Chapter 1

In Zhou Andong's memory, New Year's Day in 1992 was very cold, with heavy snow and the north wind howling; yet inside the Jiangzhou Distillery Cultural Palace, the atmosphere was incredibly fervent...

【In the surging crowd, there is you and there is me】

【Meeting, knowing, and pondering each other】

【In the surging crowd, it is you and it is me】

【Pretending to be decent, wearing a smile】...

The explosive music and the wailing, howling singing constantly assaulted Zhou Andong's eardrums. He tried hard to open his eyes, and a point of light gradually expanded. One by one, blurry figures appeared before his eyes, and slowly, the blurry scene became clearer and clearer.

This was a theater that could accommodate nearly a thousand people; it was packed, and even the aisles were full of people. On the stage in front, a young man with permed hair, wearing a leather jacket and leather pants, held a microphone, singing "No Place to Hide" at the top of his lungs, jumping and bouncing.

Above the stage hung a red banner, which read: "Decorate with lanterns and streamers to welcome the New Year, work together to compose a new chapter, wishing all staff of Jiangzhou Distillery a happy Year of the Monkey and all the best."

Zhou Andong's neck was a bit stiff; he twisted it slowly, looking blankly at the familiar yet strange scene around him. His vision blurred again, and that unpleasant singing and explosive music faded from near to far, finally disappearing completely.

"Damn it!" A short young man grabbed Zhou Andong, who was swaying and about to fall. "Brother Dong, what's wrong with you?"

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the applause, whistles, and shouts rushed into his ears violently once again, making his blurry vision clear once more.

"I'm fine, just feeling a bit uncomfortable." Zhou Andong pushed the thin, dark-skinned young man away, his voice a bit hoarse.

The young man was named Yao Jun, Zhou Andong's best friend. Seeing his pale face without a hint of color, he said worriedly, "Your complexion is so bad, where exactly are you uncomfortable?"

"I just feel a bit stifled, I'm going out to catch some air." Zhou Andong squeezed out of the crowd and walked staggeringly toward the restroom.

"What on earth happened!" Zhou Andong turned on the faucet, cupping the icy water and splashing it onto his face, one handful after another, then stared blankly into the mirror.

The powerful stream of water splashed noisily against the sink covered in white ceramic tiles, and water droplets flew onto the mirror, slowly sliding down, making the young face in the mirror appear somewhat fractured.

"Click, click, click..."

Outside came the rhythmic clicking sound of high heels striking the ground.

Zhou Andong turned and walked out of the restroom, and a beautiful woman came toward him. Her height definitely exceeded 1.7 meters, and wearing high heels, she looked even taller than Zhou Andong at first glance. She wore an orange batwing shirt on her upper body, jeans on her lower body, and her smooth long hair was tied casually behind her head.

She was beautiful, beautiful in an unreasonable way; her skin was whiter than snow, her eyebrows were long and delicate like a painting, and she wore myopia glasses on her straight nose. Every move she made revealed a pleasing elegance. Especially, she possessed a temperament of despising everything and extreme self-confidence. This kind of self-confidence must have been cultivated from childhood, stemming from her family background.

Seeing Zhou Andong, the woman smiled politely, nodded slightly, and turned to enter the women's restroom.

Zhou Andong acted as if he hadn't seen this beautiful woman; he walked quickly to the entrance, pushed the door open with both hands, and the biting cold wind, mixed with snowflakes, rushed toward his face like a knife, making his face ache. His body couldn't help but shiver, and with trembling hands, he took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, put one in his mouth, and took out a match.

Whether it was because of the cold or some other reason, his hands kept shaking. With a light "click," the match broke. He took out another one, and with another "click," it broke too.

One, two, three... eight... It wasn't because he couldn't control his strength and pressed them until they broke, but because they were blown out by the wind after being lit. Furious, he tore open the matchbox, and the matchsticks scattered all over the floor. He gathered the remaining dozen or so matchsticks together, struck them hard, and with a "hiss," a flame shot up, finally lighting the cigarette.

The scorching smoke, with a thick, bitter taste, spread from his mouth to his throat, instantly creating a feeling of blockage, and then entered his lungs. That suffocating sensation made his brain dizzy.

It took a good while for him to recover, then he looked up at a four-story red brick building not far away; that was the factory headquarters, the center of highest power in Jiangzhou Distillery. On the red walls of the factory headquarters, slogans were written.

"Seize new opportunities, create new advantages, and create new brilliance!"

"Firmly uphold reform and opening up, summon super courage, and promote development!"

"Cross the river by feeling the stones, resolutely experiment, boldly venture, and carve out a bloody path!"

"Heh... hehe... haha... hahaha..."

Zhou Andong grinned and laughed, his voice hoarse. At first, it was so low that one couldn't hear him laughing without listening carefully, but slowly the laughter grew louder, and he even laughed until tears came out. Reborn; such an incredible thing had actually happened to him.

After a long, long time, Zhou Andong finally calmed down, looked up at the sky where snowflakes were dancing, took a final drag of the cigarette, and threw the butt on the ground, stomping on it hard.

Since I have been reborn for a lifetime, I want my name to be immortal for ten thousand generations.

Since Heaven has let me come back, then let me live a good life once more.

"Zhou Andong!"

A woman with big wavy curls, wearing a long down jacket and dressed fashionably, got out of a red Santana.

"Jiang Yuping!"

Looking at the woman in front of him, Zhou Andong murmured a name.

Jiang Yuping's face was very ugly: "We agreed to go get a divorce this afternoon, look at what time it is now?"

"Divorce?"

Zhou Andong was stunned for a moment; it seemed that was indeed the case. This woman had been corrupted by evil capitalism, yearning for the so-called freedom and equality of the West, wanting independence and refusing the shackles of marriage, so she divorced him today and then went to America.

"Stop playing dumb!" Jiang Yuping snorted: "I'll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and wait for you first, hurry up, don't dawdle." Saying this, she turned and got into the car, slamming the door shut with a "bang."

The red Santana drove past Zhou Andong, and the man in the driver's seat glanced at him; one could clearly see the provocative smile on that man's face.

Zhou Andong frowned, and it took a good while before he remembered who that man was. He sneered, walked toward the gate, and hailed a yellow "mian" (minibus).

"Civil Affairs Bureau."