I traveled through time, starting with two acres of land and a dog

The days were still dull and ordinary, but Du Chenyu was anxious inside, because this year saw dramatic historical changes. The Railway Protection Movement in Sichuan and the gunshots of the Xinhai Revolution in Wuchang were both heard this year. He could not remember the exact time of the Railway Protection Movement, but he still remembered October 10th of the Gregorian calendar of the Xinhai Revolution. How to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn things around without being burned to death by the world has always been bothering him.

Du Chenyu has always been very cautious and tried his best to behave like a normal baby, eating when he should and crying when he should. He just developed faster, and could barely stand at 4 months old, and could call daddy and mommy at 5 months old. At the 6th month, which was almost June in the lunar calendar, he decided to tell his father, mother and grandfather.

It was probably the beginning of June. Anyway, it was a very hot time. After one evening, a rainstorm poured down in the evening. It came and went quickly, washing away the day's scorching heat in a hurry.

The second uncle was still working as a helper at the landlord Yu's house and hadn't come back. At the dinner table, Du Chenyu ate a few mouthfuls of rice porridge. Although it didn't taste very good and was very rough, there was no other way. He had to eat more to grow faster. Relying on his mother's milk was not enough, so when he was 4 months old, he ate rice porridge. After eating, he sat alone on the only dark black chair in the house that was shaking all over. The armrest on the right side was newly spliced. In the clay pot next to it, several red pine knots were emitting flames. In northern Sichuan, this kind of pine knot with oil that can be used for lighting is called "pine light". It was also the main lighting tool at night before kerosene lighting was used in rural areas of northern Sichuan. The violent black smoke rushed straight to the roof and continued to fumigate this mud house that was hundreds of years old.

After Du Chenyu finished eating, he called his grandfather, father, and mother to eat slowly. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He could actually say such polite words. His mother said in surprise: "Huzi, who taught you to say these polite words so fluently?" Grandpa and father also looked at Du Chenyu. He decided to show his hand immediately and continued:

"Then I will tell you a big secret, but you must keep it secret, otherwise I will be treated as a monster, put in a pig cage, or killed by others." Du Chenyu patted his chest and finished speaking slowly. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

He went on to say, "I think I must be the incarnation of Wenquxing. I was born knowing a lot. A lot of knowledge from books is stored in my head, and I can foresee major events that are about to happen. I was born with the ability to read and write. In the past few months, I have often flipped through my father's textbooks. I am not just playing around, I really know them, but I cannot recognize all of them (some of the more difficult traditional Chinese characters), but I have no problem understanding their meanings. I think I am smarter than Gan Luo, who became prime minister at the age of twelve, and Cao Chong, who weighed an elephant at the age of seven in ancient times." He finished this sentence in one breath, a sentence that he had been thinking about for a long time.

After saying this, everyone was stunned, staring with wide eyes, and the mother shouted, "Huzi, what nonsense are you talking about? This is true." The father immediately went to the middle room and took out a copy of the Thousand Character Classic for Du Chenyu.

Du Chenyu took it and read without saying a word: "The sky and the earth are dark yellow, the universe is vast and boundless. The sun and the moon wax and wane, the stars are lined up..."

He continued reading and wrote it down on the table with chopsticks. After reading twenty sentences, he stopped and continued:

"We have gone through the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the Qing Dynasty, which experienced ten emperors. It has been a long time since the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains. It is about to be destroyed. The Han Chinese will surely revive." He looks a bit like a charlatan, and his words are eloquent.

After saying this, the grandfather was so frightened that the bamboo cigarette in his hand fell to the ground, and he knelt down with a thud.

“Kneel down quickly, you Russian! The God of Literature has come down to earth and there is hope for our Du family’s revival,” my grandfather said loudly. Then he knelt down and told my father to kneel down as well. For a moment, my father and mother were at a loss for words.

Du Chenyu immediately said, "Grandpa, you can't kneel down. I am still your grandson. If an elder kneels down, it will shorten my life span. Get up quickly."

