Chapter 1

Bai Shou is a personal name, really, and it fits him well.

In the Wen (Ling) Huang (Yan) Plain along the coast of Zhejiang, there is a natural village called Bai Village.

Strangely, among the hundred or so households in Bai Village, most are surnamed Tong or Chen, with only one household surnamed Bai.

The old man and old woman of the Bai family were well-known for miles around. The old couple worked in government offices, one as a gatekeeper and the other as a cleaner.

They weren't temporary workers; they had been guerrilla messengers before the liberation, old revolutionaries. They just lacked education, which is why they ended up as janitors in the government offices.

In 1975, the old couple retired early together, and their second and third sons took over their jobs. One became a worker in a factory, and the other a driver in the government office, both enjoying the benefits of a stable job.

The old man of the Bai family had four sons and one daughter. The youngest son was in the military, and the youngest child, a daughter, became a teacher at the commune's central primary school after graduating from high school.

Only the eldest son, Bai Zhenxing, received no benefits from the old man.

Not only did he receive no benefits, but from the moment Bai Zhenxing was born, the old man never gave him a proper look.

It turned out that Bai Zhenxing was born on the first day of the first lunar month. In the local area, it was believed that those born on this day would suffer all their lives and were considered a harbinger of misfortune.

Right after Bai Zhenxing was born, he was given to Tong Laowu, a bachelor and a storyteller in the same village.

Surprisingly, although Bai Zhenxing never went to school, he learned all of Tong Laowu's storytelling skills.

He surpassed his teacher, and relying on his storytelling talent, Bai Zhenxing never did a day of farm work. After Tong Laowu's death, he became a famous storyteller in the Wen-Huang Plain.

With this skill, Bai Zhenxing married and had three sons and two daughters.

Bai Zhenxing's wife, Guo Cai'e, came from the mountains and was very beautiful. However, she had suffered from polio since childhood, had a leg disability, and anemia, making her unable to do farm work.

With many children and a heavy burden, Bai Zhenxing felt immense pressure and began to drink heavily, giving up on himself.

Later, Bai Zhenxing simply disappeared, often leaving home for long periods without returning or providing money for the family, leaving his wife and five children to fend for themselves.

In 1980, Bai Zhenxing left home after the Spring Festival and didn't return until late autumn.

Thus, as the eldest son, Bai Shou, had no choice but to take on the role of the head of the family.

Bai Shou was fifteen, having just graduated from junior high school. He looked very much like his father, with clear features and a baby face, and was tall and strong.

Unfortunately, Bai Shou, like his father, was also born on the first day of the first lunar month and was considered a "disaster star" by the locals.

To make matters worse, Bai Shou had a bean-sized white scar on his left palm, a birthmark.

Born on the first day of the first lunar month, a disaster star; a white spot on the left palm, no good luck.

Because of these old sayings, Bai Shou's childhood was lonely. No one in the village wanted to play with him, visit his home, or let him into their homes.

He barely completed five years of primary school and two years of junior high school without a desk partner. Who would want to sit next to a disaster star?

As for the name Bai Shou, it was given by his unreliable father, who was quite practical. He called him Bai Shou, and the name stuck in the village.

Bai Shou himself didn't mind. He was carefree from a young age, thinking that a name was just a symbol, and people could call him whatever they wanted.

Starting at the age of ten, Bai Shou worked in the production team. He was strong and diligent. Most people in the village didn't bully him, and by the age of fifteen, he earned seven-tenths of an adult's work points.

Bai Shou was an optimist, always cheerful. Even if you scolded him, he would still smile, and he never seemed to worry.

Bai Shou was smart and full of ideas. In the half year he was in charge, he managed to keep the family from going hungry.

Bai Shou could be a bit ruthless and harsh. If he was wronged, he would secretly seek revenge. If anyone bullied his younger siblings, he would smash their windows with a hoe.

But tonight, Bai Shou was worried, sitting alone at the door, motionless for a long time.

Tomorrow, a work team would come to Bai Village to implement a pilot program, dividing the land among households and implementing the household responsibility system.

This was a good thing, as everyone would work for themselves, and Bai Shou liked it.

But what about the eighty or so yuan owed to the production team?

According to the rules, when the production team disbanded, the production resources would be divided, and debts had to be settled first.

Bai Shou knew that even if he sold all the seven hundred pounds of late rice he had just received, it wouldn't be enough to pay off the debt.

Apart from the rice, his family was extremely poor, with four dilapidated houses and a broken cart, nothing of value.

If the debt wasn't paid, it would be embarrassing to divide the land, and the large farming tools, such as the boats, rice threshers, plows, and water wheels, would lose their usage rights.

A living person can't be stifled by a little trouble. The more lice, the less they bite. There are always more solutions than problems.

Bai Shou went to find the old team leader.

In the entire first production team, with over forty households and about a hundred and sixty people, only the old team leader treated Bai Shou as a person.

The old team leader was a good man. He comforted Bai Shou, guaranteeing the debt owed to the production team. When the time came, the debt would be distributed among several households, arranged and negotiated by the old team leader.

In short, the old team leader assured Bai Shou that no matter what, the Bai family would receive their share of the contracted land.

Bai Shou was relieved, humming a tune as he walked home under the night sky.

At a turn, he felt the urge to urinate. He stopped, laughing to himself, and urinated against the wall of someone's house.

This was the home of Chen Huaiji, who, relying on his many brothers, was always at odds with the Bai family and looked down on Bai Shou. Bai Shou had suffered a lot at his hands.

Unable to undermine the Chen family, urinating against their wall was a small way to vent.

Hey, the kerosene lamp was still on inside, and someone was talking.

Curiosity piqued, Bai Shou tiptoed to the window, pressing his ear to the crack in the wooden window.

"Brother, how will the land be divided tomorrow?" It was the voice of the second son of the Chen family.

"By the old rules, by drawing lots," said Chen Huaiji's hoarse voice.

"There's good land and bad land. Brother, if we get the bad land, we'll suffer a lot." This was the third son of the Chen family, with whom Bai Shou often argued and fought.

"Right, brother. If we get that high field, it leaks water every few days, and we can't afford the irrigation fees." The second son of the Chen family was the smartest and most cunning, known as the mastermind of the Chen family.

Damn Chen Laoer, Bai Shou thought, I was thinking the same thing.

"So, tomorrow, you need to act opportunistically and control the drawing of lots. Listen carefully, I will definitely be the one to draw the lots. Whoever is first, gets to choose first, and they will get the good land. At that time, you need to grab the lots I mark first."

...

Bai Shou almost burst out laughing and quickly covered his mouth.

What you seek, you find without effort.

Eavesdropping, damn Chen Da, Chen Er, and Chen San, I, Bai Shou, thank you.

Laughing to himself, he quietly stepped back a dozen paces and ran away...