Reborn in 2015, I became a male god starting in high school.

Chapter 31 Father
Zhou Guowei frowned as soon as he saw the first sentence of the essay.

The first sentence of the second paragraph of Zhou Ziyang's essay made Zhou Guowei frown even more.

“My father passed away when I was very young, even though I longed for his love.”

How could this child write that he or she has died?
I'm perfectly fine!

Zhou Guowei felt inexplicably blocked by a wall, and he read the essay from beginning to end.

He frowned at the beginning.

But in the end, it slowly unfolds.

Class teacher Chen Yongwen could understand Zhou Guowei's feelings, but there was nothing he could do, as he had never been involved in Zhou Ziyang's life.

It's not surprising that Zhou Ziyang could write such an article.

“Ziyang’s father, writing is inherently a matter of between reality and fiction. We all know that this article was fabricated by Ziyang, but the emotions expressed in it are genuine.”

"Both of your children are in our class. I shouldn't be meddling in your family affairs, but I still think you should give Ziyang more care."

When Zhou Guowei first read the essay, he was indeed bewildered and even a little angry. He felt that Zhou Ziyang should not be so disrespectful to his father.

But after seeing what came next, I was completely lost.

Then came shame, and guilt towards Zhou Ziyang.

Chen Yongwen is right.

My son's essay was fake, but his feelings were real.

As far as I can remember, I met my son when he was in elementary school.

Six or seven years have passed in the blink of an eye.

That's just like being dead.

Zhou Ziyang fabricated a storyline in the article.

It means I got into a fight with someone when I was in junior high school.

I was called to the homeroom teacher's office.

The homeroom teacher asked: Why did you fight with someone?

Zhou Ziyang replied: He said I'm a child without a father!
Upon seeing this sentence, Zhou Guowei's eyes immediately reddened, and he involuntarily gripped the test paper tightly.

He thought of his childhood.

Zhou Guowei really did come from a rural area to get into university.

He was thin and weak when he was a child, and some people bullied him.

At that time, Zhou Guowei secretly vowed that he must study hard so that his child would not be bullied!
But these past thirty or forty years have passed.

He had finally made something of himself, so why was his son still being bullied?

He was happy, being surrounded by women seven years younger than him every day.

He even treated other people's daughters as his own.

She completely forgot about her son.

Thinking about this, Zhou Guowei felt that he was no different from an animal.
He naively thought that as long as his son grew up healthily with his ex-wife, he would be able to provide him with money, a car, and a house in the future, which would be enough.

Looking back now, I realize how naive his idea was.

After reading the essay, Zhou Guowei was left with only silence.

"The grass on this grave turns green and then yellow, then yellow and then green again. It can be understood as time passing quickly. Ziyang's writing style is really simple and unpretentious. He can always move people with the simplest words."

The word 'grave' was somewhat offensive, and Chen Yongwen did not want Zhou Guowei to harbor resentment towards the child because of it.

He quickly explained.

Zhou Guowei remained silent for a long time afterward, reading the article with an expressionless face as if he were a statue. It took him a while to come to his senses.

He said, "Teacher Chen, you don't actually need to explain to me."

"I have failed in my duty over the years." It took Zhou Guowei a long time to finally utter these words.

Hearing this, Chen Yongwen's tense mood eased considerably, and he chuckled, saying, "The fact that you can say that means it's not too late. After all, you are father and son."

After reading this essay, Zhou Guowei became taciturn.

Just as Chen Yongwen said, the content is fictional, but the emotions are real.

Ziyang and I live in the same city.

Is it really true that after I pass away, my son will lie on my grave?

Has he never called me "Dad" in his entire life?

Zhou Guowei asked Chen Yongwen how long his son had been on leave.
Chen Yongwen stammered and couldn't explain it clearly.

“Ziyang is more mature than children from ordinary families, so I didn’t press him for details,” Chen Yongwen explained.

Zhou Guowei nodded in understanding.

Around noon, Zhou Guowei's phone rang.

Knowing he wouldn't see his son today, Zhou Guowei asked Chen Yongwen to give Zhou Ziyang his newly bought iPhone before leaving. He then left Zhou Ziyang a message, telling him to take care of himself.

"Studying is important, but health is more important."

After saying this, Zhou Guowei left.

In fact, Xia Wei had been anxiously waiting for Zhou Guowei outside the office.

When Zhou Guowei came out, Xia Wei went to greet him and called him "Uncle." However, Zhou Guowei was in a heavy mood and didn't pay much attention to Xia Wei, only nodding slightly before leaving.

In the afternoon, Zhou Ziyang returned to school.

The short-time job thing is going very smoothly. Zhou Ziyang guessed that with summer vacation approaching, there would be many students who would give up the college entrance exam and want to work, but he didn't expect there to be so many.

In just one night, these people managed to gather fifty short-time workers for themselves, even exceeding their target.

