Epiphanies of Rebirth 24.2
Chapter 24.2
Lin Jingzhe politely declined Tian Dahua’s offer to drive them to the airport because—what airport?
He checked out, withdrew the deposit, and, under the eager gazes of the staff, got in the taxi arranged by the hotel. After arriving at the station, he bought everyone tickets and boarded the bus to Qunnan City.
When he had first arrived, he had 20,000 yuan, but now he was going back with only a few thousand left. The bus started and jerked forward, passing by the main urban area. Lin Jingzhe leaned out and looked at the city behind him.
He knew that he would be back soon.
Despite Gao Sheng and the others’ anxiety about the 700,000 yuan Lin Jingzhe borrowed, this trip to a big city had taken their breaths away. This new world, with rules completely different from anything they’d been exposed to in the past, slowly unfolded before them like a priceless handscroll, revealing a magnificent painting inside.
It frightened and unnerved them, yet at the same time, it filled them with an indescribable longing.
Gao Sheng caressed the covers of the books that Lin Jingzhe had just bought at the bookstore next to the station. They had names that he had never heard of, but he could feel the endless power contained within them.
After seeing the bustle and prosperity of Shen City, once they returned to Qunnan City, it seemed to have lost its spark.
All of them wanted to return home as soon as possible, so they didn’t stop to take a rest but immediately boarded the bus bound for Liyun Town.
The bus unhurriedly rambled along the winding mountain road. As the noon gave way to evening, the quiet town slowly emerged in the distance.
When Gao Sheng and Deng Mai set their feet back on their home turf, they ran to the side and began to throw up.
“Well,” Lin Jingzhe, watching them from a distance, commented with a nod, “You’ve finished the way you started.”
Zhou Haitang sorted out the things they brought from Shen City. Lin Jingzhe bought many gifts: a fashionable cheongsam dress for each of the mothers, on trend and using fabric not available in Liyun Town, and for the fathers, cigarettes, good leather shoes, and alcohol. It all cost a lot of money; the three youths had spent the journey back distressed by Lin Jinzhe’s extravagance.
Since they called home before returning, their parents were already waiting for them.
They’d used staying at a classmate’s house for a few days as an excuse for leaving. However, they had tarried in Shen City for too long, so their trip couldn’t be concealed. Shen City—how far away did this place seem to be to the people of Liyun Town? And their children had secretly gone to such a distant place without telling them. Later, Gao Sheng and the others called home every day to report their safety, but their parents had still been worried.
The group of middle-aged people gathered by the iron fence at the bus station exit, anxiously peering inside. At the sight of their sons’ silhouettes, the mothers couldn’t help crying out.
“You blasted children! You disappeared for so many days! Do you know how worried we were?!”
Hu Yu was the first one to run forward. She took the bags that Lin Jingzhe carried, put them on the ground, then raised her hand and slapped his head.
Mother Zhou and Deng Mai’s mother, Su Wei, followed her lead and, without further comment, raised their own hands.
Zhou Haitang’s and Deng Mai’s fathers exchanged glances. They had been waiting at the station for more than three hours. The men said nothing and had not expressed their concern, but the ground by their feet was littered with cigarette butts.
Lin Jingzhe was beaten several times without knowing who hit him. He wasn’t angry and only smiled and lowered his head, letting his elders vent.
Hu Yu’s eyes turned red. Since the first phone call when the children informed them that they were in Shen City, she had been so worried she couldn’t sleep well.
“Tch! Why are you crying?” Lin Jingzhe couldn’t stand it. Helpless, he hugged her and patted her comfortingly on her back, coaxing, “Don’t cry, don’t cry! Is going to Shen City for a few days really something you need to be so worried about? We’re adults already, you know.”
This kind of consolation seemed useless, however, because the other mothers also began to cry, aggrieved. The big tears rolled down their faces, leaving their sons overwhelmed and at a loss what to do.
Father Zhou and Father Deng watched from the distance, unwilling to approach and get caught in the crossfire—they were of no help at all. Lin Jingzhe cajoled and coaxed; finally, at his wits’ end, he hurriedly unpacked the gifts he’d brought back, hoping it would cheer them up.
