Chapter 34 Life Full of Uncertainty

n Luoran. "Let's go. There isn’t much in this small city that excites me; let’s head over to the bar.""Trash."The five who turned their backs ready to leave froze, shoulders stiff.Then Wang Weiwei and...Chapter Thirty-Four: Life's Uncertainty

"Hey, why are you two so late Didn't you call half an hour earlier Quickly put the containers in; we'll eat here at noon. I've ordered noodles." Mom seemed a bit anxious; the workers who had just delivered the glass were already here, and boxes of goods were piled up waiting to be counted and placed on the shelves, all of which required Dad's help.

It was midsummer afternoon, and light filtered through the avenue of camphor trees outside, piercing through the white fluff swirling in the air, casting a slightly reddish and enchanting glow onto the ground. The large shop behind them, over eighty square meters in size, was their family's store. A refreshing scent wafted through the air, reminiscent of clean summer days from eleven years ago.

Not far away was another small store that, shortly before Mother decided to expand, had been rented by Auntie Jia and Mei Lan. It used to be the shop Mom later leased out; during every weekend in high school, Su Can would often bring various books he borrowed from a nearby rental bookshop, sit facing the sun under a tree, engrossed for half an afternoon.

Those slow-moving days in summer, filled with the scent of books and sweat from prolonged sitting, had truly passed...

In the great awakening of life's fleeting nature, it is merely waking up from a dream.

Before this, Su Can was just an average young man in his late twenties who had endured countless setbacks and hardships, showing signs of premature aging due to the ups and downs of urban life. He struggled for survival among millions, barely daring to dream about anything beyond that. But now, everything from before seemed like a bizarre, colorful dream, then suddenly dragged back to his hometown when he was sixteen.

The course of fate had paused, retreated, and started again, slowly rolling forward once more.

This was the place where his life began anew. He hadn't thought about returning to the past to become an official or stir up waves in international finance; he was just an ordinary person without the audacity or ambition for such things. Even if he had foreknowledge, he wouldn't be naive enough to think it would enable him to compete with those top minds around the world in strategy and tactics—likely, he might not even know how he died.

His dreams were simple and practical: he just wanted to no longer feel as helpless as before his rebirth, for life to be a bit better than it used to be, for his parents not to worry about him anymore, and to find himself a beautiful wife. That would satisfy him.

A family of three ate takeout noodles at the shop. The father started to place glass panels on the shelves one by one, while the mother was counting the goods from this purchase and discussing with her husband, "Now that we have our own store, you also need to come down more often to help out. It’s just a few blocks away from home. Sometimes I can’t manage everything alone when I need to go to the bathroom or do other things. We both need to be mindful of this. Soon Su Cen will start high school, and after three years he’ll go to university. All our savings are invested in this store. We have to think about how to save money for his future college education."

The father nodded, having some plans in mind. He would try his best to come down to the shop when possible since everything was just starting and he couldn’t leave it unattended.

"Mom, why don't we consider hiring someone This way you'll have more energy for other things like purchasing goods or accounting. You won't need to do everything personally; that would be better," Su Cen felt不忍 (heartache) thinking about how his parents had been working tirelessly in their small shop in the past life, leading them to become increasingly frail and sick.

His father’s cervical spondylosis was partly due to long-term hard work. Watching his still youthful-looking parents made Su Cen's heart ache.

"Now we should consider hiring someone Where would the money come from Rent here is 1,500 yuan per month, and with electricity, water, and taxes it probably costs about 2,500 yuan a month. If we hire another person, at least 500 yuan a month has to be given as salary, making the total cost 3,000 yuan. We need to earn more than that each month just to break even! It’s better for us to earn it ourselves rather than give money to someone else."

Su Cen smiled, knowing his parents clung to traditional ideas and always felt they could do everything themselves without needing help from others.

Indeed, the初衷 (initial intention) of his parents opening this store was just to make a living, not to expand like Mei Lan and Jia Zheng did. Therefore, they didn't consider hiring staff or developing other chain stores.

