labor, and obtain corresponding level certificates.’
Initial resources:
Food 0, recycle food or gather…
Wood 0, recycle wood or cut trees…
Stone 0…
Iron ore 0…
Gold ore 0…
Special resources 0.
Farmer: Summoning requires 10 units of food.
Consumes 3 units of food daily, can be self-supplied.
Lumberyard: Requires 80 units of wood, 30 units of iron ore to build.
Mine…
Blacksmith…
Houses…
Stables…
Dock…
…
After carefully reading the panel, Ge Xiaotian finally understood.
Age of Empires?
But this is modern society!
Do you want me to push a cannon to attack the county town?
Am I Shi Lezhi, or a system Shi Lezhi?
What can I do?
Farm?!
Turn me into a big landlord?
Forget it, my family has only ten acres of land.
Ge Xiaotian swallowed his saliva nervously, and commanded the two strong men:
“You two, go cut down the corn stalks!”
“Yes, my lord!”
The two strong men picked up short hoes and quickly walked to the corn stalks, embraced them with their left hands, and chopped them down with their right hands.
Snap, snap!
Their speed was like a harvester!
In just a short time, half an acre of corn stalks fell to the ground, and the two strong men continued at an unrelenting pace.
Half an hour went by, and all three acres of cornstalks were cut down!
Impressive!
What a waste not to work in construction!
Huh???
Construction?
Ge Xiaotian suddenly snapped out of his daydream.
He recalled in 1999, it was said that carrying one brick would earn you five cents, and carrying ten thousand bricks would earn you fifty bucks!
Two people could easily make a hundred bucks a day.
Once they made some money, they could buy more grain, recruit more strong men, and keep repeating the process. Money would just keep rolling in!
That’s right, there should be some grain stored at home!
Ge Xiaotian, oh Ge Xiaotian, you’re a genius!
“Let’s go, let’s head home first! You two go through the cornfield, and I’ll take the small path. We’ll meet at the entrance of the village!”
To avoid being discovered by his parents, Ge Xiaotian marked the route on the system map and they went separately.
“Where are you going?”
Just as he stepped out of the cornfield, he bumped into Comrade Ge Feng, who had just returned from a bath.
“I’m going to make big money!” Ge Xiaotian shouted, running for his life.
In my previous life, you treated me to delicious food and drinks; in this life, your son will take good care of you!
“You little rascal, come back here!”
“Ha-ha-ha, you can’t catch me, can you? Can’t help it, I’m just that awesome!”
Ge Feng, holding a cowhide belt, lost his shoes as he ran, angrily shouting, “If you have the guts, don’t come home tonight!”
“Fine, I won’t come back!!!”
At that moment, Ge Xiaotian felt incredibly swollen with pride!
••••••
“Uh-oh!”
After reuniting with the two strong men, Ge Xiaotian suddenly remembered something.
The town center was made of cornstalks. If his father kicked it down… ••••••
‘Town Center Destroyed!’
‘Please choose a suitable location to rebuild the Town Center; otherwise, functional buildings cannot be built!’
“Phew, luckily the system didn’t get lost!”
He relied on his memory to find his way home.
Standing outside the familiar old house, Ge Xiaotian felt a pang of nostalgia.
The house should have been demolished and rebuilt back in 1995, but surprisingly, it still stood in this timeline!
The black wooden door was locked, presumably because his mother had already taken the food back to the cornfield.
He climbed over the mud wall and jumped into the yard.
The old house was quite big, comparable to a basketball court.
On the east side, there were two kitchens with a traditional clay bedstove.
The main room faced south and had three rooms, all made of rammed earth.
Climbing in through the worn-out, old window, our protagonist enters.
The room was low, dim, and filled with a damp, musty smell.
There wasn’t much furniture – just a few black cabinets, a small black-and-white TV, three homemade wooden beds, and that’s about it.
The walls were plastered with awards and certificates from the older brother and younger sister. On the doorframe, portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Mao were displayed side by side.
Digging around, Ge Xiaotian found his own relics from this timeline in a tattered cardboard box.
Middle school books, diaries, postcards, and so on.
After looking through them, he could roughly confirm that there were no deviations in his experiences before middle school.
So, the problem must lie within these three years after graduating from middle school!
Unfortunately, in this timeline, he didn’t write any diaries after graduating from middle school!
That’s a bit troublesome!
He walked into the side room.
On a low stool, there was a sack of wheat, half a sack of soybeans, and a bundle of cotton. Beside it, a large jar was filled with flour.
‘Recycle 50 pounds of wheat and receive 10 units of food.’
‘Recycle 20 pounds of soybeans and receive 10 units of food.’
‘Flour is a finished product and cannot be recycled.’
‘Cotton is not of sufficient level to be recycled.’
‘Soybean oil is not of sufficient level to be recycled.’
‘Aged vinegar is not of sufficient level…’
‘Loose soy sauce is not of sufficient level…’
‘Unfinished Lanling liquor is not of sufficient level…’
‘Little sister’s biscuits…’
After picking and choosing, he gathered 20 units of food. Ge Xiaotian left a note, so his parents wouldn’t think their house had been robbed.
He climbed out the window and headed to the pigsty.
Looking at the plump belly of the old sow, Ge Xiaotian felt he was already pushing his luck. If he were to recycle this pregnant sow, he’d undoubtedly lose his legs.
But when he looked at the trembling Ah Huang, curled up in his doghouse with his tail between his legs, he couldn’t bear to part with him.
Forget it, he thought. Slaughter the chickens and ducks and make a run for it!
‘Recycle 8.3 pounds of chicken meat and receive 17 units of food.’
‘Recycle 7.7 pounds of chicken meat and receive 15 units of food.’
“Recycled 8 jin and 9 liang of chicken, gaining 19 portions of food.”
“Recycled 5 jin and 2 liang of chicken, gaining 10 portions of food.”
“Recycled 4 jin and 5 liang of duck, gaining 8 portions of food.”
“Recycled 6 jin and 5 liang of duck, gained…”
…
…
“I won’t be killed, right?”
