Rebooting 60, let's go on a rampage with the orange cat!

Huai'an was too tired and drifted off to sleep again. In her drowsy state, long-forgotten memories came flooding back, like a dream but not quite a dream!

The calendar in my mind flipped back rapidly, and everything from the past rewound like a movie rewinding. Until this day in 1959, it froze.

It turns out she had returned to 1959 when she was eight years old, or more precisely, she had been reborn as herself at nine years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning)! Huai'an was born in a later month, on the ninth day of the second lunar month in 1951, which is said to be the day Guanyin Bodhisattva saved her from suffering. According to the age calculation method here, one year is added after the birthday, making her nine years old.

It was July then; he wouldn't start first grade until September.

Huai'an's current mother, Wang Xiuzhi, was actually her adoptive mother. She only learned the truth when she was eleven years old. Although there were some rumors and gossip circulating before, she never doubted her origins, firstly because she was young and naive at the time, and secondly because her adoptive parents treated her like their own child, always cherishing and protecting her.

By a stroke of luck, Shi Huai'an was brought back to this place. There was nothing more joyful and moving than seeing her beloved adoptive mother, Wang Xiuzhi. Although she was not her biological mother, the first thirteen years of Shi Huai'an's long life were the happiest and most joyful time of her life.

If her adoptive mother hadn't suddenly passed away from an illness when she was thirteen, she wouldn't have been forced into marriage by her stepmother at a young age, and she wouldn't have lived a life of silent suffering under the shadow of domestic violence...

Huai'an is unwilling to recall the unpleasant events of her adult life, but she is unable to extricate herself from her childhood under the protection of her adoptive mother...

Speaking of which, her adoptive mother, Wang Xiuzhi, was also a woman with a tragic fate—

She was a child during a time of warlord conflicts, when ordinary people suffered greatly.

When Wang Xiuzhi was five years old, her hometown suffered another famine, and her parents took her to seek refuge with relatives in other places, eventually reaching the Fuliang area.

However, fate was unkind to them. Their mother fell seriously ill on the journey and tragically passed away. The money spent on her medical treatment and burial along the way was exhausted. Their father settled Xiuzhi in a dilapidated temple, telling her not to wander off and to wait for him to bring back some good food.

The father decided to try his luck in a nearby village to see if he could find some work to make a living. But no one could have imagined that this trip would be their last.

Wang Xiuzhi's father met with misfortune on his way to the village; he was captured by a group of bandits and forced into labor. He tried to escape, but was mercilessly killed during his escape.

Young Xiuzhi anxiously awaited her father's return in the dilapidated temple, but as darkness fell, she still saw no sign of him. Only some passing villagers spread rumors in panic that many refugees had been killed ahead. In those days, death seemed commonplace, let alone among refugees from other places.

Wang Xiuzhi was gripped by hunger and fear; she had not eaten for two whole days.

Finally, in despair, Xiuzhi mustered her courage and left the dilapidated temple. Hungry, she ran to the main road, hoping to find some help or food. Just then, she encountered a middle-aged woman nicknamed "He the Buck-Toothed." This woman was actually a human trafficker, and she tried to use sweet talk to trick Xiuzhi into going with her.

"He the Bucktooth" was a ruthless widow who had no source of income and made a living by stealing chickens and having affairs with men. She was returning from her parents' home in the countryside when she saw Xiao Xiuzhi alone on the road. Xiao Xiuzhi was pretty and charming, so she pretended to be kind and asked, "What's wrong? Where are your parents?"

Xiao Xiuzhi shook her head and ignored her.

“Oh dear, there are wolves here at night. Be careful not to get carried away by them. Wolves love to eat children.” 'He the Bucktooth' said, while looking around to make sure no one else was there. Then he took out a handkerchief containing sleeping pills from his bag.

"I want to find my father." Little Xiuzhi was a little scared when she heard about the wolves, so she quickly lowered her head and answered softly.

"He the Bucktooth" said with a smile, "My house is just ahead. Come on, let's go to my house. I'll make you some delicious rice before you go find your dad."

Xiao Xiuzhi hesitated and felt uneasy. 'He Baoya's' eyes flashed with ferocity. He covered Xiuzhi's mouth and nose with a sedative-laced handkerchief. Xiuzhi struggled for a moment and then fainted.

"He the Bucktooth" picked up Xiuzhi and hurriedly left. He then found an accomplice, took two other abducted children, and planned to sell them to wealthy families in other places as maids or child brides to make a fortune.

When Xiuzhi awoke from her coma, she was filled with immense fear and unease. She began to cry loudly, her cries filling the entire room. However, this behavior garnered no sympathy or understanding from anyone; instead, she was brutally beaten. Her body was covered in bruises, and she realized that if she wanted to survive, she had to learn to be obedient and compliant.

As time passed, Xiuzhi gradually calmed down and stopped crying. She silently endured everything, waiting for her chance. Finally, they stopped in a town, a place that was both unfamiliar and dangerous to Xiuzhi. "He Baoya" also seemed to relax his guard slightly because they had reached their destination.

