Wei Kingdom, Yunze Prefecture, Tonghe County, Osmanthus Village.
A tile-bricked house with weathered exterior walls, built with mud bricks, topped with gray tiles, containing three bedrooms and two halls inside.
Approximately over a hundred square meters.
Similar old tile-bricked houses were everywhere in Osmanthus Village.
Yet even so, this was a house the Jiang Family of fishermen had spent several generations building.
"Home is bare as four walls."
Jiang Fan looked at his family's tile-bricked house. Besides the bed, table, and stools, there was not much furniture, the poverty steady as ever. He couldn't help but sigh.
A few days ago, after a high fever, he awakened memories of his previous life. Back then, he was a bit disbelieving, thinking he couldn't have transmigrated from Earth to another world.
But after observing for several days, he had no choice but to believe he indeed transmigrated to a strange world.
And it was through fetal transmigration.
It was just because of the fetal fog that his previous life's memories were only now restored.
In his previous life, Jiang Fan was young and promising, graduating with a bachelor's degree, an annual salary of sixty thousand, working in education and training, ambitious, with limitless prospects. To earn more money, he drove DiDi at night, occasionally working as a driver for hire, like an indefatigable workhorse.
Unfortunately, unforeseen events occurred, and the entire industry was swept away, leading to his unemployment on the spot.
Even his boss switched careers to drive DiDi.
Worse yet, to establish himself in a big city, he gritted his teeth and bought a house, not expecting it to be one of Heng Tai's unfinished buildings, and also invested in a bank's oil investment product, resulting in bankruptcy.
The money earned was little, and the debts incurred could not be repaid in several lifetimes.
Eventually, he drank himself into a stupor, and upon awakening, found himself in another world.
Honestly, he regretted listening to a certain magnate's words that "Tsinghua and Peking University can't compare to having the courage to take risks."
The result was the magnate became wealthy, while he ended up bankrupt.
"But this life seems worse,"
Jiang Fan thought of the various memories in his mind.
The place he was in was called the Wei Kingdom, a feudal dynasty.
Nearby was the eight-hundred-mile Yunmeng Lake, supporting thousands of fishermen.
And he was one of the many fishermen of Yunmeng Lake.
Spring fishing, autumn capturing, summer breeding, winter fighting, it seemed like this profession was not bad.
If one could catch big fish, one could earn quite a bit each month.
But fuel, rice, oil, salt—all cost money, and fishing taxes were heavier than agricultural taxes.
Besides that, fishermen faced various harsh levies and fees, and even gang oppression.
If there was a fishing boat, docking at the pier required paying docking fees.
If sickness struck, it would be a catastrophic disaster.
In his previous life, due to a developed society and advanced technology, even if indebted, as long as one didn't want to die, they could still survive.
But in this world, there was no need to say it.
He didn't know how to survive in this world.
"Brother Jiang."
At this moment, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old walked out from outside the house, wearing a linen headscarf, with a pure and charming appearance. Her big eyes seemed to speak, sparkling, with skin as fair as porcelain.
She could be described as naturally beautiful and hard to abandon.
Even though she wore a heavy Ruqun, it did not conceal her curvaceous, voluptuous figure.
Though only fifteen or sixteen, she possessed a hint of mature charm, her eyes carrying a spring-like allure.
She struggled to carry a wooden bucket filled with water inside.
She was Jiang Fan's child bride, Su Weiwei.
"Why didn't you call me for such heavy work?"
Seeing this scene, Jiang Fan reached out to take the bucket and gently placed it on the ground.
He looked at the girl with a face full of affection.
During his illness, he relied entirely on this girl's careful care.
If not for her, he probably wouldn't have made it through.
"It's nothing; Brother Jiang, you've just recovered from a serious illness. I can handle such a small matter."
"Besides, it's just the two of us left in the house now."
Su Weiwei wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking at Jiang Fan with tender eyes filled with affection, revealing a hint of sweetness and attachment on her face.
She was born as a child bride for the Jiang Family, sold by her parents as a child.
She grew up with Jiang Fan as childhood sweethearts.
However, the Jiang Family did not maltreat her; instead, they treated her as their own.
Thus, life with the Jiang Family was rather happy.
Unfortunately, several months ago, Father Jiang and Jiang's Mother passed away one after another from exhaustion-induced illness.
Now, it was just Jiang Fan and Su Weiwei supporting each other.
So, even though Su Weiwei was only sixteen, she started shouldering the family responsibilities.
She was responsible for washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning the house.
But she didn't feel it was hard; she felt that as long as such an ordinary life continued, it seemed pretty good.
Unfortunately, in today's world, even if an ordinary person wishes to maintain an ordinary life, simply wanting to survive might be as difficult as reaching the heavens.
"Is there still rice at home?"
Feeling his stomach growling, Jiang Fan was already famished and couldn't help but ask.
He hadn't known the feeling of being full for a long time.
"Yes, there's a little rice left at home; it can last for three days."
"But I heard the Dragon King Gang is going to raise the monthly salary by thirty percent again."
"The village is full of complaints."
"If we pay this monthly salary, we'll really be impoverished."
Su Weiwei clenched her small fists, unwilling.
She didn't want to pay the monthly salary.
Hearing this, Jiang Fan's face grew somber. The Dragon King Gang was the local large gang, the black force of this area, dominating over a dozen fishing villages' fish cages nearby.
If one wanted to fish in Yunmeng Lake, they had to pay the monthly salary to them.
To some extent, they were the local government.
No one dared to defy their orders.
Originally, the monthly salary was already a heavy burden for fishermen.
Now they were raising it by thirty percent, leaving no way for people to live.
He wondered how many fishermen could make it through this winter.
"There's no way. Paying can sustain us for a while."
"If we don't pay, it might mean losing everything instantly."
Jiang Fan said helplessly. Naturally, he didn't want to pay the monthly salary either.
But he knew the terror of the Dragon King Gang; they regarded human life as worthless and were numerous.
If he offended them, he would undoubtedly die.
Without the power to resist, he could only obediently follow their rules.
"Hmm?!"
At this moment, Jiang Fan's gaze fell on the wooden bucket. The clear water reflected his face.
The surface of the water rippled.
Suddenly, a golden light flickered between his brows, and an influx of information instantly submerged into the depths of his consciousness.
[Life Chart—Great Blessings Equal to Heaven]
[Attribute: Survive great calamities, and there will be fortune thereafter]
"Life Chart?!"
Jiang Fan was stunned. He knew everyone has a destiny, and sometimes the life chart determined a person's life; born noble, ordinary, or dying on the street.
Different people had different life charts.
And his life chart seemed extraordinary, even among many life charts, it was the Top.
The question was, he had been unlucky in both lives, never encountering any luck.
They said Great Blessings Equal to Heaven, but he seemed like a nine-life unlucky person.
Could this life chart bring a change to his fate?
Before Jiang Fan could study what this life chart meant, he was interrupted by a sudden rush of footsteps and cursing from outside the house.