Chapter 1

"Awake, he's awake!"

"Really awake! Oh my God, his eyes are moving!"

"My God! Jesus!"

"Hey, Bill, I never thought you'd really wake him up! God bless, you finally..."

"Scrooge... can you hear my voice?"

...

When Luo Yong struggled to open his eyes, he heard a group of people chattering in English around him. The noise was so loud that it made Luo Yong's head ache. He managed to open his eyes and saw a large group of Europeans forming a circle around him, their necks stretched out long.

At that moment, the midday sun shone through the gap in the circle of people, directly onto Luo Yong's face. The sunlight was too intense, and Luo Yong had to close his eyes again after just opening them a slit. At the same time, he tried to raise his hand to block the overly bright sunlight. However, he couldn't lift his hand, and this action made him dizzy, almost causing him to lose consciousness again.

"A stretcher is here... be careful, John, help me lift his head... be gentle, don't use too much force... Carl, lift his hips, not his waist, his hips! You fool, don't you know where the hips are?... Be gentle! You'll hurt him again if you do that."

Luo Yong felt himself being carefully lifted by several people. At this point, he realized that his whole body was in pain.

...

Luo Yong lay in bed for several days. During this time, he worked hard to understand one thing: he had unfortunately become a member of the time-traveling army.

Unfortunately? Yes, unfortunately. Many people think that time travel is a low-risk, high-reward business. Look, which poor nobody, after time traveling, doesn't immediately get a protagonist template and have good luck from then on? If you want to practice martial arts, an old man will appear, holding some divine martial arts, and beg you to learn it, with an attitude that is a thousand times more humble than the teachers in this world who beg you to study hard; if you're too lazy to practice, it's no problem, the old man will beg you to let him transfer his hundreds or thousands of years of cultivation to you. Want beauties? Just a slight movement, and a bunch of top-notch beauties will come to you, from lolis to mature women, from pure maidens to experienced housewives, all available, all willing. They all "bring your dowry, bring your sister, and come in the cloud boat."

But the reality isn't necessarily so. It's like trading stocks or gambling on jade; people only hear the stories of the "successful people," while no one cares about the unlucky ones who jump off buildings. Moreover, the dangers of time travel are actually much greater than trading stocks or gambling on jade. Even if you don't end up in a situation like "a female fan wakes up to find herself a charming beauty, skilled in poetry, calligraphy, and music, ready to play a palace drama, but is suddenly urged to 'go out and toast General Wang,'" or "a poor man wakes up to find himself eloquent and skilled in music, playing a guqin in a square, but is interrupted by a general asking, 'Is the Guangling tune over?'" really traveling to a society with extremely underdeveloped productivity and difficult communication due to language changes, is no different from being dropped into Congo or Rwanda in black Africa.

After a few days, Luo Yong figured out that he had time-traveled to 1855 America, becoming an eleven-year-old boy named Scrooge McDonald. A few days ago, "he" fell from a tree while trying to get a bird's nest and lost consciousness. Fortunately, his neighbor Bill Rockefeller, who was said to be skilled in medicine (though some said he was a fraud selling "miracle cancer cures"), was at home and managed to save him.

Of course, Scrooge's parents were extremely grateful to Bill. They felt ashamed of their previous belief that Bill was an immoral charlatan and had even defamed his reputation in front of others. When Bill revived Scrooge, Scrooge's father Joseph apologized sincerely to Bill in front of everyone.

Bill was indeed knowledgeable. When Scrooge exhibited strange symptoms in the following days, such as not recognizing people and having a peculiar accent, Joseph asked Bill for advice while also sending for a priest to see if there was any unclean presence. Bill reassured Joseph, saying that people who suffer head injuries often exhibit such symptoms, which was nothing to be surprised about. This was confirmed by the priest Stephen, so Joseph and his wife Laura were relieved. They were both extremely impressed by Bill and no longer found Scrooge's strange behavior unusual, at most muttering, "Poor Scrooge, I hope he gets better soon."

A week later, Scrooge McDonald was finally able to get out of bed. After two days of running around, Luo Yong—Scrooge—finally confirmed that he had indeed time-traveled to 19th-century America.

