Rebirth: Seven Years in a Great Dream

Chapter 7: Returning Home

In the general manager’s office, the conversation continued. Mu Dong: “Brother Yong, I have some new ideas I’d like to run by you.” Han Yong replied, “No need for a formal report. Just tell me what’s on your mind, and we’ll discuss it together.” Mu Dong: “Two things. First, I had originally planned to rent a loader. But now that you trust me so much and have invested so heavily, I’m thinking that if the price is right, we should buy a used loader. That would significantly reduce costs compared to renting. Plus, once the project is finished, we can sell it. Used loaders retain their value well, and since we’ll only be using it for a year at most, we shouldn’t lose much money.” Han Yong said, “You can decide these things on your own—no need to consult me. I think it’ll work. What’s the second thing?” Mu Dong replied, “The second matter is still about my resignation. I’ve been thinking—why don’t I just quit now instead of waiting for layoffs? Time is tight—the weather will turn cold in two or three months. I want to go back to my hometown right away and start making preparations as soon as possible.” Han Yong thought for a moment and said, “Here’s what we’ll do. Don’t rush this. Finish up the work you have on hand as soon as possible, then write a request to go on a business trip to Southern Shandong. You can come up with your own reason. Make it for about 10 days. Submit it to the General Affairs Department and the Finance Department first, and I’ll approve it. That way, you can go back and get things ready. I’ll also check with headquarters soon to see when the layoff documents will be issued—it should be any day now. By the way, after you resign, do you have anyone in mind for the Marketing Manager position?” Mu Dong: “There’s no deputy manager position in the Marketing Department. Among the regional managers, Lin Xiangyan from the Western Shandong region has the best overall qualifications, but I’m not sure if headquarters will approve it.” Han Yong said, “I’ll think it over.” Mu Dong had just returned to his desk when Cheng Qiang came to find him. “Brother Dong, to celebrate your recovery from that serious illness, I’d like to treat you to drinks tonight. Bring your wife along.” Mu Dong: “You know I’ve just recovered from a serious illness! I can’t drink yet, but I appreciate the thought. Your wife just started the new school year today and is busy—let’s do it in a few days. Speaking of which, wait a minute—I’ll give you the money for the bed.” Mu Dong counted out a stack of bills, handed it to Cheng Qiang, and said, “Count it.” Cheng Qiang casually took it, stuffed it into his pocket, and said, “What’s there to count? I’m off then. Let’s hang out this weekend.” With that, he turned and walked away. Mu Dong sat down and began organizing the sales and client documents on his desk, preparing in advance for his resignation and the handover of his duties. The next morning, Mu Dong submitted a business trip request to the General Affairs Department and the Finance Department. The reason stated was a visit to the H-county market for maintenance on behalf of Lunan Unicom, scheduled from September 4 to September 12—a total of nine days. Since this exceeded the General Affairs Department’s approval authority for business trips of up to five days, they forwarded the request to General Manager Han Yong. Han Yong approved it that very afternoon—much faster than the General Affairs Department had anticipated. In fact, September 13 and 14 were the weekend, so Mu Dong could report back to the company on September 15. That meant he would have a total of 11 days off. That same day, Mu Dong told Cheng Qiang about the business trip and agreed to get together again once he returned. Then, on the morning of September 3, Han Yong convened a small meeting to announce that Lin Xiangyan would serve as Deputy Manager of the Marketing Department and concurrently as Regional Manager for the Western Shandong Region. The position of Deputy Manager of the Marketing Department did not exist in the headquarters’ organizational structure, so the Ludong Branch could make this decision on its own without needing approval from headquarters. In other words, Lin Xiangyan’s rank and salary remained unchanged; she simply gained the title of Deputy Manager. Nevertheless, Lin Xiangyan was so excited that her face flushed red, and she beamed with joy. Lin Xiangyan is 26 years old, one year older than Mu Dong. Having been with the company for three years, she is considered a veteran employee. In this contract with China Unicom, the Western Shandong region she managed demonstrated rapid distribution and high retail sales volumes, clearly showcasing her business acumen and organizational coordination skills. It’s important to note that the provincial China Unicom’s purchase of mobile phones is merely the first step; the sales process isn’t complete until the products are distributed through all levels of the supply chain and ultimately reach consumers. Han Yong’s move was exceptionally astute. While the position of Deputy Marketing Manager does not require appointment by headquarters, this honorary title would carry significant weight when submitting a future report to headquarters recommending Lin Xiangyan’s promotion to Marketing Manager. On the afternoon of September 3, Mu Dong, using a lengthy business trip as an excuse, assigned