Reborn in 1977

Chapter 1: Time Travel Requires a Sense of Ritual

(Note: Added back in, putting it in the chapter notes because many people don't read it. Moved it to the beginning:

The story is fictional, the historical background is real. Some situations may differ from certain preconceived notions, but they are objective facts. If you don't skip chapters, there will be explanations in the text, and some readers' comments also serve as evidence.

The situation back then was much more complex than it is now. Even people from that time couldn't claim to know everything. Different regions could have significant differences in certain aspects. My elders have been in the transportation business since the 1930s. They traveled to many places back then and saw and experienced many things. I have also researched a lot of materials, so the authenticity of the background information is beyond doubt.

Thank you!)

... The main text follows:

I heard that if you set the air conditioner to 16 degrees Celsius, light a candle, place an alarm clock in front of the candle, cover yourself with a warm air-conditioned quilt, and silently chant '天地无极、乾坤颠倒' (Tiāndì wújí, qiánkūn diāndǎo - 'Heaven and earth without limit, universe reversed'), you can time travel?

Chen Fan, slightly drunk, came out after taking a shower, recalling the words of his colleague at the company, a mystical person who always talked about the I Ching and Qimen Dunjia, nicknamed 'Taoist,' at the dinner table.

Thinking about how he had entered the orphanage at the age of ten, and how he had finally managed to graduate from university by working part-time and using his parents' inheritance, only to become a struggling office worker renting in a village in the city, with no one to care for him, it seemed that time travel wouldn't be bad. It couldn't be worse than now, right?!

So, he first turned the air conditioner to the lowest temperature, took out a birthday candle from the drawer that came with a cake last year, lit it, dripped two drops of wax onto the table, and fixed the candle in place. Then, he set his phone to alarm clock mode, making sure it was the analog kind with hands, before yawning, lying down on the bed, pulling up the covers, and getting comfortable.

Ugh, so sleepy.

Chen Fan yawned, just as he was about to fall asleep, he vaguely remembered that he hadn't chanted the spell, so he unconsciously said, '天地无极、乾坤颠倒' (Tiāndì wújí, qiánkūn diāndǎo - 'Heaven and earth without limit, universe reversed').

Then, his head tilted to the side, and he fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how long had passed, but he felt a bit cold and numb, but he couldn't move. There was also a noisy sound coming from beside him.

"Quick, take off his clothes!"

"Women, move aside! Don't just stand there like idiots! Go boil some hot water and make a bowl of ginger tea."

"Little Wu, go to the brigade headquarters and get Doctor Zhang."

"Third brother, take off your padded jacket."

"Uncle, why do I have to take it off?"

"Nonsense, you're the only one wearing a sweater and a long padded jacket. If you don't take it off, who will?"

"Yuejin, Weiguo, go tear off a door panel and carry him back."

...

Listening to the commotion, Chen Fan shivered in a daze, trying hard to open his eyes, but he couldn't. He only felt himself being carried back and forth, and finally placed in a warm nest. When the warmth came, he fell asleep again.

He didn't know how long had passed, but Chen Fan woke up again, his head still aching.

Ugh, it must be because I drank too much at the company party last night. It's a bit of a headache.

The boss was bragging about the 1780 yuan Moutai, but who doesn't know the truth these days? There are more than 3,000 wineries in Moutai Town, and 547 of them are legitimate. They all claim to be Moutai, scanning the code shows 1780, but in reality, it probably costs 98 yuan at most. Wholesale can even get a 40% discount. Who knows if this kind of wine is brewed or blended? It would be strange if it didn't give you a headache.

Chen Fan gently rubbed his face, trying to clear his head. The boss didn't care what time you drank until last night. Anyway, you still had to go to work as usual this morning, and you'd be late if you were late.

So, he reluctantly endured the headache and prepared to get out of bed.

But the moment he opened his eyes, he was stunned.

His eyeballs rolled left and right. Was he still not awake?

