Epiphanies of Rebirth 43.1
Chapter 43.1
Gao Sheng’s father, Gao Changyuan, had already quit his job at the construction site in Qunnan, packed his bags, and rushed over to Yan City.
Despite the long and tiring journey, his heart throbbed with excitement the whole way. During the New Year, the Zhou couple had talked to him many times about the new store they were planning to open and finally persuaded him.
Gao Changyuan didn’t really understand how exactly self-employment worked and remained skeptical about the Zhou couple’s claims that he would be able to earn thousands of yuan a month. He agreed mostly because the work at the construction site was too backbreaking. Every day, rain, hail, or shine, he did hard physical labor, pulling the transport cart and climbing up and down moving bricks. After so many years, his body was already worn down and he suffered from several health problems.
Most importantly, the site in Qunnan was in difficulty this year. The building was still unfinished but there was no money to pay the workers. The foreman didn’t even bother to recruit new people, just began assembling a team of workers to go to a construction site in another province.
It was far away from Liyun Town, though. He’d rather go to Yan City than to another province, even if he would earn less. At least his son was there, and the work would be more relaxed since they would be running their own business. Besides, according to the Zhou couple, he might make more money at the restaurant than at the construction site.
Running a restaurant was not easy. Father Zhou explained that handling the food side of the business would make him and his wife simply too busy to take care of things outside the kitchen. Managing a store involved handling the finances; they couldn’t do it all by themselves and they wouldn’t feel reassured entrusting it to a stranger, so why not look for someone they were familiar with? They’d known Gao Changyuan for many years, and their children played together since they were small—both sides basically knew everything about each other.
As the saying went, ‘the monk may run away but the temple cannot’; they wouldn’t have to worry Gao Changyuan would cheat them and disappear. Besides, Gao Changyuan was not someone who would do that in the first place. During his many years of working as a construction laborer in Qunnan, he’d always been honest and conscientious and had a spotless reputation.
Therefore, the couple decided to draw him in, even giving him a 20 percent stake in the business. Gao Changyuan didn’t remain unmoved, but later, he was a little embarrassed to get the shares for nothing. Some time ago, when he had heard that the Zhou couple was looking to rent a store in Yan City, he immediately sent them 1,400 yuan, which was all the savings he could spare.
One side was honest and guileless and the other simple and kind-hearted; naturally, it was unlikely for any discord to arise between the two families. Father Zhou took Gao Changyuan to show him the store the couple had finally decided on. Gao Changyuan was very satisfied with it. As it happened, the renovation was just ending when they came over, so he rolled up his sleeves and went to help move the furniture.
Lin Jingzhe had been busy with work and studies, and only now heard about the restaurant. After he got the news, he also went to take a look. To be honest, the decisiveness and efficiency demonstrated by those middle-aged aunts and uncles surprised him a little.
He had to admit that he’d really underestimated them. He wanted to let his elders escape the miserable fate of the previous life, but he’d thought he would be able to do it only after he succeeded and raised some capital; he didn’t expect that what they’d lacked was just a proper opportunity. Although the Zhou couple used to be simple factory workers, they didn’t lack courage and daring. From beginning to end, except for giving them a few encouraging nudges, Lin Jingzhe hardly did anything to help them start a business, but they not only did it, their business was also very successful and growing rapidly.
The new restaurant was just one street away from their place. It was situated between the nearby Yan University, Wutong University, and several other well-known universities, and the residential area their rented apartment was. This residential community was one of the biggest in Yan City, and the street the restaurant was on ran close to the city’s east side’s two eastern main streets. With the number of people passing through the area every day, there was no need to worry about the lack of customers.
The place was not big, less than 20 square meters. After separating out the kitchen, there was only enough space for six or seven sets of tables. However, it was exactly because of this that the store’s rent was not high, just within the range of the Zhou couple’s financial means.
The store’s location and rent were so perfect that even Lin Jingzhe couldn’t have found a better place. Regarding money, the Zhou couple didn’t ask him for any help, and he didn’t try to involve himself. Although Lin Jingzhe was close friends with Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang, that didn’t mean he knew their parents’ characters just as well. The adults world had its own rules, and where money was concerned, trying to “help out” was not necessarily a good thing.
Seeing that everything was on the right track, he left them to their own devices and put the matter out of his mind. Occasionally, he would get updates on the progress from Deng Mai’s chatter.