some tasks to Lin Xiangyan, provided a detailed update on the final stages of the provincial China Unicom order, and handed over a stack of sales reports and customer data. Lin Xiangyan was a bit taken aback; something felt off. This didn’t seem like handing over tasks—it felt more like a handover! The materials Manager Mu had brought out were far too comprehensive! After sending off a bewildered Lin Xiangyan, Mu Dong called Xiao Xiao, telling her he’d pick her up after work so they could have dinner together that evening. In the evening, he picked up Xiao Xiao, and the two went out for her favorite dish—spicy boiled fish—before heading back to Mu Dong’s place. There, Mu Dong explained in detail to Xiao Xiao his decision to resign and his plans to get into the river sand business. He also mentioned the real reason for his business trip the next day: though it was ostensibly a work trip, he was actually returning to his hometown. Xiao Xiao was a bit surprised. She knew that Mu Dong’s greatest dream was to put down roots in the city, so why was he suddenly going back to his hometown to start a business? Mu Dong explained that it was just a short-term business venture and he’d be back soon. Then he joked, “I need to make money to support you! I want to buy you a house!” Xiao Xiao was still uneasy and asked, “Why did you suddenly decide to get into the river sand business?” The reason couldn’t have been more convincing! Mu Dong said, “Our company’s CEO, Han, sees potential in this business, so the two of us are partnering up.” In the end, Xiao Xiao said, still half-convinced, “Well, just be careful. The river sand business is really tough work.” Mu Dong replied, “Yeah, I will. Um… why don’t you stay tonight?” Xiao Xiao bit her lip and said, “All right, since you’re leaving tomorrow, I’ll stay with you tonight—but you have to be good, okay…” Mu Dong: ……… The two took showers one after the other, and after a bit of tender time—keeping things within certain limits—they went to sleep in separate beds. Early the next morning, Xiao Xiao went to work at the school. Mu Dong found his bank certificate of deposit and, once the bank opened, withdrew the full 50,000 yuan deposited in it. Then he boarded the bus bound for Lunan City. Actually, the train would have been safer, but there were only four trains a day from Quancheng to Lunan, and two of them ran at night—the timing just wasn’t right. On the bus, Mu Dong received a call from Lin Xiangyan informing him that the final payment from the provincial China Unicom branch had been credited to his account. This marked the complete conclusion of the entire procurement process for the order. Mu Dong’s work for the recent period had come to a perfect close. As for future distribution and retail sales, that was now up to Lin Xiangyan. Four hours later, Mu Dong arrived in Southern Shandong City. That familiar yet unfamiliar feeling washed over him once again; the entire city looked just as it had several years ago. The elevated highway? It hadn’t been built yet. The ring road? It wasn’t open yet. Some of the landmark buildings that had been added later were nowhere to be seen. Mu Dong scrutinized his surroundings, striving to reconcile his memories with the current landscape. Finally, he gradually calmed his mind and was able to accept everything before him. Lunan City, naturally, is located at the southernmost tip of Ludong Province. To the south, it borders Xuzhou City and Lianshui City in Suhai Province. Although these three prefecture-level cities belong to two different provinces, they share a land border, with many counties and townships closely interconnected, and their economic ties are extremely strong. Hence, there is a saying that “Southern Shandong and Northern Jiangsu form a single economic entity.” The long Ying River flows through the center of Lunan City, extending all the way to distant Suhai Province before emptying into the East China Sea. Sitting in a taxi traveling along the river, Mu Dong gazed at the broad river surface glistening in the summer sunlight. Every few hundred meters, a dredger bustled with activity on the river’s surface. Mu Dong knew that within half a year at most, this stretch of the river would return to tranquility, and these dredgers—large and small—would be idled, abandoned, and eventually dismantled. Mu Dong first went to the China Unicom office in Lunan City. Having already received instructions from the provincial Unicom headquarters, he smoothly visited several departments. He then mentioned that over the next few days he would be visiting retail outlets in the city and surrounding counties to assess retail sales, before taking his leave. The superficial work was now complete; the next step was to go home! At a department store in the city, Mu Dong gritted his teeth and bought a silk short-sleeve T-shirt, a combed-cotton short-sleeve shirt, two pairs of high-end dress pants, a pair of imported leather shoes, and finally a cowhide belt. Having spent nearly 10,000 yuan, Mu Dong—who had always been frugal—felt a twinge of pain. He picked out an outfit, put it on, and looked at himself in the mirror, thinking to himself, “Clothes make the man, just as a saddle makes the horse—the ancients were certainly right.” Next, Mu Dong bought a few pieces of clothing and some nutritional supplements for his parents, hailed a taxi, and set off for home. An hour later, the taxi reached