Recovering consciousness, Liu Jian felt depressed, really depressed. Looking at the Andy Lau poster on the wall that he had seen countless times, and the glaring calendar on his desk showing July 1, 2007, he knew he had won the lottery, and the grand prize of the biggest lottery in the 21st century: rebirth.
For the rebirth that countless people longed for, when it came to him, Liu Jian didn't feel any joy, excitement, being enveloped in happiness, etc. He only felt two words: depressed. He had finally gotten a job, an apartment, and was about to get a wife, but with a bang of a gunshot, it was all gone. Then, with a smack, he was thrown back more than ten years, and told that all of that was gone and to start over. Besides the word "depressed," what else could he say? Liu Jian raised his middle finger to the sky, thinking to himself, could it be that he was just a tragedy on a coffee table?
Before Liu Jian could finish feeling sorry for himself, his mother's voice came from outside, "Xiao Jian, come out quickly, the national flag is about to be raised, come and watch."
Already quite depressed, Liu Jian felt even worse when he heard the familiar two words "Xiao Jian" ("Xiao Jian" = "Little Cheap"). These two words seemed to have existed longer than Liu Jian himself. What were his parents thinking when they gave him such a name? Helpless, Liu Jian agreed and walked out. In the living room, his parents were sitting on the sofa watching the grand occasion of the Hong Kong handover ceremony.
Seeing his parents' familiar faces again, Liu Jian felt particularly excited. In his previous life, after he graduated from university, his family fell into decline. For the sake of so-called face, he insisted on staying in the provincial capital. His parents, in their fifties, went out to work so they could buy him an apartment for marriage, working hard to earn money for their son.
But back then, I mostly resented my father for not saving any money for me when he had it, and losing it all. Every time I went home, I complained to my parents, wasn't that just the "parasitic offspring" the experts talk about? It was only after I moved away from the extravagance and returned to work in the government office, after my heart had settled down, that I truly understood my parents and felt the greatness of paternal and maternal love.
My parents are now just over forty years old, the golden age of life, looking energetic and radiant, it is the most glorious moment of their lives. My father, Liu Fu, looks like a big boss, always neatly dressed even at home, sitting upright, his back always so straight, a mark left by his military career. My mother, Zhang Huan, is also very wealthy-looking, a little plump, but much better than those who are less than a hundred pounds at fifty in later generations.
This is the best time for the family; in a few years, the family will decline, and I, "young master" Liu Jian, will become a useless "little cheap."
As Liu Jian sighed, he watched the television. It was a 29-inch Panasonic, top-of-the-line for the time. Unfortunately, when he was reborn in 2017, his family still had the same TV. It wasn't until his parents renovated his new house for his wedding that they bought a 42-inch domestically made TV.
Back in '07, his family could afford an imported TV costing over 10,000 yuan, but more than a decade later, they could only afford a domestically made TV costing over 3,000 yuan. This alone showed the decline in the family's financial situation.
After watching the flag raising ceremony, the atmosphere at home became much calmer.
Looking at his son Liu Jian, Liu Fu was deeply troubled. Liu Fu had been a soldier for a few years, and when he was discharged, he had no money or connections, so he joined the city's First Construction Co., Ltd. He muddled along in the company for many years, lacking education, connections, or technical skills, earning only a few dozen yuan a month, barely making ends meet.
Later, he caught up with the country's reform and opening up, and Liu Fu, being a man with ideas, felt this was an opportunity to get rich. He took a leave of absence without pay and went into business. To put it nicely, he went into business; in reality, he contracted an engineering team, transforming from a formal employee of the construction company into a foreman. At the time, many people laughed at Liu Fu, but unexpectedly, after a few years of hard work, he prospered.
Riding the wave of favorable policies and economic conditions, Liu Fu earned more and more money, and his life got better and better. The only thing that gave him a headache was his precious son.
Liu Fu was over thirty when Liu Jian was born, and he cherished him dearly, truly afraid he would melt in his mouth and break in his hands. So Liu Jian never suffered any hardship growing up; he lived in a honeypot. This made Liu Fu, who had experienced hardship and fatigue, very worried about Liu Jian's future.
Sure enough, while conditions kept getting better, Liu Jian's grades kept getting worse. Every day he was either skipping school to watch videos and play games, or getting into fights. Liu Fu had to clean up after him more than once. Sometimes he wished he could give Liu Jian a good beating, but when it came down to it, he couldn't bring himself to do it, and he just scolded him lightly and let it go.
Liu Fu treated teachers to meals and hired tutors. For a while, he made Liu's mother follow Liu Jian to and from school every day. After all that effort, his grades didn't improve much.
After the junior high school graduation exam, he achieved a shockingly low score. If he wanted to go to high school, he would have to pay. Liu Jian, despite his poor grades, was too proud to attend anything other than a top-tier high school.
