A Writer’s Sudden Death: A Dream of Yellow Millet

To finish his novel, online author Chen Zhiyong stayed up and worked for three days straight before suddenly dying. When he opened his eyes again, he had been reborn in 1976, the setting of his own story: a barren era where everything was in ruins and even putting food on the table was a struggle. He had become the son of the village Party secretary in Tianqiu Village, a man who had spent half his life living in frustration.

Armed with knowledge of the decades to come and insights far ahead of his time, he was no longer the character in the book who was trapped by love and destined for a life of poverty. Faced with land where people were on the verge of starvation and villagers desperate for enough to eat, he started from scratch. Taking advantage of favorable policies and introducing advanced technology, he first helped the villagers develop side businesses and explore new opportunities to solve their food shortage. Then, riding the tide of the times, he boosted industry and the economy, transforming a poor mountain village into a prosperous community.

From a pioneer working the fields to a leader driving regional development, he ultimately helped propel the nation's economy forward. Yet at the height of his success, he chose to lay aside all his honors and retire to the mountains with his family, returning to a quiet life far from worldly strife and leaving behind a legend that spanned an era.