Grandpa thought about it for a while, felt that what he said made sense, and then sat down again. Du Chenyu continued:

"I was born with knowledge, which is not surprising. In ancient times, there were so many child prodigies who were born from the stars. It is not surprising that there is one now. The key is that we must keep it a secret and not let outsiders know. Because of this chaotic world, our family cannot protect my life. The rich and powerful people want to nip the threat in the bud."

My father also sat down again and calmed down. After all, he had read a lot of books. There were many geniuses and prodigies in both unofficial and official history books. But he suddenly fell on his head and didn't react. My father said:

"What Hu Zi said makes sense. All geniuses are geniuses only if they survive. There are too many child prodigies buried in history, and too few who become adults. Cao Chong is the best example."

Grandpa knocked on the table with his pipe and said, "Our whole family will protect Huzi with our lives. Whoever harms Huzi will have to take my life first."

After hearing this, Du Chenyu burst into tears unconsciously. When his mother saw it, she hugged him and said, "Don't be afraid, Huzi. It doesn't matter if you are the Wenquxing or Wuquxing, you are still my son and my sweetheart."

Then he helped him wipe away his tears. Grandpa went on to say, "What happened tonight must not be spread out, and everything should go on as normal."

Then he said to his mother, "I'm sleepy and I'm going to sleep!" After saying this, he felt relieved and relaxed, and then he slowly fell asleep in his mother's arms.

A few days later, Du Chenyu could barely walk a few steps and speak more fluently. When his father came back from private school in the afternoon, he asked, "How long will the dog days be closed?" His father replied, "How many days are left?"

Du Chenyu said: "Is there anything big happening outside right now? Have you heard about it?"

"Recently, there has been some kind of revolution all over the country. I also heard that there was some kind of railway protection movement around Chengdu. The day before yesterday, he talked with Mr. Wang Shoumin, the accountant of Yu Baozhang, an old scholar with great insight. They went to the special zone last month. The newspapers all said that the farmers in Chengdu were initiating some kind of railway protection movement, and the court sent a large army to suppress it everywhere." My father replied.

"Dad, how do you feel about the Qing Dynasty now? The revolutionaries in the south, Yuan Shikai in the north, and the regent of the court can stabilize the country?" Du Chenyu asked.

"It is indeed difficult. The Manchus have been in power for 300 years and still have not made any changes. The Central Plains dynasty has been in a vicious cycle for 300 years. But it is probably not that easy to decline and change!" replied my father.

Du Chenyu was really happy that his father had such views and was not loyal to the Qing Dynasty. Without his father's full support, he would only be able to survive for more than a decade before he could achieve anything. It was too late to gain his father's full support and recognition of his ideas.

Du Chenyu then asked: "Dad, do you believe me? Are you willing to support him with all your strength? Are you willing to take a gamble for the glory of the Du family?" He opened his eyes and clenched his fists seriously.

"What do you mean? I'm almost 40, and you're my only child. Your second uncle is not very smart. If the Du family doesn't rely on you in the future, who will they rely on?"

"What is the most valuable thing in troubled times, and what is the basis for survival?" Du Chenyu asked.

"Every time a dynasty changes, there are constant wars and famines. Many people can't survive. Now there are riots by the White Lotus Sect and the Red Lantern Sect in the mountainous areas, and revolutionaries are everywhere in the big cities!" said my father.

"Dad, since you know that many people can't survive, why don't we store food in advance?"

"That's easy for you to say. But where will you get the money? Now is the time when there is a shortage of food. The price of grain has risen compared to last year. Now rice costs two taels of silver per stone. (This is similar to the current price of rice at 2 yuan per catty, and net rice at more than 3 yuan per catty)" said my father after calculating.

"Dad, look, this is how I calculated it. We have two big goats that can probably buy six or seven taels of silver, and that pig can buy more than five or six taels, so we can get about 5 taels at home. Do you have anything valuable in the house that can be pawned? The deeds of our land are mortgaged to Village Chief Yu, and we can borrow high-interest loans, so we can probably get 6 taels of silver." Du Chenyu continued to calculate.

