Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 179 Dumplings and Vinegar
A bright and sunny spring morning.

Zhai Da and Lu Wei stood together in front of the bathroom mirror.

He was lounging lazily, brushing his teeth while unconsciously scratching his stomach.

She was pretty and aloof, standing straight, but her slender right leg was slightly turned to the left by 5 degrees.

The deflection is not meaningless; it represents the girl's intimacy.

As Zhai Da was brushing his fingers, his eyes shifted from looking at himself in the mirror to looking at Lu Wei.

If it's good, watch it more.

Their movements unconsciously became synchronized again.

Today is a day off, and I'm quite relaxed.

Zhai Da thought for a moment, then instinctively reached under his feet, but didn't step on the familiar weighing scale, so he went outside to get it.

Pointing to the ground and giving orders.

"On the scale."

Lu Wei pursed her lips, took off her slippers, and obediently stepped onto the scale.

Zhai Da squatted down and stared at him for a moment: "Your weight is really young. I mean, your weight hasn't increased at all. How come it's still 47.5?"

Lu Wei's delicate pink toes curled slightly inward, a hint of nervousness in her voice: "I ate well."

Then he raised his hand above his head.

Why are you raising your hand?

"It feels like this will make it heavier."

"You got an A+ in physics, and you're already turning the ancestor upside down after only three months?"

Zhai Da glanced at Lu Wei's slender figure and asked if she had completed the character development process.

She did gain weight, and it grew in the right places.

For example, moving from A to B, or raising both hands to reveal a flat stomach with soft abs, which looks very attractive.

Overall, a height of 172cm and a weight of 47.5kg might look amazing on TV, but in reality, she's still quite thin. She's not the kind of female celebrity who's so hungry that she'd lose her mind. Zhai Da thinks at least 50kg would be a reasonable weight.

Otherwise, her resistance would be very poor. Lu Wei rarely gets sick, largely because she rarely goes out and leads a monotonous and honest life.

"Let's resume our morning exercise routine in a couple of days."

Lu Wei felt she had passed a hurdle and quickly nodded: "Teacher Yu said we should run on the playground, not on the road."

"But I know the playground very well."

He photographed every meter of the track as the runner marched.
Anyone who has ever marched in formation knows why the word "拍" (pāi) is used.

Zhai Da lifted the corner of his T-shirt and smiled when he saw the outline of his abs. In the bodybuilding world, his abs would be considered "thin muscles" at most, but he's a natural bodybuilder.

We will never hear bad news.

Lu Wei ran her fingers across Zhai Da's abs, and Zhai Da shuddered: "What are you doing?"

I managed to refrain from touching you just now, that's not fair.

Lu Wei pointed to Zhai Da's abs: "You're thin too."

"Am I skinny? I'm actually quite muscular!"

That's how it is on TV.

Lu Wei gestured with her two small hands to indicate a measurement, roughly those people she considered "sturdy".

Because he was holding a toothbrush in his mouth, his speech was a little slurred, but he spoke in a serious and adorable manner.

"Watch less TV. No matter how big the TV is, it's all fake. My standard is what normal people should strive for."

After washing up, the two went downstairs for breakfast. There were several small shops behind Shenzhou Zundi, and the breakfast was quite good. The food in Sanzhuangbei is a fusion of the north and south, and Zhai Da did not feel uncomfortable after arriving in Harbin.

In particular, having lived in Shanghai for over ten years in my previous life, I had tasted cuisines from all over the country, including both sweet and savory soy milk.

Sweet tofu pudding and savory tofu pudding, sweet rice dumplings and savory rice dumplings, sweet glutinous rice balls and savory glutinous rice balls are all within the scope of this discussion.

Shanghai is the most eclectic city when it comes to food, a trait that even Beijing, mutton, and Shenzhen cannot match. Zhai Da is very tolerant when it comes to food.

The only thing I can't stand is West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce.

It wastes fish, vinegar, plates, gas, and ultimately the wallets of every skeptic.

After returning home from breakfast, Zhai Da took out paper and pen, preparing to write a bit of "The Time-Traveling Cohabitation Manual". Due to his sporadic work, the word count of this new work is only 20,000 words so far, which is even less than the daily work of some tentacle monster web novel writers in later generations.

According to the outline, the total word count will be controlled at around 180,000 to 190,000, which is higher than "The Long Road of Lü".

The most interesting part of this book is that it magically alters the timeline to "2008" and "2024." No one in the world is more qualified to write about "time travel" than him.

Gu Xiaonian, a 26-year-old woman who has been disillusioned with materialism for 24 years, experienced the decline of her family in her youth. Her lifelong wish is to buy back the mansion that her family used to live in. To this end, she is willing to use herself as bait, proposing to marry whoever buys the mansion.

Second marriage, third marriage, divorce with children, anything is fine.

Of course, it's 2024 now, so obviously no one would spend tens of millions to buy Thirteen Spices. Any people who are interested are just scammers.

In 2008, Zhong Ming, a frustrated 28-year-old man, was a low-level programmer from a humble background. He had a relatively high salary but had to support his large family in the countryside. He lived a miserable life, and love only existed in his dreams at midnight.

