Chapter 179: A Thousand Lights—No More Fear of the Dark

After walking around outside for a bit, Lin Heng was chilled to the bone and hurried back into the house.

“The vermicelli’s dry now. Take this fifty jin back with you,” Mother Lin said.

She was in the courtyard cutting the vermicelli strips. The ones they made yesterday had already dried.

Don’t be fooled by the weak winter sun—thanks to the biting wind, things dried quickly. Once these vermicelli strips got another day of sun back home, they’d be completely dry and could be stored for up to a year without spoiling.

“Alright,” Lin Heng nodded, not standing on ceremony. Then he pointed to his own batch of bracken starch noodles and said, “You and my big brother should keep some of this too.”

“Okay, then we’ll each keep two jin to try it out,” Mother Lin agreed.

Not long after, Caiyun came back from school and joined in to help cut the vermicelli.

They generally cut them into fifty-centimeter lengths—rural folks didn’t like cutting them too short.

Once everything was sorted, Mother Lin went to cook, and Lin Heng headed back home.

He’d already had a bit of alcohol at lunch and didn’t feel like drinking more in the afternoon, though his uncle-in-law and dad clearly had the itch for another round.

Carrying the vermicelli into the house, Lin Heng grinned and asked, “The vermicelli’s back—how about I make you a cold bracken noodle salad tonight?”

Xiulan was in the main room chopping firewood with Xiao Xia. They were running low on kindling.

“Let’s have it tomorrow morning. Tonight I’ll make you shepherd’s purse dumplings,” Xiulan replied, glancing up at him.

In the countryside, dumplings were practically gourmet food, usually reserved for New Year’s Eve. On normal days, people simply didn’t have the time or ingredients to make them.

“Sounds good. I’ll chop the wood then,” Lin Heng said, placing the vermicelli on the cabinet and taking the hatchet from her.

There were still some thick logs inside the house—oak trees cut down when they built the house, already sawed into pieces with the chainsaw and stacked under the eaves. That’s what they used for the fireplace too.

The thinner branches were piled near the pigsty out back. When needed, they had to be chopped down to size manually.

Lin Heng noticed the wood was already bone-dry. He simply braced it against his knee and snapped it by force—much faster than chopping.

Xiulan nodded and carried the broken pieces into the kitchen.

“In a few days, I’ll hire someone to go chop more firewood,” Lin Heng said as he brought the rest into the kitchen.

Firewood wasn’t scarce in the countryside—it just needed to be hauled down from the mountains. He planned to get someone to help him chop for a day or so and stock up. The fireplace needed a steady supply, after all.

They had a chainsaw at home, so cutting it up was quick and it didn’t take up much space indoors.

“We’ve got enough thick logs. Just running low on kindling,” Xiulan said as she added water to the pot.

Lin Heng lit the fire, and soon the water was boiling. Xiulan looked at him and asked, “Twenty-five dumplings enough for you?”

“Plenty,” Lin Heng nodded. He had a big appetite—when hungry, he could eat thirty.

But he was also strong and fit—something Xiulan was deeply aware of.

Over the past six months, not only had Lin Heng’s personality and spirit transformed, but his body had become much more robust.

He didn’t usually do hard labor, but that was more out of laziness than lack of strength. If it came down to it, most grown men couldn’t match him.

After all, he trained every morning with a bow and did other scientific workouts to keep in shape.

The dumplings floated to the surface after a short boil. Xiulan let them cook another two minutes and then nodded, “They’re done.”

Their dumplings were shaped like little ingots. Xiulan scooped them out and drizzled them with a vinegar sauce laced with chopped scallions and chili oil. The three of them carried their bowls into the bedroom to eat.

“So good!”

This was Lin Heng’s first time eating dumplings since his rebirth, and he was instantly hooked.

The filling was shepherd’s purse and cured pork. The pork had been diced and mixed with the greens—each bite was a perfect blend of savory and fresh, and the vinegar broth tied it all together beautifully.

“Yummy~” Xiao Xia took a bite and mimicked her dad.

Xiulan beamed at the praise. She’d been working hard all day just to hear those words.

“Is it sour enough? Want me to add more vinegar?” she asked, knowing Lin Heng liked his food a bit tangy and spicy.

“I’ll get it myself—it’s not quite sour enough,” Lin Heng said after a couple bites.

“Sit down, I’ll get it for you,” Xiulan said, pushing him back into his seat and going out to fetch the aged vinegar.

“Thanks, wifey,” Lin Heng grinned. This woman really was something special.

“Eat up,” Xiulan said, giving him a look before digging in herself.

By the time they finished eating, the sky was darkening. Lin Heng went to check on the male forest musk deer and saw that the corn mash he’d left at noon had finally been eaten. He quickly added some forage.

