Chapter 9: May the Bad Woman Die a Terrible Death

Before him were walls and a ceiling neatly covered in newspaper.

Sunlight filtered in from the window, casting a warmth upon his body.

Confirming that this was his home from forty years ago, and not the dim, deathly silent, and freezing prison cell, Jiang Baohai let out a sigh of relief.

He lay relaxed on the bed, staring blankly for a while at the light dancing on the windowpane.

His consciousness finally cleared completely.

His long, narrow eyes flicked toward the beauty standee on the nightstand.

The sixteenth of the first lunar month had been specially circled in red ink.

The events that were supposed to happen that day had indeed occurred as expected.

This convinced him that everything was following the exact same trajectory as his previous life.

Yes, that was right.

He had been reborn, returned to forty years ago.

Back to when he had just taken the risk of borrowing high-interest loans to contract a small coal mine.

Having experienced great storms and waves, it took Jiang Baohai only three seconds to calmly accept the facts.

He threw on his leather jacket, put on his toad-style sunglasses, stepped into his polished Wenzhou leather shoes, and strode toward the mine, clutching a briefcase stuffed with cash.

In his previous life, he had lived to sixty-five and become the richest man in the Southwest, only to spend his final years "furthering his education" in prison for half a year because of a woman.

He was ruthless, decisive, and meticulous in his dealings.

In less than half a year, he had quietly acquired half of the state-owned coal yards undergoing restructuring around the county.

He became the first "ten-thousand-yuan household" in Qing County.

Though, people preferred to call him—that damn upstart.

During the half-year since his rebirth, Jiang Baohai hadn't thought about anything else; he only wanted to get rich.

That was until New Year's Eve, when his mother suddenly brought over a black-and-white photo.

She was brimming with excitement, telling him she wanted to set him up on a date.

Jiang Baohai picked up the photo and took a look.

The pretty face in the photo instantly stirred up those dead memories of his.

Gao, Qing, He!

As he silently spat out those three words, Jiang Baohai’s teeth ground together with a creak.

During the half-year he spent in prison in his previous life, there was one thing he did every single day.

And that was to curse Gao Qinghe, the woman who had caused a sixty-five-year-old man to welcome the tears of the iron bars.

May she die a horrible death!

He didn't know if his curses had actually worked.

But they had somehow sent him back forty years.

Originally, Jiang Baohai hadn't intended to hold a grudge against a woman.

For the past half-year since his rebirth, he had even deliberately avoided thinking about her.

He never imagined his mother would bring her photo back.

Looking at the smiling woman in the photo, Jiang Baohai looked on with disdain and tossed the picture aside.

"Fine, let's meet."

He bet that she definitely wouldn't show up on the sixteenth!

Because in his previous life, this woman had stood him up.

When his mother returned, happily having settled the date with the matchmaker, the day she mentioned matched the timing from his previous life exactly.

Jiang Baohai promised he would go.

But when the day actually arrived, he simply lay in the mine dormitory and slept soundly for the entire day.

By evening, his men returned from the county park.

They said that all day long, they hadn't seen the girl from the photo appear at all.

Jiang Baohai gave a mocking laugh; just as he thought.

On second thought, the Gao Qinghe of this life was only a twenty-year-old girl, and nothing had happened yet.

To hold a grudge against her felt a bit unjust.

Forget it.

Jiang Baohai tried to convince himself to be magnanimous; why bicker with a little girl?

In this life, let everyone go their separate ways.

No one would get in anyone's way.

But looking at the bright, young, handsome face in the mirror.

Damn it, he was only twenty-five himself!

Why couldn't he bicker with a little girl?

Hadn't God let him be reborn precisely so he could wash away his past shame?

Early the next morning, Jiang Baohai immediately drove his newly purchased flashy red Charade from the mine back home.

He slammed his heavy briefcase onto the table!

"You wasted a whole day of my time! Do you know how many deals I missed and how much money I lost because of that delay? Are you playing with me?"

