[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-1987-my-era":3,"chapter-1987-my-era-1987-my-era-chapter-8":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","1987: My Era",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2259168,4409,"Chapter 8: When Mountains and Waters Have Their Time","1987-my-era-chapter-8",8,"\u003Cp>“Second sister must be thirsty. Here, have a drink of water.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he entered the house, Li Heng cheerfully brought over a small stool for his second sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even thoughtfully poured a cup of warm water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way he scurried about was pure sycophant material.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Li Jianguo and Tian Run’e exchanged a glance, dumbfounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where had the aloof youngest son gone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why was he suddenly fawning over Er Bao?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was truly unprecedented—strange indeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, there had only been ice between the two siblings; Li Lan also felt uneasy with this overly affectionate brother, her whole body tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She feared no blades or spears, only that her brother might suddenly change his ways and act unpredictably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for now, she couldn’t bring herself to smile warmly—she merely glanced at him briefly, took the water, then sat down heavily on the threshold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given his daughter’s fiery behavior today, Li Jianguo, whose very essence exuded refinement, had wanted to talk to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But each time the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back, unsure how to phrase them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this poor countryside where fighting and shouting were the norm, and disputes settled by force, he as a father could not properly protect his children; as a husband, he could not earn money to support the family; as an intellectual, he had failed to change his fate through knowledge; as a farmer, he lacked the physical capacity to labor…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus he felt deep shame, often believing that since his spine disease struck, he had become no better than a useless cripple—a burden to this household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet his second daughter’s fierce outwardness had timely preserved the Li family’s dignity, preventing them and their mother from being bullied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his heart, he was grateful to Er Bao; Li Lan’s fierce protectiveness somewhat compensated for his own inaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as a father, he also worried—such a domineering personality of Er Bao’s would surely bring hardship to her future in-laws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is said that harmony in the home brings prosperity; if one spouse is too harsh, it easily leads to emotional discord and undermines family unity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After so many years together, Tian Run’e saw through her husband’s thoughts at a glance and immediately dismissed him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go help the Chen family—they can’t manage without you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Jianguo ultimately couldn’t bring himself to voice his anxieties, crossed the road, and went to the Chen household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After resting awhile, Li Lan went back to gather pigweed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng thought for a moment, found a hatchet in the stove, tucked it into his belt, and entered the back mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father could no longer handle heavy labor; chopping firewood, a strenuous chore, had always fallen to his mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, he was ignorant and, thanks to his mother’s favoritism, always slacked off—he’d done less work in a year than his second sister did in a single day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that he’d been reborn, he wanted to shoulder some burden for the family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shangwan Village sat on the mid-slope of the Xuefeng Mountains, surrounded by endless, rolling peaks—vast and mysterious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is said: live off the mountains, live off the waters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was poor these days; few could afford to burn coal, and electricity—well, in his memory, it wouldn’t arrive until next year, so forget it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Climbing mountains to chop firewood was a time-honored tradition; men, women, young and old all knew how to do it to some degree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Li Heng had been pampered since childhood, he’d still gone into the mountains dozens of times a year and knew every hill and ridge within five li around like the back of his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like where the mountain spring was, which peak bore wild kiwifruit, where to dig up kudzu roots, which graveyard was good for secret trysts—everything was crystal clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh! By the way, I must clarify: he didn’t understand trysts—he’d just stumbled upon them as a child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh dear, those two were going at it full force when Li Heng, hiding behind a pine tree, suddenly let out a loud “Oh!”—so loud it scared the pair so badly they couldn’t even pull up their underwear, and fled in panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People often fall into a cognitive trap regarding sexuality, assuming this era’s morals were pure and conservative.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, it was generally conservative, but locally open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Put simply: the ignorant and the enlightened were both conservative; only those with half-knowledge let loose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, why were there so many illegitimate children in this era?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just take Production Team One: one woman bore six sons; only the first two looked like their father—the other four could each be matched with men in this village or neighboring ones who bore strikingly similar features—who could you even complain to?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason? Entertainment was scarce, and in recent years after reform and opening, many shockingly new ideas had flooded in; sex had become a topic of endless gossip, and some simply couldn’t hold their pants on and took desperate risks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Li family had good fortune: a few years ago, during land allocation, they drew the top-tier ticket and secured the back mountain—close by and densely wooded—making the whole village envious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh! They’d gritted their teeth and secretly hauled firewood home from the back mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they dared not cut down valuable timber—the noise was too loud, and too many neighbors lived nearby; they’d be caught easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng had barely entered the mountain a hundred and fifty meters when he encountered a wild rabbit—brown-gray, plump and rounded, easily weighing over four catties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, encountering wild rabbits or pheasants in the mountains was common—after all, this was the famed Xuefeng Mountain; nothing unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But annoyingly, this rabbit clearly looked down on him—it had already walked five meters away and was still digging a hole, its head buried in the dirt, its short legs frantically kicking out loose soil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough was enough—his dignity insulted, Li Heng transformed into Little Li Flying Dagger and hurled the hatchet with a *biu!*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t expected to hit anything—just for fun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, damn!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe he’d stepped in dog shit, or maybe heaven, seeing how pitifully he’d lived since his rebirth, decided it was time he ate meat—he’d struck the rabbit squarely in the thigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rabbit shrieked in pain and bolted, but its right hind leg was wounded; it hobbled, slow and clumsy. Without hesitation, Li Heng snatched up the hatchet and gave chase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After chasing about three hundred meters, the rabbit tumbled sideways over a dirt embankment and landed in a ditch, yowling. Li Heng caught up and seized it on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Try running now!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Think you’re so tough!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten grass—do you think you can outrun me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He patted and squeezed the carcass all over, then grinned broadly—it was packed with meat, gloriously fat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clang! Clang! Clang…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he happily searched for a vine to tie up the rabbit, chopping sounds came from the other side of the mountain—rapid, dense, and unmistakably firewood being cut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, who the hell is stealing our Li family’s trees again?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Curious, Li Heng crept silently toward the noise, and soon spotted the culprit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crouched behind a thicket of brush, he grinned when he saw the girl swinging her axe with all her might.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t that his old classmate Yang Ying?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had a bobbed haircut, a round face like an apple, stood tall at 165 cm, wore a faded blue work uniform, and stomped around in worn-out Liberation shoes—her feet must’ve been size 40.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for his past-life entanglement with this girl, it would take a whole book to write.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Requesting monthly votes! Requesting collection! Requesting follow-reads! Follow-reads determine this novel’s survival—dear masters, please help with a quick tap of your fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1302,"2026-06-19T15:27:33.982Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a0521a2d202567228825ada7a8919896da5393fb40f1050d849b43994ec3c6b4","1987-my-era-chapter-9","1987-my-era-chapter-7",713,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002F1987-my-era-cover.jpg"]