Rebirth in a Book: The Road to Breakthrough

When she opened her eyes again, the room was much darker. Yu Congcong stretched out her hand, and she could vaguely see the shape of her hand. She looked around, and nothing had changed. This was not a dream, her soul was really reborn.

Yu Congcong secretly sighed in her heart, thinking that she was so careless that she actually fell asleep like this.

She got out of bed, opened the door, walked out of the room and came to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, grandma was standing by the stove cooking. A tall man was sitting at the stove. The firelight illuminated his profile. He looked very handsome, about twenty years old.

The man was of sturdy build, with well-defined muscles, revealing a masculine air. He had a determined look on his face, and his high nose bridge and deep eyes were very impressive. In the light of the fire, he looked like a god from Indian mythology.

"It's green onion."

When grandma saw Yu Congcong’s smiling face, she didn’t stop moving her hands. She took the vegetables out of the pot, added clean water into the pot, cleaned the pot quickly, added clean water again, turned around and placed the vegetables on the table behind her.

The foster father heard it, raised his head and turned to Yu Congcong: "Congcong, are you okay? Does your head still hurt? Let me touch your forehead and see if it's still warm."

As he spoke, he walked towards Yu Congcong and placed his hand on Yu Congcong's forehead.

"Well, it's not hot anymore." He took Yu Congcong's hand and walked to the table and sat down.

Ever since Yunniang passed away, Congcong has never smiled again. She is like a puppet without any emotions.

There was a bowl of unknown vegetables on the table, and grandma served three bowls of rice and placed them on the table.

My adoptive father smiled and picked up a piece of vegetable for me and my grandmother, then picked up the rice and started eating.

Yu Congcong also picked up the rice and took a small bite. The texture of the rice was not very good and was a bit rough.

As far as I can remember, before I was thirteen, the rice at home tasted like this. At that time, my parents were still farming in their hometown. They would grow two crops. The first crop didn’t taste good, so they kept it for the family. The second crop tasted better, so they would be sold for money. Yu Congcong couldn’t remember when the rice at home changed its taste.

"Congcang, eat quickly and eat more, so that you won't get sick." Grandma's voice interrupted Yu Congcong's memories.

Yu Congcong subconsciously wanted to answer, but thinking of her grandmother's nervous look at noon, she could only nod and continue eating.

After dinner, my adoptive father cleaned up by himself. My grandmother stood up and wanted to help wash the dishes, but my adoptive father quickly pushed her down and waved his hand to refuse. He quickly cleaned the table and washed the dishes.

From this we can see that the adoptive father is very filial, and he does not have the machismo that some men today have. He is not even willing to help when a fat man falls over at home, let alone do housework.

Grandma took a basin of hot water from the pot and carefully washed Yu Congcong.

After washing up, the three of them returned to the room together.

The adoptive father walked in front slowly. After entering the room, he groped in the dark for a while and then lit the oil lamp.

Yu Congcong hadn't noticed that there was a table and two chairs in the room in the afternoon. The oil lamp was on the table. Inside the table, against the wall, there were three large wooden boxes stacked up against the wall.

Oh, this place is so poor! There is not even electric light, and they still use oil lamps for lighting.

Yu Congcong was secretly amazed in her heart, but did not show any expression on the surface.

Grandma picked up Yu Congcong, took off her shoes and put her on the bed, then she sat on the edge of the bed.

My adoptive father sat next to the oil lamp. Under the weak light of the lamp, his facial features were clearly visible. He had thick eyebrows that slanted into his temples, a straight nose, and a pair of bright eyes that were very attractive. Although his skin was a bit dark, it did not affect his handsomeness at all. When he was silent, he looked like a resolute tough guy; when he smiled, he looked a bit silly.

"Da Zhuang, how is the plan going?"

Grandma looked anxious and looked at her adoptive father with focused eyes.

"Mom, don't worry, it will be soon."

The adoptive father answered calmly, trying to calm the anxious grandmother.

"How can I not be anxious? Congcong is growing up day by day. She was already emotionally devastated by Yunniang's death, and I restrained her and didn't let her talk outside. I regretted my decision. Besides, Congcong is eight years old now. Look at her height."

"Mom, you're also worried about her safety. Don't blame yourself. Congcong will understand when she grows up. As for her height, didn't Doctor Liu say that she was hit too hard and her body stayed at the level of a four-year-old?"

"I'm worried that if she continues like this, she won't be able to communicate with outsiders after a long time. Didn't Doctor Liu say that if she keeps a good mood, she will be able to recover sooner? She doesn't have any playmates now, and she only communicates with us two all day. How can she be happy?" Grandma said excitedly.

Xiaocao had no regrets about the decision she made in that chaos.

