Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life

Chapter 101 First Arrival

Zhou Cheng was awakened by a severe headache, as if his head had been opened and some enormous object had been shoved inside.

He opened his eyes.

Before him were several brown wooden planks, less than an arm's length from his face. Through the gaps in the planks, he could see a glimpse of military green cloth.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, I realized that this was the upper bunk bed board.

He was lying on a makeshift bunk bed made of wooden planks. The upper bunk was originally his, but he was sick and had temporarily taken his brother's lower bunk for easier care.

Zhou Cheng turned his head to the side, processing the surging memories in his mind while looking around the room.

The room was extremely cramped.

Besides this narrow and simple bunk bed, there is a double bed on the other side, a small desk, a five-drawer chest, and a few small stools, which fill the room to the brim, leaving only a small passageway for people to walk through.

He had lived two lives, and this was the first time he had ever lived in such a crowded place.

The house, with an average of about two square meters per person, is not much bigger than the toilet in his unfinished apartment.

The windows were also narrow, and light seeped in through the gaps in the yellowed old curtains, casting a dim yellow hue that made it hard to tell whether it was morning or night.

Soon, he absorbed all the memories from his body, and his eyes became even more profound.

This is Suzhou in 1977.

His name is now Zhuang Jingcheng, and he is nine years old this year. Hmm, another child starting out.

There are also many family members in this world.

Besides his parents, he has an older brother, Zhuang Tunan, who is one year older than him; and a younger sister, Zhuang Xiaoting, who is two years younger than him and has just started first grade.

"Being born directly into the protagonist's family makes the missions much easier. That should be considered a great start!"

Zhou Cheng muttered something to himself, then brought up the system panel.

【attribute】

Strength: 4/14

Physical condition: 4/15

Spirit: 20

Speed: 7/12

Coordination: 11

Free attribute: 0

【Skill】

【talent】

New Humans:

【Task】

Main theme: Gain absolute control over the market maker.

Side quest: Control other people's lives and receive rewards based on the degree of control and the character's importance.

There's not much to say about the attribute values.

He trained hard for a month in the real world, and his attributes finally reached their maximum. Now that he has transmigrated, his body has shrunk to that of a child, and his attributes have plummeted to a low point.

It will take a lot of effort to get back to his peak condition.

As for the main quest, he might have found it troublesome before transmigrating. After all, the transmigration identity is random, and if he transmigrates into someone who is not related to the Zhuang family, it would be really troublesome to gain absolute say in another family.

Now that they've become part of the dealer's operation, the task has become incredibly simple.

As long as one has money, power, and social status, the power of discourse will naturally fall into one's hands without even needing to do anything deliberately.

Side quests can just as easily control other people's lives.

In the end, everyone in this world, whether they are the protagonist or the supporting character, is just an ordinary person.

Dominating ordinary people, whether through thought, violence, power, or wealth, is incredibly simple.

Both tasks were quite easy, and Zhou Cheng felt completely at ease.

The throbbing pain in his brain continued, so he simply closed his eyes and began to sort through the original owner's memories and the plot.

"The People in the Alley" tells the story of the daily lives of the Zhuang and Lin families in a small alley in the residential area of ​​the Suzhou No. 20 Cotton Mill in the late 70s.

This drama skillfully sketches the grand outline of the changing times through the everyday details of life, such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, and family matters.

From the resumption of the college entrance examination to the reform and opening up, from the return of educated youth to the cities to the reform of state-owned enterprises, each historical juncture, like a stone thrown into water, has stirred up vastly different ripples in the fates of people from different social classes and with different personalities.

Just as Zhou Cheng was half-closing his eyes, letting his thoughts wander, a series of light footsteps brought him back to reality.

A small figure carrying a slightly bulky enamel basin walked into the room.

The basin of water was placed on the cement floor next to the bed, making a soft "thump".

The sound of wringing out water rang out, and soon a wet towel was placed on his forehead.

The cool towel jolted him awake.

A little girl stood by the bed, with two thin braids and wearing a faded floral blouse.

The sleeves of her blouse were a bit too short, revealing a slender wrist. Her face was only the size of a palm, with a pointed chin and little flesh, but her eyes were large and round, staring at him intently, her pupils filled with two bright pools of worry.