A few days ago, Liu Fu asked a friend to inquire with the principal of the city's No. 1 high school. When the principal heard Liu Jian's grades, he frowned deeply, thinking, "With grades like these, he still wants to attend a top-tier high school?" For the sake of his friend's reputation, he reluctantly gritted his teeth and said, "Prepare ten thousand yuan, and I'll see what I can do."
At this time, ten thousand yuan was not a small amount. For Liu Fu, it certainly wasn't a huge sum, but hearing that his son had to spend so much money to go to high school made the proud Liu Fu feel indescribably frustrated.
Liu Fu picked up the remote control and switched to the sports channel. This was Liu Jian's favorite program. While watching the game, he asked, "There's no major problem with Jian's high school matter. Study hard when you go." He thought for a moment and then said, "Forget it, I'll be content as long as you don't cause trouble. As for college or something, I don't think there's much hope." His tone was filled with indescribable loneliness.
As soon as she heard about her son's affairs, Liu's mother, who had already planned to cook, sat down again, intending to hear her son's opinion. Seeing this long-lost scene, Liu Jian remembered that in his previous life, he insisted on going to high school for the sake of so-called face, spending three years aimlessly, and then spending money to go to a third-tier college, throwing in over a hundred thousand, and ended up learning nothing. He wasted money and time, and besides, he didn't have the talent for learning and didn't like to study. It was all just for a little pitiful self-esteem from his teenage years.
Now that he has been reborn, although he hasn't decided what he wants to do in the future, repeating the past is definitely not his choice.
Thinking of this, Liu Jian said, "Dad, I don't want to go to school anymore." Then he stopped talking, not knowing how to explain.
Liu Fu and his wife were startled. Although this son didn't do well in school and often skipped classes, if they said he couldn't go to school, he would definitely make a fuss. What's wrong with him today? He hasn't gotten into trouble again, has he?
Liu Fu asked, "Speak up, what trouble have you caused now?"
Mother Liu also came over and touched Liu Jian's head, saying strangely, "Son, you don't have a fever? The other day you were telling me that you absolutely had to go to a key high school and then go to college, how did you change your mind all of a sudden? What happened to you?"
Liu Jian was rendered speechless by the two of them and hurriedly said, "Mom, I'm fine, I really don't want to study anymore."
The couple looked at each other, and Liu Fu finally asked, "Why don't you want to study anymore?"
Liu Jian smiled wryly. He couldn't very well say he was reborn, knowing that continuing his studies would be completely meaningless, could he?
After thinking for a long time, he finally found a reason and said, "You all know my grades. I've been thinking about it for a few days, and I'm really not cut out for studying. It's better to come out and earn some money with this time. By the time those guys graduate from college, maybe I'll already be a big boss."
Liu Fu and his wife looked at each other, then looked at Liu Jian together, and said in unison, "Son, are you serious? This isn't just a whim, is it?"
Liu Jian thought to himself, "My mental age is over thirty now, and I've experienced so much, how could I possibly act on impulse?"
Liu Fu also became interested and asked, "Xiao Jian, what are your plans? Since you're not studying, why not join the army? The military is a place to train people, you can't just laze around all day."
Before Liu Jian could say anything, his mother objected, "Join the army? The military is so tough! Why not spend some money to find a job in a government agency?"
Liu Jian also shook his head and said, "Dad, I can't stand the hardship of being a soldier. Why don't I work with you and become a big boss in the future?"
Liu Fu frowned and said, "What can you learn from me? What kind of big boss am I? It's just a construction team. Your dad looks like he has some money, but in reality, he's just a contractor. What's there to learn?"
Even though he said that, Liu Fu was also thinking about what his son could do. It wasn't so easy to get into a government agency, and the main thing was that Liu Jian's education level was too low. He didn't know when he could arrange something for him. If that didn't work, maybe he should let Liu Jian follow him for now, to prevent him from wandering around in society.
Liu Jian knew that it would be difficult to arrange things, so he said, "Dad, how about I drive for you? You don't have a driver, and you have so many social engagements. It's not safe to drive after drinking."
Liu's mother thought this was a good idea. Liu Fu goes out to drink and drive every day, and she's often worried sick until midnight. However, it's hard to find a driver you can trust, and Liu Fu has some things he can't let see the light of day. This matter had been dragging on for a long time. If his son drives, there wouldn't be so many problems. There's no need to worry about Liu Jian's driving skills. Ever since they bought the car, Liu Jian has been driving it around whenever he's on vacation. Sometimes, Liu Jian drives more than Liu Fu does. Thinking of this, Liu's mother also sided with her son. Seeing the two-to-one vote, Liu Fu didn't say anything else and agreed.
Back in his room, Liu Jian excitedly lay down on the bed, thinking that as long as he was by his father's side, he would have the opportunity to prevent the project that cost his father all his family wealth in the previous life. As long as he doesn't lose that money, his family will definitely get better and better with his father's ability, and he can continue to be a trust-fund kid instead of a bum.
At this moment, Liu Jian hadn't yet recovered from the daze of rebirth, not realizing how powerful a weapon rebirth was, and was only immersed in the joy and excitement of changing the future.