Ch 128 (end): Bringing a Farming Game System to the 1970s

Yu Xiang’an felt as if she were struggling in a dream. All around her was darkness, and something seemed to be pressing down on her body. She tried to open her eyes, but could not. Her thin eyelids felt as though they were weighed down by a mountain.

It was very quiet around her, or perhaps too quiet. The silence made her uneasy.

Was this a nightmare?

Why hadn’t she woken up yet?

Yu Xiang’an tried to understand what had happened to her. Yes, what exactly had happened?

She forced herself to recall. Ah… she remembered. She and Lin Chuanbai had grown old, had lived full lives. They should have died.

But if she was dead, why did she still have thoughts?

Was this what death was like?

In endless darkness, alone, with nothing else. As if she were floating in the void of the universe.

No… there seemed to be something else. What was it?

Yu Xiang’an focused and listened carefully. The sound felt familiar, yet strange. What was it?

Her mind stirred. As long as it wasn’t just empty nothingness.

In the hospital, Zhang Junli stood anxiously by the bed, watching as the doctor examined her younger daughter. Her daughter had been in a vegetative state for over a year. She had never woken up, and the doctors had said the chances were extremely slim, almost a miracle.

But no matter how slim, Zhang Junli refused to give up.

The human brain was so mysterious. Perhaps her daughter simply hadn’t reacted at the time. Given enough time and care, she might recover.

She would not give up.

The word “miracle” existed because such things had happened. She had looked into other cases. There were indeed patients who woke up after years, even decades, in a vegetative state. The chances were small, but who could say her daughter wouldn’t be the next miracle?

She did not have to worry about the cost of care. Her family could afford it, and even if they could not, they would not have to pay. The family of the little girl her daughter and that kind young man had protected was wealthy, and had earnestly insisted on covering all medical expenses. No matter the cost, as long as there was a chance of recovery, they would pay.

That family owned an entire commercial building in a prime location. Thanks to the two of them, otherwise their child, so young, would likely have died on the spot when the heavy billboard fell.

That at least gave Zhang Junli some comfort. Her daughter had done a good deed, and at least it had not been for someone ungrateful.

They had seen everything clearly on the surveillance footage. The little girl had been playing with toys outside her family’s shop when the billboard above suddenly loosened and fell. At that critical moment, two people rushed forward to shield her, but they were unable to get away in time and were struck on the head by the heavy sign.

The little girl suffered only fright, but the two young people both lost consciousness, repeatedly hovering on the brink of death. After intense efforts from the doctors, their vital signs finally stabilized.

However, neither of them had regained consciousness.

They were placed in the same hospital room, separated by a curtain. Their daughter was on the right, the young man on the left.

Lying unconscious for so long, both had grown thin.

Watching the doctor examine her daughter’s gaunt face, Zhang Junli could hardly contain her excitement.

Earlier, while washing her daughter’s face, she had noticed some reaction. Her daughter’s eyes had moved. Her brows had furrowed. Her hand had twitched once, unconsciously.

She had immediately gone to inform the doctor.

Eye movement might happen occasionally, but furrowing the brows was rare. Seeing both together, along with what seemed like signs of struggle, could it mean her daughter was trying to wake up?

She was both nervous and hopeful.

After examining her, the doctor said, “This is a good sign. Any response is a good thing. Observe closely during this period.”

He instructed the nurse, “Notify me immediately if anything happens.”

Zhang Junli nearly burst into tears of joy.

The doctor then went to check on the young man in the next bed. He appeared unchanged, still unresponsive to external stimuli, as if asleep.

Zhang Junli shared the good news. After work, Yu Xiang’an’s elder brother and his wife, her older sister, and her father all came.

They took turns speaking to her by the bedside.

Yu Jiaofang stood there, talking at length. “Xiao An, why are you still lying there? I won’t oppose you opening your restaurant anymore, but if you don’t want to do it, don’t blame me for not giving you the chance. You’re the one giving it up, do you hear me? Wake up and tell me.”

