Returning to '97, creating a new life

Even though it was late and he was very tired, Xu Kai persevered until the water heater in the simple bathroom was heated up, and then he took a shower.

The backpack contained pants, T-shirts, leggings, and socks, all of which were to be changed. The shoes could only be left to air dry in a well-ventilated area, and the outer clothes were simply dusted off.

When he came out of the bathroom, he saw a woman who was covered in cheap perfume and had a face full of powder. She was not particularly good-looking, but she was young. In those days, the booming business on the streets was enough to attract young women.

"Hey, young man, why aren't you relaxing in the back?"

"No, no, I'm tired. My supervisor told me to sleep and get up early to check on the cars."

The other person's eyes lit up; she liked his youthful appearance. Xu Kai's looks were already attractive enough, which piqued her interest. She took a closer look and saw that Xu Kai, who had just taken a shower, was wearing a T-shirt, and the lines of his arms and abdomen were faintly visible under the T-shirt.

She reached out, her fingers, painted with red nail polish, and touched Xu Kai's chest: "I'm tired too, and it's lonely sleeping alone tonight. Don't worry, I don't want your money..."

Xu Kai fled in panic, looking like a greenhorn who had never experienced anything like this before and was frightened by the woman's enthusiasm.

"Hehehe, little brother, don't run away."

With a few quick steps, Xu Kai created some distance, turned the corner, and, not hearing the sound of high heels behind him, his shyness and unease disappeared. Damn, these guys are too fierce.

Back in his room, he could see the parking area outside the window, with four trucks in the distance. Although his eyelids were heavy, Xu Kai still couldn't fall asleep peacefully. He had thought of giving the man in charge of the earthen house a pack of cigarettes to ask for his help, but he gave up the idea as soon as he put on his socks.

It’s too late.

There was nothing wrong with it. The goods being transported were clearly large pieces of equipment, which wouldn't attract thieves. However, if you make a big fuss about it, you might attract thieves. They might think that the equipment on the outside is just a cover, and that there's something lucrative inside that's worth stealing.

He rubbed his face with both hands: "Xu Kai, Xu Kai, you're too nervous. You went from two hundred yuan to where you are today in less than a year. There's no need to make such a fuss."

The bedding had a slight odor. Xu Kai frowned and slept fully clothed, but his sleep was not sound. His strong body ensured that he still had the energy after a long period of exertion. After sleeping for a while, he opened his eyes, got up, and looked outside.

I took another nap, and when I checked the time, barely two hours had passed. I looked out the window and the sky was just beginning to lighten. The mattress was a bit damp, and I was sleeping very uncomfortablely. I was a little cold, but I only covered half of my body with the blanket. The blanket had a slightly pungent smell that I couldn't stand.

I rubbed my eyes, sat up and stretched, feeling much better and the drowsiness was mostly gone. I closed my eyes and then suddenly opened them wide.

I'm not going to sleep.

The four drivers got up early, didn't linger in bed, and happily ate white rice porridge and steamed buns. After the meal, they didn't delay, lit a cigarette, and started the truck. Nowadays, in long-distance freight, shippers all hope that the drivers can arrive as quickly and safely as possible. Even a slight delay could lead to an accident, and an accident could cause incalculable losses for the shipper.

While the driver was eating, Xu Kai had already gone over to the proprietress and settled the bill for the night.

The drivers' smiles deepened at this moment. They weren't short of money, but they were happy to work for such cargo owners.

Except for stopping to use the restroom, we didn't eat lunch and drove straight to our destination – Songjiang City.

Once the car entered the city, Xu Kai finally relaxed. He pointed in the direction and told the driver, Lao Bai, to park the car at their destination—a warehouse in the fruit wholesale market.

The cement floor was simply cleaned, and the walls, two meters high from the ground, were simply plastered with white paint.

The interior was simply partitioned with plywood, creating two living rooms and a kitchen. No toilet was built, but the outdoor public toilet of the wholesale market was less than 20 meters away from this warehouse.

These days, the top priority is circuit renovation and voltage protection. We contacted a friend in the power industry to have the most professional electrician come over and use the best equipment to re-lay the circuit here.

Yun Sheng initially planned to rent an area in the underground shopping mall in the city center. The area had a large flow of people and was lined with bowling alleys, billiard halls, video arcades, and several game arcades. Any business clustering together has its advantages, and their gambling machines were not afraid of competition.

Xu Kai shook his head and rejected the idea, for one reason only: he directly persuaded Yun Sheng and Xu Dalong at the time.

"That place is too eye-catching and too conspicuous."

"Instead of saving on rent, we should buy two standing air conditioners and more comfortable chairs."

Hardware is not important; software is of paramount importance.

At the fruit wholesale market, there is no shortage of temporary workers. With just a wave of the hand, four strong laborers who can carry and lift will come and start unloading the goods from the truck.

Inside, there are poker and mahjong machines, leaning against the left and right walls, while the octagonal turntable from the animal park is placed in the middle aisle area.

Near the main entrance, there are ordinary arcade machines, while the walls on both sides are old-style standing arcade machines. In the middle area, rows of low-profile, domestically made new-style arcade machines are placed back to back, with the perfect height for sitting on chairs.

Xu Kai had a whole set of ideas about the service, but chose to remain silent for the time being. With costs soaring, he didn't want to put any more pressure on anyone, nor did he want to diminish his credibility with his partners.

