Chapter 3: Adding Fuel to the Fire

Aunt Ma responded, "I won't say anything about borrowing money. We've been neighbors for decades..."

Aunt Ma added, "My husband has been arguing with me about this, and I hope you can understand..."

Borrowing money and repaying it is a natural occurrence, but with Lin Hui having just undergone surgery and the family's remaining savings not even enough for Chen Xiao's university education, let alone the English cram school, Lin Hui pleaded with Aunt Ma to delay for a few days.

Lin Hui assured Aunt Ma that within a month, she would definitely repay the money. She also gave Aunt Ma's family three pieces of freshly made bacon, as a gesture of goodwill.

The atmosphere in the Chen household remained frozen.

On the worn-out, dirty dining table, tonight's dinner consisted of soy-fried bacon, yam-stewed chicken, and shredded potatoes.

No matter how difficult the conditions, parents always prioritize the best for their children.

The atmosphere during the meal was heavy and oppressive. After taking a couple of bites, Chen Qiang hurriedly left for work at the factory.

Chen Xiao, trying to uplift Lin Hui's spirits, shared interesting stories from school. Hoping to lighten her mood, he said, "Today, we had a challenging math problem in class. No one knew how to solve it, so I went up to the board and presented two methods..."

Indeed, discussing her son's studies brightened Lin Hui's mood considerably. Her eyes sparkled with a glimmer of hope as she said, "You just focus on your studies and don't worry about family matters!" Lin Hui served Chen Xiao a bowl of soup, adding, "Drink more soup. It'll help your brain with all those challenging questions!"

While exam-oriented education had long been criticized by educational experts, for the old Chen family, success in the university entrance examination was the only hope of upward mobility.

After dinner, Lin Hui insisted that Chen Xiao not wash the dishes, instructing him to enter his room and read a book.

Inside Chen Xiao's modest home, there were posters of Slam Dunk on the walls and an old-fashioned tape recorder on the desk, accompanied by tapes of Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok.

Despite being in a parallel universe, the history remained largely the same, including the existence of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop.

Chen Xiao took out his notebook and pondered how to make money.

Stocks? Not very reliable. Aside from the lack of initial capital, the parallel universe's stock market may not follow the same patterns as in his previous life.

Lottery tickets? Chen Xiao couldn't recall the winning numbers, and even if he did, there was no guarantee they would be the same in the parallel universe.

Real estate investment? The old Chen family lacked the resources and time required to make money in that sector. Chen Xiao needed a faster way to earn money.

Travel to coastal areas, buy small goods or clothing, and sell them in Jiangcheng? Again, Chen Xiao lacked the necessary capital for such ventures.

Start an internet company and challenge the emerging Penguin or 361? Unlikely. Ma Huateng had started as a small business card, pretending to be a girl and chatting with male internet users. It took him several years to establish Tencent.

Make quick money... make quick money...

Suddenly, Chen Xiao's attention turned to budding internet cafes. If the songs and singers in this parallel universe were the same as in his previous life, then the games should be the same too.

The most popular games during this time were StarCraft, Red Alert 95, and the CS master game Half-Life. In the coming year, relatively popular online games such as "Legend," "Stone Age," "Miracle," "Jin Yong Heroes," and "Magic Baby" would emerge.

Whether it was single-player or online games, one thing remained constant: the presence of cheats.

In this era, cheats were still sold directly to internet cafes rather than individuals.

Exploiting this gray area, Chen Xiao saw the potential for substantial profits around the year 2000.

Decided on his course of action, Chen Xiao hoped the school would hold exams soon so that he could achieve excellent results, accumulate impact points, and unlock the Computer Information technology tree.

With his background in electronic information and the addition of the technology tree, creating a few remarkable cheats shouldn't pose a significant challenge.

Feeling hopeful, Chen Xiao relaxed and reviewed college entrance examination questions, effortlessly answering high-level problems with the combined knowledge of his original self and Chen Xiao's own experiences.

By 11 p.m., Chen Xiao started feeling sleepy and eventually fell asleep on his bed.

At 2 a.m., Jiangcheng State Machinery Factory.

Despite the cold weather, Chen Qiang was shirtless, carrying steel plates and other goods. His body was covered in sweat, and fatigue overwhelmed him.

The state-owned machinery factory, one of the largest state-owned enterprises in Jiangcheng, specialized in producing parts and equipment for agricultural machinery. Although the wages were not high, they offered relative stability.

"Qiangzi, you can unload the goods here," said Li Yong, the team leader.

"Okay!" After unloading the last batch of goods, Chen Qiang sat on the ground, panting, and took a few sips of cold water.

It was already late, making it inconvenient for Chen Qiang to return home. He planned to rest in the factory's dormitory. However, at that moment, Gao Hongze, the deputy director of the production center and brother-in-law of the factory director Su Desheng, called out, "Chen Qiang, come and help me keep watch."

Gao Hongze, who was on the night shift, was supposed to guard the CNC equipment until 8 a.m. However, he often sneaked out to play mahjong with his friends all night.

Chen Qiang, who was about to sleep, felt a pang of frustration. He didn't dare to argue because the factory's efficiency was poor, and there were rumors of potential layoffs.

Chen Qiang hesitated, saying, "Director Gao, I don't know how to operate this equipment. What if something goes wrong?"

Gao Hongze replied dismissively, "What could go wrong? These are all German-made machines! Each costs over a million yuan, and they're all automated. Do you understand CNC machine tools? We have skilled workers below; you just need to keep an eye on things. There's no need for you to do anything."

Chen Qiang felt even more embarrassed. Before he could speak, Gao Hongze interrupted, "Don't argue, just stay!"

With that, Gao Hongze left for the neighboring room to enjoy some barbecue and play mahjong with the second-generation rich kids in the factory.

Chen Qiang had no choice but to oblige, even though he couldn't sleep at this time.

As a piece-rate worker in a lower division, Chen Qiang had no knowledge of these high-tech machines. He stared at the screens, fearful of making any mistakes.

At 5 a.m., Chen Xiao, still half-asleep, suddenly heard a loud bang, followed by the smell of something burning.

Startled, he quickly got up and left the central control room. More than ten CNC machines in the workshop were engulfed in flames, causing panic among the workers.

Squad leader Wu Wei rushed into the central control room, only to discover that Gao Hongze was nowhere to be found.

"Chen Qiang, where is Director Gao? Oh no! Why are you just standing there! You were supposed to be monitoring the central console. Why didn't you alert us when something went wrong? This is a disaster! Those machines cost over ten million yuan! It's your fault! How will you take responsibility for this?" Wu Wei shouted, ignoring Chen Qiang, as he quickly picked up the landline to call the factory manager.

Stunned, Chen Qiang's first instinct was to escape and abandon his responsibilities.

But just then, Wu Wei yelled, "Where do you think you're going? Stop right there! You're not leaving until the factory manager arrives to handle this!"