Chapter 1: Reborn and Saving a Life

When Su Xinghui opened his eyes, he felt a bit dazed. He did not know where he was, because the room he saw was both unfamiliar and yet somewhat familiar; he had a persistent feeling of having been here before.

It was an old, dilapidated room. The walls and ceiling were covered in black spots, and the wall plaster was peeling—traces left by dampness. There were two old wooden beds in the room. Su Xinghui was sleeping on the one closer to the inside, while the outer bed was empty, its bedding spread out in a messy heap.

At the head of the wooden bed where Su Xinghui lay was an old-fashioned five-drawer desk. On the desk sat a stack of books, a desk calendar, and a mirror. Su Xinghui subconsciously picked up the calendar. The date on the top page was July 25, 1992. This made his heart race wildly. He had read many web novels; could it be that he had been reborn?

With trembling hands, he picked up the mirror and looked at his own reflection. Sure enough, what appeared in the mirror was a face that was excessively young, not the face of the down-and-out middle-aged man he had been.

Su Xinghui should have been over forty years old. He remembered drinking some alcohol last night and then going to sleep, but how had he been reborn when he woke up this morning?

Su Xinghui put down the mirror and pinched his thigh hard. The pain was so sharp he almost cried out. This could not be a dream.

Su Xinghui’s mind was in turmoil. He tried hard to recall: July 25, 1992. He should have just started working not long ago. This place should be the dormitory of the Menguhuling Township Government.

He looked at the calendar again and realized that today should be the 26th; the page for today hadn't been torn off yet. He tore off the top page and stared intently at the words on the calendar: July 26, 1992, Sunday. This should be a day off.

A commotion came from outside. Within a few minutes, someone came thumping up the stairs and knocked on Su Xinghui’s door. A female voice called out, "Su Xinghui, are you up yet?"

Su Xinghui answered, put on a pair of trousers draped over the back of a chair by the bed as quickly as he could, and threw on a white shirt. Buttoning it up, he got out of bed and opened the door. Outside the door was the panicked face of a young woman. Su Xinghui still remembered her; she was his colleague at the Menguhuling Township, Cheng Taoxian.

Cheng Taoxian was the township government’s women’s affairs officer, a young married woman in her twenties. She was quite pretty, but at this moment, her face was somewhat distorted by extreme panic.

Seeing Su Xinghui open the door, Cheng Taoxian said, "Su Xinghui, something big has happened outside. I don't know what to do, so I had to come find you."

Su Xinghui was a bit puzzled: "If something big happened, you should go find the Party Secretary or the Township Head. Why come to me?"

"Wasn't it the wedding river patrol for Deputy Secretary Hu’s son yesterday? You went to the banquet too. You came back after drinking too much, but everyone else from the township government stayed there to eat and play cards; they haven't come back. Now you are the only man in the township government, so I can only come to you." Cheng Taoxian was so anxious that beads of sweat had formed on her nose, and her face was flushed red—truly living up to the description of a face like a peach blossom.

The long-buried memories in Su Xinghui’s mind were stirred. He remembered that the local custom in their county was to patrol the river the day before the wedding, followed by the main banquet. It seemed today was the day of the main banquet. Since it was also a Sunday, he guessed everyone was probably playing mahjong at Deputy Secretary Hu’s house and wouldn't be coming back.

Deputy Secretary Hu was Hu Chengli, the Deputy Secretary for Party and Mass Affairs of Menguhuling Township. His home was in Hujia’ao Village, four or five kilometers away from the township government. Although it wasn't far, it was in the mountains, and it would take time to get back if something happened.

Su Xinghui didn't say anything more. He stepped out the door, and Cheng Taoxian recounted what had just happened as quickly as she could. It turned out that a few days ago, the township family planning station had forcibly performed an abortion on a pregnant woman who had exceeded the birth quota. Early this morning, the woman’s husband, who worked in the county seat, had run to the gate of the township government and drank pesticide.

As Su Xinghui went downstairs, he asked, "Did you call Hujia’ao?"

"I did, but I couldn't get through."

Su Xinghui shook his head. This kind of thing was not surprising at all. Hujia’ao was in the mountains; who knew what kind of trouble the phone lines were having.

Su Xinghui hurried to the main gate. Huang Sao, who cooked for the township government and was standing at the entrance, felt a wave of relief when she saw him. Although Su Xinghui was just an ordinary staff member in the Party and Government Office, he was currently the only man in the entire township government.

