Chapter 5

"Ma Wei, Ju Yan, you two must study hard. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me, and I will help you. In the future, without knowledge, you won't be able to get by. We need to progress together."

Chen Kangjie said seriously to Ma Wei and Chen Jing. He could only say this to Ma Wei and his sixth sister Chen Jing for now; he wasn't yet ready to say such things to Chen Mei. Although junior high school knowledge was a piece of cake for him, he needed to give his sisters some time to adapt and not shock them too much. Chen Qiancheng was automatically excluded; his grades weren't particularly good, but they were still acceptable. Chen Mei, seeing her brother's serious and earnest expression, felt that he had grown up and matured a lot, even more so than her second sister. He reminded her a bit of their father.

Chen Jing saw how quickly Lao Wen finished his homework, her eyes full of stars, and secretly decided that she had to be as good as Lao Wen and not lose to him. Chen Kangjie never expected that one sentence would cause such a change in his sixth sister.

Seeing Chen Kangjie like this, everyone went back to do their homework. Chen Jing's good friend Yu Lan came to call her to jump rope, but she didn't go.

Chen Kangjie didn't have the leisure to pay attention to these things; he was lying on the bed with his legs crossed, thinking. It was 1986, and although the reform and opening-up had been going on for several years, how could he make money? Having experienced the future world, Chen Kangjie deeply knew that, no matter what, having money was the top priority. Buy monkey tickets? No, they were issued in 1980, and it had been several years. Start a business? He had no capital, and with his small arms and legs, who would trust him to start a business?

Chen Kangjie turned over and fell into deep thought. Trade stocks? The stock markets in Pengcheng and Shanghai hadn't even been established yet. Even if they were, he couldn't buy them with his few cents of pocket money every month; that would be a joke. Scalp subscription certificates? Hmm, that's a good idea. The first stock subscription certificates in Shanghai were not bought by anyone, but within a few months, they had multiplied several hundred times. The subscription certificates issued in Pengcheng could also yield a tenfold profit in a day. But that's not right; scalping subscription certificates also requires capital, and not a small amount. Mr. He? Why did he think of Mr. He? Because he was handsome? Oh, right, during the music class this afternoon, he wanted to build a good relationship with Mr. He and have him help him compose and sell songs. Yes, that's the plan. He had sung so many Hong Kong and Taiwan songs in the future; finding some classics wouldn't be hard, and they should be popular. Right, let's do it.

But just selling songs isn't enough. Chen Kangjie thought further. Selling songs can make money, and compared to the current economy in mainland China, it can make a lot of money. But it's still earning money from the Chinese people, and even if they give him a few hundred thousand, it's far from his future goal. To make money, he needed to earn from foreigners, but whether it was profiting from the Soviet Union's collapse, the 1992 pound sterling crisis, the 1994 Mexican financial crisis, or the 1997 Asian financial crisis, all required a large amount of capital.

Right, he could write novels. With his super memory, he could recite the novels he had read. Yes, that's a good idea. He had read two very popular foreign novels, "Twilight" and "Harry Potter," but unfortunately, he had read the Chinese versions. Now, a columnist in the Writers' Association only earned a little over a hundred yuan a month, so writing Chinese novels wouldn't be very profitable. He would have to translate them into English. Some of the words in "Harry Potter" were written in Latin and French. Oh no! Did he have to learn Latin and French on top of improving his English?

Damn it, no matter what, he had to try. It was a rare opportunity to be reborn, and he had to go all out. Chen Kangjie made his decision. With his super memory, he should be able to learn things more efficiently. Yes, that's the plan. He would start planning and learning from now on.

To start from easy to difficult, although "Harry Potter" was published eight years before "Twilight," Chen Kangjie decided to reverse the order. First, "Harry Potter" had more words, and second, "Twilight" was written entirely in English, making it easier to start with. This would also give him time to learn Latin and French.

Chen Kangjie made a rough plan. He would spend about half a year organizing and selling some songs, improving his English, and starting to learn Latin and French. He would spend two years reciting and translating "Twilight" into English. Of course, these three tasks would be done simultaneously, as he had plenty of free time now. Then, he would spend another two years reciting and translating "Harry Potter" into English.

With this plan, Chen Kangjie felt he would have a fulfilling life. Although he wanted to enjoy his childhood, he shouldn't waste too much time on boring games. These two novels could also be sold for movie rights, which would be a significant income, especially in dollars. With money, he could enter the financial sector and make even more money. With money, he could transform his hometown, so it wouldn't be at the bottom of the national economy in 20 years. The thought made him feel good. The more he thought, the more ambitious he became. Since he was reborn, he had to become a king and take on greater responsibilities.

