Returning to '97, creating a new life

12 month 24 day.

Christmas Eve.

The first day of the three-day Christmas celebration.

Early in the morning, the school gate became lively, with as many as five or six imitators selling "peace apples." The prices were driven down, and the differences in the size and quality of the apples led to some discussion surrounding Xu Kai.

Some people inevitably say that he sells it for too high a price.

Xu Kai has no way to explain himself; once he opens his mouth, he gives the impression of being a smooth talker and a sophistry.

I've realized that this is an unfortunate reality: the advantage of having acquaintances on campus to sell goods is destined to become a disadvantage and be criticized at times.

He didn't choose the school gate; instead, he parked his tricycle six or seven meters away from the entrance. He didn't have much left, and he'd already made the bulk of his profit. Seeing the price war break out, he chose not to respond, simply taking some apples from his hard plastic gift bag and moving them from the five-yuan range to the four-yuan range.

The original four apples were reduced to three. The largest and best ones were placed in a limited number of gift bags, making them a high-end gift item with all-around appeal.

"You can judge for yourselves the size, dimensions, and quality."

What can be said? See for yourselves. Xu Kai couldn't belittle the quality of other people's goods and let a group of students see for themselves. However, in the perspective of most of them, price is the most important consideration.

Fortunately, there aren't many left. If by today, nearly half or more than a third of them were left, a batch would inevitably be stuck with them.

Fortunately, there weren't many left, otherwise Xu Kai would have already considered taking leave to sell the remaining apples at low prices to the small shops around the school during the morning.

The advantage of having acquaintances comes in handy here. There are familiar classmates from his own school and class, and Xu Kai is a celebrity on campus, so many people are willing to come and support him.

"Buy more, get a discount."

"They're all classmates, I'll give one to them."

We won't engage in price wars, and we won't lower our price level, so as not to make customers who bought yesterday feel unbalanced.

Xu Kai chose to "give".

My classmate came to support my business. I'm not making any money, so I'll give him an extra one. Is that okay?

My classmate bought a lot, so giving him two extra is fine, right?

Even if you don't buy anything, Xu Kai is still giving them away. When he runs into classmates, he doesn't wait for them to buy anything and just gives them one. Some say thank you and accept it, while others say they need to buy two to give to others.

Since you've already accepted one from Xu Kai, and you're planning to buy a few more to give to others, how can you not buy them from him?

This is the absolute advantage of being right at the entrance of one's own school. If one goes to No. 1 High School or No. 1 Railway High School, the best one can hope for is not to be rejected.

With only a few left and time running out, Xu Kai decided to stop selling, keeping the smaller ones for his own family to eat.

In winter, it's good to store fruit for a few more days, and it's also important to have a sufficient supply of fruit at home.

He had a dozen or so good ones, but he kept them at home and in his schoolbag. He was late again and had to stand for another class as punishment.

During the second break between exercises, Xu Kai skipped the exercise, grabbed his schoolbag, and went to the floor where each subject's teaching and research office was located. He placed a "peace apple" on each of his subject teachers' desks.

Some teachers were in the office, and Xu Kai said he came to offer his blessings.

At this point in time, and since it was delivered to the office, not in front of the class, there was no moral blackmail involved. The teachers wouldn't overthink it because of an apple; they would just think the student was sensible and capable, and that children from poor families mature early.

At the same time, because of his special admission to the high school, Xu Kai left a deeper impression on the teachers. He also became one of the students that the teachers remembered throughout their teaching careers. He was the kind of student that, even after ten or twenty years, if the teacher had the chance to meet him again, the teacher would immediately recognize him when his name was mentioned.

Xu Kai had no other thoughts. His teacher had taught him for a time, and he hadn't cherished this brief teacher-student relationship before. Now that he had been reborn, he felt that if there was a chance, this relationship could continue in the future, which was also a way for him to express his gratitude to the times and people after his rebirth.

………………

Four thousand eight hundred yuan.

The achievement of doubling the savings took two days and a lot of effort, but it was all worth it.

After lunch, Xu Kai went to the bank to deposit the money, leaving 500 yuan at home and 300 yuan on his person.

As an adult, going out without money in his pocket is unacceptable to him, unlike many middle school students who don't carry a penny in their pockets when they go to school, which is the norm.

Talking about "the first pot of gold" is a bit laughable. At least, with that money, you can start a small business, improve your life, and fill your meager pockets.

If possible, he doesn't plan to borrow money from his mother, even if he's 100% sure he can make the money, he's unwilling to ask.

Whether it's his mother's savings from years of work or the five thousand yuan compensation, it's her source of peace of mind. Even if it's only for a few days, Xu Kai believes his mother will be restless and unable to eat or sleep during those days. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, his planned "business strategy" does not include borrowing money from his mother.

It's okay to go slowly. I'm still so young, I have plenty of time and opportunities to make money in the future. Even if I'm completely useless, I can still earn more by following the path I took before my rebirth and riding the wave of the times. In the future, I can invest my savings in cryptocurrencies and hold onto top-performing stocks for the long term. These will be enough to ensure that, as an ordinary citizen, I can at least live a comfortable life by middle age, if not achieve complete financial freedom.

