January 20, 1971.
With the New Year approaching, the train heading north was packed with people, with every seat occupied. Yet there was no weariness on their faces from the journey. Instead, each person was eager to return home.
The noisy chatter was accompanied by all kinds of indescribable smells, making Zhao Xiyan’s already dizzy mind feel even more lightheaded. She could tell that this body was even weaker than it had been a month ago.
A month earlier, Zhao Xiyan had perished alongside the zombies. After her consciousness faded away, this was what happened.
January 13, 1971, Hongqi Commune, Mengniu Village.
“Sweetheart, my precious girl, look at your mother. Which heartless bastard did this to my daughter? Who smashed such a huge hole in her head? If I find out who did it, I’ll kill him!”
A heart-wrenching cry came from beside her.
Zhao Xiyan had just regained a little consciousness when someone began talking incessantly beside her, but her mind had not fully recovered, so she could not hear the words clearly.
Who was this woman? Her voice sounded strangely familiar.
Before she could think any further, a deep and pleasant voice sounded.
“Xiaocui, you haven’t closed your eyes for two days. Go get some rest. I’ll stay here and watch over our girl.”
“That’s right, Mom. Go rest for a while. We’ll stay here with Little Sister.”
“Yes, Grandma, go get some rest. We’ll watch over Aunt.”
“That’s right, Mom. Even if Little Sister wakes up, she wouldn’t want to see you like this…”
The voices alternated in Zhao Xiyan’s ears, filling her with an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Her eyes slowly grew moist.
This happened to be noticed by Zhao Yi, who had been watching her closely.
“Mom, Mom, look! Little Sister is crying!”
Before his mind could fully process what he was seeing, his mouth had already shouted the words.
“God bless my precious girl, God bless my precious girl, God bless my precious girl.”
Zhao’s mother clasped her hands and raised them toward the heavens, repeatedly praying for divine protection.
“Sweetheart, I’m your father. Can you hear me?”
Seeing his daughter injured and unconscious had brought tears to this tough man’s eyes.
Half awake and half dreaming, Zhao Xiyan saw the brief life of a girl who shared her exact name.
This girl was also named Zhao Xiyan. Her father was the team leader of Mengniu Village, Zhao Aiguo, while her mother was the woman who had been crying just moments ago, Lin Xiaocui.
She was the sixth child in the family and her parents’ most beloved youngest daughter. Above her were four older brothers and one older sister.
Lin Xiaocui had already been forty years old when she gave birth to her. In an era when having many children and grandchildren was the norm, a forty-year-old woman would generally already be a grandmother, so Zhao Xiyan was a daughter born to her parents late in life.
Because Zhao’s mother was an advanced-age mother, and women in those days did not have the luxury of resting and recuperating after giving birth but still had to work in the fields, she had plenty of experience, especially since this was already her sixth child.
However, no one could predict an accident. When she was seven months pregnant, Zhao’s mother slipped on her way home from work, causing Zhao Xiyan to be born prematurely. She weighed less than three pounds at birth. The village doctor said that because Zhao’s mother had fallen, her amniotic fluid had broken prematurely, leaving the baby deprived of oxygen, and combined with the premature birth, it would be difficult for Zhao Xiyan to survive.
Zhao’s mother had been terrified at the time, crying so hard that tears and mucus streamed down her face. From then on, she took even greater care of her youngest daughter. Zhao’s father went everywhere making connections and managed to obtain several cans of malted milk powder to help his little girl build up her strength.
With both parents protecting her as carefully as their own eyes, her older brothers and sister also doted on her unconditionally.
The original Zhao Xiyan grew up with many difficulties. Because of her premature birth, her body remained extremely weak. After walking three steps, she would be gasping for breath, and after five steps, she would be panting heavily.
Three days earlier, the original Zhao Xiyan had gone to the foot of the mountain behind the village to gather wild vegetables. It was only about a hundred meters from her own backyard, yet for some inexplicable reason, someone had struck her on the head with a hammer. Blood had gushed from the wound, and she had died on the spot. That was when Zhao Xiyan had inexplicably entered this body.
By noon, an entire morning had already passed since Zhao Xiyan had first shown signs of consciousness.
“Why hasn’t she woken up yet? Her fever has already gone down, hasn’t it?”
Zhao’s mother looked at her youngest daughter lying on the bed, her face pale as a ghost, and felt heartbroken. Blood was still faintly seeping from the wound on her forehead, making her so anxious and distressed that her lips trembled.
“Xiaocui, if our girl still hasn’t woken up tomorrow, we can’t just keep waiting. We should take her to the hospital.”
Zhao’s father was anxious as well. More than half a day had already passed, so why had his daughter still not woken up?
Zhao’s mother felt that anxiously waiting around was useless, so she called toward the doorway.
“Eldest Son, go to the clinic and ask Doctor Shen to come over. Have him take a look at why our girl still hasn’t woken up.”
The eldest son, Zhao Yi, who had been chopping firewood outside, immediately stopped when he heard his mother’s call. He put down the axe and answered from inside before heading out.
“Okay, Mom. I’ll go get the village doctor right away.”
“We’ve already called him twice, and she still wants to call him again. Does she think money grows on trees? She’s just a girl. Let her lie there for two days and she’ll be fine. Such a worthless girl.”