After hearing what her grandmother said, Yu Congcong was very surprised. What was going on?

The original owner's body looked only four or five years old. She thought this body was about four or five years old, but it turned out that she was already eight years old. Yu Congcong was also a little anxious. She was not worried about the speech problem, but about the height problem. "I won't be a dwarf like in my previous life!" Yu Congcong thought dejectedly.

Here, as soon as the girls were born, Fourth Uncle and his men would plan to sell them. Those who were taken care of by their parents could be raised until they were ten years old, but if they were good-looking, they would use some means to secretly take them away. When they were ten years old, those who came with them would be taken away openly and forcefully, while those who were natives would be taken away secretly.

After Yunniang passed away, Congcong didn't speak or laugh for a long time, and there were rumors in the village that Congcong had become mute.

Xiaocao thought that if she became mute, she would not be able to be sold at a good price. There would be no market for her before she was ten years old, so her fourth uncle and the others would not plan to do so so early.

Later, Congcong gradually recovered, and Xiaocao stopped her from speaking in front of outsiders. The rumors became reality, and Congcong became mute in front of outsiders.

"Mom, don't worry. My plan has been effective. I have persuaded several boys in the village. We will succeed this year. I must keep calm this time and not let Yunniang die in vain. I will let Fourth Uncle be shot and avenge Yunniang." The adoptive father said as if he had made up his mind.

"Oh..." The old lady sighed deeply.

Most of the wives around ten years old here were abducted by my fourth uncle and his men from outside. The men in the village bought them home and raised them for two years before letting them have children. Most of the women here don’t live long.

"Mom, the master and I have already explored the route. The master has already contacted the informant, and the master and others have decided to clear up the line of Fourth Uncle." The adoptive father said in a whisper, and if you didn't listen carefully, you couldn't hear it at all.

"It's so hard for Yunniang. If I had paid more attention and been more careful, Yunniang might have survived." The old lady said sadly.

"Mom, it's not your fault. Yunniang has made up her mind to die. We promised Yunniang that we would let Congcong go to school, and this wish will soon come true." Dazhuang also said sadly.

Yunniang was abducted here when she was pregnant. When I saw Yunniang at that time, it was like seeing myself when I first arrived here.

(I was abducted here when I was less than three months pregnant with Da Zhuang, a posthumous child. At that time, war was raging everywhere, and my husband's family was brutally killed by the Japanese, leaving me alone in the cellar. When my mother's family found me, I had fainted on the ground. I had not yet recovered from the grief of my husband's death, and I had to start running for my life. The situation was very chaotic at the time, and I was always confused.

When I finally came to my senses, I found that I had been separated from my family, and then I was abducted to Lihua Village by Heizi and his gang. In this strange place, I felt extremely scared and helpless, and I didn't know what my future would be like.

In the past, Lihua Village was like a paradise, with only seven or eight households. In order to stay away from the chaos of war and seek peace, they came to this quiet land. However, the arrival of the fourth uncle broke this tranquility. These people were not good people, but cowardly deserters and bandits. Their past was stained with the mark of bandits, fearing death, and being cowardly and incompetent. When they stepped into this village with pear blossoms in full bloom, they easily took control of the overall situation with their advantage in numbers. The once simple village suddenly became a paradise for bandits, and crime began to spread.

When I first arrived at Lihua Village, I was skinny and hunched, as if a gust of wind could blow me down. There was only a little fat on my stomach, which was covered by loose clothes and was difficult to detect. My face was skinny and haggard, like a walking skeleton, lifeless. My eyes were empty, revealing endless fatigue and confusion. In the eyes of everyone, I was like an alien. No one was interested in me, let alone wanted to choose me. In the end, only the lowly and dull-minded old man Yu took me back to his home.

Old man Yu is not a very evil person. He has been an orphan since he was a child. No one taught him, and he couldn't tell right from wrong. He just followed a bandit to be the boss just to fill his stomach. When the Japanese devils rushed over, the Kuomintang wanted to recruit them and fight the devils together. Unfortunately, before they were officially recruited, the devils threw a shell, and their nest was instantly reduced to ashes, and more than half of their brothers died. Old man Yu was injured in the fight with the devils and fell into a coma. When he woke up, he had been taken to Lihua Village by his fourth uncle. Old man Yu's brain is not very good. As long as you give him food and ask him to do something, he will do it. He will not show mercy when beating people. When I first came, I was beaten a lot because of food. After a long time, I understood his temper. I let him eat first when there was something delicious, and he never beat me again. Later, my belly slowly grew bigger, and old man Yu thought it was his child, and I didn't explain much. After Da Zhuang was born, he liked it very much. However, when Da Zhuang was only a few years old, Old Man Yu was beaten to death.