All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Zhang Peng said indifferently.

"A slightly higher price is fine. I don't want to operate on a low-profit, high-volume model. This way, it's good for me and makes things easier. But, buddy, if you want some, just say so. Don't look at me like that!"

The young man smiled sheepishly and said helplessly.

"Dude, to be honest, I haven't made a single sale yet, and I don't even have ten yuan in my pocket. How about I trade you some gluten?"

Zhang Peng glanced at the gluten, shook his head helplessly, turned on the stove, and said to the young man.

"Never mind, I'll treat you. What do you want to eat?"

The young man's eyes lit up, and he chuckled, thanking the man while pointing at the fried rice.

"I want fried rice, buddy. Can you add more rice? I haven't had dinner yet!"

Zhang Peng shook his head helplessly and started to get busy. This fried rice meal helped to bring the two of them closer. The young man was named Wu Xing, 24 years old, so Zhang Peng called him Xiao Wu.

From that day on, the two became friends. Every day, wherever Zhang Peng set up his stall, Xiao Wu would be right next to him, chatting and smoking, and the night would pass by in a flash.

Zhang Peng's business gradually opened up as his old customers started to drive growth, but it was far from booming. He sold about 20 to 30 servings a day, mostly from old customers bringing in new customers, who were mostly young people.

New customers passing by rarely come in specifically to buy; most order a plate of fried noodles by chance, only to see the price when they are about to pay. They then complain a bit, pay, and leave.

However, seeing that business was slowly improving, Zhang Peng was not in a hurry. He had only been setting up his stall for a week, and his daily profit was already over a hundred yuan. At least he had some income now.

Zhang Peng wasn't in a hurry because he had started watching TV series on his phone recently, which was naturally influenced by Xiao Wu.

If Zhang Peng's business was so-so, just getting by, then Xiao Wu's business could only be described in two words.

"dismal!"

True warriors dare to face the bleakness of life, and Xiao Wu is such a person. The reason he only goes out to set up his stall after 10 p.m. is because most of the management fees are collected before 10 p.m., so he doesn't have the pressure of rent.

As for his business, he admitted that when business was good, he could sell for a hundred yuan or so, and when business was bad, he could only sell for a few yuan. Anyway, Zhang Peng never saw him change those gluten pieces. They were always wilted and limp. If he couldn't sell them, he would soak them in water overnight and they would be plump again.

So, every night when he had nothing to do, Xiao Wu would pick up his phone and start watching dramas. As his neighbor, Zhang Peng was also influenced when he had nothing to do. Thinking about the world in his dreams, Zhang Peng felt that he should also watch some dramas. Maybe he would be influenced and enter the world of a certain drama.

Although I may enter certain worlds and the characters in those worlds may be affected by me, due to the butterfly effect, everyone's fate and mentality will no longer be the same as in the original story, but no matter how different they are, it is better to know more about the plot and characters than to be completely blind.

Although he doesn't seem to enter many dreams now, Zhang Peng has discovered some patterns. When he enters the dream world, he seems to be influenced by reality in some way, such as being affected by certain emotions, creating a certain resonance, and finally experiencing the life of a certain character.

With that in mind, he would download several TV series using the fast food restaurant's IF app during his free time during the day and try to watch them whenever he had a spare moment.

Thinking back, it had been many years since Zhang Peng had seriously watched a TV series. One day, he accidentally came across a TV series called "Like a Flowing River". He saw that the reviews were quite good, so he downloaded the first season to his phone.

After watching the first episode, Zhang Peng thought it was alright. Unfortunately, as his business gradually improved, he didn't have much time to watch the show. It took him two or three weeks to catch up to episode eleven. But Zhang Peng wasn't in a hurry; he would just watch it slowly.

Chen Ling's belly was getting bigger and bigger, but with his mother-in-law taking care of her, he felt at ease.

Zhang Peng's late-night snack business gradually started to get busier. Although it wasn't booming, it was gradually becoming more organized. Ten yuan a serving of fried noodles wasn't expensive for young people. What attracted them most was the taste. After a month, Zhang Peng had a group of loyal customers.

At the end of the month, Zhang Peng did the math and found that the profit for the first month was almost four thousand yuan. This was after deducting the rent. He had almost made back the cost in the first month, so the business was pretty good.

Business was significantly better in the second month than in the first. One night, they even sold eighty servings, a number comparable to those on the main street. Moreover, Zhang Peng's prices were high, at ten yuan per serving, with a profit of over six yuan per serving. This income made many other vendors a little envious.

But jealousy is useless; the taste is there, the recipe is exclusive, and they can't earn that kind of money.

After getting busy, Zhang Peng didn't have much time to watch TV dramas. In two months, he only watched 20 episodes of "Like a Flowing River" because he simply didn't have the time.

However, he is quite satisfied with his current life. He estimates that his late-night snack income this month will exceed 10,000 yuan, and with his daytime income, he will definitely earn over 20,000 yuan this month. In this city, this income is considered high for a working-class person.

Zhang Peng originally watched the TV series "Like a Flowing River" as a way to pass the time. He was quite envious of one of the characters, Lei Dongbao.

