Returning to 1949, I decided to hand it over to the state.

The floor inside the rented room was cold.

Jiang Fan sat cross-legged, his face beaming with excitement as he frantically opened the delivery box.

As a hardcore science popularization blogger, in this superficial world where traffic is soaring, gaining followers is harder than climbing to heaven.

After a year of hard work, he barely managed to gain over 30,000 followers.

At first, he only thought of it as a hobby, but unexpectedly, three days ago he miraculously received his first business order.

Reviewing a watch.

If you're going to sell products, you have to be responsible to your fans and personally test them out.

The box was opened, and the packaging was quite impressive.

Beneath layers of foam lay a watch-shaped object.

But it only has a round dial, with a contrasting white and green color scheme and a glossy material. At first glance, it exudes a strong sense of technology.

Jiang Fan weighed the light watch face in his hand and thought to himself: It's quite nice.

He picked up his phone casually, intending to send a message to the merchant: "Received, will start testing now."

With a tap of the fingertip, a red exclamation mark popped up on the screen!

The message has been sent, but the recipient has rejected it.

"???"

Jiang Fan was stunned.

What kind of crazy operation is this? They accepted the order, shipped the goods, and then blocked me?

Forced freebies?

Three question marks flashed through his mind, but he quickly felt relieved.

Since it's not my loss anyway, I can just return the way I came after the test.

He tossed his phone aside, picked up the strange watch face, and tried it on his wrist.

How do I secure it without a strap?

The thought had barely formed when a bizarre scene unfolded.

Suddenly, a liquid metal-like substance surged from both sides of the watch face, like a living thing, winding and wrapping around his wrist, instantly enveloping his entire wrist completely.

"Sizzle—!"

A blinding blue light erupted, and the next moment, Jiang Fan found himself in a white space.

All around, there was a vast expanse of white, boundless and blindingly bright.

He raised his hand to shield his eyes, and through his fingers, he could vaguely see the outline of a door in front of him.

Above that door, a string of fluorescent numbers floated:

【72:00:00】

Countdown?

Jiang Fan's heart skipped a beat.

Only after his eyes gradually adjusted to the bright light did Jiang Fan tentatively take two steps, but all he could see was white.

He looked at the watch on his wrist again. The watch face was black. He tried to take it off, but it wouldn't budge no matter what he did, as if it had become a part of his body.

Several strange phenomena made Jiang Fan feel a little scared.

But his strong mental fortitude prevented him from losing his composure.

"Could it be that I've entered some kind of space, and I can get out as long as I find a way out?"

He recalled the science fiction videos he had made and the idea popped into his head.

But after searching around, the only differences were the door and the numbers on it.

After much deliberation, Jiang Fan decided to walk out through this door.

Since we don't know what use this room is for, leaving is the right choice.

Without any hesitation, he turned the doorknob.

Stepping out, a flash of white light appeared, as if passing through an invisible film of water, before the white light suddenly dissipated.

"...The People's Liberation Army is great! Life is getting better and better now. My husband said Ansteel is hiring again..."

A cacophony of voices assaulted my ears.

Jiang Fan opened his eyes; the stinging sensation had disappeared.

He found himself standing outside a low, mud-brick house.

The roof is covered with black tiles, coal is neatly stacked in the corner of the courtyard, and red peppers and garlic braids hang from the roof beams.

The most striking features are the wooden lattice windows covered with white paper under the eaves and the two sturdy stone blocks at the entrance.

This style... seems familiar.

But he was certain that he had never set foot in such a place before.

He then subconsciously looked at his wrist.

The watch screen actually lit up.

The previously black interface now displays a simple countdown: [71:58:23].

At the very top of the countdown, a clear date line loomed over his pupils.

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

fuck!

What the hell... where the hell did I get here?!

He blinked hard, repeatedly confirming.

That's right, it was June 1, 1949!

He tried to find the mechanism to see if there was a problem with the dial, but found that it was still perfectly integrated with his wrist.

A wave of shock washed over me; I had no idea what was going on.

But reason prevailed over impulse.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the overwhelming horror, I immediately looked around.