The fact that their shop had remained unchanged for many years with even risks of declining business could be attributed to them seeking stability rather than taking risks as they aged.

Su Cen realized it would take time to change his parents' mindset and help them pursue a different path in life, but this wasn’t something he could accomplish merely by convincing them with道理 (reasons).

The most pressing task at hand was for the shop to start generating profits. Without solid foundations, all plans and ideas would be空談 (idle talk).

The second aspect is to enhance one's own influence with their parents.

Su Cen's personal influence on his parents has been negligible ever since he disappointed them by pursuing expensive goals. His opinions were seen as unrealistic and unworthy of reference, which was not due to others' fault but rather his failure to build more confidence in his parents.

Therefore, if he wants to change their mindset, the first step is to increase his influence so that they can see his capabilities. The high school entrance exam is just a trial run; there are broader prospects for development in the future.

"Furthermore, I still have concerns about choosing this place as it's an isolated road and not situated at a prime commercial location. You shouldn't make such hasty decisions! What do you know as a kid"

Mother frowned, worrying more about the future since they had invested all their savings into this venture. Although initially enthusiastic and confident, now that they were calculating carefully, the shop needed to earn at least $250 per month just to break even.

Although these stationery items have decent profit margins, their prices are low: a pen costs one dollar or fifty cents; better quality erasers cost one dollar and fifty cents each. The price of fountain pens might be higher, but how many of these small items need to be sold in a month just to cover the expenses Not to mention supporting the family's livelihood.

Su Cen was also uncertain despite his familiarity with this industry from before. Without knowing the final outcome, making conclusions beforehand would be premature. It might be that this business is still in its slow growth phase and parents who start now won't see immediate results or profits; they might even incur losses, thereby undermining their confidence.

At such a time, he couldn't confidently assure them of future profits, as it would appear presumptuous to everyone else!

Su Cen realized at this point that the real situation was far more complex than what he had imagined. Reincarnation's joy had clouded his judgment; he overlooked the fact that this wasn't a novel or film and that fate is much harder to grasp than he could ever imagine.

When can I truly hold onto it

······

The life was supposed to be calm and peaceful, without any unexpected disturbances from beautiful women or sudden events that stirred熱血(translate note: this word seems out of context and might need clarification in Chinese). The dull month of July passed by quietly until August arrived with the admissions announcements for various universities in Xihaishan City.

The score thresholds were released.

The cutoff score for Xihaishan No.3 High School was 490 points, which wasn't particularly high or low compared to previous years—it was average overall. The second high school's admission threshold was 535 points, a relief to many borderline candidates including Liu Rui, Su Can's best friend who had been worrying about his score every day and finally scored 543, barely making it in. Other secondary schools with lower scores were naturally even less competitive.

What everyone eagerly awaited was the release of Xihaishan No.1 High School’s score threshold because for the entire city, it represented the peak level of education and the highest academic achievements among its most excellent students.

The top-notch cutoff scores from Xihaishan No.1 High School lived up to expectations at 610 points, making many aspirants hesitate and filtering out numerous students who had previously performed on par with the school's requirements.

However, once enrolled in Xihaishan No.1 High School, students typically had an attitude of supreme pride that wouldn't allow them to consider other schools. Plus, there were preferential policies for current students such as reduced tuition fees, which inevitably led to a surge in admissions.

As the enrollment at Xihaishan No.1 High School was booming, Su Can faced an issue: he had chosen his first choice school before his rebirth and naturally hadn't expected to score 645 points back then. So, his primary pick was Xihaishan No.3 High School.

Now with a score of 645, Su Can could look down upon the prestigious No.1 High School from an advantageous position, yet he was about to step through the gates of the third-best high school...

=====ol. It's likely that Wang Weiwei and Lin Zouwu go out every chance they get because she constantly occupies the only entertainment device available to them.However, after she crossed her legs and pose...