The entire courtyard is full of villains

"If you have any, hurry up and go! Do you want me to starve so you can become a widow? Get out!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Xue's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she ultimately swallowed her words. She lowered her head and quickly walked out of the ward.

Chapter 3 Breaking the news

Zhang Erhe was the only one left in the ward. He struggled to sit up and propped himself up with a pillow behind him.

Even he himself found the words he had just said to Guan Xue harsh. But he had to do it; at least for now, he had to play the role of "Zhang Erhe" well.

As depicted in novels, someone suddenly turning over a new leaf is simply taking others for fools. After all, "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature," a saying that holds true in any era.

During this special period, if one's personality changes too drastically, it will only make people suspect that he has been "switched" and he might even be arrested as a spy.

When he read the novel before, he felt that the protagonists' transformations were a bit contrived. So, change is inevitable, but it has to be done gradually, not overnight.

He closed his eyes and began to plan.

First, we need to find out who ambushed the original owner. This is no simple matter. Over the years, the original owner has offended quite a few people in the factory, the factory, and especially in the black market.

Even those so-called "sworn brothers" couldn't be trusted. In the past, everyone was just playing around on a small scale, with no major conflicts of interest.

However, at the beginning of this year, the original owner received news from the countryside that there would be a food shortage, so he stockpiled a batch in advance.

With grain prices soaring recently, he made a fortune. "Wealth moves people's hearts," and his sworn brothers' eyes turned red with envy.

However, he didn't get any money that night, so their suspicion can be temporarily reduced.

As for the people in the courtyard, Jia Dongxu had tried to borrow money several times but was refused by the original owner, so he must have harbored resentment.

Sha Zhu, that kid's no good either. He got into a fight with the original owner because Sha Zhu was staring at Guan Xue. Although Sha Zhu punched the original owner, he was also crippled in the leg and probably didn't have the strength to fight back.

Xu Damao is a cowardly bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong; he doesn't have the guts. Yan Bugui is also a coward who loves to take advantage of others.

It's not that Zhang Erhe looks down on Liu Haizhong, but he's just a careerist and doesn't have the brains to plan something like this.

Yi Zhonghai is the most likely candidate. The original owner of this body thwarted his donations to the Jia family several times, so he must hold a grudge.

Although there were conflicts between the two people in his work group at the factory, it wasn't to the point of resorting to such a brutal act.

In the black market, the original owner crippled a manager in the past, and I heard he's already returned to his hometown. But there's no guarantee he won't come back for revenge; this needs to be investigated.

The door creaked open, interrupting Zhang Erhe's thoughts. He thought it was Guan Xue returning, but when he turned around, he saw two policemen walk in.

The leading policeman was about fifty years old, with a square face and sharp eyes. Zhang Erhe immediately recognized him from the original owner's memories as Zhang Guowei, the director of Jiaodaokou Police Station.

Zhang Guowei walked to the bedside, pulled out a chair and sat down, his tone somewhat teasing: "Oh my, isn't this the famous Second Master? What's wrong, feeling down? Did someone pin you down? What brings you to the hospital?"

Zhang Erhe quickly forced a smile: "Uncle Zhang, look at me..."

"Hey, hey, I wouldn't dare let you call me Uncle Zhang," Zhang Guowei waved his hand. "Who are you? Ask around in the Luoguxiang area of ​​southern Beijing, who doesn't know your name, Second Master?"

"Uncle Zhang, please stop teasing me." Zhang Erhe scratched his head awkwardly.

"Alright, I won't interrupt you anymore." Zhang Guowei pulled a small notebook and pen out of his pocket. "Here, let me ask you, what good deeds have you been up to lately?"

"No, no, no, I just went to work honestly and didn't do anything," Zhang Erhe quickly denied.

"Hey, why aren't you at home sleeping? What are you doing wandering around the streets in the middle of the night?" Zhang Guowei raised an eyebrow.

"I...I just went to my friend's house for a while." Zhang Erhe's eyes flickered.

"Staying at someone's house so late at night?" Zhang Guowei's expression remained relaxed, but his questions pressed on relentlessly, "What are you doing?"

Zhang Erhe swallowed hard and made up an excuse: "I was just going to borrow some grain from him. You know, the grain rations are tight lately, and we're almost out of grain at home."

Zhang Guowei nodded, seemingly believing this explanation: "Oh, okay, I understand." He then changed the subject, "So, do you have a good idea who the person who hit you with the club is?"

