Starting from 1950

The next day.

Su Yang woke up early.

He still hadn't adjusted to the sleep rhythm he'd developed on the battlefield, and after a night of chaotic dreams, he felt somewhat exhausted.

I decided to linger in bed until the morning.

Wu Xinxue had already gone to work. She had specially left breakfast for Su Yang: two steamed buns and a small dish of pickled vegetables, which she kept warm in a pot.

Su Yang quickly washed up, ate breakfast, and decided to take a stroll first before going to the factory in the afternoon.

"call out!"

He had just opened the door when he heard a whooshing sound overhead. Xiaoyu swooped down, tossed the rabbit she was holding to Su Yang, and with another graceful somersault, slowed down and landed on the railing at the door.

"Coo coo coo!"

Su Yang caught the rabbit, which was almost as heavy as Xiao Yu, and laughed, "Really? Then our family will be relying on you for meat from now on!"

Xiaoyu just said that hunting here is much easier than on the battlefield. You only need to fly a dozen kilometers and you don't have to worry about being shot.

After instructing Xiaoyu that she was free to move around, Su Yang went downstairs, pushed his bicycle, and walked out of the family compound.

"Hey! Su Yang? It really is you! You're back!"

Old Xie spotted Su Yang immediately and greeted him with delight, patting him on the shoulder forcefully: "I was wondering why Xinxue was skipping and hopping so energetically to work. Good lad! You've made something of yourself! I heard you're fighting those foreign devils over there?"

"Tell me quickly! What was the battlefield like? Was it scary?"

"What does a tank look like? How big is an airplane? Have you ever seen one?"

Although Old Xie had served in the army before, he had only done odd jobs in the Marshal's Mansion and had never been on the battlefield, much less seen airplanes or tanks, so he couldn't help but be curious.

Su Yang, somewhat overwhelmed by Old Xie's enthusiasm, rolled his eyes and said, "I have to go to work, I don't have time to chat with you, make way!"

He pushed his bicycle around Old Xie and headed outside.

"Hey! This kid! Not only has he gotten stronger since coming off the battlefield, but his temper has also gotten worse." Old Xie muttered from behind.

......

Instead of going to work first, Su Yang rode his bike to the central area of ​​Tiexi.

On Tiexi Street in the morning, the sunlight was thin and the chill was still biting.

Su Yang rode his old-fashioned bicycle, the wheels grinding against the frozen road surface, making a monotonous creaking sound.

He deliberately slowed down, his gaze sweeping over the familiar streets.

The streets seemed more solemn than I remembered.

Pedestrians were still in a hurry, but their expressions were less leisurely and more focused and tinged with worry.

The most eye-catching things are the newly posted slogans and banners everywhere, with bright red lettering that stands out against the white or gray walls.

"The factory is the battlefield, and the machines are the guns!" This banner hangs at the entrance of a machinery factory. Workers always look up at it when they come in and out, and after reading it, they seem to quicken their pace.

"As long as the Yalu River doesn't dry up, production will continue!" Another slogan was posted next to the window of a state-run store, with strong and powerful characters.

More often, the writing is done on the walls along the street, painted on with lime or paint:

"For every extra pound of grain produced and every extra cent donated, fewer lives will be shed by the frontline soldiers!"

"Saving a grain of rice and a mouthful of food is all for the good sons and daughters on the front lines!"

"Those with money should contribute money, those with strength should contribute strength, and those with resources should contribute resources; let's work together to protect our country!"

These simple words, like silent bugles, echo through the streets of the peaceful city, reminding everyone that hundreds of kilometers away, the flames of war are still burning, and the soldiers are still defending the peace here with their flesh and blood.

Su Yang glanced at each slogan in a cursory manner.

He pushed his cart to Tiexi Square. The sculpture in the center of the square still stood, but there seemed to be fewer children playing around it. The elderly people who were taking a stroll gathered together, and their conversations mostly revolved around news from the front lines and their family's savings plans.

An atmosphere of shared hatred and indignation enveloped the place, quite different from when he left.

Just then, Su Yang's gaze was drawn to the long queue that had formed in front of the bank across the square.

The line snaked and twisted, stretching from the bank entrance all the way to the edge of the square, probably numbering in the hundreds.

People, dressed in thick cotton-padded coats, wearing cotton hats or scarves, waited quietly in the cold wind.

There were workers, cadres, housewives carrying shopping baskets, and even elderly people with gray hair being helped by their families.

"What are they doing?" Su Yang wondered, pushing the cart closer.

He saw a middle-aged man in overalls, his face smudged with oil, just coming out of the bank, clutching a small receipt in his hand, his face showing a relieved yet proud expression.

A young woman holding a child nearby asked, "Sir, have you donated? How much did you donate?"

"We donated! We donated half a month's salary!" the man's voice boomed. "We can't do the physical labor on the front lines, but we can't even afford some money? Let's make sure our comrades on the front lines eat well and fight off more of those foreign devils!"

"That makes sense!" an elderly woman with gray hair and a cane chimed in. She shakily pulled a small cloth bag from her bosom, unfolding it to reveal several silver coins and a pair of old but brightly polished silver bracelets. "This old woman has no salary; these are the last things I keep, for the country, for our soldiers!"

This scene stirred a burning passion in Su Yang's heart.

He recalled how, in Junyu-ri and Sansuo-ri, soldiers ate frozen fried noodles as they charged into battle in sub-zero temperatures; he remembered his comrades who, lacking heavy firepower, had to use their own flesh and blood to blow up tanks and block gun emplacements.

Their blood was not shed in vain; those behind the lines deserve their protection.

He subconsciously touched his pocket.

Inside was his and Wu Xinxue's joint bankbook, with a substantial amount of over 1235 million yuan!

This was the savings he and Wu Xinxue had accumulated over a year in Shenzhou. They originally intended to withdraw some money to buy some good food to satisfy their hunger.

But now...

He looked down at himself, then at the crowd in line, and a surge of emotion welled up inside him.

He propped up his bicycle and silently stood at the end of the line.

The men, women, and children at the front stood ramrod straight, no one complained, and the line moved slowly forward.

Su Yang stood in line, but his thoughts drifted back to the battlefield.

Scenes of artillery fire, billowing smoke, and comrades charging forward with shouts flashed through my mind, forming a stark contrast to the silent support under the peaceful street scene before me.

At this moment, feelings of patriotism and national sentiment become incredibly concrete and profound.

To be honest, when Su Yang first transmigrated, his idea was very simple: to find a decent and easy job and then just laze around.

Anyway, with his advantage of being prescient, as long as he doesn't do anything outrageous, he can live better than most people in this era.

Especially after becoming a pest control officer in the security department of Limin Flour Factory, he has been planning to lie low for the next thirty years.

Thirty years later, when the reform and opening up took place, he would only be in his early forties. At that time, he would use his advantage as a time traveler to stir up trouble again.

But plans can never keep up with changes, and no one can remain unaffected by the tides of the times.

Especially after being drawn into the war on the other side of the river, he dared not harbor any more illusions.

He witnessed too much of the cruelty of the battlefield; people who were laughing and joking with him one day were blown to pieces by artillery shells the next...

What he had seen in textbooks and movies in his previous life became concrete before his eyes. It was no longer a light, detached perspective, but something he could see, touch, and experience firsthand.

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, a slightly surprised voice rang out: "Young man, didn't your parents come? Can you make this decision yourself?"

Su Yang looked up and realized that he had unknowingly arrived at the bank entrance with the group.

In front of them was a long table, behind which sat a woman and two men. The one who spoke was the woman in the middle wearing a Lenin suit.