After leaving college, Li Wei sent his meager school subsidy back home, but it was barely enough to make a difference.


    It wasn''t until he secured a job after graduation that he could truly support his family.


    In high school, his only dream was to escape the countryside, to move to the city, to become someone important.


    He had been too preoccupied with his own future to spare a thought for his struggling family.


    It wasn''t until he turned thirty that guilt truly set in.


    Only then did he become fully aware of the sacrifices made for him.


    Reflecting on his past, he saw how indifferent he had been—always focused on his studies, never considering how his family made ends meet.


    In his previous life, he had no money for tuition and had never once thought of earning it himself.


    His only option had been to borrow from relatives. At the time, he resented them for not helping enough.


    It took years for him to understand their hesitation.


    Who would lend him money when his family had no means to repay it?


    His younger siblings were still children, his father was unreliable, and his mother, overwhelmed with responsibilities, had no power to change their circumstances.


    Every household in the countryside had three or four children to feed, and no one was financially stable.


    They could help once or twice, but not endlessly.


    Their meals consisted of dried sweet potatoes and coarse corn. Rice was a luxury, wheat even rarer.


    White flour was reserved for festivals, and dumplings were considered a rare delicacy.


    Yet, even under such conditions, people had extended him kindness.


    Now, having lived two lives, Li Wei understood everything.


    He had debts to repay—both gratitude and resentment.


    "Take the money home and give it to our eldest sister. Don''t hand it to Mother. With her soft heart, she won''t be able to hold onto it if Father comes asking."


    Li Wei lowered his gaze, noting Li Long''s tattered Liberation shoes.


    "Let''s go to town and buy some meat… and a new pair of shoes for you."


    "I''ll hide the money with Sister. Don''t worry, no one will find it."


    Li Long was no fool.


    He understood his father''s habits too well.


    Resentment simmered in his heart.


    In all the villages within ten miles, whose life was as hard as theirs?


    "Brother, let''s save the money. I don''t need shoes. In the summer, I can go barefoot."


    The road to town was rough, a gravel path riddled with bumps.


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    If a bicycle seat could speak, it would surely complain, "I''m about to break!"


    If someone needed to use the restroom on this road, the constant jolting would shake everything loose before they even got there.


    Li Wei recalled that a proper cement road wasn''t built here until the 1990s.


    When they finally arrived, the largest storefront in town was the supply and marketing cooperative.


    The market was already winding down for the day.


    He instructed Li Long to buy the meat while he went to a roadside stall to purchase twenty cents'' worth of fried dough twists.


    There was a child at home, after all.


    The vendors selling fried dough twists were usually elderly, carrying their wares on shoulder poles, known in the villages as "twist-carrying hawkers."


    Unlike peddlers selling cigarettes, matches, or candy—who shouted and sometimes even shook tambourines to attract customers—these vendors never called out.


    Their customers sought them out instead.


    After buying the twists, Li Wei exchanged his food coupons for flour at the supply and marketing cooperative.


    Nine pounds of flour cost only one yuan and eighty cents—less than two cents per pound.


    He hesitated but still paid. He was tired of eating coarse corn. It wasn''t just lacking in nutrition; it barely filled the stomach.


    With only three family members earning work points, they received just enough millet to make porridge.


    Yet, at that time, money had real value. A city worker earning twenty yuan a month was better off than many modern-day officials.


    As they left town, Li Wei''s eyes lingered on an ox cart trundling ahead. Though slow, it was still better than walking.


    He envied the people riding in it.


    Slinging the bag of flour over his shoulder, he sighed. The morning trip to the county town had been exhausting.


    Together, he and Li Long had caught seventy to eighty kilograms of eels and loaches, but the sun hadn''t been as merciless then as it was now.


    Li Long, carrying the meat and fried dough twists, called out, "Brother, let''s rest. My hands are going numb."


    Li Wei glanced at him but didn''t stop.


    He couldn''t bear to let his brother suffer, so he gritted his teeth and walked on.


    "Two''er! Two''er!"


    Hearing someone call his name, Li Wei turned his head and was delighted.


    What he had been hoping for had come true.


    Liu Dazhuang was driving a donkey cart toward them.


    When they got closer, he saw several women from the village sitting in the cart—young wives and old aunties alike.


    Without hesitation, Li Wei threw his things onto the cart and climbed up with Li Long.


    "Zhuang, what are you waiting for? Hurry up! I''m dying from this heat," he urged.


    Liu Dazhuang, about the same age as Li Long, had looked up to Li Wei since childhood. Years later, thanks to Li Wei''s guidance, he went south, became a contractor, and built a successful business.


    Yet, no matter how much wealth he accumulated, he always treated Li Wei with deep respect.


    "I went to your house this morning to ask if you were going to the market, but your aunt said you had already left for the county," Liu Dazhuang said as he flicked the reins.


    "Erhe, let me see what you''ve got. You must''ve spent more than three yuan today," Aunt Dongmei''s eyes gleamed at the sight of the two kilograms of meat.


    "Aunt, I caught a lot of eels and loaches yesterday and exchanged them for some money today."


    Li Wei had originally planned to keep a low profile, but now he saw no need to hide it.


    From the county town to the villages, small vendors were everywhere.


    Clearly, many had already figured out ways to do business.


    In his past life, Li Wei hadn''t paid attention to trade.


    He had focused on school, determined to land a stable government job.


    He only started considering business in the ''90s, after seeing others amass wealth through entrepreneurship.


    Now, he spoke openly.


    "Go home and ask Zhuzi and Uncle. If they have time, they can catch eels and loaches too. I''ll buy everything. Loaches for sixteen cents, eels for twenty-two."


    "Erhe, are you serious?" a woman interjected.


    "My husband is idle these days. If you''re really buying, I''ll have him bring you some this afternoon."


    Li Wei studied her.


    If he remembered correctly, she was Song''s wife.


    "No, Erhe—" Pan Guangcai''s mother and Aunt Dongmei chimed in eagerly.


    "All of you can bring them, but I don''t have enough cash to buy too much at once. I''ll pay when I return next time," Li Wei admitted, thinking of his meager savings.


    "Or you can come with me to sell in the county town, though it''ll take time."


    Li Long''s face tensed.


    If they brought too many people along, what would happen to their business?


    But the older women scoffed at the idea.


    "Who has time to walk dozens of miles to the county town?" Pan Guangcai''s mother said.


    Although some people did business in the town, selling snacks and fruit, going all the way to the county felt like an impossible risk.


    Besides, the journey was grueling.


    No one was willing to let their children endure such hardship.


    Yet, as Li Wei listened, he could tell—the wheels of change had already begun to turn.