Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

"Ugh, I knew asking would be pointless, it'd just get you scolded by your mom... Wait, what?"

Chen Nian walked to the classroom door and suddenly turned around.

"You said you want it?"

Li Zhao nodded.

"Holy crap, the sun's risen in the west!" Chen Nian covered his face, transforming into the world-famous painting "The Scream." "It's my treat! You can have two sticks and buy a bag of milk tea, let's go!"

That's very extravagant.

The convenience stores near the school gates always set up their stalls on the roadside, selling toys, snacks, stationery, and even school uniforms—you name it, they have it.

Chen Nian's family was relatively wealthy, and his parents were not very strict with him, since "at worst, he could inherit the family factory in the future."

Chen Nian's parents run a fabric processing factory and are considered well-known business owners in the area.

Li Zhao's father runs a small vegetable wholesale business, while his mother works for a state-owned enterprise and helps out at the wholesale market on weekends.

Although they weren't poor, they earned their money through hard work. The two were determined to buy a house in the provincial capital, so they lived like ascetics and argued a lot.

Li Zhao naturally had no pocket money.

But more importantly, it comes from the parents' strong desire for control.

Eating snacks after school is equivalent to hanging out with people who eat snacks, which is equivalent to hanging out with bad kids who are greedy and playful, which is equivalent to becoming a bad kid yourself.

The parents' thoughts progressed so rapidly only at this level.

There are three small shops near the school gate. The shop selling grilled sausages for 50 cents a piece is extremely popular, and there is also a queue for the ones that cost one yuan a piece. Only the shop selling sausages for two yuan a piece is deserted.

Whether to eat four sticks or one stick, even elementary school students can figure it out.

But they couldn't care less about the quality of the starch.

"Boss, two grilled sausages, one spicy and one..." Chen Nian looked at Li Zhao.

"Same as you." Li Zhao was secretly flipping through his little diary.

Even though the sausages were piping hot from being flipped in the sausage grill, the owner still insisted on picking them up, turning them over, carefully skewering them, and then evenly sprinkling them with spicy powder like a chef.

He knows how to provide emotional value.

Chen Nian watched intently.

Li Zhao flipped through a few pages of his diary and happened to come across an entry related to grilled sausages:

"Nothing much to write about today. After school this afternoon, Chen Nian asked me again if I wanted some grilled sausage. I hesitated, but it smelled so good. It's so hard to pretend nothing's wrong while smelling it. He was still drinking Sprite from a bag; it looks dirty, I wouldn't drink it even if it were given to me. I still don't understand, will eating grilled sausage affect my exam results? When I grow up and earn money, I should be able to buy my own grilled sausage, right?"

Don't say you can't understand it now; you still won't understand it twenty years from now.

Li Zhao does indeed have a special fondness for grilled sausages. To others, he's a big boss with an annual salary of millions, but in private, he likes to go to roadside barbecue stalls to order grilled sausages.

"Here, one for each of you!" The owner enthusiastically handed over his masterpiece.

"Boss, two more bags of milk tea, please."

"I don't need it anymore."

Li Zhao originally wanted to tell Chen Nian that this kind of flavored milk tea made from milk tea powder was not a good thing, and that it was even more harmful to health to put it in a plastic bag while it was still piping hot.

But what's with that grilled sausage in my hand?

Thinking of this, Li Zhao took a bite.

Even though he still remembered the taste of various expensive delicacies, this bite still stunned Li Zhao.

The meat is succulent and flavorful, with a rich, oily aroma and a crispy, starchy fragrance.

They come together to form a flavor called "satisfaction".

Grilled sausages tasted even better when I was a child.

[Eat the right thing at the right time. Happiness +1, Total 11]

Li Zhao couldn't help but chuckle when he realized that even a little bit of this grilled sausage could be added.

"Ah Zhao, are you taking the bus home today?" Chen Nian asked casually as he took the milk tea.

"right."

"Isn't your mother coming to pick you up?"

"She has something to do."

Actually, it wasn't that something happened, it was that they had a fight.

Li Zhao had just looked through the latest day's diary, which was from last night and recorded that his parents had argued because of a batch of substandard vegetables.