Her elder brother Yu Chaoyang said, “Little sister, stop sleeping. You’ve slept enough. Haven’t you always cared about your looks? I’m telling you, you look much uglier now. If you don’t wake up, you’ll look even worse. Hurry and get better, eat more and recover.”

Her older sister Yu Yingxia also spoke. “Little sister, I have news for you. I’ve got a boyfriend. You said before that if I got one, you had to approve him. How can you go back on your word?”

…

After speaking to her, they also went to the young man’s bedside and said a few words to him.

He was pitiful, with no family. Aside from the nurses, only they spoke to him.

A good person should not meet a bad fate, so they watched over him as well.

There were caregivers, but they were paid workers, and sometimes not as attentive.

Unfortunately, no matter how much they spoke, there was still no response from either patient.

Yu Yingxia felt disappointed. “Why is there still no reaction after we said so much to her? Mom, are you sure you didn’t imagine it?”

Zhang Junli smacked her sharply. “Don’t say such unlucky things. How could I have imagined it? Your sister is probably just tired. If we keep talking to her, she’ll definitely wake up.”

The sister-in-law had been watching closely. Suddenly she exclaimed, “Look!”

On the hospital bed, Yu Xiang’an’s pale face shifted slightly. Her eyes moved, and her eyelids seemed to try to lift, but did not open.

In the darkness, Yu Xiang’an was stirred awake. She seemed to hear voices, but they were too faint to understand. What were they saying?

She tried hard to listen, but it was like they were in another room, whispering so softly that it was almost impossible to catch.

Could they speak louder?

Before she could make anything out, the voices disappeared. She felt a sense of loss. Would they come again?

Because of this reaction, everyone was overjoyed. They agreed to come every day and talk to her.

After some time, the voices returned. Yu Xiang’an focused and listened. They seemed slightly louder now. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Though she still could not understand clearly, she felt reassured. If the voices kept returning, then even if she could not understand now, they would become clearer eventually.

She told herself not to rush. That feeling, of someone speaking to you while the signal was distorted, leaving only static and no clarity, was truly unbearable.

In the darkness, Yu Xiang’an had no sense of time.

She did not know how long had passed. Sometimes she seemed to sleep, sometimes she woke and heard faint sounds.

It felt like a long time had gone by. The voices grew louder, and now she could catch certain words, like “younger sister,” “daughter,” “wake up soon.”

These words appeared most frequently.

Hearing them strung together made her heart tremble.

*

In the hospital room, Zhang Junli now stayed by her daughter’s side every day, waiting for a miracle.

Her daughter’s responses to the outside world were becoming stronger, especially when they spoke. The doctor was also increasingly optimistic about the situation.

When she came to the hospital room that day, as usual she spoke to her daughter, “Someone went to your restaurant to ask when it’s reopening. Your lease was signed for a year and a half, and the shop is still sitting there untouched. You’d better wake up soon, otherwise when the lease expires, your father and I aren’t going to renew it…”

She also mentioned Lin Chuanbai in the next bed.

“The doctor checked on that young man yesterday too. His condition is getting better as well. You’re both lucky, blessed with strong fates. Wake up soon. Lying here like this isn’t much fun for either of you, right…”

As she spoke, someone arrived, a woman with flaxen wavy hair, bringing along a little girl. This was the child Yu Xiang’an and Lin Chuanbai had saved.

Zhou Zhou came with a fruit basket and two bouquets of flowers, placing one by each bedside, freshening the air.

Seeing them, Zhang Junli showed a complicated smile.

As a mother, seeing her daughter lying there, unconscious and in a vegetative state, of course she felt resentment. But what could she do?

Her daughter had chosen to save someone. She wanted her daughter to be a good person, but not at the cost of her own safety. In the end, she was still a selfish mother.

If she could go back, she would not let her daughter take such a risk.

The little girl called out sweetly, “Big sister, big brother, please wake up soon. Niuniu hasn’t properly thanked you yet. Niuniu is very grateful to you. Thank you for saving me.”

The child’s soft voice made Zhang Junli’s eyes sting.

Yu Xiang’an heard that clearly.

