Chapter 1

My name is Zhaoerhai, this is my real name.

I have also been called Wang Xinsheng, Sun Yansheng, Zhao Jianqiang, etc., and after each name, a wonderful story once occurred.

Those were things from long ago (interested friends can take a look at "The Adopted One"),

In the blink of an eye, fifteen years have passed.

I then go on to tell my story, the story after fifteen years.

Over these fifteen years, besides the increase in age and weight, my heart actually still lingers in nostalgia for past things.

I always feel that time flies by so quickly.

In a flash, I am already a person in my forties.

My Da Heng Company also developed into Da Heng Group, becoming a well-known enterprise locally in Zaocheng.

I no longer need to worry about livelihood; the assets I can mobilize are all in the tens of millions, and I have become an awesome person in others' eyes.

My children have also grown up, but they have not become what I hoped for.

With the growth of wealth, I have not felt happiness; instead, I have accumulated countless worries.

The feelings between brothers, between children, between spouses, and between friends are all slowly changing.

This change is something I never anticipated….

A book once said, if a person has memories, that shows he is old.

My mind often recalls the past, like a movie playing scene by scene.

Various figures alternate appearing in my dreams.

Where is this? Stone-built houses one after another, a group of frolicking children.

It turns out I have returned to Gourd Village again.

I and my sister were jumping rope in the sunshine, while my two younger brothers, Xiao Guo and Xiao Hua, watched from the side.

Cheering us on. I also saw Mother, she was pushing the millstone, occasionally glancing over at us.

Just as we were happily playing, a woman suddenly appeared and forcefully pulled me away.

Then my vision went pitch black.

I wanted to shout, but I couldn't make a sound no matter how hard I tried.

I wanted to cry, but not a tear could flow from my eyes.

My hands struggled desperately, yet I could not exert any strength.

I was enveloped by fear, and when I was lonely and helpless,

Then suddenly a voice appeared, loudly calling to me: "Er Hai, Er Hai, wake up."

I opened my eyes from sleep.

Zhou Wei sat beside me, pushing me with his hand.

"You're dreaming again."

I nodded.

"Yeah, I dreamed of before age eight: the scene of living in Hulutao. I and my sister were jumping rope, Xiao Guo and Xiao Hua hadn't grown up yet, how nice, Mother was still alive."

"Zhou Wei, do you know? That was my happiest time."

"Are you not happy now? You, are you old, always reminiscing about the past?" Zhou Wei laughed.

"Old, really old, once a person passes forty, they clearly feel different. Sigh, this body, it's getting worse and worse." I sighed.

"Enough, stop sighing like that. I suggest you see a Chinese doctor; you dream a lot and also have night sweats, maybe there's something wrong." Zhou Wei said concernedly.

"Over these years, my illness hasn't been completely cured; you also know what my bodily problem is. Seeing a Chinese doctor is useless, it has no effect. A man, if he fails in that aspect, will drag down in anything he does." I said helplessly.

"You're blaming yourself again. Your body is fine; you drink cistanche tea every day, your ailment should have been healed long ago, you just think too much." Zhou Wei comforted.

"Whether it's good or not, you decide." I laughed.

Zhou Wei slapped me.

"What the heck, the older you get, the less proper you become. Speaking of serious matters with you, are you really planning to develop Hulutao?"

"Yeah, developing Hulutao has been my dream for years; the poor look after themselves, the rich help the world."

"These were words often said by Mayor Huang in the past. Now I have some ability, I decided to develop Gourd Village, the most remote mountain village in Zaocheng." I took out a cigarette from the ashtray on the bedside table.

"Dreams in this day and age are all lies. You're just too idealistic. What's the point of developing Gourd Village? When will the company's investment be recouped? Xiao Hua, the day before yesterday he told me he opposes developing Hulutao, hoping I would persuade you."

"Regarding the matter of Southern Group cooperating with our group, why do you keep delaying your agreement?"

"I heard Xiao Hua say that Southern Group has resources in the Provincial Capital; when we cooperate with them, we can acquire land there to develop, so we can break out from Lanling and Zaocheng; now our group's development has reached a bottleneck, which is very dangerous." Zhou Wei chattered beside me.

"Zhou Wei, how should I put this to you? Southern Group being so eager to cooperate with us, I think they have an ulterior motive. I don't trust them."

"Also Xiao Hua, I'm getting angrier at him; is he just chasing money? Regarding the matter of investing in returning to Hulutao, he opposes me at every turn; in company meetings, he actually joined others in opposing me. Moreover, the owners of Guanghua Community messed up handling this matter terribly."