"Then I'll walk with you to the bus stop and stay with you for a while while we wait for the bus," Chen Nian said.

Chen Nian had always done it this way; his home was close to the school, just a few steps away from the bus stop.

Pure friendship among elementary school students.

It was March, but the diagnostic test didn't start until half a month after school started, which is very typical of New Taipei No. 6 Elementary School—having ideas but slow to execute.

The sun is about to set, and the setting sun shines on the street in front of us.

The moon is definitely not rounder abroad than it is in China, but the sunset in 08 must have been even more beautiful.

Li Zhao and Chen Nian walked slowly.

The ordinary road beneath my feet is being transformed, and I can always hear the rumbling of machinery during class.

A year later, this newly built antique-style street will inexplicably become a hit, and its popularity will continue for twenty years.

As a result, New Taipei No. 6 Elementary School moved its campus.

Li Zhao stared blankly at a shop with a row of lattice screens erected in an alley.

If I remember correctly... this is going to be the most popular location in the future, and the rent will rise to astronomical prices. But right now, there are red signs advertising the store for sale posted at the entrance.

Li Zhao was cautious.

Reborn with information asymmetry, as long as the principal problem is solved, gold is everywhere.

Before Li Zhao could even systematically organize the money-making methods he had initially considered, he discovered another golden investment opportunity.

Although money can't solve everything for this rebirth, you can't do without it.

In his previous life, despite having only a degree of financial freedom, Li Zhao still managed to make a mess of his life. This wasn't a problem with money; it was a problem with Li Zhao himself.

He didn't know how to love himself and gave up too much for the sake of "success".

But having money itself is definitely a source of happiness.

"Ah-Zhao, are you sure you don't want to take the entrance exam for New Taipei First Senior High School?" Chen Nian suddenly asked.

New Taipei First Senior High School, the top junior high school in Linjiang, gathers top students from all over the city and can be said to be the dream place for elementary school students in New Taipei.

As one of the top 20 students in his grade at New Taipei No. 6 Elementary School, it would be difficult for Li Zhao to compete for the top 100 spots at New Taipei No. 1 Senior High School, which would exempt him from tuition and fees. If he only managed to get into the top 800, he would face high tuition and fees.

In his previous life, he ultimately chose stability and was admitted to New Taipei Experimental High School, while Chen Nian was admitted to the top 800 of No. 1 High School.

Their interactions gradually faded from this point on. Li Zhao went to university in another city and became a "carefree" person, rarely participating in any gatherings. The two gradually became acquaintances who were only mentioned in each other's social circles.

Otherwise... on the night before his rebirth, Li Zhao at least had a close friend to talk to.

"I want to take the exam," Li Zhao said.

"Huh?" Chen Nian took a big gulp of milk tea. "I told you, you could do it. Anyway, the top 300 students can go to New Taipei Experimental School with tuition and fees waived, you're definitely in the bag."

"Old timer." Li Zhao tossed the sausage skewer into the trash can. "Tell me, what is the meaning of life?"

After finishing the last bite of the grilled sausage, Chen Nian said, "The meaning of life is to eat a grilled sausage after school."

In 08... the meme of "going to the dock to get a French fry" probably hadn't spread yet.

So Chen Nian was a philosophical genius?

"And you?"

"Me? I'm still exploring."

"Holy crap."

Li Zhao thought Chen Nian was going to criticize him, but instead he was met with a pair of bright eyes.

"Why didn't I think of that answer? So cool!"

……handsome?

Li Zhao suddenly realized that profundity was a quality that elementary school students who aspire to maturity cherished.

When everyone is trying to show off, a deep and steady sense of maturity carries a subtle air of pretentiousness.

At an age when you're not yet ashamed of being pretentious, acting "like a little adult" can give you an aura that commands respect from your peers.

The No. 25 bus that would take Li Zhao home arrived at the station. Li Zhao thanked Chen Nian for his hospitality, waved goodbye, and prepared to board the bus.

"If your parents are arguing, you can come to my house tonight to do your homework."

Before parting, Chen Nian left behind this sentence.

Li Zhao found a window seat, waved to him again, and kept looking out the window even after the car had driven quite a distance.

Elementary school students are actually quite perceptive.