Rebirth 03: Starting a Business After Giving Up a Secure Job

Chapter 1 Signing a Military Order

It was five in the morning, and it was still dark.

Inside dormitory building 407 of Jindiyuan at Xichuan University of Technology, it was pitch black.

Lin Feng was wearing only a thin shirt, his hands resting on the cold iron railing of the dormitory balcony. The autumn wind, carrying a damp chill, seeped into his sleeves.

Downstairs, the campus road was deserted, the streetlights casting a dim yellow glow. Not far away was the school's soccer field, the track empty, the goalposts standing alone.

Lin Feng patted his pocket and pulled out a Nokia 6610.

时间显示：2003年10月1日，星期三，凌晨5:17。

Lin Feng returned to the campus where he was a senior in college.

It feels like facing a lottery ticket that could change your destiny, scratching off a thin layer of silver paint to reveal an unbelievable date, yet still feeling somewhat unsure.

I was terrified that everything in front of me would shatter like a bubble in the next second.

Inside the dormitory, the heavy snoring of the roommates rose and fell, occasionally interspersed with the grinding of teeth.

These voices, long since distant, now act like anchors, firmly fixing him in his school days.

He took a deep breath, turned around, and went back to his dormitory.

Using the dim light coming in from the window, he groped his way up to the upper bunk.

After lying down, his thoughts were in turmoil, with images of his past and present lives flashing through his mind.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but exhaustion finally overcame his turbulent thoughts, and he drifted off to sleep.

……

The dormitory woke up at eight o'clock in the morning.

My roommate Li Hao was the first to get up. Wearing only his underwear, he climbed down the iron ladder, making a clanging sound as he stepped on it. He put on his slippers and hurriedly ran to the toilet.

Lin Feng was a light sleeper and woke up almost immediately after Li Hao came down the ladder. He sat up against the headboard, his gaze sweeping across the dormitory with a somewhat blank expression.

Jindiyuan student apartments are four-person rooms with bunk beds and desks underneath.

The walls are covered with posters of NBA stars, and Yao Ming, wearing a Houston Rockets jersey, roars powerfully.

The computer on my roommate's desk diagonally opposite me is one of those bulky CRT monitors, like a heavy box.

Lin Feng picked up his phone from beside his pillow. On the screen was an unread text message from his father, Lin Guofu.

"Xiaofeng, your mother and I took the 7 a.m. long-distance bus to Chengdu and will arrive at your school around noon."

Memories of my past life flooded back like a tidal wave.

Today! His life has reached a crossroads, and his destiny will be changed by a single decision.

In his past life, Lin Feng originally planned to stay in the provincial capital to find a job after graduation. However, Lin Feng's parents had a completely different idea. In their view, no job was as reliable as returning to their hometown to take the civil service exam.

A secure job, working for the government, is the "right path".

Lin Feng's several phone conversations with his parents ended unhappily, so his parents chose to personally go to the school on National Day to persuade him.

As it turned out in his previous life, Lin Feng compromised. He couldn't resist his parents' repeated emotional and rational appeals and agreed to return to his hometown to take the civil service exam.

Later, Lin Feng successfully passed the civil service exam in his hometown and got a job at the Construction Committee, which made many relatives and friends envious.

The first few years were fine; my job was stable and uneventful.

But man proposes, God disposes. With a new leader who didn't get along with him, Lin Feng was targeted at every turn.

In the approval process for a municipal engineering project, the leader asked him to handle it as a special case, allowing the construction team to enter the site and start construction as soon as possible to speed up the progress.

Later, the audit revealed that construction had begun without prior approval, but Lin Feng insisted that it was a verbal instruction from his superiors. However, his superiors denied this, accusing him of acting on his own initiative and being eager to gain merit.

The investigation concluded that he "misunderstood the leader's intentions and made decisions in violation of regulations." The blame was firmly placed on him.

Later, he was transferred to the archives, where he stayed for more than a decade.

Every day, I go to work and come home, doing the same repetitive tasks, trapped in a life where I can see the end from the beginning, and completely marginalized.

Lin Feng was originally a man with ideals and ambitions, but once a person gets married and has children, they have responsibilities. He can no longer follow his own desires and quit his job to start a business.

Sometimes he wonders where he would be now if he hadn't gone back to his hometown.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing.

The most painful thing in life is to be busy your whole life, only to find out in the end that it's not what you wanted.

……

At 11:30 a.m., Lin Feng picked up his parents at the school gate.

The father, Lin Guofu, wore a gray jacket and had a very serious expression. The mother, Li Huilan, wore a dark red coat and carried a cloth bag.

Upon seeing Lin Feng, Li Huilan grabbed his hand and looked him up and down, muttering, "You've lost weight. Are you studying too hard? Or haven't you been eating well?"