He was happy to meet Yunshang. When he was with her, the youthful impulses and physical reactions told him one thing—he was back. Striving to change his life and integrating into and enjoying life at this age were not contradictory.

At noon, there were even more vendors selling "peace apples" near the school gate, but far fewer people were buying them.

By the afternoon, almost no one was paying attention to it.

After returning home from evening self-study, Sun Xiuyun stewed pork ribs. Xu Kai reported to her on the profits from the "Peaceful Apple Campaign." When her son handed her five hundred yuan, Sun Xiuyun pushed it back, saying, "Keep the money you earned for yourself..."

She swallowed the words "don't waste money" back. She was hardworking, thoughtful, and earned her own money at such a young age. It seemed that the concept of wasting money shouldn't be mentioned.

Do you need your mom to save it for you?

The idea flashed through Sun Xiuyun's mind as Xu Kai deliberately talked about his small business, but she didn't say it aloud. She roughly knew how much capital her son had and was too embarrassed to bring it up.

The next day was Christmas Day, a Saturday.

Wang Lei came to find Xu Kai early in the morning. They had made an appointment, as he had asked yesterday if Xu Kai would be setting up his stall today, and they agreed to go out and have fun together during the day.

For boys, arcades, computer rooms, and billiard halls were the preferred places to hang out, especially for most boys who weren't good at studying in this era.

"Shall we meet up tonight? I've already contacted more than a dozen people in the class."

On a lively Christmas night, there are many boys and girls, and it is one of the few opportunities for most girls to go out.

Regardless of whether that ambiguous relationship becomes a reality, a large group of boys is naturally not as interesting as boys and girls going out for a walk together. Only in this way can the passion of youth be ignited, and only then will walking to the riverbank on a cold winter night to watch fireworks feel like a meaningful activity.

For guys, it would be more worthwhile to take this opportunity to play at the arcade for a while, just like Xu Kai and Wang Lei did before, who spent the whole night playing games in the computer room.

"You guys go ahead, I have appointments."

"Who?" Wang Lei's gossipy curiosity led him to keep asking, and he lost interest in playing the game "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" on the game console screen, even after reaching the last level.

Xu Kai, who had just completed the game after spending another game coin, replied helplessly, "I'm from another school, a high school. You don't know me."

"Holy crap, you're something else, actually found an older woman. How about it? Pretty, right? Want to come together tonight? More people, more fun, don't you think?"

Xu Kai secretly rolled his eyes. Dude, only someone your age would think about group activities. Men should always choose to act alone, unless you've completely won someone over and the novelty has worn off. Otherwise, group activities are just a waste of time and opportunities.

Uh.

The first and second year students at this high school have to attend classes all day on Saturdays.

School ended a little after four o'clock. As Xu Kai watched Yun Sheng get out of the car to greet his younger sister at the school gate, he smiled bitterly to himself, realizing that he had overlooked Yun Shang's age.

She enjoyed being around people and spending time with Xu Kai. On special holidays, her older brother, who was already working, would take his girlfriend, who was still in college, out to play. He promised they could hang out together and that he would keep it a secret. Yun Shang readily agreed to spend Christmas with her brother without even asking Xu Kai's permission. In her mind, with her brother leading the way, she could stay out later and go to more places frequented by adults.

Yun Sheng has been working for over a year, driving a Volkswagen Santana that his family bought for him, with his girlfriend Zheng Wenwen, who is a senior at a comprehensive university in the city, in the car.

Although he had only been working for a little over a year, Yun Sheng was completely different from a student. When he saw Xu Kai, he extended his hand to shake hands as a first greeting. It was a simple and ordinary gesture, but he no longer looked like a student.

Actually, this wasn't their first meeting. They had seen each other before during the Zhao Jian incident, but they hadn't formally greeted each other.

My younger sister was the apple of everyone's eye in the family. Because of the one-child policy, she almost didn't have the chance to be born. She was born on the verge of death.

She was the darling of her family from a young age, and her family had the means to provide her with a better life and make her studies easier.

Her grades are average, neither good nor bad, and her family has a fixed plan: once she gets a bachelor's degree, she'll have access to relatively popular companies and institutions to choose from. If she wants, even a popular position wouldn't be too difficult.

With all the future paths laid out smoothly, the parents didn't have high expectations for Yunshang. At this age, it's the blossoming of youth, which her parents understood. They didn't directly interfere, and by arranging for Yunsheng to appear as an older brother and peer, as a playmate who was endlessly pampered, they were able to reassure their parents that their daughter wouldn't fall into any negative categories as perceived by adults.

The enlightened parents understood what adolescence was and had no intention of disrupting their daughter's growth. With an older brother who, in their daughter's mind, could keep secrets and cover for her parents, they felt at ease staying at home and knowing everything about their daughter.

Yun Sheng was used to it; it had always been this way since he was a child. As a double agent, he had no say in his family. It wasn't about trying to do well; it was about having to do well.