My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 7 Discussion
“That doesn’t prove we’re in a parallel universe!” Zhou Jiye hesitated for a moment and said, “Maybe something happened that we don’t know about. Besides, according to the timeline, we won’t be born for more than 20 years. We have no idea what happened before we were born. Even if there are stories from the elders, people’s memories may be distorted as they get older…”

At this point, Zhou Jiye didn't know how to continue, because Lin Ying was looking back at him with a half-smile.

Yes, my explanation doesn't make sense at all. Just as Lin Ying said, if everything is the original history, then how did Lin Ying's house become someone else's house? Where are her grandparents and her young father?

As Lin Ying just mentioned, she went to several places in the afternoon. Although she didn't explain exactly where she went, it's obvious to anyone that she went to a relative's house, a friend's house, or her mother's former house. But the result was the same.

"According to your guess, if it really is a parallel universe, then our relatives shouldn't be non-existent, right?" Zhou Jiye asked, swallowing hard.

“Their existence is certain, but their life trajectories will be different.” Lin Ying said calmly, “As long as there is even the slightest deviation, the result will be completely different. For example, my grandfather Lin Ruoxu should still be in this world, but the house that originally belonged to my family has become someone else’s home. So my grandfather may be in Shanghai, or he may have gone to other places, or he may not even be in the country. There are countless forks in the road in life. As long as there is a slight change, the result will be completely changed, and countless possibilities will appear. This is the biggest difference between parallel universes and the original universe.”

Seeing Zhou Jiye's furrowed brows, Lin Ying sighed, "If I'm not mistaken, I won't be able to find my family for the time being, and I'm not even sure if I'll ever have the chance to see them again in this lifetime. I guess you're in the same boat. I remember you mentioned where your hometown is. If you don't believe me, you can try to go back there. There's a high probability that you'll encounter the same situation as me when you return."

Zhou Jiye was speechless. Although he was not a top student, he had still attended university. Even though the value of a university degree was much lower in later generations than in the present era, he had still received higher education.

In their era of information explosion, Zhou Jiye, as a young man, often read online novels to pass the time. He was familiar with the imaginative plots in those online novels, so after calming down, Zhou Jiye believed that Lin Ying's judgment was correct. They had not traveled through the original history, but had come to a parallel world.

In parallel worlds, history unfolds in a similar manner, and the original people still exist. However, subtle changes alter the lives and destinies of some ordinary people. Just like Lin Ying's family and Zhou Jiye's own family, a small change led to different outcomes, making it impossible to find them by relying on their original memories.

Even if there were an opportunity to search in the future, the chances of finding them would be extremely slim. There are too many people in the world, and the world is too vast. Finding one person out of billions is like finding a needle in a haystack. Moreover, with current information and technology, it's simply unrealistic, even decades from now. Add to that the countless people with the same name, and the possibility becomes unimaginably small.

The cigarette in his hand had burned out, but Zhou Jiye remained stunned. Lin Ying's words had a huge impact on him, yet he had to admit that Lin Ying's guess was true.

"I just said we're in big trouble," Lin Ying said with a wry smile. "I had a good plan. As long as I got back to Shanghai and found my family, I was confident they would accept me. As for you, who's with me..."

At this point, Lin Ying glanced at Zhou Jiye: "You naturally don't need to worry, that way we can settle down in Shanghai. But now everything is different. My relatives, including your family, have disappeared without a trace, and we have no way to find them. In other words, the previous plan is completely unworkable."

"You mean...?" Zhou Jiye felt bitter inside. Lin Ying's words made him realize the truth: they were indeed in big trouble.

"Survival is the most important thing!" Lin Ying said resolutely. "No matter what, now that we're in Shanghai, we can't go back. We have to find a way to survive, don't you think?"

Zhou Jiye nodded, indicating his agreement with Lin Ying's point of view.

Go back to the Northwest to be a farmer again? How could that be possible! He'd already come all this way, why would he go back? Zhou Jiye absolutely didn't want to. Besides, even in a parallel universe, the course of history was still the same. This era offered plenty of opportunities. Shanghai was the largest and most prosperous city in the country. Didn't his future self come to Shanghai to make his way after graduating from university? Was he really going to back down in this era?

"Tell me your plans?"

Lin Ying held up three fingers and said, "There are three pressing issues now."

"Those three?"

“Identity, accommodation, and money!” Lin Ying said, “We are now outsiders. We don’t have household registration or food rations in Shanghai. This is a big problem. If we don’t solve this problem, it will be difficult for us to stay in Shanghai.”

