Chapter 1: Crossing the Hell Dungeon
The sky was gray, and the sea breeze mixed with water vapor blew towards the people who were going to the beach. Amid the rolling waves, the tide began to rise.
"The tide is rising! Everyone go back! Stop picking up trash!" The old Party secretary of Haiyu Village shouted with a paint-chip loudspeaker.
The villagers who were still picking up seafood on the shore walked back reluctantly.
Suddenly, someone shouted loudly: "Hurry up! Yu's daughter jumped into the sea!"
The coolness invaded Yu Zhile's body, allowing her to regain some consciousness. Water continued to pour into her nose and throat, choking her and causing her pain.
She felt her body getting heavier and heavier. She used all her strength to hit the water, but only a little splash was created.
Just as she was in despair, the sound of rapid footsteps in water came closer and closer.
The next second, she was lifted out of the sea.
After escaping danger, Yu Zhile tried hard to open his eyelids, but all he could see were two people with black faces and white necks and a gray sky.
Then, her eyes went dark and she completely lost consciousness.
After an unknown amount of time, Yu Zhile felt someone talking in her ear, making her head ache.
"Doctor Jiang, how is my sister?"
"It was discovered early. He just choked on some water. It's nothing serious. It's just—"
The hoarse voice stopped abruptly, paused for a moment and then continued: "The wound on your forehead is a bit tricky. You may have a fever tonight. You have to pay attention to it."
"Will it leave scars?" the clear boy's voice continued to ask.
"It's hard to say. The wound is quite deep."
The sound of other people talking gradually faded, the swelling and pain in Yu Zhile's solar plexus eased, his forehead ached slightly, and then he fell into a deep sleep again.
After an unknown amount of time, a piercing sound pierced her ears and she gradually woke up.
"Yu Zhile is such a troublemaker. What a mess her family is in now? She even dared to jump into the sea. If she dies, who will help her clean up this mess?"
"My eldest sister-in-law is the same as her mother. She fainted and never woke up. She left behind several children, a delicate and lazy girl who never did housework, a paralytic who couldn't walk, and a little fool who couldn't speak. There is no one useful in the family. She has become a living dead, and our two families have to work hard to raise her children!"
"Separate the family! We must separate the family this time! We can't be taken advantage of!"
Another gentle female voice followed, "Third sister-in-law, eldest brother has only been gone for a week, and now you're talking about dividing the family. How are you going to let your eldest sister-in-law and her widow survive?"
"Second sister-in-law, you have a good plan. Your Yu Yang and Yu Qi are both grown-up boys. They are looking forward to dating in two years and asking Gongzhong to pay the betrothal gift, right?"
"Third sister-in-law, I didn't mean that—"
The fierce woman retorted: "You say you don't mean that, but I don't know how clearly you are thinking in your heart!"
"Wu Caixia! Shut up!"
After the man's scolding, the fierce woman muttered a few more words, but Yu Zhile couldn't hear clearly in the room.
Jumping into the sea, lazy girl, lame man, little fool...
These words popped up in Yu Zhile's mind one by one, making her mind a mess.
She wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavy and she couldn't lift them.
After a while, the male voice sounded again: "Second sister-in-law, Caixia's words were not pleasant to hear, but they made sense. Raising a child is not just about feeding him. Whether to divide the family or not can be discussed after mother comes back."
The cool breeze made Yu Zhile more awake. She struggled hard and finally opened her heavy eyelids.
The dim house is not big, but it is fully equipped with furniture such as tables, wardrobes, and dressing tables.
The walls and floors are made of beige stone, which is quite wild. The window is opposite the end of the bed, and the curtains are blown up.
She struggled to stand up, and the sea breeze blew towards her, bringing with it a salty smell, which made her already dizzy brain send out signals that she wanted to vomit.
Yu Zhile looked around again and again, and it didn't look like a hospital.
Before she lost consciousness, she was filming a video of beach hunting. When she saw a child drowning, she threw her phone away and ran to rescue him. Unexpectedly, her legs and feet cramped at the critical moment, and then she lost consciousness.
Amidst the lightning and thunder, a word appeared in Yu Zhile's mind - time travel!
