Yicheng City, Linghu Park.
In early autumn, a gentle breeze blew, the weather was no longer scorching hot, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering onto the ground; the lotus flowers in the lake had passed their blooming season, some beginning to wither, presenting a rather desolate appearance.
Not far away, under a long pavilion, two elderly men in white shirts and black trousers were leisurely playing Chinese chess.
One grandpa, staring at the chessboard, had his brows furrowed.
The other leisurely picked up the glass teacup beside him, watching his opponent with a smile.
At the other end of the long pavilion, several middle-aged women were performing opera.
"To save Li Lang, I left my home, who knew I'd top the imperial examination list."
"Topping the list, wearing a red robe, with palace flowers in my hat, ah, how refreshing and new."
Tan Jincheng had been sitting here for quite a while, listening to several Huangmei Opera tunes.
And truly, the Huangmei melodies entering his ears, the pure local accent; they had greatly calmed his heart.
Today was September 27, 2004, the fourteenth day of the eighth lunar month, and tomorrow would be the Mid-Autumn Festival.
After 14 months away from his hometown, Tan Jincheng, at the last moment, was somewhat afraid to step through his front door and face his parents.
This was precisely the so-called 'near home, yet hesitant' feeling, wasn't it?
14 months, but for Tan Jincheng, a reborn person, it was much longer than that.
Since personal family changes occurred in 2019, coupled with the recurring special events, Tan Jincheng had not set foot on this land again.
Calculating the time, it had been over six years since he returned to his old home.
A year ago, due to a severe hangover, Tan Jincheng unexpectedly reincarnated from 2023 to 2003.
Similar to the movie 'Back to 18,' Tan Jincheng, a 38-year-old middle-aged man, returned to his 18-year-old youth.
If one were to ask what it felt like to return 20 years, what would the experience be?
At present, it would be difficult for Tan Jincheng to answer this question.
Although it was hard to comprehend; since he was here, he would make the best of it.
The timing of his rebirth did not change Tan Jincheng's original life trajectory at 18; naturally, he still boarded that luxury cruise ship, which docked for the first time at a mainland port, with his best friend Zhang Xupeng, becoming an ocean-going crew member.
He was called an ocean-going crew member, but he was actually a waiter on the cruise ship, because crew members required certification, and neither of them had one when they boarded.
It was understandable that young people yearned for freedom and wanted to see different sceneries.
But little did they know that being an ocean-going crew member was almost one of the most arduous jobs in the world.
However, everything has two sides, gains and losses; besides bringing some changes to Tan Jincheng's personality, his 14 months of unique work experience also brought him his first pot of gold in life: 80,000 RMB.
With this pot of gold, Tan Jincheng, after disembarking, partnered with his best friend who had boarded the ship with him to start a small business, gradually growing it stronger and larger until they amicably parted ways.
By 2019, Tan Jincheng, who had fully established his own career, experienced the most significant change in his life: divorce.
After the divorce, Tan Jincheng naturally lost most of his assets, and his career came to an abrupt halt.
After dividing the property with his ex-wife, all Tan Jincheng had left was one house, one car, and 3 million yuan in savings.
If he had honestly deposited the 3 million yuan in the bank to earn interest, or started a small business, or found a job, though not enough for financial freedom, he would never have worried about daily expenses.
But as luck would have it, Tan Jincheng became obsessed with stock trading.
Anyone who has traded stocks should know what the A-share market is like.
Zhongguo Ping An, bought at 80 yuan, had fallen to just over 50 yuan by the time of his rebirth; after entering the market, he also learned to trade T+0, resulting in an initial loss of 1 million, which grew to 2 million by the time of his rebirth.
By 2023, Tan Jincheng's 2 million had turned into 1.3 million.
As stocks continuously fell, the psychology of 'leeks' (novice investors) was all the same; he buried his head in the sand.
"As long as I don't cut my losses, it's not a loss."
However, his life was far from as affluent as before, but maintaining a living was ultimately no problem.
Tan Jincheng, who had been decadent for four years, coupled with changes in the economic environment, began a 'lying flat' life from then on.
However, things did not go as planned; fate sent him back 20 years.
Was this meant for him to make up for the regrets of his previous life?
Although his several years as a 'leek' were unpleasant to look back on, he did indeed learn a lot in the stock market.
Most 'leeks' are like this; aside from not making money, they are knowledgeable about everything from astronomy to geography.
These knowledge points, for a reborn person, would be extremely useful.
In the depths of fate, everything seemed to be prearranged.
In this year as an ocean-going crew member after his rebirth, Tan Jincheng naturally worked much harder than in his previous life; for no other reason than to accumulate as much as possible for his first pot of gold.
When he boarded the ship in his previous life, Tan Jincheng received the lowest salary on the cruise ship, 600 US dollars per month, which, calculated at the exchange rate at that time, was approximately 5,000 yuan.
In 2003, this could be considered a relatively high income, but who would complain about having too much money?
After his rebirth, Tan Jincheng, having adjusted his mindset, began an 'involution' (intensely competitive) life.
By the time he disembarked, apart from some gifts he bought for himself and his parents, he still had a full 120,000 yuan on him.
This 120,000 yuan was Tan Jincheng's starting capital for this life.
He believed that this time, he would do better than in his previous life!
In the 20 years from 2003 to 2023, ordinary people had several opportunities to change their fate.
The country had just joined the WTO, ushering in tremendous development.
All industries began to integrate with the world, and demand started to surge.
New industries and sectors emerged endlessly; coal bosses and the internet industry all began to prosper at this time.
Some future internet giants originated after joining the WTO.
There was once a saying that an ordinary person born into a common family would have three opportunities to change their fate in a lifetime: 'career choice upon university graduation, further education between 30 and 35, and starting a business.'
As for the most important one, entrepreneurship, for most ordinary people with average family backgrounds, no initial capital accumulation, and no rich social experience, it was difficult to achieve in the first two stages.
And these were inseparable from the general trend of economic development.
Tan Jincheng, whose soul came from the future, naturally knew that there were some exceptionally talented groups in society, but ultimately, ordinary people constituted the majority.
To change one's fate, it was simply about seizing opportunities amidst changes in social and economic environments.
But for now, it was better to go home first.
His phone had just rung; it was a text message from Zhang Xupeng, who had already arrived home.
Presumably, his own parents had also received news of his arrival by now.
This impending severe reprimand, it seems there's no escaping it.
"In a few more months, my sister should be due to be born, right?"
Tan Jincheng slowly stood up, pulling the suitcase at his feet, and thought to himself; perhaps his rebirth on the cruise ship was also to avoid altering this small life?
(End of this chapter)
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