Returning to '97, creating a new life

Xu Kai's school has three grades and more than a thousand students, with a male-to-female ratio of about 50/50. Hair clips are something that girls would never own, but they wouldn't become consumable items in a short time either. There's definitely no market for them in the long run.

As for items like hair ties and rubber bands, they don't earn much. Tying them up is okay, but there's not much profit to be made just from that.

Lip balm and colorless nail polish are consumables, but they are enough for a girl every two or three months.

Developing a second market, aiming to earn at least sixty or seventy yuan every two or three days, became a necessary step.

The key middle schools with larger student populations will have to come sooner or later. With no shame in making money, Xu Kai's business was pretty good on his first day here. However, he was chased away twice by the school's gatekeepers and security guards. Their attitude was not as polite as that of his own school. They were rude and almost kicked Xu Kai's bed sheet stall to pieces.

This business, which earns him more than his mother's regular job, also requires him to endure far more than he imagined. He can't get angry, and he has to be as thick-skinned as a city wall, ignoring any sarcasm or insults.

Money is hard to earn, and life is tough.

With his head down, Xu Kai told himself that it was all for making money, and it wasn't a big deal. If he couldn't stand being told a few unpleasant things, then what kind of business would he be doing?

Even if one's mind is mature, and the autumn wind isn't too cold, standing or squatting in one place for a long time will inevitably make one feel cold. Even in this state, being chased around like a lowly person requires some self-encouragement to dispel the resentment rising within.

At this moment, Xu Kai actually hoped that some thugs would come looking for trouble for him; he believed that would be a very good outlet for his emotions.

"Hey, old classmate, never mind, a bunch of hair ties isn't much, you can have it."

They're all in the same area, and after elementary school, they're assigned to different middle schools. It's normal to run into elementary school classmates here. The other person calls out his name first. Xu Kai flips through the river of memories that's decades longer than the other person's. He might not be able to recall the name, but he recognizes the face and confirms that it's his elementary school classmate. He smiles and directly stuffs the hair tie into the other person's hand.

More than an hour later, as it was approaching afternoon class time, Xu Kai stamped his feet, feeling quite cold. He didn't check his money, but glanced around. Those low-level thugs who came to the school to seek attention and find connections had vanished without a trace.

After packing up the remaining goods, they didn't pay much attention to whether there was any damage, nor did they investigate whether any items had been stolen during the sale.

With a total capital of just over two hundred yuan, he was content as long as the money could grow steadily. At his age, he was satisfied to earn some pocket money.

Making money was urgent, but not so urgent that it required a lot of hardship and toil. I gave up the idea of ​​carrying my bag to the entrance of the underground shopping mall to sell for an afternoon.

After circling around twice to make sure no one was following him, he returned home, pocketed two hundred yuan, and left the rest of the money and goods at home.

In the small restaurant, a large portion of shredded pork stir-fried noodles costs only three yuan. It's rich and flavorful with a dark sauce. If you ask, the owner can even add extra noodles when he makes it for you.

Two cups of hot water and a large plate of fried noodles dispelled the lingering chill outside at noon. Xu Kai didn't feel tired, just uncomfortable from hunger. After eating his fill, he felt comfortable all over and subconsciously took out the box of Life Source.

"Cough cough cough."

Extinguish it.

Well, not only is my body not used to it, but the taste is also really bad. I'm used to the 31-yuan Xizi Sunshine Slim Cigarettes, and the cigarettes of this era taste too strong.

"Grandpa, Grandma, eldest uncle, second uncle..."

I walked to my maternal grandmother's house, greeted her, took my mother's bicycle keys, and rode off to my afternoon destination.

Growing up in a single-parent family, with a mother who was weak-willed, Xu Kai received genuine and sincere help from relatives, though they often carried a superior air, speaking and chatting with a certain condescension. Young and impetuous with pride, Xu Kai, for this simple reason, refused to get close to them. For many years afterward, their interactions remained normal but never truly intimate. Looking back now, it was indeed somewhat extreme.

He didn't have the time or energy to deal with these matters for the time being. Xu Kai believed in the principle that when you are strong enough, nothing is a problem. At that time, he wouldn't mind compensating and thanking his relatives for their help to him and his mother.

The dusty streets and the old buildings in my eyes, looking around, have a unique feel to them. Compared to the old photos and videos I see in short videos, experiencing them again from the perspective of a newcomer makes me pedal my bicycle less frequently.

Swinging the handlebars, controlling the bike, and dodging a truck that had run over the uneven road and splashed dirty water from the puddles, Xu Kai hadn't ridden a bicycle in years and his skills were far from what they used to be. Luckily, it was his mother's 24-inch bike, which allowed Xu Kai to easily put his legs on the ground and control the bike to avoid the road.

The filter of time has shattered.

The past exists only in our memories; it's enough to just look at it. But experiencing it firsthand will reveal that everything that was swept away by the tides of time truly deserved to be swept away.

Twenty minutes later, Xu Kai rode his bicycle to the fruit wholesale market in the city. The market was bustling with traffic, with tricycles being the main mode of transport. Watching the fruit vendors leave on their tricycles loaded with fruit, Xu Kai seemed to be deep in thought. He shook his head and decided to stick to his plan, locking his bicycle in the corner bike shed and walking through the wholesale market.

