Chapter 7 : The Man in the Newspaper

The next morning, Su Gensheng was urged by his wife to head to town, and he didn’t return until it was completely dark. After speaking with his wife for a while and hastily eating dinner, the couple headed over to the Su family’s house under the cover of darkness.

Su Zhaozhao and her family had just finished dinner too. They had eaten flour dumplings, which were made from wheat grown locally, though the yield wasn’t high, and they didn’t grow much of it. As a result, they could only enjoy such meals a few times a year.

Su Zhaozhao had found a small bag of flour in the grain cabinet and used almost half of it in one go. The two children felt both joy and heartache as they ate the fragrant noodles. They hadn’t even fully digested the rice they had eaten earlier, and now they were eating noodles again. What kind of family life was this?

Gu Nian’s small face was scrunched up like a bun as she washed the dishes. She whispered to her brother, Gu Xiang, “Brother, if we keep eating like this, will our food last until next year?”

Gu Xiang glanced at Su Zhaozhao, who was resting in the yard, and replied, “Mother’s health is weak; she needs to eat well.”

Gu Nian immediately patted her small, thin chest. “I’m healthy, so let Mother eat better. I can just have porridge. Porridge tastes good too.”

“Mother won’t allow that. She says we shouldn’t eat alone… Maybe things will get better in a few days.” Once Mother starts saving, being more frugal, it should be enough—as long as they don’t keep eating like this.

When Aunt Guo and Su Gensheng arrived, Su Zhaozhao was looking up at the stars. In the modern world, the sky was often hazy, and it was hard to see even satellites, let alone stars. It had been a long time since she had seen stars so bright.

“What are you staring at?” Aunt Guo said as she pushed open the gate and entered the yard, followed by Su Gensheng.

“Sister-in-law, Chief,” Su Zhaozhao quickly got up. “It’s so dark out. Why didn’t you bring a light?”

Aunt Guo pointed to the moon in the sky. “Isn’t the moon bright enough? Look how bright it is. Flashlights use up electricity, so we can’t use them carelessly.”

In the village, only a few households owned flashlights. Aunt Guo’s family had one, but Su Zhaozhao’s family was among the many that didn’t.

Su Zhaozhao invited them inside. Gu Xiang and Gu Nian had already finished washing the dishes and tidied up the kitchen. They obediently greeted the visitors.

“Good kids.”

The siblings brought out chairs for them to sit on, knowing the adults had something to discuss, and quietly went out to the yard.

As soon as he sat down, Su Gensheng took a folded newspaper from his shirt pocket, unfolded it, and handed it over. “See if this is the newspaper you were talking about.”

Su Zhaozhao quickly took it. With only one kerosene lamp in the house, she brought it closer for a better look. The large page was filled with stories of war heroes, and right in the center was a black-and-white photo of a man in military uniform, looking every bit the part of a righteous and handsome soldier.

Wow! He’s quite handsome—much better looking than what she remembered from the original body’s memories.

After all, the male lead of the story couldn’t be unattractive. Even though the book didn’t describe his appearance in detail, it was clear he was quite good-looking. Otherwise, how could the female lead have been so moved just by seeing his picture in the newspaper?

Su Zhaozhao checked the name and age. Once everything matched, she adjusted her emotions and her eyes reddened. “It’s him, it’s definitely him.”

Aunt Guo quickly patted her hand in comfort. “Now that we have this newspaper, we’ll definitely be able to find him. Look closely—Xiang and Nian really do resemble their father.”

Su Zhaozhao took another careful look. They really did.

Su Gensheng said, “This newspaper is from three years ago. Luckily, the town has a habit of keeping newspapers from all the different publishers. When I explained your situation, the mayor took it very seriously and, along with a few clerks, spent several hours in the storeroom before they found this one that matched the name. We were lucky—they were planning to clear out the old newspapers in a few days.”

Su Zhaozhao clutched the newspaper to her chest, sniffing as she fought back tears. “Thank you, thank you so much. Please pass on my thanks to the mayor and the others.”

