C1

The cool morning air, with the peculiar smell of seafood, penetrated through the window and into Li Zheng’s nostrils.  Beneath him was a wooden bed covered with an old cotton wool that was not pleasing to the eye and felt rough and gritty in his hands.

Transmigration?

Even if gravitational waves were proven to exist in the 21st century, Li Zheng couldn’t believe that such a thing as traveling through time and space would happen to him.

Once 32 years old, he had planned his life. When the new drug successfully passed the four clinical stages, he would be greeted by countless flowers and applause. He wouldn’t even have to work again, and he would be able to lie on the credit book and live a life of comfort.

However, the doctor’s sentence of “overwork” made everything go up in smoke.

“God is kind to me.” Li Zheng smiled wryly. He struggled to sit up from the bed. When he stepped out of bed, his right leg was soft and he almost fell to the ground.

Obviously, this body had weak legs due to the persistent high fever.

There was no mirror in the room. There was only a basin of water on the bedside table with a towel on it. This was probably for the original owner to do physical cooling.

Stumbling to the bedside table, he was taken aback when he saw the face in the water. It was a replica of him. No, to be exact, it was a replica of his teenage self.

Not quite authentic slender phoenix eyes, a little inner double lids on closer inspection, a high nose, thin lips. According to a former friend, this was a naturally cool likeness.

This face was almost the same as that of his previous life, giving Li Zheng a subtle sense of security. He looked around and wanted to find out what clues to understand his current environment.

When he saw a place on the wall of the room, his pupils suddenly shrank …

1982

China’s political arena had just stabilized from shock. Leaders were diligently trying to make the right transition from a planned economy to a commodity economy. Everything in Xinhua was like trying to drill through the grass in the early spring. Although it looked desolate, there was abundant vitality hidden under the thin soil layer.

“1982, 1982.” Li Zheng muttered to himself and looked at the dignified face of the founder of the Chinese nation on the wall. He took two deep breaths in a row to smooth his beating heart.

Just then, a sharp female voice interrupted his thoughts.

“This boat was used together by people in the commune. Li Qiang died and it naturally belongs to all of us. So why are you yelling here?” The middle-aged woman shouted sharply outside the door.

“How did this ship come, don’t you guys know? An old abandoned ship, my dad had to exchange it for ten catties of meat tickets. My dad honestly agreed. He stayed up and repaired for half a month to make the boat work. Go to sea again. Are you ashamed to say that this is a commune ship?”

This was a 17-or 18-year-old girl with two braided hair. Her skin was a little dark because of frequent sea breeze blowing. She was tall, but she was wearing a very ill-fitting dress. Her trousers just reached her calf and had a very large hole. It had several patches that were not very beautiful. Her blouse was a wave point shirt, and the shirt was a little small, and it was not worn at her age.

However, to Li Zheng’s surprise, the little girl wore this outfit with a somewhat fashionable taste and was really a cloth hanger.

Li Zheng did not inherit the memory of the original owner, but during these days of high fever, he got a lot of information from the soliloquy of the young girl who took care of him.

After piecing it together, he probably understood his current situation.

The owner’s father went to sea a week ago and did not return.  Two days ago, his father’s good friend Uncle Zheng brought back his father’s boat from the sea. However, his father was on board.

People who lived at sea knew from the traces on the ship that Father Li was caught in a storm, but the owner refused to accept the fact and secretly took the ship out to sea at night to find his father.

There was no lighthouse in the 1980s, and driving on the sea at night depended on the fisherman’s experience. Although the owner had followed his father out of the sea several times, he had no experience and soon lost his way at sea.

He would have died at sea if the fishing boats in the town hadn’t happened to pass him during the hungry and cold nights without food or water.

Although he was brought back to the town by the fishermen, the owner had a high fever that night. The fever brought Li Zheng.

“Zhou Sitian, that’s not what we mean. This ship is Li Qiang’s, and we have absolutely no objection. ”  The speaker was a lean middle-aged man.

As soon as the lean middle-aged man’s words were spoken, the woman who had spoken would have jumped up, but the middle-aged man fixed his eyes on the spot.

“Just …” The lean middle-aged man looked at the little girl with a little embarrassment. “Zhou Sitian, as you know, we eat this bowl of rice, not every day has a good harvest, now is the season of the most fat and beautiful sea goods, a day loss will affect the family.  Now Xiao Zheng is still lying in bed, he is Li Qiang’s only bone and blood, this doctor hasn’t given him medicine … “

The lean man did not go on talking, but judging from the girl’s face, all the people present knew that he had said enough.

