Zhou You lay in bed, unwilling to get up.
Sigh, when will this ever end?
Every day was a hustle and bustle. He had a house, a car, and savings, yet he still felt physically and mentally exhausted, listless all day long. The doctor called it sub-health, but how many modern people weren't the same?
He thought about the little fish he kept. His greatest daily joy was feeding them, watching them scramble for food, which gave him a sense of pleasure.
But then it struck him—wasn't he himself just a fish raised by others?
Every day, he flattered and smiled, earning only a few scraps of silver, barely enough to survive. He had no time for himself, had almost lost his sense of self. Just past 30, and he was practically a walking corpse.
If only he could start life over, he would have chosen to be a university professor. Back then, he was arrogant, only wanting to make money. In the end, he didn't earn much, lost his time, and ruined his health.
First step to getting up: open his eyes. Holy crap, what's going on? Where's my home? Where is this? The house I bought with a 30-year loan, which I'd pay off before I turned 60, is gone now. This is no different from an abandoned construction site.
Instinctively, he reached for his phone, only to find an ancient relic—a 2010 knockoff phone, a nameless counterfeit.
An hour later, Zhou You had to accept the reality of his rebirth.
Confusion, fear, helplessness. Even though he was reborn, he was still an ordinary person. But at least he probably wouldn't be short of money. He might not get rich, but he should be able to live freely. Probably.
He knew about Bitcoin, knew some stocks, knew housing prices. As long as he didn't start a business, he shouldn't go bankrupt.
Thinking this, Zhou You couldn't help but feel happy. After years as a corporate drone, he had lost his confidence. Back in the day, he was full of ambition, dreaming of changing the world, only to be changed by it instead.
So what would he do now? With that thought, Zhou You quickly grabbed his phone. Thankfully, today was May 12, 2010, and he hadn't yet resigned from his university teaching position.
Back then, after finishing his master's, his advisor wanted him to stay on as faculty. But he hadn't tasted the bitterness of society, didn't know the path ahead, and only wanted to make money, looking down on the meager salary of a teacher.
Especially with his lousy major: Library Science!
Back then, he looked down on this major. Most of his classmates were reassigned to it. After graduation, the guys mostly went into sales, and things went downhill from there. At least it was a 211 university, though.
But as society beat him down more and more, he began to appreciate how good this major was—a niche field.
There were only about 20 universities nationwide offering it, with very few students. Back then, the women mostly ended up in government jobs—libraries, archives, courts, prosecutor's offices—all places that needed library science graduates. He had looked down on the paltry pay of civil servants.
Many of these positions couldn't even fill their quotas. He even went with classmates a few times to pad the numbers for exams, and they'd pass after a few tries. Most of the women ended up in those jobs.
Countless times in the dead of night, he regretted it. He should have become a university professor or taken the civil service exam. Why did he go into sales? He had no talent for it. Sigh.
At least he had good character and a decent family background. Heaven had given him a second chance.
He would definitely choose to be a teacher, and at his own university. With so few graduates now, and the major being so small, the school was expanding enrollment, giving him this opportunity. Otherwise, how could he have stayed on as faculty?
Thinking this, he slapped himself: "Idiot, you deserved to be a corporate slave. You had the chance and blew it!"
His advisor was Professor Wang, a library science professor and department head. Zhou You usually called him "Director." This job was recommended by Director Wang, but he hadn't even acknowledged it and had turned it down. Thinking of that, he slapped himself again.
After a few slaps to clear his head, Zhou You began to plan his future.
He was about to graduate with his master's degree. Everything was set, and he was just waiting to start work. In his past life, he lost himself during this free time and set off on the path of getting beaten down.
People can't stay idle, or they'll mess things up.
He checked his wallet and phone. His balance was less than 10,000 yuan, saved up by scrimping and saving.
After graduation, he'd need money for rent, but the school offered cheap transitional housing for a while, in principle no more than three years.
He figured he should be able to buy a house in three years. As a reborn person, if he couldn't buy a house in three years, he was probably hopeless.
The only short-term way to make money was through stocks. But his capital was too small. Where could he get more? He racked his brain but couldn't think of anything. Suddenly, he grabbed his phone to confirm the date. It was May, and this year's World Cup hadn't started yet.
Zhou You was a fake fan, but he had watched quite a few matches from the 2010 World Cup. Back then, he was a hothead, wanting to see the Japanese team get crushed, only to get crushed himself. He still remembered a few key matches vividly.
Other ways to make money were too exhausting. It seemed that even though he was reborn, his personality hadn't changed—he still hated trouble. He probably wouldn't change in this life either. Forget it, he wouldn't. At least he'd have food and drink, which was fine.
As a qualified "leek," he had tried countless times to achieve financial freedom through stocks.
But every time, he got cut. He remembered those stocks he got cut on vividly.
He had studied their companies and trends countless times. He might not know them by heart, but he knew their highs and lows. Moutai, Tencent, BYD—these three stocks should be enough to sustain him for life.
What he owed in his past life, he'd repay in this one.
The hardest part of stock trading is not knowing whether the future will rise or fall, or if you'll go bankrupt. Knowing the long-term trend, even without the details, you can still make money. Buy low, sell high. When it's low, buy; when it's high, sell. Especially now, with his small capital, it was more convenient and faster.
For now, BYD hadn't gone public yet, and Tencent was a Hong Kong stock. His capital wasn't enough, so he could only buy Moutai.
He checked Moutai's stock price. Damn, 80 yuan. It was already this expensive. He looked at his savings—just enough to buy one lot. He was too poor. He'd have to wait until next month's living expenses came in. He hadn't even opened a brokerage account yet. Back then, you had to go to a branch to open one.
Forget it, no rush. He'd find time to open an account.
Ring, ring, ring. His phone rang.
He looked and saw it was his roommate, Big Head. Real name Lin Weiqiang. Nicknamed Big Head because of his large head. He was a local from Luzhou, loved surfing the internet, and often asked Zhou You to play Dota together. Unfortunately, both of them were terrible.
"Hey, you up yet? There's a company recruiting today. You wanna go check it out?" Big Head said.
Zhou You replied, "No, I'm staying at school." Damn it, in his past life, he went to that company's recruitment fair and ruined his life.
"Alright, I'll go check it out then." Big Head was a local and wasn't very proactive about finding a job. Since he lived close to home, he always had food, and his parents were financially stable. Their only requirement was for him to take the civil service exam, but he wasn't interested. In the end, he also ended up in sales, traveling all over the country.
Forget it, time to get up and have breakfast. Even though the university cafeteria food was terrible, he still missed it.
He got up, washed up, and looked at his young face in the mirror. At least there was still light in his eyes.
Goodbye, Guiyuan Cafeteria. Terrible breakfasts and happy memories.