To say that Luo Yong's luck as a time traveler was still pretty good. Although he didn't time-travel into a wealthy or noble family, his family was still middle-class. His father Joseph was a good cobbler, making shoes that were both beautiful and comfortable, with a good reputation in the area. Thanks to Joseph's skills, the family lived a decent life. They could even have meat once a week, which was better than Bill's family. As the youngest son, Scrooge was the most beloved child in the family, cherished by his father Joseph, mother Laura, and even his older brother Carroll, who was already helping his father make shoes.

However, this wasn't the most satisfying part for Luo Yong. No matter what, this standard of living couldn't compare to his previous life. What truly satisfied Luo Yong was his neighbor, Bill Rockefeller. Luo Yong was now certain that this Rockefeller was the legendary Rockefeller.

Bill Rockefeller had three sons and two daughters (technically three, but one died at the age of two). Their eldest son was John, the second son was William, and the third son was Frank; the eldest daughter was Lucy, and the second daughter was Mary. Wasn't this the famous Rockefeller family? According to history, John Rockefeller would become the oil tycoon, and his Standard Oil Company would control over 80% of the oil in the United States and more than half of the world's oil at its peak. He himself would become the first American billionaire, with a personal fortune of $1.4 billion at his death!

This $1.4 billion wasn't the worthless $1.4 billion of the 21st century. The ratio of this amount to the GDP of the United States, which was the world's largest economic power at the time, was 1:65. Calculated proportionally to the 2013 U.S. GDP of $16.56 trillion, his personal wealth would be around $255 billion!

Of course, the Rockefeller family hadn't yet risen to prominence. The future oil tycoon and America's first billionaire, John Rockefeller, was still diligently attending middle school. But wasn't this a great opportunity? As long as he clung to this powerful ally, the future looked bright.

Scrooge was four years younger than John Rockefeller, but because of his better family conditions, he started school at a younger age. As a result, they were now in the same middle school, though John was one grade ahead. They used to go to school together every day.

After resting at home for two more days and confirming that he was fine, Scrooge finally went back to school. After breakfast, John Rockefeller from the neighboring house came to call him.

"Scrooge, you should go to school today!" As he spoke, John picked up Scrooge's schoolbag, and the two of them walked out together. "My mother asked me to take care of you on the way. She's always worried about my father... well, let's not talk about that... I heard you forgot a lot of things. Do you remember what you learned in school?"

"I forgot some, but I remember most of it. Even if I don't remember, I can relearn it. I believe that as long as I work hard, there's nothing I can't learn." To Scrooge, who had been an engineer in his previous life, the things taught in 19th-century American middle schools should be manageable.

John Rockefeller suddenly stopped and stared at Scrooge for a long time before saying, "Strange, can a fall really change a person so much? You're much more composed now, and more confident! It's as if you've grown up all at once."

Seeing a sixteen-year-old boy say he had grown up all at once was a strange feeling. Although he knew that this boy would become America's first billionaire and that he would drop out of middle school this year to attend a commercial school to learn accounting, and then start his legendary journey, Scrooge still felt odd.

The walk to school was long, taking about half an hour, and the two of them talked as they walked.

"Um... Scrooge, do you remember something?" John Rockefeller suddenly said.

"What is it?" Scrooge asked.

"I knew you'd forget." John Rockefeller shook his head and then said, "I don't plan to continue middle school. I want to go to a commercial school in the city to learn accounting. I think it's more practical for me. You know, our family's situation isn't good. My father isn't very reliable, though he did well saving you, but... anyway, as the eldest son, I need to take on the responsibility of supporting the family as soon as possible."

"I think I remember a bit." Scrooge frowned, as if trying hard to recall. "I remember that the tuition for such schools isn't cheap. John, do you have that much money?"

"That's the problem. It costs $40, and my father agreed to lend me $40, but he's asking for 15% interest. Damn, that's much higher than the bank! He's taking advantage of the fact that I can't borrow from the bank. I was wondering if your family could lend me some money, even part of it. Once I start working, I can pay you back with bank interest, no, a bit higher than the bank, 11% interest. What do you think?" John Rockefeller looked at Scrooge's eyes expectantly.