As she approached, Shen Fujuan recognized almost at a glance that the emaciated, half-dead man lying on the ground was Zhu Jia, who would later become a senior researcher at the Beijing Military Industry Research Institute.
The reason Shen Fujuan remembered this man was that in her previous life, while watching television, she had accidentally heard him being interviewed and recalled her own youth.
And he, too, had been sent down to Heihe Village!
Even his research direction was very similar to Su Jiaxuan’s.
But in her previous life, they had been too overwhelmed with their own struggles to help this dying comrade.
In the end, seeing that he was truly on the brink of starvation, Shen Fujuan had slipped a small piece of steamed bun into the hand of the dying man.
Later, on television, Zhu Jia had made a grand announcement about wanting to find the kind-hearted person who had helped him back then, hoping to repay her.
Unfortunately, by that time, Shen Fujuan’s family had been torn apart, and she had already endured hardship for most of her life.
She had no desire for money or fame.
With the memories of her past life, Shen Fujuan naturally couldn’t miss this opportunity.
This Zhu Jia might become the best help for their family’s return journey!
The people around were still whispering, but after watching for a long time, no one was willing to lend a hand.
In this era of scarcity, even they themselves had to go hungry, working hard all day just to earn enough work points to barely fill their stomachs.
Who would be willing to give their hard-earned food to someone else?
“What are you all looking at? I say, it’s the comfortable lives you used to live that spoiled you! We country folk can go hungry for a couple of days without any problem. Whose ancestors haven’t gone hungry or lived in poverty?”
Huang Wenqiang had also noticed the commotion. After seeing Zhu Jia faint, he kicked him hard in the leg.
The disheveled young man lying on the ground couldn’t help but flinch in pain.
The onlookers couldn’t bear to watch.
They were all in the same boat.
They could almost imagine themselves one day ending up in Zhu Jia’s situation.
Those of them labeled as “black elements” were worth less than livestock in the commune.
Shen Fujuan quickly pushed her way through the crowd, crouched down, and checked Zhu Jia’s condition.
He was clearly starving, with no muscle on his body—she could even feel his bones protruding.
“Oh, you can’t even take care of yourself, and now you want to help this sickly one?” Huang Wenqiang looked at Shen Fujuan with an expression of disdain.
Shen Fujuan gritted her teeth. “If someone starves to death in the commune, can you explain it to the higher-ups?”
Huang Wenqiang remained indifferent. “So you Stinking Ninths are helping each other out now?”
“Scum like him, even if he starves to death, is doing a service to the country!”
Huang Wenqiang’s attitude was no different from in her previous life.
After hearing this, Shen Fujuan grabbed Zhu Jia’s bony arm, trying to help him up.
However, as the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Even though Zhu Jia was half-starved, he was still a full 185 centimeters tall.
Shen Fujuan didn’t have much strength either. Not only did she fail to pull him up, but she nearly fell over herself.
Seeing this, Huang Wenqiang let out an even more contemptuous sneer. “See? Even God wants to punish you people who have done nothing but evil!”
In silence, despite Huang Wenqiang’s mockery, Shen Fujuan persisted in trying to pull Zhu Jia up.
According to the events of her previous life…
Zhu Jia would return to the city two years earlier than them. If they seized this opportunity in this lifetime, perhaps with Zhu Jia’s help, they could also return to the city ahead of schedule, sparing themselves two years of hardship?
At this thought, Shen Fujuan felt even more driven.
From behind the crowd, Su Jiaxuan saw Shen Fujuan’s relentless efforts and quickly pushed his way in.
He was about the same height as Zhu Jia and had considerable strength, effortlessly hoisting the man onto his shoulders.
As he carried the unconscious man out of the crowd, Su Jianqiang quickly lent a hand, while Su Jianjun supported from behind.
The family supported one another as they walked away, with no one complaining about Shen Fujuan’s seemingly impulsive actions.
Huang Wenqiang watched, feeling as though someone was challenging his authority.
He spat fiercely on the ground: “They can’t even feed themselves, yet they still think about doing good deeds?! These bloodsucking parasites will be the death of themselves one day!”
Once they returned home and closed the door, Zhao Xiaorou was the first to voice her confusion.
“Mom, is this person really that important? Why did we have to help him?”
Looking at the man lying on their bed, clutching his stomach in pain and almost curling up like a snail, Su Jianqiang was equally puzzled.
Su Jiaxuan remained silent, simply staring at Shen Fujuan, waiting for her explanation.
“This man is Zhu Jia. We encountered him in our previous life too.”
“In the future, he will become a senior researcher at the Beijing Military Industry 803 Research Institute and even earn the title of academician.”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Zhu Jia.
Clearly, none of them had expected this disheveled man to achieve such great things in the future.
Su Jiaxuan worked in the field of aviation research, also serving the nation, making him somewhat akin to Zhu Jia in origin.
His expression softened slightly as he looked at Zhu Jia’s pitiful state, seemingly reminded of himself.
“Let’s give him some water first. I’ll go make some rice soup for him.”
After briefly explaining the man’s identity, Shen Fujuan turned and walked into the kitchen, retrieving a small handful of rice from her Dimensional Space.
The rice soup was soon ready, and Zhu Jia, lying on the bed, was the first to react.
Smelling the fragrance of rice, he first twitched his nose, then opened his eyes in confusion, staring at the dilapidated ceiling beams.
After glancing around and seeing two handsome, upright young men, Zhu Jia lay back down.
“Have I reached heaven?” he murmured, lying flat on his back.
Facing death, Zhu Jia’s greatest regret was the unfinished experiment he had left behind before being sent down.
“My experiment was about to yield data, but unfortunately… I wonder if they’ll be able to figure out the ballistic data?”
Su Jianqiang glanced at Su Jiaxuan and whispered, “Dad, does this man seem to have been driven mad by hunger?”
At the same time, Shen Fujuan walked in, carrying a small bowl of cooled rice soup.
At first glance, she saw Zhu Jia lying on the bed with his eyes closed, muttering nonsense.
He was mumbling incoherently, and it was unclear what he was saying.
It sounded like English, but he spoke so quickly that Shen Fujuan couldn’t make it out at all.
Shen Fujuan instinctively looked toward Su Jiaxuan.
Sensing her gaze, he lowered his voice: “He’s reciting the Bible.”
It seemed he had studied abroad.
Had he even adapted to local customs and joined a religion?
This was information Shen Fujuan hadn’t learned in her previous life.
She placed the bowl on the table, walked over, and poked Zhu Jia.
Zhu Jia turned over and sat up, seeing the beautiful Shen Fujuan, she was stunned: “I really have arrived in heaven, I can already see an angel.”
Shen Fujuan was amused, she asked Su Jianqiang to hand her the bowl: “God wouldn’t give you rice porridge to drink, if you don’t drink it soon, you’ll really end up in heaven.”