Chapter 10: A Completely Transformed Space

“Hurry up and eat. There’s food left for you in the pot on the stove—be sure to eat before you sleep,” Grandfather called to Xiao Weiguo.

“All right, Grandpa.” Warmth suffused Xiao Weiguo’s heart. To tell the truth, he was truly famished. He’d been running around all afternoon; not only had he not eaten, but he hadn’t even had a sip of water. He’d only dared to moisten his lips with a little river water, for fear of getting sick.

Assuming the role of a starving soul, Xiao Weiguo hurried to the stove. Lifting the lid, his heart instantly sank.

Resting on the steaming rack were only two coarse sorghum cakes, a bowl of thin corn and sorghum porridge, and a small plate of pickled vegetables.

He took a bite of the sorghum cake and concluded that the taste was little better than the pig feed of his previous life—perhaps even less filling.

This, he realized, was the truest fare of this era.

Xiao Weiguo was certain he could hardly endure such food.

Yet, as he ate, he felt a growing reverence for the people of this time. To accomplish such great undertakings, to remain so optimistic and spirited on such humble fare—it was nothing short of admirable.

After finishing his meal and washing up, Xiao Weiguo lay down on his wooden bed in the west room.

Moonlight poured through the window above his bed, illuminating his face. Turning his head, he could see the endless spatter of stars across the sky.

His mind was once again awhirl with thoughts. Even though a full day had passed, none of this felt quite real.

He was truly living in this legendary era—but what should he do next?

A wave of uncertainty washed over him.

In his past life, his pursuits had been simple: a car, a house, savings, a wife, children, healthy parents, and a stable job.

Now, in this time, what should his ambitions be?

It was a question worth pondering.

Suddenly curious about the crops he’d planted in his special space, Xiao Weiguo closed his eyes and, with a thought, entered the space.

He was immediately astonished.

The whole expanse of land was lush and green. Wheat, corn, and sweet potatoes had all sprouted.

Even the unhulled rice he’d sown—despite not knowing it required seedling cultivation and transplanting—had grown tender shoots. Fortunately, the result was good.

It seemed the space accelerated crop growth and the plants didn’t even require watering. Xiao Weiguo was elated.

This vastly increased his options. The amount of food he could harvest would multiply several times over.

“I wonder just how much faster the crops grow here,” Xiao Weiguo mused. “Once they mature, I’ll know for sure.”

Seeing nothing else needing his attention, he withdrew from the space.

Lying in bed, he soon drifted into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Xiao Weiguo awoke, stretched, and felt refreshed—though his stomach rumbled.

He quickly rinsed his mouth and washed his face by the water vat in the courtyard before entering the main room.

Grandmother had already prepared breakfast and called him to the table.

He saw two cornmeal buns, a bowl of corn porridge, and a small plate of pickled vegetables waiting for him.

Without overthinking it, he endured the scratchy feeling in his throat and quickly finished his breakfast.

Afterward, he left the courtyard and ran into a village child—Ertou, the same one from yesterday.

“Ertou, go call your sister, Hongmei, and have her come see me.”

He pulled out a sorghum candy. “Here’s a sorghum sweet for you—as travel fare.”

Ertou’s eyes instantly curved into two crescent moons. “Thank you, Brother Weiguo! I’ll go right away. Brother Weiguo, will there be more fish soup today? Yesterday’s was the best I’ve ever tasted in my life.”

“I’ll treat everyone to fish soup again once I catch more fish. Now, off you go.”

“Okay!” With that, Ertou dashed off toward Xiao Weiguo’s father’s house.

Xiao Weiguo turned back inside, pondering the day’s tasks.

His immediate priority was the space—he needed to build up his base there before considering other things.

Today, he would have to go up the mountain to cut some bamboo and set up a few fenced enclosures in the space for raising chickens.

For the time being, he would focus on chickens. If the opportunity arose, perhaps he’d add rabbits and pigs.

Pigs were difficult, though. From what he’d learned at the livestock breeding station yesterday, piglets were distributed collectively through the commune and not available individually.

For now, he’d put aside the idea of raising pigs; besides, he didn’t have enough feed for them at this stage.

Chickens, on the other hand, were much easier. Some villagers secretly hatched chicks and bartered them for goods—though it was really just selling, it had to be called “exchanging.”

He remembered that Uncle Dashan, his grandfather’s neighbor, had hatched chicks last year. He’d have to ask him about it today.

About ten minutes later, Xiao Hongmei came running over, with little tag-along Xiao Weijun at her heels.

“Big Brother, we’re here. What did you want with my sister?” Xiao Weijun blurted out before his sister could speak.

Hongmei shot him a glare, annoyed at having her thunder stolen.

“Well, yesterday in town, I bought a few things for you all. I’ll leave them with you two to divide among the siblings—I have other things to do,” Xiao Weiguo said.

He mentally tallied the number of people, then took out some more sorghum candy and peach crisps from his space to round things out.

“There are six hair ties in total—one for each of you six sisters. You and Lianxin get the decorative ones, the other four get plain ones,” he began.

Originally, he’d intended to give only Hongmei and Lianxin the pretty ties and the others plain ones, but his grandparents’ words reminded him that he had to consider his four cousins as well.

As for why he bought hair ties instead of food, first, the family’s food situation was still manageable; real hardship wouldn’t come until autumn and winter. Second, in this era, a girl could use the same hair tie for years, until it fell apart. Not long ago, he’d noticed Hongmei’s hair tie knotted in several places, obviously mended again and again—a sight that made his heart ache.

“And then, there’s the sorghum candy and peach crisps. There are eight of you, so each gets three pieces of candy and half a peach crisp. Weijun, don’t eat more than your share. Hongmei, keep an eye on him.”

“Wow, we get peach crisps and sorghum candy!” Weijun’s face lit up with delight. The last time they’d had such treats was nearly a year ago during the New Year.

“Thank you, big brother,” Hongmei said, a rare smile breaking through her usually reserved demeanor as she looked at the new hair tie. She was an adolescent girl now, with a budding sense of beauty.

Watching the pair leave with their share of goodies, Xiao Weiguo popped a piece of sorghum candy into his own mouth.

He found it just as sticky as the kind he’d eaten as a child, and by modern standards, not very tasty at all.

But for the children of this time, it was still a rare treat.

Grabbing a sickle, Xiao Weiguo headed for the mountain. His grandfather had already gone to work, so he called to his grandmother, “Grandma, I’m going to cut some bamboo for fishing rods—maybe I’ll catch some fish.”

“Be careful, my dear boy,” she replied, tidying up the house.