8:00 AM. The morning light had completely broken.
A sudden, frantic chirping of cicadas outside the window finally roused the sleeping Chen Yansen.
The room, just over a dozen square meters, was crammed full of things. There were three large stacks of books and study guides and two large stacks of mock exam papers. By the window stood a lacquered mahogany desk, also covered in books.
On the wall was a poster of Xu Song, its style decidedly non-mainstream.
"Time to get up and make some money!"
Chen Yansen checked the system, then pulled out his phone to look at the time. He finally accepted it: this was 2010. He wasn't going back.
He threw on a short-sleeved shirt, walked into the bathroom, and started brushing his teeth and washing his face.
Chen Yansen's family home was a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment, about sixty square meters in total. It was originally housing for the Salt Company's employees, but Lao Chen had bought it ten years ago for 30,000 yuan.
In 2020, it would be demolished, with a compensation of a full 480,000 yuan.
A sixteen-fold increase!
'I should find some time to tell Lao Chen to buy the two apartments upstairs. After all, it's a can't-lose deal.'
Chen Yansen's mind wandered as he brushed his teeth.
'To make money, you first need start-up capital!'
He had already taken stock last night. He had a little over three hundred yuan to his name, having even fished out the coins hidden in his smelly socks.
'Looks like I'll have to 'borrow' some from Lao Chen first!'
'Anyway, when the old man eventually kicks the bucket, all this money will be mine. I'm just using it a little early. Nothing wrong with that!'
With that thought, Chen Yansen dried the water from his face and, following his memory, slipped into Comrade Chen Guobin's master bedroom.
The nightstand. The second photo album.
Chen Yansen easily found two bank cards. One belonged to Lao Chen, the other to the mother he had never met.
For many years, Chen Guobin had deposited money into both cards annually, saving for Chen Yansen's university tuition and the costs of getting married and starting a family in the future.
And as for the passwords, Lao Chen had told him personally!
In 2018, Lao Chen had fallen gravely ill. If Chen Yansen hadn't desperately pulled strings and found the right hospital, his father likely wouldn't have made it.
The first thing Lao Chen did after waking up was to tell him where the two bank cards were and what their passwords were.
"A man like Lao Chen somehow ended up with a scumbag like me."
Chen Yansen laughed self-deprecatingly.
He flipped to the last page of the photo album. It was a yellowed old photograph. If it hadn't been laminated, it would have likely fallen to pieces long ago.
In the photo, Chen Guobin was dapper in a suit, standing tall and straight with a goofy grin. Leaning against his shoulder was a gentle-looking young woman in a linen dress, her face full of smiles and happiness.
As someone who had lived through it, Chen Yansen understood his dad's feelings well.
A love that slowly fades usually doesn't torture a person for too long; it's a love that comes to an abrupt end that drives a person mad.
His wife had died in childbirth, leaving behind a wailing, helpless baby.
Lao Chen had been both father and mother, raising Chen Yansen all by himself.
Of course, no one is a saint. When he was a mischievous kid, he would drive Lao Chen to his breaking point, and his father wouldn't hesitate to give him a harsh kicking with his big foot.
He'd cry and curse while hitting him, "If it weren't for you, my wife wouldn't have died!"
It was then that he realized, for Chen Guobin, his son was just an accident; his wife was his true love.
After getting beaten so many times, Chen Yansen's own stubborn temper flared up. He stopped calling him "Dad" and just called him "Lao Chen, Lao Chen" all day.
In a way, the drive and grit he had when he started his own business later in life were also kicked into him by Lao Chen, one foot at a time.
"Mom, I'm going to use the money you saved for your son. I'll marry a few more daughters-in-law for you in the future."
Chen Yansen grinned at the photo, a carefree, almost heartless smile.
With that, he put Lao Chen's bank card back where it was and pocketed his mom's.
He pulled out his phone and called Wang Zihao.
"Haozi, meet me at Cross Street in ten minutes."
Chen Yansen said, getting straight to the point.
"The internet cafe?"
Wang Zihao's voice was muffled; he clearly wasn't awake yet.
"Only little kids play games all day. Daddy's taking you to make some money!"
Chen Yansen was exasperated for a moment, then stated his real plan.
"Huh? You mean get a summer job?"
Wang Zihao scrambled out of bed, a look of astonishment on his face.
It was already nearly August, for fuck's sake. Ever since the college entrance exams ended, the two of them had been wasting away in internet cafes and pool halls. Forget about finding a summer job; they hadn't even gone to get their driver's licenses.
"Stop wasting time and get over here now."
Chen Yansen couldn't be bothered to argue and hung up the phone.
Then he went downstairs, found a Jiete'an bicycle in the hallway, plopped down on the seat, and slowly pedaled away.
