Chapter 11

Li Heng was a bit dazed listening to this.

What the hell is this? It's one thing for outsiders not to believe him, but does he have no credibility at home either?

Is this polite to your own brother?

Where is the basic trust between people?

He didn't want to explain, was too lazy to explain, and couldn't explain it clearly anyway. He put the processed rabbit on the chopping board and went upstairs.

Anyway, the second sister is a foodie; the rabbit will definitely turn into a dish in a moment.

Entering the single room, Li Heng sat on the hard wooden bed and began to stare blankly.

To be honest, he had a real headache right now.

It really is a case of one misstep leading to eternal regret; everyone treats him like Ximen Qing.

It's fine if those gossiping women outside wag their tongues; he can't control them anyway.

But even Yang Yingwen, with whom he has such a good relationship, guards against him like a thief. It really is enough to make one die of anger.

Fine, let's just leave it at that; they are all outsiders and can't be relied upon. But second sister, you and I are siblings and kin, how can you rub salt in the wound?

If this were in the future, this would be a trivial matter. Chen Zijin is so beautiful, and the Chen family's background is so good; it might even be treated as capital for bragging and showing off.

But in this era…

He has truly learned what a moral bottom line is, and what it means that public opinion is fearsome!

His gaze drifted aimlessly around the room, and at one moment it fell on the corner of the desk, where a black bag was placed.

His heart stirred. He wondered which study materials Chen Zijin had bought for him?

Are they the same as in his previous life?

Li Heng, terrified that his rebirth might cause a butterfly effect, hurriedly reached out to bring the black bag in front of him and opened it quickly.

He poked his head in to take a look.

Thank goodness.

Thank goodness nothing had changed. Just as he expected, inside were all kinds of subject reference books and test papers, as well as a thick book of wrong answers.

The wrong answer book was full of questions Chen Zijin had gotten wrong, or question types she considered very important.

Honestly, in '87, in a mountain backwater like Shao City, there were almost no good review materials. Having a reference book was already good; the temptation of a set of test papers was truly too great, not to mention they were test papers from a prestigious school like the Capital No. 4 High School.

In his previous life, because of these materials and test papers, his college entrance exam score improved by at least 20 points, which was how he got into his dream university.

On this point, he had always felt grateful to Chen Zijin.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was his life's benefactor.

It's just a pity that her mother and her family were not easy to get along with; they looked down on him from the bottom of their hearts, and it had always been unpleasant.

The Chen family is a large clan. Chen Gaoyuan has 5 siblings, all of whom are successful. It was exceptionally lively with gongs and drums, and it is said that Grandma Chun's funeral rites would last for three days and three nights.

This made it hard for the second sister, who was seen depressed to the point of tears several times.

As for Li Heng, he didn't care. Having lived two lives, what great storms hadn't he seen? This little matter was, of course, just a sprinkle of water.

He closed his eyes to meditate for a while, and when he opened them again, he had successfully achieved self-shielding. With a heart like still water, he picked up his fountain pen and continued writing "To Live" on the notebook with a scratching sound.

Could he become famous in one battle?

Could he reverse his ruined image as "Ximen Qing"?

Could he change the family's financial predicament?

It all depended on this.

Relying on the huge fame of this novel in his previous life, Li Heng was especially cautious and wrote very seriously. Every time he finished 5,000 words, he would look back and review and check it word by word, sentence by sentence, and paragraph by paragraph.

And he would check it back and forth three to five times, meticulous throughout, not allowing any errors.

That night, Li Heng, who stayed up late writing until past two in the morning, fell asleep on the desk and even had a dream.

In the dream, one boy and two girls, three children, were holding flashlights searching for him everywhere in the dark night, shouting "Daddy" at the top of their lungs, persistently shouting all night.

Li Heng woke up with a start, his sour eye corners filled with tears without him realizing it.

He looked out the window in low spirits, his heart full of melancholy: He had been reborn, but he didn't know if the mother and children were doing well in that space-time.

…

1987, the ninth day of the first lunar month, Yin hour.

Before dawn, the Chen family across the way set off firecrackers early in the morning.

At the same time, the Western band, the wind band, the gong and drum band, and the trumpets all played together, and the filial sons and grandsons cried hysterically.

Timing it to an auspicious hour, Grandma Chun, who had been lying in state at home for five days and five nights, was taken out for burial.

The scene was very spectacular, worthy of being seen once in thirty years in Shangwan Village.

Not only did the town leaders come, but even important representatives from the county and city attended, and the nearby neighbors were unprecedentedly united, rushing to send this old lady on her final journey.

During her lifetime, Grandma Chun was very glorious. She had followed her husband to participate in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Later, even after returning to the village, she was extremely respectable and had kindly helped many people, so everyone respected her quite a bit.

Usually, regardless of gender, age, or seniority, everyone would respectfully call her "Grandma Chun" when they met.

However, Li Heng stayed curled up in his quilt and didn't move.

Because the feng shui master had posted a notice: People born in the years 1959, 1970, and 1982 clashed with the time of Grandma Chun's death. When the coffin was taken out, please automatically avoid it; do not see the coffin within a hundred paces.

The historical roots of this custom cannot be investigated, but it has been at least several hundred years.

The villagers all followed it with the mindset of "better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't," and no one was stupid enough to test the truth with their own lives.

Even if someone's father passed away, if the time of death clashed with the son, they had to hide and wait until they were past a hundred paces.

However, there are exceptions to everything in this world, and there are always those who don't believe in evil.

Just like that, there was once a butcher who had been drinking and, emboldened by the alcohol, tried to test the law himself, and then dropped dead on the spot. I don't know if this was heaven's will or a coincidence, but anyway, everyone avoids it a little.

The commotion outside lasted for a long time. Li Heng couldn't sleep from the noise, so he simply climbed up to continue writing.

After 5 days of hard work, "To Live" had already been written to over 34,000 words.

He planned to work hard for one more day today to reach 40,000 words, and tomorrow he would go to town to mail it out.

Around noon, Grandma Chun's affairs finally came to an end, and Li Jianguo and Tian Run'e returned home.

According to custom, Chen Gaoyuan enthusiastically sent over some leftovers from the kitchen that hadn't been touched, but was politely declined by Tian Run'e, who was strong-willed to the bone.

Seeing this, Chen Gaoyuan, who knew where the crux of the matter lay, lowered his status and said in a good-natured way:

"Run'e, we are old friends who have known each other for decades. You understand Zhong Lan's temperament.

She was just being stubborn with you in the heat of the moment and went a bit overboard. I've already talked to her about it later. For the sake of our past friendship, don't hold it against her."

Tian Run'e smiled reluctantly and said, "Gaoyuan, don't say that about Zhong Lan. I don't blame her. That matter was indeed my family's brat's fault, which harmed Zijin. We are both mothers, so I can especially understand her."

Tian Run'e's attitude was very correct, but no matter how he tried to persuade her, she was absolutely unwilling to accept these leftovers.

Chen Gaoyuan had worn his lips thin, but it was still to no avail. In the end, he had to sigh and carry the several basins of leftovers back home.

In the kitchen, the whole Chen family was there at this time.

Seeing her husband get the cold shoulder, Zhong Lan, who was a bit angry, reached out and snatched the basin from Chen Gaoyuan's hands and sent it to someone else's house.

…

(End of chapter)