Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

Watching Old Wu leave the room dejectedly, Long Lifan stood to the side, lost in thought. Zuo Minghan, on the kang (heated brick bed), knew perfectly well what was going on; his expression was slightly silent yet tinged with sympathy.

Old Wu's original name was Wu Jiuling, and he came from a family with a long history of medicine. It is said that his ancestors were imperial physicians, with superb medical skills that made them famous throughout the country. Wu Jiuling himself also enjoyed a high reputation in the medical circles of the capital and was hailed as a renowned doctor of his generation.

However, in the current turbulent situation, Wu Jiuling's family has suffered a calamity. His family members have either died or fled, and now he is all alone.

He must have felt terrible witnessing the heartwarming scene of his reunion with his granddaughter. That's why he silently turned and left, his back view filled with endless sorrow and loneliness.

Zuo Minghan had just asked Long Lifan to call him Grandpa Wu because he didn't want Wu Jiuling to be too lonely. Of course, he had his own selfish reasons. He held Long Lifan's hand and said, "Fan girl, don't look at how down on his luck Old Wu is now. His medical skills used to be well-known in the capital."

"Haven't you been in poor health since childhood? Find an opportunity to let Old Wu take a look at you."

"Grandpa, my health has been restored long ago, otherwise I wouldn't have dared to go to the countryside." Long Lifan was touched that her grandfather was still thinking of her even in this situation. Therefore, she explained her situation to him so as not to worry him.

"It's all taken care of!" Zuo Minghan was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy as he said, "That's good, that's good."

"By the way, is everyone at home alright?"

"Everything's fine! I just miss you. My uncle and his family came to visit us the year before last, and they even asked Mom about you!"

Suddenly, Long Lifan remembered that her maternal grandfather had mentioned her paternal grandfather earlier, so she asked, "Grandpa, what did you mean when you said that Grandpa sent me to see you? Does my grandpa know you're here?"

"Ah."

Zuo Minghan didn't want to hide it from his granddaughter, so he nodded.

"Then why has he never mentioned it..." Thinking of the suffering her grandfather is going through, and how her grandfather clearly knows about her grandfather's situation but hasn't told anyone at home, she pouted, expressing her dissatisfaction with her grandfather.

"Don't blame your grandfather, this is an agreement between me and him..." Zuo Minghan said, recounting the agreement between himself and Long Jianjun in detail.

"Actually, your grandfather took good care of us. Although our living conditions were poor and life was tough after we came here, it was peaceful..."

"What happened a while ago..." Long Lifan asked, frowning and somewhat puzzled.

"I don't know either." Zuo Minghan shook his head. He had been sent down here for several years, but this was the first time he had been dragged out for criticism like he had been recently.

However, Long Lifan understood somewhat. She guessed that Huang Shi was using the name of the higher-ups to seek personal gain, which was why he had set his sights on her grandfather, since her grandfather used to be a well-known wealthy family in the capital.

Thinking of this, her hatred for Huang Shi deepened. Of course, if Huang Shi hadn't pulled this stunt, she wouldn't have been able to find her grandfather and the others.

"Oh right, Grandpa, I'm going out for a bit..." With that, Long Lifan walked out of the earthen house. Seeing that no one was around, he took out the supplies from his spatial storage and then returned with them.

"Fan girl, what's wrong with you...?"

Grandma's eyes widened slightly in shock as she looked at the large bags and bundles Long Lifan was carrying when she returned. Rice, flour, oil—everything was there.

It turned out that while Long Lifan was in the house, she had been looking around carefully, observing what her grandfather and the others might be lacking. She had even specially bought two pounds of pork from the system, thinking that her grandfather had suffered so much recently and needed to be properly nourished.

“Oh, Grandma, this is something I bought especially to see you…” Long Lifan said with a smile, her face beaming with a warm smile that seemed to shine into Grandma’s heart like the spring sunshine.

"You…" Grandpa was also shocked to see these things, but thinking about his granddaughter leaving her hometown to become an educated youth in the countryside, he knew her life must be tough. So he said with some complaint, "Why spend money on these things!"

He had just glanced at the items his granddaughter had brought; the rice and flour were all high-quality goods. Here, they sometimes didn't even have coarse grains to eat, let alone refined grains. Worried that his granddaughter might be neglecting herself while taking care of them, he suggested:

"Why don't you take it back with you when you leave later..."

"Hmm?" Long Lifan frowned, somewhat puzzled.

"Fan girl, you don't know that there are 4 households and 8 people in our family here. We all eat together."

As soon as her grandfather said this, Long Lifan suddenly understood why he insisted that she take the things back.

In this special era, we were all sent down here, living and eating together, facing the hardships of life together. We huddled together for warmth and support. If there was anything good, we naturally shared it and enjoyed it together.

Although Long Lifan brought a lot of things, it was only enough for a day or two in this crowded and noisy environment. Distributing it would be difficult for Grandpa, as it represented his granddaughter's heartfelt gift; but not sharing it was even worse. They lived together, and it was through this mutual support and understanding that they had managed to survive these difficult days. Not sharing it would be tantamount to cutting themselves off from everyone and losing their support.

Long Lifan had originally planned to bring some things to her grandfather and the others to improve their difficult living conditions. But now it seemed that this idea was somewhat unrealistic.

Although she now has enough work points and wages, which is enough to take care of her grandfather and his wife, it would be difficult for her to manage so many mouths to feed on her own. Besides, she's not a saint; why should she take care of so many people who have no relatives or friends?

Long Lifan couldn't help but sigh softly, secretly thinking that she had to find a way to make her grandfather and the others live a better life without putting too much strain on herself.

Just then, there was a noise outside the door. Long Lifan went out to see what was going on and found that the two families living next door were returning home. Grandma stood to the side, explaining the identities of these people to her in detail.

The slightly older couple were a pair of people in their fifties, who used to be professors at the Imperial Academy. On the other side was a much younger couple, who looked to be in their early thirties. My grandmother said that the man was a researcher, but for some reason he was sent to work here.

Behind the two of them followed a little girl, wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket. She looked uneasy and clung tightly to her parents. Long-term malnutrition had made her exceptionally short and thin, and her face was pale and lifeless.