Rain is plentiful in the Jiangnan region.
It had only just entered June, but the rain was incessant.
Unsurprisingly, the Su City Glass Factory Family Compound, converted from old houses and with extremely poor drainage, was once again submerged in murky, muddy water.
Gu Weiguo held an umbrella in one hand and a flashlight in the other. Before he could even lift his foot to step over the sandbags blocking the courtyard gate, he saw his neighbors inside, bustling about as they bailed out the dirty water.
The muddy water was filthy. He sighed and took two steps back. He first stuffed the flashlight into the pocket of his factory uniform, then tucked the umbrella at an angle under his chin. Only then did he squat down to roll up his pant legs, not forgetting to remind the niece behind him, “Fangbai, the courtyard is flooded. You should roll up your pant legs too.”
Gu Fang was still in a bit of a daze, not understanding how she had become Gu Fangbai after a single night’s sleep, but that didn’t stop her from cooperatively squatting down.
Gu Weiguo was wearing new rubber shoes and couldn’t bear to ruin them, so he took them off as well, planning to wade through the water barefoot. But when he saw his niece following his lead and taking off her shoes, he quickly stopped her. “There might be pebbles and glass shards on the ground. You keep your shoes on. If they get ruined, your uncle will buy you a new pair.”
Gu Fang glanced at the white socks and black leather shoes on her feet and decided not to make things difficult for herself. She obediently stood up and followed him into the courtyard.
Inside, the neighbors who saw the two of them all greeted them with smiles.
“No wonder Old Gu is back so late today. Turns out he went to pick up Fangbai.”
“The rain’s pretty heavy. Did you get wet?”
“Is Fangbai’s job at the newspaper office especially busy? It’s been over a month since you last came back.”
“Old Gu, my family made braised Lion’s Head Meatballs today. I’ll bring a bowl over for you later.”
“I remember Fangbai likes to eat assorted small fish. Uncle will send a portion over later too.”
“My family…”
Gu Weiguo was long accustomed to the neighbors’ affection for his niece and knew that refusing was useless. He simply accepted all their offers cheerfully, adding that he would come down to help drain the water later, before leading his niece, whose cheeks were growing stiff from smiling, toward the stairs.
After the uncle and niece had disappeared from sight, the new bride Wang Meinan, who had been standing under the eaves the whole time, sidled up to her husband and asked in a low voice, “Da Hu, who is that girl? Why is everyone so generous with her?” Although the Glass Factory Family Compound was quite harmonious, she had never seen people vying to send meat and vegetable dishes to the same household.
Liu Hu wiped the rain from his face and hesitated for a few seconds before replying in an equally low voice, “That’s Sister Fangbai. Her mother was a police officer who sacrificed her life for the glass factory. She was only a few years old at the time. She’s lived with Engineer Gu in our family compound ever since, only moving out after she started working. Everyone is grateful to her.”
“No wonder…” Wang Meinan looked as if she’d had an epiphany, but her brow quickly furrowed again. “Then why is she living with her uncle? Where’s her father?” He couldn’t be like her own father, who became a stepfather as soon as he got a stepmother, could he?
“Don’t let your imagination run wild.” Liu Hu saw the suspicion in his wife’s eyes at a glance and immediately chided her in a hushed tone. He looked left and right to make sure no one was paying attention to them before lowering his voice even further. “Just keep this to yourself and don’t spread it around. Sister Fangbai’s father was also a martyr. And so was her grandfather.”
Wang Meinan gasped. Th-three martyrs in one family? How much pain must that girl have endured?
=
The sky grew dark early on rainy days.
It was only a little past six in the evening, but it was already completely dark outside.
However, the family compound had electricity, so the rooms were brightly lit.
And so, the moment Gu Fang entered the house, her aunt, Xu Huailan, saw the state of her feet. She immediately frowned and pushed her down onto a stool, urging her younger son to fetch warm water for his cousin to soak her feet in while glaring at her husband. “Don’t you know Fangbai’s health isn’t good? This water is so cold.”
Gu Weiguo felt wronged. “It’s already June, how is it cold? Besides, it was just a few steps. I couldn’t have carried her on my back, could I?” A grown girl should keep a respectful distance from men, let alone just her uncle.
Xu Huailan rolled her eyes. “Couldn’t you have come back first to get a pair of high-top rain boots before going out to pick Fangbai up? If that was too much trouble, you could have just shouted from the courtyard gate and had Rongzhi bring a pair down.”
Gu Weiguo, who hadn’t thought of that at all, opened his mouth but couldn’t find a single word to refute her.
Although many things were still unclear, Gu Fang tried to mimic Gu Fangbai’s tone in an attempt to get her uncle off the hook. “Auntie, I think I smell something burning.”
“Oh no! My pork knuckle! I had to pull so many strings to get it!” Xu Huailan exclaimed, turning and rushing toward the corridor.
With his wife gone, Gu Weiguo’s posture straightened. He looked at his younger son, who was mixing the foot-soaking water. “Fourth Brother, get me a basin too.”
