Chapter 1

In early June 1960.

The summer of that year was exceptionally dry, with scarce rainfall since the previous year. Due to the prolonged drought, farmlands suffered extensive damage, leading to a nationwide shortage of food.

Nanhe Commune, located in the northern part of H province, was unfortunate to be caught up in this crisis. The entire commune endured a tough life with tightened belts, facing the hardships of insufficient food.

On this particular day,

Around four in the afternoon.

The sun had started to tilt westward, lacking the scorching intensity of noon.

Su Xi sat by the well in the courtyard and washed the clothes she had changed out of. Wringing

After wringing the last piece of clothing in a wooden basin, Su Xi lifted two delicate and fair hands, shakily supporting the basin. Her intention was to splash the water from the basin onto the vegetable garden nearby.

But before the wooden basin could leave the ground, a “crack” sound echoed. Su Xi’s young face froze, and she looked down at the source of the sound, unsurprisingly finding a small piece of wood in her palm.
.
She pursed her lips. She was a little unhappy. Her soft, pale hands subconsciously clenched a bit more, causing the already fragile piece of wood to turn into splinters.

Su Xi’s eyebrows twitched, only to feel her headache…

For some reason, ever since she woke up in this body a few days ago, the strength of her original body, which is not small, has become bigger and bigger day by day, so big that she has to be careful in everything she does.

Even so, there are many objects that have been broken in her hands recently.

Looking at the broken corner of the wooden basin, Su Xi sighed lightly, brushed off the wood splinters from her palm, resignedly adjusted her strength, and attempted to pour out the water again.

Then, like holding a fragile baby, she moved the semi-disabled bucket to the eaves and waited for her brother to come back and see if it could be repaired.

After making sure that the barrel was not damaged by her twice, Su Xi breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, squinted, tilted her head a few times to ease her stiff neck, and then carried the bamboo basket towards the clothesline in the eastern part of the courtyard.

As soon as she got close to the wall, she caught the rich aroma wafting from the next-door neighbor. In an era where even meals were hard to come by, Su Xi, despite not experiencing scarcity in her past life, felt her mouth water from the enticing scent.

To resist the greed brought by her body, Su Xi picked up a piece of clothing, shook out the wrinkles, spread it on the bamboo pole, and thought, “Such a strong aroma, I wonder what kind of good food my uncle’s family is cooking?”

However, without mentioning the somewhat stingy aunt from her original owner’s memories and whether she would feed her, Su Xi, in this poor era, couldn’t bring herself to enjoy someone else’s good food.

So she quickened her pace, determined to distance herself from the enticing aroma.

After hanging the last piece of clothing on the bamboo pole, Su Xi lifted her hand to smooth out the wrinkles on the collar of one of the shirts. Only then did she turn around and place the bamboo basket in the utility room.

After coming out of the room, Su Xi looked at the sky, estimated the time, and was ready to start cooking dinner.

There is no electricity in the countryside. In order to save money on kerosene, every family eats their dinner at an early time.

In the kitchen.

Su Xi found that there were black noodles in the pot. She couldn’t make pasta, but she could also see that the fluffy dough should have been fermented by her grandmother in advance.

So, she took out a clean cloth in the cabinet, spread it on the table, and then pulled out the dough in the pot and put it on the cloth.

After that, she scooped out water from the water tank to clean the pottery pot. She plans to boil porridge with thin soup and a little water, then go to her uncle’s house to pick up her grandma and ask her grandma to make some black noodle cake. With that, you can eat more.

She filled the pot with water, added a bit of millet and coarse rice, covered it with a heavy lid, and then sat on a small stool, adding straw to the stove.

After wasting a few matches, Su Xi finally managed to light the fire. As she stuffed straw into the stove, she sighed lightly.

Su Xi was not a native of this world.

No!

Technically speaking, the soul within this body does not belong to this world.

Su Xi came from the 21st century, a few decades from this era.

Born into a moderately wealthy family, her early childhood, until the age of 8, was filled with happiness and joy, as far as her limited memories could recall.

Her father was a professional boxer with some international fame, and her mother was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.

Young Su Xi was an adorable porcelain doll, showered with love and affection as the only daughter. However, the good times didn’t last. When Su Xi was 8 years old, her mother lost her life in a medical accident.

Devastated by his wife’s death, Su Xi’s father suffered a severe blow in a subsequent world-class match. He not only lost the match but also sustained critical injuries, putting an end to his career as a boxer.

It was so close!