What she looked forward to most now was hearing voices. Every day, listening to them speak made her happy.

She now understood her situation.

She had never imagined she would hear her parents’ voices again. They were calling for her to wake up, and she was trying. She was in a vegetative state, but she wanted to open her eyes and smile at them.

To them, she had been asleep for over a year.

To her, it had been decades since she had seen them.

She wanted to smile and say: I’m back.

So don’t be sad anymore.

From their conversations, she also learned about Lin Chuanbai. He was just next door, separated by a curtain, in the same condition as her, also in a vegetative state. And recently, his responses had been improving just like hers.

That reassured her. It seemed they had returned together.

Hearing the little girl’s voice, Yu Xiang’an replied silently in her heart, “Hello. I heard your thanks. Be more careful when you play in the future.”

Lin Chuanbai also heard the child’s voice. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and his hand seemed to gather strength.

But even after exerting himself, his hand did not lift. His strength was already spent.

When he first regained awareness, he felt as if something was enclosing him. He wondered where he was. Was this death?

He tried to enter his space, but could not. He shouted, but there was no response. He remained in that empty darkness, unchanged.

His medicinal garden space should have been bound to him. If he could not enter it now, there were two possibilities. Either the space was gone, or he was already dead.

Lin Chuanbai leaned toward the second possibility, that he was dead.

But then, how could he still think?

Could there really be such a thing as a soul?

Then why had no black and white underworld envoys come to take him away?

If he was not dead, then where were the others? Where were his children?

Slowly, he began to hear his own heartbeat.

Thump. Thump.

Slow, like something in hibernation.

Strange, truly strange. What state was he in?

Gradually, besides his heartbeat, he heard other sounds. He waited patiently, and then he began to understand what was being said.

The voices were unfamiliar.

If he was not mistaken, he was the “young man” they kept mentioning, and the “Xiao An” they often spoke of was the person most familiar to him.

They had come back.

These people were her family.

At that thought, Lin Chuanbai felt that perhaps, in some past life, he and Xiang’an had saved humanity.

Otherwise, how could such good fortune happen a second time?

But he also felt uneasy. If he had come back, what about Xiang’an?

When she woke up, would she be the original version of herself in her twenties, or the one who had lived decades with him in another time?

*

By the time Yu Xiang’an was finally able to open her eyes, more than ten days had passed since Zhou Zhou and her daughter had visited. At that moment, Zhang Junli was trimming her nails, talking as she worked.

“Your nails have grown again. Look at your hands, they’re much paler than before. When you wake up and see your skin, you’ll definitely be happy. Girls look better with fair skin, but I still think a bit of color looks healthier. A sun-kissed tone looks more vibrant. Too pale makes you look unhealthy. When you get better, go out in the sun more…”

“Mom, I… will…” Yu Xiang’an spoke slowly, word by word, in a faint breath.

Zhang Junli’s hand trembled. She looked up in shock at her daughter, at the slight smile on her lips, and could not help reaching out to touch her. Tears the size of beads rolled down her face. She wiped them away roughly and shouted at the top of her lungs, “Someone come quickly! My daughter is awake!”

She herself was a surgeon, yet in that moment she forgot she could simply press the call button.

Her shout brought the doctors rushing in, surrounding the bed and conducting examinations. Every awakening from a vegetative state was a miracle, and the longer the time, the lower the chances. Having lain there for over a year, her case counted as a small miracle.

She had difficulty speaking, so when the doctors asked questions, she responded by blinking.

Zhang Junli stood outside the circle. She was a doctor, but not in this field. She did not interfere.

Through the doctors, Yu Xiang’an looked at her and smiled, her eyes curving. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Before long, her eyelids grew heavy again. The doctor noticed and told her to rest.

“You’ve just woken up. Your body is still very weak. If you’re sleepy, sleep. Don’t force yourself. Don’t worry, your condition is very promising. Don’t put pressure on yourself.”

Soon, Yu Xiang’an fell into a deep sleep again, but Zhang Junli’s state of mind was completely different now.