Zhuang Xiaoting.

His sister in this life.

"Second brother, is your fever any better?"

The little girl's voice was soft and gentle. As she asked, she took the towel down, soaked it again, wrung it out, carefully folded it into a long strip, and placed it on his forehead. Her movements were extremely careful and earnest.

"It's alright...the fever has gone down."

Zhou Cheng smiled at her.

He didn't actually have a fever; it was just that the awakening of his memories had shut down his brain.

As the memories gradually come together and the body adjusts, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Seeing the little girl's skeptical look, he couldn't help but reach out and rub her head.

The little girl was stunned for a moment, then pouted. The next second, her eyes crinkled into a smile, and she looked quite happy.

In her mind, since her second brother was in the mood to mess up her hair, he must be feeling better.

You see, she was terrified early this morning. She and her second brother were talking peacefully when she suddenly collapsed, her forehead and body burning hot.

Luckily it was Sunday and someone was home, otherwise she really wouldn't know what to do.

Zhuang Xiaoting looked at him carefully for a few moments, seemingly trying to determine in her own way whether he was really "okay".

She finally breathed a sigh of relief when Zhou Cheng showed a helpless expression.

The little girl took the towel, soaked it in water, and put it back on the bed before pushing the basin of water off the bed.

"Second brother, call me if you're not feeling well. I'll do my homework first."

The little girl's steps became much lighter, and she turned around to go to the desk, pulled out a chair and sat down.

She took out her notebook, opened it, and picked up a pencil. Her movements were very light, almost silent.

The room was quiet for a moment, with only the scratching sound of a pencil cutting through paper.

The little girl would glance back every now and then. Zhou Cheng wanted to take the towel off to get some fresh air, but as soon as he moved, she seemed to sense it and quickly turned around.

Helpless, he could only turn the towel over. Only then did a hint of satisfaction appear in the little girl's eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhuang Xiaoting changed two assignments, and the throbbing pain in Zhou Cheng's head had almost completely subsided.

Just as Zhou Cheng was about to take off the towel to wipe his face and get up, footsteps suddenly came from outside.

The dormitory is not well soundproofed. People are walking in the hallway, cooking in the corridor, and children are chasing, playing, and shouting. You can hear all of this clearly from inside the room.

Two footsteps approached, one of them very familiar. The footsteps grew closer and clearer.

The door opened.

A man walked in first.

The man was wearing a dark-colored Zhongshan suit jacket that had been washed slightly faded, with the collar buttoned up neatly and the cuffs meticulously fastened.

He has a typical square face, a regular side parting, wears black-rimmed glasses, and has a refined and gentle demeanor, appearing quite approachable.

Zhuang Chaoying.

His biological father in this life.

Zhuang Chaoying is only in his early thirties, not yet forty, but he already has a few gray hairs at his temples, making him look like he's in his forties.

It's rare to see someone with gray hair before the age of forty, but in this day and age it's perfectly normal.

This is still the result of him being a high school teacher who doesn't do much physical labor, and who usually pays attention to his appearance.

If it were other workers or rural people, they would only look older; it's not uncommon for someone in their thirties to look like they're in their fifties.

Zhou Cheng's gaze passed over Zhuang Chaoying and fell on the slightly overweight figure following behind him.

Grandma Zhuang.

Zhuang Chaoying's elderly mother, his grandmother in this life.

Before Zhuang Chaoying even entered the room, Zhuang Xiaoting heard footsteps, stood up from her chair, and called out "Dad" in a clear voice.

When Grandma Zhuang entered, her voice was a little softer, but she was still very polite: "Grandma."

Grandma Zhuang's face was already not very pleasant, and when she saw Zhuang Xiaoting for the first time after entering the room, her expression immediately became even more strained.

Her lips twitched down, and she mumbled a response, as if to say something unpleasant but unable to express it openly.

Zhou Cheng saw this scene and frowned deeply.

Through his memories, he knew that Grandma Zhuang disliked her granddaughter Xiaoting very much.

It wasn't just because Granny Zhuang herself favored boys over girls; to be honest, a large part of the reason also stemmed from him.

His adoptive father, Zhuang Chaoying, was a thoroughly blindly filial son who habitually sacrificed his own family to please his parents.

