King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

Without turning his head, Zhang Wei stretched out his hand and waved it above his head: "I'm not afraid, I don't have any money anyway..."

As he spoke, he walked into his room and closed the door behind him.

He took out a brown paper envelope from under the mattress, pulled out a wad of cash from it, and counted it; there were exactly fifteen bills.

I plan to send this 1,500 yuan home to my family at the post office tomorrow.

He unfolded the letter paper and wrote a short letter.

Then, his fingers rubbed the fifteen hundred-yuan bills... He felt a pang of unease.

During his four years of university, his family not only scrimped and saved but also borrowed a lot of money so that he could finish his studies.

Now he no longer needs his family's help, and in the four years since graduating from university, he has also paid off all the debts his family owed.

But I have to send money home every quarter, so the amount I keep for myself is pitifully small.

Zhang Wei sighed, stuffed the money back into the envelope, and added these last few words to the letter:

"Dad, Mom, Sister, just wait and see. One day I will definitely surprise you and bring you to Beijing so you can live a good life."

"Of course, I know you may not care, and you may not believe it."

"Because for more than 20 years, what you have always hoped for and cared about is that I am safe and healthy."

"But I care! I believe!"

...

On the morning of June 5, 1992.

With all the wealth belonging to his parents and Zhan Yiling in his arms, He Fan embarked on his journey south to Shenzhen.

If it weren't for the height of summer, he would surely be feeling the same melancholy as Jing Ke in his poem, "The wind howls, the Yi River is cold"...

As the whistle sounded, the green train bound for Guangzhou finally started moving!

On the platform, Zhang Wei jogged alongside the train, waving continuously.

Following closely behind was Zhan Yiling, who was haphazardly smearing her face with both hands…

Until they were out of sight, He Fan muttered to himself:

"It's not like 'a hero goes forth never to return,' does it really need to be treated like a life-or-death separation?"

Only then did he pull his head back into the carriage.

The train carriage was unusually lively.

People coming and going, plus the smells of smoke, foot odor, sweat, and body odor...

And the various smells of food accumulated over the years and newly added to the carriage, along with different thoughts, emotions, and accents...

The already crowded carriage felt like a stuffy can, and the stench made He Fan's head spin.

He had to stick his head out of the window, letting the oncoming wind hit his face.

Despite the soot particles carried by the speeding locomotive in the wind…

After more than ten hours of noise, the carriage gradually quieted down, and everyone began to drift off to sleep.

Soon, the crowded space was filled with snoring sounds of different tones, rhythms, and beats.

Everyone is secretly dreaming a dream that no one else knows about.

However, He Fan was not sleepy at all.

He would occasionally think of the bundles of hundred-yuan bills and five hundred ID cards he kept in his luggage.

I glanced at the middle-aged man beside me, who was leaning on my shoulder and snoring loudly…

He took out the Pengcheng ID card from his pocket, which he had already looked at several times before.

...

More than 30 hours later, the train finally arrived in Guangzhou.

As soon as he stepped out of the train station and uttered the words "Pengcheng," he was enthusiastically surrounded by a group of ticket scalpers holding signs that read "Pengcheng Bus."

They politely led us to Liuhua Bus Station.

Then, the ticket scalper stood in front of a bus and held up four fingers to He Fan: "One hundred dollars!"

He Fan looked at the four fingers in front of him and was immediately stunned!

The bus ticket from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, a distance of only a short distance, is actually more expensive than the train ticket from Beijing to Guangzhou.

He frowned, muttering in Cantonese-accented Mandarin, "Is the demolition kit so expensive?"

Upon hearing this, the ticket scalper pointed to the bus and said to He Fan with a smile, "Let's get Oohino!"

He Fan thought about it again and realized it made sense.

This luxurious Japanese bus is naturally more upscale than the old green trains on the railway.

And since it's a trip to the special economic zone, it's understandable that the train tickets are so expensive.

He nodded: "Okay!"

He then took out four hundred yuan to buy a train ticket and carefully carried his two bags of luggage onto the train.

At that moment, he vaguely heard the ticket scalper behind him say to the people boarding the bus behind him, "The fares for the next few days are already many times cheaper than the regular price, and they'll be even more expensive tomorrow and the day after!"

The bus had been driving for a short while when, in a daze, He Fan felt the bus stop.

He had just opened his eyes when he heard the driver shout loudly into the carriage: "Get off to go through customs, remember the vehicle number, and get back on after you've passed through customs."

He Fan then got off the bus with the other passengers.

Then, they were swept along by the crowd and led into the Tong Lok checkpoint.

He took out the black-rimmed glasses he had just gotten in Beijing and put them on, clutching his Shenzhen ID card tightly in his hand.

He was thinking to himself, what should he do if someone spoke to him in Cantonese, or asked him why he couldn't speak Cantonese?

correct!

He can be said to have settled in Shenzhen from Beijing with his parents a few years ago.

He nervously queued up at the checkpoint, the foul smell and his agitated mood causing him to frown.

Unintentionally, it just so happened that Zhan Yiling had repeatedly reminded him beforehand that he not only looked similar to the frowning photo of the person in the ID card, but also looked very much like him.

Thinking of this, He Fan couldn't help but glance again at the armed police officers ahead...

I noticed that they were all frowning, so they probably weren't in a good mood either.

I immediately felt a deep understanding and sympathy for those who have been engaged in this tedious and boring inspection work for many years.

The armed police officer frowned as he took the ID card that He Fan handed over.

She glanced at it briefly, then casually tossed it back to him.

He Fan put away his ID card, let out a long breath, and felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He had finally gotten away with it!

After getting on the bus, we rode for a while longer.

It was already late at night when I got off at Futian Station.

He walked east along Shennan Avenue, asking about hotels and guesthouses along the way, only to find that they were all full.

Why are there so many people from other places in Shenzhen?

After walking past the municipal government building, He Fan was exhausted and could walk no more.

He was squatting on the curb when he suddenly saw a hotel that looked nice across the street, so he stood up and walked over.

However, the front desk informed us that there were no beds available.

Disappointed, he suddenly felt an urge to urinate, so he went straight to the toilet next to the hotel lobby.

After using the toilet, he suddenly noticed that each toilet stall had a tiled floor, a suspended ceiling, and three wooden partitions.

My eyes lit up immediately!

Aside from a slight odor, this is a very nice private space!

He thought for a moment, then put down the bedpan lid, plopped down on it, and leaned against the water tank behind him.

Unexpectedly, less than a minute after sitting down, my head tilted back and I drifted off to sleep.

...