Just one step!

Only one step!!!

To fulfill his dream!

To reach the pinnacle of world-class boxing!

Her father could not accept the double blow, and he became gloomy. After a period of drunken indulgence, he put all his last stubbornness on his 8-year-old daughter.

In her father’s mind, the blood in his daughter’s veins surely held the talent to become a professional boxer.

From that moment on, Su Xi, who wore a princess hair tie and a puffy skirt every day and was as delicate as a little princess, had an earth-shaking change in her life.

Before she could get out of the despair of her mother’s death, her father forcibly shaved her hair and dragged her into a cruel and long training.
In the beginning, Su Xi kept crying with black and blue bruises on her face, desperately searching for her mother’s gentleness, to the eventual silent and reserved demeanor, only aware of throwing punches and relentlessly moving forward. Su Xi transformed into an indifferent, tough girl.

Her father was right in some ways.

Although Su Xi looks like her gentle mother, her physique is undoubtedly a copy of her father’s. She was born to eat this bowl of rice, which means she has a talent in this field, which is boxing, which quickly made her stand out among her peers.

She thought that she would struggle with constant wrestling and competition all her life. She didn’t need friendship, love, or family affection.

She believed her entire life would be a struggle in constant bouts and competitions, devoid of friendship, love, or family bonds.

As long as she followed her father’s expectations and became the world’s pinnacle female boxing champion, she could have her own life.

Yes, she didn’t like boxing.

She wanted… to be a doctor, like her mother, a doctor who helps the wounded and the ones who were on the brink of death.

But fate seemed to have other plans—unkind even after her mother’s death, severing the warmth between father and daughter.

However, as long as her father stood there watching her, she had the determination. She didn’t need to look back; she just courageously moved forward. So, even if this wasn’t the life she desired, even if it was her father’s dream, she would give it her all.

However, when she was 18 years old, her father died unexpectedly, succumbing to alcohol abuse.

The most ironic part was that her father never got to see her step onto the world stage, even as he closed his eyes for the last time.

After her father died, Su Xi pressed all her sadness to the bottom of her heart and trained herself even more recklessly. At the age of 22, she was finally crowned the boxing champion and world-class boxer.

Although her father didn’t see the highlight of her life at that moment, she put a complete end to this “self” in her heart.

She paid off what she owed to her father, who gave her life.

Later on.

After a brief period of confusion, despite her coach’s persuasion, Su Xi resolutely retired.

She lived for her father’s dream for the first 20 years of her life, but now her father’s dream has come true. In the back of her head, she wants to live for herself. She wanted to continue to pursue her medical studies, which she had put on hold years ago.

However.

Fate played another trick on her.

In the eighth year after her retirement, on her first day at the hospital, while trying to save a child crossing the road, she was hit by a car and went back to the 1960s.

Even if the original owner’s family had some family background and could not eat enough in this famine era, it was just brown rice mixed with coarse grains. How can it be compared with food in the world decades later?

….

Using the fire tongs unskillfully, she flicked the sparks from the stove into the hearth. Su Xi sighed once again.

After a few days of adjustment, she had already accepted the fact that she had traveled through time and space.

She could only comfort herself. ‘If you can’t do anything to prevent it, you might as well sit back and enjoy it.’ After all, being several years younger wasn’t too bad.

Although… In this life, she still didn’t have the blessing of having parents.

The heavy wooden pot lid shifted slightly, interrupting Su Xi’s wandering thoughts. She quickly threw the last straw in her hand to the ground, dusted off her hands, and swiftly stood up to lift the lid. Before the rice soup spilled out, she took the ladle nearby, stirred the pot a few times, and then gently covered it again, letting the remaining sparks on the stove slowly simmer the rice porridge.

When the porridge was almost ready, Su Xi decided to go to her grandma.

However, before she came looking for her grandma, Su Xi squatted down again, carefully checking if any embers had fallen from the stove. Once she ensured it was safe, she stood up and left the kitchen.

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Lucia: Hello, everyone! I’m back with a new novel that I’m going to translate. I read this novel almost three years ago, I think. Originally, I intended to translate it before my other project, ‘The Sweet Stepmother and her Cute Cubs,’ and had already translated one chapter. I forgot about it because I was too busy!! Can you imagine my stupidity?!  I thought another translator would pick this up, but hey, it’s 2024 and no one has. So, I’ve decided to translate it myself. I hope you find it enjoyable to read this very good novel (my not-so-biased opinion (*￣3￣)╭)

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