Back to my 1980s

As someone who has lived to the 21st century, I've watched a lot of TV, movies, and used my phone, since I don't usually have anyone to talk to.

Aside from making a living, all I can do is browse my phone and watch videos to pass the time.

The concept of rebirth is not unfamiliar to me.

Thinking of this, he didn't even bother to eat, and started shouting as he walked towards the main room:

"Grandma, what time is it now?"

"What time? What time? In the morning, the sun is so high in the sky."

"No, I'm asking what time it is now."

"When? How would I know what time it is? Do you need something? Or you could go check on your Uncle Liu."

"No," Zhao Hua said, getting a little anxious.

"I'm asking what year, month, and day it is now."

After saying that, Zhao Hua suddenly remembered that he seemed to have seen a wall calendar when he came out. He hurriedly went back into the house, recalled where the calendar was placed, and went straight to it to start looking through it.

What's wrong with this child? He just woke up and he seems off. Could he have been possessed somewhere while playing?

The old lady was left muttering to herself. Thinking about this, she became uneasy and hurried over to her eldest grandson to see what was going on.

January 1983, 5

The sixth day of the fourth lunar month

They're really back!

Zhao Hua felt a surge of joy, but after the joy subsided, it felt unreal; after all, rebirth was something he had only ever seen in movies and television.

I've lived for so long and never heard of a powerful, reborn individual who had shown off their abilities. I do remember seeing a news report on TV sometime during a long time ago about a child who had been reborn.

Can you believe what children say? I don't know how many lies I made up when I was a kid.

When I was a child, an uncle lost some things from his house and asked me if I had seen anyone steal them. On a whim, I said I had.

He made up stories about seeing people go to different places, and led the uncle around for an entire afternoon, never daring to admit that he actually didn't see anyone, stubbornly insisting no matter how much he was asked.

It wasn't over until we got home for dinner...

Grandma Zhao Hua, who was standing nearby, saw her eldest grandson's expression shifting between joy and worry. Her heart skipped a beat. She wanted to reach out and pat Zhao Hua, but she didn't dare, afraid that she might do something wrong.

Standing to the side, he softly called out to Zhao Hua.

Zhao Hua heard the noise, turned his head to look, and saw his grandmother calling him. He responded.

Grandma Zhao Hua felt a little relieved when she saw that her eldest grandson could still speak.

"What's wrong with you? You look really scary so early in the morning."

Zhao Hua's mind was completely blank. When his grandmother asked him a question, he didn't say much, only replying that nothing was wrong.

After standing there dumbfounded for a while, he asked, "Where are my grandpa and the others?"

They went to the taro field early this morning.

The land has only been contracted for a short time now, and everyone is putting all their effort into the fields. Whether they have something to do or not, they want to go and take a look around as much as possible.

After listening, Zhao Hua said, "Then I'll go take a look."

I haven't seen Grandpa yet. Whether he's really back or not, I have to go and see him since I'm here.

Grandma Zhao, not caring about her surprise at Zhao Hua's idleness and lack of knowledge about the place, asked first, "Have you eaten? Eat first before you go. What's there to see? You can't possibly lose it."

Zhao Hua slurped down a couple of mouthfuls and went out the door.

I lifted the small wooden bed that was blocking the yard and stepped onto the cement road.

It probably had just rained not long ago. Although the sun was shining brightly, the ground was still wet. Every step you took was a muddy mess, a mixture of water and mud.

We could only tiptoe to walk towards the driest possible spot.

Although I was still a little dazed and felt it was unreal, I was still normal and knew to avoid the puddles.

Looking at the wild rapeseed flowers by the roadside, hey! They're blooming quite brightly!

My mood gradually improved.

At least it feels pretty real now, right? What if it really comes back?

Look at this young man in his early twenties, walking so fast and energetically. I'll find a secluded spot to secretly see if he still has a split. Probably not, since he hasn't even married yet. I wonder what his future wife is doing right now.

Thinking about this still makes me feel uneasy. In my past life, I indulged in eating, drinking, and having fun, but I couldn't even take good care of my wife, which caused her to leave me early.

As I get older, life alone becomes really dull and tasteless. Whenever I'm alone at night, I think of my wife who has worked so hard to raise our two young sons and take care of me.

Regret overwhelmed me, making me feel miserable and suffocated. Now that I'm back, I won't go back.

I should take better care of her myself; at least it can't be like it was in my past life.

Calming herself down, she walked step by step toward her grandfather's field.

Although I was often away from home at this time in my past life and didn't know where my home was, I've come back again.

So I still know.

After walking for about ten or twenty minutes, I caught a glimpse of my grandfather and father in the distance. There were a few other people around, looking both so familiar and so strange. I felt excited to see them again, but not sad. It had been so long, so long that I had almost forgotten them.

The only time I feel a pang of sadness is when I dream of my parents; upon waking, I feel a sense of abandonment.

As they drew closer, Grandpa and Father heard the noise, turned around, looked at each other, and just wanted to laugh.

He couldn't help but laugh, and a silly grin was plastered on his face. He looked foolish and rather embarrassing, but he just couldn't stop himself from laughing. His father looked at him and laughed too. Perhaps neither of them knew why they were laughing at that moment.

But I couldn't help but laugh, and Grandpa laughed too. Perhaps this is what they mean by blood being thicker than water.

Perhaps this is what they call family affection, a silly smile.

"Dad, what are you doing here right now?"

"Nothing much, just came over to check on things and weed a bit."

That's true, it just rained, the weeds are probably sprouting up like crazy. It seems like there's never a time when farm work is finished, it's always something new to do.

"What are you doing here? I never see you all day long. You wake up and run away, never knowing where you're going. You're such a big kid, all you do is play. You're never serious. Who do you expect to support you for the rest of your life? I don't know what the point of having you was. If you keep running around like this, I'll break your errands."

As expected... the tender father-son moment just now was all fake. All that smiling at each other, all that blood ties—it was all a lie...

In the time it took to say just two sentences, a storm of words erupted...

Tsk, let's stay away for now, wander around a bit more before making a decision. I haven't had enough of the novelty of getting back yet.

He turned around and walked back silently, and his father glanced at him a couple of times without saying anything more.

He turned back to continue talking to the villagers beside him.

Zhao Hua wandered aimlessly, not knowing where to go or what he wanted to go. He had no goal in mind, and he strolled slowly, his eyes looking around.

Before I knew it, I was back in the village. Soon I saw old women chatting at the village crossroads. It had just rained, and they were all bored and had gathered together to chat.

"Xiao Hua, where have you been?"

The person asking the question was a villager from a village not far from his home.

"Aunt Chen, I was just wandering around aimlessly."

"You're not getting any younger, stop wandering around all day. You need to find some work. You're getting to the point where you need to get married, otherwise you won't be able to find a wife later."

An elderly woman, whose identity she could hardly recall, chimed in: "Yes, you're all getting on in years. Look at you, who else idles away their days like you?"

"..."

Is it really that direct? Why do you have to say something just because you're passing by?

No wonder he's never home, no wonder he's always running around with his childhood friends.

At home, I'm constantly being criticized and pointed at by this person or that person!

Who could stand here like this? Zhao Hua had completely forgotten that this was his fault...

The Zhao Hua of the past is the Zhao Hua of the past. What does that have to do with the Zhao Hua of today?