Chapter 1

**Bang, bang, bang!**

The violent knocking on the door was as if someone was trying to break it down.

"I'm coming!"

Zhou Zhong hurried from the inner room to open the door. As soon as the door was opened, he was overwhelmed by a barrage of spittle.

"Zhou Zhong! How can you not even open the door when you owe us money? Are you trying to dodge the debt?"

"Where are your parents? When will you pay us back?"

"I told you the deadline last month. How long do you plan to drag this out?"

A row of aunts and uncles stood in front of him, each with a scowl, pointing at Zhou Zhong and scolding him loudly, their voices echoing throughout the building.

Zhou Zhong's family lived in an old building in the county town. These buildings, which were two or three decades old, had very poor soundproofing. Within a few minutes, many neighbors had come out to watch, pointing and whispering about Zhou Zhong's family.

Zhou Zhong lowered his head, enduring the verbal assault from these "relatives."

"Zhou Zhong, don't think this will be over just because you don't speak. Tell us, how much money have you borrowed from us? You borrowed money when you went to the provincial city for school, each time several thousand yuan. Later, when your father was injured at work and couldn't afford medical treatment, you borrowed tens of thousands more. It's been years, when do you plan to pay us back?"

Zhou Zhong's second aunt glared at him, her voice shrill and accusatory.

Zhou Zhong gritted his teeth and said softly, "Second Aunt, we've been paying you back with the money we've earned over the years. We have to earn it gradually."

"Gradually? How long do you plan to take to earn it?" Hearing this, Zhou Zhong's second aunt's voice rose several octaves, making Zhou Zhong's ears ring.

Does Zhou Zhong not want to pay back the money? Of course, he does, but his family can only earn so much each month. After covering their basic living expenses, the rest goes to paying off the debt.

Zhou Zhong is from a county town, and his family's financial situation is average. However, he has always been a good student, consistently one of the top students in his class. His parents believed they shouldn't let his talent go to waste, so they borrowed money and added their savings to send him to a high school in the provincial city.

However, the cost of living in the provincial city is extremely high. Even if Zhou Zhong lived frugally, his monthly expenses were more than his family could afford, so his parents had to borrow more money.

Then, fate seemed to play a cruel joke on Zhou Zhong. During his second semester of senior year, his father, who was working on a construction site, fell from a building and suffered severe fractures in his legs and spine, requiring 100,000 yuan for treatment.

The already impoverished Zhou Zhong family was in dire straits. Selling their house in the county town only netted them 50,000 yuan, and even after scraping together more, they still fell short. Fortunately, a kind-hearted hospital director, seeing the Zhou family's dire situation, waived many fees that the hospital could afford to waive, such as hospitalization fees, allowing the surgery to proceed smoothly.

Zhou Zhong, due to his father's accident, became depressed and lost his motivation to study. In the end, he failed the college entrance exam and did not get accepted into university.

After three years of hard work by the entire family to send him to university, he failed the exam. Zhou Zhong felt a strong urge to end his life at that moment. But he couldn't die; his family still owed a large amount of money. If he died, what would happen to his parents? They would not only lose their son but also be burdened with debt for the rest of their lives.

So, Zhou Zhong left the provincial city dejectedly and returned to the county town to work on a construction site to earn money. He knew that his life would likely be spent this way, and he would never return to the provincial city.

"Zhou Zhong, I think it would have been better if your father had died in the accident. Then you could have received a large compensation, paid off the debt, and even lived a good life." At this moment, Zhou Zhong's younger aunt sneered, her face full of contempt.

Zhou Zhong's face changed instantly. He could endure any insult, but he would never allow anyone to insult his parents!

"Younger Aunt, I call you this because I owe you money, but you don't deserve to be my aunt. I will pay back the money with my life, but you must apologize to my father!" Zhou Zhong lifted his head, his eyes filled with determination and anger, and said each word clearly.

Zhou Zhong's younger aunt was startled by his gaze. It was too terrifying, like a hungry wild beast in the jungle, fierce and terrifying. But her fear quickly turned to anger, and she stepped forward, scolding him sharply, "Oh, so you won't pay back the money and you want to hit me? I'm your aunt, do you have any manners? No wonder you didn't get into university!"

The other aunts also joined in, scolding him acidly, "What a lack of manners and no future. Your parents are foolish to spend so much money on you. You're just a waste of money. You'll be a waste of money all your life, just like your parents who collect scrap, you'll end up collecting scrap too!"

"What did you say? Say it again!" Zhou Zhong was truly angry. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, his eyes blazing with fury as he took a step forward and shouted.

"Say it again, and see if you can hit me!" The relatives looked at him with disdain, completely looking down on Zhou Zhong.

