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

Shi Renmei suppressed her anger and said in a deep voice, "I didn't want to say much about your family's affairs, but don't think I'm too far away to know anything. Some things are better said outright. Don't you know who caused your family's difficulties? Your family has been very helpful to you, praising you to the skies. I heard that your younger brother is getting married, and the other party is asking for a dowry of 200 yuan, which your family can't afford. They're making a fuss about it, so you've come to me for help? Have some shame! Can't you be a little more honest? I've been around for a few years, I know all the tricks of the trade. Why make a fool of yourself like a clown?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yue'e felt both ashamed and indignant, and burst into uncontrollable sobs, lamenting her bad luck and the lack of support from both her husband's and her own families.

Shi Renmei sighed helplessly and called out to Huai'an inside the room, "Huai'an—"

Huai'an quickly opened the door and came out, handing over a stack of five-yuan bills. He winked and hinted, "Dad, we only have fifty yuan left for living expenses. Give it all to them. When you start work on the third day of the Lunar New Year, ask your company for an advance on next month's salary. Otherwise, our family will be starving."

Shi Renmei was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and took the money. She took out two more five-yuan bills and put them away before handing the rest of the money to Yaozu, saying, "Yaozu, I don't need to tell you about your family's situation. You know it very well. It's not that your uncle doesn't want to help you, but our abilities are limited. It's my fault for not being capable enough and not saving any money. I'll keep ten yuan for living expenses, and you can keep the remaining forty yuan for your father. This is for your tuition fees, so you don't end up with nothing again."

Yaozu clutched the crumpled banknotes tightly, his palms sweating, his heart filled with mixed emotions, as if a spice jar had been spilled. For a moment, he murmured softly, "Uncle..." but something seemed to be stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter another word. He just nodded repeatedly, his face flushed.

Seeing this, Shi Renmei looked a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat and said, "You heard it too, my aunt hasn't been feeling well lately and really doesn't have the energy to cook for you. How about this, you take some of the snacks on the table and hurry up and catch the bus home."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Wu Yue'e, who was sitting to the side, suddenly stood up abruptly, her movements so swift they caught everyone off guard. With lightning speed, she snatched the forty yuan from her son's hand, quickly counted it while wetting her fingers, and her face grew increasingly grim. Then, without a word, she angrily stuffed a bowl of tea eggs and several packets of pastries and peanuts from the table into her tattered cloth bag.

Then, Wu Yue'e raised her head, her gaze coldly sweeping over Shi Renmei and the others, and said indignantly, "Hmph! I'll definitely have a good talk with Renli and the rest of the clan when I get back. I've known all along that this elder brother and sister-in-law look down on us from the bottom of their hearts. They wouldn't even offer us a meal during the New Year. Is this how your Shi family treats guests? You're brothers! Even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. Shouldn't you be helping each other?"

You'd rather give the money to your adopted daughter than help your nephew? Don't you know that daughters are always outsiders? You're going to be exploited to the point of having no descendants and you won't even realize it? Wait until my son becomes successful, then you can regret it! Don't wait until you have no one left to mourn before you regret it... You're trying to fob us off with this little bit of money, it's a disgrace to the Shi family. We're leaving..." After saying this, she didn't even glance at the others present again, and walked out of the yard with a righteous indignation and without looking back.

"If you keep talking nonsense, I won't be polite..." Xiuzhi rushed out of the house in anger, but Shi Renmei grabbed her.

As Shi Yaozu watched his mother's departing figure, tears welled up in his eyes. He turned around, bowed deeply to his uncle and aunt, and choked out, "I'm sorry..." Then, he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, quickly followed his mother, and together they left this place that made him feel extremely uncomfortable and ashamed.

When Shi Renmei and Xiuzhi saw Wu Yue'e recklessly reveal Huai'an's background, they were at a loss and looked at Huai'an. They knew Huai'an would never be able to accept it. But Huai'an looked at his parents indifferently and said, "It's okay, I already knew. It doesn't affect anything. Dad, you're not angry that I only took out fifty, are you?"