The absurd idea was beyond her belief.
The next second, her head was filled with a bunch of fragmented images, giving her a splitting headache, and it took her a long time to recover.
Today is March 29, 1970. She is now in Haiyu Village, a small fishing village in the coastal area of China.
The original owner had the same name and surname as her. She was nineteen years old this year. She was a little fisherman girl who had just lost her father. Her mother was in a coma and she had two younger brothers at home.
The eldest brother Yu Yue is fifteen years old. He was once a genius in the village, but later his legs became paralyzed due to an accident.
My younger brother Yu Chi is five years old. He has never spoken a word since he was born. He usually doesn't like to talk to outsiders and is often called a fool by the villagers.
She was taken to the provincial capital by her aunt when she was studying, and she was raised to be fair-skinned and beautiful. Last year, the university stopped recruiting students, the provincial capital was in chaos, and her uncle was often away on business. Her aunt was afraid that she could not protect her, so she was forced to send her back to Haiyu Village in early February.
In the first month after returning to the village, the walls of the original owner's house were filled with young men who came to see her, and the name of the village beauty of Haiyu Village spread from that time.
After the original owner returned to the village, she followed her mother to learn weaving and mending fishing nets. Although she was not liked by her step-grandmother, due to the allowance sent back by her father and the love of her grandfather, her step-grandmother usually only dared to make indirect complaints and did not dare to go hungry or drink.
Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long.
A week ago, the army sent a message that the original owner's father, Yu Haiguang, died gloriously while on duty, and his body was nowhere to be found. Upon hearing the news, his mother, Yu Wanqin, fainted on the spot and has been in a coma ever since.
His father's allowance was cut off and his mother was in a coma. As the only labor force in the family, the original owner was forced by his step-grandmother to go to work during the day and go fishing in the evening.
This afternoon, the original owner followed the villagers to the beach to catch seafood after the tide went out as usual, but unexpectedly an accident happened.
The original owner's family was a large one. Excluding the eldest and second aunts who were already married, there were a total of fifteen people in the family.
The original owner's father, Yu Haiguang, joined the army when he was young. In the fourth year of his military service, he brought back his wife and the original owner, and later had two more sons.
My second uncle Yu Haizong is the captain of the village's fishing team. He and his wife Yang Suyun have three sons: Yu Yang, 17, Yu Qi, 15, and Yu Lin, 4.
Third uncle Yu Haiyao is the son of my step-grandmother and her ex-husband. He has studied for a few years and is currently working as an accountant. His wife Wu Caixia is a distant relative of my step-grandmother, and their only son Yu Fu is nine years old this year.
Yu Zhile had just finished sorting out the original owner's family information when he heard the sound of car wheels rolling over fine sand coming towards them.
The shrewish woman's complaints were heard again from the main room: "Your legs are lame, and you can't work, and you're pushing a wheelchair around. What's wrong with your brain?"
Yu Yue didn't say anything and went straight to Yu Zhile's room, with a little tail following behind the wheelchair.
"Xiao Yue, your Third Aunt is like this. She may say unpleasant things, but deep down she's doing it for your own good. She's afraid that you'll get tired." Third Uncle Yu Haiyao's tone was filled with deep helplessness.
Yu Zhile's hands and feet were weak, and her whole body was powerless, but it did not prevent her from recalling that her third uncle was a smiling tiger. She was afraid that Yu Yue would suffer a loss, so she shouted hoarsely: "Xiao Yue, I want to drink water."
After she finished shouting, she realized that her throat was sore, probably the sequelae of choking on water.
"Get out of the way." Yu Yue's cold voice fell.
Yu Haiyao obviously didn't take Yu Zhile seriously. He continued to block the way and said, "Xiao Yue, my brother and sister-in-law should have saved a lot of money over the years. It should be enough for you and Xiao Chi to eat for several years. Aww——"
Before he could finish his words, he jumped aside in pain and made way.
"You little fool! Where did you pick up the shrimp shell? It's pierced your third uncle's pants, and he's only worn them once!" Wu Caixia shouted angrily and wanted to hit Yu Chi, but was slapped in the face by Yu Haiyao.
Yu Haiyao glared at her with a sullen look and cursed in a low voice: "Idiot."