The little guy had been on a hunger strike for so long that Lin Heng had almost given up, thinking it had sunk into a deep depression.

After feeding the musk deer, Lin Heng went to the back hill and picked up two eggs, locked up the chickens, and came back to tell Xiulan.

She was delighted and nodded, “That’s great. Looks like it’s getting back to normal.”

She’d been worried sick these past few days. That musk deer was practically a living gold mine—if it died, it would be a huge loss.

Lin Heng nodded and said, “From now on, just feed it three meals a day at regular times. Give it corn mash every other day. If we run out, just buy more.”

You couldn’t just feed it grass—there wasn’t enough nutrition in that.

“Alright,” Xiulan agreed.

Lin Heng put the eggs in the cabinet, then washed up in the bedroom. Xiulan and Xiao Xia hadn’t done much physical work, so they just did a quick wash.

A candle flickered on the table in the bedroom, and the fire in the hearth danced with it, casting a warm glow through the room.

Xiulan sat at the table brushing her long hair while Lin Heng read a storybook to Xiao Xia.

“Honey, maybe I should sell my hair. It’s getting too long,” Xiulan said, glancing at him. Long hair was a hassle to maintain.

Lin Heng looked over—her hair was nearly down to her hips now, definitely long.

In the countryside, many women grew their hair out and sold it when buyers came through. It was a source of income.

“No need for that. Next time we go to town, we’ll find a proper hairdresser. I’ll make sure you get a beautiful cut. You can even keep the hair if you want,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

Back then, the town only had barbers who shaved heads—no one did actual styling.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you,” Xiulan said with a smile.

She pinned her hair up with a white jade hairpin, revealing her slender, pale neck, still warm from her bath.

With her hair done, she pulled out some yarn and began knitting a sweater for Xiao Xia. She was the kind of woman who never sat idle.

As she knitted, she listened to Lin Heng tell stories. It was a cozy scene, though she occasionally made mistakes in the dim light.

“Tomorrow we’ll have electric lights,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

The power lines had been getting strung up these past couple days, but tomorrow they’d finally reach their village.

Stringing power lines wasn’t easy work.

After putting Xiao Xia to sleep, Lin Heng added more wood to the fireplace and climbed into bed with Xiulan.

Not every night had to be about passion—sometimes just having someone beside you brought peace.

If you woke from a nightmare, it was comforting to have someone there to hold you.

Most people are too fragile to face the silence of the night alone. That’s why so many rush into marriage just to fill that void.

But Lin Heng and Xiulan were lucky—they’d found someone who truly loved them.

“Come into my arms,” Lin Heng said once he settled in.

“Okay!” Xiulan snuggled over and curled up in his embrace, closing her eyes with a contented smile.

The next morning, they both woke up around the same time. Today was the day the power lines would reach the village—no time to sleep in.

Just as they finished washing their faces, someone knocked at the door.

Opening it, they saw Tian Dongfu standing outside.

“Uncle Tian, starting this early?” Lin Heng greeted with a smile.

Tian Dongfu nodded cheerfully. “The electricians are here. I told the villagers your place has the best price on wire, and they’re all planning to buy from you.”

“It’s all stacked inside. They can come get it whenever,” Lin Heng replied with a grin.

Tian Dongfu nodded. “Alright, they’ll be over soon. Do you want the electricians to start wiring from your house?”

“No need. I’ve studied this stuff—it’s simple. I’ll do my own wiring,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

If it were city wiring, he might hesitate—it involved hidden conduits and dual-control switches, which were more complex.

But rural homes had simple setups—single-control switches and straightforward circuits. Just a bit of manual work.

“You sure you can handle it? Electricity’s no joke,” Tian Dongfu said, a bit worried.

Lin Heng grinned and said, “Alright then, once I’m done, have the electrician come take a look, sound good?”

Tian Dongfu nodded. “Sure. If the electrician says it’s all good, could you help run wiring for the rest of the village too?”

“No problem. I’ll bring my brother along and we’ll wire up the village together,” Lin Heng replied with a wide smile.

This was a good chance to build up some reputation—he still wanted his big brother to become the Village Head one day.

In his past life, he’d been screwed over by Zhao Hu. This time around, he wasn’t about to let his dad stay stuck as a Village Cadre.

“Alright,” Tian Dongfu nodded and turned to leave.

After breakfast, Lin Heng went to find his brother Lin Yue.

“Little bro, are we really doing this ourselves?” Lin Yue still wasn’t too familiar with anything electrical and looked a bit worried.

Lin Heng smiled and nodded. “Of course. We learned this back in middle school—it’s simple stuff. Just give me a hand, and I’ll explain as we go.”

“Alright then,” Lin Yue nodded.