Deng Mai’s position as the king of gossip remained unshaken. It was as if he had a few additional pairs of eyes and ears, and due to his social connections, he could always pick up some interesting tidbits and little-known news. Recently, he paid the most attention to the rumors of the contradiction between Lin Jingzhe and Xiao Chi, secretly floating around in the Yan City’s business community.
It was hard to tell when exactly it started, but after the “alliance’s” trip to Changqing, a hot gossip spread around in the real estate industry in Yan City: New Beginnings and Flux Realty’s bosses had a falling out.
The rumor was detailed enough that most people immediately believed it was true. According to it, the trigger was an oversight in the arrangement of accommodations during the trip. Perhaps he thought he was not taken seriously and his pride was hurt, but anyway, even the always unflappable President Xiao got angry. The next morning, the trip’s organizer, Dai Gaofeng, had to break into the room to stop the fight between the two!
One company had a mysterious background, not a small size, and lofty status, the other was unfathomable and had unconventional style, and neither could be underestimated. Them being at odds was big news.
Comparing strength, it was obvious that Flux Realty held a few more advantages and was more likely to win if the two clashed. Immediately, many people shook off the impression of “the land king who earned over a hundred million yuan by reselling one piece of land,” and began to carefully reassess New Beginnings Real Estate.
Although this has reduced the number of jealous people and deliberately ambiguous remarks, Deng Mai still had some worries. “Big Bro, have you really fallen out with Mr. Xiao?” he asked while he drove, looking concerned. “Lately, Flux Realty keeps contacting us to invite you out to talk about business. Why haven’t you agreed even once?”
The two companies signed a contract on developing the triangular plot and the project planning was currently underway. Flux Realty invited Lin Jingzhe out for a meeting quite a few times, but he kept making Deng Mai reject them.
Lin Jingzhe opened his eyes and glanced towards the driver’s seat in front. “It’s better if I don’t go. The project hasn’t been finalized yet. If we meet too often, the news might leak.”
“You should still agree to a get-together to cultivate friendship,” Deng Mai said. “Otherwise, the others are going to get a wrong impression. Last time, even Mr. Dai tugged me aside to ask if you two reconciled yet.”
‘Cultivate friendship’? I think that’s exactly what might happen, but probably not in the way you think.
The last time they met, Xiao Chi seemed to be burning with desire, seizing every opportunity to make a move. That disciplined, austere appearance was really deceiving. Yan City was different from Changqing; there were many sharp-eyed people here, and news traveled fast. Lin Jingzhe really didn’t want to meet Xiao Chi before the construction project plan was finalized lest someone notice something and decides to make trouble.
He closed his eyes with a wave of his hand, signaling Deng Mai to drop the topic.
Actually, deep down, he had another reason for rejecting Xiao Chi’s invitations—he was afraid that both of them would be feeling awkward and uncomfortable after what happened.
Men were strange creatures—they were impulsive yet realistic.
Just like Lin Jingzhe: he felt good while kissing and making out with Xiao Chi, so in the heat of the moment, he didn’t resist intimate touch and probably wouldn’t have rejected taking things even further. That time in the guest house in Changqing, if not for Dai Gaofeng barging in, Lin Jingzhe would’ve already been tearing open a condom.
However, afterward, when he was no longer overcome by lust, Lin Jingzhe was able to think clearly again.
The first thing to consider was his and Xiao Chi’s exact relationship.
Flux Realty and New Beginnings Real Estate were currently in a cooperative relationship, and they would only have more business dealings in the future. It was hard to say whether the two companies’ decision-makers developing this kind of close relationship was good or bad. On one hand, it could improve the companies’ relations, but on the other, it wasn’t uncommon for “friends with benefits” to fall out and turn on each other. If this happened, the consequences would be much more severe than a purely business break-up.
Not to mention, the other person was Xiao Chi…
Lin Jinghze recalled all his impressions of the other man. The longer he pondered, the less optimistic he felt. When it came to physical matters, he was really satisfied with Xiao Chi. The other man’s looks, temperament, and the artless, almost purely instinctive actions when getting intimate were able to heat up Lin Jingzhe’s originally passionless body; that secret, brief closeness in the coach even now left him tingling when he dreamt about it sometimes at night. Relieving physical needs was important, but not enough for him to be willing to take huge risks for it.
