Chapter 1: The Flower of the 1960s Red Flag Commune

“For the benefit of the nation and the people, we are not afraid of hardship or fatigue!”

“Prepare for war, prepare for famine, prepare for grain!”

“Dig deep holes, accumulate grain widely!”

…

Huang Yuelan felt a buzzing in her head, the somewhat dated autumn harvest slogans echoing in her ears, as if she had returned to her childhood.

She forcefully opened her eyes and looked around, observing her surroundings: ochre mud walls, not even a layer of whitewash, with an animal skin and a bow and arrow hanging on the wall. On the table beside the bed sat a blue-edged white enamel mug with five large characters prominently displayed: Serve the People!

She pinched herself hard; it hurt! Huang Yuelan realized that she had probably time-traveled!

Huang Yuelan remembered that the plane she was on had encountered strong air currents. After a period of violent turbulence, the plane began a straight descent, finally crashing with a “boom”…

It seemed that the plane crash had caused her to travel back in time to this era of scarcity, although life was hard in this era, it was still better than being dead, right? Besides, not everyone could time travel; Huang Yuelan was very grateful for this opportunity.

At this moment, the dilapidated wooden door was pushed open, and a rough-looking man with a bare upper body, long hair, and a full beard walked in. Seeing Huang Yuelan awake, he showed a simple smile and asked in a rather magnetic voice, “Yuelan, are you awake?”

Huang Yuelan looked at the man, then at herself; he was bare-chested, and she was wearing men’s clothes! No need to guess, the clothes on her must belong to this man.

Oh my god, this happened as soon as she arrived! This plot is a little too exciting, right?!

“Don’t come closer! Don’t come closer! What did you do to me just now?” Huang Yuelan questioned as she backed away, her hands tightly covering her collar.

Wang Jianguo didn’t panic; he quickly explained, “Yuelan, don’t misunderstand, nothing happened between us. I was hunting in the mountains and saw you fall into the river, so I quickly ran over and pulled you out. I was afraid you would catch a cold, so I put my clothes on you, but I didn’t change your inner clothes.”

Huang Yuelan saw that Wang Jianguo’s expression and tone were sincere, and she felt relieved. At the same time, a flood of memories, not her own but belonging to this body, poured into her mind.

The original owner was no ordinary person. She was the flower of the Red Flag Commune, undeniably beautiful and famous for miles around. However, she lacked a good family to support her, wasting her beautiful appearance; her life was bitter.

Her mother died early, and misfortune struck again. Six months ago, her father had an accident in the mine and died, leaving her and her two younger brothers as orphans with no one to care for them. Already miserable enough, they were constantly bullied by her grandmother and uncles. Life was not merely bitter; it was unbearably harsh.

To drain Huang Yuelan’s remaining value, her grandmother arranged her marriage to a village ruffian, thus obtaining a considerable betrothal gift. However, the ruffian, having listened to gossip, believed that Huang Yuelan was “unclean” and was impotent when facing her. In a fit of anger, he broke off the engagement, but he also spread rumors that Huang Yuelan had been with countless men and was infertile, causing rumors to spread throughout the village.

Girls are naturally sensitive about their reputation, and at the age of seventeen or eighteen, how could she withstand such slander? Unable to bear the gossip and pointing fingers of the villagers, Huang Yuelan, in a moment of despair, jumped into the river at the east end of the production team.

This led to the scene at the beginning. Wang Jianguo, returning from hunting, saw Huang Yuelan fall into the river and his heart leaped into his throat. He ran all the way, saw a dark shadow jump in, and quickly pulled her out, helped her spit out the water, took her home, removed her outer cotton-padded jacket, and warmed her by the fire…

“It was you who saved me. I misunderstood you just now, I’m sorry!” Huang Yuelan apologized sincerely to Wang Jianguo.

Wang Jianguo smiled, “It’s nothing, a small matter. I’m happy to have saved you.”

“Where’s my coat?” Huang Yuelan saw that Wang Jianguo was bare-chested, while she was wearing his fur coat. She worried that he would catch a cold, though this worry was unnecessary; his body was as strong as an ox.

Wang Jianguo: “I put your clothes on the stove in the kitchen to dry. They should be almost dry now. I’ll get them for you now.”

In a short while, Wang Jianguo brought Huang Yuelan’s tattered jacket and handed it to her. The jacket was patched several times, but it was still her best garment.

Huang Yuelan took off Wang Jianguo’s coat, returned it to him, and put on her own clothes.

Huang Yuelan got up from the bed and saw a fresh wound on Wang Jianguo’s arm, a rather deep one. Huang Yuelan guessed that the wound was probably sustained while saving her.