I'm back in 1990

Chapter 1: 1990, Here I Come!

(This novel is purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.)

Qingjiang City.

A prefecture-level city in the northern part of Jiangnan Province.

The rainy season has just ended, and the humid and hot weather makes both indoors and outdoors feel like a steam room. The outdoor temperature is approaching 40 degrees Celsius, while it is a little better indoors. However, the thermometer on the wall shows that the indoor temperature is currently over 33 degrees Celsius.

An old-fashioned Chrysanthemum brand floor fan was spinning vigorously at its highest setting, but unfortunately, the air it blew out was humid and hot.

In the kitchen, the water in the kettle on the coal stove had already boiled, and billowing steam was coming out of the spout. The kettle lid was rattling and clanging as it was pushed up and down by the boiling water and steam.

"Holy crap!" Huang Xiaochuan exclaimed in amazement. This dream was just too damn realistic!

This is a company-provided apartment built in the late 1980s, a standard three-bedroom unit. To the left of the entrance is a 120-liter Xiangxuehai refrigerator, next to which is the bathroom, and next to the bathroom is the kitchen. Directly opposite the entrance is the living and dining room, with the main furniture being an eight-person table and several long benches.

At the end of the living and dining room is a closet, with a room on each side. The room on the left, next to the kitchen and living/dining room, is the only room on the north side. Since his two older brothers left home to join the army, this room has always been Huang Xiaochuan's private space. It remained vacant until he graduated from university and went to Shanghai, and then his parents moved to a new house.

The room opposite this bedroom is my parents' room, which is also the master bedroom of this house.

Right next to the entrance door on the right is the second room facing south. Inside are several rattan chairs and a five-drawer chest. The 17-inch color television, covered with a silk scarf, is the most valuable appliance in the house. This room also contains a small single iron bed, which serves as Old Huang's temporary refuge when his mother disciplines him. This room opens onto a south-facing balcony, and outside is a courtyard.

Huang Xiaochuan stared wide-eyed at a wall where he had left a graffiti mark. The furniture, including the tables, chairs, and benches, had developed a patina after many years of use.

Huang Xiaochuan remembered that he was working overtime late last night, which had been going on for several days. After the pandemic, foreign trade business has become increasingly difficult. He is already quite old and still has to work himself to the bone because he is burdened by two mountains: mortgage and car loan.

Huang Xiaochuan once earned a million yuan a year, but unfortunately, he was not worthy of his position and could not hold onto it.

After making his first fortune, Huang Xiaochuan became arrogant and ended up being framed and ruined by someone he knew.

The other party colluded with outsiders to set a trap, sending a large order to Huang Xiaochuan. Huang Xiaochuan thought his luck was about to change, but little did he know that it was actually a turn of bad luck.

That year, Huang Xiaochuan unexpectedly received an overseas order worth more than 20 million RMB. The other company sent the order directly to the trading company registered by Huang Xiaochuan. After the two parties agreed on the details, they quickly signed a contract and, in accordance with the contract, transferred an advance payment of approximately 2 million RMB in US dollars to Huang Xiaochuan's company account.

According to a normal foreign trade contract, this prepayment is far too little. However, the other party promised to pay 50% of the payment as soon as the goods are loaded onto the ship, and to pay the remaining balance within seven days after the goods arrive at the port of destination and are handed over without any problems.

Moreover, the unit price of the goods was 10% higher than the normal price. Under the lure of the profit, Huang Xiaochuan signed the contract that almost bankrupted him.

During that period, Huang Xiaochuan was busy raising funds and borrowing money everywhere, and he was also busy running between manufacturers and material suppliers. After all the products were completed, and all the procedures such as ordering containers, buying insurance, clearing customs and boarding ships were completed, when he called the other company to make payment, the other party made an excuse that the bank was closed during the Christmas period and could not transfer the money, and would make the payment after the holiday.

