On the loess plateau, beneath the blue skies and drifting white clouds, thin curls of cooking smoke rose from the corner of a mountain valley. Sat between it a humble village , simple and quiet. A few children in patched-up clothes, obviously hand-me-downs from adults, ran and played along the narrow mountain path. Though their clothes were full of stitches and mends, their laughter still brimmed with childish innocence.
Sitting at the slope in front of a mud-brick house was a thin, sallow-faced boy. His lips twisted bitterly as he gazed at this plain countryside scenery.
"Just like that… I've suddenly been reborn? But this kind of life… it's better not to be reborn at all."
Only a few days ago, Cheng Feng had been drinking in a bar, reveling in neon lights and music. After one too many glasses, he blacked out. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a straw mat, his head pounding. He barely stayed awake before slipping back into a heavy sleep.
When he woke once more, the headache was gone, but the memories in his mind nearly scared him senseless—he had been reborn into the body of a sickly boy who had just died.
Perhaps it was fate. Coincidentally, this boy's name was also Cheng Feng.
From skyscrapers and bustling traffic to towering mountains and winding dirt paths, from smartphones, internet, and games to this backwater village with nothing but smoke and silence—Cheng Feng could only feel speechless at the cruel contrast.
Hearing movement inside the house, he brushed the dust from his ill-fitting, patched-up clothes and slowly pushed open the wooden fence.
A thin-faced woman set down a bowl of green vegetable soup and half a coarse grass cake onto a worn table.
"Er Gou, come eat. After you're done, clean up yourself. I need to bring food to your father and elder brother. Your third brother's share is still in the pot. Keep an eye on the house."
With that, she hastily slung a basket over her back and left.
Cheng Feng instinctively answered and watched her go. He knew well—his family's farmland was far away, so his mother had to deliver lunch early, or else his father and eldest brother wouldn't be able to finish their afternoon's work.
Looking at the green soup before him, Cheng Feng could only grit his teeth and drink it down, no matter how tasteless it was. For the past few days, this had been his only option. To refuse food would raise suspicions with the boy's parents—and he couldn't afford that.
During this time of recuperation, Cheng Feng carefully observed everything around him, adjusting his behavior to blend in. After all, he was a modern man who had lived over twenty years in peace and prosperity. He wasn't so foolish as to expose himself carelessly in this strange place.
Fortunately, both his body and mentality had recovered somewhat. As an adult, he understood that complaining was useless and might even bring disaster. He had no path of retreat—if he wanted to live, he could only adapt and start anew. With no strength and no skills, wandering outside was as good as courting death.
Especially after learning that this era was plagued with natural disasters and swarming refugees—just surviving was already a blessing.
He did, however, have one advantage: the knowledge of a modern man, centuries ahead of this world. With that, his future wouldn't necessarily be bleak.
As he sipped the bland soup, Cheng Feng silently set himself a small goal: first, he had to eat meat. The poverty of ancient life had already dulled his tongue to the point of despair.
No phone, no internet—that was tolerable, since infrastructure couldn't be helped. But to go his whole life without tasting the delicacies of his homeland? That, he could never accept.
From his parents' late-night conversations, he also learned of the family's dire situation—savings and grain stores were running low.
He quickly grasped the currency system:
Ten copper coins equaled one large coin.
Ten large coins equaled one tael of silver.
Ten taels of silver equaled one tael of gold.
He'd never even seen gold, only knew it was said to shine brilliantly. To translate it into modern terms: one copper coin was like ten yuan, one large coin was a hundred, one tael of silver was a thousand, and one tael of gold was ten thousand.
But when he compared that to prices here, his scalp went numb—five jin of coarse grains cost one large coin, while just two jin of white flour also cost one large coin. Outrageous! But then again, with productivity this low, what else could he expect?
Life was hard. Cheng Feng could only sigh.
This was far, far from the life he had dreamed of.
The Cheng family had five members. His elder brother, Cheng Shu, already followed their father to work the fields. Cheng Feng himself was the second son, considered useless, only able to lend a hand now and then. The youngest brother, fourteen-year-old Cheng Lei, could do most chores except the heaviest labor.
In these rural parts, children matured early—some married at sixteen or seventeen, a few even as young as fourteen. There were even cases of child brides and "marriage to ward off illness." As long as you handed the authorities some silver, no one would intervene. The law here was little more than decoration.
This village was called Liujia(Liu Family) Village. As the name suggested, most of the households here bore the Liu surname. The Cheng family's ancestors had fled famine a hundred years ago and settled down here. Over time, many other outsiders had also put down roots.
Neighbors lived some distance apart. That space kept relations simple and peaceful.
Not long after, his younger brother came running back. From the doorway, Cheng Feng spotted him among a group of children returning from the road.
"Second Brother," the boy greeted before rushing inside to dig food out of the pot.
There was little entertainment in the mountains; survival was the only melody of life. Those with ability or connections left for the outside world, while the rest stayed behind.
Watching his little brother wolf down food, Cheng Feng asked curiously, "Shitou, where did you go this time?"
"Back mountain, of course. Checking if the traps caught a rabbit." Shitou—that was his younger brother's nickname. In the family, everyone used it naturally.
The children of the village usually spent their free time chasing rabbits and catching birds in the hills. Beyond two ridges, there was even a river where they fetched water, caught fish, and played.
As long as they went out at noon and returned by dusk, no one cared. Village kids weren't pampered like city ones. If the family had money, they'd be sent to private school; if not, they might apprentice under a craftsman. And if neither, then they simply farmed the land honestly.
The Cheng family was among the honest ones. No connections, no wealth, no backing. They had fled here for survival—and so long as they could keep living, that was already enough.
Cheng Feng was also pondering over his so-called advantages. The current situation was harsh to the extreme.
In his previous life, he had only been an ordinary man—good temperament, average skills. Back then, being able to make a slick PowerPoint might have counted for something. But here? Useless.
He couldn't outrun rabbits, didn't dare climb for bird nests in case he fell, and was terrified of drowning if he tried catching fish or shrimp. After all, the old saying went: "Those who drown are always the ones who know how to swim."
All the experiences from his past life were utterly worthless here. Sure, he had often watched short videos about "life hacks" and "DIY crafts," but actually doing them? He wouldn't even know where to find the tools. Knowing the principle was pointless if you couldn't apply it.
Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron; carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon—yes, he could recite the periodic table. But so what?! What damn use was it here?!
Right now, the most important things were earning money and filling his stomach. Yet he couldn't endure hardship, couldn't do heavy labor. His only edge was his modern knowledge…
But when he thought about it again, he sighed. Knowledge that couldn't be used was nothing but a burden.