Returning to '97, creating a new life

The blizzard did not stop until late at night.

The officially organized fireworks display was forced to be cancelled.

Xu Kai, along with the Yun Sheng and Yun Shang siblings, had a private car and chose the Pirate Bar Music and Entertainment Plaza, currently the most popular indoor venue, as their Christmas Eve outing.

Xu Kai couldn't help but secretly give Yun Sheng a thumbs up for his natural way of showing off his muscles. Look at Yun Sheng's growth foundation and his emotional intelligence, showing his strength in a way that doesn't make people feel disgusted.

On days with unique holiday memories, entertainment plazas like Pirate Bar are busiest. Although reservations and so-called minimum opening fees are not popular now, it doesn't matter. If you come here at the normal time, you will most likely be told that there are no seats available.

Yun Sheng arrived, found the manager, and quickly arranged a seat for her—not even a vacant spot. Judging from Zheng Wenwen's state, she was clearly enjoying her boyfriend's generosity and had a great time. When the atmosphere got lively and everyone left their seats to dance and rave in the center, she went wild.

However, with Yunshang there, she took off her long down jacket, put on low-heeled leather boots with three or four centimeters, paired with skinny jeans and a white turtleneck sweater. Her figure, temperament, beauty and youth combined made her stand out from the crowd. With a flick of her hair, she became the focus of the entire room. Even if Zheng Wenwen's body language was exaggerated, she was still just a supporting character. Ci Jing's thoughts and actions were unaware that her status was far more important than her sister's. At that moment, Xu Kai saw the indifference in Yun Sheng's eyes.

It seems this junior from university will soon be eliminated from the list of potential girlfriends.

On his way to the performance square and home, Xu Kai saw a few vendors scattered in the blizzard. They were all part-time workers who wanted to take advantage of the holiday to sell some holiday goods to customers who would spend money a little more extravagantly during the holidays.

Unfortunately, the blizzard that suddenly descended at dusk dispersed most of the people who had gathered to watch the festivities on the streets that evening.

In previous years, even when it was cold, as long as there was no heavy snow, roads would be temporarily closed at night to prevent motor vehicles from passing through the main road leading to the river, in order to ensure the smooth travel of people.

When night falls and pedestrians take to the streets, you realize just how many people there are in the city. From a high vantage point, you can see several subway stops away, and the main roads are packed with people.

With so many people, the chill was mostly dispelled, and the enthusiasm of the people was palpable.

Weaving among the pedestrians were various vendors, including part-time and temporary workers selling Christmas hats and trinkets, as well as snacks such as candied hawthorns, roasted sweet potatoes, and even vendors selling hot milk from bicycles with insulated boxes on their backs.

Many people can see the business opportunities in this holiday. The popularity of "peace apples" is only due to the fact that Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve have become popular in the last two years, turning the one-day Christmas holiday into a three-day one. Even so, some people have already seized the business opportunity and started selling apples.

Xu Kai simply seized a time difference, targeting the most suitable customer group within a small scope, and sold gift-packaged "peace apples." The price was slightly higher, but it directly saved students' time and catered to their desire to save face, allowing them to make a purchase without spending time or effort.

Tonight, on Christmas Day, many vendors are destined to lose money. Food sellers are lucky; they can still sell tomorrow. Those who stock up on specialty items will either have to sell off their stock or have it piled up at the bottom of their boxes. It's hard to say whether they'll even have the will to do this "part-time" next year. They were hoping to make a quick buck, but they ended up losing most of their capital.

The remaining few, unwilling to give up, continued to fight in the blizzard. Facing the students who were willing to do anything to come out and have fun, they still hoped to sell as much as possible and minimize their losses.

Avoiding a small pit didn't make Xu Kai particularly happy.

Lying in his slightly cold little room, he used to have the common problems of teenagers: he always kept his room door tightly closed and was very unwilling to let his parents in to disturb him, feeling that it was like they were spying on him.

I got up, put on my clothes, and still felt a chill. I pushed open the door and could hear my mother snoring, but the warmth from the stove in the kitchen made me feel much more comfortable.

Unable to sleep, overthinking. I've secured the first small opportunity applicable to my current teenage self since my rebirth, and the sale of the "Peace Apple" has been quite profitable. So what's next?

After a long while, Xu Kai's lips twitched slightly; he wanted to laugh but felt he shouldn't.

Why did I start hoping my mother would be laid off soon?

Yes, it's inconvenient not having reliable people. Just think about high school and college life, and the look of pride in my mother's eyes and face.

Dropping out of school is obviously unrealistic. He has five thousand yuan in capital now, but that's a huge gap from having enough to start a small business that caters to the times. And accumulating capital between these two is precisely the most difficult part. The difficulty lies in time. Xu Kai doesn't want to take it slow, but he also doesn't have time to put things into practice himself.

Making quick money is unrealistic, and there aren't many stable options.

Finally, I fell asleep amidst my rambling, off-topic thoughts, without a clear idea or plan.

………………

Rarely, after being reborn, Xu Kai slept in late.

The heavy snow that lasted all night continued into the morning, only now it had turned into a flurry of snowflakes falling from the sky.

Xu Kai opened his eyes and glanced out the window. He had given himself a day off. He wouldn't go to No. 1 High School or No. 5 Middle School at noon today. The "peace apple" business was over, and with the small commodity business already basically saturated, it was starting to face pressure from competitors copying his work. It wasn't that Xu Kai was being arrogant; he just felt that this small business could only bring him so much more.

