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

A gentle breeze carrying a hint of warmth swept by, yet it chilled her to the bone. In an instant, she considered many possibilities, but none led to a brighter future.

She seemed to have been born to suffer, never having experienced a single day of happiness in her life. But her daughter was still young, only 12 years old. What should she do? Chen Ying kept asking herself this question.

Faced with her in-laws' arrogance, their aggressive debt collection tactics, and the villagers' indifferent attitude, she felt truly heartbroken and disheartened.

"Hehe, this is really interesting!"

Just as everyone's attention was focused on Chen Ying, an untimely voice rang out from behind the crowd.

Everyone couldn't help but look behind them, where Long Lifan's petite figure squeezed out from the crowd. She showed no fear in the face of their gazes.

"Grandma Zhou, you're really something. Just now you were shouting that this house belongs to your eldest son and you should inherit it."

"How come when he owes money to others, it has nothing to do with you?"

"There's no such logic in this world, and our country's inheritance law doesn't say it like that either! Since you want to inherit your son's estate, you should also bear the debts he left behind."

"What does this have to do with you!" Granny Liu now particularly dislikes Long Lifan, feeling that Long Lifan deliberately didn't save her son last night.

"Besides, I've never even heard of this inheritance law you're talking about!"

Legal awareness is weak in rural areas nowadays, which is understandable given the generally low level of education and limited legal understanding among people in this era.

Therefore, fights and brawls often occur in rural areas. If you lived in a later era, you would see that if you dared to lay a hand on someone, they would lie on the ground and try to extort money from you.

“It’s alright if you haven’t heard of it. If you really need to know, you can go to the police station. I’m sure they will explain it to you in detail.” Long Lifan’s lips curled up into a smile. But this smile, when seen by Granny Liu, sent chills down her spine.

"Then I won't fight for this house, okay?"

Grandma Liu was also a little panicked, and she became even more frightened when she heard that the police should be called. How much was this dilapidated house worth? Where would she get the money to pay off her debts?

"You can choose not to fight for the house, but you can't leave the debt unpaid."

"why?"

Grandma Liu screamed, "I've already given up the house, why do I still have to pay back money?"

"Of course, it's because you are Zhou Hu's biological mother."

"Chen Ying, Zhou Yuping, and you, as Zhou Hu's closest relatives, will all receive a share of the house he left behind, but the debts will naturally be your responsibility. Unless…"

“Unless something…” The thought of having to pay 50 yuan made Granny Zhou’s heart bleed, so when she heard the last two words of Long Lifan, she quickly asked.

"You just said you were willing to give up your inheritance. As long as Chen Ying agrees, then it has nothing to do with you."

"From now on, neither the house nor the debts left by Zhou Hu will have anything to do with you."

Grandma Zhou nodded, then walked up to Chen Ying and tried to appeal to her emotions, saying, "Yingzi, my son is dead, but I'm heartbroken. I'm sorry for what happened earlier. This house will be left to you and your daughter. Is that alright?" Seemingly afraid that Chen Ying would disagree, she even pretended to wipe away tears.

Chen Ying knew that she didn't want to pay off Zhou Hu's debt, but she nodded because she thought that she could be free from their interference in the future.

"Haha, then this place has nothing to do with me anymore, I'll be leaving now!" Granny Zhou laughed a few times, seemingly afraid that she would regret it, and quickly left with her son and daughter-in-law.

Next came dealing with the debts, and she spoke to Chen Ping with a smile.

"Excuse me, sir, can I see the IOU?"

Chen Ping didn't care and handed over the IOU. It was clearly written in black and white, so she wasn't worried that the girl might have any ulterior motives.

“Brother, look, her husband just died, and she was just being pressured by her mother-in-law. How could she possibly come up with so much money?” Long Lifan pointed at Chen Ying and said.

"Why don't you give them more time, big brother? They'll definitely pay you back."

“How can that be? I need the money right now,” Chen Ping refused without hesitation. After a couple of seconds, he added, “I do have a good idea, but I don’t know if they’ll listen to it.”

"Brother, tell me your thoughts. If it's a really good idea, I'll try to persuade you. Don't underestimate me just because I'm small; I'm quite good at persuasion!"

Hearing Long Lifan's words, Chen Ping actually nodded. He still vividly remembered what the little girl had said to Granny Zhou.

"To be honest, I have a son who is almost 17 years old. He had a serious illness when he was young, so... my idea is to have Zhou Hu's daughter take care of my son, which will also settle this debt." Chen Ping deliberately spoke in a low voice, as if he was afraid that the news of his son's problem would get out.

Good heavens, even Long Lifan felt that Chen Ping had probably planned this all along. Isn't this what they call "child brides" in ancient times? Considering Zhou Hu's actions yesterday, everything suddenly made sense.

So she moved lightly and quickly arrived in front of Chen Ying.

“Sister Chen, this brother just said that if Yuping takes care of his son, the debt will naturally be waived.” Long Lifan deliberately spoke loudly so that everyone could hear.

"Chen Ping, your mentally challenged son is 17 years old and still needs to be fed. How can a young girl like him be taken care of?" Among the commune members, some had married into the Xigou brigade and naturally knew Chen Ping and his mentally challenged son.

“That’s right, aren’t you just harming people?” some villagers echoed, criticizing Chen Ping.

They didn't speak up when Granny Zhou pressured Chen Ying earlier. Firstly, they felt it was a family matter, and secondly, since they were all from the same village, it wouldn't be right to help either side, so they remained indifferent.

But things are different now. They are facing people from other villages, and the villagers are still very united, constantly criticizing Chen Ping.

"What nonsense are you talking about? My son just has a slight mental problem, it's not as serious as you're making it out to be."

Chen Ping angrily defended his son, and also resented Long Lifan in his heart. "If you're going to advise someone, just say so. Why did you have to shout it out?"

"No, I don't agree!"

Chen Ying had just been considering the feasibility of this idea, but after hearing what the villagers said, she immediately dismissed the idea.

“Brother Chen, look, I’ve tried to persuade her, but she won’t agree!” Long Lifan spread her hands, indicating that she was powerless to help.

"What should we do then!"

Chen Ping was also somewhat irritated, especially when he heard the commune members talking about his mentally challenged son. He then focused his gaze on the older member of the commune, Captain Chen:

"Uncle, what should we do now?!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Desheng immediately stepped forward and said to Lin Guodong, "Captain Lin, it's only right to pay back debts. My nephew just made a suggestion, so what should we do now?"

Now that Zhou Hu is dead, the promised thing is probably impossible, so Chen Ping doesn't want Zhou Yuping to take care of his son anymore, and he wants to get the debt back.

"This……"

Lin Guodong was at a loss for what to do. Suddenly, his gaze fell on Long Lifan, who was standing to the side. Long Lifan was always a person with her own ideas, so he thought he might as well ask her.

"Long, you think this matter should be handled?" Lin Guodong's words shocked everyone around him. A brigade leader was actually asking an educated youth for advice.

The group from Xigou Brigade were also somewhat surprised. No wonder this young girl spoke so eloquently; she turned out to be an educated youth from the city!

Chen Desheng, in particular, seemed to remember that last month, the Donggou Brigade had assigned seven female educated youths, and they had even mocked Lin Guodong for it.

It's unbelievable that Lin Guodong, a dignified brigade leader, would have to ask a female educated youth for help when he encounters a problem. It seems that there will be another reason to ridicule Lin Guodong in the future!

Paying back debts is a matter of course. This young educated youth may be sharp-tongued, but she can't change the facts written in black and white.