Shi Renmei said with a wry smile, "I even thought it was too much. I deducted ten yuan from it. She was just being unreasonable... This money was originally obtained by you in exchange for ginseng. How can we save money? As soon as we have some savings, they seem to have calculated it. There's always something going on here or there. It's like we owe them money. We can't save any money at all."

He and Huai'an both laughed, but Xiuzhi kept pressing the previous words, staring at Huai'an and saying, "What did you just say? You already knew? What did you know? Who told you..."

Huai'an countered, "Dad, Mom, are you hungry?"

Xiuzhi was stunned for a moment and quickly said, "Oh, okay, I'll go cook right away."

After Wu Yue'e's commotion, it was already past 2 PM, and no one would be coming to the house. Huai'an said, "I'll take you somewhere and treat you to something to eat. Then I'll tell you slowly."

Shi Renmei stared blankly as Huai'an hurriedly closed the heavy front door of their home, a sense of doubt welling up inside her. Huai'an quickly walked to his parents, gently took their hands, and said with a mysterious and excited smile, "Dad, Mom, please close your eyes!" The Shi couple exchanged bewildered glances, completely confused about what Huai'an wanted to do, but they still obediently closed their eyes.

Just as they closed their eyes, Huai'an's gentle voice rang out again: "Alright, you can open your eyes now! We've arrived at our destination." Hearing this, Shi Renmei and her husband eagerly opened their eyes. However, when they saw the scene before them, their mouths gaped open as if they could fit an egg in them, and they were completely stunned.

The room before them was breathtakingly beautiful! Exquisite wallpaper adorned the walls, its patterns delicate and luxurious; a large, incredibly soft sofa filled the spacious living room, inviting one to sink into it effortlessly; a dazzling crystal chandelier hung overhead, its shimmering light spilling into every corner; enormous floor-to-ceiling windows and emerald-green curtains unfolded serenely; and numerous novel electrical appliances, their names unknown, were scattered throughout, adding a touch of modern technological charm. The entire room exuded a rich, romantic, pastoral atmosphere, making them feel as if they were in a dream.

The elderly couple stood there, stunned, their eyes darting around, trying to take in everything. They had lived most of their lives and had never seen such an exquisite and luxurious house! Shi Renmei even rubbed her eyes, wondering to herself, was what she was seeing just a dream? Could such a beautiful scene really exist in real life?

If it weren't for Duoduo, the chubby orange dog, excitedly running around in front of her, she would have thought she was in a magic show. Xiuzhi gently patted her face and couldn't help but ask, "Huai'an, what's going on? Are you dreaming?"

Huai'an couldn't help but walk over and hug Xiuzhi tightly, saying, "At first I thought I was dreaming, but it just happened so miraculously." She pulled her mother to sit down on the sofa and then said, "You guys have some fruit first, I'll be done soon."

Huai'an entered the kitchen, cooked a large plate of dumplings, and placed it in front of them, saying, "Let's eat and chat." While Huai'an was cooking the dumplings, Xiuzhi and Shi Renmei had also toured the storage room and kitchen, which had shattered their worldviews and overturned their understanding. They thought: Even the mayor probably hasn't lived in such a beautiful house or used such advanced appliances!

While eating dumplings, they waited anxiously for Huai'an to explain what had happened.

After much deliberation, Huai'an realized that her mother's health was uncertain, and what if she couldn't escape the calamity of 1964? Rather than waiting, she decided to let Xiuzhi live a good life and enjoy it. She had always wanted to share her space with her parents, but she was afraid they wouldn't be able to accept her supernatural abilities.

Now her aunt has revealed the truth about her adoption. In fact, in her previous life, she was only taken to meet her biological parents after her adoptive mother fell ill, which was a few years earlier than before. Moreover, the way she found out was also changed. It wasn't her adoptive mother who told her, but rather her aunt's unintentional remark in anger. So now many things in this world are changing. Rather than being passive, it's better to actively communicate with your parents and let them enjoy life earlier, at least so they won't be in dire financial straits.

Otherwise, it would be exhausting for her to secretly slip things into the house every day and make up all sorts of excuses. It's better to just say it all at once than to explain it every time.

She mentally prepared her words and said, "Dad, Mom, I know this sounds unbelievable, but do you remember when Xiaoyan pushed me into the water in July?"

