Chapter 1

It was midsummer in July, 1977.

Late at night, Xu's family in Taoyuan Production Brigade, Wei Zhuang Commune.

Xu Wen suffered from insomnia.

In the small and stuffy room, the sounds of the family coughing, grinding their teeth and snoring came one after another, bringing Xu Wen to the brink of collapse.

The incessant chirping of cicadas and frogs outside the window made her even more irritated and unable to sleep.

The cotton top and pants she was wearing, which she could barely call pajamas, were already soaked with sweat and stuck to her body, which was very uncomfortable.

Xu Wen turned to the left and lay on his side. He reached behind his back and pulled at the clothes that were stuck to his back. His damp back felt a little relieved, but his facial features suffered.

This posture requires you to face your grandmother who is over 70 years old.

My grandmother has chronic bronchitis. Although she hasn’t become a good doctor due to her long-term illness, she has developed the ability to sleep smoothly even though she is breathing heavily and coughing.

Grandma probably had phlegm in her throat, and she opened her mouth to breathe heavily, her hot breath with bad breath blowing towards Xu Wen's face, forcing her to turn over again and lie on her right side, facing her mother's back.

It was okay when mom was sleeping, at most she would grind her teeth and talk a few words in her sleep, but the ups and downs of dad's snoring on mom's right made Xu Wen very upset.

A new curtain was added to the right side of Dad, and my brother and sister-in-law were sleeping on the other side of the curtain.

My brother and sister-in-law were newly married. On this earthen kang that was two meters long and three meters wide, which slept seven people from three generations, if they wanted to do something that couldn't be said, they had to wait until late at night.

For example, now.

Xu Wen sighed almost in despair. He was afraid that his brother and sister-in-law would find out that he was awake and all three of them would be embarrassed, so he didn't dare move. He lay straight and flat, staring at the thatched roof, from which dirt occasionally fell, in a daze until dawn.

Hearing the roosters crowing in the village, Xu Wen got up quietly, washed up simply, packed her clothes, put them in the cross-body bag her mother made for her, and headed for the production team.

In the production team, livestock are the most important labor force for plowing, sowing and even grinding. Not only is there a special livestock shed, but two people are also arranged to feed and take care of them on weekdays.

The barn is located in the southwest corner of the production team headquarters. It houses several donkeys, mules, horses, cows and dozens of sheep, which are allocated and used as needed during the busy farming season.

Xu Wen is not a breeder, she is a high school student who came here to earn money during the summer vacation and was assigned an easy job of herding sheep.

One of the keepers is Xu Wen’s second uncle.

The second uncle rubbed his eyes, took out the key, opened the iron chain on the barn, and helped Xu Wen to drive the sheep out. He yawned and asked her incoherently: "Wenwen, why are you herding sheep so early?"

"It's cool in the morning, and the sheep are eating happily. When the sun comes up and they're full, I can come back and hide from the sun." Xu Wen took the whip from his second uncle and followed the flock out.

The second uncle bolted the door of the barn again and nodded, "That's good! You have been fair-skinned since you were a child, and you are prettier than the actors in the movies! Don't let yourself get tanned! You have to take care of yourself."

Xu Wenxiao didn't answer. In fact, she was the type who couldn't get a tan under the sun, and she got up early just to take a shower.

Recently she likes to go to a wild graveyard to herd sheep.

This cemetery is located about two kilometers southwest of the Taoyuan Production Brigade. It is quite far away from other surrounding production brigades and is a no-man's land.

There are two reasons why Xu Wen was able to overcome his fear and like going to this cemetery.

First, there were all kinds of weeds growing in the graveyard, which the sheep particularly loved to eat. This wilderness was very large, with no crops or residents around, so she didn't have to keep an eye on it all the time and didn't have to worry about the sheep eating the crops or destroying people's vegetable gardens.

There was a small pond in a relatively hidden location. She observed it for a long time and found that it was an abandoned pond that had never been taken care of. There were no fish or lotus roots in it. What was even more rare was that there were no piercing water plants at the bottom of the pond. The water was very clear and it was a good place to take a bath.

Xu Wen drove the sheep into the cemetery and let them move around and forage for food on their own, while he hummed a little tune as he walked towards the pond behind the slope.

Xu Wen took off all his clothes and jumped into the pond, sighing comfortably: It’s so cool!

After washing himself from head to toe, Xu Wen began to swim around in the small pond.

When I got tired of swimming, I dived into the pond again to practice holding my breath.

Every time he was about to reach his limit, Xu Wen would get a little excited. What if he could go back 40 or 50 years after that?!

She was an international student who had just graduated from a prestigious university and had just received an offer from a large domestic company. On her way back to China to start work, she was in a plane crash and fell into the sea. She died in her 70s and became the third child of the Xu family.

The Xu family was her greatest warmth and support in this desperate situation.

To use the popular term nowadays, she is the darling of the Xu family.

My grandmother’s last name is Song.

Dad: Xu Qiushi, mom: Zhu Meizhen.

The names of the four brothers and sisters of the Xu family are also easy to remember, which are "Look, Listen, Ask, and Feel" in order.

Xu Wang is the eldest sister and is already married.

Xu Wen is the second oldest brother and has been married for less than a year.

Xu Wen has an eight-year-old brother named Xu Qie.

The whole family was very nice, especially to Xu Wen, but they were poor.

Very poor!

The family of seven was so poor that they had to squeeze into two shabby, low-rise, old brick houses.

One room is used as the main room, stove room and utility room, and the other is used for sleeping.

Eating white flour steamed buns is considered an improvement in life.

What's infuriating is that even after being transmigrated for so long, she still doesn't have any amazing golden fingers like in the novels. She can only earn a living by working in this era when people can't work or earn money.

What is even more unbearable is life without the Internet, mobile phones, computers, televisions, electric fans, and even telephones.

To be exact, Taoyuan Village doesn't even have electricity yet.

Xu Wen missed the days when he could lie in bed, turn on the air conditioner, play with his phone, watch short videos, order takeout, and sleep until he woke up naturally.

Thinking about sleeping, Xu Wen almost suffocated but still refused to surface.

Night after night of insomnia is so torturous.

Xu Wen was struggling between floating to the surface and holding on for a while longer when she suddenly heard a noise. Before she could react, there was someone beside her, grabbing her waist tightly and pulling her upwards.

Xu Wen's brain was short of oxygen and his reaction was a beat slow. When his shoulders were above the water, he screamed, raised his hand and slapped the man who appeared out of nowhere, and shouted at the same time: "Rogue!"

Lu Yuanzheng didn't expect that Xu Wen was completely invisible under the water. He suddenly turned his back to Xu Wen, and the warm and smooth touch of his palms still remained, making the half of his face that was not hit feel hot. He didn't have time to explain for a moment, and only said three words: "I'm sorry!"

Whatever the reason, it is a fact that he molested a lesbian.

Xu Wen fell back into the water, with only the area above his neck exposed. He covered his hot cheeks and stared at the man who appeared out of nowhere with shame and annoyance.

The man looked very thin from behind. He was wearing a blue and white sailor shirt, with a piece of his army green pants showing.

He was very tall, and the water on Xu Wen's chest only reached his waist.

But why would this man appear here so early in the morning? She had been here for half a month and had never seen a living person.