pjbooks Chapter 1 Rebirth in 85
Chapter 1 Rebirth in 85
Winter of 1985, Chenjiagou.
Chen Feng felt a buzzing in his head, as if a ball of scalding hot cotton had been stuffed inside.
As the blurry vision cleared, the first thing I could see was my own old, blackened door panel, and the faded, tattered Spring Festival couplets on it.
The nasal cavity was filled with the pungent smell of cheap cigarettes, mixed with the unique smell of firewood and grass in a northern winter.
"...Chen Feng? Chen Feng! I'm talking to you, what are you staring at?"
A voice pulled him out of the chaos.
Chen Feng stiffly turned his neck to look at the person who spoke—Zhao Desheng, nicknamed Er Gou, the village's gang leader.
He was called a gang leader, but that was only because he had five brothers in his family. If you mess with one, you mess with a whole bunch of them.
People from all around would avoid him on ordinary days.
He was wearing a brand-new military green cotton-padded jacket, smoking a cigarette, and the Shanghai brand watch on his wrist was waving in front of Chen Feng's eyes.
"I heard you couldn't make it in that factory up south?"
Zhao Ergou exhaled a smoke ring. "I told you, it's not that easy out there. It's good that you're back."
Chen Feng didn't answer, but just stared at Zhao Ergou, then looked behind Zhao Ergou—
His elder brother, Zhao Guofu, also stood in his own low-ceilinged main room, a familiar smile on his face, holding a small package of pastries wrapped in straw paper.
This scene...this dialogue...
Familiar yet unfamiliar!
Isn't this the first time he's traveled south to return home?
But he should be lying in a bed in the county hospital!
Why did I open my eyes...?
He looked down sharply at his hands—young, with well-defined joints, and full of strength.
Is he dreaming?
Chen Feng subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to touch his phone in his pocket, but his fingertips touched a crumpled pack of "Da Qianmen" cigarettes instead.
I took it out and saw that there was still half a box left.
He bought these cigarettes at the train station on his first trip south, gritting his teeth, and didn't smoke more than a few along the way.
A pack of pork costs 55 cents, which is equivalent to several ounces of pork back home.
Just to save face and let the villagers see that he had "made it" outside.
"I..." Chen Feng's throat went dry.
"Alright, let's get down to business."
Zhao Ergou interrupted impatiently, "Aren't those three acres of land on your west slope just lying around? My uncle works at the county agricultural machinery station and wants to lease a plot of land for experiments, and he's got his eye on your west slope."
It's here! This is the matter!
Chen Feng's heart began to pound.
Countless fragments of memory flooded into my mind like a torrent:
In his past life, it was during this winter that the Zhao brothers used this watch and 150 yuan to "exchange" for the three acres of land on the west slope.
You have to understand that a farmer's family can't save that much money in a whole year!
He even felt like he got a good deal at the time.
Later he learned that the land in Chenjiagou was divided into six levels: "favorable timing, advantageous location, and harmonious human relations." His family's three mu of land was the "favorable timing, advantageous location, and harmonious human relations" level irrigated land, which his ancestors had earned with their lives.
This land is not only fertile, but also has good feng shui.
The village only had a few acres of land, but he, who didn't know its value, readily agreed to sell it.
They tried to retrieve it, but the handprint had already been left, and the Zhao family wouldn't budge no matter what they said.
Later, when the county was building a branch line connecting to the national highway, after much exploration, the optimal route happened to pass through the west slope!
Zhao Ergou resold the property to a developer, making a huge profit, and moved his entire family into the county town.
He spent a few days living a "lavish" life with that 150 yuan and the watch, but soon fell into poverty again.
Because of this, his wife Lin Xiu secretly shed many tears, and his father was so angry that he didn't speak to him for three years.
"Chen Feng, give me a straight answer."
Seeing him in a daze, Zhao Ergou urged, shaking his wrist again, "It's from Shanghai, brand new! It's worth several hundred yuan! I had to beg and plead to get it. Take this and 150 yuan, and you can trade it for your three acres of barren hillside land. Where else can you find such a bargain?"
Zhao Guofu chimed in, "Feng, you've just gotten back, and you need money for everything. Er Gou is just trying to help you. That land is just lying around anyway..."
Exchange? Support?
Chen Feng slowly raised his head, probably thinking that he was taking advantage of Chen Feng's lack of expertise and his father's old age.
Thinking this to himself, Chen Feng didn't show it on his face, but put on a simple and honest smile.
"Brother Guofu, Brother Ergou."
Chen Feng's voice was calm and firm, "I appreciate your kindness."
He paused, looked directly at the watch on Zhao Ergou's wrist, and slowly shook his head.
"But Uncle Guo, you know that the land on the western slope was obtained by our clan by sacrificing more than half of their people to protect the estate. Now that it's in my hands, I have to keep it under control no matter what."
