Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 413 - 386: Extra Story 1

My name is Qin Xi, and in my previous life, I drowned. When I woke up again, I found that I had been reborn, but strangely, my mom’s silver ring was gone, yet the pocket watch was still there.

I searched every nook and cranny of the house and even interrogated my mischievous younger brother rigorously, but still couldn’t find it.

In my previous life, I excelled both academically and morally. After the resumption of the college entrance examination in 1977, I was among the first batch admitted into the law department of Shoudu University. By then, the conflict between my family and my uncle’s had intensified to an uncontrollable stage. Even with my utmost caution, my brother was framed for murder and sentenced to death. He was only seventeen years old, too young to be given the death penalty, but the case was blown out of proportion and deemed extremely severe, so he was executed.

Following that was my father’s ordeal—there was a medical accident at the hospital, and someone died during surgery. The patient’s family sued, and though my father wasn’t primarily responsible, an invisible hand manipulated the situation. In the end, my father shouldered all the blame and was sentenced to fourteen years.

Fourteen years, for someone in their forties, there was hope for a future. Yet, not even two years into his sentence, my father was mistakenly killed.

At that time, I felt like I was going mad. Why were these people doing this? Was it because they wanted to settle a past grudge by killing them all?

From then on, I began to hide my knowledge. I pretended to be oblivious to the true nature of things. I started working hard, studying, and quietly building up my own power.

But it seemed like divine intervention for my opponents—they suddenly had a large pool of manpower and funds. The spy I sent over reported that they had the support of several billion US dollars.

It was just the nineties then. What did a billion US dollars signify in those times? To rise up by any means necessary, the enemy of my enemy became my friend. I sided with the one opposed by those supporting them, and gradually my days improved, step by step, I climbed the ranks.

But I had no money in my hands, I couldn’t support my power base. So, I too began to gather wealth, though I did so from the hands of tycoons. Even so, it meant I was tainted, deviating from my initial purpose to serve the people.

By the age of fifty, I had just barely climbed to the top. At this age, rising further was challenging. It was at this time that my people got hold of evidence detailing my uncle’s and Qin Miao’s smuggling and money laundering activities, with my uncle also guilty of corruption and bribery.

To obtain this evidence, I lost many people. They all disappeared, but I knew in my heart—it wasn’t just disappearance; they had been dealt with.

The evidence couldn’t be handed to just anyone, nor could it be released online, as the opposition had become aware and would intercept it. The best option was to deliver it to the capital personally.

But my adversaries wouldn’t allow me that opportunity. When I was arranging with a friend in the military to take me to the capital overnight, an urgent mission to the countryside came up, claiming a severe typhoon had hit and one county hadn’t been evacuated in time.

I knew it was a trick, but considering the lives of the people in that county, I decided to go anyway.

Luckily, everything went smoothly. These people didn’t dare act openly. However, just as I was about to leave, the mayor said that seven or eight students and teachers, along with a tourist, were trapped in a school on a small island.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it, but thinking of the students and their teacher, I compromised. I organized people to row rubber rafts towards the island.

It all went well at first, but on the return trip, I noticed someone pulling at my feet under the water.

Time and again, I was almost dragged under, but I managed to break free. However, these people also pulled the female tourist who was on the same raft as me into the water. I dived in and struggled to push her back.

When I tried to get back on, I was grabbed again.

I was so tired, I felt my whole life had been exhausting. Even after a lifetime of vigilance, I was going to die in the end. So, I handed the tourist the pocket watch with a hidden chip and the silver ring on its chain, hoping she could take them out.

I was dragged underwater, my mind completely blanking out. Then I lost consciousness, feeling utterly liberated. But when I woke up again, I found myself lying in the cave dwelling where I had been sent down to the countryside in the past, with my grandfather’s pocket watch beside my pillow.

Suddenly, I wondered if this was God giving me a chance to change my tragic fate from my past life.

Looking at my silly younger brother lying beside me, everything suddenly felt so beautiful.

While working in the brigade, I snuck out to the county to find some connections, determined to get my father back to the capital as soon as possible.

Most importantly, I remembered the information that spy had brought back in my past life.

It was related to Qin Miao’s unexpected windfall—the spy I had found was a stunningly handsome young man, the kind described in 21st-century internet slang as "handsome, with a big tool and good skills," who served Qin Miao very well.

No matter how capable Qin Miao was, she was still a woman. During a moment of emotion, she talked about her own life-changing experience.

She had been hiding in an abandoned cave to evade the pursuit of the Hong Guards. As she was about to leave, she discovered a dirty chest under a pile of rotten straw within a different cave.

Shaking it, she could tell there was something inside. Therefore, she took the chest home, but couldn’t open it despite many attempts. While she was intending to force it open, Qin Miao’s father, Qin Shouhan, sensed that the origin of the chest was not simple. He asked someone who had once dealt in antiques to have a look, and found out that the chest was intricately constructed, and if forced open, its contents would be destroyed. It had to be opened with a key.

So, following my memory of that time, I began searching for the dilapidated cave and, eventually, the heavens help those who help themselves—I found that chest.

As for my wife in this life, Li Xianglu, she shouldn’t really be called that, because she’s quite special.

At first, I hadn’t realized how special she was. I knew about a girl called Xianglu in the big team, as I had known her in my previous life.

When I first met her, she was pregnant and washing clothes by the river dam. There wasn’t a soul in sight because it was winter, and most women would bring water back home, heat it up, and wash clothes that way. Yet, this woman was washing clothes alone by the river dam.

I didn’t normally interact with her, but at that time, I encountered trouble. People were chasing me, and she hid me in their water cart.