Reborn in the 60s, I hunt to support my family and even seduce the village beauty.

An old woman was walking along the path, carrying a bamboo basket, as if she was about to go out.

Upon seeing Chang Kun and Cheng Min, two strangers, he paused for a moment, then stood there sizing them up.

In this small mountain village, outsiders are rarely seen.

Especially their clothes; although they were covered in dust from riding their bikes all the way, the fabric and style of their clothes clearly indicated they were from the city.

In particular, the two of them were riding bicycles, which were precious items; there wasn't a single one in the entire village.

Chang Kun pushed the cart over and nodded to the old woman.

"Auntie, I have something to ask you."

The old woman shook her head, waved her hand, and uttered a few words, but Cheng Min couldn't understand a single one.

"Ouch!" She slapped her thigh. "We can't understand a word the people here are saying!!"

This is troublesome; the two of them have no choice but to go into the mountains and search everywhere.

Chang Kun smiled slightly and spoke fluent Cantonese: "Auntie, I'd like to ask if there's a woman in the village with the surname Sun, or some other surname, who has a son who is seventeen or eighteen years old."

Cheng Min stared at Chang Kun with wide eyes, remaining silent for a long time.

She's becoming increasingly unable to understand her husband. He talks to her like an old woman in some nonsensical language, and she doesn't understand a word he says.

The old woman glanced at him twice, then turned her gaze to Cheng Min, looking her up and down with increasing astonishment.

"You...you're looking for Sun Xiulan? This girl looks just like her!"

The old woman pointed at Cheng Min, clicking her tongue in amazement.

Cheng Min was startled and stared intently at the old woman.

Chang Kun grasped her hand and asked calmly, "Does Auntie know her?"

The old woman nodded and pointed to the back of the village: "Go from here, and that dilapidated house at the very back is her home. She's raising her son alone; she's having a very hard time."

"Thank you, big sister." Chang Kunchong nodded to her and pushed the cart toward the back.

Cheng Min followed behind him, her steps a little unsteady.

The two walked a dozen steps when they heard the old woman muttering to herself behind them. Her voice wasn't loud, but Chang Kun could hear it clearly.

"Sun Xiulan...where did this wealthy relative come from?"

Chang Kun paused for a moment, but didn't turn around and continued walking forward.

The path was muddy, making it difficult to push a bicycle. There were mud walls on both sides, some of which had collapsed halfway.

As you walk to the very back, there is indeed a dilapidated house.

The walls were made of adobe and the roof was made of straw. There were several cracks in the walls, which were covered with mud but then cracked again.

The door was made of a few broken wooden planks nailed together, hanging crookedly. The window had no glass, just a tattered cloth covering it, the original color of which was no longer discernible.

Cheng Min stood in front of the dilapidated house, stunned.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. I raised my hand to wipe them away, but they kept flowing. No matter how much I wiped, they wouldn't stop.

Chang Kun stood to the side, saying nothing, but holding Cheng Min's hand tightly.

The dilapidated house was quiet, the door was bolted shut from the outside, and there was no one inside.

Cheng Min felt her legs go weak and slumped against Chang Kun.

This is where her mother lived; after more than ten years, she finally found it.

"Sit down and wait a while. Maybe Mother will be back soon. Save your tears for later."

Cheng Min glared at Chang Kun, annoyed: "He's feeling down right now, and you're making sarcastic remarks."

"What nonsense! I'm telling the absolute truth. When you see your mother later, won't you cry?"

Chang Kun was trying various methods to persuade Cheng Min when footsteps sounded behind him.

The two of them turned around abruptly and saw the old woman from before.

The old woman stepped forward, looked at the dilapidated house, then at Cheng Min, and sighed.

"You'll wait here until dark, but Xiulan and her son went up the mountain today."

Chang Kun frowned: "Go up the mountain? To gather firewood or do some other work?"

The old woman shook her head, her expression somewhat complicated: "It's not about gathering firewood, it's about going to fight."

"A fight?" Chang Kun exclaimed in surprise.

Cheng Min was stunned, tears still on her face, and didn't react for a moment.

"Auntie, what's going on?" Chang Kun asked in a deep voice.

The old woman sighed and pointed towards the back of the village.

"Our village has been competing with the neighboring village for water for quite some time now. This year, the drought is severe, and there isn't enough water in the ditch for both villages. The two production teams have been discussing it but haven't reached a conclusion..."

"Later, according to the old custom, each of the two villages sent three people to fight. The winner would have three days' worth of water, and the loser would have to wait for the next round."

Chang Kun frowned even more deeply.

"Fight? How could you do something like that?!"

The old woman sighed and shook her head: "What else can we do? The land is all dry, and the rice in the fields is waiting for water to survive. It's the old custom. Things are much better now than before. It's just that three people fighting doesn't result in death. In the past, it would have been a bloodbath!"

She paused, then glanced at Cheng Min again.

"Originally, this matter had little to do with Xiulan's family, but now that her son has grown up, and since they are outsiders, they have to do good for the village if they want to establish themselves there. There's no other way..."

The old woman's words were incoherent, but Chang Kun understood them and relayed them to Cheng Min.

Cheng Min's lips trembled: "Ask her... what's Xiulan's son's name?"

Upon hearing the name "Cheng Xin," Cheng Min burst into tears.

That was the name her father gave her. When she was little, her father often talked about it, saying that he named his little brother this so that he would be an honest person and live a down-to-earth life.

She covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud.

Chang Kun pulled her into his arms, gently patted her back, and kept his eyes fixed on the old woman.

"Auntie, where are they now?"

The old woman pointed towards the mountain: "At the very top of that ravine behind the mountain, I wonder if a fight has broken out there yet."

Without hesitation, Chang Kun leaned his bicycle against the wall, grabbed Cheng Min, and ran.

The old woman called out from behind, "Young man, be careful, there are a lot of people over there!!"

Chang Kun waved his hand without turning his head.

Cheng Min was being dragged along, stumbling and falling, her feet aching from the stones.

At that moment, she didn't care about the pain; she just ran desperately until she was out of breath, tears streaming down her face.

That's her younger brother.

The younger brother I've been searching for for over a decade.

At this time, they were fighting to the death for the village's water.

……

The back mountain.

Two groups of people faced each other across a dry ditch, with a flat, bare patch of ground in between.

Sun Xiulan stood at the front of the crowd, her hands clenched together, her knuckles white.

Her eyes were fixed on the thin figure in the center of the field.

That's her son.

He was seventeen years old, as thin as a bamboo pole, and when he stood there, he would sway in the wind.

Standing opposite him was the strongest man from the next village, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, standing there like an iron tower.

Three people from each of the two villages were paired up by drawing lots.

Of the three people in her village, her son was the thinnest and weakest.

The other two were the strongest young man in the village and a seasoned hunter.

But when they drew lots, her son's match happened to be with the strongest guy from the next village.