Nowadays, many arcades are located in dilapidated bungalows. At least ours is spacious and clean. People come here not to enjoy comfort, but to have fun. Ensuring that it's not cold in winter or hot in summer is already considered high-end service.

"Xu Kai, you've been working hard for several days. Take a rest. There's no rush here."

Wang Jianshe chatted with Yun Sheng and Xu Dalong about their experiences along the way. They already knew that Xu Kai had traveled all the way back with a hard seat and a standing ticket. Seeing him still busy arranging for people to unpack the outer packages and placing the machines in the areas he had arranged, the group felt embarrassed but also a little distressed.

"It's alright. We've finished all the work today, made some adjustments, and we can open for business right away."

He had already planned out the arrangement of the machines, including the placement of various arcade machines.

Fighting games like '96, '97, Street Fighter, and Zodiac are interspersed among regular level-based machines. Every day after setting them up, he would turn them on and personally test them. He would practice and fine-tune the parameters while learning before shipping them out.

The next step is to check if any machines malfunction or if any joysticks or buttons fail after the long-distance transport. After turning on all the machines, we will also turn on all the lights in the room to test whether the voltage can withstand the power output here.

"Don't worry about that. Adding air conditioners, fans, and other appliances is fine too, as long as you don't use high-power appliances for extended periods. I've left the business card of the person in charge, and the pager number of the staff responsible for power maintenance in this area." Yun Sheng and his two companions couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to help. Each machine represented money; they had invested so much, hoping it would be a golden goose.

Yun Sheng took out a large number of game coins that had been delivered with the car. They were in special yellow plastic boxes, with one hole that could fit ten of these game coins. There were two boxes, one long and one short. The long box could hold five hundred game coins at a time, and the short box could hold two hundred and fifty.

Xu Kai generously took out a handful of game coins and distributed them to the porters who had just been working, including the fruit wholesalers in the market who were watching the excitement at the entrance. He gestured for them to come in and have a game. Whether adults liked to play or not was another matter. It was cold outside in the morning, and this place provided shelter from the wind and rain. They could familiarize themselves with the place, and if it rained or got cold in winter, they could shamelessly come in and warm up.

This whole ordeal took up most of the day. Finally, citing important business, they turned off the machine, locked the front and back doors, and the four of them left together.

Under the bridge, by the river.

The weather in July, with the river breeze blowing, is very comfortable.

Xu Kai met Zhang Xu, a well-known figure in the local underworld, who was accompanied by his henchmen, including Da Liangzi, who lived near the Tie Er Middle School Market.

Wang Jianshe and Xu Dalong remained in the car by the river, without getting out.

Yun Sheng brought Xu Kai to meet Zhang Xu. The two didn't talk much, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Zhang Xu handed Xu Kai a business card.

"Zhang Xu, General Manager of Xuri Trading Company."

Mobile phone number, pager number.

Da Liangzi, who was standing next to Xu Kai, also handed him a piece of paper with his pager number on it.

Zhang Xu, a refined-looking man with gold-rimmed glasses, patted Xu Kai's arm: "Young man, you have a lot of energy. If anything happens, give me a call."

………………

Yun Sheng told Xu Kai that arcades are places where all sorts of people mingle. If it's just arcade games, it's for kids. But with poker and mahjong machines, you're bound to have to deal with some other people.

Da Liangzi was assigned to help out; he's available anytime, anywhere by phone.

It's a ten-minute walk from Tie Er Middle School to Xu Kai's home.

From Xu Kai's home to the fruit wholesale market, it takes ten minutes by bicycle and three bus stops.

Da Liangzi frequents the market near Tie Er Middle School. He owns a van and drives to the fruit wholesale market. Nowadays, there are no traffic jams, so if he drives fast, it only takes three to five minutes. If you ask him for help, that's enough time to deal with many emergencies.

Xu Kai took a shower but didn't go home to rest. That night, he called Da Liangzi and invited him to dinner alone.

The next day, when the regular staff of the arcade were in place, four of Liangzi's young men, all in their early twenties, came to the arcade to report for work.

After seeing this, Yun Sheng secretly gave Xu Kai a thumbs up. He found that sometimes this guy's social skills and sense of propriety were far superior to his own, who had been working for two years and still thought he was pretty good.

Regarding Da Liangzi's help, it was through his "upper-level connections," so there was no question of any payment for the help. Zhang Xu had a different relationship with the three partners here. Besides, the arcade only contacted Da Liangzi or him when there was trouble, and they didn't need to contribute anything on a daily basis, so there was no question of direct monetary exchange.

Xu Kai hired four people to run the game token stall. They were all underlings of Da Liangzi. The four of them worked in two shifts, with two people working 24 hours a day and resting 24 hours a day.

Five hundred yuan per month.

Many young people like this way of working. Although it is a day and night job, it is impossible to be awake 24 hours a day. At the very least, they can sleep for a few hours in the middle of the night. After cleaning up the house the next morning, they can be energetic during the day without sleeping all day. They still have time to go out and play in the afternoon and evening, so they are not tied to work every day.

Xu Kai was hired based on the internet cafe manager model from a few years later. In those years, the most popular work mode for all the playful, idle young people was to work one day and one night and rest one day and one night, which gave them the feeling that I only worked fifteen days a month.