Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
A month quickly passed, and Yezhi had not received any response from the Good Institute. However, the news that Widow Zhou Chunhua had a young, fair-skinned city youth living in her home spread throughout Zhoujiatun during this month. Since most of the households in the village were surnamed Zhou, everyone felt a connection to the news. As a result, many people gathered to watch the excitement, especially women and children. There were also some young men who felt shy about entering but would occasionally glance into the courtyard as they passed by.
At this moment, Yezhi was wearing a floral coat, baggy trousers, and cloth shoes, dressed like a big girl from Northeast China. Despite its simplicity, this outfit was actually a new set prepared by Zhou Ren'er’s family for their daughter, resembling battle attire! Aunt Ren Er felt sorry for Yezhi having no clothes to wear and lent her this outfit in an emergency.
Yezhi was cooking vegetable soup on the stove when she heard the sound of the door being pulled open outside.
"Is Yezhi here?" The village chief's wife, Aunt Li, came over carrying half a bag of cornmeal.
"Aunt Li, why are you bringing something again?"
Aunt Li put down the cornmeal and smiled foolishly.
Yezhi's name became "Yezi" the day after she was surrounded by onlookers. It was changed casually, and so was the attention she received. Initially, Yezhi found it quite annoying; modern people are like that—knowing there is no malice is one thing, but feeling disrespected is another. However, with gifts of salted eggs today, fish tomorrow, and a basket of vegetables the day after… the warm and simple emotional gestures were hard to resist.
As the saying goes, "a soft mouth eats well." With this back-and-forth exchange, Yezhi became less concerned about it and sometimes even felt secretly pleased: "I didn’t expect to be so well-liked; it must be my good character!"
After chatting with Aunt Li for a while, she hurriedly left.
Yezhi stored away the cornmeal and made pancakes with eggs and flour before ladling out the cooked vegetable soup into a basket. In an era focused on basic sustenance, this was considered luxurious; ordinary families wouldn’t dare use eggs like this—they would save them for entertaining guests or trading for oil and salt. Only someone like Yezhi, who couldn’t resist food, would do such a thing!
Carrying a basket of food, Yezhi walked along the winding path.
A small mountain village unfolded before her eyes, with scattered houses built against the mountainside, exuding an ancient charm.
The houses were made of earthen walls topped with thatch, nestled among lush green trees, giving off a sense of being in a paradise away from the world.
A small river babbled at the village entrance, with a wooden bridge spanning over it. A few wild children were gathered at the bridge's edge, playing joyfully, occasionally bursting into loud shouts or fits of laughter, their happiness so pure. Yezhi couldn't help but smile as she watched them.
As she passed over the bridge, several children rushed over, chattering excitedly: "Sister Ye, where are you going?"
"Sister Ye, come play with us!"
"Sister Ye, I brought you fish!"
One boy wearing a green military cap held up two small fish in his hands as a treasure for Yezhi. She recognized him; he was Er Zhu, the village chief's son.
Looking at the two fish that were about the size of her thumb, Yezhi laughed and said, "Er Zhu, these aren't enough to satisfy Sister Ye. You should keep them to feed your cravings!"
The other children burst into laughter at this, and Yezhi pulled out two pancakes from her basket. The kids scrambled for them, nearly causing a riot. Yezhi, the instigator of this chaos, felt no remorse and laughed loudly while singing off-key, "Youth, oh youth!"
After shaking off the children's attention, Yezhi leisurely made her way to the fields and called out to Aunt Zhou, who was busy working there: "Auntie, it's time to eat!"
With the gentle breeze blowing, they sat together on the ridge of the field—Aunt Zhou eating pancakes while Yezhi drank soup.
Aunt Zhou glanced at Yezhi, who was only drinking soup, and asked curiously, "Girl, why aren't you eating pancakes?"
Yezhi sighed inwardly: What pancakes? She had given her share to the children. Besides, she was moving around less and thought eating less would help her lose weight. After a month here, Yezhi had slimmed down; after 27 years of being plump, she finally found some slenderness and wanted to continue on this path. But she couldn't say that: "Auntie, I already snacked while cooking earlier; you should eat more."
Aunt Zhou enjoyed the pancakes made by Yezhi; they warmed her heart even if they were a bit misshapen and tasted odd. Ever since her husband passed away, she had been living in solitude. With Yezhi's company, she felt like life had regained some warmth!
The green fields swayed gently in the wind as Yezhi recalled her first time in the fields. She knew nothing at all and watched Aunt Zhou wielding a hoe to till the land. Determined to help, she insisted on taking over, but her small frame struggled to handle the hoe effectively. In the end, after exerting all her strength and scraping her hands raw, she managed to till just one mile of land. Aunt Zhou was at a loss with her stubbornness, but upon seeing her bloodied hands, she lost her temper and forbade Yezhi from working in the fields again.
That day, after being banned from working, Yezhi returned home with aching hands, sore feet, and pain all over her body. She felt spoiled and guilty that Aunt Zhou, who had worked hard all day, had to take care of her instead. This made her feel particularly embarrassed and frustrated. In the 21st century, she was self-sufficient, but in 1980, she felt utterly helpless.
Fortunately, there was Xiao Fang. Ever since the DNA recognition, Glasses had activated its invisibility function and merged with Yezhi. Xiao Fang could sense even the slightest emotional changes in Yezhi. To help his master regain her spirits, he enthusiastically played the role of a caring younger brother, using a childlike voice to tell alien versions of motivational fables.
However, Yezhi remained indifferent, appearing listless and dejected while Xiao Fang waved his square arms and legs anxiously paced in place.
