Volume 1: Against the Tide Chapter 001: The Most Crucial, Humiliating and Painful Summer of Carefree

  That day, everywhere was white light, so bright it dazzled the eyes, so bright it made people dizzy, as white as a sheet of A4 paper.

  Under the sunlight, numerous human figures were moving about, falling into Peng Yuanzheng's eyes, as if they had become countless characters drifting and dancing on a white sheet of paper. The newly repaired wide road seemed to be the thigh of a giant woman, smooth and straight, with a hint of sensuality. Occasionally, a car would speed by, only to disappear from view in an instant.

  "I'm boiling."

  "It's boiling hot!"

  "Why is it so hot?"

  "How do I know?"

  "What are those people looking at?"

  "Why can't you just look back and be done with it? All day long, all you know is how to ask questions!"

  A young couple walked past Peng Yuanqing's side shoulder to shoulder, the man seemed to want to hold the woman's hand, but was quietly avoided by her.

  Peng Yuanzheng quietly followed behind the two of them and also walked to the bulletin board at the entrance of the mechanical factory living area.

  A crowd of onlookers, young and old, had already gathered in front of the bulletin board. Peng Yuanzheng stood behind the crowd, listening to a little girl innocently ask another little girl, "Lulu, what is rape?" "It's when a shameless bad guy bullies a good person..."

  This is a cloth proclamation with a red seal on it, similar proclamations have been posted all over the city recently.

  In this era of severe crackdown, many criminals who were severely punished, especially those who were about to be executed for their heinous crimes or had mental disorders, often appeared in the bulletin boards in cities.

  On the notice was also posted a portrait, that of a rapist who had been sentenced to death. A pale and thin face, shaved head, looked like he was just over 20 years old, with clear eyebrows and eyes. But it is said that this person has already raped several middle-aged women over 40 years old in the past six months, including an 80-year-old elderly woman.

  "This is really freaking abnormal!"

  "Damn it!"

  Everyone points and scolds, if spitting could kill people, this rapist would have died countless times.

  The crowd watched the commotion for a while, then slowly dispersed. But Peng Yuanzheng stared blankly at the date on the notice - July 25, 1991, with an extremely complex light flashing in his eyes.

  "Peng Yuanzheng!" A soft call came from behind him.

  Peng Yuanzheng suddenly turned his head and looked back, only to see a beautiful girl with a delicate face, extremely white skin, wearing a white dress, and sporting a trendy shoulder-length haircut, standing there smiling and waving at him.

  The girl walked over, her skirt fluttering in the hot wind, with a radiant smile on her face, as beautiful as a flower, and full of life.

  Peng Yuanzheng opened his mouth and softly asked, "Cao Ying?"

  Cao Ying didn't notice the complex bitterness at the corner of Peng Yuanzheng's mouth, and smiled as he stretched out his hand, "It's been more than a year since we last met, old classmate. I heard from Aunt Meng that you've also graduated, which unit were you assigned to?"

  Peng Yuanzheng numbly and stiffly shook the girl's soft, warm little hand, forcing a smile. "Uh... I've been assigned to the Baiyun Guan township government, but I haven't reported for duty yet."

  "The local government is not bad, but this town seems too remote and very poor." Cao Ying furrowed her pretty eyebrows, "You're a graduate of a prestigious university, you shouldn't be sent to the countryside, should you? What's going on with the personnel department?"

  Peng Yuanzheng smiled faintly and said, "Nothing. It's also good to go to the countryside for training."

  Cao Ying seemed to have something on, so he beckoned and said, "Alright. Peng Yuanzheng, let's get together with our high school classmates another day, I still need to go to the department store to buy some things, see you later!"

  "See you later!"

  Cao Ying walked forward a few steps, then turned back to smile at Peng Yuanzheng and said, "Peng Yuanzheng, I've been assigned to be a teacher at No. 2 Middle School."

  After finishing speaking, Cao Ying lightly ran to the opposite side of the road and got on a bus that was rumbling by. Only after getting on the bus did Cao Ying feel that her cheeks were a bit feverish.

  Looking at Cao Ying's departing back, a hint of tenderness flashed in Peng Yuanzheng's eyes. He was already very certain that he had been reborn back to 1991, the most crucial, humiliating and painful summer for him.

  ……

  ……

  Before his eyes was that familiar yet strange four-story old building with a wheat-colored exterior. Peng Yuanzheng looked up, and on the window of the third floor's eastern apartment, there hung light blue curtains. This hint of light blue added a touch of warmth to his originally calm heart.

  He went upstairs, opened the slightly shaking simple iron anti-theft door, and walked into his home. At the moment he stepped across the threshold, Peng Yuanzheng couldn't help but be overcome with emotion, his eyes brimming with tears.

  He lived in this two-bedroom welfare house in the living quarters of Xin'an City Machinery Factory for 30 years, until the building was forcibly demolished in 2000, when he reluctantly moved to a new house.

  He has been living in this old house all along, to reminisce about his mother. Of course, also because the housing prices in the past life were so ridiculously high that it was beyond his means as a minor official with limited income, and he basically couldn't afford to buy a new house.

  But as time turned back to 1991, after his rebirth, the scene in front of him made his heart surge with emotions.