The situation became awkward and he couldn't continue the previous topic. He could only watch Yu Yue and Yu Chi enter the room.
Yu Yue pushed her wheelchair to the desk, placed her enamel cup on her legs, picked up the thermos and uncorked it, and steam slowly rose.
He poured it a little too quickly, and the water hit the wall of the cup, splashing out and soaking his light-colored trousers in dark and light spots.
Yu Zhile was terrified, but he remained calm.
"Mix it with cold water and drink it slowly." Yu Yue handed her the cup and put a pillow behind her back.
Yu Zhile took a sip of water, which was just the right temperature, and heard him talking again.
"Doctor Jiang said he has a scar-removing ointment that won't leave scars."
"I have already informed the Party Secretary, and he asked you to recover completely before returning to work."
Yu Yue arranged everything properly.
Suddenly, Yu Lele felt that he was the older one who could take care of others.
The warm water made her body warmer. Yu Zhile raised her head from the cup and her eyes met Yu Yue's.
Looking at the two figures, one big and one small, beside the bed, she began to worry.
In modern times, she grew up in an orphanage and had no experience of getting along with her closest blood relatives, so she didn't know what to do in the future.
Just when she felt a faint awkwardness in the air, her third aunt Wu Caixia walked in carrying a bamboo basket.
Wu Caixia's skin was very fair, which was rare among people in the fishing village. At this moment, there was a clear red palm print on her left cheek, and the area around her eyes was red.
She took two raw eggs and put them on the table, cursing, "A bunch of debt collectors, they only know how to covet my family's things."
Yu Zhile and Yu Yue ignored her, and Yu Chi was just playing with shrimp shells. She cursed a few words and left.
Turning around, she shouted loudly in the yard: "Xiao Yue, these are the eggs that Third Aunt has been saving for a long time. I usually don't want to give them to your cousin! Eat them first, and if you don't have enough, Third Aunt will give you more!"
The sky gradually darkened, and Yu Yue lit an oil lamp in Yu Zhile's room. The three siblings said nothing, but the atmosphere was inexplicably harmonious.
Suddenly, a burly young man holding a large porcelain bowl stepped sideways and pushed open the half-open door. A bamboo basket was slung over his forearm.
For a moment, three pairs of eyes stared at him blankly, making him feel a little embarrassed.
"Sister, brother, my mother asked me to deliver the food." The young man put the things on the table.
The person who came was my second uncle Yu Hai’s second son—Yu Qi. He was only a few days younger than Yu Yue, but very strong.
Yu Yue smiled and said, "Thank Second Aunt for me."
"What is there to thank me for? It just happens to be my mother's turn to cook today." Yu Qi scratched the back of his head.
When he reached the door, he slapped his forehead hard, turned around and said, "My mother said my father went to pick up my step-grandmother and will be back tomorrow. You should be prepared."
Yu Yue understood and nodded.
Yu Qi brought a big bowl of crucian carp soup and a few black steamed buns.
There was a lot of ginger in the soup, and some wine was sprinkled in. After Yu Zhile finished drinking it, he felt hot all over and soon fell into sleepiness.
When her consciousness was hazy, she suddenly remembered what Wu Caixia said about jumping into the sea.
The original owner had an optimistic personality. After something happened at home, he decided to save money to take his mother and brother to a big city for medical treatment. He should not have committed suicide.
She tried to recall what happened before the original owner drowned. Various scenes of today flashed through her mind quickly, and finally stopped on a figure wearing pink floral fabric.
Yu Zhile tried hard to recall the man's face, but the physical fatigue made her consciousness gradually blurred, and all the images disappeared.
Before going to bed, she drank another bowl of Chinese medicine prescribed by Doctor Jiang, and she slept relatively soundly.
But it suddenly started to rain heavily in the second half of the night, and the wind mixed with rain blew into the room through the half-open window.
Yu Zhile found that his body began to heat up again, as if he was in a furnace. In a daze, he saw Yu Yue struggling to close the window.
After a long while, her limp arms were lifted up, and then a strong smell of alcohol invaded her nostrils.
At dawn the next day, she was brought back to reality by a burst of scolding.
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