Chapter 121

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Protagonist:

Lin Hao

The drama "Renjian" tells the story of the late 1970s, when a family surnamed Zhou lived in the "Guangzi Pian" district of a certain northern provincial capital. The father, Zhou Zhigang, participated in the "Third Front Construction" in the southwest; the eldest son, Zhou Bingyi, responded to the nation's call and became part of the first batch of sent-down educated youth; the eldest daughter, Zhou Rong, followed her poet husband to a village in Guizhou; leaving only the youngest, Zhou Bingkun, and their mother to depend on each other in the Zhou home.

Over fifty years, the Zhou family's fates intertwined with the changing times. After graduating university, Zhou Bingyi entered politics, experiencing the ups and downs of an official career amidst sweeping reforms; Zhou Rong earned a doctorate and stayed on to teach at her alma mater, yet her romantic path was fraught with setbacks, and by a twist of fate she lived in France for twelve years.

Zhou Bingkun and the beautiful yet unfortunate Zheng Juan supported each other through thick and thin; through his own efforts he grew from a worker into a cultural worker, experiencing the pain of being laid off and the challenges of "going into business," supporting neighbors, relatives, and friends to move forward together in ordinary years.

While each family member fulfilled their own life's mission, they also wrote a living epic of contemporary Chinese commoners.

The moment Lin Hao opened his eyes, a flood of memories poured into his mind; the system also helpfully gave him a quick run-through of the "Renjian" plot — one must admit, it was quite thoughtful.

In this life, Lin Hao was still an orphan, but fortunately, he still had an older brother, Lin Kun.

The two brothers had grown up in this Guangzi Pian area, filled with the bustling atmosphere of daily life.

Speaking of their background, it was rather tragic.

Their mother encountered a difficult labor when giving birth to Lin Hao and unfortunately passed away.

Their father had been a worker at the timber processing plant, but in an accident, he sacrificed his life to save a coworker.

Now, older brother Lin Kun had already turned eighteen; he and Zhou Rong and Cai Xiaoguang were classmates.

Since leaving school, Lin Kun had taken over their father's shift at the timber factory, using his still-youthful shoulders to shoulder the heavy burden of caring for his younger brother.

As for Lin Hao, he was sixteen this year, and happened to be classmates with Zhou Bingkun.

However, due to various reasons of that special era, he had only attended a few months of middle school before being forced to drop out and stay home.

The two brothers lived right next door to the Zhou family; they saw each other daily, and their interactions were quite close.

Especially Lin Hao — because Lin Kun was often busy at the timber factory, he couldn't be bothered to cook for himself when home alone, so he frequently went to the Zhou house to mooch meals; the Zhou family was very warm and never once looked down on him.

Relying on the wages Lin Kun earned at the timber factory, the brothers' days were tight but they managed to scrape by.

The time arrived at 1969; this year, the sent-down youth movement was in full swing, sweeping through the entire city.

According to the policy at the time, in principle each household could only keep one child in the city; the Subdistrict Office would arrange work for them.

Although Lin Hao's parents were both already gone, the Subdistrict Office didn't care about such special circumstances; they still firmly insisted that one of the Lin brothers had to go to the countryside, and for this they sent people to mobilize them every day.

In this world, no matter the era, people without money or connections always seem destined to be bullied.

On this day, Lin Kun returned home from work and saw Lin Hao sitting in the room staring blankly; his brows were tightly knit, his face full of worry.

He walked over and sat beside Lin Hao, lightly patting his younger brother's shoulder, and said: "Little Hao, the Subdistrict Office comes pressing every day — what do you say we do? I'm thinking, why don't I transfer the timber factory job to you, and I'll go to the countryside? I'm two years older than you anyway; going out to venture a bit is fine. You stay in the city, at least you'll have a stable job and can live a few peaceful days."

Hearing his brother's words, Lin Hao felt a surge of emotion, but looking at the blatant one hundred thousand yuan in the system, he wasn't anxious at all.