The Shi couple nodded, waiting for Huai'an to continue. After finishing his dumplings, Huai'an leaned back on the sofa and said, "When I was rescued, I had actually forgotten Gu Jingxing. I didn't recognize him. Maybe I hit my head in the water. Anyway, I had a long dream..."

Xiuzhi said, "Yes, you were rescued that day and remained unconscious, which terrified me."

Huai'an could only rely on mythology, because she was worried that saying she was reborn would frighten her parents.

She patted her mother's hand comfortingly and said, "I had a very long dream. I dreamt that I was adopted by you when I was eight months old. My mother knelt on the Child Tree to beg the tree spirit to bless me to live. When I fell into the water, the tree spirit said that I could not die yet because I had not properly taken care of my adoptive parents. Later, my consciousness came here. The spirit said that this space will gradually grow bigger through continuous upgrades and become our future house. But you cannot tell outsiders, otherwise it will disappear. It can only be shared with people who are connected to me."

"Will the house that becomes our future really be ours? I'm sure I won't say anything like that..." Xiuzhi was shocked.

Shi Renmei pondered, "This is amazing. However, things have indeed changed since you fell into the water, and our lives have become better because of you."

“There are a lot of supplies here. I never thought we could move them outside for use, but I was worried you wouldn’t accept it because it’s too unbelievable. No one would believe it even if I told you. Look, you don’t believe it now either, do you?” Huai’an said, looking at his parents’ reaction.

Shi Renmei pressed on, "How do you plan to upgrade this space?"

Huai'an said, "This requires me to do a task, which simply means to study hard."

Xiuzhi suddenly realized and said, "No wonder you study so hard!"

Huai'an said, "I told you that I had a very long dream. In the dream, I was told what was supposed to happen in this life, but if I change it, the space will be upgraded. After all the upgrades are completed, the space will truly belong to us."

"What was supposed to happen? My God! What happened? Does it really need to be changed?" Xiuzhi asked in confusion.

"I didn't want to tell you this, but I'm going to change my fate slowly on my own. However, this requires us to work together so that we can truly change things. But the prerequisite is, do you believe me? Do you believe everything I'm saying? Don't you think I'm crazy?"

Shi Renmei thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Silly child, how could I not believe you? We're sitting on this sofa now, seeing so many things we've never seen before... If this is a dream, I hope it lasts a little longer..."

Xiuzhi nodded and said, "There are many things in this world that I don't understand either, but since it has happened, let's accept it and face it together as a group of three."

Huai'an said, "That's what I was thinking too. Rather than not telling you, I'd rather you enjoy this place with me. I've hidden my money and bankbook here. Do you think it's safe?"

Xiuzhi said, "Luckily it was hidden here, otherwise Taozi and Shouzi would have stolen it last time. No wonder I felt like the rice jar was always producing rice, never running out. So it was you who was behind this! Tell me quickly, what will happen in this life that needs to be changed?"

Huai'an thought for a moment and said, "Otherwise, where did those ginsengs come from? They all came from this space, but naturally I can't tell anyone, not even Master Liu... Actually, I don't want to believe it either, but that dream was too real, as if I was experiencing it myself."

She began to speak sadly, “In my dream, I was given away for adoption by my birth mother when I was eight months old. You were all very kind to me, but my mother contracted an incurable disease called ‘waterlogging disease,’ and passed away in the countryside when I was 13… My aunt in the countryside not only took away my mother’s gold ring and earrings, but also forced me to work in the fields and marry Yaozu. I refused and ran away back to the city to finish elementary school… My adoptive mother is gone, and my birth mother doesn’t care about me anymore… Later… I got married when I was 17, but I was very unhappy… very unhappy… Mother… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said such unlucky things. Will you believe me…”

Huai'an only managed a brief and difficult recounting of the story, yet tears streamed down her face. She didn't want to embarrass her father by mentioning her stepmother, nor did she want to upset her mother, so she glossed over it, saying, "I'm sorry, it was just a dream. I shouldn't have dreamt that you died and were left all alone. Mom, do you know? The first thing I saw when I woke up was how wonderful it was to see you. It was a dream, and you're still alive and well..."