Zhao Ergou's smile froze: "What? You're not going to trade?"
"Yes, no trade," Chen Feng answered decisively. "I'll farm the land myself."
The main room fell silent instantly.
Zhao Guofu's smile faded, and his eyes revealed scrutiny and surprise.
Zhao Ergou's face flushed red: "Chen Feng! Are you crazy? You want to farm it yourself? You don't know how to farm at all! Don't push your luck!"
Chen Feng stopped looking at him and turned to Zhao Guofu: "Brother Guofu, I came all the way back from outside, thinking that Uncle and Brother Ergou missed me, so I mustered up my spirits to greet them. I know I'm unfilial, but I can't let down the roots my ancestors gave me..."
Zhao Guofu's habitual smile faded, replaced by a scrutinizing and calculating look in his eyes.
Forcing him won't work; this kid seems to have a good idea right now.
Besides... Chen Laogeng is bedridden, but I heard his eldest and second eldest brothers will be back soon.
Those two brothers, one working in a mine and the other on a construction site, are both very strong. If things really escalate, our family might not come out on top.
In a short time, Zhao Guofu had already made up his mind.
We can't rush things. The land is there and we can't move it. We need to plan carefully and find a more reliable method that allows us to better control people.
He gave Zhao Ergou, who was still standing there with his neck stiff and his face full of resentment, a stern look, stopping him from saying the unpleasant things he was about to say.
"Your aunt made these snacks especially for you. Gou'er and I are leaving now."
After saying that, he pulled the reluctant Zhao Desheng away.
The old wooden door creaked shut.
Faintly, Zhao Ergou's cursing could be heard outside the door—"That ungrateful bastard!"
Chen Feng stood alone in the main room, slowly exhaling a breath of stale air.
Fortunately, they returned in time, before the land was sold.
His gaze passed over the window and landed on the distant, snow-covered, vast mountains.
In his previous life, relying on his youth and strength, he always looked to other places for something better, idled away his time in the village, and only worked sporadically when he went out.
I didn't stay long at any of them—construction sites, mines, or the assembly line in the south—because I found them too tiring and the pay too low, always thinking the next one would be better.
I've drifted through half my life, my strength is gone, and I'm exhausted.
His wife, Lin Xiu, raised their two children alone and passed away before she was fifty.
His son, Xiaoshan, was as distant as a stranger to him, and when his daughter, Xiaoyue, got married, he couldn't even afford a decent dowry.
Lying on his hospital bed, he finally understood: the most precious thing in life isn't how much money you make, but taking on the responsibilities you should bear and cherishing the people you should cherish...
Since God has given him a chance, this time, he's not leaving no matter what.
He wants to make up for all the debts he owes his family!
In the kitchen, Lin Xiu was squatting in front of the stove adding firewood, with her five-year-old son Xiaoshan and three-year-old daughter Xiaoyue surrounding her.
Hearing footsteps, Lin Xiu looked up and saw Chen Feng coming in from outside. Her eyes were complicated—there was unfamiliarity, expectation, and even more so, a resigned calm.
"You're back?" Her voice was indifferent, as if she were asking a neighbor she didn't know very well. "Come inside, it's cold outside."
"Xiuer..." Chen Feng wanted to say something, but his throat felt blocked.
In her previous life, when she was only in her early forties, her hair was already gray and her eyes were covered with wrinkles.
At this moment, she was only twenty-five years old. Although her clothes were worn and her face was haggard, her eyes were still bright and her cheeks still retained the features of her youth.
"Where is Dad?" he asked.
"Lying down inside."
Lin Xiu had her back to him, and her voice was muffled, "My old leg pain has flared up again. I haven't been able to get out of bed since spring."
Chen Feng's heart sank.
My father, Chen Laogeng, suffered a leg injury in his previous life while hiking in the mountains—he fell off a cliff while trying to collect a valuable medicinal herb, which left him with a limp.
Later, because he didn't have the money to get proper treatment, he would be in so much pain on rainy days that he couldn't sleep all night.
He put down his canvas bag and went into the east room.
The room was dark, with only a little daylight filtering in through a small window.
On the kang (a heated brick bed), Chen Laogeng was curled up in the quilt. Hearing the noise, he struggled to sit up.
"Feng'er? Why are you back at this time?" The old man's voice was hoarse and dry.
Chen Feng sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at his father's gray hair, sunken eyes, and hands covered with calluses and cracks—the hands of a mountain herder, the hands that had supported his family.
"Dad, I'm not leaving," he said.
Chen Laogeng paused for a moment, then sighed, "It's good that you're back. Life out there... isn't easy."
"Hmm," Chen Feng replied, feeling a tightness in his chest. "My eldest and second eldest brothers aren't with me; they'll probably be back in a couple of days."
Upon hearing this, Chen Laogeng nodded, muttering, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back..."
Chen Feng knew that his father missed the three brothers.
They haven't been home for two years.