Lin Heng brought out the copper wire he’d bought for their house and started wiring from the front door. In the countryside, all the wiring was surface-mounted, so it wasn’t complicated.

For the other villagers, he’d bought aluminum wire—copper was too expensive for most to afford.

As Lin Heng was laying the wires, villagers started coming by to buy electrical wire, light bulbs, and switches.

He left that part to Xiulan. For those short on cash, they could just sign an IOU and pay later.

Lin Heng’s house was small, so it only took him half an hour to finish the wiring.

He installed light bulbs in every bedroom, the front yard, and the backyard.

Back then, they were still using tungsten filament glass bulbs, far inferior to modern incandescent lights.

“That’s it? We’re done?” Lin Yue looked surprised by how easy it was.

“Told you it was simple. Just remember what I told you and you’ll be fine.” Lin Heng grinned, then went to find the electrician and Tian Dongfu.

The electrician checked everything over and gave Lin Heng a big thumbs-up. “Your skills are about as good as mine. Not only is the wiring correct, it’s neat too. You could be an electrician yourself.”

“Haha, you flatter me,” Lin Heng said with a grin.

In those days, knowing a bit of basic circuitry was pretty much all it took to be considered an electrician in the countryside.

“Alright then, Lin Heng, from now on you and your brother can help with the rest of the wiring,” Tian Dongfu said, patting his shoulder with a smile.

“Got it,” Lin Heng nodded with a smile, grabbed some wire and switches, and headed off to wire his brother’s and parents’ homes.

By the time they finished those two houses, it was already 9:30. When Lin Heng went to help the next household, he saw the electrician in the blue uniform had already pulled the main wire to the pole in front of his house.

The wiring along the riverside wasn’t too hard—the tricky part was up in the mountains, like where his uncle lived.

Once the wire was pulled, the electric meters for the three households were installed under the eaves of Lin Yue’s house.

Lin Heng ran the wire back to his own house and connected it to the knife switch.

Back then, there were no fancy circuit breakers. The knife switch was made of ceramic and used a fuse—if there was a short circuit, the fuse would blow.

“Come on, let’s go wire up Li Caifeng’s house next door,” Lin Heng said with a grin.

After teaching his brother the basics, Lin Heng let him handle wiring on his own. Once he finished, Lin Heng would just inspect it.

The two of them, along with five electricians from town, managed to finish wiring up all the homes in the village center by the end of the day.

Over at Red Maple Mountain, Lin Heng also had a meter installed. Sooner or later, that area would get electricity too.

Around five o’clock, Lin Heng went to ask Tian Baishun, “Uncle Tian, can we turn on the power today?”

Their section was done, but many homes up in the mountains hadn’t been wired yet.

“The folks from the Electricity Management Station said it’s fine. The mountain homes not being done yet won’t affect anything. The main line’s already in place—they can finish wiring tomorrow,” Tian Dongfu replied with a nod.

“Good to hear.”

Lin Heng nodded and headed home.

By six o’clock, it was getting dark. The homes that had finished wiring were all watching their electric meters eagerly.

The electricians had warned them: wait until the red light on the meter turns on before flipping the switch.

At 6:30, the red lights on the meters finally flickered on, and every household rushed to flip their switches.

In an instant, the once pitch-black village was lit up by glowing bulbs, like fireflies scattered across the night.

Cheers erupted from every home, and the village center was bathed in light.

It was a celebration of light, of a better life.

When Lin Heng flipped his switch, the bulbs in his house lit up instantly.

They were 50-watt bulbs, and in a flash, the once-dark courtyard and rooms were bathed in warm light.

“Woof woof!!”

Xiong Ba and Jinbao jumped up in surprise, staring curiously at the bulbs, as if wondering how it suddenly became daytime.

“Yay, yay! It’s bright!” Xiao Xia cheered, jumping up and down with waving arms.

Xiulan was just as delighted and excited. “This is amazing! It’s brighter than daytime in here!”

Everyone in the village wore the same expression. Even those who had been reluctant to get electricity couldn’t help but smile now that it had arrived.

This was humanity’s own “sun,” one of the greatest inventions in history.

From now on, darkness would no longer rule the night, and people would no longer fear it.

Many kept flipping their switches on and off, fascinated by the lights.

For those without much education, this was nothing short of a miracle.

“That’s right. From now on, no more candles or kerosene lamps. We can eat dinner whenever we want,” Lin Heng said with a wide grin.

The light might still be a bit yellow and dim, but in this era, it was the sun in everyone’s heart.

“Mhm, I’ll go cook now. Tonight we’ll eat under electric lights—and let’s have a little drink too,” Xiulan said with a happy nod.

Knock knock knock!

Just as the two were about to start cooking, a series of urgent knocks came from the door.

(End of Chapter)