Reborn in 1991, I opened supermarkets all over the world.

"Either pay up, or go to jail!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Can the Lu family even come up with two thousand yuan? Just send them to jail!"

"That's right. By the standards of the crackdown back then, someone like Lu Zifeng should have been dragged out and shot!"

Hearing the arguing outside, Lu Zifeng suddenly opened his eyes.

He lay on the upper bunk of a wooden bed, with a single-page calendar made from a Kwong Mei-wan poster on the right wall, clearly stating "1991".

Have I been reborn?

While I was still in a daze, the curses from outside continued to enter the room.

Lu Zifeng jumped out of bed in one gulp.

The homemade sandbag hung quietly in the corner, the stench emanating from the ditch outside the window, and the cold edge of the bed all told him that this was not a dream.

He rolled out of bed, put on a wrinkled military green Zhongshan suit, and opened the door with a creak.

The noise in the living room stopped abruptly, and everyone's eyes turned to him.

The two young men, who had been making quite a fuss earlier, involuntarily took a half-step back the moment they saw Lu Zifeng.

Lu Zifeng remembered the appearance of these two guys very clearly.

It can be said that the Lu family's later destruction and death were all caused by this incident.

Of course, the culprit was still that disappointing version of myself from my past life.

If he had been even a little more ambitious, his father wouldn't have had to apply for early retirement due to illness just to secure him a job as a worker.

Lu's father refused to process his medical retirement, and Wu Fucheng, the factory manager of the cannery, did not have a quota to arrange for his nephew to replace him. There was also no such thing as Lu's angry outburst that sent Wu Fucheng to the hospital.

In his previous life, Lu's father was worried that Lu Zifeng would go to jail and have a criminal record, so he reluctantly sold the self-built house next to the railway. The family of five had to rent houses everywhere and suffer from other people's contempt. The family's expenses depended entirely on Lu's mother's meager salary at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Later, Lu Zifeng went out to work, but because he didn't know anything, he suffered a lot of losses.

Just as he was settling down, his father was in a car accident while driving a pedicab, and his younger siblings had to drop out of school early, ruining their futures.

"What are you doing out here? Go back inside!" Mr. Lu scolded Lu Zifeng impatiently, fearing that Lu Zifeng might beat up the two young men again in a fit of anger, leaving them with even less money to compensate the other party.

Lu Zifeng clenched his fists, making a "crackling" sound between his fingers: "Before I'm dragged out and shot, I'll make sure your whole family goes before me."

The two young men were He Cheng, the nephew of Wu Fucheng, the cannery director (who was the one who took his place at the factory), and Wu Biao, Wu Fucheng's son.

The rest were neighbors who came to see what was going on after hearing the noise.

Based on their past impressions of Lu Zifeng, it's entirely possible that Lu Zifeng would actually do something so desperate.

They looked at each other, swallowing hard.

The two young men only took advantage of Lu's parents' honesty, and when the real person appeared in front of them, they couldn't utter a sound for a long time.

"Heh, what are you afraid of?" Lu Zifeng pulled over a small wooden stool and sat down with an air of authority. "Consider yourselves lucky. My actions don't warrant execution, or even imprisonment. If you don't believe me, go back and look up the criminal code. Old Wu's injuries are at most minor, not even considered slight injuries."

"My dad had four or five stitches in his forehead, and you're telling me it doesn't even qualify as a minor injury?" Wu Biao, who only has a junior high school education, retorted.

"What constitutes a minor injury? Go look it up in the criminal code yourself. What I want to say is, I'll pay for your medical expenses, but the Wu family shouldn't be asking for an exorbitant amount."

"You have to pay me at least 1,500," Wu Biao said.

"Two hundred," Lu Zifeng countered.

"One thousand and three."

"Two hundred. Or I'll wait for you to report me. After I get out of detention, I'll beat your whole family up."

"Five hundred, that's the lowest I can go. That includes my dad's nutrition expenses and lost wages."

"Deal. Give me a few days. Get out of here now!"