"Master, there's a beautiful place in the Bodria Star System called Endless Forest."
A vast sea of stars appeared before Yezhi as Xiao Fang pointed to a planet among them. A blue-black oval sphere magnified and rotated into view. Xiao Fang took Yezhi's hand and tapped on the sphere; with a bang! The sphere shattered into countless fragments.
Yezhi was plunged into darkness. Perhaps it was in this darkness that her sense of smell became particularly acute; the unique scent of the forest filled her nostrils. She called out for Xiao Fang twice but received no response. At that moment, a long cry echoed from afar!
A large bird engulfed in fiery red flames shot up from the ground into the sky, followed by thousands of smaller companions just like it. Their burning flames illuminated the entire forest, and the oddly shaped trees seemed to come alive under the red glow as they danced with the flock of birds flapping their wings above. The birds continuously changed formations in midair, rising and falling at times so close that Yezhi felt she could almost reach out and touch them.
"Welcome back! Master, isn't it beautiful? This is the latest promotional video for Endless Forest." Yezhi suppressed her shock and nodded.
Xiao Fang continued, "Master, Endless Forest is a place where you can't see your hand in front of your face. A hundred years ago, people from the Bodria Star System looked down on it until an interstellar soldier who had been stranded there for three years wrote a book about his experiences. That’s when Endless Forest became a hot tourist destination. The book contains a saying: Only by adapting to darkness can one discover beauty within it."
Yezhi murmured softly, "Only by adapting to darkness can one discover beauty within it."
Since crossing over, Yezhi's emotional fluctuations had been significant. Rationally, she accepted living with fate; emotionally, she still struggled to integrate herself into this time period, this mountain village, this "home." She never considered herself part of it; she was merely an observer of time and space looking for a way back home so she could leave without a second thought. Therefore, whenever she encountered setbacks or feelings of unease and confusion arose within her, she would feel particularly vulnerable. With some realization dawning upon her, Yezhi adjusted her mindset.
During the day, life was chaotic and messy, but at night, I roamed through the vast sea of stars and even connected with Xiao Fang on the famous Social Network of the Bodria Star System, meeting all kinds of aliens. Unfortunately, due to the language barrier, it took a long time to make a friend.
As the days passed, my mood gradually settled, and I became more adept at handling household chores. In this small village, Yezhi also gained a bit of presence, which was reassuring.
Coming back to reality from my thoughts, I put the dishes into the basket. Yezhi handed a cloth napkin to Aunt Zhou to wipe her face. Aunt Zhou placed the napkin on her head and looked up at the sun.
"Girl, hurry back before you get sunburned."
Yezhi mimicked Aunt Zhou by placing the napkin on her head, stood up, and began pulling weeds in the field while saying, "Aunt, I'll go back after I finish weeding."
Aunt Zhou sighed but said nothing. She had come to realize over the month that this girl was quite stubborn; not only that, but she also shared Aunt Zhou's quick temper. Truly, they were not from the same family for nothing.
As evening approached, Yezhi carried a basket while Aunt Zhou hoisted a hoe as they walked along the path home. At this time, smoke curled up from every household in Jiajia, enveloping Zhoujiatun in a hazy mist.
"Spring Flower, Leafy, shall we go up the mountain to gather Mountain Goods tomorrow?" asked a thin black Aunt who was washing clothes by the river.
Yezhi's eyes lit up at the mention of going up the mountain. She had long been interested in the large mountain behind the village. The mountain represented wealth; as the saying goes, "Rely on the mountains for sustenance." In the 21st century, Yezhi understood just how precious its resources were. Of course, being more primitive also meant greater danger. She had heard villagers say there were wolves, Bear-like Creatures, and wild boars on the mountain... which frightened Yezhi and made her hesitant to venture out alone.
"Zhou Barefoot is going up the mountain again? Great, let's go together."
Aunt Zhou agreed, and Yezhi felt particularly happy. She remembered having met Zhou Barefoot on the day she injured her hand in the field; Zhou Barefoot had come to bandage her wound and even made her drink two bowls of bitter medicine. Zhou Barefoot was considered half a doctor in the village.
After a simple dinner with Aunt Zhou, Yezhi lay down on the kang to sleep. Logging in with her consciousness, Xiao Fang, which usually glowed brightly, today emitted a red light and its square body sounded an alarm: "Doo-la... Doo-la!"
Yezhi anxiously asked, "Xiao Fang, what happened?"
Xiao Fang held up a large red envelope that was glowing red.
"Master, you have not paid the monthly usage fee for the Bodria Star System's Cosmic Network. Your internet will be cut off starting today."
"I have to pay for the internet? How can I pay if I have no money? At least it's just a disconnection." Yezhi was quite accepting of the internet fee situation, having gotten used to it in the 21st century; being offline wasn't a big deal, they could just reconnect when they had money!
"Master, if you don't pay within a week, it will explode!"
Yezhi gasped in shock, "Are you joking? Like that Mirror Shatter, Death Follows kind of explosion?"
Xiao Fang nodded affirmatively, "Yes, that kind of Mirror Shatter, Death Follows explosion!"
"Master, there are still seven days until the deadline."
Yezhi could no longer hear what Xiao Fang was saying and hurriedly opened the red envelope. Inside it read: Good Glasses user number 1555 owes the Cosmic Network a monthly fee of 3666 Bodeton. Starting from the receipt of this letter, those who do not pay within seven days will self-destruct!
After reading the letter, Yezhi exclaimed, "Xiao Fang, what should we do?"
Xiao Fang innocently asked, "Master, what should we do?"
Comment 0 Comment Count