The story begins in Zhufou'an Town, Huoshan County, Lu'an City, Anhui Province.
In 1978, a baby boy named Liu Zhengque, my father, was born in Taoyuanhe Village.
More than ten years later, he was a fair-faced young loafer who spent his days wandering around the village with nothing to do. His English was so poor in his second year of high school that he saw no chance of getting into university or college, so he dropped out. His family ran a small shop, and they had plenty to eat and drink, with no worries about making ends meet. The villagers were sure my father couldn't handle hard work and only knew how to enjoy himself. They thought he would never amount to much. As it turned out, they were only half right.