The little girl’s name was Zhou Sitian and her nickname was Tian Niu. She was a child that Mother Li brought when she married him. Therefore, people in the town secretly call her a drag. Zhou Sitian knew that although she and Li Zheng both called Li Qiang’s father, they were different. Li Zheng was her stepfather’s only blood, Li Zheng … could have anything.

In front of the door, Zhou Sitian stood alone at the door with a towel in his hand, which was used to cool Li Zheng physically. Opposite her was the team from the town. Most of them were silent and looked pitiful and reluctant. Only the first middle-aged woman was the first to speak, looking at Zhou Sitian’s sweet struggling look, she showed a proud expression.

“I …” Zhou Sitain struggled to speak, her right hand tightly clenched into a fist, her nails dug deeply into her palm of the meat, hiding her pain.

Just then…

The door was gently pushed open, Li Zheng slowly walked out covered by a blanket.

“Sister.” Li Zheng’s phoenix eyes smiled into the radian of a crescent moon, and a shallow dimple loomed on his cheek. He knew in his previous life that such a smile could easily make people feel good.

Zhou Sitian was stunned, Sister? Li Zheng never called her that. But now she couldn’t care about this either. It was cold outside and he still had a high fever.

She hurried to Li Zheng’s side, her face condensing. “What are you doing out here, go back!” Her attitude was really not good.

Zhou Sitian felt some regret, she and her brother’s relationship was not very good, it seemed they would quarrel again. But to Zhou Sitian’s surprise, her younger brother seemed to have a particularly good temper.

“OK, OK, I know. I’m wearing a blanket. It’s not cold at all. ” If the original owner of youthful spirit might really make trouble with Zhou Sitian, but the elder Li Zheng was already 32 years old and almost in his forties, how could he dispute with a little girl? Moreover, although he was in a daze these days, he also felt that the little girl was really good to him.

Zhou Sitian was shocked by his brother’s sudden gentleness. She couldn’t remain calm for a long time.

Li Zheng, regardless of his reaction to this cheap stepsister, turned to the team with a smile.

“Dear uncle, did come to see me? I have just met my father. He was right. There are many people here who care about me. I shouldn’t be headstrong. ” Li Zheng bowed his head, and looked like a child admitting his mistake to his parents. Many middle-aged women onlookers felt distressed.

“Ouch, what a sin! Before Li Qiang’s first seven years have passed, he came to ask his two children to take something. It’s embarrassing.”

“Li Qiang has always been a good heart and did not help those people less when he was alive.”

　　……

The rustle of the women’s voices reached the ears of all members of the team, some of whom were thin-faced started blushing. Many people in the team were unwilling to come here this time. After all, Li Qiang was once their battalion chief before, and there was still a lot of incense in it. Besides, he was now left with only his lonely child Li Zheng. What was bullying?

The lean man’s face was a little stiff. He tightly grabbed his wife who wanted to speak and forced out a smile.

“Xiao Zheng, are you awake, still have a fever? Are you feeling better? ” The lean man stepped forward and eagerly grabbed Li Zheng’s hand to show he was caring and attentive.

Li Zheng smiled shyly and lowered his head as if he were very shy. He didn’t know who the man was, so it wasn’t good to help him.

“It’s good to be okay, it’s good to be okay.” The lean man looked very happy. He patted Li Zheng on the shoulder, then walked to his wife’s side and dragged her hand to his own.

He stared at his wife and motioned for her to settle down, and smilingly handed Zhou Sitian an old hen.

“Xiao Sitian, Xiao Zheng is sick and weak. Take it.” In spite of Zhou Sitian’s bewilderment, the lean man threw the old hen into Zhou Sitian’s hands without saying anything about the ship.

“A whole old hen, Captain Yang is really generous!”

“Captain Yang and Li Qiang worked together in the production team for ten years before. Naturally, their relationship wasn’t bad. He had no choice but to think about it this time. The town was really short of boats, otherwise he wouldn’t have gone this way.”

An old hen in the eighties was really a rarity. The rich families in Qinghe Town only killed one during the holidays.

The old hen instantly defused the public opinion advantage created by Li Zheng, he was really a master.