"Do you have any good ideas?" Zhou Jiye agreed. The household registration system was very strict in this era, and there were restrictions on population movement. People like them who came to Shanghai from the Northwest generally had no other option but to visit relatives or go on business trips. The reason they were able to arrive in Shanghai smoothly was because of the commune introduction letter that Zhou Furong prepared for them. Only with the introduction letter could they buy train tickets and accommodation. Without this, it would be impossible to move an inch.

The most common letter of introduction is valid for seven to fourteen days. Letters of introduction for long-distance business trips are generally valid for thirty days. Letters of introduction issued by a first-level organization can be valid for up to three months, and in special cases, they can be valid for up to six months.

As a primary-level organization, the commune could only obtain a three-month valid letter of introduction, no matter how capable Zhou Furong was. He simply couldn't issue a six-month valid letter of introduction. Therefore, Zhou Jiye and his group carried three letters of introduction with them when they set off, one of which is still in use today, with a validity period of ninety days from the day of departure.

Besides this letter of introduction, just to be on the safe side, Zhou Jiye also asked Zhou Furong to make two blank letters of introduction. They were already stamped with the official seal, but the content and validity period were left blank; they could be filled in when needed. Originally, they were intended as backups, in case of unforeseen circumstances. If everything went smoothly, they wouldn't need them. However, the situation had changed. If they wanted to stay in Shanghai for a long time, it would be troublesome once the letters of introduction expired.

In other words, with the three letters of introduction they possess, they can only stay in Shanghai for a maximum of less than nine months.

"I don't have a good solution either."

Lin Ying frowned. This problem was difficult to solve. With the household registration system closed and population movement virtually nonexistent, an expired letter of introduction being discovered was a serious matter. Moreover, Shanghai's household registration was the most difficult to obtain in the country, second only to Beijing. Even decades from now, it wouldn't be so easy to get one. Currently, there were only two ways to obtain Shanghai household registration: one was through organizational transfer using official documents, and the other was to take advantage of the current policy allowing educated youth to return to the countryside and migrate back to the city. However, the problem was that neither of these methods applied to them. Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying, both with rural household registration, couldn't use organizational documents for transfers, and they weren't educated youth and didn't belong to any group receiving returning youth.

"Let's use the letters of introduction for now. We can only take it one step at a time when it comes to the grain rations. Things will work out in the end. In any case, the letters of introduction we have should be enough to stay in Shanghai until after the New Year next year. If it really doesn't work out, I'll write back and ask my father to mail two more letters of introduction over," Zhou Jiye said after thinking for a moment.

Lin Ying nodded silently. This was a last resort. Luckily, Zhou Furong was the Party Secretary, otherwise this matter would have been very difficult to handle. Under the current circumstances, Zhou Jiye's proposed method was one of the solutions.

"Let's leave the identity issue for now and think of another way later," Lin Ying said. Then she added, "Secondly, we must find a place to stay as soon as possible. We can't keep staying in hotels; they're too expensive and inconvenient."

"I agree!"

Zhou Jiye agreed without hesitation. Staying in a hotel was too expensive. When they set off, they couldn't even afford a hotel in the county town that cost 50 cents a night for two people. But in Shanghai, the most basic hotel now costs 2.05 yuan a day. And this 2.05 yuan is not the price of a room, but the price of a bed. 2 yuan is the accommodation fee and 0.05 yuan is the hotel's hot water supply fee. The total for the two of them is 4.1 yuan.

In addition, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying were not ordinary people; they had secrets and were not suitable to share a room with others. Therefore, when they moved in, Zhou Jiye specially registered with his marriage certificate to request a double room.

This makes the cost even higher. A double room costs 5 yuan per day. They feel the pinch if they stay for just one or two days. If they stay for ten days or half a month, they'll go bankrupt!

We need to find a place! We absolutely must find a place!
Only by having their own place can they be considered settled in Shanghai. They should avoid hotels if possible, as they don't have much money to begin with and it won't last long.

After discussing it, they realized it was too late for today, so they decided to find a place to rent as soon as it was light tomorrow, and move out of the hotel once they found a place.

As for the last point Lin Ying mentioned, "money," it goes without saying that this was also a prerequisite for ensuring their survival in Shanghai.

Living requires money, right? Especially in a metropolis like Shanghai, everything from food and drink to basic necessities costs money. Without money, it's impossible to move an inch. Finding a way to earn money is essential, but we need to think about how to do it carefully. Let's solve the housing problem first before discussing anything else. They can't feel at ease without a place to live!
(End of this chapter)