This year, the Liu family is much busier than in previous years for Chinese New Year. In addition to preparing for the holiday, they also have to distribute bonuses to the workers in all the factories. Instead of giving the workers an extra month's salary, Liu Jian bought New Year's goods for them. Each worker received a barrel of oil, a bag of rice, a bag of flour, and ten pounds of pork.
The Liu family has once again become famous in Panshi. The benefits they offer are better than those of government employees. The Liu family has truly become the richest family in Panshi, not only in terms of the size of its businesses, but also in terms of cash deposits. Banks are asking Liu Fu for loans every day. President Xu no longer puts on airs and personally invites Liu Fu to dinner, completely reversing the situation.
The few factories in Liu Jian's family had become the hottest enterprises in Panshi, and there were workers everywhere who wanted to join.
Watching the snowflakes falling outside the window, Liu Jian felt a little melancholy. He had been reborn for a few months, and his family had undergone earth-shaking changes. All of this made Liu Jian feel a little overwhelmed. Many things were guided and promoted by Liu Jian, but the future had changed too much, and Liu Jian sometimes felt like he was in a dream.
After dinner in the evening, the family sat in the living room, watching TV. Starting from some point, the Liu family's essential evening program was watching the "Xinwen Lianbo" news program, paying attention to national and provincial policies, and whether they would have any impact on their family's business. Even Liu's mother, who only watched soap operas on TV, sat there quietly every day.
Watching the strange scene before him, Liu Jian thought that maybe his parents used to watch the news broadcast often, but he just hadn't noticed. However, the probability of that was too small, so it must be that his parents were seeking progress, and their capabilities made them feel the difficulties in business.
Liu Jian casually asked, "Dad, how many households do we still need to visit before the New Year? Let's deliver the gifts early. In a few days, there will be more people visiting for New Year's greetings. By the way, where will we celebrate the New Year this year?"
Liu Fu nodded and said, "I know, things are changing too fast. Sometimes your mom and I look at the bank account, and we feel like we're dreaming."
Mother Liu nodded in agreement and said, "Exactly, sometimes I can't even sleep at night. I wake up with a happy smile when I think about the money in the bank."
Liu Fu said, "Your mother and I have discussed it, and we're going to be trendy this year and go on a trip for Chinese New Year."
Liu Jian became interested and asked, "A trip for Chinese New Year? Where are we going?"
Liu Fu said, "We're going to Beijing. Your mother has been saying she's never been to Beijing and always wanted to see the capital. I had someone book the plane tickets, and I'm giving the workers a vacation. We're leaving."
Seeing his parents' excited expressions, Liu Jian hesitated and said, "Mom and Dad, you guys go. I'm not going."
Liu Fu asked strangely, "You're not going? Your mother and I are both leaving. What will you do at home by yourself?"
Liu Jian smiled and said, "Who said I was staying at home? I just didn't want to disturb your romantic time, you guys have fun."
Liu Fu thought for a moment and said, "Well, you're so old now, it's no fun being with us anyway, so we won't take you. Where do you plan to go then?"
Liu Jian thought for a moment and said, "I don't know, I'll figure it out later. You don't have to worry about me, have fun yourselves."
When the Lunar New Year Eve approached, the Liu family's factories began to close for the holiday. The workers happily went home for the New Year. The date for resuming work after the holiday was also set relatively late, only starting on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. All the workers had a month-long holiday.
Mr. and Mrs. Liu Fu flew to Beijing on the twenty-sixth, leaving Liu Jian alone at home. It was easier for the couple not to take Liu Jian along; after all, Liu Jian was not young, and having a family of three would be inconvenient at times.
Liu Jian lay alone on the sofa, watching TV, feeling very lonely and bored. It wasn't that he had no friends to contact, but Lao Sha, Qi San, and the others were just fair-weather friends. As for Yu Miao and Zhang Ying, Liu Jian hadn't figured out how to deal with them yet, so he didn't dare to provoke them casually. When he finally had some free time, Liu Jian realized that he didn't even have anyone to talk to.
Liu Jian regretted not going with Liu Fu and his wife. Even being a third wheel would be better than being lonely to death at home. He forced himself to endure three days, and by the 29th day of the lunar month, Liu Jian really couldn't stand this boring life anymore, so he decided to go on a trip.
