Returning to '97, creating a new life

Song Jun felt very unlucky.

The landline phone suddenly stopped working, and the pager happened to be out of power. They missed the reminder call from Xu Dalong and were caught off guard by a surprise inspection that swept through the video arcade.

When recounting the events to Xu Kai, Song Jun harbored some resentment. He attributed his misfortune to his partner's lack of support. Even though Xu Dalong contacted and arranged for all the guests to leave immediately, Song Jun was able to retrieve all the confiscated discs the next morning.

He was still dissatisfied because he had been fined.

Having experienced it once, he wouldn't thank Xu Dalong for secretly helping him as a partner. That time, he was fined a lot, but this time, he was fined 8,000 yuan. He felt that not a penny should be fined. He gave Xu Dalong his monthly dividends, and he felt at ease with it. Now it's time for him to contribute.

"He's not that important."

His dissatisfaction grew stronger, and when he got back, Song Jun still had to put on an arrogant and domineering attitude for all the customers.

You don't need to worry. I have powerful connections. Last night was just an accident. You can rest assured that nothing will happen to you. If you didn't get enough last night, come again tonight. It's free.

When he was left alone, Song Jun muttered viciously, "Damn it, you're useless, what use are you?"

I lost money, so I'll make it back from the two of you. In this world, everything else is fake, only money is real.

That day, the video arcade's accounts were in a bit of a mess again. The money for overnight stays and late-night snacks was only recorded in the ledger for the revenue from ten people staying overnight.

………………

Ula Manchu Hot Pot.

Enjoying hot pot with mutton and drinking local strong liquor.

It's not about the quantity, just a small sip; the point is to use the liquor to stimulate the appetite.

Xu Dalong pushed an envelope to Xu Kai, which contained two thousand yuan. In this scheme, the two of them split four thousand yuan, and handed over the other four thousand yuan.

They swindled back all the money Song Jun had earned through his petty tricks. They weren't looking for profit; they were even willing to give up some of their own money, as long as Song Jun suffered a significant loss.

Facing Xu Kai, Xu Dalong no longer treated him like a child; when they ate together, they had a completely equal conversation.

Xu Kai gently patted the envelope: "What a pity. We could have made money for a while longer, but now this kid is even more greedy and unscrupulous."

After chewing and swallowing a large mouthful of mutton soaked in sesame sauce, Xu Dalong snorted, "Why don't we just skip the last bit of ripping him off and kick him out already?"

Xu Kai's initial plan was to have Song Jun take the fall in the end, taking advantage of the good business to transfer the money to him and leave with a large sum of money.

Xu Dalong plans to continue the business, hire two employees, and clarify the accounts. The arcade business is going very well; at the end of the month, Xu Kai even sat down with the partners to clarify the accounts. There's no need for Song Jun to stay there. If we're talking about finding some troublemakers, Da Liangzi at the Tie Er Middle School market is much more effective than Song Jun.

Xu Kai couldn't tell Xu Dalong some things. In his eyes, these kinds of businesses were just stepping stones. Once they were used and had no value, he would quickly get rid of them.

You can't say this to your partners; they're in it to make money.

After taking another sip of his drink, Xu Kai slowly said, "This business isn't big, but it's quite troublesome. I saw on the news that there might be fire safety inspections of the premises. Fire safety issues are becoming increasingly important. The video rental shop in the garage doesn't meet the requirements, so you'll have to spend a lot of money bribing people. Also, lately, this kind of business with almost no barriers to entry is popping up everywhere. In the last six months, eight new audio-visual rental shops have appeared at the Tie Er Middle School vegetable market..."

"We can watch videos where we are."

Faced with Xu Dalong's unwavering determination to continue the business, Xu Kai chuckled. His mindset and perspective on pricing were truly limited. He patiently explained, "Everyone has their own blockbuster movies. Our advantage in this area is almost nonexistent. Uncle Long, do you know how much that brand-new VCD player cost you the other day?"

"Um?"

"Over 800 yuan, brand new, genuine. Do you know how much those inferior products cost in the south now? The ex-factory price is over 300 yuan."

Xu Dalong understood; the time had come for this product to enter every household.

"There will still be people watching the video, but the number will gradually decrease. With three people working together and hiring more people, the final profit from this business will not be enough to distract us from focusing on it, especially for you, Uncle Long. Once management and inspection are strengthened, that little bit of money will not be worth you talking to the leaders about."

Xu Dalong pondered for a moment, then nodded: "I'll listen to you. So tell me, how much money should we give to that guy Song Jun, and when should we do it?"

"It's better to do it sooner rather than later. There's no need to leave him with nothing at all. Otherwise, he'll fall from grace. With that guy's narrow-mindedness, he might even hold a grudge against us for setting him up. It's not worth it for such a petty person."

"Okay, whatever you say."

Xu Kai waited for a while before letting Song Jun know that this lousy business wouldn't make much money and he wasn't planning to continue it.

