Reborn at 80: From Village Scoundrel to Billionaire

Liu Bei hasn't returned home all night, not since yesterday afternoon.

It just so happens that a villager who went hunting in the mountains died.

What a coincidence, could it be Liu Bei?

The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became, and the less she dared to think about anything else.

But the more she tried to stop thinking about it, the more the images in her mind became, and the more vivid they became.

Because just yesterday, in the grass on the edge of the field, Liu Beihai had his arm around her waist, and they were sharing blissful moments.

I never expected this to happen today... If he really dies, what will happen to this family?

Thinking of this, Zhao Chunyan's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

She gritted her teeth and ran even faster. Suddenly, one of her cloth slippers flew off, and her bare foot stepped onto the dirt road. Some small stones on the road hurt her toes a lot, but she didn't care about the pain at the moment. She just kept rushing towards the village entrance.

……

In the Liu family courtyard.

Lin Wanqiu stood on the threshold, craning her neck and looking towards the village entrance.

The more she looked, the more panicked she became.

He paced back and forth at the door, his steps becoming increasingly hurried.

"Sister Wanqiu..." Su Yuehe poked her head out from the inner room, "Don't stand in the wind, come in."

However, Lin Wanqiu did not move, her eyes still fixed on the village entrance.

"Da da da~"

Su Yuehe slowly walked over and stood behind her.

Neither woman spoke, but Su Yuehe's hands were clenched tightly inside her sleeves.

She was well aware that if something really happened to Liu Bei, the family would fall apart completely.

When my mother-in-law gets old and my three children are still young, how will they live?

Suddenly, her heart felt heavy.

"He'll be alright. He'll definitely be alright!" Suddenly, Lin Wanqiu grabbed Su Yuehe's hand and kept repeating, it was unclear whether she was talking to Su Yuehe or to herself.

"Yes! He'll be alright! He'll definitely be alright!"

Su Yuehe nodded in agreement.

……

Village entrance.

When Zhao Chunyan rushed over, she immediately saw two makeshift altars made of door panels, covered with white cloth, and two people kneeling beside them, namely Fan Xibei and Zhao Liuzhi.

Someone really died!!!

Seeing this, Zhao Chunyan's heart sank.

She immediately pushed aside a woman who was helping, then pushed aside an old man, and squeezed into the crowd with one bare foot.

"Liu Bei!!!"

"Liu Bei!!! Where are you?!"

Upon hearing this, the villagers who were helping around them all turned to look.

Zhao Chunyan didn't care what others thought; she craned her neck and searched frantically through the crowd.

Soon she saw a figure from behind.

On the other side of the altar, Liu Bei was bending over and helping Fan Ha'er lift a log as thick as a bowl to build a frame.

His clothes were stained with dark red blood, and his hair was disheveled, but he stood very straight.

"He...he's still alive...he's really still alive..."

Looking at Liu Bei, Zhao Chunyan froze on the spot, staring at Liu Bei's familiar figure, feeling both excited and thrilled.

"Swallow?"

Liu Bei slowly turned around after hearing the call.

When he saw Zhao Chunyan standing barefoot in the crowd, he paused for a moment, then waved and said, "You're here? Perfect timing, come and lend a hand in setting up the mourning hall."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chunyan rushed over and raised her fist to smash it into Liu Bei's chest.

"Bang bang bang!"

Once, twice, three times.

The fist wasn't big, but it was thrown quickly and hard.

"Chunyan, why did you hit me?"

"I'm going to hammer you! Humph!!!"

"..."

"Bang!!!"

Liu Bei grabbed her wrist: "Are you crazy?"

Zhao Chunyan stared at him with her head tilted back, her eyes red-rimmed, her lips trembling, her voice hoarse: "Mother heard that someone died on the mountain... I thought..."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Bei understood.

He looked at Zhao Chunyan's red-rimmed eyes, at her bare foot, the sole of which was covered in mud and small pebbles, with a faint bloodstain.

"I'm fine." Liu Bei released her wrist. "Look, I'm still alive and kicking, what are you worrying about?"

"Who's worried about you!" Zhao Chunyan turned her head away, wiping her eyes fiercely. "I'm afraid that if you die, no one will earn money for me to spend!"

"..."

Liu Bei shook his head, slowly squatted down, took off his own shoes, and then put them on Zhao Chunyan.

"you--"

She had barely uttered a single word when Zhao Chunyan's expression changed again: "Oh no! Mother has fainted!"

"What?!" Liu Bei's expression changed drastically. "Why did Mother faint? What happened at home?"

"When Mother heard someone died on the mountain, she thought it was you and fainted! She hasn't woken up yet!"

"Let's go back and take a look!"

Liu Beier called out from the Lingtai area, "Secretary! Sister-in-law! Aunt! I have an emergency at home, I have to go first!"

After saying that, Liu Beiren had already run far away.

"Why didn't this guy include me?"

After letting out a resentful sigh, Zhao Chunyan quickly followed.

……

The Liu family.