Liu Jian drove his newly bought Audi to the repair shop for a full inspection, then bought two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes. As his family's financial situation improved, Liu Jian's cigarette brand also went up a notch. He bought two cartons of drinks, one carton of mineral water, and various snacks. He used vacuum bags to seal some cooked food: roast chicken, roast duck, pork knuckle, braised beef, large intestine, donkey meat, and donkey cartilage. Liu Jian prepared some of everything he liked to eat. He packed two cases of Red Star Erguotou, two cases of Panshi original pulp liquor, two cases of Xi Liquor, and several cases of canned beer. After preparing the food and drinks, Liu Jian also prepared two machetes. Who knows what might happen on a road trip? Liu Jian prepared everything he could.
The day before he left, Liu Jian called Zhang Ying and Yu Miao respectively. He didn't mention the trip, only saying that he would be gone for a while. Zhang Ying was okay because she usually saw Liu Jian, and even though Liu Jian didn't go to class much, he still went three or four days a week. But Yu Miao was a little unhappy.
Normally, Yu Miao and Liu Jian are busy with work and don't have much time to meet. Yu Miao had thought they could see each other more during the Spring Festival, but she didn't expect Liu Jian to have to go out. Liu Jian coaxed her for a long time and made a lot of promises before he appeased Yu Miao.
The next day, Liu Jian got up very early, leaving Panshi a little after four in the morning. Watching the Audi run on the highway from Panshi to Shenyang, smoking a Zhonghua cigarette, living the life he only dreamed of in his previous life, Liu Jian couldn't help but want to shout a few times to vent. However, the cautious mindset he developed after his rebirth took over, preventing him from acting like a madman.
A little after nine o'clock, Liu Jian arrived in Shenyang. After driving for more than five hours, Liu Jian was a little tired. Besides, he came out to have fun anyway, and Liu Jian hadn't decided where to go. After arriving in Shenyang, Liu Jian planned to rest.
As the capital of Liaoning Province and the former capital of the Manchurian Qing dynasty, Shenyang possesses a profound historical and cultural heritage. Similarly, as a major heavy industrial base in Northeast China, Shenyang's development has lagged behind market trends and is gradually being eliminated. Shenyang is the political, economic, financial, cultural, transportation, information, and tourism center of Northeast China, one of China's 15 sub-provincial cities, a Chinese megacity, and one of the central cities in Northeast China. It is currently the largest city in Northeast China. Shenyang is also one of China's most important heavy industrial bases, known as the "Oriental Ruhr."
On April 6, 2010, the Shenyang Economic Zone was approved by the State Council as a National New-Type Industrialization Comprehensive Supporting Reform Experimental Zone. It is China's eighth national comprehensive supporting reform experimental zone and the only comprehensive supporting reform experimental zone with "new-type industrialization" as its theme, marking the rise of the construction of the Shenyang Economic Zone to a national strategy. Shenyang is located within the Bohai Economic Rim and is an important junction between the Bohai region and the Northeast region.
After entering the 21st century, a large number of state-owned enterprises in Shenyang were sold off until the state re-established the Northeast industrial base, and Shenyang was able to develop.
The Shenyang Imperial Palace is the second largest complete palace complex existing in China, second only to the Forbidden City in Beijing, and it has high historical and artistic value. Construction of the Shenyang Imperial Palace began in 1625 and was completed in 1636. It was the imperial palace of Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Later Jin dynasty, and Hong Taiji, the founding emperor of the Qing dynasty. The palace has more than 90 buildings and over 300 rooms, covering an area of 60,000 square meters. With the Chongzheng Hall as the core and the Daqing Gate - Qingning Palace as the central axis, the palace can be divided into three routes: east, middle, and west. The middle route is the main part of the palace, with the Chongzheng Hall (Golden Throne Hall) as the core, where Hong Taiji handled state affairs. It is complemented by the Feilong Pavilion, Xiangfeng Pavilion, Shishanzhai, Xiezhongzhai, and Rihua Tower. Behind it are the Phoenix Tower, Qingning Palace, the east and west side palaces where the emperor's concubines lived, as well as the Yihe Hall, Jiezhigong Palace, Jingdian Pavilion, Diguang Hall, and Baoji Palace. The eastern route architecture is centered on the Dazheng Hall, supplemented by the Left and Right Wing Prince Pavilions and the Eight Banner Pavilions. This is a symbol of the Eight Banner system before the Qing dynasty entered the customs, and it is the only historical site of the early Eight Banner military system in palace architecture. The Dazheng Hall was used for holding grand ceremonies, such as promulgating edicts, announcing the departure of the army, welcoming the triumphant return of generals, and the emperor's enthronement. The Ten Prince Pavilions were the places where the Left and Right Wing Princes and the Eight Banner ministers worked. This phenomenon of monarchs and ministers working together in the palace is rare in history.