It felt like riding a roller coaster.

Soaring through the sky, taking in all the scenery, her heart full of emotion.

Her youngest daughter had truly woken up.

They all stepped outside the room to talk so as not to disturb her rest. Once outside, Zhang Junli clasped her hands together. She had never believed in gods or Buddhas before, but now she prayed to all of them. “Amitabha, Guanyin, God, thank you for your protection. Thank you, thank you!”

Her daughter had finally woken up.

Then she suddenly remembered and immediately called Yu Jiaofang.

Yu Jiaofang rushed over as soon as he got the call. Looking at his daughter sleeping on the bed, he wiped his reddened eyes and patted Zhang Junli’s back. “Xiao An is awake now. The doctor said she’ll be fine. She just needs time to recover. Once she’s better, she’ll be as strong as ever.”

Although it was a pity he had not seen her wake up with his own eyes, she had woken up, and he could wait here. Sooner or later, he would see it.

Yu Chaoyang looked at his sister’s thin figure and took a deep breath. “As long as she’s awake, that’s enough. That’s enough.”

…

Lin Chuanbai opened his eyes the day after Yu Xiang’an woke up. He stared at the white ceiling, smelling the disinfectant, then tried to turn his head toward the other bed.

The curtain had already been removed when Yu Xiang’an woke up, so he tried hard to move, but his body was stiff and would not respond.

Zhang Junli, who was speaking to her daughter and facing his direction, noticed. She let out an exclamation and this time remembered to press the call button.

“The young man next door has woken up too!”

Yu Xiang’an slowly turned her head to look at him. Their eyes met, her brows and eyes curving into a smile.

It’s really him.

Both of them understood without words. Their gazes met briefly, then separated.

At first, they could not show their familiarity. To everyone else, they were still strangers. There was no reason for them to know each other.

With the two of them waking up one after another, quite a few people came to see them.

This entire ward housed patients who had lost consciousness for various reasons. Some families had already given up, while others, like Zhang Junli, still held on.

They came hoping to share in this “good fortune,” wishing their own loved ones might wake up as well.

Zhou Zhou also came with her daughter Niuniu. The little girl ran over and held Yu Xiang’an’s hand. “Big sister, I heard from Mom that you woke up, and that big brother woke up too. There’s something I really want to tell you. I’m very grateful to you. I’ll always, always remember it!”

Zhou Zhou also expressed her gratitude sincerely.

Yu Xiang’an shook her head. “It was just instinct. I would have done the same for anyone.”

After they left, Zhang Junli sighed, “Fortunately, the person you saved has a conscience. When the accident happened, they immediately called an ambulance and didn’t waste any time. You both got surgery in time. Over the past year, they’ve spent quite a lot.”

Yu Xiang’an smiled but said nothing.

She now understood more.

Her mother had originally been a surgeon, always very busy, but had since transferred to a less demanding department so she could spend more time caring for her.

Her mother had loved her work, yet she gave it up, and her responsibilities had changed.

Her father still managed the traditional medicine clinic while continuing to study, hoping that learning more might help her.

Her older brother and sister were also in the medical field, and she knew how busy that work was. Yet for over a year, they still came every week to visit her.

Yu Xiang’an had to use all her self-control not to break down and cry.

Age and experience had given her one advantage: better control over her emotions.

“Mom, I’ve been lying here for so long, I’ve missed a lot. Tell me what’s happened.”

Zhang Junli’s expression softened. “Alright. What do you want to hear? I’ll tell you slowly. Let’s start with your sister. Her boyfriend actually has a bit to do with you. She asked a classmate, and that classmate recommended him. One thing led to another, and they became familiar…”

Yu Xiang’an cast a smiling glance at Lin Chuanbai, who was also listening nearby.

This was something he would eventually have to deal with. The more he understood now, the easier it would be later.

The two of them gradually adjusted to their bodies. At first, they could not walk at all. Slowly, like infants, they relearned everything from the beginning.

Fortunately, they had not been bedridden for too long. Those who lay in bed for years often suffered severe muscle atrophy.