Gu Rongzhi suppressed a laugh. “Didn’t you just say you were going downstairs to help drain the water, Dad? Maybe you should soak your feet when you get back?”
Gu Weiguo plopped down onto a stool and scolded with a grin, “So your dad doesn’t deserve to wear rain boots to go downstairs?”
“You do! Of course you do! Foot-soaking water, coming right up!” Not only did Gu Rongzhi fetch water for both of them, but he also made each of them a cup of malted milk. “Dinner will be a while. Have this to tide you over.”
Gu Weiguo was a seventh-grade technician at the factory, and with his wife being a factory doctor, their combined monthly salary was a substantial one hundred sixty to seventy yuan, making them a truly high-income family.
But he was still reluctant to drink things like malted milk. He only took two sips before handing it to his younger son. “Share it with your mom.”
After turning the pork knuckle in the pot, Xu Huailan walked back in. “Rongzhi and I already had some. Eldest sent two more jars back today. We’re not short this one cup.”
Hearing this, Gu Weiguo, who had a sweet tooth, promptly took the cup back and began to drink it in large gulps.
As a doctor, she couldn’t stand to see this. Xu Huailan reminded him, “Drink it slower. Isn’t it hot?”
“Can’t be slow, I have to go downstairs and help.” After downing the large cup of sweet, deliciousness, Gu Weiguo let out a contented sigh. He handed the empty enamel mug to his son and picked up the foot-wiping cloth to quickly dry the water from his feet. “What did Eldest say in his letter?”
The couple had raised four children in total.
The eldest, a 28-year-old boy, worked in a government department and had been transferred to Shanghai last year with his direct superior.
The second, a 24-year-old girl, had admired her military uncle who had sacrificed his life since she was young and was determined to become a soldier. She had actually been admitted to a military academy for university. The family wasn’t clear on what she did after graduation, only vaguely knowing that she was a technical officer.
The third, also 24, was their niece, but she was treated no differently than their own child. After graduating from university in ’65, she was assigned to the Su City newspaper office and was now a proper editor.
And the youngest, Gu Rongzhi, was only 16 and a first-year in high school.
Speaking of which, the couple was the envy of everyone around them. They had a high income, and their children were each more outstanding than the last.
Everyone who knew them lamented that if university classes hadn’t been suspended, the family would have likely produced four university students. It was as if they had stumbled upon a nest of scholars.
Even Xu Huailan, as their mother, was incredibly proud when she spoke of the children she had raised. She brought a pair of rain boots and placed them at her husband’s feet. “Same as always, he says everything is fine. I wonder if he’s only reporting the good news and not the bad.”
Gu Weiguo pulled on the rain boots. “Let me see the letter?”
Xu Huailan said, “Now? Didn’t you say you were going downstairs to drain the water?”
“…” He had almost forgotten. After a few seconds of silence, Gu Weiguo stood up. “Forget it, I’ll read it tonight when I get back.”
Xu Huailan handed him the flashlight, complaining at the same time, “This sewer system gets repaired every year, and it floods every year. Why don’t you all organize and report it to the higher-ups?”
“You think we haven’t? They said the ground has to be dug up to replace the sewer pipes. That needs government approval. It’s a big project and it costs money. The various departments all pass the buck. How could it be that easy?” Gu Weiguo got angry just thinking about it.
Gu Rongzhi suggested, “Can’t we go directly to the government?”
Gu Weiguo sighed. “Going over their heads would just offend the entire factory leadership, wouldn’t it?”
Xu Huailan offered an idea, “What if everyone in the family compound writes a petition? It floods for a whole month every rainy season. It’s so annoying.”
“It’s useless, we’ve tried.” Unless they were willing to make a big scene and burn bridges, but no one wanted to be the one to stick their neck out for such a thankless task. Gu Weiguo didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He grabbed an old basin and went downstairs by himself.
After seeing her husband off, Xu Huailan came back and felt her niece’s forehead. Fortunately, she didn’t have a fever. “Why do you look a little pale? Dinner will be ready in about half an hour. Soak your feet a little longer, then go back to your room and lie down for a bit.”
Gu Fang did indeed need a private space to think. But she asked, “…Uncle went to the newspaper office to pick me up today and said there was something to discuss?”
“There is, but it’s not urgent. We can talk about it at the dinner table.”
Her aunt wasn’t in a hurry, so Gu Fang naturally didn’t press the issue. A few minutes later, she dried her feet, poured out the water, washed her socks, wiped her leather shoes, and then returned to the room that belonged to Gu Fangbai.
As a skilled technician, the apartment Uncle Gu was assigned was not only on a good floor but was also over fifty square meters, divided into three bedrooms and a living room, without a kitchen or bathroom.
Ever since her older cousin had gone to university, the ten-square-meter room had become almost exclusively Gu Fangbai’s space.
Gu Fang closed the bedroom door and slowly surveyed the familiar yet strange environment.
Frankly, from a modern perspective, the furniture and other items were quite old-fashioned.
