1994: Starting with unpaid leave

Dong Jianguo suddenly opened his eyes, the blinding light making him feel dizzy.

This doesn't smell like hospital disinfectant...

But it gave him a strange sense of familiarity and peace of mind.

Struggling to sit up, she lunged at the dressing mirror in front of her:

With a classic square face, clear and bright eyes, and eye bags that enhance his appearance, coupled with his signature short, side-parted hair, he bears a striking resemblance to Leon Lai, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, in his youth.

In the mirror, you can also see that the baby calendar on the wall is turned to the page for August 1994.

"Snapped!"

Dong Jianguo couldn't help but slap himself across the face.

it hurts...

Is this a dream?!

She covered her reddened face and turned to look around.

Behind him was the earthen kang (heated brick bed) he had just climbed onto, with red and green quilts still laid out. At the end of the kang was a rough and simple kang music cabinet.

There is a TV cabinet in front of the window facing the heated brick bed, with a Panda brand color TV on it.

Through the window, you can see a small courtyard with a corridor outside. Near the entrance to the corridor, there's a small storage room and a container for feeding sewage by the door...

The room was very shabby.

But it made Dong Jianguo's eyes slightly red.

Because this is the house that the factory allocated to me after I got married!

Who would have thought that an elderly man lying alone in a hospital's intensive care unit, waiting to die, would open his eyes and be 22 years old again!

Could it be that God saw how many mistakes I had made and thus gave me a chance to start over?

"Splash!"

As the curtain made of electrical wire insulation and plastic beads rustled, Dong Jianguo turned around and saw a woman walk in.

She is tall, standing at 1.65 meters.

Her fair face had a pair of watery, almond-shaped eyes that looked shy and timid, and her lower abdomen was slightly protruding.

Who else could this be but his wife, Zhou Xiuyun?!

Dong Jianguo always felt guilty towards Zhou Xiuyun.

In their previous life, the couple officially lost their jobs in 96.

Instead of pulling himself together and finding a way out, Dong Jianguo gave up on himself and blamed the unfairness of fate. He spent his days indulging in drinking and mahjong, completely abandoning his responsibilities of supporting his family and children.

Not only that, he would also ask his wife for money every now and then, since she worked odd jobs to make ends meet.

Xiuyun endured all the humiliation and resentment in order to keep the family together.

Before he turned thirty, he succumbed to his illness caused by accumulated depression and passed away.

It wasn't until Xiuyun died that Dong Jianguo finally realized his mistake and regretted his actions.

But it was all too late.

Despite this, he worked hard and struggled in the south for more than 20 years, eventually opening five chain supermarkets in Shenzhen with his own two hands, changing the fate of the second half of his life through hard work.

But the look of disgust in her daughter Xiaojuzi's eyes never changed when she looked at him.

Not only his daughter, but also in the quiet of the night, Dong Jianguo cannot forgive himself.

Now that the chance for redemption was right in front of him, his breathing quickened involuntarily.

He quickly stepped forward, instinctively wanting to hug the woman who made him feel deeply guilty.

But as soon as the hand reached out, Xiuyun instinctively flinched away, her eyes filled with fear.

"you……"

Dong Jianguo then noticed that Xiuyun's eyes were red and there were red marks on her cheeks hidden by her long hair!

"Xiuyun, who bullied you?!"

The sudden concern startled Zhou Xiuyun, who stared at Dong Jianguo in disbelief.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Could it be that I hit you...?!"

Seeing Zhou Xiuyun's eyes, Dong Jianguo instantly realized that he had guessed correctly!

I guess I lost money gambling last night and took it out on my wife when I got home!

Dong Jianguo, Dong Jianguo, are you even a man?!

He cursed himself in his heart while gritting his teeth in secret.

After this rebirth, I absolutely cannot let Xiuyun suffer again.

Zhou Xiuyun didn't say anything, she just tidied her hair to cover the scars on her face.

"Gurgle."

A rumbling sound came from her stomach, and Dong Jianguo knew that she and the little orange inside her were hungry.

"Xiuyun, don't worry, from today onwards I will definitely turn over a new leaf and start a new life! If I, Dong Jianguo, ever dare to treat you any worse than this again, may I be struck by lightning!"

"Give me some money, I'll go out and buy breakfast for you and the girl!"

Zhou Xiuyun's already red eyes became even redder.

But she didn't say anything. She just sighed and resignedly took out a handkerchief containing money from her pants pocket.

There were three banknotes in the handkerchief: a 10-yuan note, a 2-yuan note, and a 50-cent note.

Dong Jianguo subconsciously pulled out 10 yuan from his pocket, and was about to say something when he saw Zhou Xiuyun's red eyes and froze:

"What's wrong? Did I take too much?"

Having just been reborn, he was somewhat slow to realize things.

After all, given the prices before his rebirth, let alone 10 yuan, even if he took all 12.5 yuan, he probably wouldn't be able to afford a pig's feet rice stall on the street in Shenzhen.

"No, it's nothing, it's just that we're running out of money..."

Zhou Xiuyun sobbed, and two crystal tears finally streamed down her cheeks, a heartbreaking sight.

Unlike typical northern girls, Zhou Xiuyun's parents came from the south to Hecheng, Heilongjiang Province, to stay with relatives and eventually stayed there.

Therefore, she possessed a unique gentleness and charm characteristic of girls from the South.

When the two met through an introduction, Dong Jianguo was immediately attracted to her gentle demeanor, which was not typical of people from the North.

Seeing her cry, Dong Jianguo felt his heart clench: "It's okay, money can be earned back. Your husband will support you from now on!"

His words only made Zhou Xiuyun's tears flow even more:

"But you've already taken unpaid leave, so I'll have to support you from now on! But I don't earn much, not even enough for you to play mahjong... Waaah..."

Dong Jianguo was taken aback: "Leave without pay? What day of August is it today?"

"Number 13..."

"ah?!"

Dong Jianguo can never forget this day.

Yesterday afternoon, I was arrested by the public security brigade for participating in gambling.

Finally, with the coordination of the head of the factory's security department, although the person was brought out, not only were all illegal gains confiscated, but a fine of 200 yuan also had to be paid.

The bad luck didn't end there.

The factory office staff are always slow, but yesterday, for some reason, they issued the punishment decision before the end of the workday:

Suspension without pay.

For a worker in 1994, it meant not only losing income, but also losing his livelihood!

And this is only the first step in a chain reaction.

It was precisely because of this punishment that he was included in the first batch of laid-off workers at the factory.

It also caused him to be depressed for seven or eight years...

The bruises on Xiuyun's face must be the result of his drinking heavily last night.

Looking at Zhou Xiuyun, who was crying with tears streaming down her face, Dong Jianguo felt that his perfectly good heart had been torn apart by her tears.

Pulling Zhou Xiuyun into his arms, Dong Jianguo whispered in her ear:

"Xiuyun, don't worry, this time I definitely won't let you suffer with me!"

The brutal punches turned into sudden tenderness, and Xiuyun, who had been holding back her grievances for so long, finally couldn't hold back anymore. She nestled in her husband's arms and burst into tears...

……