Having been reborn, he didn't want to have a criminal record at the police station, which would bring unnecessary trouble to his future development.

Mr. Lu stood there, somewhat dazed.

The older generation has limited education. Firstly, they don't understand the law and are unaware of the standards for injury and sentencing. Secondly, they have the ingrained mindset from the crackdowns of previous years, always feeling that this matter has gone too far and that their son will really be sent to prison and won't be out for eight or ten years.

So in his past life, he really did sell the house and compensate the other party with two thousand yuan.

I never imagined that this matter could be resolved with just 500 yuan?

Of course, five hundred yuan is not a small amount for the Lu family.

The couple has three children: the second child, Lu Xiaoye, is still in junior high school; the youngest child, Lu Zhenzhen, is in sixth grade; and the only adult, Lu Zifeng, spends his days idly.

Especially now that Mr. Lu has retired due to illness, he can't find work for a while, so the burden of the family has fallen entirely on Mrs. Lu's shoulders, and life is not easy for her.

After seeing He Cheng and Wu Biao off, Lu's mother asked worriedly, "Old Lu, where are we going to get these five hundred yuan?"

"Sigh!" Mr. Lu sighed, turning his gaze to the neighbors who were watching the commotion.

The neighbor immediately understood and refused to lend money, then scattered like birds and beasts.

Even as they were leaving, some people were still gossiping: "The biggest sin Old Lu ever committed in his life was having a son like Lu Zifeng."

"Seriously, they even dared to hit the cannery manager."

"Don't you guys know Lu the Madman? Give him a mountain gun, and he'd dare to liberate America."

"Let's see where he gets the money to pay them back these next few days. I certainly wouldn't dare lend them any money."

"..."

Mr. Lu watched everyone leave, then pulled up a bamboo chair and sat down at the door.

He tried to light a cigarette, but his hands were trembling, and he couldn't get it lit even after striking several matches.

He had originally decided to sell the house, but now that the price has been reduced to 500, it seems there's no need to sell it anymore.

But if I don't sell the house, where am I going to get 500 yuan in just a few days?

Keep in mind that at that time, the average person's salary was only a little over one hundred.

The family originally had some savings. Some time ago, in order to help Lu Zifeng fill in for his shift, Lu's father bought two packs of Hongtashan cigarettes and two bottles of Wuliangye liquor as gifts.

In fact, Wu Fucheng's truly despicable act was not that he accepted gifts but did not deliver them.

As early as 1986, the government abolished the policy of allowing children to take over their parents' jobs. Now, to do so, one must give gifts and pull strings.

Wu Fucheng simply accepted the cigarettes and alcohol to make Lu's father mistakenly believe that everything was settled, so that he could apply for medical retirement in peace and make room for his nephew.

But doing this would be tantamount to cutting off the Lu family's food supply.

Lu Zifeng was never a good guy to begin with. His family was tricked by this guy surnamed Wu, so it's only reasonable for him to beat him up, right?

"I'll figure out the money. How much do you have at home?" Lu Zifeng said.

"It's better for you to stop causing trouble for the family than anything else. Don't even think about taking our money anymore," Mr. Lu said irritably.

Lu Zifeng remained silent.

Lu's father's statement was entirely justified.

In everyone's eyes, he was just an incompetent good-for-nothing. He was always fighting and causing trouble for his family.

He originally wanted to borrow money from his family to do some small business of buying low and selling high. In this era full of opportunities, it was not entirely impossible to raise 500 yuan in a week.

However, given the impression he left on his family, it was reasonable for Lu's father not to believe him.

"Alright, please rest assured, I will handle this matter within the bounds of the law." With that, Lu Zifeng got up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going again? Remember to come back for dinner tonight!" Lu's mother called out from behind.

Over the years, no matter what trouble he caused outside, his family always tolerated him without limit, yet he disappointed his family time and time again.

By the time you have the ability to give back, many things are already irreversible.

Now, God has given him another chance to make amends.

That year, he was nineteen.