Honestly, Xiao Chi was someone he couldn’t figure out. The man sometimes behaved like a fool, but others (like Deng Mai or Fang Wenhao) would just regard his actions as too profound to be understood. There were many rumors about Xiao Chi and Lin Jingzhe had heard almost all of them from the “gossip king” at his side, but not even one was related to Xiao Chi’s relationships or love affairs. It was precisely because of this that he was wary of jumping to conclusions about Xiao Chi’s attitude.
So, his sense of reason told him he should try to avoid meeting Xiao Chi before both of them properly assessed and evaluated the matter.
Xiao Chi kept inviting him to meet, and he wasn’t naive enough to think it was simply to talk about business matters. If it really was a booty call, Lin Jingzhe certainly wouldn’t want to refuse, but spilled water was difficult to retrieve; once things went that far, the relationship between the two of them would change irreversibly.
It was more likely that Xiao Chi intended to break things off. He probably wanted to say something like, last time was an accident, he got carried away, they shouldn’t take what happened to heart and let bygones be bygones. If this was really the case, it was even more unnecessary to meet in person. Once he refused to meet several times, the other man should be able to understand Lin Jingzhe’s implicit agreement to go separate ways, letting the two sides avoid an awkward conversation face-to-face.
Thinking hard for so long, his head began to ache. After weighing all the advantages and disadvantages, he was increasingly certain that not meeting with Xiao Chi for the time being was the right decision.
It wasn’t like his life lacked things more important than satisfying physical urges.
After returning from Changqing, Deng Mai was contacted by Wu Wangfei and Liang Pi, and the two sides set a date for the agreed follow-up meeting.
Lin Jingzhe decided to meet at a business lounge in Yan City. New Beginnings Real Estate had no office in Yan City, and conducting a business meeting at home wasn’t appropriate. Lin Jingzhe felt it was time to make New Beginnings a proper company since its scale of operations was expanding and it would be undertaking more and more business. He and Deng Mai needed to recruit employees as it would be impossible for Deng Mai to take care of everything alone.
The start-up period was difficult, especially when the enterprise lacked funds. Getting a generous and clearly interested investor like Lin Jingzhe was a rare occurrence. In order to make this cooperation happen, Liang Pi went all out and brought along their whole team to show their sincerity.
Lin Jingzhe looked over the short-term plan he’d asked Liang Pi to prepare last time. It was written in an easy-to-understand manner. It was still a bit too vague, but it was clear that a great deal of thought had been put into it. Although Lin Jingzhe couldn’t understand some of the professional jargon, he didn’t have a problem understanding the business plan. “Your first step is a web integration application?” he asked Liang Pi, who was watching him tensely on the opposite side of the table.
Liang Pi nodded hastily. He hesitated for a moment before explaining, “To be precise, it would be more like a browsing and connecting application. We would use this to gather a user base, then develop a user communication service.”
Today’s Internet users didn’t have a precise concept of this service but Lin Jingzhe felt dazed. Wasn’t this an early, crude version of search engines and communication software of the future?
However, Liang Pi obviously didn’t take the first one seriously and meant to only use it as a springboard. After thinking for a moment, Lin Jingzhe understood why—currently, there were not many computer users and the internet was in its infancy. The amount of data in the network was so limited it could be readily searched manually and as such, the only significance of a search engine would be for the users not to have to type in a link letter by letter. It was difficult to see any business opportunities in it at this time.
However, this was already more than Lin Jingzhe expected. To be able to think of such a concept and start developing it, the members of the computer club were already much better than most people.
It was a project worthy of investing in, and the amount of investment needed was within Lin Jingzhe’s tolerance. He closed the file and nodded, confirming his willingness to cooperate.
“All right, is your company registered yet?” he asked. “Are there any shareholders?”
Hearing this question, Liang Pi knew that they had done it, and his heart almost leaped out of his chest. “No, no, neither!” he replied hurriedly. “It’s not registered yet, but I’ve already thought of the name: Best Partner IT!”
‘Best Partner,’ huh? Lin Jingzhe glanced at Wu Wangfei nearby, gaining a new understanding of their bond. He was even more pleased now, as the strong friendship between the founders was definitely one of the bases of a new enterprise’s success.
