"There's no rush for this. Let's wait until Mom gives birth, and she can rest at home for a while first,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile.
To be honest, becoming an elder brother at nearly 20, even if it was his second time, Tan Jincheng found it quite novel, especially since it was going to be a younger sister.
What man could refuse a cute younger sister?
Speaking of which, Tan Lihua felt a bit embarrassed again, then quickly changed the subject, saying,
"Then you should get some rest early tonight and go to your grandmother's house tomorrow."
The Mid-Autumn Festival was only designated as a public holiday in 2008; in 2004, there was no concept of a Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
However, with his son back and it being an important traditional festival, the family still valued it greatly.
Tan Lihua had already taken leave from work today.
"Hmm, alright. But it's too early to sleep. Why don't we go out for a walk as a family?"
Tan Jincheng suggested.
"Go ask your mom yourself, see if she's willing,"
Tan Lihua said noncommittally.
"Okay."
Actually, Tan Jincheng really wanted to go out for a walk.
His memories of Yicheng were mostly from his childhood.
In his previous life, he was busy with business, always rushing back and only staying for a few days each time.
Tan Jincheng could eloquently recount the city's history; however, when it came to daily life, it felt like a blank slate apart from his parents and relatives.
"Mom, do you want to go shopping? We can take a walk as a family."
"No, my body feels heavy, I don't want to move. If you can't sit still at home, go out and play for a bit by yourself."
"Oh, okay, then I'll go play with Peng Ya."
"Alright, come back early, don't play too late."
"Got it. There are gifts I bought for you in my suitcase. The password is 707, Dad, please take them out."
It wasn't even seven o'clock yet, and Tan Jincheng couldn't sit still at home.
Since his parents didn't want to go out, he decided to call Zhang Xupeng and ask him about his plans.
In his previous life, he first started doing business with Zhang Xupeng.
This loyal friend, who was his classmate from elementary school to high school, was what Northerners called a childhood friend.
He and Tan Jincheng had lit firecrackers to blow up cow dung, skipped class to play arcade games, and discussed which girls in their class were prettier.
This friendship might have dissolved as their academic paths diverged, with them going to different cities after the college entrance examination.
As time went on, they might have belonged to different cities, jobs, and their small families would have taken up more of their time, causing their friendship to slowly fade.
This was probably the ultimate fate of most small-town youths' childhood friendships.
However, due to a magical cruise ship experience, the friendship between the two loyal friends lasted for the first half of their lives, until Tan Jincheng's rebirth.
They grew up together, studied together, and then started a business together.
They only amicably separated before they both got married; however, living in the same city, they still often got together.
With society's pace accelerating, it was truly rare for people to maintain a childhood friendship well into middle age.
Zhang Xupeng's father was also a petrochemical worker.
They lived in the same residential complex, so Tan Jincheng strolled downstairs to his house.
He went upstairs and knocked on the door.
It was Zhang Xupeng who opened the door.
Seeing Tan Jincheng, Zhang Xupeng's face lit up with joy, as he was bored at home.
Tan Jincheng winked at Zhang Xupeng as he walked into the house.
After greeting Zhang's parents and sitting for a short while, the two friends went out, arm in arm.
Coming out of the staff quarters building and exiting the complex, the two walked towards the main street.
Some locals in Yicheng had a saying: Yicheng's economy thrived because of petrochemicals, and it would also decline because of petrochemicals.
Such a statement was somewhat biased, but having a large petrochemical enterprise located in the city center seemed somewhat out of place with the future's emphasis on environmental protection.
From a livability perspective, the city center's environment was also much worse compared to the clear mountains and green waters of the surrounding counties.
A grey, hazy sky was the norm in Yicheng.
Arriving at the main street, Tan Jincheng looked around and was greatly disappointed, only then remembering that it was 2004, and the urban construction was much worse than he had imagined.
"Let's go to an internet cafe,"
Tan Jincheng said to Zhang Xupeng.
"Okay, let's go! I haven't played Legend of Mir for ages,"
Zhang Xupeng said, rubbing his hands excitedly.
Luxury cruise ships were like five-star hotels at sea, naturally not lacking in various entertainment facilities, but those were only for the rich.
For lower-level employees, apart from endless work every day, wanting to sit down and quietly play games was simply wishful thinking.
Since the 2002 Lan Jisu incident, regulations had been strengthened everywhere, and unlicensed "black" internet cafes had significantly decreased, but internet cafes were still ubiquitous on the streets.
They casually found a larger one.
Tan Jincheng estimated there were nearly 50 machines.
It was just eight o'clock, and more than half of the computers in the internet cafe were already occupied.
Three yuan an hour.
After paying at the counter, Zhang Xupeng eagerly rushed to find a machine.
This guy could be considered one of the first generation of internet-addicted youths.
Since he started playing computer games in his second year of high school, he had abandoned the street arcade halls.
Tan Jincheng wasn't very interested in computer games, but he had played Legend of Mir.
Like an observer, he followed Zhang Xupeng deeper into the internet cafe, seeing colorful blizzards and fire walls.
Although hacks and private servers were already rampant, it didn't affect the game's popularity.
After booting up the computer, Zhang Xupeng couldn't wait to log into his game account and head to the Shabak he longed for.
Tan Jincheng also wanted to play for a while, but helplessly, he couldn't remember his account.
After more than 20 years, it would be strange if he could still recall a game account he hadn't logged into for so long.
Unable to play games, he could only read the news.
"Why aren't you playing games?"
Zhang Xupeng, who was next to him, asked curiously when he saw him opening a web page instead of logging into a game.
"I don't remember my account. You go ahead and play, I'll read the news."
"You don't remember your account after not playing for just over a year? What kind of memory do you have? You didn't forget your QQ number too, did you?"
"Haha, I remember that one,"
Tan Jincheng replied with a smile.
He had used his QQ number in his previous life and occasionally sent files with it.
Immediately, Tan Jincheng logged into his QQ account.
This eight-digit number was applied for in '02.
After entering the password, the unbearable QQ nickname "Black Horse Prince" appeared before his eyes.
Holy cow, was I that chuunibyou back then?
He quickly changed this eyesore of a nickname.
Apart from some classmates, his QQ account also contained a few online friends he had added from playing games before, but the number wasn't large.
After not logging in for a long time, accumulated messages kept flashing.
After Tan Jincheng cleared them one by one, the latest message was from today, in the high school QQ group, where the class monitor asked everyone about their plans for the National Day holiday and if they wanted to get together.
"Hey, what are you doing for National Day? Everyone in the class group is discussing a National Day get-together."
(End of Chapter)
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