Chapter 2 Rebirth

When Xia Xiao regained consciousness, she found herself in another body, surrounded by a cacophony of voices that gave her a splitting headache.

"Poor little Xia Xiao, dead just like that."

"The snakes down south are so venomous, a bite is incurable. It's even worse that little Xia Xiao got hit on the head."

With a whimper, Xia Xiao slowly opened her eyes to see a blur of gray-blue.

"Little Xia Xiao is alive, she's alive!" a voice suddenly exclaimed with joy.

Another person crowded closer, "Yeah, wasn't she gone for good? She actually came back to life."

"That's great news. It's good that little Xia Xiao is okay."

"Little Xia Xiao must have a lot of good fortune and a large destiny."

"Yes, surviving a disaster like this means there must be fortune to come."

Xia Xiao's entire head was in a fog, and she was so exhausted that she closed her eyes and fell deeply asleep again. Her mind also contained another person's information.

Thirteen years old, she was reborn in the body of a thirteen-year-old girl, an educated youth from the 60s.

The body's former owner was named Xia Xiao, hailing from a working-class family in S city, with an elder brother and three younger sisters. Originally, her brother was to join the Youth Point down south, but their father sustained a work injury, so the brother had to take over his job. Xia Xiao, who was in her second year of junior high and had always excelled academically, reported to be three years older and took her brother's place at the Guangming Production Team as a young educated youth.

As their production team was clearing land, a neighboring mine happened to detonate explosives, and the original owner was unfortunately hit by flying debris and bitten by a poisonous snake, leading to her death from the poison.

Xia Xiao couldn't help but feel sad for the former self. The original owner was sensible; because she came from a poor family, she skipped grades at school. She studied hard, but family misfortune intervened, and she left for the remote south without finishing her education, only to meet her end there.

As for herself, she had also taken over household chores from a young age; if she didn't strive to be first in her studies, there wouldn't even be a chance to continue her education. Her parents' pride in her achievements was her only bragging right. They always wanted to leverage her value, constantly demanding that she provide support for her younger brother while never considering her feelings.

Xiao Xiao, I am also Xiao Xiao. Although being reborn in your body wasn't my intention, I will live well for you, take care of your parents, honor them, and wish that you may be born into a better life next time around.

Xiao Xiao repeated this to herself in her mind, grateful that she had somehow managed to survive. Despite finding herself in the 60s, she knew a bit about the history of this period, which gave her some peace of mind.

But the thought of having to clear land, build roads, dig ditches, and work the fields to earn work points brought on a headache again. In her previous life, she had lived for twenty-five years, handling household chores from an early age. However, domestic tasks were nothing compared to the backbreaking work of clearing land and building roads or digging ditches—those were far more arduous.

Clearing land was a task that could endanger one's life if they weren't careful, as the former owner's fate had proved. And Xia Xiao was someone who feared insects, snakes, and rats; the very thought of it made her skin crawl.

When she next opened her eyes, it was already evening. Her throat was bitter, but after a good sleep, her body felt much better, her head ached less, and the swelling had gone down. It was just that the body didn't feel like her own, so Xia Xiao felt a bit stiff and uncomfortable.

Because Xia Xiao didn't die, the smiles of everyone at Youth Point became more frequent. They had all been here from '55 to '60, five years already, and had already sacrificed several people. Xia Xiao wasn't the first to be bitten by a venomous snake, but the previous few hadn't been saved, so to everyone, Xia Xiao was still considered to be blessed with a strong destiny.

At that moment, everyone had just come back from finishing work, and it was time for the communal meal.

"Xia Xiao has woken up," a young woman in gray clothes walked in, probably around eighteen or nineteen years old, carrying two steaming bowls in her hand.

Xia Xiao recognized her as Yang Xuehua, a fellow educated youth, and gave her a smile, "Sister Xuehua."

"The production team made you some meat soup. Eat up," Yang Xuehua put a bowl of meat soup and a bowl of packed white rice in front of Xia Xiao.

Xia Xiao was instantly flattered. It was a time when even eating meat was difficult, let alone having white rice and greens. There were many kind-hearted people then, but some were indifferent, and when everyone was hungry, they couldn't possibly be so generous.

The original host was young and often held others back during work, so not everyone liked her, and the few educated youths who commonly worked with her had a particularly strong opinion against her, even to the point where nobody wanted to be teamed up with her.

"How come there's meat soup?" Xia Xiao looked at the meat soup in the bowl. With three pieces of meat in it, she was even more surprised.

"This is everyone's way of wishing you well. Eat up and get some strength back. I'll leave you to it," Yang Xuehua didn't say much and left.

Xia Xiao was extremely hungry, and in the past, she wouldn't have given a bowl of meat soup a second thought, but now with her stomach growling, it was clear that the original host was often left hungry, so much so that Xia Xiao almost drooled at the sight of the meat soup now.

Despite being a bit hot, Xia Xiao drank the soup and ate the meat, along with the white rice and vegetables, and in no time, she had polished off the two bowls.

Xia Xiao touched her belly, feeling full and satisfied, but also a bit embarrassed—she was glad no one saw her looking like a starved ghost reborn, as it would have been quite unseemly.

Xia Xiao looked around the adobe room, about the size of a university dormitory, only without bunk beds and accommodating six people. The beds were small and crude, and the hard wooden planks were uncomfortable to sleep on, but under the current circumstances, that was all they could have.

Soon, it wasn't just Yang Xuehua who entered; several female educated youths came to visit Xia Xiao.

Xia Xiao looked at the few female educated youths, Sun Yuhua, Wang Aihua, Yang Xuehua, Dong Meihua, and Feng Ying; all were her roommates. There were quite a number of young women at Youth Point; previously, a few had died during labor, while others got married to educated youths or the young men of the production team when they came of age.

Yang Xuehua, Wang Aihua, Sun Yuhua, and Feng Ying were high school students, while Xia Xiao and Dong Meihua had only finished junior high. In Youth Point, there were more high school students, very few junior high students, and those like Xia Xiao who hadn't graduated were even fewer.

Seeing that Xia Xiao had finished the meat soup, everyone laughed. Dong Meihua was about to speak, but Yang Xuehua stopped her.

Xia Xiao didn't know why but didn't ask, given everyone's secretive demeanor. She wasn't a curious person to begin with, plus, even though she was in the original host's body, she wasn't really familiar with everyone.

But fortunately, the original host wasn't talkative or outgoing, so Xia Xiao wasn't at risk of exposing herself.

"Xia Xiao, it was Gao Jiaxing, the production team leader's youngest son, who saved you. It's good he found you early, otherwise you really would be gone by now. The production team has given you five days to recover. Once you're better, you should personally go thank the team leader's family," Wang Aihua said. Among these female educated youths, Sun Yuhua was a bit arrogant, while Wang Aihua liked to manage affairs, quite like a representative figure at Youth Point.

"Yeah, Gao Jiaxing is really skilled, strong in hunting, snaring snakes, and catching fish. I heard he practiced some skills, but who knows if it's true," Dong Meihua also spoke up at this time.