He raised his head, gazing at his brother's worried eyes, and comforted him: "Brother, don't worry. I know you mean well, wanting to leave the best for me. But don't rush into a decision; let's think of another way. Who knows, maybe the policy will change in a few days."

Lin Kun sighed helplessly and said: "Ah, what way could there be? This policy isn't something that changes just because you say so; I can't just watch you go to the countryside and suffer — I'm the older brother, I have to take good care of you."

Lin Hao knew clearly that his brother had always been like this, thinking of him in everything; but what he was anxious about right now was not his own countryside assignment at all.

What he was most anxious about right now was that side quest — the one concerning Zhou Rong.

Although Lin Hao felt Zhou Rong in the original drama was somewhat asking for it, the system's quest rewards were too tempting to resist, so Lin Hao felt helping Zhou Rong wasn't out of the question.

Judging by the current progress, Zhou Rong would soon sneak off to Guizhou behind her family's back to find her dream man, Feng Huacheng. Once Zhou Rong did that, the Zhou family would face a string of misfortunes.

As for the main quest, Zhou Bingkun, he wasn't worried; as long as Zheng Juan was there, Zhou Bingkun's life was set, and besides, Zhou Bingkun still had two or three years before meeting Zheng Juan.

Lin Hao pondered silently: he had to find a way to stop Zhou Rong, but how exactly? He fell into deep thought.

He knew well that Zhou Rong right now had been utterly bewitched by love; that obsessive fixation on Feng Huacheng was like she had been possessed by a demon.

Lin Hao thought: in the current situation, no matter who tried to persuade or stop her, the words would likely sink like a stone into the sea, having absolutely no effect.

Even if the family hardened their hearts and tied her up at home, with Zhou Rong's stubborn nature, she would probably think of every possible way to break free and run out.

At that time, not only would they fail to stop her, it might backfire, making her harbor even deeper resentment toward her family, leading to even more severe consequences.

Lin Hao irritably scratched his head, paced back and forth in the room, his mind constantly searching through various possible methods. Suddenly, his steps halted, as if he had made some resolution.

"Looks like I have to follow Zhou Rong on a trip to Guizhou." Lin Hao murmured to himself.

But saying it is easy; actually acting on it presents no small difficulties.

Leaving aside how worried brother Lin Kun would be at his departure, just the long journey itself would be no easy feat.

Although he had that one hundred thousand yuan in the system, how to arrange things properly was also a problem. And once in Guizhou, how would he persuade Zhou Rong to return? He couldn't just watch her suffer in that remote village.

Right at this moment, Lin Hao happened to hear the familiar voice of Cai Xiaoguang next door; it seemed he had come to the Zhou house to find Zhou Rong.

His heart stirred, his eyes rolled, and he thought: maybe he could glean some key information from the conversation between Cai Xiaoguang and Zhou Rong, to find a lead for his plan to stop Zhou Rong from going to Guizhou.

So Lin Hao quietly slipped out the door and stealthily followed behind Cai Xiaoguang and Zhou Rong.

He deliberately kept a distance from them, afraid of being discovered.

Only to hear Cai Xiaoguang's slightly anxious voice: "Zhou Rong, you can't just run off to Guizhou without a word; have you thought about how worried your family will be?"

But Zhou Rong's face was stubborn, her steps unceasing, as she walked and replied: "Cai Xiaoguang, you don't understand. Huacheng and I truly love each other; I must go find him. I can't let him stay alone in such a remote place."

Cai Xiaoguang quickened his pace, blocked Zhou Rong's path, and continued persuading: "I know your feelings for him run deep, but if you leave, how heartbroken will Uncle and Aunt be? And conditions in Guizhou are harsh; a young woman like you going there — how much suffering will you endure?"

Zhou Rong stopped, a flicker of hesitation flashing in her eyes, but it quickly firmed again: "I'm not afraid of hardship; as long as I can be with Huacheng, I can endure any suffering. Xiaoguang, stop persuading me; my mind is made up."

Listening to their conversation from behind, Lin Hao felt secretly anxious, thinking: this Zhou Rong really is impervious to reason; looks like changing her mind will require another approach.