Chapter 4: Preparations Before Enrollment

The July sun blazed fiercely, even the wind carried scorching heat. The cicadas in the trees buzzed incessantly, grating on the nerves. Li Yifei stood in his small courtyard, eyes fixed on the crooked tree in the corner. Its shadow swayed on the ground, but his thoughts had long since flown elsewhere.

The school had been decided, and the heavy stone weighing on Li Yifei’s heart was finally lifted.

For him, a child from an ordinary farming family, education was the only path to break free from fate and reach a brighter future.

In his previous life, Li Yifei had lived in suffocating hardship. His family had tilled the soil for generations, with no money or influence, living a life barely scraping by, often hovering around the line of basic sustenance.

Back then, he had resented heaven’s blindness and envied others’ prosperity.

But now, heaven had truly opened its eyes, giving him a second chance at life. Not only had his mind become exceptionally sharp, but his perspective had completely changed.

Doing well on the high school entrance exam was just the first step in changing his destiny. Now, he had to seize this chance and carve out a path amid the waves.

Li Yifei’s home was in a quiet little town, with narrow streets flanked by low, gray houses and scattered small shops.

There were hardly any places to save money, just a rural cooperative and a postal savings bank.

Thinking ahead to opening a stock account, Li Yifei headed to the postal bank to get a card first.

The process was simple then; the staff barely asked any questions. After a quick procedure, the card was tucked into Li Yifei’s pocket.

Back home, he told his father, Old Li, that he wanted to go to the county town to buy books.

Since the school interview had earned him some money, Old Li had been almost indulgent with his son.

Hearing about buying books, Old Li didn’t hesitate and even accompanied him to the bank to deposit the money.

At the counter, Old Li carefully handed over the cash, watching the teller count and record it with a seriousness as if he were storing the hopes of the entire family.

Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Li Yifei took a bus straight to the county town.

Arriving there, he was quite moved. The county now looked very different from twenty years later.

There were only a few tall buildings, mostly dull, low structures. The streets were chaotic, crowded with pedestrians, bicycles, and cars all jumbled together, horns honking and vendors shouting in a noisy mix, with no one obeying traffic rules.

This disorder carried the distinct, lively atmosphere unique to small towns. Li Yifei knew this scene wouldn’t last.

He hailed a tricycle rickshaw. The driver was an elderly man with graying hair, quite talkative. As he pedaled hard, he chatted with Li Yifei.

From family matters to changes in the county town, the old man opened up. Li Yifei listened, occasionally responding just enough to encourage him.

The old man pedaled with renewed vigor, clearly enjoying the conversation. Li Yifei thought to himself that in his past life, he’d been so burdened with worries, he wouldn’t have cared to listen to someone else’s ramblings or offer comfort.

Now it was different—the future held promise, and his heart was open and bright.

The rickshaw wobbled and swayed until they reached the stock exchange. In his former life, Li Yifei hadn’t struck it rich in the market, but his desire to get wealthy had pushed him to study it hard; he knew which stocks had potential.

Now, stocks like Guojin Securities, Shandong Gold, and Yunnan Copper were lying low—it was practically free money.

He smoothly completed the account opening. Entering the trading hall, he stared at the vivid red and green screens, his gaze steady as his fingers typed out codes: Chihong Zinc and Germanium, Guojin Securities, Shandong Gold, Yunnan Copper, Fanhai Construction... buying stock after stock.

Quickly calculating in his mind, the money he invested could nearly turn into 160,000 yuan in the future.

This was just the beginning. He planned to switch holdings when the time was right and invest in other promising stocks. The money had to start rolling!

Exiting the trading hall, it was just past ten. Li Yifei turned a corner and went straight into the county library.

Inside, it was quiet, filled with the scent of paper and ink. He headed straight to the computer books section. Relying on his now photographic memory, he flipped through books at lightning speed.

Thin books took only a few minutes; thicker ones, about eight or nine.

In over half an hour, he had basically “devoured” all the computer books on the shelves.

Next, he moved to the high school textbooks section, picking up Chinese, math, and English books to read carefully.

Time slipped away with the turning pages. When he finally looked up, dusk was falling.

That evening at home, when Old Li and his wife asked about the county town, he casually said he had spent the day in the library. Not a word about stocks.

In the days that followed, Li Yifei buried himself in books, reviewing all the high school materials.

He knew mere memorization wasn’t enough; he had to truly understand and organize the knowledge. This summer, he planned to thoroughly sort it all out and make the knowledge genuinely his own.

Meanwhile, he hadn’t forgotten another “big matter.” He had already “written” one volume of the “Covering the Sky” trilogy and intended to send it to an online literature company.

But when he checked an internet café in the county town, he found the website now allowed direct uploads—much more convenient.

Li Yifei spent some time typing the novel word by word into the computer, setting it to upload automatically.

Now, all he could do was wait to see the earnings. He felt a bit guilty toward the original author but, at this crucial moment of changing his fate, he couldn’t afford to worry about that.

Another thing he had figured out: health was capital. In his past life, he often watched short videos featuring traditional exercises like Baduanjin, Tai Chi, and Bajiquan.

In 2005, the internet wasn’t as developed as later, so finding detailed tutorials was difficult.

But being young now, he had to seize the opportunity to train his body well. With a strong physique, he could endure more hardships and walk a steadier path.

Days went by. Li Yifei read and exercised, filling himself up completely.

He watched the stock market daily, seeing his stocks fluctuate, but remained calm. He knew stock trading required patience.

His uploaded novel also began to draw attention. Though earnings were still modest, the steadily increasing readership and occasional comments from readers gave Li Yifei a deep sense of reassurance.

This was more than extra income—it was a response to his efforts.

In his studies, he delved deeper. Reading wasn’t enough; he started doing many exercises, breaking down and connecting knowledge points.

When stuck, he researched to refine his understanding bit by bit.

His exercise routine was unshakable. At dawn every day, he got up to practice Baduanjin in the courtyard.

After a while, he felt lighter and more energized.

Li Yifei was clear that he was changing step by step toward the life he desired. This transformation relied on the luck of a second chance and his own refusal to accept fate.