But in this era, whether it was the solid-looking raw wood bed, the solid wood wardrobe with an inset half-length mirror, the desk covered with a sheet of clear glass, or the tape recorder placed on the desk… every single item was of high quality.
After a long moment, Gu Fang took a deep breath and walked toward the half-length mirror.
In her memory, even though Gu Fangbai didn’t come back to live here often after starting work, her aunt would still clean regularly, so the mirror could be described as spotless.
Standing before the mirror, she stared intently at the girl in the reflection, who bore a seventy-percent resemblance to herself.
So what Grandma said was true. Not only were their names similar, but they really did look alike…
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Fang slowly raised her hand and placed it on the mirror’s surface.
The person in the mirror performed the same action, her palm ultimately meeting hers.
At that moment, Gu Fang had the strange feeling that time from two different eras had been sliced apart by this very mirror.
And she was truly, genuinely, looking right at Gu Fangbai.
But… how could this be?
She had just been too sad. She had just cried herself to sleep. How had she, uncontrollably, in a bizarre dream, swapped lives with a napping Gu Fangbai?
Gu Fang had really arrived in June of 1968, while the other girl had gone to the more civilized and advanced world sixty years later.
So in this life, could Gu Fangbai escape her tragic fate of an early death? Could she also receive the huge inheritance she had received from her grandmother?
And as for herself… could she do her utmost to erase all of her grandmother’s regrets and remorse?
At this thought, all the confusion was instantly pushed aside by a wave of joy that swarmed her heart. Gu Fang’s hand, still resting on the mirror, suddenly clenched into a fist.
Only when her fingertips turned white from the force did she manage to hold back the tears that were about to well up in her eyes.
This is wonderful… She could finally repay her grandmother for saving her life and raising her.
1968… This is truly wonderful.
=
Since they had swapped identities, from now on, Gu Fang was Gu Fangbai.
At the dinner table, facing a sumptuous meal, the family ate and chatted, creating a lively atmosphere.
Somehow, the conversation drifted back to the first floor. “…Not only did muddy water get into the rooms, but there were also lots of earthworms and bugs.”
Gu Rongzhi scooped a large piece of rock-sugar braised pork for his sister before saying with lingering fear, “Thank goodness we live on the second floor.” Earthworms weren’t scary, but having them crawl into the house, one after another, was just too disgusting.
Xu Huailan admonished her son, “You’re not to say that outside. How would the people downstairs feel if they heard you?”
Gu Rongzhi grinned, revealing his sharp canine teeth. “I’m not that stupid.”
Gu Fangbai tried her best to adapt to her new identity and offered a suggestion, “This matter isn’t actually that hard to solve. I can just write an exposé with my left hand and publish it anonymously.”
Although she had gone from being a forensic pathology doctoral student to an editor, Gu Fangbai’s humanities skills weren’t bad, and with the original owner’s memories, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Her only slight worry was for the girl who had swapped with her. She hoped that, for the sake of the huge inheritance, the other girl wouldn’t be scared of the forensic pathology profession.
“Pub… publish it in the newspaper?”
Gu Weiguo’s voice pulled Gu Fangbai back from her wandering thoughts. She looked up and met three pairs of astonished eyes.
Gu Fangbai remained composed. “What’s wrong?”
“Isn’t that a bit too radical?” This was a line of thought Gu Weiguo had never considered. Also… “Will it really work?”
People in this era were still too upright. Gu Fangbai briefly explained the power of public opinion to them before saying pointedly, “Since the problem hasn’t been solved for several years in a row, then let’s lay the demand out in the open. When more people see it, it will naturally receive attention.”
1968 was not like the future. The social climate was very strict. As long as it was published, someone would be assigned to follow up on it immediately.
So his gentle third sister had also become fierce after starting work? Gu Rongzhi shrank his neck. “No wonder they say a scholar’s pen is a sword.”
Xu Huailan said, “The method Fangbai mentioned could indeed work, but I’m afraid a lot of people will get into trouble.”
The good-natured Gu Weiguo nodded repeatedly. “Your aunt is right.”
In Gu Fangbai’s view, if you were in a position but didn’t do your job, you deserved to get into trouble. However, considering the special political climate of the time, she took a step back. “Then let’s first secretly submit the article we’re preparing to the factory’s internal whistleblower box.”
Gu Rongzhi was curious. “What if they still don’t take it seriously?”
Gu Fangbai reassured him, “They will. Before sending it, just write on the envelope: ‘If this isn’t resolved, the article will be submitted to the provincial newspaper.'”
!!!
Seeing the three of them wide-eyed with shock again, Gu Fangbai could only give them time to process. She changed the subject, “Uncle still hasn’t told me why you called me back today.”
Gu Weiguo stammered, “Huh? What… Oh, oh, didn’t you agree before to meet some nice young men if you came across any? Your aunt and I screened a bunch, and the young man that your Uncle Wang introduced has the most suitable qualifications in every aspect. Do you want to meet him?”
!!! This time, it was Gu Fangbai’s turn to be wide-eyed with shock. A blind date right off the bat?