The cheongsam dresses he bought were from well-established brands that were very popular in Shen City, made with excellent fabrics and superb craftsmanship. Also, his taste was much more refined than that of a real eighteen-year-old. Most women liked to be well-dressed—the mothers were immediately attracted by the clothes.
The tears stopped, and a profound discussion ensued concerning the dresses Lin Jingzhe unfolded and displayed.
Hu Yu caressed the silk constructing the outer layer of the dress. The afterglow of the setting sun make the soft, exquisite fabric look as if it was glowing.
Mother Deng had seen a bit of the world, but she’d never owned such beautiful clothes. Voice still thick with tears, she choked out, “This… it must’ve been expensive, right?”
Lin Jingzhe saw that they finally stopped crying and breathed a sigh of relief. He pushed the dresses into their intended owners’ arms and sweet-talked, “As long as you like it, it’s worth it!”
The spectating fathers also got their cigarettes, leather shoes, and alcohol. The looked at the brand on the cigarette boxes, one which all smokers knew, and were reluctant to open them. The alcohol was also well-received and highly praised—they kept fondling the bottles admiringly.
Father Deng couldn’t wait to have a taste. Hugging the gifts in his arms, he grinned from ear to ear and vigorously said, “All right, what time is it—what are we still standing here for? The children probably haven’t eaten the whole day. Let’s all just go to my house for dinner and a drink or two!”
“Yes, there’s no point in splitting up. I have a pig leg frozen, perfect for a big pot of pig leg stew!” Mother Deng echoed.
Hearing this, Mother Zhou immediately nodded. “I’ll cook!”
Lin Jingzhe slept at Gao Sheng’s. It was the most peaceful sleep he’d had in a while.
He didn’t dream—he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow and woke up at noon the next day.
He sat up in the bed. As his gaze penetrated through the mosquito net and took in the worn-out, cramped interior of the room, he almost thought that his trip to Shen City was just a dream.
However, the sight of Gao Sheng’s perfectly ironed, mature casual clothes hanging on the wall pulled him back to reality. His brain slowly recovered from his deep sleep and began to process his thoughts.
He found a notebook, sat down at the table, and started calculating.
He had bought 500,000-yuan worth of Aeon Technology’s stock. The money came from the business loan, and he’d been able to get this loan from the bank on the basis of his company, which was actually funded by Tian Dahua who had become Lin Jingzhe’s guarantor for three months.
His company, while registered, definitely wouldn’t open for real—even if he opened it, he would never do it in Shen City. So, before Tian Dahua’s 200,000-yuan guarantee expired, he would have to close the company he just made.
This meant he must pay off the bank loan and interest within three months.
Where would the money come from?
Stocks.
Lin Jingzhe closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He was a little tired, but not in the least worried.
He knew very well how good his stock’s prospects were. If not for the fact that he wanted to avoid attracting too much attention or be compelled into sitting on the board of supervisors due to his large capital injection, he would’ve tried to borrow a much bigger sum.
The year the Shen City Stock Exchange opened was a milestone in the history of the country’s stock market.
Because of their different economic system, before this, the state had even cracked down on speculation, which made Chinese people scared of taking the risk for a long time. Therefore, the opening of the exchange was naturally met with skepticism and wait-and-see attitude.
This was one of the reasons people in the business circle were not optimistic about whether stock trading would take off. Another reason could be traced back to a few years ago, to the huge stock market disaster that shook the financial foundations of the entire world.
But Lin Jingzhe knew this situation wouldn’t last long.
When all was said and done, for future generations, the legendary stock boom that followed the opening of the Shen City Stock Exchange was no less dazzling than what happened in 1992, when the stock market had truly taken off.
It was unique, magical era. The country was in the process of developing at a crazy pace, and as such, anything was possible.
In the bull run two years later, there would even be some stocks which increased in value to as much as 5000%. If one likened that future stock market to a soaring eagle, the market now was an eaglet making its first wobbly flight.
Lin Jingzhe tore out the pages he’d filled with dense writing, took them outside, and burned them. When he returned to the room, he noticed a book lying on the desk. It was The Global Economy. He had bought it, along with a few other books, in Shen City—each of his friends received one.
