Chapter 2

The sluice gate was surrounded by villagers who had just finished their work. Someone had just been found to have drowned in the reservoir, and they had barely managed to pull them ashore.

“What should we do about Uncle Guofu?”

“Let’s carry him back first.” Han Guofu still held a sickle in his hand, having just finished work when this incident occurred.

Hearing Han Guofu’s words, a few young men lifted the young man lying on the ground, who had a large belly.

“Why would such a fine young man, so handsome, want to end his life?”

“Isn’t it just that?”

“He probably can’t go back to the city.”

Recently, there had been a lot of news from the commune. Many young people from the city had been causing trouble to return home.

Li Dong, still dazed, heard the voices around him and was confused. He had been fishing and accidentally fell, cutting his palm. Before he knew it, everything went black, and he fell.

Fortunately, the villagers found him. Li Dong was secretly relieved; if he hadn’t been found, he might have drowned in the small pond.

Relieved, Li Dong tried to lift his left hand to check his wound but found himself completely weak and unable to move, only managing to wiggle his fingers slightly.

“Hey, he’s moving, he’s moving.”

“Captain, look, his fingers are moving.”

“He’s alive, this young man has great luck.”

Li Dong felt a bit better and pressed his hand against his chest, wanting to speak but unable to. He coughed a few times, his mouth full of muddy water. The taste was all too familiar; it was the water from the reservoir. He wanted to lift his head and say, "Take me to the hospital," but only managed to spit out more mud and water.

“Young man, don’t move around. Whatever it is, think it through.”

Li Dong looked at the old man in front of him with confusion. Think it through? Did they think he was trying to commit suicide? No way. Although he had divorced, it was mainly due to their incompatible personalities and lifestyles, and they had chosen a peaceful divorce.

Moreover, divorces were common nowadays. Committing suicide over it was a joke. Li Dong wanted to explain but found that every time he tried to speak, he spat out water. His stomach was full of water, making him feel very bloated.

No wonder he felt so uncomfortable. For a big carp, he had really suffered. He didn’t know how big the wound on his palm was or how much blood he had lost.

The group of men and women from the Han family team looked at Li Dong, who had just opened his eyes. They were all puzzled. This person clearly looked like a city youth, even wearing glasses.

“Captain, where should we take this young man?”

When saving him, they hadn’t thought much about it, but now that he was awake, they were at a loss. This young man was probably a city youth who couldn’t return home and had come to the Han family village to drown himself in the reservoir.

“Let’s take him to my place first, and then we’ll ask the other youth from the village.”

“Alright.”

A few farmers, one lifting his feet and another his hands, carried Li Dong like a pig. Li Dong, already very weak, couldn’t bear the jostling and the water in his stomach. He blacked out again.

After some time, Li Dong regained consciousness and felt extremely weak. He couldn’t even move his hands.

“Brother Hei?”

A three- or four-year-old girl, chin in hand, stared at Li Dong lying on the wooden bed. A seven- or eight-year-old boy was splitting bamboo strips and occasionally looked back at the bed.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s moving.”

“He’s moving.”

The boy, Xiao Hei, dropped his axe, eyes wide, and ran out of the room, shouting, “Dad, Dad, the big guy is awake.”

“Awake?”

“This is good.”

“You know, what a fine young man, why would he want to drown himself? He looks so handsome.”

“Indeed, a big guy, a good worker.”

For a moment, Li Dong was a bit confused. He turned his head with great effort. The little girl, seeing Li Dong move, ran out of the room like a scared kitten. After a while, she peeked back in from the door frame.

Li Dong tried to smile at the little girl, slowly regaining his senses. He looked around the room, which had black walls with newspaper pasted on one side, mud walls, and windows with New Year’s paintings.

“Whose old house is this?”

Li Dong muttered, thinking he had been taken to a hospital but instead to an old house.

“Awake, that’s good.”

“Quick, go make a bowl of red sugar water.”

