Kyoto, Lupping Village!
Inside a shabby, low-roofed house, Lu Ping’an slowly opened his eyes in confusion.
“Ah… my head hurts!”
Clutching his head with both hands, he felt as if it were splitting apart.
A flood of memories that did not belong to him surged into his mind like a raging tide.
The memories were chaotic and fragmented. It took him a long time to finally sort through and digest them.
He had time-traveled!!!
And into the body of someone with the exact same name!
He came from the year 2035. Originally, he had been a member of a special department in the Dragon Nation. While carrying out an overseas mission, he was betrayed. In the end, he perished together with his enemies.
He never expected that he would wake up in the 1970s.
He looked up at the calendar hanging on the wall: August 19, 1973.
With a bitter smile, he shook his head. He was born after 2000; he had only heard his grandfather talk about life in the ’60s and ’70s.
That was an era filled with passion—wholehearted devotion to the rising sun.
He closed his eyes and continued absorbing the original owner’s memories.
Lu Ping’an, fifteen years old, had just graduated from junior high school.
His family was truly large. Above him were his grandparents, his parents, two uncles, and three aunts—the elder generation.
Among his peers on his own side of the family, he had three older sisters and one younger sister.
His second uncle, Lu Huo, had four daughters—one older than him and three younger.
His third uncle, Lu Bao, had three daughters, all younger than him.
Because of this, he was the only male descendant of the Lu family.
When he was born, the old patriarch personally gave him the name “Ping’an,” hoping he would live a life of peace and safety.
As the family’s only grandson, he had naturally become the apple of everyone’s eye. His grandfather and grandmother doted on him endlessly.
Any good food was always saved for their precious eldest grandson.
Although his two aunts had their complaints, there was nothing they could do—after all, they hadn’t given birth to a son.
Just as Lu Ping’an was barely sorting out the memories in his head, a woman pushed open the door and entered.
She looked to be in her early forties. Wrinkles had already crept across her face, and her hands were covered in calluses.
She was the original Lu Ping’an’s mother, Li Xiuzhi.
Seeing him sitting up on the kang bed, her eyes lit up. She hurried forward and reached out to touch his forehead.
Instinctively, Lu Ping’an tried to dodge—but he quickly realized this body was terribly weak.
Her hand landed on his forehead. Feeling that his temperature was normal, she finally let out the breath she had been holding.
“My son, you scared your mother to death!”
“Why did you have to go fishing in the river for no reason?”
“You didn’t even catch any fish, and you fell in yourself! You nearly lost your life. You’ve had a fever for three whole days!”
“Old Ge said whether you’d survive would depend on your own fate!”
“Thank heavens, your fever has finally gone down!”
She clasped her hands together, her face still pale with lingering fear.
Lu Ping’an felt a little embarrassed. It had been a very long time since he had experienced such maternal love.
In his previous life, his relatives had died early. When he was in high school, his family went on a trip and got into a serious car accident. His parents and grandparents all passed away. Only he survived by sheer luck.
After being admitted to a military academy, his life became orderly and disciplined.
Later, because of his outstanding performance, he was selected into a special department. From then on, his life grew even more secretive—he had almost no contact with the outside world.
“Grrr…”
Just then, his stomach growled loudly. He was hungry.
“Son, wait a moment. I’ll go make you a bowl of egg drop soup. You haven’t eaten anything for three days!”
With a loving look, his mother hurried out.
Lu Ping’an let out a quiet sigh of relief after she left. He still hadn’t mentally prepared himself.
In his past life, he had been an only child. Now he suddenly had so many sisters—he felt completely at a loss.
Thankfully, he hadn’t met them all yet. Otherwise, he wouldn’t know how to handle it.
He climbed down from the kang, only to feel waves of dizziness. He quickly sat back down. This body was far too weak.
It wasn’t long before his mother returned, carrying a steaming bowl of egg drop soup.
The fragrance of eggs and chopped scallions made him swallow hard.
“Son, come, eat slowly. It’s hot.”
She placed the bowl on the kang, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and brought it toward his mouth.
Lu Ping’an quickly took the spoon from her hand. “Mom, I can do it myself.”
He was over thirty in mental age—there was no way he could let someone feed him.
“You silly child, I’m your mother. What’s wrong with feeding you?”
But seeing him stubbornly holding the spoon, she laughed and let go. “Fine, fine. Then eat slowly.”
He nodded quickly and put a spoonful into his mouth.
Fragrant! So fragrant!
The aroma of scallions, eggs, and sesame oil burst in his mouth. At that moment, he felt it was the most delicious thing in the world.
In this era, sesame oil was a rare luxury.
According to the original owner’s memories, a single one-pound bottle of sesame oil could last from the beginning of the year to the end—and still have more than half left.
Normally, it was managed personally by his grandmother and locked away in her cabinet.
Now that it appeared in his bowl, she must have handed it over specially for him.
Spoonful after spoonful, he couldn’t stop.
“Son, eat slowly! Don’t burn yourself!”
His mother reminded him, smiling warmly.
He nodded but didn’t slow down. In the end, he lifted the bowl and drank every last drop.
He was certain—there had been two eggs in that soup.
Setting the bowl down, he still felt unsatisfied. He wasn’t full at all.
“Son, you haven’t eaten for three days. You can’t eat too much at once. Your father and your second and third sisters will be back from work soon. We’ll eat together tonight.”
She had clearly noticed but simply smiled and took the bowl.
“Alright, Mom. I’m feeling much better now. Don’t worry.”
He could already feel a bit of strength returning to his body.
Seeing a light sheen of sweat on his forehead and the energy in his eyes, she finally felt reassured and left with the empty bowl.
As soon as she stepped out, a small head with two little braids peeked through the doorway.
It was a little girl about five or six years old—his younger sister, Lu Yundong.
“Little girl, come in!”
Seeing those bright, fluttering eyes, he beckoned to her.
She giggled and skipped into the room.
“Big Brother, your illness is gone!”
“Mom wouldn’t let me come in earlier—she was afraid I’d eat your egg drop soup!”
“She let me taste a sip just now. It was so fragrant I almost drooled all over the floor!”
She laughed and ran to him, hugging one of his legs.
Looking at his little sister, Lu Ping’an couldn’t help but smile wryly and reached out to pat her head.
“Brother, don’t mess up my hair! I begged Second Sister for so long before she braided it for me. If you ruin it, it won’t look pretty!”
Her protest made him burst into laughter.
For the first time, he felt completely at ease.
Perhaps time-traveling and experiencing a different life… wasn’t so bad.
Silently, he made up his mind.
From now on, he was Lu Ping’an.
And he would protect this family.