Lei Dongbao is a strong-willed, rough, and impulsive man, but he is also daring, decisive, and enterprising. He does things in a very efficient and energetic manner, which I admire.

Besides all that, the reason he envied Lei Dongbao the most was that this guy had married an exceptionally beautiful wife named Song Yunping. She was beautiful and kind-hearted, and Song Yunping was also his type. She was hardworking and a perfect wife. He even felt that with such a wife, what more could a husband ask for?

Seeing Song Yunping, heavily pregnant, still busy taking care of the family, Zhang Peng felt an urge to let her rest. Thinking about his own wife who wouldn't even touch cold water every day, and then looking at Song Yunping, Zhang Peng felt genuinely envious.

Of course, times have changed. If Song Yunping lived in this era, she certainly wouldn't have suffered so much. Just as Zhang Peng was still feeling envious, he finally found the time to watch two episodes.

But Zhang Peng was stunned when he saw half of it. Song Yunping, who was heavily pregnant, tripped over an electrical wire, and as a result... both she and her unborn child died. When he saw Song Yunping covered with a white sheet, Zhang Peng was completely stunned. His mind was a mess, and he couldn't continue watching.

Just as he was lost in thought, his phone rang. Zhang Peng picked it up and saw that it was his mother-in-law calling, telling him to hurry back because Chen Ling had just fallen and was bleeding.

Zhang Peng was completely stunned. He didn't even care about the tricycle anymore. He picked up his phone and started walking back. At that moment, two images seemed to be flashing through his mind.

One scene shows Song Yunping covered with a white sheet, her eyes closed, her face deathly pale and devoid of color. The other scene shows Chen Ling lying in the bathroom, covered in blood, in pain, shouting for her husband to help her up.

Zhang Peng's mind was filled with these two images, a jumbled mess, making it impossible for him to think about anything else. As soon as he opened the door, he saw his mother-in-law helping Chen Ling sit on the sofa, with a blood-stained tissue in the trash can next to them.

Seeing Zhang Peng return, the two women in the house breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Peng quickly went up to Chen Ling, who looked somewhat pale, and asked her what was wrong.

"What happened? Let's go to the hospital to get it checked out!"

Chen Ling reached out and took his hand, then shook her head and said...

"It should be nothing serious. I just tripped and fell. It doesn't hurt much, just a little bleeding down there. It's already 11 o'clock, and I don't need emergency care. The doctors at the hospital are probably off work by now. I'll go tomorrow!"

Zhang Peng quickly looked at his mother-in-law and asked anxiously.

"Mom, are you sure everything's alright?"

The mother-in-law glanced at Chen Ling and nodded.

"I just checked, there was only a little blood, it shouldn't be anything serious. The bleeding has stopped now. Should I take another look? If it's really bad, I'll go for a check-up tomorrow during the day!"

Zhang Peng rubbed Chen Ling's hand, checked the time, and felt that his mother-in-law was right; he was probably overthinking things. However, he would definitely have to go for a check-up tomorrow.

Since nothing was wrong, Zhang Peng could only offer some words of comfort and then went back to pack up his stall. As soon as he arrived at the stall, he saw Xiao Wu vigorously stir-frying a plate of fried noodles, with a young man waiting next to him. It seemed that a customer had come in.

Seeing Zhang Peng return, Xiao Wu quickly smiled and made way for Zhang Peng to take over. Zhang Peng thanked him, but after looking at the somewhat dark rice noodles, he said helplessly to the customer.

"I'll cook you a new one!"

The young man, who had been somewhat dissatisfied, quickly smiled and nodded, indicating that he could.

Zhang Peng picked up the pot, preparing to pour out the noodles, when Xiao Wu quickly stopped him.

"Brother Peng, don't pour it out! Don't waste it, just give it to me!"

Zhang Peng glanced at the rice noodles, shook his head helplessly, and said...

"It's better to waste it than to eat it. I'll cook you another one later!"

As she spoke, she poured the rice noodles into the trash can next to her and started working. She cooked two servings in a row, packing one for the customer to take away and the other for Xiao Wu.

Watching Xiao Wu pick up his chopsticks and start eating heartily, Zhang Peng lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a smoke ring. He was still recovering from Chen Ling's fall.

He was already in his thirties, and this was his first child. If something unexpected happened, he really didn't know how he would face himself. Suddenly, the image of Song Yunping involuntarily came to his mind, and he couldn't shake it off. He stubbed out his cigarette in frustration.

He took out his phone, stopped watching the TV series, opened Baidu, searched for the synopsis of "Like a Flowing River," and read it carefully.

After a quick look, he realized that "Like a Flowing River" tells the story of three male protagonists, spanning from the reform and opening up to the next thirty years. The first male protagonist is Song Yunhui, who is also Song Yunping's younger brother.

The second male lead, Lei Dongbao, and the third male lead, Yang Xun, were mentioned. Zhang Peng glanced at the protagonists' personal information and then closed the page. He couldn't concentrate on reading them at the moment; Song Yunping's pale face was still stuck in his mind.

Looking at the dim night, Zhang Peng had a vague premonition that his next dream might be related to this great river, because it had just resonated strongly with him.