Lin Jingzhe opened the bookmarked page and found that Gao Sheng had already read one-third of it.
He smiled and put the book down, making it look as if nobody had touched it. Then, he realized that since he had woken up, he hadn’t seen anyone at home.
Where were Gao Sheng and Hu Yu?
Lin Jingzhe opened the front door and checked the corridor—empty. He walked back to the window and pushed it open to take a look downstairs.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of somebody rushing this way. Recognizing the person, he called out.
Gao Sheng stopped and looked upstairs. When he saw Lin Jingzhe, he began to jump in place and wave.
“Jingzhe!!!” he shouted, his voice loud and full of excitement. “Come down!!! Mom asked me to bring you to school!!!”
Hu Yu was in a daze.
A few minutes ago, when sorting out the third year students’ files, her colleagues had asked her about Lin Jingzhe’s college application form. Upon learning that in the end she hadn’t made any changes to it, the other teachers had shaken their heads, looking resigned.
As she got increasingly worried about the possible consequences of Lin Jingzhe receiving an exam score too low to get into any of his chosen universities, the current principal, Qu Yuan, rushed into the teachers’ room. He brought news which left her mind blank.
Qu Yuan’s speech was hurried, but his voice trembled with an irrepressible joy. “The Education Bureau called—Teacher Hu, do you know how many points Lin Jingzhe from your class got in the college entrance exam?”
Hu Yu had not yet managed to gather her wits and reply when the principal, unable to hold himself back, answered his own question: “673 points!!! He took third place in the province, his score only 5 points lower than the provincial champion!”
“What?!”
The teachers’ room immediately resounded with shocked shouts and cries, the people inside hurriedly approaching Hu Yu or running out in excitement. Hu Yu herself didn’t even notice that the student’s file had slipped out of her hand and fallen on the floor. The entire faculty was thrilled by the news.
What did 673 points represent? The maximum score for the college entrance examination was only 710 points! There was no doubt this was the best score anyone had ever gotten in Liyun Town; in the past, the town champions had scored somewhere in between 500 to 600 points. There was an immense chasm between their results and Lin Jingzhe’s results.
To understand how incredible this achievement was for people from a small town, one only had to look at the Municipal Education Bureau’s reaction—they were so excited they called in advance to report the news.
Hu Yu let her son, who’d been playing a ball game on the sports grounds, bring Lin Jingzhe to school and returned to the teachers’ room. It was empty; probably, the school leadership had called for a general meeting.
She sat back on her stool and opened the file on top of the stack. Her eyes swept over the “Grandfather—Jiang Jiping,” which Lin Jingzhe had stubbornly filled in the ‘Parents’ column.
Her nose was sour as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Someone in Liyun Town took third place in the entire province on the college entrance exam!
After the leaders of the Municipal Education Bureau learned the news from the enrollment office, they almost went crazy with happiness. They wished they could beat gongs and sound drums, or buy prime-time advertising slots on public television to broadcast the good news to the whole nation. Liyun would no longer be a county famous for its education that lagged behind the rest of the province, nor would it be a “certain city” that leaders criticized and pointed fingers at during every provincial government meeting—now, they had a “673”!
The sound of firecrackers was deafening, and a thick layer of remnants from the explosions littered the ground around the gate of No. 1 High School. The principal had bought a bunch of the longest strings of Chinese firecrackers, paying out of his own pocket, and set them off the whole afternoon. Many of the town residents’ curiosity was piqued and they came over to see what all the commotion was about.
The Education Bureau sent over a banner which had been promptly hung at the top of the school gate, so the cause for celebration was easily found out—
Congratulations to Lin Jingzhe from No. 1 High School’s Year 3 Class 5, who in the college entrance examination won first place in our town and third place in the province!
Exclamations abounded, and even the city leaders were shocked. After hearing the news, Du Kang specially called the Education Bureau to confirm that this Lin Jingzhe was the one he knew. After confirming it was indeed the same person, he ordered in a roundabout manner, “This is a brilliant achievement and will hold a conspicuous place in the history of education in our city. We must give this young man appropriate encouragement.”