"It was too dark at the alley entrance that night, and someone hit me on the head with a stick, so I really didn't see clearly," Zhang Erhe said, feigning innocence.

Zhang Guowei glared at him, his tone turning stern: "Stop playing dumb with me! Tell me, do you have anyone you suspect?"

"Uncle Zhang, you know I'm very well-behaved in the factory and the yard. Who could I possibly offend?" Zhang Erhe continued to deny it.

"Bang!" Zhang Guowei slammed his notebook shut. "Zhang Erhe, stop pretending! If you keep this up, I'll take you back to the station! You think you're behaving yourself? How many times have we taken you to the police station for those fights a few years ago? If it weren't for your dad pleading for you back then, we would have sent you in long ago!"

Zhang Erhe also sounded aggrieved: "Uncle Zhang, that's all in the past! Since I joined the factory, have you ever seen me fight or brawl?"

Zhang Guowei narrowed his eyes, calculating in his mind. This kid had definitely become more obedient since he started working at the factory. He tentatively asked, "Really, that's all?"

"No, that's not it. There are a few suspects, but they're all from the institute." Seeing that the time was right, Zhang Erhe began to "reveal" information.

"First and foremost, it's Sha Zhu! That bastard was staring at my wife the other day, and we got into a fight. And then there's Jia Dongxu, that scoundrel keeps asking me for food. I don't even have enough to eat myself, how can I lend him any? I bet he's holding a grudge."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "And then there's Yi Zhonghai, that damn old man in our compound!"

"Yi Zhonghai?" Zhang Guowei interrupted him, "Your liaison officer?"

"Yes, that liaison officer, he calls himself the big boss in charge. I've argued with him about this several times. Before my dad was alive, this old bastard didn't dare to do anything. After my dad passed away, he became more and more arrogant. Plus, I thwarted his donations to the Jia family a few times, so he must hold a grudge. It's very likely that this old bastard and Jia Dongxu were behind it!"

"Okay, I understand." Zhang Guowei stood up. "I'll investigate thoroughly. If you remember anything else, contact me anytime after you're discharged. I'll come back in a couple of days."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang!" Zhang Erhe quickly expressed his gratitude.

Zhang Guowei waved his hand, signaling the young policeman to leave first. He then bent down and said earnestly, "Zhang Erhe, I'll say this one last time. Immediately stop your damn black market business and completely sever all ties! You're a worker now, so just be a worker. This incident is a warning."

He sighed, his voice softening slightly: "You're the only son left in your family. When your brother Dajiang died in my arms, I was heartbroken; I didn't know how to face your parents. Thankfully, we found out you were here, so the Zhang family line continues. I don't want to see you at the police station or the hospital again, because you brought this on yourself. Understand?"

Zhang Erhe looked at Zhang Guowei and nodded solemnly: "Uncle Zhang, I understand. Don't worry, I will definitely live an honest and down-to-earth life from now on."

Chapter 4 A Gift from Mother

"Yeah, right!"

Once Zhang Guowei's figure had completely disappeared through the doorway, Zhang Erhe muttered two words viciously in his mind, his brows furrowing tightly.

With the three-year period of hardship already underway, it was obvious that grain rations would only decrease, not increase. What infuriated him most was that most of the grain he had secretly stockpiled had already been sold. He was in the hospital these past few days, and he figured even the little left wouldn't survive.

"If only I had time-traveled earlier, I would have kept that batch of grain no matter what!" he thought regretfully. Although he had made some money from selling it, it was nothing compared to the famine that would last for the next two years.

Over the years, he had made money from the black market, plus the compensation he received from the steel mill after his father's death. All in all, he had accumulated about ten thousand yuan. In terms of wealth in this courtyard house, he felt he was among the top five. But right now, no amount of money could buy him any real food.

"Damn it! Why didn't I travel here sooner?"

As a result, a voice rang out in his mind: "Want to time travel sooner? If it weren't for me protecting you, you'd be dead in the spacetime turbulence by now!"

"Who?!" Zhang Erhe sat up abruptly.

"Don't get excited, don't get excited," the voice soothed. "I'm your time-travel guide; you can call me Girl."

"Nuwa?"

"Girl, doll's child!"

"Oh, oh, oh, where are you?"

"Close your eyes, I'm in your mind."

Zhang Erhe closed his eyes as instructed, and sure enough, a space appeared in his mind. In the very center of the space stood a girl with an anime-like appearance.

