Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

Lin Dong didn't count.

He looked at Chen Xiong, then at his parents.

The mother's fingers gripped the edge of her apron tightly, her knuckles turning white.

My father stood there, his back slightly hunched, as if weighed down by something heavy.

"Fairness," Lin Dong said.

Chen Xiong smiled: "Alright then. One hundred thousand, to be settled before the end of the year. Ah Guo, what do you think..."

"Brother Xiong,"

The father's voice was dry, "One hundred thousand... I really can't raise that much right now. Could... maybe after the New Year? I'll figure something out after the New Year..."

"After the New Year?"

Chen Xiong closed his notebook, a smile still on his face, but his eyes turned cold. "Ah Guo, you've been saying this for three years. Every year it's 'after the New Year,' but every year we haven't seen any money. My money didn't come from thin air."

He walked to the dining table, looked down at the plate of braised goose, picked up a piece, and chewed it.

"It tastes good."

He nodded, took out a tissue to wipe his hands, and said, "Here's a way for you. You can mortgage this old house of yours to me, and I'll give you 150,000 yuan. After you pay off your debts, you'll still have 50,000 yuan left for the New Year."

The father suddenly looked up: "This house... that was left to me by my father..."

"That's why it's valuable." Chen Xiong leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "Otherwise, tell me, where are you going to conjure up this 100,000?"

The living room was deathly silent.

Lin Dong watched this scene unfold.

That's how it was in my past life.

Before the Lunar New Year, Chen Xiong came to my door and offered 100,000 yuan.

The father pleaded, the mother wept, and finally they agreed on "returning 50,000 first".

That 50,000 yuan was raised by the parents by selling everything they owned and adding their last bit of savings.

Then came the first month of the lunar calendar, which brought even more pressure.

The house was ultimately lost.

"Uncle Xiong," Lin Dong said.

All eyes turned to them.

He walked up to Chen Xiong and stood very straight: "One hundred thousand, my family can't come up with that right now."

Chen Xiong looked at him and raised an eyebrow: "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"The fifteenth day of the first lunar month."

Lin Dong said, "I will deliver 100,000 yuan in cash to your tea shop at 3 PM on the 15th of the first lunar month."

Chen Xiong laughed: "Ah Dong, have you gone crazy from studying too much? 100,000 a month? Where are you going to earn that?"

"That's my business."

Lin Dong looked into his eyes. "Uncle Xiong, just answer whether it's okay or not for the fifteenth of the first lunar month."

The smile on Chen Xiong's face faded.

He stared at Lin Dong for a long time, then suddenly asked, "What if I say no?"

"Then Uncle Xiong's trip today was for nothing."

Lin Dong's voice remained calm, "My family won't mortgage the house. And we can't give you the money today either. You can only wait; I'll deliver the money to your door in a month, or you can come back to collect the house in a month."

Chen Xiong understood the meaning behind those words.

If pushed too far, the Lin family might as well go all out and sell the house at a loss, but he might not even get a turn.

Wait a month, and you might get 100,000 yuan in cash, or you might get a house.

Risks are commensurate.

"Why should I believe you?"

Chen Xiong asked.

Lin Dong said, "Believe it or not, I have no money right now, but I can give you my life. Otherwise, I'll give you 100,000 a month later, or I'll give you my house."

He spoke so calmly, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs.

Chen Xiong stared at Lin Dong for a long time.

Then he laughed.

It was a genuine laugh.

"interesting."

"Ah Guo, your son... is better than you."

As he reached the door, he stopped and glanced back at Lin Dong.

"I'll be waiting for you at 3 PM on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month."

He said, "Ah Dong, your family can't shirk this debt."

The door closed.

The footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

The room was deathly silent.

The mother's legs went weak, and she slumped into the chair.

The father stood there, looking at Lin Dong, speechless for a long time.

"Dad, Mom."

Lin Dong walked over, helped his mother to the table, and pulled out a chair for his father. "Let's eat first, the food will get cold."

"You...you..."

His father pointed at him, his finger trembling, "How dare you... how could you..."

"If I didn't say that, I wouldn't get through this today."

Lin Dong sat down, picked up his bowl, and said, "Dad, Mom, let's eat."

The father didn't move.

He looked at his son, at this son who had become a stranger overnight, and all the words stuck in his throat.

After a long while, he walked back to the table and sat down.

He picked up his chopsticks, his hands still trembling, but he picked up a piece of braised goose and put it into Lin Dong's bowl.

"Let's eat," he said.

hoarse voice.

Lin Dong picked up the bowl.

The rice had gone cold, and the oil from the braised goose had congealed into white fat.

But he ate with relish, finishing the whole bowl of rice bite by bite.

His mother served him a bowl of soup, which was still warm.

He took a sip, looked up, and gazed at his parents.

"Dad, Mom," he said, "trust me this once."

His voice was steady. "I have a plan."

His parents both looked at him.

"I'm going to Shenzhen."

Lin Dong said, "It just so happens that my classmate Wang Hao's cousin runs an electronics business there and they need people for the Chinese New Year. They provide room and board, and the wages are quite good. I'll go work there for a month."

"Shenzhen?"

Li Xiuzhen's voice changed, "Adong, are you crazy? You're still a student! Working is what you should be doing right now? This has nothing to do with you! Your father and I will figure something out. Your task now is to study hard and get into a good university!"

"mom,"

Lin Dong looked at her, his eyes resolute. "I won't neglect my studies. I'll definitely get into a good university in the college entrance exam. But I also have to pay back this debt."

He paused for a moment, then said, "One hundred thousand a month. I have a way."

"What can you do?!"

Father Lin Guodong suddenly looked up, his eyes red. "You're just a high school student, what can you do?! I didn't study enough back then, I liked reading those messy novels on some website, thinking I'd go out and make my way in the world, and look what happened?!"

"If I had studied hard, I'd be a college student by now, instead of letting your mother live like this?!"

His voice grew softer and softer until it finally turned into a heavy sigh.

Looking into his father's red eyes, Lin Dong felt a pang in his heart.

"Dad," his voice was softer, but deeper, "don't worry."

He looked at his parents and said, word by word, "I'll take care of everything."

The room fell silent again.

Outside the window, the night had deepened.

Under the lamplight, the parents' faces were half-lit and half-shadowed.

The mother's hands were still trembling.

The father had his head down and his shoulders slumped.

After a long silence, the mother said softly, "...Is it really necessary to go?"

"We absolutely have to go."

Lin Dong answered without the slightest hesitation.

The mother sat in the chair, tears falling again.

She just stared at Lin Dong for a very long time.

Then she got up, went into the inner room, and took out a small bag wrapped in a handkerchief.

Unfold layer by layer.

Inside were crumpled coins.

"1,115.5 yuan"

His mother stuffed the money into Lin Dong's hand, her fingers icy cold. "A poor family needs to be frugal on the road... You... you're out there, don't skimp on yourself..."

She couldn't continue, so she turned and went into the kitchen.

The sound of the faucet being turned on could be heard.

Lin Dong stood there, clutching a wad of cash in his hand.

The total is 1,110.5 yuan.

This was his first capital for rebirth.

He gripped the stack of banknotes tightly.

A month later, it must be converted into 100,000 in cash that can crush the debt.