Ignoring everything else, he noticed some vendors negotiating with wholesalers. He went over to them, his youthful face going unnoticed; no one paid him any attention, assuming he was just someone who had come with their parents.

Fuji apples.

This was Xu Kai's target. He observed the prices and the wholesalers in front of each warehouse, noting which vendor had better goods, which vendor had lower prices, and which vendor seemed more reliable based on their demeanor.

It's not very effective. Making arrangements in advance during spare time means that spending a little more money won't be a burden when the time comes. However, if you can save some costs by observing in advance, it's very cost-effective for Xu Kai right now.

Fruits are not suitable for advance stockpiling; at most, there should be a two- to three-day advance stockpiling time difference.

After browsing for an hour, Xu Kai rode his bike to the small commodity wholesale market to observe and select the goods he needed.

The focus of the inquiry was on Olay paper, cellophane, and tissue paper used for packaging gifts.

He's definitely going to make some quick money from the Christmas Eve apples.

Apples should not be stockpiled in advance. It is advisable to stockpile packaging materials only when you have sufficient funds to purchase them. Otherwise, prices will definitely rise by mid-December.

"Aunt Liu, what gifts do we have for Christmas?"

Finally, Xu Kai went to the stall where he usually bought the most goods and chatted with the proprietress.

Aunt Liu, who was as plump as Sun Xiuyun, smiled and her eyes narrowed. She had a good impression of this little guy who knew how to make money at such a young age. Upon hearing this, she smiled knowingly and said, "I knew you were thinking about this. I didn't expect you to be prepared so early."

Xu Kai responded to the other party with the attitude of a sensible person: "I don't have much capital, so I have to prepare in advance. If those days really come, I probably won't even be able to afford to restock."

"You come here often, so you can see that the goods usually arrive in early December. The earlier you stock up, the better, because the price changes every day." Aunt Liu didn't hide anything. Based on her observation, even if she didn't say anything, Xu Kai could figure it out himself.

Xu Kai nodded, waiting for the other party to continue the introduction.

"The gifts specifically for Christmas will be diverse and different every year. Everyone will stock whatever is popular, and whether they sell well depends on your own judgment. Things like Santa hats, sparklers, and glow bracelets for Christmas Day—it depends on your skills. If you stock too little, you'll earn less; if you stock too much and can't sell it, it'll just be a pile of junk. If you can keep them well until next year, that's fine, otherwise they're worthless..."

………………

Xu Kai, who was trying to make a change by starting with himself, spent the night at his maternal grandmother's house playing cards and chess with his cousins. When it got late, they squeezed onto the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) at his grandmother's house to sleep.

In the past, Xu Kai would run away right after dinner. His mother would play mahjong all night, and he would take the opportunity to stay out all night. The computer room was expensive during the day, but an all-night computer room only cost six yuan and allowed him to play for ten hours.

Nowadays, without the internet, games like Red Alert Dune, DOS versions of Legend of Sword and Fairy, and Jin Yong's Heroes were an unparalleled innovation in gaming experience for the audience transitioning from Nintendo games. Xu Kai, however, had absolutely no interest in them. Putting aside everything else, having grown accustomed to LCD screens, looking at those old-fashioned CRT monitors would hurt his eyes.

On Sunday morning, the second uncle, who had been dominating the card table, gave the younger generation several tens of yuan. Everyone split the money, and Xu Kai's cousins ​​contributed a little more. The boys also got a basketball.

Although the Slam Dunk anime hasn't arrived yet, my cousin, who loves reading manga, has already watched it. Like Captain Tsubasa, it has greatly popularized shonen anime among teenagers. In addition, the NBA has gradually opened its doors to China, and Jordan's game videos and videos of the invincible Dream Team sweeping the world have brought countless new basketball fans to the country.

Xu Kai's shooting accuracy is getting better and better, and the coverage area of ​​his shots is also getting larger and larger.

Curry's groundbreaking long-range shooting skills, along with noticeable physical changes leading to better performance, improved jumping ability, and stamina, allowed Xu Kai to quickly transition from casual games with his brothers to challenging half-court games. He even led his cousins ​​to several consecutive wins.

You wouldn't notice when you're walking together, but your cousins ​​noticed when you're exercising: "Xiao Kai, I've never noticed before, but you seem to have grown quite a bit taller. Come on, let's compare heights."

When they stood up straight, back to back, Xu Kai had already surpassed his two older cousins, who were four or five years his senior and whose heights had already reached their limit.

177 cm.

On Sunday night, his height was measured again, and he had grown taller. Xu Kai didn't make a fuss. Growing 5cm in just one week is a bit astonishing.

There are classmates who have grown 30cm in just one year. Growing taller in a short period of time is not unusual, but growing taller in a concentrated period of time, especially in a week, is a bit alarming.

He figured he could delay it as long as possible. If he really attracted a lot of attention, Xu Kai figured it out by saying that the summer vacation was much longer and people hadn't noticed it since school had just started.

I can clearly feel that the pants are too short. Fortunately, the pants I bought in the past, especially jeans, were either rolled up at the cuffs or had a bit of extra length at the hem to keep up with the current fashion trends. I don't know why, but they were always in style.

When I wear pants now, the extra length that usually accumulates around my ankles and shoes is just right. Any longer and the pants will appear noticeably shorter.