In the distance, the outlines of gray factory buildings stretched out in undulating waves, with wisps of white smoke rising gently.

Nearby, there are rows of similar low-rise bungalows.

The most urgent task is to find out the situation.

Is it a hallucination?

Or...did we really go back to seventy-seven years ago?

It's pointless to argue with a broken watch.

Just then, the wooden door behind them opened, and a slightly wary female voice came out, carrying a heavy Northeastern accent:

"Young man, who are you looking for?"

Jiang Fan shuddered and turned around abruptly.

Inside the door, two middle-aged women wearing diagonally-buttoned cloth jackets were staring intently at him, the uninvited guest, as they gripped iron shovels tightly in their hands.

Northeastern accent!

Jiang Fan's tense mind instantly calmed down.

Alright, regardless of whether they're from the same hometown or not, let's try to get on their good side first.

He instantly forgot about Mandarin and switched to the thick Northeastern accent ingrained in his DNA, a憨厚 smile spreading across his face as he waved his hands and backed away repeatedly:

"Oh my god, Auntie, it's me, Tiger! This is my dad, Tiezhu. He lives in that village next door. I was just passing by today and thought I'd drop by to see you!"

His name isn't Tiger, and his father's name isn't Iron Pillar either.

He was born in Shenzhen. Although his ancestral home is in Northeast China, he only stayed with his great-grandfather until he was eight years old, and never returned after that.

But once you learn Northeastern dialect, it's for life.

Calling himself Tiger was purely a quick wit.

These days, which village in Northeast China doesn't have a couple of people named Tiger?

When faced with wary locals, trying to get on their good side is the only way to reduce their hostility and survive.

Sure enough, the two aunties exchanged a glance, their tense shoulders visibly relaxed, and their hands holding the shovels lowered slightly.

The one with the loudest voice looked him up and down, somewhat skeptical.

"Tiger? Iron Pillar? Which Iron Pillar? There are tons of people named Iron Pillar around here!"

Another aunt's eyes darted around, as if she had suddenly remembered something. She nudged her companion with her elbow and lowered her voice just enough for Jiang Fan to hear:

"Oh, Sister Su, what are you thinking? It's that village next door, the one where Old Li's wife's family is from, right, Tiezhu?"

"I think there was a guy named Hu Zi, and his dad was a coworker at Anshan Iron and Steel Plant, just like your husband!"

"It seems you were transferred to Shenyang for construction work a few months ago. You even told me back then that being literate was a good thing, that's why you were able to go to Shenyang."

A divine assist!

Jiang Fan silently thanked his lucky stars.

Once this relationship is established, trust levels skyrocket.

After exchanging a few more casual pleasantries, Jiang Fan learned that one of them was surnamed Su and the other was surnamed Li.

He addressed her as "Aunt Su" and "Aunt Li" so affectionately that the two aunties immediately lowered their guard and warmly invited him into the house.

"Oh my, it really is Tiger from Tiezhu's family! Look at this child, why is he still standing outside? Come in quickly, come in quickly!"

Jiang Fan quickly and modestly agreed, then bowed his head and stepped over the threshold.

Inside the room was a huge heated kang bed, covered with reed mats. It was the height of summer, so the kang was not heated.

His aunt warmly pressed him down onto the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and she got up to pour him some water.

But Jiang Fan's gaze was involuntarily drawn to something on the square table beside the kang (a heated brick bed).

It was a calendar tied with a red string.

He couldn't help but lean closer and clearly see the words and patterns printed on the calendar cover.

Anshan Iron and Steel Company, 1949

There is also a line of smaller text below:

[Commemorating the official establishment of Anshan Iron and Steel Company]

Jiang Fan's heart began to pound violently once again.

As a science popularization blogger, how could he be unfamiliar with the history of modern industry, especially the history of Anshan Iron and Steel Group?

This calendar is clearly a souvenir distributed to all employees after the establishment of Ansteel.

He had seen it in the archives and online, but he had never seen such a brand new and authentic version.

The immense shock made his Adam's apple bob, and he couldn't help but swallow hard.

Holy crap...

Now, we've truly returned to 1949!