Ever since waking up, Yu Xiang’an had been in good spirits. Even though relearning to walk and adapting to her body was painful, she had returned.

She had seen her parents again, her brother and sister.

And not much time had passed. She had returned to her twenties, to youth.

A young body was full of vitality. As she felt her strength gradually returning, she sensed the lightness of youth.

Having experienced old age before, the contrast made her feel almost weightless.

Lin Chuanbai felt the same. The two of them often moved together. To Zhang Junli and the others, they had already become familiar with each other.

During rehabilitation, they encouraged one another, talked frequently. It was not strange. After all, how many people go through such shared hardship?

When no one was around, they communicated quietly and confirmed something that made them very happy: Yu Xiang’an’s game farm and Lin Chuanbai’s medicinal garden space had returned with them.

Before, they had cleared out some items in their spaces, but had also stocked up on supplies, just in case they encountered another unexpected situation. Those supplies might come in handy.

Yu Xiang’an’s storage held many things: food, water, clothing, seeds, medicine… preparations for being thrown into a resource-scarce or even apocalyptic world. She had also prepared for normal situations, such as money, including RMB, USD, euros, totaling several million, as well as paintings, calligraphy, porcelain, and more importantly, gold bars and gemstones as hard currency.

Paper money might not be usable due to serial number issues, which could make it look counterfeit, but gold, silver, and gems could always be used.

All they needed was to travel somewhere else and find a reason to exchange them.

That was easy for them.

Because of how naturally close they were, Zhang Junli sometimes found it a bit strange.

They did not talk much, but when they did, they would say half a sentence. She would wait for the rest, but there was nothing more.

She did not understand, but they had already understood each other completely.

Was this just a generational gap?

She did not have this issue when speaking with her older children.

Had these two somehow known each other before, without her realizing?

Yu Yingxia, more perceptive, secretly pulled Yu Xiang’an aside and asked, “Have you taken a liking to that young man?”

She said it half-jokingly, but Yu Xiang’an did not blush at all. She nodded seriously. “Yes. You figured it out.”

Yu Yingxia: ???

Wasn’t this a bit too fast?

“You’ve only known him for such a short time. Do you really understand him? Do you know his personality?”

Inside, Yu Xiang’an thought: I understand him more than anyone. We’ve been together for a very long time.

But outwardly, she simply smiled obediently. “Sis, do you believe in love at first sight? I liked him the first time I saw him. I want to get to know him better, and naturally I’ll learn what kind of person he is. You know a lot of people. Help me check him out, observe his character?”

Yu Yingxia: …

Helping her sister was fine, but it felt like her sister had not told her everything.

Rehabilitation went very well.

Some patients who woke from a vegetative state suffered aftereffects like slow reactions or poor coordination, but neither of them had any.

When they were discharged, even the attending doctor remarked that their case was rare.

On the day they left the hospital, Zhang Junli specially prepared a brazier and pomelo leaves to ward off bad luck. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. The young man next door had no family, so she prepared a set for him as well.

Seeing this, Yu Xiang’an felt a soft ache in her heart.

Her mother had never done such things before. She had always been a firm materialist.

Yu Xiang’an obediently followed the ritual, and afterward they went to a nearby hotel for a celebratory meal.

Zhang Junli also invited the young man next door.

They had shared hardship and recovered together. That kind of bond was rare.

After the meal, everyone returned home.

Now Yu Xiang’an was her parents’ precious treasure. They would not let her do anything. Even though they knew she was fine, she did not rush. She stayed home for a while, easing their lingering worry.

It was only after nearly two months at home that when she went out, her parents finally stopped calling her constantly.

At this point, Lin Chuanbai had already gone out of town to liquidate some assets and now had some cash on hand.

The first thing he needed to do was buy a house. Otherwise, how could he possibly go to her family and ask them to entrust their daughter to him?

For Zhang Junli and Yu Jiaofang, life had finally settled into a long-lost sense of peace.

Their youngest daughter had recovered, been discharged, rested at home for a while, and had even restarted her private kitchen business. Their eldest son required no worry, and their eldest daughter’s relationship was stable. Everyone was paired off, except for the youngest.