He can still make money, and it's not that he can't endure the hardship of setting up a stall outdoors in the dead of winter. He just feels that the cost-effectiveness is not good enough. It requires time, energy, and the cold and hardship. In the end, he might only earn three or four hundred yuan a month, which is hard-earned money.

Xu Kai woke up from his lazy sleep but stayed in bed, staring blankly with a thousand thoughts running through his mind.

When he was starving, Xu Kai sat up abruptly and decided to just do it. How much he earned was a small matter; he was just doing small things with a small capital, and he would pave the way first.

Wearing the newly bought shoes and clothes, I finally no longer had to live the life of wearing the same clothes every year or two, picking out my cousins' clothes, and occasionally having to wear my school uniform.

Let alone Xu Kai in his teens, even as an adult, he still has a pursuit of fashion sense. As a man, he should also be a little more refined, just like his original intention of playing basketball to exercise his body. He doesn't want to be a 40-year-old man with a big belly and bald head.

Go to a nearby small restaurant, order a plate of extra-large old-fashioned fried noodles and a can of Zhenzhen soda.

Stir-fried noodles that don't specify any particular flavor will be a thing of the past in a few years. And if you're asked if you want a sweet and sour flavor, then it's not the stir-fried noodles Xu Kai remembers.

It's savory and salty, with plenty of oil and soy sauce. The red chilies are stir-fried to perfection and are incredibly fragrant. The broth is just right to coat every single round noodle. You have to finish all the side dishes, including bok choy, tomatoes, ham, and red chilies, to truly respect a traditional fried noodle dish.

The snow stopped, and the area where cars could drive became a muddy mess, filthy with every step.

The areas where cars don't drive become a paradise for children. The not-so-pure snow is enough for them to fully enjoy the joys of a Northeast winter, building snowmen and having snowball fights...

As expected, rain or shine.

At my maternal grandmother's house, the whole family gathered again. It's not surprising if you don't see your aunts, uncles, cousins, or other relatives on ordinary days. With such frequent family gatherings, not attending has nothing to do with etiquette or feelings; it's simply because these relatives are so much fun.

You can only dream of getting two tables together for a mahjong game.

Saying it's about keeping the elderly company is plausible, but saying it's about their love of playing mahjong is more accurate. But the two elderly people are happy, and they have something to look forward to every week. The house is lively every weekend, and I heard that the two-day weekend is coming soon, so the house will be even more lively.

Even the children, daughters-in-law, and sons-in-law, who come over just in time for a meal, are all used to it. After all, two tables are enough to make it lively; if someone can't join in, are they supposed to just stay there?

Each family can bring one or two ingredients, even if there's less meat, and easily cook ten or eight dishes in large quantities, which is more than enough to support a lively gathering. There's no need to worry about leftovers; if you can't finish it in one meal, you can usually have two or three meals every weekend, and you'll definitely clean it up. Occasionally, the elderly will even add some more.

Rice, flour, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar are all basic necessities. If there's not enough food, they'll make egg drop soup, steamed egg custard, or a big pot of dumpling soup. As long as the children don't quarrel over trivial matters at the mahjong table when they're playing together, Xu Kai's grandparents are willing to contribute a little more money each month.

As I get older, I enjoy this lively atmosphere.

The two elders showed no excessive favoritism towards the third generation; they treated each and every one of them the same. Xu Kai, now grown up, understands this. His mother's generation had nine siblings—six boys and three girls—and if it weren't for the one-child policy, there would likely be more than a dozen grandchildren.

In such a large family, it's difficult to expect the elderly to show favoritism. If they can like everyone and not dislike anyone, that's already a sign of the elderly's love.

The three large brick houses have a large kang (heated brick bed) in the east room and kangs on both the north and south sides in the west room. There used to be many children, but now there are even more people because of this gathering.

In the open space of the west room, there are two folding tables.

After playing mahjong, a dozen or so people can easily sleep on the heated kang beds in the north and south. The kang beds are warm and cozy, a residential custom in Northeast China that was difficult for friends from the south to understand for a long time.

Men and women share the same bed?

How could a sister-in-law and brother-in-law sleep on the same heated brick bed? That's impossible!

In reality, it's quite normal. The heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) is large enough, and everyone is scattered in different areas. Each person has their own bedding, unlike at home where people wear thermal underwear in winter and sleep fully clothed in summer. There aren't many taboos.

When Xu Kai was a child, it was normal for seven or eight of his siblings to squeeze onto one heated kang bed during the Lunar New Year, and it is still the same now.

By Sunday afternoon, everyone was exhausted and it was almost time to leave. After dinner, everyone went home, took a long nap, and made sure they wouldn't miss work the next day.

Xu Kai had seen these adults looking sleepy during meals many times, and he had even witnessed his uncles' ability to fall asleep instantly.

While they're cooking and serving the dishes, during a break from playing mahjong, they can casually lie down on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) and start snoring and taking a nap in just a few seconds.

The same thing happens when we're cleaning up the table after dinner. Once we're done, the moment we call out to play mahjong, everyone's eyes snap open, even if their eyes are red and swollen, they still flock to it.

After greeting the elders present, Xu Kai approached his second uncle, Sun Mingyi, whose expression clearly showed he had won money.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"