Of course, there was another important task: exercising to build a strong body. "A healthy body is the capital of revolution." Without a good body, it would be hard to accomplish these big things. In his previous life, Chen Kangjie started gaining weight after graduating from university, although he didn't become a fat pig, he had no muscles, only flab.

It wasn't until Chen Mei came to the window to call him for dinner that Chen Kangjie snapped out of his pleasant thoughts.

At the dinner table, his third brother Chen Yuchang had also returned. They talked, and Chen Yuchang had been dating a girl. Chen Yuchang's nickname was Chen Lao San because he was the third child in the family, and some of the neighbors' elders called Chen Kangjie Chen Lao Qi. In the 1980s, most people were allowed to date after junior high school, except those who continued to high school.

Chen Yuchang was very fashionable and vain, wearing high-heeled leather shoes, bell-bottom pants, and long hair that seemed to be permed. He had a well-defined face and a bit of a Liu Dehua look. The family had an old Phoenix bicycle, which Chen Qigang had bought for 50 yuan a few years ago to make it easier to go to the countryside. The quality of bicycles at that time was good, and with proper maintenance, it still looked very nice. Chen Lao San would ride the bicycle to flirt with girls all day.

Having a bicycle in the 1980s was a big deal. A writer from Wuxi once wrote that bicycles were the "BMW of the 1980s." Young people at that time liked to ride bicycles at high speed, with their clothes and hair blowing in the wind, looking very cool and attractive to girls.

"I've found you a contract job at the mine in the ventilation team. Stop running around all day. When you grow up, you should do something serious. Get ready and report for duty the day after tomorrow."

Chen Qigang said this to Chen Lao San with a neutral expression, but Chen Yuchang's expression first tightened and then turned a bit happy. Chen Kangjie understood his expression: the tightness was because his carefree days were over, and the happiness was because he would have his own salary and wouldn't have to ask Chen Qigang for pocket money, which always made him feel bad. The family's financial burden was heavy, and Chen Qigang couldn't give him much pocket money.

Chen Yuchang nodded quietly, indicating that he understood.

"I heard you were called to the teacher's office today? What happened? You even made the class monitor cry."

Chen Qigang turned to Chen Kangjie, his face showing no emotion. This was probably a complaint from Chen Jing, who was不服气 (unhappy).

Chen Kangjie glared at Ju Yan, thinking this sister was meddlesome. Chen Jing lowered her head, feeling guilty.

Chen Kangjie didn't stop, explaining the situation while eating. Seeing the puzzled expressions of the family, his fourth sister Chen Mei helped by saying:

"This is probably true. I saw him finish all today's homework in less than ten minutes, and not only were all the answers correct, but his handwriting was very neat, better than mine."

Chen Mei was a bit envious because her studies weren't very good.

"Go get his homework for me to see."

Chen Qigang usually didn't check his children's homework much, only paying attention to their exam results. He wasn't very strict about their daily studies, which was a bit negligent.

After getting Chen Kangjie's homework, Chen Qigang first smiled, then frowned and asked, "Is this really your homework?"

"Dad, of course, it's mine. Ju Xiang and Ju Yan saw me write it."

Chen Kangjie answered with an old man's tone.

Chen Qigang glanced at Chen Jing, who nodded quickly.

"When did you improve so much in your studies? When did you practice your handwriting? Your handwriting wasn't this good before."

"Dad, think about it. How long has it been since you checked our studies? I've been practicing for a while now. You have calligraphy books on your desk. One day, I saw them and copied them. I used to be playful and didn't like studying, but with my genius mind, I could learn anything if I wanted to."

Hearing this indirect criticism, Chen Qigang blushed. He was good at calligraphy and loved it, and he also liked drinking, as did most of the Chen family. Chen Kangjie used to like drinking too, but after getting drunk in third grade, he was afraid of alcohol.

"You're really something. Your son is good at studies and handwriting, which is a good thing. Why are you asking so many questions? You don't usually care about the children's studies."

At this moment, Ma Fangqin saw that Chen Qigang seemed to be scolding and felt that the indirect criticism made him uncomfortable. She pretended to be angry and laughed, defusing the situation. She also playfully hit Chen Kangjie on the head and lovingly patted it, saying, "My son is a genius, very smart. You're only six, what do you mean by 'before'? You're still young, the youngest in the family, and you're already acting like a little adult."

"Hehe, that's true. I'm always young in front of Mom, hehe."