At this moment, Zhou Zhong's parents, who had gone out to collect scrap at four in the morning, returned. They were wearing dirty clothes, drenched in sweat, and carrying a bowl of tofu pudding and some fried dough sticks, only one set! This was for Zhou Zhong, as the family was poor, but he was still growing. They could eat leftovers, but they couldn't bear to let their son do so.

As soon as they reached the door, they saw the scene and their faces changed as they hurried over.

"Second Sister, Third Sister, Little Sister, why are you here? Let's go inside and talk." Zhou Zhong's mother smiled and invited them in politely.

"No! Why go inside? Let's talk here. Are you afraid of losing face? Let the neighbors know what kind of people you are. Your parents don't pay back debts, and your son even wants to hit his elders. Show me if you can hit me!" Zhou Zhong's second aunt, the most acid and cruel of them, shouted loudly.

Zhou Zhong's father also realized that these relatives were not easy to deal with and were now using his son's lack of respect to make things worse, especially since they refused to go inside.

So, he changed his expression and scolded his son, "Brat, why don't you apologize to your second aunt and the others? How have I taught you?"

Zhou Zhong gritted his teeth and said, "Dad, you didn't hear what they said!"

Zhou Zhong's second aunt sneered, "What did I say? I said your parents collect scrap, and you're destined to collect scrap too. Is that wrong?"

Zhou Zhong's parents' faces changed when they heard this, their eyes filled with sadness and self-loathing, as well as anger. The words were too harsh. But what could they do? They owed the money.

"Second Sister, you're right. My husband and I are not capable. We will find a way to pay back your money. You know our situation. We've even sold our house, but we can't come up with anything else. We can only pay it back gradually." Zhou Zhong's mother said humbly.

"Hmph, having you as relatives is a curse. Oh, you have no money, but you can still buy tofu pudding?" Zhou Zhong's second aunt said with disdain, her eyes landing on the tofu pudding and fried dough sticks in Zhou Zhong's mother's hand.

"This is for the child. He's still growing." Zhou Zhong's mother said, embarrassed.

"Does he deserve to eat this?" Zhou Zhong's second aunt glanced at Zhou Zhong with disdain, then snatched the tofu pudding and fried dough sticks and threw them into the trash can by the corridor.

Zhou Zhong was furious, and his parents were shocked, not expecting her to do this.

"Pay us back quickly, or we'll come every day to make trouble. See how you can live here!"

"Let's go!"

Zhou Zhong's second aunt, with a cruel expression, scolded the Zhou family and then left with the other two sisters, strutting away.

Back home, the Zhou family was filled with sorrow and a heavy heart.

Zhou Zhong was also filled with anger, looking at his parents' weary faces and saying, "Mom, Dad, it's all my fault. I'm not good enough."

The two elders quickly reassured him, "Silly child, we know you've always worked hard. We don't blame you."

Zhou Zhong's mother wiped away a tear and said, "I'll heat up the food for you. Eat quickly and go to work. Don't be late."

After eating breakfast, Zhou Zhong went to the construction site to work. In simple terms, he carried bricks and cement, and did any other heavy labor or filled in when there was a shortage of workers. At his age, no other place in the county town would hire him. What jobs were there? The few decent factories required connections, and restaurant servers only earned 1,500 yuan a month. The construction site, at least, paid nearly 3,000 yuan a month, which was a decent amount in the county town.

After the morning incident, Zhou Zhong was in a daze all day. He felt useless, knowing that his parents had done so much for him, but he had failed to get into university. He was supposed to be their hope, the one who would get a good job and move the family to the provincial city.

But now?

He didn't get into university, and he owed a large amount of debt, with people constantly demanding payment. His parents, who were already old, had to collect scrap, a dirty and tiring job, and face the neighbors' gossip.

Thinking about all these things, Zhou Zhong was distracted. He was pushing a cart of cement to the mixer.

"Zhou Zhong! Zhou Zhong!"

A group of workers shouted anxiously, but Zhou Zhong didn't hear them, completely lost in his thoughts.

Suddenly, Zhou Zhong felt his feet give way, and a sense of weightlessness came over him. He was suddenly jolted awake, but it was too late. He and the cart of cement fell into a large pit with a loud thud.

The workers around him rushed over, some calling for help and others making phone calls, creating a chaotic scene.

The pit had been dug that morning to prepare the foundation for a new building, and Zhou Zhong didn't know it was there.

The pit was three meters wide and over ten meters deep. Zhou Zhong landed with a thud on the muddy ground. Fortunately, the ground was soft and damp, or he might not have survived.

As he fell, Zhou Zhong's shoulder hit a round, unknown object, causing him to cry out in pain as blood gushed out. Then, something miraculous happened. The blood from Zhou Zhong's shoulder was absorbed by the mysterious object, and a series of electronic prompts sounded in his mind.

Super Treasure Finder, DNA test successful.

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