Mother Jiang was shocked, only then realizing her son had been stood up.

But being soft-natured, she wasn't too angry.

She figured the girl must not have taken a liking to her son, so they should just find someone else.

But Jiang Baohai was stubborn; he wanted an explanation.

Mother Jiang had no choice but to say, "Then I'll call and ask tomorrow."

"Do it now."

Jiang Baohai glanced at the wall clock—nine-thirty. Even a pig should be awake by now.

Mother Jiang looked at her son strangely; he had never been such a petty person before.

He was really holding a grudge against that young girl.

Mother Jiang sighed, "Fine, I'll go now. If she clearly says she didn't like you, you aren't allowed to get angry."

Jiang Baohai paused.

Then, he gave a confident smile: "I'm not that petty."

Mother Jiang made the call.

They waited for two full days before the matchmaker finally found time to say she would help contact the Shanghe Village side.

Jiang Baohai had landed a big order and spent two days wining and dining clients.

When he woke up, he realized two or three days had already passed.

What was that matchmaker his mom found doing?

Why was there still no news?

Was she afraid to reply?

Forget it, she was just a little girl anyway; he’d let her off the hook.

Jiang Baohai took a deep breath and put the matter behind him completely.

It was getting late, and he hadn't been to the mine in three days; he needed to check in today.

Jiang Baohai tidied himself up, tucked his briefcase under his arm, clipped on his pager, and strode out the door.

The late spring chill seemed to have passed.

The sun was high in the sky, and Jiang Baohai felt the vitality of this young body, his mood quite good.

He passed the small shop at the entrance of the village.

A group of idlers were squatting at the entrance, sharing cigarettes and chatting away—a lively scene.

"Heading out, Boss Jiang?"

"Which big leader are you planning to treat to dinner today?"

"Boss Jiang, you look really sharp today!"

Regardless of how these villagers cursed Jiang Baohai behind his back as a stinking rich man or a damn upstart, they all had to flatter him when they saw him, hoping to get some scraps of benefit from his hands.

Jiang Baohai was in a good mood today and nodded at them with a warm smile.

His features weren't the standard, conventionally handsome look popular at the time, but they were quite striking.

He had a tall, sturdy build, and his slicked-back hair, styled with mousse, was perfectly neat.

With thick brows, phoenix eyes, and a high nose bridge, his skin seemed unable to tan; it was fairer than a woman's, and his lips were a deep red.

When he wasn't smiling, he looked somewhat gloomy and vicious.

But as soon as he smiled, he looked as kind and approachable as a god of wealth.

Jiang Baohai pulled a pack of obviously high-end cigarettes from his pocket and distributed them to the group.

He himself snapped the pack shut and didn't smoke.

Having suffered a stroke and lung disease in his previous life, Jiang Baohai didn't dare touch these harmful things again.

Now that he had a second chance, he had to take good care of his body and strive to live past sixty-five, becoming a long-lived elder.

Besides, that woman Gao Qinghe couldn't stand the smell of smoke or alcohol, so he had quit decades ago.

Sometimes, when he had to smoke for business, he would wait until the smell had completely dissipated and take two showers before daring to go home.

Otherwise, if he even slightly reeked of it, she wouldn't let him into the room for half a year!

He didn't know if she had served under Erlang Shen in a past life, but her nose was as sharp as a hound's.

Unknowingly thinking of that woman again, Jiang Baohai coughed awkwardly twice and immediately cast her to the back of his mind.

The idlers in the village had never seen such high-end cigarettes.

Reluctant to smoke them, they took a deep whiff of the premium aroma and tucked them behind their ears, enthusiastically trying to get on Jiang Baohai's good side.

Just as things were getting lively, the shop owner picked up the phone and shouted

"Boss Jiang, it's for you!"

The noisy crowd went quiet, looking at Jiang Baohai with curiosity.

Jiang Baohai was puzzled: "For me?"