Before he could even speak, the anime girl waved her hand impatiently: "To make a long story short, I'm the time-travel guide assigned by your 'mom,' codenamed 'Girl.'"

After saying that, she waved her hand, and three items appeared before her: "These are the three items your 'mother' arranged for you to travel through time—a spatial dimension, a body-strengthening pill, and a piece of divine consciousness."

After she finished speaking rapidly, Zhang Erhe was completely stunned: "My mom? My mom has this ability?"

The anime girl slapped her forehead: "I forgot to mention again. The 'mom' I was referring to is Earth? Don't you humans all call Earth 'Mother Earth'?"

"Huh? Wait a minute..." Zhang Erhe felt like his brain was about to stop working; the amount of information was just too much.

"Earth... Mother..."

"Yes," the girl explained impatiently, "The universe is currently entering a period of great energy decay that occurs every 100,000 years. Earth is being pulled by the gravity of subspace, which is why a large number of Earth life forms are being sucked into various subspaces, causing what you call 'time travel'."

She paused, then continued, "Your Earth Mother created me to guide you—you unfortunate souls, no, you chosen ones—so that you could survive in the new world. Hurry up and choose your three items; I need to guide the next person."

"Wait, weren't you supposed to be serving me?" Zhang Erhe was a little confused.

"What are you thinking about? What are you dreaming about?" the girl mocked mercilessly. "Look at that!"

Zhang Erhe quickly looked in the direction she pointed and saw a string of numbers floating in the air: 39621.

"You are the 39621st victim I've guided. There are 20 other guides like me, the most successful having guided over 100,000 people. It's because of people like you who have so many problems that I'm wasting so much time. Hurry up!"

Zhang Erhe dared not ask any more questions and quickly controlled his consciousness to walk over. "How do I get this?"

"Just get close to that ball of light," the girl instructed.

Zhang Erhe did as instructed and moved closer. The moment he touched the sphere of light, it merged into his consciousness with a "whoosh." Immediately afterward, a space of about a thousand acres formed in his mind.

"Wait..." Just as Zhang Erhe was about to open his eyes, the girl handed him another body-strengthening pill.

"After consuming it, your body will be strengthened to the peak human level within six months. As for your divine sense, it was automatically activated when you retrieved the space."

"Oh," Zhang Erhe replied, swallowing the pill.

"Alright, I've given you everything, and I've explained everything that needed to be explained." The girl's voice carried a hint of relief. "From now on, live a good life. Oh, by the way, your mother asked me to tell you that she looks forward to the day you return to her embrace. Goodbye!"

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure disappeared from Zhang Erhe's mind.

"Hey, don't go! You haven't told me how to use this space yet!" Zhang Erhe shouted anxiously in his heart.

However, all that echoed in his mind was the girl's impatient remark: "How old are you? Can't you figure it out yourself? Honestly."

Then, there was complete silence.

Zhang Erhe couldn't help but mentally give her the middle finger: "A girl, huh? Fine, I'll remember you! Don't let me ever go back, or I'll definitely complain to my 'mother' about your service attitude!"

Despite his complaints, he had no choice but to figure it out on his own for now. He recalled the novels he had read before and silently muttered "Get out."

The next second, his consciousness returned to his body in the ward. He was somewhat surprised and looked at the stool next to the bed, silently repeating "go in".

The stool vanished in a flash. He then silently repeated "come out," and the stool reappeared steadily in its original spot.

To test the limits, he tried collecting ants from the corner of the wall, flies from a distance, and even ants from the next ward, but he couldn't collect them any further. He estimated that the effective distance was about eight to ten meters.

He closed his eyes again and sank into the space. In this thousand-acre space, he felt like a god, able to control everything with a single thought.

Zhang Erhe began to plan: "First, cultivate a hundred mu of land; that should be enough for the next two years. Now that we have a foothold in the black market, we should cut it off completely. With the situation so tense for the next three years, if we continue to operate in the black market, we'll be wiped out sooner or later. With this hundred mu of land, we certainly won't lack food. We can exchange any surplus grain for gold bars during the most difficult time of 1960."

As for antiques, he scoffed, "That stuff is too complicated. For an outsider like him to go in is just suicide. Let someone else have it. I only want gold bars; after all, gold bars are hard currency."

Just as he was lost in thought, the ward door creaked open again. Zhang Erhe opened his eyes and saw Guan Xue, covered in sweat, walking in carrying an aluminum lunchbox.

She gently placed the lunchbox on the bedside table, then subconsciously touched her ear—it was burning hot.