Chen Kangjie blushed and acted cute in his mother's arms, and his brothers and sisters laughed. Chen Qigang couldn't help but smile too.

"Lao Wen, since you say you're a genius, you must get first place in the semester exams. Third brother doesn't like studying, so you have to make up for it, ha ha."

Chen Yuchang encouraged Chen Kangjie, partly joking and partly genuinely encouraging. After all, Chen Qigang was a college graduate from the 1970s, and although he didn't go through the unified college entrance exam, he still couldn't bear the thought of his children having poor academic performance and no one to carry on the family name. That would be embarrassing for anyone.

"Third brother, don't worry. From now on, I'll make sure I'm the best in our school."

Hearing his brother's confident answer, his brothers and sisters laughed. Chen Qigang and Ma Fangqin were also happy to see their youngest son so mature and ambitious. Who wouldn't want their children to be successful?

The family had a warm and happy dinner.

"Dad, I want to practice calligraphy. Can you teach me?"

After dinner, Chen Kangjie ran to Chen Qigang's room and held his hand, asking. Seeing his sensible and ambitious son, and feeling guilty for not paying enough attention to his children's studies, Chen Qigang happily accepted the task. He also wanted his children to learn calligraphy, which was his pride. Unfortunately, from his eldest daughter Chen Yujun to his sixth daughter Chen Jing, none of them were interested. Now, having a young son interested in learning calligraphy was a joy.

Chen Qigang found some calligraphy books and some newspapers, and taught Chen Kangjie the techniques and insights of calligraphy. They used newspapers because white paper and rice paper were expensive in the 1980s, and ordinary families couldn't afford them, especially for practice. He would only use the precious rice paper for serious writing.

Chen Kangjie enjoyed this rare moment of fatherly love and learned very seriously. Midway through, Ma Fangqin came in and saw them working together, and she encouraged them.

The next day, at six in the morning, Chen Kangjie got up, put on his blue mesh shoes, and went out to run alone. He had never gotten up so early before, but being reborn gave him the chance to break the habit of sleeping in. As the saying goes, exercise should start from childhood, and Chen Kangjie was just a child.

His planned route was to run from home along the road to the school, run two laps around the track, and then run back, about three kilometers. His home was on a hillside, and the school was at the foot of the hill, so the way to the school was downhill, and the way back was uphill. He didn't know if this would affect his exercise, but he didn't care; exercise was always good.

The downhill run was easy, and the morning air was fresh. Breathing in, he felt his lungs cool. The sky was still hazy, with the moon not fully set and the sun not fully risen. The cool breeze on his face was invigorating.

He ran to the school track and jogged two laps, did ten pull-ups on the horizontal bar, and fifty frog jumps, then returned the same way.

It was his first time exercising, so he had to start gradually and not overdo it. He was only six, with small arms and legs. If it weren't for his thirty years of mental maturity, he would have just run to the school and back. In the morning, only a few middle-aged men and young people were exercising at the school track, and no children his age were there. They were all interested in this little boy exercising alone and even asked whose child he was. Chen Kangjie heard them but didn't respond.

The downhill run was easy, but the uphill run was hard. Halfway up, Chen Kangjie felt his mouth dry and his legs heavy, but he had to persist. Exercise couldn't be half-hearted. By the time he ran up to the house, he felt almost faint, his legs heavy like lead.

Ma Fangqin saw her son come in, drenched in sweat.

"Lao Wen, where did you go? You're all sweaty."

"Mom, I went to exercise."

Chen Kangjie took a big gulp from a large teacup and panted.

At this moment, his sisters also got up and saw him like this, looking at him with strange eyes. They wondered why their brother, who usually needed to be woken up for school, had gotten up on his own and gone to exercise. Strange things happened every year, but there were more in the past two days.

"Lao Wen, where did you go to exercise? You're just a kid, what are you exercising for?"

Chen Mei joked.

"Big sisters, you're all so beautiful. If I don't exercise and build a strong body, how can I protect you in the future?"

This made his sisters laugh. It wasn't a lie; in his previous life, because his sisters were all very pretty, they often had classmates pursuing and harassing them. Chen Kangjie couldn't fight, and it was always his third brother Chen Yuchang who handled it.

Chen Qigang, wearing a Zhongshan suit, also got up and heard this, and laughed.

"Um, you look like a little man. In the future, the sisters will be in your care."

"No problem, don't worry. If anyone bullies my sisters, I'll deal with them."

Chen Kangjie put away his smile, patted his chest, and answered very seriously.