Looking at his parents, who were more than twenty years younger than he remembered, Lin Feng felt a lump in his throat. He suppressed his surging emotions and tried his best to make his voice sound normal:

"Dad, Mom, you must be tired from the journey. Come on, let me take you to eat first. There's a restaurant near our school that's really good."

He brought his parents to the "First Drifter of Sichuan University of Technology" at the side gate of the school.

The shop was as spacious as a large warehouse, and business was booming. The three of them found a seat by the window, and Lin Feng ordered a medium-sized pot of soup.

Soon, an iron pot was brought out, the soup inside was milky white and bubbling with steam.

Crispy pork, pork belly, pork belly, and ham sausage float in the soup, with bean sprouts and green vegetables underneath, making it a rich and fragrant dish.

"Dad, Mom, try this soup, it's delicious." Lin Feng enthusiastically served soup to his parents.

Li Huilan readily agreed, but Lin Guofu seemed somewhat distracted. After taking a couple of bites, he cleared his throat and got to the point.

"Xiaofeng, I've told you this several times on the phone. Your mother and I came here this time hoping you'll seriously consider returning to your hometown after graduation. Listen to your dad, taking the civil service exam is the safest bet!"

The mother chimed in, "Yes, Xiaofeng, being a civil servant is great. It's a secure job, and it's respectable. So many people in our county would envy that."

Lin Feng listened silently; he had heard these words once before in his previous life. Only when his parents had finished speaking did Lin Feng put down his chopsticks and look calmly at his father.

"Dad, Mom, I understand what you mean. You're doing this for my own good."

Lin Guofu's expression softened slightly, thinking his son had taken his words to heart. Unexpectedly, Lin Feng's tone shifted abruptly, his attitude becoming unusually resolute.

"I'm not going back."

"Why?" Lin Guofu frowned, his tone tinged with displeasure.

Lin Feng explained, "I want to start my own business."

"Start a business?" Lin Guofu's face showed an almost absurd expression. "You want to go into business?"

In the minds of the older generation, starting a business is simply doing business. It's no different from being a street vendor in the market, and it can't compare to a secure job.

Lin Guofu sternly questioned his son, "Doing business requires capital, connections, and experience. What do you have? You're just making a mess of things!"

"Old Lin, don't be anxious..." Li Huilan quickly tried to dissuade him, and then continued to persuade her son, "Xiao Feng, just listen to your dad this once, your parents won't hurt you."

Seeing his parents' agitated state, Lin Feng tried his best to remain calm. Simply arguing wouldn't solve the problem; he needed to demonstrate his abilities to win their approval.

"Dad, Mom, I understand your concerns, but I have my own goals. I'll make a promise, okay? Let the results speak for themselves."

Lin Guofu and Li Huilan were both stunned, looking at their son in bewilderment.

"Lend me 10,000 yuan as my start-up capital. The deadline is before next year's Spring Festival."

If I can't earn 100,000 yuan from this initial 10,000 yuan before the Spring Festival, then I'll accept my loss, listen to you, go back to my hometown to take the civil service exam, and never mention the word "entrepreneurship" again.

This condition completely stunned Lin Guofu and his wife.

Lin Guofu thought to himself: It's early October now, and there are only four months until the Spring Festival. Turn 10,000 into 100,000? Dream on.

"But..." Lin Feng's eyes burned with fury, "If I succeed, please respect my choice regarding how I live my life and which path I choose."

A long silence fell over the dinner table.

Lin Guofu's anger was replaced by a sense of utter absurdity. To him, his son was certain to lose the bet!

This, on the contrary, was an opportunity to completely extinguish his son's hopes.

He looked at his son with disdain. "Xiao Feng, are you really that confident?"

"I'm serious." Lin Feng's attitude was firm. "Dad, since you're convinced that I can't succeed, wouldn't it be worth it to spend ten thousand yuan to buy my resolve and make me listen to you from now on?"

These words struck a chord with Lin Guofu.

If their son is determined to make a name for himself, they can stop him for a while, but not forever.

Rather than letting him suffer setbacks and turn back later, it's better to make him give up completely now! A thought of "Let him hit a brick wall and get a beating from society" welled up inside me.

"Okay! I'll take this bet! I'll go to the bank and withdraw ten thousand yuan for you after dinner!"

Lin Guofu readily accepted the bet and picked up his chopsticks to continue eating.

"Old Lin! This money..." Li Huilan tried to stop him, worried that her son would be scammed.

"Let him be!" Lin Guofu turned to his wife and said, "Money isn't that easy to earn. He'll learn his lesson once he hits a wall!"

Having secured the start-up capital, Lin Feng contentedly began to eat.

After the meal, the three went to the bank ATM at the school gate, where Lin Guofu withdrew 10,000 yuan in cash and handed it to his son.

Lin Feng reached for the money, but his father gripped it tightly. Before handing it to him, he uttered another sarcastic remark:

"You've lost everything. From now on, you'd better keep your head down and be an honest person! Stop daydreaming!"