Despite his family of five struggling to make ends meet, he still sets aside a significant portion of his monthly salary to support his parents.

Before Zhuang Xiaoting was born, Zhuang Chaoying always used one-third of her salary.

After Zhuang Xiaoting was born, the family had another mouth to feed, making their already meager finances even more strained.

Left with no other choice, he reduced the amount of pension money he handed over to a quarter of his original amount.

Grandma Zhuang already disliked her granddaughter, and because her granddaughter's birth reduced her monthly allowance by seven or eight yuan, she naturally found Zhuang Xiaoting extremely displeasing.

Zhuang Xiaoting knew that Grandma Zhuang didn't like her, but she could only pretend not to know.

What no one knew was that if Zhou Cheng hadn't transmigrated and interfered, the Zhuang family would only have had one son and one daughter, namely Zhuang Tunan and Zhuang Xiaoting.

It was because of him that the family became even more impoverished, and it was also because of him that Granny Zhuang received less money each month.

In the original storyline, although Granny Zhuang still disliked Zhuang Xiaoting, she at least pretended to. Now that Zhou Cheng is involved, Zhuang Xiaoting is disliked even more, to the point that Granny Zhuang is too lazy to even pretend anymore.

"Xiaoting, come, go pour your grandma a glass of water."

As Zhuang Chaoying spoke, she took out a small paper packet from her breast pocket.

"This is fever reducer. Also, pour your second brother a glass of water and let him take one pill, but not too many."

Zhuang Xiaoting nodded obediently, took the pills, and turned to get a cup to pour water.

At this moment, Granny Zhuang said, "No need to pour me water, I'm in a hurry. Jingcheng isn't feeling well, so let's feed him his medicine first."

I said, "We're already inside, and Jingcheng didn't even greet us!"

Zhou Cheng remained silent.

Zhuang Chaoying wanted to remind Zhou Cheng, so he gave him a wink when he saw that Zhou Cheng was awake, but Zhou Cheng pretended not to notice.

Zhuang Xiaoting went to pour water. Grandma Zhuang only glanced at Zhou Cheng, showing no real concern, before speaking to her son: "I can't say anything about this on the way here. But, eldest son," her voice was neither loud nor soft, but carried a hint of dissatisfaction, "your wages for this month have been paid for several days now, haven't they? Why haven't you sent them over yet? I have to trouble my old bones to come all the way from home to pay for this."

Zhuang Chaoying lowered her head slightly and quickly explained, "Mom, I just received my salary the day before yesterday. There was so much going on at school yesterday, with students in class, I didn't have time. I was going to bring it to you today, Sunday, but Jingcheng has a high fever again, so I went to the clinic early this morning to get the medicine, and I just got back—"

""

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Zhou Cheng on the bed, as if to prove that he was not lying.

Grandma Zhuang didn't say anything, but her expression softened a bit.

"I know you're a filial son and wouldn't delay without a reason. The reason I came here this time is because I was worried that something might have happened to your family." She conveniently gave herself a way out.

Zhou Cheng, lying on the bed, wanted to roll his eyes at the thought.

The way he asked for money just now showed absolutely no concern.

A normal person could tell that Granny Zhuang was just trying to make amends, but Zhuang Chaoying just fell for it.

"I know Mom, you're not doing this for the money..."

"

He reached into the inner pocket of his clothes and pulled out a neat stack of bills, which looked to be several dozen yuan.

These days, the largest denomination is still the ten-dollar "Great Unity" note. Zhuang Chaoying received seventy dollars in salary this month, spent a few cents on medicine, and had a little over sixty-nine dollars left.

Grandma Zhuang's gaze fell on the colorful array of items, and her eyes involuntarily lit up.

Zhuang Chaoying counted out eighteen yuan and handed it to Grandma Zhuang, "Mom, it's still eighteen yuan, this month's."

Grandma Zhuang took the money with a beaming smile. She carefully counted each bill, then tucked it into her bosom. Her gaze then fell on Zhuang Chaoying's hand, and her expression changed instantly, like the weather in June.

"You even have a whole number for Mom! It's just two ten-yuan bills, why are you making such a fuss! Your dad and I worked so hard to raise you, to help you get married and start your own family, and you're so stingy with just two extra dollars!"

