Where is the way forward?

Zhao Dongchuan began to try punching, jumping, and even tried to stare at the bowl on the table with his mind, attempting to move it with his thoughts to see if he had telekinesis.

He made many attempts, but there was nothing out of the ordinary about him, including calling out to the system in his mind, or saying things like 'activate,' all with no response.

This made Zhao Dongchuan wonder if he had only dreamed of becoming Zhao Dongchuan in a future world, but his inner self clearly told him that he was indeed Zhao Dongchuan, a post-90s otaku slacker from the 21st century!

There was no doubt about this, which left only two possibilities.

One was that he truly had no 'golden finger' and needed to rely on his own knowledge from the future to break through his current predicament, at least to solve the problem of food first.

The second was that he did have a 'golden finger,' but he hadn't activated it yet, and it required specific conditions to do so.

He couldn't think of those conditions now, so he could only say he needed to go out more, interact more with the people and events of this world, and see if he could activate his 'golden finger.'

Thinking of this, Zhao Dongchuan felt a bit more confident; whether it was the first or second option, both were quite actionable.

After all, he was from the 21st century; as long as he didn't court death or stand out too much, he could safely navigate this special period.

Once policies changed, whether he became a dragon or a tiger would depend on whether he could make good use of his advanced knowledge and foresight to achieve the pinnacle of life.

There were many areas where he could learn; as a new socialist youth who had read quite a few transmigration novels, many operational methods could be borrowed.

Zhao Dongchuan's thoughts began to clear, and his mindset became stable.

After all, he was originally a person who took things as they came; overthinking was meaningless.

He accepted reality, composed himself, and prepared to embrace this magnificent and great era.

Next, Zhao Dongchuan began to take stock of his belongings.

According to the original owner's memory, there were only two catties of sorghum coarse grain left in the house, distributed by the village.

The original owner wasn't very good at cooking and ate little to prevent running out of food, so he had saved some.

Hidden at the bottom of a chest, a tattered cloth wrapped a few yuan and some food stamps, along with a quilt that clearly wasn't a rural style.

Although it looked a bit dirty and hadn't been washed much, it was perfectly fine for keeping warm in winter, which should have been prepared by the original owner's family.

Other than that, there were only some daily necessities; the food he brought had long been squandered by the original owner.

Transportation was very inconvenient in those years; it was usually handled by the post office, and a round trip by mail took a lot of time.

There were also some books he brought; after all, he was a middle school graduate, and the original owner also liked to read some novels and storybooks, which were also a source of spiritual comfort for the original owner.

After tallying these, Zhao Dongchuan understood that life was indeed very difficult for people at that time, partly due to material scarcity and partly due to the spiritual suppression of the special period.

Rural people had no other forms of entertainment, so many people simply turned off their lights and went to bed at night.

It was a rare event when a projection team came to the Commune to show a movie; people from distant villages would rush over to watch, which was truly lamentable and a distinct characteristic of the era.

Just as Zhao Dongchuan began to let his thoughts wander and daydream, the courtyard gate outside was pushed open, footsteps sounded, and a young man's voice called out to him.

"Dong Ge, Dong Ge"

"Dong Ge, are you home?"

As he spoke, a tall, thin young man wearing clothes full of patches walked in.

"Dong Ge, you're home. My dad said you fainted this morning. Are you alright?"

Zhao Dongchuan also realized who the person in front of him was; this was Sun Shaoping, one of the male protagonists of "ordinary world."

A naive young man with dreams, he was still attending high school in the county at this time.

Seeing Sun Shaoping, Zhao Dongchuan couldn't help but think of his beloved Tian Xiaoxia, who was also a young woman with noble ideals and a strong inner spirit, but whose tragic end left countless viewers filled with regret.

A surge of emotion welled up in Zhao Dongchuan's heart.

This was a strange feeling about individual destiny and the tide of the times, as if he was looking at the current people and events from a god's-eye view.

Since he was here, if he had the ability, perhaps he could intervene and help these suffering people.

"I don't know if there's such a thing as 'historical corrective force' in this world,"

"But Zhao Dongchuan leaned more towards this being a parallel world; from the moment he arrived in this world, history had already been changed, and there was no such thing as fate," Zhao Dongchuan pondered silently.

"Oh, Shaoping, why did you come? Don't you have school today?"

"Dong Ge, today is Sunday! No school!"

Sun Shaoping looked at Zhao Dongchuan a little strangely, inexplicably feeling that Dong Ge was a bit different today.

Could it be that Dong Ge fainted from hunger and accidentally hit his head? That couldn't be; although this educated youth who came from the city to settle in Shuangshui Village was usually lazy and fond of good food, he couldn't be that unlucky, right (hehe--!!!).

The main reason Sun Shaoping was quite familiar with Zhao Dongchuan was because of those books.

That's right, ever since Sun Shaoping learned that an educated youth from the city had come to the village, he figured he must have some books and actively sought him out to chat.

Sun Shaoping was in high school now and had become obsessed with reading novels; he found spiritual comfort in books, which gave him a glimmer of vitality in his difficult life.

The book he was currently reading, "Red Crag," was lent to him by Zhao Dongchuan.

He had seen this book at the county Library before but couldn't borrow it temporarily.

After accidentally finding out that Zhao Dongchuan had it, he borrowed it from him, and over time, the two became close.

Originally, the two were not far apart in age; Shaoping was in his first year of high school, and Zhao Dongchuan had just graduated from high school.

The actual difference was less than two years.

So, Sun Shaoping would occasionally borrow books from Zhao Dongchuan and also discuss his views.

"Shaoping, I still have to thank your dad, otherwise my skinny arms and legs would be gone," Zhao Dongchuan said with a wry smile.

"Dong Ge, don't mention that. The winter wheat has turned green again, and the team has arranged for everyone to go to the fields this afternoon to weed and fertilize.

My dad told me to find you for work.

My brother got you a sick leave this morning.

You really can't miss it this afternoon."

Zhao Dongchuan knew that it was time to go to work.

By this time, he had recovered and said to Sun Shaoping, "Alright, I know.

I'll be there in a bit."

"Good, then I'm going back," Shaoping said, rushing off, as if he also had something to do.

Zhao Dongchuan drew a basin of water in the courtyard, looking at his pale and somewhat dark face reflected in the water, feeling a strange sense of unreality, as if in a dream.

This world, I have arrived!!!!