And then the youngest daughter brought that “fellow sufferer” young man home…

Yu Jiaofang: …

How did this happen so suddenly? The last cabbage in his house had been taken by a pig.

Zhang Junli’s gaze toward Lin Chuanbai also shifted. So her earlier feeling that something was off had been right. The two of them must have already taken a liking to each other back then. She still smiled on the surface, but quickly began probing Lin Chuanbai’s background in a roundabout way.

If he were to become her son-in-law, she needed to know what kind of person he was.

Everyone already knew he had no close family, but what about everything else?

As it turned out, things were acceptable.

He had been in the same school as her daughter. He had just bought a place in the newly opened residential area across the street, had paid the down payment, and although he was still repaying the mortgage, he had investments in the stock market, so the payments were not a burden. He was also planning to pursue a graduate degree. Even while studying, he could still get married and start a family.

Studying further was a good thing.

Yu Xiang’an’s older brother and sister held doctoral and master’s degrees respectively. That was expected, being in medicine. Few in that field had low qualifications.

They had once wanted Yu Xiang’an to pursue graduate studies as well, but she had not been willing.

Now that this future son-in-law wanted to study, they could only support it.

Even though Lin Chuanbai had prepared himself before coming, the barrage of questions still left him sweating.

Some details had been too long ago, and he genuinely could not remember them clearly.

Yu Xiang’an watched from the side, filling in gaps when needed. If something was too far back to recall, she would smoothly change the subject.

Once Lin Chuanbai passed their “inspection,” what followed was the classic look of a mother-in-law growing more satisfied the more she looked at her future son-in-law.

Yu Jiaofang stopped objecting as well.

What else could he say? A daughter grown could not be kept. Everyone could see through the topic shifts and the probing glances. It was simply that they found the young man’s character acceptable, and his financial situation would not leave their daughter living a life of hardship. So they chose to pretend not to notice.

Lin Chuanbai quietly let out a breath. He and Yu Xiang’an exchanged a look and both couldn’t help laughing.

Who would have thought that after all they had been through, they would once again play out the scene of a nervous young man visiting his future in-laws?

After passing the parents’ test, the two of them spent time together more often. In their parents’ eyes, this was just young love.

Lin Chuanbai spent his time studying, reviewing textbooks.

At his current level, not only could he handle graduate studies, he could even supervise doctoral students. But his past records were clear. How could he explain where this level of knowledge had come from? He had never been considered exceptionally gifted before, so he needed a reasonable explanation.

Switching fields would be difficult, but exam results spoke for themselves. Once he enrolled and attended classes under proper guidance, his knowledge would no longer seem so unusual.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiang’an reopened her private kitchen while also moving through the stock market.

The stock market was unpredictable.

Experienced brokers could make huge profits, but beginners could also strike it big.

Fortunes could be made, or lost, in an instant.

When she made money there, people would simply say she was lucky. They would not think too deeply about it.

Many details did not align perfectly between parallel timelines, but the overall trends remained consistent.

She had experienced multiple bull markets before.

Recently, there had been an opportunity during a market crash. Using the several million Lin Chuanbai had obtained from selling gemstones as capital, she shorted the market.

Something originally valued at 100, she agreed to sell at a future date. When the price dropped sharply during that period, from 100 to 1, she could buy it at the lower price, fulfill the contract, and profit from the difference.

That was just an example. She had not earned that much, but her capital had still grown more than twentyfold.

She did not stop there. She continued looking for opportunities to build more capital. It seemed like a lot, but to some people, it was merely the cost of a few luxury cars or a few rounds of gambling.

Money is not everything, but without it, nothing is possible.

And in this life, they still had a long road ahead.

🌱🌿 🫧🍃

Thingyan: Thank you all so much for being patient with me. I know it took a while, and I’m really grateful you stuck around until the end.

If you enjoyed the story, I’d love it if you could leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on Novel Updates 😊

Thanks again, and I’ll see you in the next novel! 😘😘😘