Lacking social skills, he was often ostracized at work, leading a stifled and monotonous life. One day, he woke up to find himself and his companion, living in the same old alleyway house in different times and spaces, miraculously merged together.
Thus, the young men and women, awake from their sleep, found themselves sharing a bed from the very first frame, forced to be wary of each other yet also compelled to live together in a time-traveling cohabitation.

The soft science fiction setting is this: if Gu Xiaonian pushes open this door, he will be transported to 2024; if Zhong Ming pushes open this door, he will be transported to 2008.

Then there are some common settings involving time travel: the two cannot approach their selves in different timelines, cannot tell others that they come from the past or the future, and cannot acquire wealth through time travel by means such as lotteries.

Don't ask why, soft science fiction doesn't need hardcore elements. Then let me ask you, what's with Iron Man's shock absorption? Is he harder than his armor?

Of course, these rules weren't written down to the male and female protagonists in black and white from the beginning; rather, they were discovered by the two of them as the plot progressed.

The main plot of this novel is that the two characters have rather unique personalities: one only cares about money, and the other is dull-witted and lacks ambition.

Unlike later male-oriented novels, which feature various outlandish plot twists involving traveling between two worlds and increasingly wildly imaginative ideas that ultimately lead to the collapse of both worlds.

The selling point of this book is not its time travel aspect, but rather its theme of "cohabitation".

It is now 08, the last hurdle in the development of social norms between men and women, which are still relatively reserved, and are moving towards a more open and free trend.

Two years ago, the TV series "Living with an Air Hostess" became a phenomenon, captivating countless people born in the 80s and 90s and keeping them up at night. It even raised the value of "air hostesses".

Therefore, judging from the selection of materials and the title, this book has great potential. Zhai Da also introduced a concept like "cohabitation rulebook," which is very appealing in the current era.

However, the comedic moments and the sweet, tumultuous cohabitation are just Zhai Da's tricks to lure people in and kill them. Does that sound familiar?

Just a heads up, the first half of "The Long Road to Lu" is also quite fun!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Xiao Nian, what are you wearing? It smells...it smells really nice."

"Night cream, rough men don't understand."

"Is this written in Japanese? Didn't you say you were considered poor in your area? Why are you using imported goods?"

"It's fake, just packaging. Besides, Japan is polluted, so I wouldn't dare use it."

"Then let me ask you something. I saw you talking to your phone just now? And it was able to respond to you?"

Gu Xiaonian, who was applying a face mask, glared at Zhong Ming, who was leaning too close. Zhong Ming's honest face was not actually annoying, but it was hard not to get annoyed when an old-fashioned person asked her all sorts of questions after a day at work.

"Forgot the cohabitation rulebook? Distance!"

Zhong Ming quickly backed out two meters.

Before him stood a stunningly beautiful 24-year-old woman, yet her eyes were filled with a clear thirst for knowledge.

Gu Xiaonian was furious.
"This is unusual; it's AI."

"What kind of love? How did you do that?"

Too lazy to answer, Gu Xiaonian said directly into the phone, "Little D, explain it yourself."

To Zhong Ming's surprise, the phone emitted a human voice:
"Hello, I am your intelligent AI assistant, a large-scale natural language model that uses deep neural network algorithms."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Between the lines, in the casual interactions and jokes, Zhai Da's "great prophetic skills" may be hidden.

Don't accuse him of smuggling in his own agenda. If someone can invest hundreds of millions to make two movies just for a pair of squinty eyes, why can't he write something into it?
Make dumplings with a dish of vinegar.

He firmly believes that no artist can create their work without adding their own "insights," including writers, directors, and screenwriters.
It's like asking someone to dance without using their own feet—it's impossible.

Therefore, we shouldn't say that "works" cannot be attributed to the person themselves; what they express must contain their own thoughts.

Zhai Da was engrossed in writing when, without realizing it, it was already noon.
I had just closed my "Artsy Girl's Pen" and was about to cook with Lu Wei when my phone vibrated.

After Zhai Da found it, the contact person, "Pingzhang Dasheng," called.

With the phone tucked under his shoulder, Zhai Da said while clearing the table, "Brother Wu, did you need me for something?"

On the other end of the phone, Wu Qiang sounded a little anxious: "There really is someone there. Are you in your dorm?"

"Uh, I rent an apartment, right across from the school, what's up?"

"Could you come to the Industrial Innovation Center? There's something I can do that would make me look good."

About an hour later, Zhai Dacai finally arrived. Although Brother Wu had spoken in a hurry, Lu Wei had already prepared the rice.
That’s it for now, let’s eat first.

Arriving at the Industrial Innovation Center, it wasn't much different from usual. The first floor hadn't yet seen any newbies making Hammer products, but the second and third floors were more crowded.

There are several rest rooms here, with beds for the miserable lab staff who are on duty or waiting for data.

Zhai Da knocked on the door according to the address.

"Enter!"

Zhai Da pushed open the door and entered. Wu Qiang was putting on his pants, and the scene was a bit cringe-worthy.

"Brother Wu? What do you need me for?"

Wu Qiang looked up in surprise: "Why are you so slow? Everyone's already gone."

"Who left?"

"Sister-in-law, you're late."

Zhai Da:
Is Brother Wu really that loyal?

(End of this chapter)