When he time-traveled, Little Hei noticed Fang Zhiyi's dazed expression and asked with concern, "Host, do you need to rest for a while?"
Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "It's fine. Maybe it's the influence of necromancy. I’ll recover after a while."
Both the man and the system fell into silence.
When he woke again, Fang Zhiyi found himself sitting in a dilapidated house, straw beneath him. He frowned—this was worse than his treatment as a necromancer!
"Plot."
This was the 1990s. Fang Zhiyi was the eldest son of the Fang Family, with two younger brothers: Fang Haoran, the second son, and Fang Mingrui, the youngest. As the eldest, he had been raised with the expectation of looking after his siblings. Coming from a rural family, it wasn’t unusual for the eldest brother to take on such responsibilities.
However, his parents were far from normal. The old couple heavily favored their youngest son, while Fang Zhiyi was the least valued in the household.
In most families, younger siblings would wear hand-me-downs from the older ones. But in the Fang Family, it was the opposite. Whenever their parents bought fabric at the market, they would first make clothes for the youngest, then use the leftovers for the second son. Fang Zhiyi only got their old clothes—though, due to years of hard labor, he was so thin that they fit him well.
From the moment he could remember, Fang Zhiyi had never had a proper meal. At every meal, his mother would scoop the scarce meat dishes into his brothers’ bowls, muttering, "You’re the eldest, you should let your younger brothers have more." Meanwhile, he was left gnawing on tough cornbread and drinking watery gruel so thin he could see his reflection.
When it was time for school, his parents sent his brothers to study but told Fang Zhiyi, "We’re poor. You’re the eldest—you need to work and support your brothers’ education." And so, Fang Zhiyi never set foot in a classroom. Instead, he toiled in the fields with his father, his small shoulders bearing the weight of life far too soon.
Emboldened by their parents’ favoritism, his brothers showed him no respect. Once, the youngest stole the few dollars Fang Zhiyi had painstakingly saved and spent it on snacks. When Fang Zhiyi complained to his parents, his father beat him and scolded, "You’re the eldest! How can you be so petty with your brothers?" His mother chimed in, "It’s just a little money. You’ll have plenty of chances to earn more—don’t make things hard for your brother." From then on, Fang Zhiyi understood that in this family, his feelings would always come last.
He resigned himself to it all—until one day, while hauling hay, he happened upon a girl drowning in a river. Despite the freezing winter water, he jumped in without hesitation and saved her. Only later did he learn she was Lin Xiaowei, the daughter of Lin Jianguo, director of the county’s agricultural machinery factory.
Lin Jianguo was deeply grateful. That very night, he personally visited the Fang Family to thank Fang Zhiyi and offered him a job at the factory. The entire Fang Family was ecstatic—after all, a factory job was an iron rice bowl!
After Lin Jianguo left, Fang Zhiyi’s father called him into the house and, for the first time, spoke to him kindly—only to ask him to give the job to his second brother, Fang Haoran, because "he’s educated and will go further in life."
Fang Zhiyi stayed silent, head bowed. His father’s patience quickly ran out, and soon both parents were cursing him as an ungrateful wretch.
Helpless, Fang Zhiyi went to Lin Jianguo to relay his family’s request. But Lin Jianguo saw through the situation and sent a firm message back: the job was for Fang Zhiyi alone, and no one else would be accepted.
The Fang Family quieted down—but not for long. Soon, Fang Zhiyi’s mother and youngest brother, who was studying in the county, began showing up at the factory gate every few days to demand money from him. Honest to a fault, Fang Zhiyi gave them whatever he had, often leaving himself penniless.
Lin Xiaowei noticed this and started secretly bringing him meals. Over time, the two grew close. Defying her father’s objections, Lin Xiaowei married Fang Zhiyi. Following protocol, the factory allocated them a small house—modest, but finally a home of their own.
Yet their marital bliss didn’t last long. The Fang Family soon reverted to their old ways. Fang Zhiyi’s mother demanded that Lin Xiaowei ask her father to arrange jobs for her other sons. Lin Xiaowei was mortified—after her marriage, Lin Jianguo had disowned her. Even if he hadn’t, his principles would never allow such nepotism.
With her hopes dashed, Fang Zhiyi’s mother’s attitude toward Lin Xiaowei soured. Every visit became an excuse to take whatever she could—a bundle of noodles, a new pot—all while making snide remarks at Lin Xiaowei.
When Lin Xiaowei became pregnant, Fang Zhiyi was sent away by the factory for training. Worried, he entrusted his mother with his savings and asked her to care for his wife in his absence.
But Lin Xiaowei received no kindness. Instead, she was given stale cornbread or plain noodle soup, while Fang Zhiyi’s mother berated her for being a "lazy city girl." When Lin Xiaowei retorted that Fang Zhiyi had paid for her care, the woman snapped, "That’s my son’s money! What’s it to you?"
In frustration, Lin Xiaowei tried to learn farm work. But as a city girl, she had no experience. Under the scorching summer sun, she soon collapsed in the fields. When someone alerted Fang Zhiyi’s mother, she scoffed, "Oh, how delicate! Fainting like that—probably faking it so she can tell my son I mistreated her."
By the time a kind soul rushed Lin Xiaowei to the village clinic, it was too late. Malnourished and exhausted, she miscarried.
Afterward, she asked Fang Zhiyi for a divorce. He said nothing, only silently signing the papers. The two wept in each other’s arms—Lin Xiaowei knew Fang Zhiyi was a good man who loved her, but he couldn’t change. He had been raised to believe that as the eldest, his duty was to sacrifice for his family.
News of the divorce somehow reached Fang Zhiyi’s mother. She arrived with his brothers, claiming they were there to "make sure he wasn’t cheated in the division"—but in truth, they came to loot whatever they could. They even tried to seize the house, until Lin Jianguo stormed in, glaring them down. Full of regret, he realized that had he swallowed his pride sooner, his daughter might have been spared this pain.
Fang Zhiyi moved back into the factory dormitory. From that day on, he developed a habit—drinking.
His mother still came every month for money, always with excuses: "Fang Haoran’s getting married," or "Fang Mingrui wants to start a business."
Then Fang Zhiyi died—drunk, he stumbled into a roadside ditch and drowned.
When the news reached the Fang Family, they saw an opportunity. They demanded compensation from both the factory and the Lin Family. "If that bitch Lin Xiaowei hadn’t divorced my son, he wouldn’t have drunk himself to death!"
Harassed beyond endurance, the Lin Family eventually paid to make them go away.
Because of this incident, Lin Xiaowei's already fragile nerves finally snapped. One late night, she climbed to the top of a hill in the park and leaped to her death.