Siheyuan: At the beginning, I can integrate everything!

Time flies like an arrow.

Several years have passed since that transnational financial war that shocked China and the world.

In the mid-1980s, Beijing was growing at an incredible pace.

Skyscrapers are springing up like mushrooms after rain.

Dust-filled construction sites have become the most common sight in this city.

Near Zhongguancun, a large commercial plaza is under construction and construction is in full swing.

"Hurry up! You big guy, stop dawdling! If we don't finish moving this load of bricks, you can forget about lunch!"

A foreman wearing a yellow hard hat was shouting at people below the scaffolding, holding a megaphone.

Following the direction of his finger.

A young man dressed in tattered camouflage and covered in grime was struggling to push a wheelbarrow loaded with red bricks.

He looked to be in his early twenties, but his back was already somewhat hunched.

What's most striking is his disproportionately large head and his eyes that always seem a bit dull.

This man was none other than Bang Geng, the arrogant "Thief Saint" who used to steal chickens and dogs in the Hongxing Courtyard.

Time did not heal the wounds of his past; instead, it punished him even more severely.

That year, Zhang Huaimin was hit on the head by a stone he threw outside the back window, leaving him with severe post-concussion syndrome, which turned him into a complete idiot.

In addition, he has a criminal record from a juvenile detention center.

After his release from prison, not a single legitimate organization in the vast city of Beijing dared to hire him.

Even if he were to sweep the streets, people would complain that he was dirty and not very bright.

To survive.

He could only follow a group of migrant workers to this dusty construction site, doing the hardest, most tiring, and least lucrative brick-moving work.

"Okay...okay, I know..."

Banggeng, sniffling through his muddy, bluish snot, responded laboriously.

He gritted his teeth, gripped the handlebars of the wheelbarrow tightly with both hands, and the veins on his neck bulged.

The right wrist, which had been broken once in the juvenile detention center and never fully healed, was now throbbing with excruciating pain.

"Bang!"

Without paying attention, the wheelbarrow's wheel got stuck on a piece of gravel.

The car veered to the side, and dozens of red bricks tumbled and rolled all over the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"You useless piece of trash! You can't even push a cart properly! I'm docking half a day's wages!"

The foreman walked over, cursing and swearing, and kicked Banggeng in the buttocks without any mercy.

Banggeng was kicked so hard he fell face-first into the muddy water.

But he didn't dare utter a single word.

All she could do was wipe away her tears and frantically pick up the scattered bricks with her calloused and blistered hands.

Just then.

An elderly woman with a hunched back and gray hair walked over from beside the metal fence outside the construction site.

She was carrying a tattered sack bigger than herself on her back and holding an iron hook in her hand.

He was bending over, rummaging through the garbage for discarded plastic bottles and cardboard.

This old woman was none other than Qin Huairu.

After the storm that swept through the compound years ago, the Jia family fell into complete decline.

She was laid off from the steel mill and could only barely make ends meet by scavenging for scraps, supporting herself and her mentally challenged son.

Seeing Banggeng being beaten, a trace of heartache flashed in Qin Huairu's cloudy eyes, but more than that, there was numbness and deep despair.

She dared not step forward to help, fearing that she would anger the contractor and lose even this hard-working job.

They could only turn away and continue scavenging for food in the garbage.

The mother and son, one carrying bricks in the mud and water, the other scavenging for scraps in the garbage dump.

They lived a life even more miserable than rats in the sewers.

"beep--!"

Sudden.

A very deep, authoritative car horn sounded.

It came through the newly paved asphalt road outside the construction site.

The sound instantly drowned out the roar of the construction site.

The foreman stopped yelling, and the surrounding workers also stopped what they were doing and turned to look curiously.

A convoy of six luxury cars was slowly approaching from the end of the road.

Two black jeeps with military license plates were parked in front and behind, carrying heavily armed and vigilant special security personnel.

And those in the middle.

It was an extended version of a black, bulletproof Hongqi sedan that exuded a breathtaking aura of prestige!

This is impressive.

Let alone these low-level bricklayers.

Even the most prominent figures in the capital have to step aside when they see him!

"My goodness! Whose high-ranking official is making a trip? This is even more impressive than a military parade!"

The foreman swallowed hard, his eyes filled with awe and envy.

Banggeng also raised his head blankly, still holding a red brick in his hand.

His dull eyes stared blankly at the slowly passing bulletproof Red Flag car.

The convoy slowed down slightly as it passed the construction site gate.

The rear window of the bulletproof Hongqi car was not completely closed, leaving a two-finger-width gap for ventilation.

Through that gap.

Banggeng could clearly see the scene inside the car.

On the wide and soft genuine leather seats.

Sitting there was a tall, elegant young man wearing a perfectly tailored bespoke suit.

He was holding a glass of red wine, and was turning his head to talk to an elegant female secretary sitting next to him.

That face, with its sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, was as handsome as a god.

Although it was just a fleeting glimpse of her profile.

But even if that face were reduced to ashes, Bang Geng would still recognize it!

Zhang Huaimin!

That was the one he used to call "little childless" back in the courtyard house.

A five-year-old orphan who was called a jinx by his grandmother!

now.

That orphan has become a world-renowned business tycoon and a tech giant whom even national leaders treat as honored guests!

They travel in bulletproof luxury cars, with military escorts in front and behind.

Enjoying the most luxurious and extravagant life in the world!

And what about his great joke?

Back then, he was known as the "Master Thief," a notorious thief who ran rampant in that compound, stealing chickens and dogs.

Now, however, he's like a mud-covered stray dog, getting beaten and scolded on this dusty construction site for a few cents' wages.

That's the difference.

This is the ultimate contrast between heaven and earth.

It was like a rusty iron hammer, smashing mercilessly and brutally onto Banggeng's already not-so-bright head.

"Clatter!"

The stick's hand trembled.

The heavy red brick slipped directly from his hand.

impartial.

It slammed heavily onto the instep of his own foot, which was wearing a worn-out rubber shoe.

"ah--!"

A piercing pain struck instantly, and Banggeng let out a shrill scream.

But he seemed not to feel the pain in his feet.

His cloudy eyes were fixed on the taillights of the departing convoy.

Tears, snot, and muddy water mingled together and streamed down his face.

Endless regret gnawed at his internal organs like a venomous snake.

in case……

If only he hadn't stolen that medal and smashed that window back then.

If his grandmother hadn't tried to steal someone else's house.

Now, can their family also benefit from this?

Even if he doesn't benefit from this, at least he can still be a normal person and doesn't have to eke out a living in this filth!

"Why...why did I ever mess with him back then?!"

The stick finally broke down.

His knees buckled, and he knelt heavily in the muddy snowmelt.

Ignoring the strange looks from the surrounding workers, she burst into tears.

The cries were filled with regret for their own foolishness and despair at the cruel reality.

Beside a garbage dump in the distance.

Qin Huairu also saw the convoy flash by.

She gripped the iron hook tightly in her hand, breaking her fingernails in the process.

She didn't go through the old trick of supporting someone.

He simply turned away silently and continued rummaging through the garbage, searching for that tattered cardboard box that might be worth a few cents.

Tears, however, kept falling onto the dirty ground.

Inside that bulletproof Hongqi car that was gradually driving away.

Zhang Huaimin gently swirled the red wine in his glass, not even glancing out the car window.

Those former clowns are no longer worthy of his attention.

His mind was completely absorbed in the depths of his head.

On the system's vast virtual panel.

It was newly unlocked and shimmered with an extremely dazzling golden light.

The brand-new icon, which even exudes a mysterious and profound aura, is firmly attracting his full attention.