The room filled with about ten people, all looking at Li Dong sitting on the edge of the bed. They were all happy, but Li Dong was confused. Their faces were yellow, and their clothes had many patches.

What was going on? Although the Han family village wasn’t rich, no children wore patched clothes.

The confused Li Dong looked a bit silly. The captain’s wife whispered, “Honey, is this young man’s brain okay? Should we contact the commune?”

This made everyone look at Li Dong. His eyes were straight, and they wondered if his brain was damaged. Many youth who committed suicide were crazy, and he might be one of them.

Li Dong was puzzled. What was the commune, the team? Who were these people? He wasn’t in the reservoir fishing; had he drifted into the Yangtze River?

“Uncle, is this the Han family village?”

“What Han family village? This is the Han family team.”

“Oh, he can speak.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Seeing that Li Dong could speak, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t crazy, which was good. What could they do if he were? Leaving him to starve to death was too cruel, but keeping him would mean an extra mouth to feed.

Seeing Li Dong recover, everyone started to prepare for work. It was almost two o’clock.

After the commotion at noon, Captain Han Guofu instructed his grandson, Han Xiaohao (nicknamed Xiao Hei), and Han Xiaojuan, the three- or four-year-old girl, to look after Li Dong while the others went to work.

In the afternoon, Li Dong felt better and called Han Xiaohao over. As a former teacher, Li Dong quickly won over the young boy.

However, Han Xiaohao was still young and didn’t know much. Li Dong managed to get some information out of him.

“Hasn’t the great leader passed away just a few years ago?”

“How is that possible?”

Li Dong found it unbelievable. The great leader passed away in 1976, so if it was just a few years later, it must be the 1980s.

Finally, Li Dong stood up and saw a calendar on the wall. This was the captain’s house, and not many other houses would have one.

“August 15, 1978, lunar July 12, suitable for sacrifices, hunting, fishing, bathing, unsuitable for moving into a new house, getting married.”

Li Dong was stunned, as if frozen in place. Forty years ago? His mind was about to explode.

He had only been fishing and cut his hand, falling and blacking out. How did he end up forty years in the past?

This was no joke. Life in the 1970s was much harder than in the 1980s. Half the country was starving, and rural life was even more difficult.

Li Dong remembered Han Xiaohao saying that the Han family team, which would later become the Han family village, had a severe drought in 1978, with almost no harvest in the entire province. How unlucky could he be?

Han Xiaojuan tugged at Han Xiaohao, as Li Dong’s face changed from red to purple, then white, and he shivered and clenched his teeth.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”

But Han Xiaohao, while saying this, kept pulling Han Xiaojuan towards the door, ready to run out at any moment.

“1978.”

Li Dong smiled bitterly. What a mess.

At dinner, Li Dong confirmed again that he had really returned to 1978. He drank some gritty rice porridge and ate rice cakes, thinking about what to do next.

He had to live here. His parents were in his hometown, taken care of by his two younger brothers. He had recently divorced and sent 50,000 yuan back home. He wasn’t worried about his daughter, as she was with her mother.

He decided to make the best of the situation. However, before he could think about his future, he faced a problem: where to sleep. The captain’s family had three sons, one daughter, and six grandchildren, making it a household of over ten people. There was no bed for Li Dong.

The team leaders, including Han Guofu, were also worried. They didn’t know where Li Dong came from, and he had no memory of his past.

They couldn’t send him away, but they couldn’t keep him either, as there was no extra food. This year was a drought, and even the basic food supply was scarce.

“What should we do?”

The accountant, Han Guobing, looked at Han Guofu, as they couldn’t send him away and had nowhere to take him.

“Let’s arrange a place for him to stay. I’ll go to the commune and find out which team’s youth he is.” Han Guofu knocked his pipe, sighing.

“Where should he stay?”

“Indeed, who has a spare room?”

“There’s a house at the east end of the team.”

“The east end, isn’t that Xiaojuan’s house?”

“Let him stay there for now and take care of Xiaojuan.” After some discussion, they decided on this plan.