Xiuzhi seized the opportunity and, while He Baoya was talking to the innkeeper, she used the excuse of going to the toilet and the presence of many people in the inn to quietly slip out of the inn.

She ran blindly down the street like a headless fly, with only one thought in her mind: escape! However, fate always seems to like playing tricks on people. Just when she thought she had successfully escaped, she was discovered by "He Baoya". He and his accomplices chased after her angrily and dragged Xiuzhi back to where she was.

This time, Xiuzhi was punished even more severely. He Baoya whipped her hard with a leather whip, determined to subdue her.

As luck would have it, that day, Shi's mother and several other women went to the market and bought many things. Seeing a large crowd gathered ahead, she curiously squeezed through to see what was going on.

In the center of the crowd, a fierce-looking woman was hitting and yelling at a little girl, shouting, "You brat! I'll break your legs if you try to run again!"

The little girl looked only five or six years old. Her clothes were tattered and dirty, covered in dust and stains. Her hair was disheveled, as if it hadn't been washed in a long time. Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes were red and swollen, and her lips trembled as she cried and tried to avoid the woman's beatings and scoldings. Her body trembled slightly, as if she were terrified and helpless.

The onlookers all assumed that it was an elder in the family disciplining a younger person. Although the method was somewhat violent, everyone shook their heads and sighed, but no one stepped forward to stop it.

Perhaps because of Mother Shi's kind face, the girl suddenly ran behind Mother Shi, grabbed her clothes tightly, then knelt down and kowtowed several times, crying out:

"Great benefactor, please save me! My mother is dead, and my father is missing. I was kidnapped by this human trafficker... I don't know them... Please..."

Mother Shi had always been a devout Buddhist and kind-hearted person. Seeing this little girl suffering so much at the hands of human traffickers, she couldn't help but feel a surge of pity. Moreover, the child was intelligent and bright, instantly endearing to everyone who saw her.

So, Shi's mother discussed buying the girl with He Baoya. He Baoya was also eager to get rid of this hot potato as soon as possible, but he asked for five silver dollars.

Mother Shi frowned and said, "Don't be too greedy. I'll give you two silver dollars at most. Otherwise, I won't want the girl anymore. I'm going to report this to the authorities and find out how you should be sentenced for human trafficking. The police should also investigate how the child's parents died. All the villagers here can be witnesses. I guess you won't be able to get away with it either."

He Baoya was a bit dumbfounded. He didn't expect that the seemingly easy-to-fool old lady was a tough nut to crack. Oh well, if they really investigated, how could he possibly get away unscathed? When you're in the world of gangsters, you're bound to get hurt eventually.

Although the traffickers were unwilling, thinking that Wang Xiuzhi's beauty would fetch a good price, they didn't expect her to be so stubborn. Now that things had come to this, they didn't dare to make a big fuss and had no choice but to agree.

Mother Shi took out two silver dollars from her pocket and handed them to "He the Bucktooth," thus buying Wang Xiuzhi. She thought to herself that doing so would not only save the poor child's life but also be an act of kindness.

She asked Wang Xiuzhi, "Little girl, what's your name? Do you remember any other relatives?"

With tears welling up in her eyes, Wang Xiuzhi shook her head and said, "Great benefactor, I don't remember. Please take me in. I'll do anything you ask."

Shi's mother felt deep sympathy for Xiuzhi, and since she herself had no daughter, she took Xiuzhi home.

Shi's mother only had two sons who were already engaged, so she was only a child bride in name only, and her name was not changed.

The youngest son, Shi Renli, is ten years older than Xiuzhi and is currently 15 years old. They were betrothed at birth.

The eldest son, Shi Renmei, was born in 1900, fifteen years older than Wang Xiuzhi. At the age of 21, he married Zhang, who was one year younger than him, from a neighboring village.

However, Zhang was in poor health, and she miscarried twice in the five or six years after getting married.

As Wang Xiuzhi grew up, she became even more beautiful. She was skillful and hardworking, which pleased Shi's mother. Although she hadn't received much formal education—or rather, she hadn't had the opportunity to study after becoming a child bride—her innate elegance, like a white cloud in the sky, was graceful yet gentle, making everyone around her feel comfortable and happy. However, she was the only one who couldn't win Zhang's favor.

Zhang regarded her as a thorn in her side and never gave her a kind look, always feeling that her mother-in-law and husband were too biased towards this 'sister-in-law'.

The second son, Shi Renli, also married when he was twenty. His wife, Wu Yue'e, was two years younger than him. The following year, she gave birth to a son and was highly regarded by her in-laws. They didn't make things too difficult for Wang Xiuzhi, only occasionally stirring things up in front of others, watching the drama unfold with a smile.

Grandma Shi also arranged a marriage for Wang Xiuzhi; the man was a scholar.