Halfway there, he remembered he hadn't eaten breakfast.
So, by the time he saw Wang Zihao, his friend immediately rushed over, yelling, "Chen Yansen, you son of a bitch! Can you please act like a decent human being for once? You said ten minutes, but you're a full half-hour late!"
Spittle flew everywhere!
"Here. I figured you hadn't eaten, so I brought you breakfast."
Chen Yansen wiped his face in disgust, took a subtle step back, and handed him a cup of soy milk and a tofu skin roll with a fried dough stick.
"Guess you've got some conscience after all."
Wang Zihao chuckled, grabbing the food and starting to wolf it down.
"By the way, why the sudden urge to get a summer job? Run out of spending money? I've still got two hundred. Here, you can use it first."
Wang Zihao took a loud SLURP of his soy milk and pulled two hundred yuan from his pocket.
"A job? I'm never going to work a job in this life."
Chen Yansen said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Don't tell me you're going to take me to sell myself? Let me tell you up front, my family, the Wangs, have a sterling reputation. Selling my integrity and my body is something I absolutely will not do."
Wang Zihao gave a sleazy grin, the spare tire around his belly jiggling nonstop.
"You wish. Even if you wanted to sell, you'd have to find a buyer first."
Chen Yansen shot back mercilessly.
The eighteen-year-old Wang Zihao was slightly overweight, 178 centimeters tall—four centimeters shorter than him—and not handsome enough. What rich cougar could stomach such coarse grain?
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Wang Zihao glared, clearly indignant.
"It means exactly what it sounds like."
Chen Yansen's tone was light, his eyes mischievous, and his face a mask of mockery.
"Forget it. Let's not talk about this. Are you really breaking up with Zhou Keyuan?"
Wang Zihao abruptly changed the subject.
"Were we ever even together? We weren't a couple, so there's nothing to break up."
Chen Yansen retorted, a look of complete indifference on his face.
"That's true."
Although Wang Zihao didn't understand his best friend's change of heart, it was clear from his attitude that Zhou Keyuan was already ancient history.
"Internet cafes, luggage, digital audio and video, bubble tea, clothing, supermarkets, cell phones, cosmetics and daily goods, idol merchandise stores..."
Chen Yansen stopped replying, his gaze shifting to the rows of shops in the distance.
He was considering which industry, which product, would be the quickest way to earn his first pot of gold.
Plans flashed through his mind, only to be dismissed one by one.
'I know too little about this era. I should survey the streets first, then make a decision.'
After a moment of contemplation, Chen Yansen deliberately cut off his train of thought.
"I'm done eating. Where to now?"
Wang Zihao wiped his mouth and looked up to ask.
"Surveying the streets."
Chen Yansen hopped on his bike and rode south. Whenever he came across an interesting store, he would stop, go inside, look at the products, and ask about the prices.
"What on earth are you doing?"
Wang Zihao asked curiously, seeing his serious and meticulous demeanor.
"Talk less, learn more."
Chen Yansen didn't explain, focusing instead on studying the goods in the shop windows.
"Noaki 5200, price: 850"
"Huatian K801, price: 988"
"Sony Ericsson T303C, price: 999"
"Boguide V788, price: 1388"
"Blue Demon MP3, price: 159"
"Ziguang MP4, price: 399"
"..."
Chen Yansen recorded the prices with great interest as a money-making plan began to take shape.
Before the full rollout of the 4G network, a remote town like Chunshen had a huge information gap with first-tier cities when it came to department store apparel and digital products, both in terms of available stock and pricing.
An information gap is a money-making opportunity!
"Haozi, come with me to the internet cafe. I think I know how to make money now."
Chen Yansen grabbed Wang Zihao and started running.
"Just mess me up already instead of trying to make money! I'm dead tired."
Wang Zihao was sweating bullets. He had spent the whole morning walking four streets with Chen Yansen, and his calves were trembling. When Chen Yansen pulled him like that, he nearly fell to his knees.
"You wish. Messing up your sister, on the other hand, is more like it."
Chen Yansen stopped to wait for him, retorting irritably.
"You animal! My sister's only fourteen this year!"
Wang Zihao knew his best friend was joking, but that didn't stop him from seizing the opportunity to curse him out.
'Heh, she is indeed fourteen this year, but her scheming mind is more terrifying than a forty-year-old's,'
Chen Yansen cursed inwardly.
In his past life, he had nearly stepped into the grave of marriage, and the main culprit was none other than Wang Zihao's little sister—Prince Ziyuan.
Fortunately, he came to his senses in time, dodged that bullet, and returned to the open sea.
He didn't continue further and further down the wrong path.
'How could I, Chen Yansen, hang myself from a single tree? In this life, I must stay far away from her.'
Chen Yansen silently made up his mind.