Upon hearing this, Zhou Ying couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “What do you mean, 1962? That was decades ago! Your grandfather might have been around back then.”

After saying this, she glared at him and warned, “I’m telling you, don’t you dare knock on my door again!”

Knowing that this guy had some issues, she decided not to bother arguing with him. While she felt a bit sorry for him, she certainly wasn’t going to let him inside.

Click. With that, she shut the door firmly.

Wang Qingsong was left standing there, utterly bewildered.

“Decades ago? How is that possible? What on earth is going on?”

Wang Qingsong was completely lost.

He paced up and down the stairwell multiple times, trying to figure out what was happening. But all the doors were tightly shut, and it was too late at night for him to dare knock on any of them.

When he reached the entrance of the stairwell, someone shooed him back inside.

By now, his mind was a complete mess.

After tossing and turning until midnight, he was finally too exhausted to stay awake. He leaned against the steps, clutching the bag Zhou Ying had given him, and fell asleep.

He had never stayed up this late before.

In the past, he would go to bed as soon as it got dark. Even when he was at school, he would only stay up a little later, but even that had its limits.

Yawn.

Zhou Ying had been scrolling through TikTok for a while and now needed to use the bathroom. After coming out of the bathroom, she yawned and glanced outside the door.

“He’s still there!”

Seeing that he was still there, Zhou Ying felt a pang of sympathy.

But she didn’t dare let him in. She wasn’t stupid, and it was clear that this guy had some mental issues.

With that, she turned around and went back to her room.

Wang Qingsong woke up intermittently, waiting for dawn so he could find someone to explain the situation to him.

In a daze, he fell asleep again.

By around six in the morning, the sky had already brightened.

Wang Qingsong was still half-asleep.

At that moment, the Bagua mirror in his pocket trembled slightly, and then his figure vanished from the stairwell.

Wang Qingsong was dozing off when suddenly, his body tilted to the side.

“Ouch!”

Without any support, he instantly woke up.

When he opened his eyes, he immediately sensed that something was off.

Earlier, he had been in the stairwell.

But now, he was in a pitch-black space.

“The haunted house?”

Outside, the sky had already darkened, though it wasn’t completely dark yet. From where he was, he could clearly see the snow-covered yard outside.

“Did I… did I come back? What… what’s going on? Is there a ghost?”

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he reacted in panic and bolted.

“Mom! A ghost!”

He ran a good distance before stopping to catch his breath, feeling as though he had just escaped death.

No, this place was uninhabitable.

No wonder all the families who had moved in before had been scared away.

Despite the cold weather, his back was drenched in sweat.

Rustle.

The sound of a plastic bag rustling snapped him back to reality.

Wang Qingsong’s eyes widened, and he immediately threw the bag onto the snow.

“Why is this thing in my hand? What on earth is going on?”

By now, Wang Qingsong was so frightened he was on the verge of tears.

What had just happened was too bizarre. Where had he gone, and how had he suddenly reappeared?

2022?
What was that about?

Looking at the items on the ground, Wang Qingsong hesitated for a moment, too scared to take them.

He was about to run away.

But after a moment’s thought, he hesitated again, grabbed some snow nearby, and covered the items with it.

Then he ran all the way to the village chief’s house.

“Hey, Qingsong, you’re back! I was just about to go to Widow Feng’s place to look for you!”

As he was lost in thought, a voice called out. It was Zhao Datian, who had just stepped out of the house, holding a pipe.

Seeing him, Wang Qingsong swallowed hard and stared at him for a long time.

Feeling a bit awkward under his gaze, Zhao Datian chuckled and said, “Why are you looking at me like that? Anyway, it’s all settled. If you don’t want anything, Sun Xiuhe has agreed to the division of the family. Do you agree?”

“Huh? Third Grandpa, what are you talking about?”

Wang Qingsong snapped out of his daze and asked.

“You silly kid, what are you thinking about? I said Sun Xiuhe has agreed to divide the family, but you can’t take anything with you. Come on, let’s go to your place. I’ve already gathered everyone, and we just need to sign the agreement.”

With that, he headed toward the Wang family’s house.

Wang Qingsong followed behind, still in a daze.

He looked around.

Am I really back home?
Remembering something, he cautiously asked Zhao Datian, “Third Grandpa, what time is it now? When did you get back? Today or yesterday?”

Zhao Datian gave him a puzzled look, took a puff from his pipe, and said, “What do you mean, today or yesterday? I went to your place, talked things over, and then came back. Who knows what time it is? It’s probably past seven.”

Then he looked Wang Qingsong up and down and asked, “What’s wrong with you? You went to Widow Feng’s place and came back looking like you’ve lost your spirit. Did you go to Old Wang Xi’s house? Did you run into something dirty?”

“Huh? No, no.”

Wang Qingsong was about to agree, but for some reason, he instinctively didn’t want anyone to know about this.

“Really?”

Seeing Zhao Datian’s suspicious look, Wang Qingsong forced a smile.

“Third Grandpa, really, it’s nothing. I just feel sad that I won’t get anything my father left behind after the family division.”

Hearing this, Zhao Datian stopped walking, took another puff from his pipe, and said, “What are you thinking? If it’s not working out, just forget it. I’ll go over and tell them it was my idea.”

Wang Qingsong shook his head. “Third Grandpa, let’s just leave it. Things have already gotten ugly, and there’s no point in me staying at home anymore.”

With that, he led the way forward.

As for getting nothing, that was impossible.

Seeing this, Zhao Datian followed him.

“Oh, by the way, Third Grandpa, could you write me a note to buy an iron pot? I’ll go to the commune tomorrow to see if they have any in stock.”

“Sure, after we settle the family division, I’ll write you one. I don’t have the official seal with me right now.”

“No problem, there’s no rush.”

As they talked, the two of them arrived back home.

When they got there, they saw several elderly men with white beards sitting in the main hall, each leaning on a cane.

At the lower end of the table sat Sun Xiuhe, while Wang Ping was holding Wang An and sitting to the side. They weren’t important enough to sit at the main table.

“Great Grandpa, Fourth Grandpa, Sixth Grandpa… Grandpa Gao.”

After entering, Wang Qingsong greeted the four men sitting inside.

Those with titles were all from the Zhao family, which was the dominant family in the village, making up more than half of the population.

As for the one surnamed Gao, he was from another family but was also a respected elder in the village.

In those days, etiquette often carried more weight than the law.

The elders nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

As the village chief, Zhao Datian naturally took the seat at the head of the table.

Once seated, he spoke up, “Xiuhe, I’ve called the elders here today. Let’s talk things over. If we can reach an agreement, great. If not, we’ll discuss it again tomorrow.”

Sun Xiuhe reluctantly nodded. “I understand, Third Uncle. But let me make this clear—he can’t take anything from the house.”