"What? Are you crazy? You mortgaged all your land to loan sharks. If you lose money, your whole family will starve to death." My father's reaction was predictable.

Du Chenyu continued:

"Dad, sit down. If you are talking about this, you must be 30% sure. You passed the imperial examination before you were . If the imperial examination had not been abolished, you would have been a juren now. You are also well-versed in history, and you know the past and the present. First, the Qing Dynasty will face civil strife at the end of this year and the beginning of next year. Various uprisings will emerge in the country. With civil strife across the country, grain prices will rise. Even if the autumn grain comes out in the short term and grain prices fall, it will not stop the long-term upward trend. Grain is the hardest currency in troubled times. As the saying goes, "With grain in hand, there is no panic in the heart." It is more valuable than fields and houses. Second, : When a poor family rises in troubled times, who doesn't gamble their life? We only have a little land and a few thatched houses. Third: Since I was born in troubled times and have some innate abilities, if I can't plan ahead, I will definitely be crushed to ashes. If you don't agree, I might as well die early to avoid the fear. However, this matter is not urgent, it needs to be planned slowly, and there is still a month or two. However, the mortgage of the land must not be told to grandpa, he is old and can't bear such a big shock. Dad, you think about it carefully, I will go to find mother."

He finished speaking a little rashly, feeling that his words were a little harsh and a little sorry, but “a loud drum needs a heavy hammer to hit it”, leaving his father alone and disheveled in the wind.

Du Chenyu then swayed over the threshold and lay down on the bed. It was getting dark outside and the room was pitch black. The room was empty and a few rays of light were visible through the cracks in the tiles. He had thought deeply about this matter for a long time and how to express it. He thought his father should be moved and not have to accept all of his ideas, but at least 80% would be fine. He thought slowly and fell asleep soon.

The next day, when I woke up, I didn't see my father. He probably didn't sleep well last night. He called out to my mother loudly. Through the middle door, I saw her by the fire, adding firewood to the pot to cook. The house was filled with thick smoke. She heard the call and answered.

"Little boy, here I come." She entered the house and picked him up naked, casually took out a pair of crotchless linen pants and a sweatshirt, then sat on the threshold of the fire room to feed him. Du Chenyu asked in his arms:

"Where is Dad?"

"He went to school, he left early in the morning," she said.

Three days later, his father still did not respond to Du Chenyu's plan to sell the property and buy food. On the fourth day, he came back from school early and saw him sitting alone on the bed playing. Normally, he rarely showed the fact that he could talk and walk in front of others, so he spent a lot of time in bed. He picked him up and walked to the ridge behind the house. In the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the rice was already full of rice ears. The tall stalks of cold water rice, nearly one meter high, swayed in the wind in the heat of the evening.

After walking two ridges, Du Chenyu asked, "What do you think specifically about what we talked about last time?"

"After the autumn harvest this year, we will collect 100 taels of silver and buy grain in Wuyin Fort to store. Then we will wait for the times to change. When the grain prices rise in April and May next year when there is a shortage of food, we will sell them. At present, grain prices will at least not fall. The spring drought this year will also affect grain supply. At the very least, we can break even. If the situation changes, grain prices will surely rise." Du Chenyu analyzed to his father.

"I've been thinking about it for a few days. I agree with your idea. What's the specific method?" the father continued to ask.

"When the early grain comes out in September, collect it early. It's best to start purchasing in late September, rent a house in the fort, and store it. One hundred taels can only buy at least 50 shi of grain, which is not much and can be completed in a few days." Du Chenyu said.

"Well, I agree with you, let's do it," the father finally made up his mind to take a gamble.

At dinner, my father told my grandfather, my second uncle, and my mother about this matter. He just said that he would sell the two big goats and the New Year pig next month and planned to do a business to buy food and save it just in case. Everyone in the family agreed to do this. In recent years, natural disasters have continued, and food is indeed the only guarantee for survival.