  The cement floor is very clean, with some low-lying areas still having water marks, it should be that mother has just mopped the floor not long ago. The ceiling fan in the living room is still spinning endlessly, making a humming noise. On the tea table in front of the old-fashioned spring sofa, several slices of watermelon are covered with a fly screen.

  Although the house is simple, it is spotless.

  Her mother, Meng Lin, was a very neat and tidy woman, originally also a elegant and beautiful woman with a certain cultural level and a good background. She could have lived a very comfortable and refined life. However, her fate took a different path that was opposite to what she had expected.

  Disasters, hardships, poverty, oppression... made up the entirety of Meng Lin's life.

  Peng Yuanzheng slowly sat down on the sofa and closed his eyes.

  He knew his mother wasn't home and must have just left.

  She went back to her parents' home for the sake of their only son's job assignment after graduation. She had not contacted her family for over a decade, and if it weren't for wanting to get a better unit for her son, she would never have stepped through that doorway filled with humiliating memories again.

  ……

  ……

  Peng Yuanzheng's father Peng Yuqiang died of illness in April 1976, at the moment when the national calamity was about to end.

  Peng Yuqiang was born into a peasant family and enlisted in the army at the age of 16, which changed his fate. He served for 8 years, joined the party and became an officer, from squad leader to platoon leader and then company commander. At the age of 24, he retired from the army and returned to his hometown of Xin'an City, Jiangbei Province, where he became a workshop director at a machinery factory.

  In February 1969, Peng Yuqiang married Meng Lin, the daughter of Meng Qingtao, the principal of Jiangbei University who was persecuted during a special period. The following year, they had a son named Peng Yuanzheng. Because of his marriage to Meng Lin, Peng Yuqiang, who originally came from a good family background, also suffered a setback and was criticized and struggled against every day, eventually falling ill and passing away when Peng Yuanzheng was only 6 years old.

  After the special period ended, Meng Lin's father, Meng Qingtao, was quickly rehabilitated, and the Meng family re-entered high society. Meng Qingtao resumed his post as university president, while his eldest son, Meng Jun, who had previously served as deputy director of a state-owned enterprise, made a fortune in the tide of reform and opening up, becoming a well-known private entrepreneur.

  Meng Qingtao's second son Meng Qiang became an official and a leading cadre, while his eldest daughter Meng Ping became an artist in a drama troupe.

  After implementing the policy, Meng Qingtao and his family looked down on Peng Yuke and the Peng family, thinking that Peng Yuke was a rural bumpkin of low birth and not worthy of their daughter. So the whole family strongly demanded that Meng Lin remarry and abandon Peng Yu to the old Peng family in the countryside.

  Meng Qingtao even personally chose a marriage partner for his daughter, Meng Lin - Zhang Lei, his student and the vice president of Jiangbei University's Chinese Department. Although Meng Lin was already married, she was only in her early 30s at that time, beautiful as a flower with elegant temperament, and Zhang Lei adored her deeply.

  But this is just Meng Qingtao and Zhang Lei's wishful thinking. Peng Yiqiang and Meng Lin got to know each other and fell in love during difficult times, and Peng Yiqiang endured all sorts of hardships for her without changing his mind, the feelings between husband and wife were very deep. Meng Lin was determined not to remarry, firstly because it was hard for her to forget her beloved husband, secondly because she couldn't bear to abandon her young son.

  Meng Qingtao was furious, and as a result, he had a big fight with Meng Lin. He said that if Meng Lin didn't remarry and give up on the wild child of the Peng family, he would cut off their father-daughter relationship and never let her into his house again for the rest of his life.

  After Meng Qingtao was diagnosed with liver cancer, he soon passed away, and the several children of the Meng family also completely broke off contact with Meng Lin because of this. Although Meng Qingtao's death had nothing to do with Meng Lin, the Meng family insisted that she had been angered to death by her.

  In a flash, more than ten years have passed. Meng Lin has been living a hard but warm and happy life with her son Peng Yuanzheng, relying on each other for survival.

  In 1987, Peng Yuanzheng was admitted to the top domestic university, Jinghua University, and graduated this year. He was assigned to work in the government of Baiyun Temple Township. At that time, government agencies were not as popular as they are now, especially in rural areas. When Meng Lin heard that his son had been assigned to a remote mountainous area, he couldn't sit still anymore.

  She brazenly took the initiative to visit, asking Meng Qiang, who had become the deputy mayor of Xin'an City, to help her son Peng Yuan change units, but was met with ruthless humiliation by the Meng family.

  Later, Meng Lin sought help everywhere but to no avail. Under duress, she embezzled 5,000 yuan from the factory's funds to bribe the deputy director of the personnel bureau in charge of job assignments. However, she was exposed and reported, then arrested. Although the Meng family later intervened to smooth things over, returned the misappropriated funds, and Meng Lin was not prosecuted, but as someone who had always been proud and concerned about her reputation, she couldn't cope with the situation and took her own life.

  After his mother's death, Peng Yuanzheng was seriously ill and eventually went to work in the township government. After staying in that remote township government for five or six years, he was transferred to the district government due to an accidental opportunity and became a small clerk in the district government office. Later, he cautiously struggled in the organization for many years before being promoted to the honorary position of deputy director, and spent his whole life feeling frustrated and unfulfilled.

  This is Peng Yuanzhen's past life experience.