As a result of the final negotiations, Lin Jingzhe would be investing a total of 1.5 million yuan and hold a 30% stake in the company, with Wu Wangfei and Liang Pi each holding 35%. However, the two promised to allocate 5% of their shares each to the computer club members who were joining the start-up, so the proportion of the shares of the three would be completely even.
Lin Jingzhe failed to get a controlling interest but didn’t mind this distribution. Besides, this kind of balance of power seemed to be Liang Pi’s cautionary measure to prevent a layman investor from meddling in the company’s projects.
Naturally, Lin Jingzhe saw through the young man’s harmless little scheme and was actually happy to see it. He knew nothing about the technical aspect of IT. Wu Wangfei had the knowledge but not much skill when it came to diplomacy; Lin Jingzhe was business-savvy but knew nothing about technology, and was even less suitable for managing a technology-based enterprise than Wu Wangfei. Out of the three of them, Liang Pi, who had both the technical knowledge and was cautious enough to guard against others, was the most suitable person to manage the company. Someone dewy-eyed and trusting was unlikely to last long in the savage business world.
Translator’s Notes:
- ‘The monk may run away but the temple cannot’ – 跑得了和尚，跑不了庙 – idiom; it basically means, “you can run, but you can’t hide.”
- ‘Spilled water was difficult to retrieve’ – 覆水難收 [idiom] lit. spilled water is difficult to retrieve; it’s no use crying over spilt milk; what’s done cannot be undone; the damage is done; once divorced, there’s no reuniting.
- ‘Best Partner IT’ – the original name is 非凡網絡科技, which literally means something like “Extraordinary Network Technology.” 非 (fēi) in 非凡 (‘extraordinary’) is the last character in Wu Wangfei’s name. I think “Best Partner IT” expresses Liang Pi’s sentiment clearly without a need for a lengthy footnote (okay, and I couldn’t make any permutation of the literally translated name work as they all sounded tacky).
Translator: Eques
Editor: Austera
Edit:
Hello, everyone. I’ve dropped EoR because of lack of time, but alas, fear not! Another translator came riding to the rescue! Please head over to their site to continue reading: Pure Love Translations
Thank You for the new chapter!!!!
Thank you for the chapter! it’s amazing as always, keep up the good work 😀
This is my favourite novel and it makes my whole week when it updates! hehe
Thanks for the update! -^^)❤
Thank u for the chapter!
Thank you! I was so happy to see the chapter! I’m really enjoying the business side of things but could also almost see Xiao Chi’s face changing color if he could hear those thoughts…
i’m curious what Xiao Chi’s thoughts on this radio silence are … one thing i’m sure of — those thoughts don’t align with what’s floating around in Lin Jingzhe’s head 😂
thank you for the great translation, as always 💜
Thank you for the chapter! <3
Thanks for the hardwork! I’m looking forward for the next chapters to come!
Thanks for the chapter. I look forward to continuing))☺️☺️☺️
I’m caught up and loving this story 👍
love it this is great,feel kinda sorry for xiao chi. but this is so good. amazing job super excited for the next chapter.
Omg I just love this novel soooo much!!!😭🤩 it has everything✨ But we all know that even great novels can become “nothing much” if and when translated poorly in an different language. Which is where you guys differentiate from those bad MTL. U guys are just freaking great! I am so happy that exactly u guys picked it up and put so much hard work into it👏👏✨💕 I finished it after 2 days of no sleep and I have no regret🤣!!! It’s obviously a very taxing job to translate such an intricate novel. But my god u guys are having… Read more »
Thank you for the new chapter. I love this novel and am really looking forward to future updates!
Thank you for the chapter! Still waiting for the update. Camping~
💚💚
Hi, I just wanted to ask if this novel will be continued, or if it is dropped?
Thanks for the translation! I’ve been spoiled these 43 chapters, switching to the mtl is painful 😅😭 is there any word of when this might be picked back up again?
Thank you for the hard work!!!
Poor Xiao Chi is a lot more invested than Lin jingzhe thinks. In more ways than just business!!! Lol
I wonder if he will ever learn the significance of the Prayer Beads Xiao Chi kept putting around his neck?
Jingzhe, you’re the only one thinking that way. The other has already head over heels for you. To the point of worshipping the jacket you ‘bought’ for him lol.