Living in this era, much is inevitable. For example, now, without fame or background; if such a person gets rich, it's like a child holding gold in a bustling marketplace.
That's a path to death. Earning a little money, making a small fortune is fine, but only ordinary petty swindlers will target you.
If you want to make big money, it's very difficult.
Some say Li Ka-shing started from scratch, and his wife, whom he married this year, is the daughter of the Hong Kong watch tycoon, so she has a background, too.
But what does Zheng Bai Cheng have? He has a convenience store, and what else? Even the store isn't his.
Now he understands why those time travelers start by writing novels; Ni Kuang, a senior from the mainland, has set a good example for later generations, that is, to be a writer; in Hong Kong, there are all kinds of circles, and the literary circle is also a force that cannot be ignored.
Of course, the power of a single writer may not be enough, but the power of a circle is very strong; the bottom-level people in Hong Kong society believe more in the integrity of writers, although the integrity of writers is similar to that of merchants.
But ordinary people are more willing to believe that knowledge changes destiny; although no one has said in this era that college is the only way to change the lives of the bottom-level citizens, it's almost the same. White-collar workers who can work in Central are mostly graduates of Hong Kong University, which allows them to get high salaries and change their destiny, achieving social mobility.
Understanding all this, Zheng Bai Cheng writes faster. When the shopkeeper saw this, he felt his son was trying to improve himself.
The shopkeeper felt that if his adopted son had come to Hong Kong a few years earlier, he would have sent him to study. Unfortunately, he was too old. If he wanted to start learning again at the age of 16, he would need to pay a lot. Hong Kong is English-taught, and many people start working in society early because they don't know English well.
"You silly boy, what are you doing?!" The shopkeeper was also curious about what he was writing. At first, he thought he was practicing calligraphy, but now it didn't seem like it, because there was a lot of writing on the paper. So he asked.
"Dad, I'm going to write a novel to be serialized in the newspaper." Putting down his pen, Zheng Bai Cheng looked up and said what he was doing.
"You're writing a novel? Read it to me." The shopkeeper became curious. Writing a novel? What kind of novel can he write?
"It's not good, I'm afraid you'll laugh at me." Zheng Bai Cheng was a little embarrassed, he even touched his face with his hand, like he was really embarrassed.
"Come on, big man, if I ask you to read, you read. Don't be afraid of me laughing at you."
"You asked me to read it, you can't laugh at me."
"Hee hee..." From behind the counter, came the giggling of the girls.
"You two silly girls, don't laugh at him, let him finish reading before you laugh at him."
"Hahaha..."
The atmosphere in the convenience store was filled with joy. Just then, a customer came in. They were neighbors and regulars here.
"Shopkeeper, what are you laughing about? Any news? Let me hear it too."
"Come on, my silly son said he wants to write a novel, I'm asking him to read it to me now, do you want to hear it? Haha..."
The neighbor was immediately interested, saying: "Ah Cheng, you can write novels? That's amazing. You're a writer, tell us, let's hear it."
Zheng Bai Cheng felt helpless. This old man, he just can't keep his mouth shut.
"Well, I'll tell you, I'll only tell you a part of it. If you want to hear more, you'll have to read the newspaper yourself."
"Haha... Ah Cheng, go ahead, it's okay."
"Yes, yes, Cheng, we love listening to stories."
"Hurry up and read, silly boy, you're just teasing us."
Under their urging, Zheng Bai Cheng began to tell his story.
"My novel is set in the Ming Dynasty, you don't know about the Ming Dynasty, right? The one before the Qing Dynasty, it's the Ming Dynasty. To say it's the mid-Ming Dynasty, various ills gradually surface, all kinds of dark aspects gradually exposed, the court struggles became increasingly fierce. The previous emperor died, and the crown prince ascended the throne. The previous emperor's brother, nicknamed the Red Heart King, was incredibly skilled in martial arts, with both civil and military virtues, unmatched, but because he wasn't the eldest son, he couldn't inherit the throne. Although he looked down on the current emperor from a young age, he hid his ambitions deep inside. On the surface, he was loyal to the emperor, loved the country, cared for the people, and won over the hearts of the people. Behind the scenes, he slowly laid out his plans and waited for the opportunity to rise. The story begins from here... Cheng Shi Fei was stunned, that's it for today. To hear the rest, please buy the newspaper next time."
There was only the sound of the fan in the convenience store, making it even quieter. After a while, the shopkeeper shouted: "Silly boy, what's next?"
"Next? I haven't finished writing it yet, I'm going to submit it..."
Before he could finish, applause filled the small convenience store, and because of the small space, the applause sounded like thunder, even startling the shopkeeper. He turned around and saw that a crowd of people had gathered behind him, he didn't know when they came, and they were blocking the door of the convenience store.
"Good, Ah Cheng, you told it so well, I'll come back every day to listen."
"Yeah, Ah Cheng, what happens next?"
"You're asking too much, get lost, don't ask..."
...
"Neighbors, that's all for today. Thank you for liking my novel. When I submit it to the newspaper, please support it." Zheng Bai Cheng stood up and bowed to everyone.
"Ah Cheng, don't worry, I'll definitely buy the newspaper with your story."
"Yeah, Ah Cheng."
The convenience store was very lively. Before leaving, everyone bought something and left, talking about his novel as they walked.
"Cheng, you told it so well, have some water."
Xiaohua walked over, her face flushed red, handing him a glass of water. Zheng Bai Cheng was thirsty and didn't even look, he took the water and drank it. The shopkeeper next to him was thoughtful, feeling that the girl was blushing, was she thinking about boys?
At this time, someone walked over and said, "Handsome young man, I'm a reporter from Kowloon Commercial Daily. Your novel is so well written, I'm willing to recommend you to our newspaper's editor."
"Come on, just because you say you're a reporter, you are?"
"No offense, this is my business card." The man handed him the business card with both hands and said, "I saw a lot of people here just now, so I wanted to see if there was any news. I heard the young man telling stories here and I stopped to listen, it's truly moving, very exciting. You're a young talent indeed."