At first, Song Jun thought the other party was accusing him of embezzling money from the store. He was furious and thought, "Whatever, I made the money anyway. You can't do anything to me even if I deny it. Don't think that Xu Dalong is so powerful. He's just interfering with my money-making. What does he amount to?"

Upon hearing that Xu Kai did not intend to do this business, she was overjoyed and could not control the twitching of the muscles and nerves in her eyes and brows.

If you won't do it, I will.

"Brother Song, my business is short of money. The floods have been severe lately, and I need money to make donations for a bit of prestige. I need to sell this business before it completely dies, otherwise it will become a burden on us as our monthly income decreases."

Xu Kai had no idea that his words would keep Song Jun up for three nights. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind to start going around to relatives to borrow money. He thought, "If this business were mine alone, I would find someone to contact and pay monthly installments. I could earn all the money that the three of us used to make, and I could turn things around in a few months."

………………

As August arrived, Xu Kai became busy, not because the arcade business was getting better and better, but because the flood from the Songhua River was approaching the city.

With our most beloved people and professionals standing on the front lines, and with clear official instructions for prevention, the situation is not as serious as in the Yellow River basin.

Xu Kai donated money, not for some empty fame as he told Song Jun, but entirely out of his heart.

He took Dong Bin, Fei Wenxin, Wang Lei (a preparatory vocational school student), and Zhang Chunlei (who was waiting for the autumn recruitment), a few young men, and through the introduction of Wang Jianshe, Yun Sheng, and others, to the rear to do their part. Xu Kai's reasons were very good, and he received the full support of the parents of the four young men.

"We're not professionals, we won't go to dangerous places, and we won't try to be heroes. We're just doing what we can, even if it's just moving supplies..."

There are some very inspiring words that Xu Kai didn't say, but that's how he truly felt, so he did it this way.

He wouldn't do anything dangerous, even if you asked him to.

The words "within his power" soothe his inner memories and the ruthless scenes of flooding he has witnessed.

I was not just a bystander; I did my part, and I can say that I have done my part in this second chance at youth.

Every day, for several hours, ranging from five to more than a dozen people, they would arrive at the designated location on time to act as temporary logistics workers, carrying and lifting heavy loads. The girls who came upon hearing the news couldn't do the physical labor, so they helped sort out accounts and organize items.

Xu Kai, along with his colleagues, didn't offer any valuable advice. He simply said the most honest thing: "I don't know what you're thinking, but I've been watching the news on TV these past few days and I feel very calm. We can say with a clear conscience that we've done our best in our respective positions."

It's here, and it's terrifying.

I came, I did my best, so I have peace of mind.

Little by little, Xu Kai persisted from the beginning until the disaster worsened, earning recognition from relevant officials. In addition to logistical work, they were also included in the reserve personnel list when things got busy. Led by the staff of the You Street Office and Neighborhood Committee, they began to conduct a census of the population in their street, to see which households had elderly, weak, sick, or disabled members, to make statistics, and to inform them in advance, hoping that they would leave the low-lying areas and bungalow areas as much as possible, and that if they had relatives at home, it would be best to let the relatives take care of them.

For those who cannot be taken care of, the street will conduct a survey and assign responsibility to each household and individual. Once the river water exceeds the bridge surface, all people in the designated area who need to be evacuated must go to the nearest high ground or urban hill.

Volunteers like Xu Kai, once they are recognized, may not be qualified to lead a team alone, but they can serve as important assistants. Two or three of them will follow one street staff member to be responsible for the evacuation of several households in case of an emergency.

From working only a few hours a day to being on call almost around the clock and doing tedious and repetitive work, Wang Lei and others were starting to feel the strain, but Xu Kai encouraged them.

Instead of focusing on value, they resort to direct provocation.

"Consider it a preview of how stressful adult life and work can be. Don't tell me you can't handle it; you can go home and be your parents' sweet little baby now."

Boys and girls at this age have a certain arrogance. They are most easily provoked. Even if their feet are blistered, they will endure it because they are afraid of being looked down upon by their peers, and even more afraid of being told that their so-called maturity is nothing but arrogance without experiencing the trials and tribulations of life.

After days of being on edge, when the water level finally dropped, it seemed like all the previous preparations had been in vain. But everyone relaxed, looked at each other and laughed. There was nothing else to say but that one thought – I persevered.

"Come on, let's go get some barbecue. Order whatever you want, there's plenty."

Arms linked on each other's shoulders, a dozen or so people, their bodies smelling slightly of sweat, but unable to hide the bright smiles on their faces.

Young people always need something to prove themselves: I can do it, I can achieve it. Compared to his peers, Xu Kai and his peers have experienced this sense of accomplishment of self-proving ahead of time.

From afar, the director of the neighborhood office looked at the young figure amidst laughter, his eyes softened, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He said to the staff beside him, "Compile a list of their names and the schools they will be attending, and put it on my desk. We can't offer anything else, but we can afford a letter of commendation."