In the kitchen, a woman muttered under her breath as she cooked. She moved her hands with exaggerated force, making an enormous amount of noise in the process.
“Eldest Daughter-in-law, if you keep causing trouble, you won’t be eating dinner later.”
Zhao’s mother was already anxious because her precious girl had not yet awakened, and Li Xiaomei had happened to hit a sore spot.
Hearing her mother-in-law’s warning, Li Xiaomei, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhao family, immediately softened her movements.
“Mom, have some water. Look, you’re so anxious that you’ve even got sores on your lips.”
Seeing his mother so worried, Zhao Yan, the second son of the Zhao family, felt sorry for her.
“Grandma, look! Little Aunt has opened her eyes!”
Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu, who had been staring at Zhao Xiyan the entire time, shouted together.
Zhao Wen and Zhao Wu were the twin sons of Zhao’s eldest son, and they were five years old that year.
“Mom…”
Zhao Xiyan struggled to open her mouth and uttered a tiny, mosquito-like sound. Her voice was weak, but Zhao’s mother, whose heart was entirely focused on her youngest daughter, still heard it.
“Sweetheart, sweetheart, was that you speaking?”
Zhao’s mother wiped away her tears and leaned down to look at her youngest daughter, who had opened her eyes on the bed. The moment she saw that her daughter was awake, she became overwhelmed with excitement.
“Sweetheart, my precious girl, you’re finally awake. You nearly scared your mother to death!”
Zhao’s mother excitedly embraced her daughter, who had only just awakened and was still extremely weak. She was so overcome with emotion that she could only sob.
“Sweetheart, you’re finally awake. You really scared your mother to death. If something happened to you, how would I go on living?”
“Little Sister, you’re finally awake. Boohoo…”
“Aunt, you’re finally awake. Boohoo… My brother and I won’t go out to play anymore. We’ll protect you.”
Zhao Xiyan’s awakening instantly eased the sorrowful atmosphere in the room. Looking at the family members surrounding her, Zhao Xiyan felt a warm sensation in her heart. This was the love and protection of family.
Before Zhao Xiyan could say anything, the door opened, and two figures entered one after another.
“Mom, I brought the doctor.”
Shen Baoguo was a villager from Mengniu Village and the only person in the surrounding villages who had reportedly attended university. He was also the village’s well-known barefoot doctor.
“Baoguo, you’re finally here. Please take a look at my precious girl. Don’t worry about the consultation fee.”
Zhao’s mother wiped away her tears and excitedly grabbed the doctor’s hand. Her enthusiastic gesture startled him.
“Big Sister, please let go first.”
As he spoke, the doctor carried his medical kit over to Zhao Xiyan, bent down, and examined the wound.
Everyone in the room held their breath, staring intently at the doctor as they waited for the result.
After what seemed like a long time, the doctor smiled and said, “She’s lost too much blood, but fortunately, the wound has already been bandaged and the bleeding has stopped. There’s nothing seriously wrong with her now. Her body is just very weak, so she needs to rest and recover. I’ll prescribe a few doses of medicine for her.”
“When you get home, give her some blood-enriching food. If you can afford it, buy some malted milk powder and brown sugar and mix them together for her to drink. But you also need to keep a close eye on her tonight. If she doesn’t develop a fever, that’s best. If the fever doesn’t go down, come and get me.”
“Actually, I’ll prescribe a few anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing tablets as well. Keep them with you tonight so you won’t have to run back and forth in the middle of the night if she develops a fever.”
Zhao’s mother took the medicine, paid for it, and instructed the eldest son to see the doctor at home.
After that, Zhao Xiyan did not know whether it was because her body was too weak or for some other reason, but the moment she closed her eyes, she fell asleep.
Seeing that her precious girl’s eyes had closed and her breathing was steady, Zhao’s mother exchanged a glance with Zhao Aiguo. She quietly asked everyone to leave before gently closing the door.
“You tell me, our daughter has always been such a good girl. Who could she possibly have offended to hold such a grudge against her?”
Zhao’s mother had finished bathing and returned to the room, where she saw Zhao Aiguo entering.
A murderous glint flashed through Zhao Aiguo’s eyes when he heard his wife’s words, but he quickly concealed it.
“It has been so many years. Ever since my parents passed away, our family has lived peacefully all this time. Now that something has happened to our daughter, could someone be after the Zhao family’s treasure?”
“Let’s ask her about what happened after she wakes up. As for the incident where our daughter was attacked, those gossipy women in the village will certainly make up all kinds of nonsense. I think once our girl is feeling better, we should send her to stay with Zhao Jiu for a while.”
“Our third and fourth sons are twins. They enlisted in the army in the same year. Although they still can’t have their families accompany them, they can at least rent a place nearby.”
Zhao Aiguo thought about it before nodding.
“That would work. Our daughter is so delicate. Although we know that an upright person has nothing to fear from shadows, and if anyone dares to spread rumors, I’ll go straight to their door and deal with them, our girl might not be able to handle it.”
They knew their daughter well. They had protected her too much, leaving her with such a simple and innocent nature that they were afraid she would overthink things.
“Go to sleep. I’ll get up from time to time tonight to check on our girl.”
“Mm, let’s sleep.”
With that, he blew out the candle.