If the next world truly is a vast river, then perhaps I can grasp some patterns of the dream world. Perhaps in the next world, I can try to choose some worlds I want to go to, as long as they resonate with my soul, then I can enter a certain world.

Thinking about this, Zhang Peng even felt a little hopeful. Perhaps he could really change Song Yunping's fate in his dream and let that beautiful and kind-hearted girl escape from disaster.

Not knowing if this guess was accurate, Yu Huanshui took out his phone and started watching from episode 2 onwards. He wanted to finish watching the series before the end of the show. If he really went to the world of "Like a Flowing River," he would have some foresight, which would help him avoid being affected by certain events.

This TV series tells the story of three male protagonists with different life experiences. In the first twenty episodes, even the third male protagonist, Yang Xun, didn't appear much. It seems that nothing much else happened in the other plot.

After watching episode 2, it was past midnight. Xiao Wu yawned, said goodbye to Zhang Peng, and pushed his tricycle away. Zhang Peng looked at the sparse crowd and thought for a moment, deciding to pack up and leave as soon as possible.

After tidying up, Zhang Peng returned to the rented room. Chen Ling was still awake. After asking her, he learned that she didn't have any pain anywhere on her body, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He then quickly started boiling water to take a bath.

I rushed to bed and it was already past one o'clock. Another ordinary day had come to an end.

After turning off the lights and getting into bed, Zhang Peng stared at the ceiling, looking somewhat tired. There was no ceiling fan in the room, only snow-white walls. Zhang Peng stared blankly at the white ceiling. Although he felt very tired, he couldn't fall asleep. The events of today still left him feeling a little shaken. Fortunately, it was all a false alarm. He hoped that he had just been overthinking it.

Chen Ling was already asleep beside him. Zhang Peng glanced back, and the anxiety on his face finally eased a little. Chen Ling's snoring slowly rose in the darkness. Zhang Peng shook his head with a wry smile, closed his eyes, and forced himself to fall asleep.

I closed my eyes, but a figure kept lingering in my mind. I just hope to have a good night's sleep tonight!

Accompanied by snoring, Zhang Peng's consciousness slowly drifted into a hazy state, as if in a dream, with reality and dream slowly alternating once again.

He seemed to see himself looking at the world from a different perspective. He looked up and saw the blue sky and white clouds, the low houses, and the unique spirit of the people around him from the 1970s and 80s.

He even saw a girl across the street, wearing a red scarf and a plaid dress, carrying a wooden frame containing a rabbit, walking towards him. He wanted to open his eyes to see what the girl looked like, but his eyelids were drooping, and his consciousness slowly sank into oblivion until his consciousness in reality completely disappeared.

Rivers and Lakes

Chapter 1: That girl's name is Song Yunping

A man wearing a military green overcoat shook his head, stood there stunned for a while, and then completely merged with the soul.

This year marks the 7th anniversary of Lei Dongbao's service. He is 24 years old, served in the army for five years, and just returned home this year after being discharged. He came to the town today to inquire about the resettlement of demobilized soldiers. He has just finished his business and is about to go home.

Standing on this side of the road, he looked up and saw a tall, slender girl with fair skin carrying a rabbit cage as she walked towards the road.

Lei Dongbao's lips curled up into a smile. The brain, now fused with Zhang Peng's soul, finally saw a familiar face for the first time.

The girl coming from the opposite direction was named Song Yunping. She was a very beautiful and hardworking girl, and also Lei Dongbao's future wife. However, the two obviously did not know each other yet.

It's okay if we don't know each other; everyone has a first time!

Lei Dongbao smiled and stepped forward. He saw a bicycle rushing towards him. The cyclist saw Song Yunping, who had just reached the middle of the road, and hurriedly rang the bell. Unfortunately, the person was riding the bicycle too fast and did not brake at all. The bicycle and Song Yunping were about to collide. Lei Dongbao took two big steps forward.

He put his arm around Song Yunping's waist, took the rabbit cage from her hand, spun around, and stood steadily on the side of the road.

People around were shocked by the scene and criticized the cyclist for not watching where he was going, asking if he was blind or what, for riding so recklessly and about to hit someone.

Song Yunping snapped out of her daze, quickly broke free from Lei Dongbao's embrace, snatched the rabbit cage from his hand, and looked awkwardly at the tall, bearded young man in front of her.

Lei Dongbao does look older than his age; at 24, he looks like he's 42.

Song Yunping looked around and guessed that the man in front of her must have saved her. Although he was a bit reckless, he was still kind-hearted. She blushed and quickly said.

"Thank you!"

Looking at the shy face of the little cabbage, Lei Dongbao couldn't help but chuckle to himself, and quickly waved his hand and said.

"It's nothing, it's nothing, just a small favor. Comrade, do you think your Angolan rabbits are missing?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yunping hurriedly bent down to check the four rabbits in her cage. After looking around and seeing that nothing was wrong, she breathed a sigh of relief. However, she quickly realized what was happening, looked up at Lei Dongbao in surprise, and asked him curiously.

"You...you also know about Angora rabbits?"