Few in that group were serious about studying, but many wanted to work and earn money.

In addition, Li Dongfeng returned from the south and exposed the lies about high-paying jobs online.

Then he said how good the job Zhou Ziyang found for him was, 20 yuan an hour. If you work eight hours a day, you'll earn 160 yuan. Where else can you find a job like that?

Moreover, it's close to home, and the factory environment is decent.

"You have no idea, that factory manager and our Brother Zhou are like brothers! It's better for you to come with me than to get scammed by others outside, right?"

In 2015, most of the high school students in the county were concentrated in No. 1 and No. 3 High Schools. The remaining rural high schools also had a sufficient number of students, but they did not have the same good environment as No. 1 and No. 3 High Schools, and their family connections were also less than those in the city. All they wanted to do was find a job as soon as possible. When they heard about the high-paying and reliable jobs, they agreed without thinking.

So in one night, Zhou Ziyang hired sixty short-term workers, adding to the previous twenty, for a total of eighty.

Zhou Ziyang booked a restaurant at noon and treated them all to a meal.

These strong young men had innocent and simple smiles on their faces.

One by one, they gathered a group of people and came to Zhou Ziyang one by one.

He said, as if seeking credit, "Brother Zhou! This is the man I brought! Call him Brother Zhou!"

"Brother Zhou!"

"Brother Zhou!" Most of these young men came from the countryside, with dark complexions and a rustic appearance, but they were actually quite strong.

Zhou Ziyang exchanged a few polite words and asked them if they weren't taking the college entrance exam.
The classmate who brought them over was also a young man who had come back from the south with Li Dongfeng. His nickname was Niu Er. He grinned and said, "Brother Zhou, these guys are just like us. They just passed the special admissions exam. I told our village about your recruitment, and a lot of people want to come. I also have a few sworn brothers who said they'll come after the college entrance exam. Brother Zhou, you have to save some spots for me!"

Zhou Ziyang couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, and said, "Don't worry, just call him over."

"I'll save any number of people for you!"

"Hehe, quickly thank Brother Zhou!" Niu Er called to his men.

"Thank you, Brother Zhou!"

Fifty young people, around eighteen or nineteen years old, sat in the small restaurant.

Since Li Dongfeng and his group knew Zhou Ziyang, they were naturally his confidants. They praised Zhou Ziyang's abilities in various ways, from being a second-generation official to being on friendly terms with the boss, in short, he had incredible skills!
Those people seemed to understand but not quite, and they felt a greater sense of awe towards Zhou Ziyang.

I talked to my parents about this before I came.

After hearing this, the parents of these people said, "If someone is willing to introduce you to a job, you should remember their kindness."

Some students were even accompanied by their parents.

They also brought Zhou Ziyang a basket of eggs or duck eggs, or perhaps some homemade pickled vegetables.

The villagers didn't have much in the way of respectability, but they were genuinely grateful to Zhou Ziyang for introducing them to a job.

To be honest, seeing these uncles and aunts, who could be his parents, speaking to him with such respect and using the honorific "you," Zhou Ziyang felt truly unworthy of it.

The phrase Zhou Ziyang heard most often was, "This child has always been honest since he was little. Please take good care of him in the future."

These young men may have developed a quiet personality due to their upbringing.

In their parents' eyes, this means they don't know how to socialize or how to behave!
One of the fathers brought his child over and told the child to come out quickly and thank Zhou Ziyang.

As a result, the child had social anxiety and couldn't say a word for a long time.

Enraged, the father kicked him, saying with exasperation, "You can't even utter a fart!"
"You think it's easy for someone to introduce you to a job, and you don't even say thank you?"

After saying that, I wanted to slap the child.

Seeing this, Zhou Ziyang quickly stopped him, saying, "Uncle, please don't hit the child."

“I don’t have so many rules here. You can rest assured that you can leave your child with me. We’re about the same age, like brothers and friends. Even if we’re working, I won’t let anyone bully us.”

As Zhou Ziyang spoke, he pulled the child closer to him.

Although he's called a child, he's actually nineteen years old and quite tall.

Upon hearing this, the child's father immediately grasped Zhou Ziyang's hand gratefully, tears welling up in his eyes. He said sincerely, "This child is honest and doesn't like to talk."

"I'm just a farmer, I don't know anything, so please take good care of me in the future!"

　Um, I don't know if people will think this is fake.

　　But that is indeed the case.

　　I worked in the district's human resources office for a period of time.

　　This is where they recruit workers for the factories in the district.

　　In fact, factories really need workers.

　　However, there are often people who are already in their twenties, but are still brought here by their parents to look for work.

　　They don't understand demand relationships.

　　I always felt inferior when looking for a job, and I spoke very cautiously.

　　Some even called to invite me to dinner, or to deliver two boxes of apples or two boxes of milk.

　　I was really moved at that time.

　　There are indeed cognitive barriers in this society.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)