Grandma Zhuang's tone became sharp.

Zhuang Chaoying opened his mouth, he didn't expect his mother's expression to change so quickly.

However, he didn't dare to argue, and just said with a bitter face, "Mom, it's not that I'm reluctant, it's just that we agreed from the beginning that it would be eighteen yuan."

Grandma Zhuang glanced at him sideways: "You said it was agreed? You said it would be twenty-five, but it still turned into eighteen, didn't it?"

Zhuang Chao hesitated for a moment before speaking in English: "Mom, we used to pay one-third because there were only two little ones in the family."

Now we have three children.

He spoke earnestly: "Tu Nan is at the age where he's growing rapidly and has a huge appetite. Xiao Ting and Jing Cheng can't go hungry either. The rations for the three children are far from enough, and we have to buy expensive grain from private vendors to make up the difference. If we have to pay another third of that, how can these children bear it?"

"1

Grandma Zhuang scoffed. She glanced at Zhuang Xiaoting, who was standing by Zhou Cheng's bedside, blowing on the water to cool her second brother down after pouring hot water into an enamel mug, and said, "Raising another child won't cost seven or eight yuan a month. When I raised you, it didn't even cost four or five yuan a month. Now in the rural areas, you can raise a child for two yuan a month!"

Zhuang Chaoying smiled bitterly: "Mom, times have changed! In the city, rations are scarce, food is expensive, and there are many expenses. Even in the village, two yuan a month—is that how you raise a child like a human being?"

Granny Zhuang snorted, "What, are you saying I'm not human? As long as I'm alive, that's enough, isn't it?"

As she said this, her gaze remained fixed on Zhuang Xiaoting.

In those days, a difference of seven or eight yuan could make a significant difference in living standards. She could have lived a more comfortable life, but the arrival of that brat Zhuang Xiaoting made things less comfortable for her.

While Grandma Zhuang was speaking, Zhuang Xiaoting kept her head down.

She blew on the water while holding the cup in her hands, enduring the heat, and using her palms to draw away more heat.

"Second brother, it's time to take your medicine."

Her voice was still soft and gentle, as if she couldn't hear her grandmother's words at all.

Zhou Cheng took off the towel, propped himself up on his arms, and handed the towel to Zhuang Xiaoting.

Zhuang Xiaoting took the towel with one hand and handed over the medicine with the other.

The fever reducer wrapped in the paper was a large white pill, the kind that's easy for a child to choke on; it looked like aminopyrine.

Zhou Cheng knew his own problems; he was just pretending to take medicine.

The medicine was placed directly into the system space.

He simply took a sip of water to moisten his throat.

At this point, Zhuang Chaoying stopped talking, but Granny Zhuang felt she was right and became even more enthusiastic.

She scolded Zhuang Chaoying as she had when she was a child: "It's good enough that you can even raise people. With so many children, what kind of children do you want them to be? If you want to raise them well, you should have fewer children. If you had this thought in mind back then, after you had your daughter, you should have asked around and found out who didn't have children, and given away your money-losing baby earlier!"

Upon hearing Granny Zhuang's words, Zhuang Chaoying's expression changed.

He was indeed blindly filial, but he still loved his children quite a bit. Besides, he had two sons and only one daughter, and he actually loved his daughter a little more than his second son, Zhuang Jingcheng.

Even though Zhuang Chaoying's expression changed, she didn't dare to show any displeasure to Granny Zhuang.

That hesitant look of wanting to say something really made Zhou Cheng feel frustrated.

Zhuang Chaoying was concerned about this and that, but Zhou Cheng didn't want to care about any of that.

When Granny Zhuang came to ask for money, she spoke in a sarcastic and insincere tone, saying that she didn't care, but she couldn't say to his face that the Zhuang family's daughter was a money-loser.

Zhuang Xiaoting pursed her lips tightly, her eyes just beginning to redden, and before tears could even fall, Zhou Cheng had already grabbed the cup in his hand and smashed it directly at Zhuang's feet.

Clang!

With a metallic clang, the enamel mug bounced high into the air, splashing steaming water everywhere.

Grandma Zhuang was startled and cried out "Ouch!" She almost jumped up.