Huang Xiaochuan had no choice but to agree, and the ocean-going container ship departed on time. The ship left, but the payment was delayed. Instead, he received an email stating that the company had filed for bankruptcy due to poor management, the order was cancelled, and the prepayment would be considered a penalty for breach of contract.

Huang Xiaochuan was dumbfounded. The cargo ship had already set sail on time for the other side of the ocean. Even if he managed to bring it back, not to mention the round-trip freight costs, it would take nearly three months. And the cost of cross-border litigation, both in terms of time and money, was something Huang Xiaochuan couldn't afford.

Moreover, this batch of goods was specially made and basically no one wanted it in China. It couldn't be sold in a short period of time after it was brought back. Meanwhile, the manufacturer and material supplier were still chasing after him for payment because he had only paid the manufacturer and material supplier 20% of the processing fee and material fee in the early stage.

So, just before the Spring Festival that year, the creditors came knocking on his door. Huang Xiaochuan was overwhelmed and exhausted. At this time, an acquaintance happened to appear. Under the pretense of helping Huang Xiaochuan, he bought the goods at only 40% of the cost price. At this point, Huang Xiaochuan was already a fish on the chopping block and could only sell the goods at a low price to raise money to pay off his debts.

After deducting the amount already paid for the goods, Huang Xiaochuan gave all the money to the manufacturers and material suppliers. At this time, Huang Xiaochuan still owed more than 11 million yuan in debt. In desperation, Huang Xiaochuan sold a box left to him by his grandmother and the contents of the box. He used the money to pay off his debts, but he also completely lost his grandmother's box.

Huang Xiaochuan spent his days weeping and drinking heavily in the spring of that year, filled with remorse, because the box represented his beloved grandmother.

After this setback, Huang Xiaochuan's ambitions were completely shattered. After calming down, he found a new job and started over. Several years later, Huang Xiaochuan learned from someone else that it was all a scheme orchestrated by that acquaintance. But what could he do? He could only blame himself for being stupid.

Huang Xiaochuan remembers that he returned to his old, dilapidated apartment where he lived alone in the early hours of the morning, and soon after lying down, he found himself in this 30-year-old house.

Huang Xiaochuan initially thought he was dreaming, dreaming of this once familiar home. Huang Xiaochuan's eyes were a little wet. He carefully touched everything in the house, afraid that it would all disappear when he woke up.

Wait...? Something's not right...? Why does this furniture feel angular to the touch, and the walls are so smooth? The sensation of my fingers rubbing against real objects can't lie to me. This doesn't feel like a dream, does it?

Looking down, I saw that I was wearing a pair of shorts, flip-flops, and a tank top, all of which were soaked with sweat.

I glanced up at the calendar on the table again, which clearly showed that today was July 10, 1990.

"Reborn?" Huang Xiaochuan was initially a little confused. To verify the truth, he pinched the back of his hand hard.

"Ouch, damn it...!" The intense pain on the back of my hand was immediately transmitted to my brain via the central nervous system.

"So this wasn't a dream after all?" Huang Xiaochuan muttered to himself, rubbing the back of his hand, which he had pinched until it was red.

After repeated confirmation, Huang Xiaochuan finally dared to believe that he had truly been reborn.

As Huang Xiaochuan gradually accepted this fact, he was overjoyed. He could start his life over again, which was simply wonderful.

In my previous life, I ignored my parents' advice and stubbornly insisted on drifting alone in Shanghai. At the peak of housing prices, I used up all my and my parents' savings to make a down payment on an old, dilapidated apartment in Shanghai, becoming a pitiful mortgage slave with a loan of more than three million yuan. I had to pay more than 20,000 yuan to the bank every month, and sadly, most of the payments in the first few years were interest.

Ultimately, housing prices failed to keep pace with his expectations for the future. After the housing bubble burst, Huang Xiaochuan realized that he was just a leek that had been repeatedly harvested.

Assets have shrunk, income has plummeted, and every month there's the worry of paying the mortgage.

The hardships of life gradually made Huang Xiaochuan realize that he was just an ordinary person, nothing special.