Seeing that Zhao Chunyan had not returned yet, Lin Wanqiu could not wait any longer.

"Yuehe, you stay home and look after Mother and the children. I'm going to check on them at the village entrance!"

"Okay!" Su Yuehe nodded.

The next moment, Lin Wanqiu took off running.

She had only run 300 meters when she saw Liu Bei running towards her, and she also saw Zhao Chunyan following behind him.

"Liu Bei!"

The next second, she lunged forward, clutching Liu Bei's clothes tightly with both hands, and pressed her forehead against his chest as she cried.

"Late Autumn? What's wrong?"

"I thought you..." Lin Wanqiu said between sobs, "I thought you wouldn't come back..."

Liu Bei raised his hand and wiped away the tears that slid down her cheeks. "I'm back alive, aren't I? It's okay. Don't cry. You won't look pretty if you cry your face down!"

"Isn't this all your fault?!"

Lin Wanqiu complained.

"..." Liu Bei touched his nose. "Oh, right. How's Mom?"

"Mother has fainted...and hasn't woken up yet."

"Let's go back and take a look!"

Liu Bei immediately grabbed Lin Wanqiu's hand and ran home.

Behind them, Zhao Chunyan frowned as she watched the two men's intertwined hands, her lips pursed, and she quickened her pace to catch up, grabbing Liu Bei's other sleeve.

Liu Bei turned and glanced at her. "What?"

Zhao Chunyan raised her chin and said matter-of-factly, "The road is uneven, I'm afraid I'll fall."

"..."

Liu Bei understood Zhao Chunyan's meaning; this woman was jealous. So he had no choice but to extend his other hand as well.

Sure enough, Zhao Chunyan smiled.

……

The Liu family.

Zhao Da'e has regained consciousness.

"Mother, you're awake!" Su Yuehe asked hurriedly with concern.

"Hmm!" Zhao Da'e glanced around the room and found that only Su Yuehe was there. "Where are Wanqiu and Chunyan? Why aren't they here? Where did they go?"

"They went to the village entrance to ask around. They haven't come back yet!"

"How long have you been gone?"

"It's been almost ten minutes!"

"What? He hasn't come back yet after all this time? Xiao Bei wouldn't really—"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Da'e's heart sank and her expression changed drastically.

"mother!"

Just then, a voice called out from the doorway.

Zhao Da'e froze, then quickly looked in the direction of the sound, only to see her beloved son, Liu Bei, standing at the door.

Looking at that familiar face, Zhao Da'e's lips trembled twice, and tears immediately fell down her cheeks.

"Xiao Bei..."

"mother!"

Liu Bei walked to the bedside and squatted down.

Zhao Da'e reached out and touched his face, then pinched his arm, turned him over to look at the back of his hand, and then at the back of his head.

"Are you hurt?"

"no."

"Really not?"

"No, Mother. Look, everything's fine." Liu Bei stretched out his arms for her to see.

Zhao Da'e looked her son up and down three times to make sure he wasn't missing any parts, then let out a long sigh of relief and slapped Liu Bei on the shoulder: "You brat! You scared the hell out of me!"

Su Yuehe stood aside, watching Liu Bei standing perfectly intact in front of her. Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who died?" Zhao Da'e asked.

"Fan Laosan and Fan Mazi encountered a monster in the mountains. They followed Fan Xibei up the mountain and couldn't escape. I felt sorry for their families, so I gave each of them twenty yuan! It's just a small token of my appreciation!"

"Sigh..." Zhao Da'e sighed, "Two lives lost..."

After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly remembered something, her eyes widening: "Wait... what did you just say? One family gave twenty yuan?"

"Hmm!" Liu Bei nodded.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Da'e gasped in pain: "Forty yuan! That's only what the employees of the supply and marketing cooperative earn in a month! And you just throw it away like that! Do you think you're some kind of millionaire?"

"Mother, someone has died—"

"I know someone died! But you can't just throw out forty! Can't you do twenty? Or ten?"

"..."

Liu Bei opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

Lin Wanqiu whispered from the side, "Mom, I made twelve yuan and sixty cents selling grasshoppers at the stall yesterday, have you forgotten?"

Zhao Da'e was taken aback: "Oh right! But we're still short by more than twenty pieces!"

"Mom, grasshoppers are everywhere. If there's a shortfall, we can just catch some grasshoppers today and sell them to make up for it," Lin Wanqiu continued to persuade.

"This... will do!"

Zhao Da'e's expression softened a little, but she still glared at Liu Bei: "Next time you spend money, remember to talk to your old mother first!"

"Okay, okay, okay." Liu Bei nodded repeatedly, responding to his mother while giving Lin Wanqiu a thumbs-up with his fingers behind his back.

Lin Wanqiu smiled as she looked at Liu Bei's thumbs-up.

She knew Liu Bei was praising her for doing a good job!

"This guy—"

Just then, a panicked sound came from outside the courtyard gate:

"Xiao Bei, quick, run! Run out of the village and hide..."