“Certainly!” The leader of the Bureau was overjoyed. After hanging up, he looked through files and found that this case had no precedent—never before had a student from Liyun Town became one of the top three in the province. Therefore, he decided that this year, the commendation of the town champion would be much grander than in previous years.
Lin Jingzhe received a reward of 1,000 yuan, which was nearly half a year’s salary for the average worker in Liyun Town, and for several days in succession, the local newspapers’ lead articles were inspiring stories about his life and struggles. It turned out that his childhood, which had been ordinary to the point that he could hardly remember any noteworthy events, had been full of countless signs that foreshadowed how he would one day win this honor.
Because of the unusual difficulty of this year’s college entrance exam, the majority of the students in the province got lower scores than anticipated. Liyun Town No. 1 High School was the only odd one out—not only were their results a little better than the overall average score, but they were also significantly higher compared with the school’s results in previous years. In particular, Class 5; it was supposedly the worst class, but many of its students achieved scores comparable to those of Class 1. After a comprehensive investigation, the Education Bureau found that the fundamental reason was Hu Yu’s revised curriculum.
Hu Yu had implemented it in Class 5 immediately after she created it, while Class 1 and other classes’ teachers, having rejected it at the beginning, were pushed to accept it by the new English teacher, Qian Tian, after Li Yurong left.
After finishing the college entrance examination, most of the students were grateful for the revised curriculum—because of its much broader scope, many of the exam questions had been included in it. If the short-term emergency review plan hadn’t been carried out, after getting the exam results, the school would’ve reverberated with the cries of despair, not joy.
After learning this, all the class teachers in the third grade were filled with endless regret. Thankfully, the students had avoided the worst-case scenario and didn’t have to waste a year and repeat the exam. However, if they’d accepted Hu Yu’s suggestions earlier, the children could clearly have achieved much better results.
But what was done was done—no matter how regretful they were, no one could turn back time. Fortunately, the students were still satisfied with their scores, since they were high enough to allow them to enter their preferred universities.
As such, Hu Yu’s revised curriculum met with no resistance and was approved by the Education Bureau in an emergency meeting a few days after she submitted it. Not only that, the leader of the Education Bureau rewarded Hu Yu with an “Excellent Teacher” commendation and personally delivered it to the school.
When it came time to hold teacher appreciation banquets, even the other classes’ students insisted on inviting Hu Yu in addition to their own class teachers. The graduating students and their parents were immersed in deep joy and gratitude.
The small, modest house in which Lin Jingzhe had spent his childhood was filled with the fragrance of incense.
Lin Jingzhe knelt in front of his grandfather’s memorial tablet and offered him new joss sticks and candles, then lit a newspaper and threw it into the incense burner as well. As the scent of burning ink slowly grew stronger, he watched the flames devour the picture on the front page bit by bit. It was his own picture; he stood there, smiling calmly towards the camera.
Then, he put his palms together to pray, looked up at the photo of the kind-looking old man, and smiled peacefully.
Translator: Eques
Editor: Luoshenhua
Proofreader: Kiri
It’s all worth it.
I feel happy for you, Lin Jingzhe.
Thank you for the update ❤️
I really look forward to the story, thank you for sharing it!!
Ahhhh there was so much satisfaction reading this chapter
Thanks for the chapter! ^ ^
Smh, this seems like a perfect chapter for me. I very much like the feels at the end. 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧Grandpa will be so proud after he recieves that newspaper in the afterlife. 💕💕💕💝💝💞💞
Thanks for the update.
I’m so sad that I caught up:(
Thanks for the chapter~☆
Thanks for the chapter <3
Awwwwwww I’m so happy I could cry!!! Baby you deserve all the best!!!!!
Thank you so much~
Realmente se siente agradable leer esta parte mientras siento la brisa en la piel, y el calor apacible alrededor. Estoy muy feliz por estos logros.
Feels like the end of Arc 1 (if there’s even such division). LJ, hwaiting!!!
To be honest if my kid went missing for a few days I would be even angrier if they gave me a bunch of expensive gifts when they came back. How the hell did they buy those?! What the fuck did they do to get that much money!?