“I’ll definitely pass on your thanks,” Su Gensheng replied. “But the newspaper doesn’t have the unit number or specific address. The town needs to report this to the county first, and then the county will make contact. It might take a few days before we get any news.”

The newspaper had replaced the military unit number with a generic term.

Su Zhaozhao wiped the corners of her eyes. “I’ve waited this long; a few more days won’t matter.”

Su Gensheng nodded. Seeing her like this, he couldn’t help but feel sympathy. He recalled the clerks’ idle chatter while searching for the newspaper, and he couldn’t help but worry. What if this war hero had really remarried? What then?

This situation was tough!

He worried for Su Zhaodi and for the war hero too. Why hadn’t she found the newspaper sooner?

If this had happened two or three years earlier, there might have been a chance he hadn’t remarried, but now it’s uncertain. After all, an excellent officer like him would have many people interested in him.

As Su Gensheng and his wife were leaving, Su Zhaozhao stood up to see them off but suddenly felt a wave of dizziness and everything went black.

Aunt Guo was so frightened that she quickly caught her. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Su Gensheng said, “Hurry, help her lie down on the bed.”

Hearing the commotion, Gu Xiang and Gu Nian rushed in, their little faces turning pale with fear.

“Mama, Mama…”

“Mother…Mama…”

The timid Gu Nian started crying immediately.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, your mother will be fine!” Aunt Guo reassured the children while helping them get Su Zhaozhao to the bed.

Being a man, Su Gensheng didn’t dare help directly, but luckily Aunt Guo was strong, and Su Zhaozhao was light, so they managed to get her onto the bed without too much trouble.

Once Su Zhaozhao was lying down, Aunt Guo quickly asked Gu Xiang to fetch some water while she pressed hard on the area between Su Zhaozhao’s thumb and index finger.

Goodness! It hurt a lot!

The pressure point was so sore that it turned bruised and blue.

Su Zhaozhao frowned in pain.

Don’t doubt it—she wasn’t faking it. When she stood up just now, she really did black out and couldn’t stop herself from collapsing.

But she wasn’t completely unconscious; she could still walk a few steps while being supported.

This body is truly too weak—much weaker than Su Zhaozhao had expected. She no longer doubted that if she hadn’t arrived, Su Zhaodi really wouldn’t have made it.

“Zhaodi, how are you feeling now? Any better?”

Su Zhaozhao weakly nodded. “Much better.” She looked at her two terrified children and said, “I’m fine. I just stood up too quickly and got dizzy. I’ll be alright after lying down for a bit.”

Gu Nian’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Mama, I’m scared.”

“Don’t be scared, I’m really fine.”

Gu Xiang’s hands were trembling as he held the bowl. “Mama, drink some water.”

Seeing her two frightened children, Su Zhaozhao felt both sad and touched. It was truly a blessing to have someone who cared about you. Maybe this time-travel experience wasn’t so bad after all.

Aunt Guo asked Gu Xiang, “Do you have any sugar at home? It would be best to dissolve some in the water.”

Gu Xiang shook his head. Sugar was a rare treat, only bought by their mother during the New Year.

Aunt Guo sighed inwardly, realizing it was a silly question. “It’s alright, I have some at home. I’ll bring it over later.”

Su Gensheng said, “I’ll go get it. You stay here and watch them.” He then left the house.

Aunt Guo suggested, “You should still go to the clinic tomorrow for a check-up, just for peace of mind.” This was the second time she had fainted in just a few days.

Su Zhaozhao sat up slightly. “There’s no need to spend that money. It’s just that my body has been too worn out over the years, and after working hard, I’m probably just suffering from malnutrition.”

She didn’t feel any pain, just weakness and dizziness—likely low blood sugar.

Su Zhaozhao had this problem when she was younger too. If she skipped breakfast, she’d faint; if her emotions swung too wildly, she’d faint. When she first started boarding school, she cried a lot, and each time, she’d cry herself into a faint, prompting the school nurse to call her parents. At first, they’d come to check on her, but by the third time, they stopped showing up, even when called. From then on, she never cried herself into a faint again, and over time, her low blood sugar gradually improved.