Liu Jian walked alone in the Shenyang Imperial Palace, holding a Kodak digital camera, which Liu Fu had brought back for Liu Jian from abroad through a friend.
In 1997, the hot and mainstream products for popular digital cameras were digital cameras with a CCD pixel count of about 350,000 and a maximum resolution of 640x480 pixels. What Liu Jian held was a Kodak DC260 digital camera: a 350,000-pixel CCD image sensor; 3x optical zoom and 2x digital zoom; connectable flash sync cord; shutter-priority aperture-priority automatic exposure function, with shooting program preset function; USB interface and other functions. Liu Jian can be said to be one of the earliest groups of people in the world to own a digital camera, which Liu Jian strongly requested and Liu Fu bought for him. As for megapixel cameras, currently only Fujifilm, Olympus, Kodak, and Konica have launched new products, and you have to wait until next year to buy them.
Liu Jian, who took pictures wherever he went, quickly attracted the attention of a woman. Liu Jian's romantic luck also began in Shenyang. This encounter changed Liu Jian, transforming his attitude towards relationships, shifting him from seeking a lover to live with sincerely to aiming for a "thousand-person slay."
Qingning Palace: Originally called "Zheng Gong," built around 1625, it was the residence of Prince Huang Taiji before his enthronement. Located on a platform 3.8 meters high, with the Phoenix Tower in front and surrounded by high walls, it forms an independent castle-like structure. The palace is a five-bay, eleven-ridge, hard-gable building with green-trimmed yellow glazed tiles. The eastern room is the emperor and empress's bedroom, and the western four rooms are the shrine, a place for shamanistic rituals. In front of the palace is a Solon pole, with the East Auxiliary Palace, Guanshu Palace, and Yonghe Palace to the east, and the West Auxiliary Palace, Linzhi Palace, and Yanqing Palace to the west.
At this time, Liu Jian was walking in front of Qingning Palace, looking at the place where the emperor lived hundreds of years ago. Liu Jian couldn't help but feel a tickle in his heart, thinking that he had been reborn more than ten years ago. How great it would be if he could go back hundreds of years ago; perhaps he would have the opportunity to become an emperor with hundreds of concubines, much better than now. Now he can't even handle two women, and with women's current sense of independence, it's impossible for them to coexist peacefully, let alone think about double flying or three-ways. Speaking of which, he hasn't even touched a woman yet.
Thinking of this, Liu Jian felt indescribably depressed. In his previous life, he wanted to womanize, but he didn't have the money. Even having a girlfriend in college required money as a foundation. In his four years, he took a liking to countless women, but they all waved him away without leaving behind even a piece of clothing. Just when he was about to get married, he was reborn before even tasting the pleasure.
After being reborn, it wasn't that Liu Jian hadn't thought about finding a few women to enjoy himself, but there weren't any suitable ones. At the beginning, he was busy changing the family's fate, changing his parents' thinking. Later, after acquiring the factory, Liu Jian focused wholeheartedly on the factory's reform. After everything was done, Liu Jian realized he was being watched closely. With Zhang Ying, who hadn't left yet, and Yu Miao, who considered herself his girlfriend, Liu Jian had no chance to even try. Moreover, as the saying goes, "gamble far away, whore near." Liu Jian didn't have the guts to find prostitutes in Panshi. He knew that if something happened, it wouldn't just be Liu Jian who would be embarrassed, but also his parents.
Just as Liu Jian was feeling sorry for himself, a girl came walking towards him with light steps.