When Wang Xiuzhi was sixteen, her fiancé suddenly fell seriously ill, so she hurriedly married him to bring him good luck. However, her husband died shortly after the wedding.

Her in-laws said she was a jinx and tormented her in every way, beating her until she was covered in bruises. Her mother couldn't bear it, so she returned the betrothal gifts and took her back to her parents' home.

Shi Renmei's wife, Zhang, naturally resented her and always bossed her around, making her life miserable.

That year, Wu Yue'e's eldest son died of typhoid fever, and she blamed Xiuzhi for bringing bad luck. The house was shrouded in gloom and unrest, and Master Shi died of excessive grief.

The Shi family prayed to gods and Buddhas and sought medical treatment everywhere, and Zhang finally became pregnant with her third child.

The whole family was overjoyed and took great care to ensure a smooth delivery. Zhang Shi became even more pampered, behaving arrogantly and making things difficult for Wang Xiuzhi, who could only swallow her anger and serve her patiently.

The Shi family's kindness to her was beyond repayment, so what was this little grievance?

In those days, most families had children at home, so you can imagine how poor the rural healthcare was.

Unfortunately, Zhang suffered a difficult labor and severe hemorrhage. The midwife was so frightened that she ran away, and in the end, despite medical treatment, both she and her unborn child died.

Medical care was generally inadequate during the Republic of China era, and people lived in poverty with extreme scarcity of resources. The average life expectancy in China was approximately 39.8 years for men and 38.22 years for women. (Online data is for reference only; some sources indicate the average life expectancy during the Republic of China era was 35 years.)

Before she died, Old Mrs. Shi placed Wang Xiuzhi's hand in Shi Renmei's hand and then passed away.

At the age of thirty-six, Shi Renmei remarried Wang Xiuzhi, who was 21 years old. She then moved to Jingshi with some capital to start a small business, while her younger brother Shi Renli and his family stayed in the countryside to farm.

Wang Xiuzhi had a fair complexion, beautiful features, and long, black hair styled with a jade hairpin. She was slender and elegant, with a gentle temperament. Shi Renmei was also handsome, robust, and intelligent, but unfortunately, she hadn't received much education and didn't have any great ambitions. She only wished to live a simple and honest life.

After their marriage, Shi Wangmei doted on Xiuzhi, and Xiuzhi, being gentle and compliant, led a peaceful and sweet life despite not being wealthy.

Time flies, and three years have passed since they got married. That year, Xiuzhi gave birth to a boy, whom she nicknamed Man'er. Shi Renmei, who had a child in his middle age, was overjoyed.

Shi Renmei doted on Man'er, handling him with the utmost care, like a precious pearl. He was always worried that he might accidentally hurt Man'er, and he didn't even dare to hug him too tightly, for fear of hurting him. Every time he picked up Man'er, Shi Renmei's hands would tremble slightly, and his eyes would be filled with love and concern.

When Man'er cried, Shi Renmei felt even more heartbroken. He would try his best to cheer Man'er up, gently rocking him and softly humming lullabies, afraid that the smell of his cigarette smoke would bother Man'er, so he even gave up smoking his own tobacco.

As Man'er grew older, Shi Renmei became increasingly busy. The couple experienced the joy of becoming parents for the first time, and every little progress and change in Man'er filled them with delight. Looking at his innocent smile, Shi Renmei felt that all the hard work was worthwhile.

But fate played a cruel trick. Starting in December 1939, small planes carried out multiple bombing raids on J City. J City suffered severe damage; many porcelain kilns, workshops, and houses were razed to the ground, causing serious casualties and property losses.

Shortly after the beginning of 1940, the bombers resumed their low-altitude bombing raids, and the sun in the sky was suddenly obscured by a dense swarm of 'blackbirds'.

The sound of intense bombing came from all directions. The dense black bird planes dispersed, flew closer and closer, and grew larger and larger. Then came a series of loud explosions, and the city was engulfed in flames and smoke.

Large numbers of houses collapsed and burst into flames, the entire street was instantly reduced to dust, stones flew everywhere and dust filled the air, and the crowd on the street ran blindly and frantically, not knowing where to go.

Shi Renmei and her husband, carrying Man'er, followed the crowd into the air-raid shelter for refuge. Thousands of adults and children were blown to pieces, their skin blackened and mangled, and died inside and outside the shelter, their eyes wide open, staring at the burning sky, unable to rest in peace.

During the Republic of China era, facing external threats, especially the aggression of the Japanese, the construction of air-raid shelters became an important national defense project. The scale of air-raid shelters varied from city to city. Originally, they were intended to provide a safe haven for high-ranking government officials and military and political figures, as well as an underground command center in emergencies. However, in ordinary cities, they were used to equip strategic materials during peacetime and to protect against air raids during the War of Resistance against Japan.

Air raid shelters are underground arched structures made of reinforced concrete, eight meters below the ground, about four meters wide and more than one hundred meters deep. They have many rooms on both sides, and the interior is interconnected, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people.