"Originally we were the ones who breached the contract first; we should have just compensated the owners normally. But he actually had Dajun find a few thugs to beat up the owners' representatives."

"Dajun and Xiao Hua are too close."

"Sigh! I haven't educated this child Dajun well; just thinking about it hurts."

"He has all the bad habits of a rich second-generation." I took a puff of cigarette.

"You're blaming yourself again, but this can't all be blamed on you. Qiao Jie, you indulge Dajun too much. Smoke less."

"Actually, you're overthinking the cooperation matter; I suggest you consider cooperating with Southern Group, using their resources to let our Da Heng Group break out of the bottleneck. The funds occupied by the newly developed projects are too much." Zhou Wei finished speaking and stubbed out my cigarette.

"Let's talk about this later; cooperating with others means giving up shares and power, which is what I least want, after all Da Heng Group was founded by me alone."

"What is this bottleneck before my eyes? I, Zhaoerhai, have endured all kinds of hardships. As long as those few projects in Xin Cheng are completed, then when the houses are sold and funds recouped, everything will be fine."

"Sigh, Zhou Wei, the past was better. You said how cute Dajun was as a child; he and Qiao Jie lived in Niushiling; whenever I came home, Dad would keep calling. Now, when we meet, they don't even call Dad." I said.

"It's not your business; why do you disagree with Dajun's girlfriend getting married?" Zhou Wei asked.

"That girl is hardly a proper young lady; she has tattoos, smokes, dyes her hair—how could I accept such a daughter-in-law? As long as I'm alive, he'd better not think of marrying that woman." I said angrily.

"Old people don't ask about trivial matters. You just manage too much; Zhengzheng will be back from the Provincial Capital in a few days. Don't keep talking about him—this child is thin-skinned. He wants to study abroad; you should support him." Zhou Wei advised.

"Studying abroad, going to Woguo to study abroad—this kid's brain must have been kicked by a donkey; he actually likes those things from Woguo. Damn it, when he comes back I really want to beat him up." I started looking for cigarettes again.

"Don't smoke. Ru Meng, Shitou, Ya Ya, Xixi—these kids, you're worrying needlessly. When kids grow up, they have their own ideas; don't ask too much." Zhou Wei said.

"Not worrying is fine; what are we doing this for, if not for the next generation? We will all grow old eventually; this wealth will be handed over to them—just strengthening their education is enough."

"Why do I want to develop Hulutao? I just want to give these kids the most genuine education, letting them know how their forebears stepped out of the mountains bit by bit, letting them know how much hardship I put in to exchange for this wealth—only then will they cherish the wealth we created, be able to hold onto it, and not squander it." I said.

"You, you think too much; every generation has its own way of life, what you're doing I think is meaningless. Anyway, I won't let Ru Meng follow you back to Hulutao to live that sort of recalling hardship and savoring sweetness life." Zhou Wei finished speaking and got up from the bed.

"Ru Meng, how can you not go to Hulutao to endure hardship? Only by enduring the hardest hardship can one become a person above others. Ru Meng is my only biological daughter; in the future, the Da Heng Group will be handed over to her. Not training her is enough." I finished speaking and also got up from the bed.

"I just don't want to argue with you, Er Hai—you're really old, Ru Meng is only fifteen; what hardship should a girl endure? Besides, for now don't mention the matter of handing over the Da Heng Group to her." Zhou Wei opened the curtain.

"How can you not say it out? This is simply a fact. The Da Heng Company was founded by me alone; if I don't give it to Ru Meng, who would I give it to? Everyone else is just an assistant helping Ru Meng." I rubbed my face with my hand.

Looking at the sun outside, it is slowly rising.

"Do you know? Some things aren't as you think. If you bring this up so early, what consequences could there be?" Zhou Wei looked at me and said.

"What consequences? With me here, who dares to do anything to them?" My voice rose a bit more.

"You, you really seem old now—aside from being able to recall things from around age eight. Er Hai, can't you really see this? If you say it out, what will Xiao Hua think, what about Da Jun, and what about others? You, Zhaoerhai, are not a penniless wretch but someone with hundreds of millions in wealth."

"With such wealth, who wouldn't have ideas?" Zhou Wei said seriously.

I was stunned for a moment—could it really be what Zhou Wei said?

In the blink of an eye, over ten years have passed,

During these over ten years, people change; even the most familiar may become strangers.

Just like me, always living in memories.