its destination: Mu Village. Mu Village was a small hamlet with a population of just over 600. Dotted densely around it were about seven or eight other villages. Combined, these villages had a population of nearly 10,000—almost a small township. The township seat was not here, but in Tanzhuang, 10 kilometers away, which is why it was called Tanzhuang Town. Mu Village is situated between two rivers, one to the east and one to the west. Mu Village and the nearby villages are located on a narrow strip of land about 10 kilometers wide that lies between the two rivers. The river to the east of the village is called the Shu River, which flows from the direction of the county seat. The county seat is named Shuhe County, and the entire county takes its name from this river. The river to the west is the Ying River, which flows through the Lu’nan District; Mu Village is located downstream from the city proper. The local people don’t distinguish between the Shuhe and Ying Rivers; they simply call the one to the east the East River and the one to the west the West River. According to the Shuhe County Annals, a massive earthquake of extraordinary intensity struck the area during the late Ming Dynasty. As the annals describe it, “The sun and moon lost their light; the heavens collapsed and the earth split apart; mountains shook and the ground trembled; rivers changed their courses; many suffered, and seven out of ten perished.” It is said that the parallel course of the two major rivers near Mu Village was caused by that earthquake. After flowing parallel to each other for about 20 kilometers near Mu Village, the two rivers converge downstream. The two rivers carried an extremely abundant supply of river sand. When Mu Dong was a child, during the winter dry season, the sand deposited on the riverbed was three or four meters thick. Back then, when local residents needed sand for building houses, they would extract it in the winter and begin construction in the spring. Sand extraction was extremely simple: they would drive a tractor into the riverbed and simply shovel the sand directly onto the truck. Aside from some physical labor and a little money for diesel, there were almost no costs. In recent years, a reservoir has been built downstream, and the riverbed is no longer visible even in winter. As a result, dredgers have gradually appeared, extracting sand from the river and piling it up along the banks. The sand dredged from the riverbed is very clean, water-washed sand; with just a little screening, it becomes high-quality, fine yellow sand that’s ready for immediate use. By the time Mu Dong got home, it was already past 6:00 p. m. On a summer evening, it doesn’t get dark until after 7:00 p. m. , so when Mu Dong got out of the car at his doorstep, carrying bags of all sizes, it was still broad daylight. The overall landscape of the village hadn’t changed much; there were just a few fewer small houses than in that other timeline, and the road outside the village hadn’t been paved with cement yet. Everything else was essentially the same, so Mu Dong had no trouble adjusting. Especially his own house and yard—they were exactly the same as in his memories from that other timeline. “Ah,” Mu Dong sighed inwardly. This meant his family’s situation hadn’t changed in many years—the house hadn’t even been renovated. As one of the few college graduates in the village—and especially as a “high achiever” working in the provincial capital—Mu Dong was somewhat well-known in the village. When they saw Mu Dong get out of the car, several people gathered around him from near and far, greeting him warmly. “Xiao Dong is back.” “Xiao Dong looks so sharp today—must’ve made a fortune!” “Xiao Dong, what nice things did you buy? You’ve got bags big and small.” “Hey, Xiao Dong, why didn’t you bring your pretty wife back with you?” Mu Dong quickly pulled out the cigarettes he’d stashed in his pocket. While responding to everyone as “Big Brother,” “Second Sister-in-Law,” “Third Uncle,” and “Second Aunt,” he deftly handed out cigarettes to the men present and took out his lighter to light them one by one. Someone caught on: “Whoa, Su Cigar—you’ve really struck it rich, haven’t you?” Mu Dong just chuckled without saying a word. Mu Village is located in the Southern Shandong–Northern Jiangsu Economic Belt, and “Su Yan” is quite a well-known name in this area. So, by being recognized, Mu Dong had achieved his goal. All right—the brand-new clothes, the high-end Su Yan cigarettes, and the bags full of gifts were all meticulously prepared by Mu Dong. It was all for the sake of a fresh new image, to set the right tone for the upcoming river sand business, and to ensure things went as smoothly as possible. Mu’s parents also came out to greet him upon hearing the commotion. Mu Dong had called ahead, so they knew he was coming back. Mu Dong glanced around and felt a bit pleased—his parents looked a little younger than he remembered. Mr. and Mrs. Mu invited everyone inside to sit down. Everyone naturally took the hint; after a round of laughter and banter, they went their separate ways. Mu Dong was confident that, starting right now, the news that “Little Dong from the Mu Huashan family has struck it rich” would gradually spread throughout the village, carried by the people who had just left. Mu’s father, Mu Huashan, 52, was the eldest son of the Mu family. Mu Huashan had two younger brothers and two