If I'm not awake, how do I know I'm dreaming? Isn't it said that as long as a person thinks they are dreaming, they will wake up immediately?

Chen Fan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and told himself to wake up!

Then he opened his eyes, but unfortunately, he still hadn't woken up.

Close your eyes, open your eyes, close your eyes, open your eyes...

He blinked until his eyes were sore, and what he saw was still a mud-walled thatched house.

Even the bedding he was lying on was made of half a foot of thick straw, covered with a straw mat. This should be the bed sheet, right?

Fortunately, the quilt was a real cotton quilt. If it were a straw quilt, Chen Fan suspected he would go crazy.

The slightly stiff cotton quilt and the somewhat prickly straw beneath him all told him that this was a real world, not a dream!

Chen Fan suddenly thought of what he had done before going to bed. So, had he time-traveled?

Was what the Taoist said true?

Could you time travel just by doing some inexplicable time travel ritual?

Just as he was in a daze, a girl wearing a blue checkered coarse cloth jacket pushed the door open and walked in.

Chen Fan immediately turned his head to look. When their eyes met, the girl let out a cry of surprise and turned to run out.

"Team Leader Yang, that person is awake!"

Chen Fan blinked. Who was Team Leader Yang? Where was this? What year was it?

Since someone had appeared, he certainly couldn't stay lying down, so he prepared to get out of bed. But as soon as he lifted the quilt, he quickly covered himself again.

Where were his clothes? Where had his nice set of pure cotton pajamas gone?

Five minutes later, the girl from before, her face red, brought him clothes and quickly slipped out, closing the door behind her.

Chen Fan hurriedly put on his underwear and the set of pajamas that had become wrinkled from being dried, then wrapped himself in a half-old padded cotton coat with an unknown smell, put on the holey cotton shoes, and didn't even notice any changes in his body as he quickly walked over and opened the door.

...

The room wasn't big or small, about thirty square meters. The door was in the middle, the kind of double door commonly found in rural areas in the past, with a wooden latch.

Against the wall facing the door was a large square table, with a portrait of the leader hanging above it. On the table were a large teapot, a stack of teacups, and a kerosene lamp, with several bamboo chairs next to it.

On either side of the door, against the walls, were beds, with four original wooden cabinets at the head of the bed on the inside. Clearly, this was a dormitory room for four people.

However, the other three beds were empty, without even a strand of straw. It was unknown whether the room was originally unoccupied.

Chen Fan sat on a bamboo chair, surveying the environment of the room, his gaze finally landing on Team Leader Yang, who was sitting on the other side of the table.

Team Leader Yang, Accountant Liu, and Warehouse Keeper Huang were the only three sitting in the room. Everyone else was crowded at the door, some squatting and some standing, a dark mass of people.

Even the four small, foot-square windows were open, and several heads were peering in through a row of vertical wooden bars.

Never mind the ones in front, could the ones in the back windows even see?

Team Leader Yang cleared his throat. "Young man, where are you from? Why aren't you wearing more clothes in this cold winter? And how did you fall into the river?"

Chen Fan looked at him, his expression dull. "Huh?"

Team Leader Yang turned to look at the other two members of the small team's leadership, then turned back. "What's your name?"

Chen Fan, "Oh, my name is Chen Fan."

Team Leader Yang's face lit up, and he continued to ask, "Where are you from?"

Chen Fan, still dull, "Huh?"

Team Leader Yang's face immediately turned unpleasant. "Comrade, you can't have this attitude. If you don't honestly confess, we'll send you to the Public Security Bureau!"

Chen Fan said with a sad face, "I don't know."

He hadn't even figured out where this was or what era it was, so how could he dare to talk nonsense?

Judging from the accent, it was similar to that of his hometown in Jiangnan, so there were no communication barriers, and the other party didn't suspect anything.

But looking at the clothes these people were wearing, it was mostly the 70s or 80s, maybe even earlier.

Anyway, before the early 1980s, the rural environment in China basically hadn't changed much.

New person, new book, seeking support!