A crowd had gathered outside the gate, noisy and chaotic. Some were cursing, some were crying, but most were just there to watch the spectacle—China had never lacked such people. Seeing Su Xinghui come out, a bystander shouted, "Someone from the township government is out!"

Su Xinghui asked, "What happened?"

A man who had been squatting on the ground stood up. Without waiting for Su Xinghui to explain, he threw a punch at him, cursing bitterly, "You dog-brained bastards, what happened? My brother was forced to death by you lot in the township government!"

How could Su Xinghui let him land the blow? He reached out, grabbed the man’s wrist, and gave it a sharp twist. The man involuntarily bent over, crying out in pain.

At that moment, Su Xinghui had already assessed the scene. He saw a middle-aged man lying on the ground, eyes tightly shut, white foam flowing unconsciously from the corners of his mouth. Several people were squatting around him—men and women, some cursing, some wailing. Su Xinghui glanced at the ground again and saw an empty plastic pesticide bottle tossed to the side. He was very familiar with this type of bottle; it was the 800ml bottle of insecticide commonly used during this season.

Su Xinghui felt confident now. He had worked in the countryside for many years in his previous life and was very familiar with this insecticide. It was not a highly toxic pesticide. As long as the victim was induced to vomit in time and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, they could be saved. He couldn't help but feel lucky; fortunately, the man hadn't drunk paraquat, or even a god couldn't have saved him.

With a gentle push, Su Xinghui sent the reckless man who had tried to hit him stumbling back several steps. He scolded him lightly, "You’re still thinking about fighting at a time like this? Don't you want to save him?"

Su Xinghui had practiced martial arts. He had used a clever technique, and the reckless man hadn't been injured. Feeling that Su Xinghui was not someone to be trifled with, his arrogance vanished. Hearing Su Xinghui’s words, he shouted, "My brother has already passed out, can he still be saved?"

Su Xinghui nodded firmly, "He can be saved!"

Su Xinghui squeezed into the crowd and squatted down. He checked the complexion of the man on the ground, lifted his eyelids to look, and then tested his breathing. Having confirmed his assessment, he turned to Cheng Taoxian and said, "Can you get me some boy’s urine?"

The men and women stopped crying and cursing, looking at Su Xinghui. An old woman asked, "Can you really save Wang Yazi?"

Su Xinghui nodded, "It shouldn't be a big problem."

Cheng Taoxian ran into the township government building. She had a two-year-old son, so getting some boy’s urine was doable. Here, it was rumored that boy’s urine had detoxifying properties, though Su Xinghui knew there was no scientific basis for this. He was having the man drink it simply to induce vomiting and to put the family’s mind at ease. In fact, if not for this, feeding him some manure juice might have been even more effective.

Cheng Taoxian was quick. Within a few minutes, she ran back with a bowl of yellow liquid that was still steaming. She blushed and said, "My little Kang just did this."

Su Xinghui took the bowl of urine and said to the reckless man, "Help your brother sit up."

With a life at stake, the reckless man didn't dare to cause trouble. He squatted down and obediently helped Wang Yazi’s upper body up. Su Xinghui pinched Wang Yazi’s face with two fingers, and his mouth opened involuntarily. Su Xinghui skillfully fed him the bowl of urine. Fortunately, in this place, boy’s urine was considered a form of medicine, otherwise, the scene would have been quite disgusting.

After feeding him the bowl of urine, Su Xinghui told the crowd to move back and had the reckless man turn Wang Yazi’s body to the side. He secretly pressed hard on the Neiguan acupoint on Wang Yazi’s wrist. Wang Yazi involuntarily began to vomit, expelling a large amount of brown liquid with a pungent odor—a mixture of the insecticide, stomach acid, and the urine. The smell was indescribable; the onlookers retreated a few more steps, and even the reckless man frowned and pinched his nose.

Su Xinghui remained calm, patting Wang Yazi’s back until he could no longer vomit anything. Only then did Wang Yazi let out a groan.

Su Xinghui stood up and said, "Alright, take him to the township health center."

He glanced at the onlookers and added, "Everyone disperse. Crowding the township government gate like this, what does it look like?"

Wang Yazi’s family members found a door panel and carried him to the health center. Su Xinghui followed behind; he wouldn't feel at ease until he saw with his own eyes that the man was out of danger.