younger sisters—Mu Dong’s two uncles and two aunts. Since Mu Dong’s grandparents had both passed away, Mu Huashan was essentially the central figure in this small family. Mu Dad had a simple, down-to-earth personality. During the off-season for farming, he worked as a construction laborer and was a fairly well-known roofer in the area. However, roofing was physically demanding work with long hours, and combined with constant exposure to the elements, Mu Dad—now in his early fifties—had begun to show signs of stooping despite his once-tall stature. As the family of three entered the house, Mu’s mother grumbled as she walked, scolding Mu Dong for wasting money on so many things. Mu’s father simply sat there silently smoking. Mu Dong had called home at noon to say he’d be back that evening. He asked Mu Ma to prepare extra dishes because he was inviting his second and third uncles over for drinks that night to discuss something, and he also asked his sister and brother-in-law to come over. Mom had already prepared several dishes and was still busy in the kitchen preparing others. Just then, his older sister and her family arrived on an electric tricycle. His older sister and brother-in-law looked much younger than he remembered—how wonderful, Mu Dong thought to himself. But their two children were also much younger than he recalled, right at that mischievous age. His older sister, Mu Xiaoxia, was five years older than Mu Dong. She had married into Zhong Village, which neighbors Mu Village, ten years ago. She now had two children: the older one was a girl named Zhong Shuna, who was eight years old, and the younger one was a boy named Zhong Shujie, who was five. His brother-in-law, Zhong Guodong, who is three years older than his sister, works at the sand-casting factory in town. Zhong Village is very close to Mu Village—only about 2 kilometers away. When Mu Dong isn’t home, his sister and brother-in-law are the ones who take care of his parents whenever they have a minor illness or ailment. As soon as my sister’s two children entered the house, they started chattering and making a racket. My brother-in-law sat with Mu Dad, smoking. My sister went to the kitchen to help Mu Mom cook; the Mu family still uses an old-fashioned wood-burning stove, fueled by firewood and a bellows to stoke the flames. Usually, when Mu’s parents are home alone, they cook on a gas stove. But since there were so many dishes to prepare today, they resorted to the old stove—stir-frying in a large pot is much faster that way, and the portions are more generous. Mu Dong said goodbye to his brother-in-law and went to visit his second and third uncles to invite them over for drinks and a chat. At every house he visited, he found that all the family members seemed younger and looked much more at ease than he remembered. “This is truly a wonderful and joyful experience,” Mu Dong thought happily. According to old rural customs, it’s considered very formal and a mark of respect when a younger generation member pays a visit to invite others over. Since Mu Dong had a major matter to discuss that evening, he had to ensure his demeanor was appropriate in these details. As the saying goes: “To hunt a tiger, rely on your brothers; to go into battle, rely on your father and sons.” In Mu Dong’s view, the river sand stockpiling venture would be best handled as a family effort. Since it was a short-term business, working together as family would make management easier and allow them to get up to speed quickly; by the time any family conflicts might arise, the project would essentially be over. Of course, this was a voluntary matter. Mu Dong would propose the project, and each nuclear family would decide for itself whether to participate. Every family’s circumstances were different, and it was impossible to say for certain whether any of them might choose not to join. However, Mu Dong had to gather everyone together to discuss the matter; he couldn’t just go ahead and do it on his own. Otherwise, it would lead to resentment later on. Hoarding the spoils for oneself invites envy, no matter where you are. Family bonds are extremely important and must be carefully nurtured so that harmony within the family leads to prosperity in all things. As for his eldest and second aunts, Mu Dong also decided to inform them, but since their households were far away, he planned to visit them individually to discuss the matter. Mu Dong invited his second and third uncles one after another, and their wives came along as well. His cousins—some at work, some in school—were not at home. Before long, dusk fell and the lights began to come on… Ahem, there weren’t really any “lamps”—they simply turned on the indoor lights. In front of the TV, beneath the large electric fan, the whole family—eleven people, young and old—sat down to a lively meal. After a few rounds of drinks, Mu Dong began to talk about the river sand business. Everyone else was a little puzzled. River sand? To the people living around Mu Village, it was all too common—too ordinary. In the past, the riverbed was full of it, and it was practically worthless. Although they can no longer dig sand directly from the riverbed now because of the reservoir downstream, the sand brought ashore by dredgers isn’t worth much either. Not to mention, dredging sand from the riverbed is an extremely grueling way to make a living. Why did Xiao Dong want to get into this business?