Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

"Crack, crack," streaks of white light flashed across the sky, like sharp swords piercing the city's skyscrapers, bringing a sliver of light to the cloud-shrouded city. The wind howled, and everything seemed on the verge of spiraling out of control, swept away by the wind. "Whoosh!" The torrential rain followed, incredibly fierce; in an instant, it seemed as if gods and demons were scattering wildly in the air.

Ji Yongling checked the day's work schedule in the storage warehouse control room, let out a sigh, and walked to the window. It was only a little past 2 pm in May, but outside it was already as dark as dusk. She glanced out the glass; the rain had already completely sealed the sky and the ground, obscuring the buildings outside.

Ji Yongling felt something was about to burst forth from her heart, but before she could think about it, a message popped up on the control room's operating platform that an earthquake was about to occur.

But it was too late.

In an instant, the sky collapsed and the earth shook violently. The enormous rumbling sound coming from the side of the building that was against the mountain was indistinguishable from the roar of the mountains or the howl of thunder.

In the instant he fell, Ji Yongling desperately tried to grab onto something, but his body had already been flung away by the immense centrifugal force.

Everything was plunged into endless darkness.

"Ling'er, Ling'er, are you down there?"

Ji Yongling lifted her heavy eyelids and, through a slit, saw a beam of light coming from the ground. "Has the rescue team arrived? Are they calling me?" Ji Yongling struggled to sit up, but the cramped space prevented her from stretching her limbs.

"Ling'er, Ling'er?"

The people upstairs were still calling out, but the footsteps seemed to be fading into the distance.

"I'm here." As soon as Ji Yongling spoke, he realized that his voice was trembling and his mouth was full of dirt.

The sound of footsteps that had been walking away returned, accompanied by the rapid sound of digging.

"Third Uncle, Third Uncle, Sister Ling'er is downstairs!" Several voices called out excitedly from above.

Before Ji Yongling could think, the soil above had been dug away. The sudden brightness made her feel uncomfortable for a moment. She squinted and raised her slightly numb right hand to shield her eyes.

Yu Guangzhong noticed an iron ring on her right index finger, and a vague memory of the earthquake flashed through her mind.

She remembered that in the instant she fell, her hand brushed across a corner of the controller, where an antique she had once bought at a rural market in Gansu was placed—a slightly larger iron ring with a smaller one inside.

According to the old folks at the time, although this thing was not valuable, it was the handle ring of a knife that their ancestors had used to kill bandits and foreign tribes, and it could ward off evil spirits.

Before she could think further, Ji Yongling saw several dusty, dirt-covered faces appear above her, their eyes filled with a clear light of joy.

The square-faced man at the head of the group was overjoyed. He first patted Ji Yongling's head, then squeezed her hands and feet to make sure she was not injured before carrying her out of the narrow earthen hut, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Dad's here."

Ji Yongling wanted to ask, "Are you from the rescue team?" But what came out of her mouth was, "Dad."

Ji Yongling's mind suddenly went blank, like a thunderclap in a clear sky, leaving her somewhat at a loss. How did she become a child again? How could the man in front of her be her father? Everything was so chaotic.

In an instant, memories that did not belong to her quickly filled her mind. In her hazy consciousness, the surrounding noise gradually made her realize that Ji Yongling from her previous life had already left her, and the previous world was frozen in that afternoon of torrential rain and tremors.

The past is frozen in time, and Ji Yongling feels bitter.

In her past life, she graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in clinical medicine from a medical school and stayed to work at the affiliated hospital, but resigned after a short time. After recuperating in her rural hometown for half a year, she returned to the city and found a new job using the double degree she had earned during her undergraduate studies. Not long after, her soul was sent here by an 8-magnitude earthquake.

Was the city and the warehouses that occupied half of it also destroyed in the earthquake?

Ji Yongling looked up at the sky. She was now Ji Yongling from Niuzhuang, a little girl who was only 9 years old. Everything here was familiar, yet also strange.

Ji Manchuan hugged Ji Yongling, patting the yellow dust off her body, while talking to the children around him.

Ji Yongling shifted awkwardly, trying to break free from Ji Manchuan's embrace. Ji Manchuan immediately tightened his hold on her, saying, "You scared your parents to death! Your mother was so worried that she gave birth early and gave birth to a little sister for you." He then grinned, revealing a mouthful of big white teeth.

Ji Yongling was stunned for a moment, staring with bewildered eyes: "Mother, sister?"

Ji Manchuan looked at his daughter's big, blinking eyes. Her eyelashes, covered in yellow dust, seemed to be plated with gold and sparkled in the sunlight.

Ji Manchuan chuckled, picked up Ji Yongling, and prepared to climb the hillside. At the same time, he said to the children next to him, "Yongzhou, Yongning, go and tell your father and your second uncle that your sister Ling'er has been found."

"Understood, Third Uncle."

Ji Manchuan and the remaining children hadn't gone far when a little girl with pigtails tied with hemp rope stumbled down the hillside, panting, and cried out, "Third Uncle, Third Uncle, come quick! My great-aunt Yinqiao and the Taoist priestess are trying to exorcise evil spirits from Third Aunt, and my grandma and the others are trying to stop them, but they can't stop them anymore!"

Ji Yongling realized that this was Ji Yongmei, the granddaughter of Sixth Grandma.

Ji Manchuan hoisted Ji Yongling onto his shoulder and strode up the slope. Ji Yongmei and several other children, big and small, followed closely behind, Ji Yongmei chattering away.

Ji Manchuan rushed up the slope and ran home. The jolting was so bad that Ji Yongling felt like her insides were going to come out. Just when she thought her bones were going to fall apart, she finally arrived at the old Ji family courtyard, where a crowd had already gathered outside.

Ji Manchuan put Ji Yongling down and rushed through the crowd to the women.

Ji Yongling clutched her ribs, which were aching from being pressed against Ji Manchuan's shoulder, and looked around the courtyard, which was surrounded by cave dwellings on three sides. She instantly realized that she had arrived at the Loess Plateau.

Niujiazhuang is located on a plateau in Ningping County, Qingzhou Prefecture, in the northwest. The so-called plateau is a type of highland unique to the northwest, formed by water erosion. It is plate-shaped, with steep sides, a ravine at the bottom, and a large plain at the top.

Therefore, the cave dwellings of each family in Niujiazhuang were built along the mountain gullies or on flat ground with varying elevations, and the village was not far from the county.

Compared to other mountainous areas of the Loess Plateau, the climate here is not particularly arid, and there is a lot of flat land. Although people rely on the weather for their livelihood, the land is not particularly barren. However, like most farmers of that era, the villagers of Niujiazhuang lived in poverty.

The original owner of Ji Yongling was born in this courtyard. Her father, Ji Manchuan, was the third son. He had two older sisters, two older brothers, and a younger brother.

The people arguing in the courtyard were Grandma Yang, with her gray hair; Fourth Aunt Hu Xirong and her mother Jia Ronghua; and Sixth Grandma Chen, who was holding a swaddled blanket with a stern face.

Another woman, dressed neatly without any patches, was probably the Yinqiao Auntie that Yongmei had mentioned. Standing next to her were three strong women dressed in Taoist robes with their hair tied up in Taoist buns.

Old Mrs. Ji, Yang, looked distressed and said tremblingly, "Huang Xiangu, is it really necessary to exorcise the evil spirit? Can't we just put up a few talismans or drink a few bowls of talisman water? Look at my daughter-in-law, she just gave birth yesterday, she's so thin, I'm afraid, I'm afraid..."