From Construction Worker to Trillionaire CEO

Every word of this novel is steeped in the raw colors of everyday life. It tells the real struggles and growth of those of us born in the 1980s.

The protagonist, Li Han, grew up in the kind of small city familiar to all of us. When his parents were laid off and the little stability his family had fell apart, he clutched a crumpled construction foreman's certificate and plunged into a dusty worksite. With no connections to back him and no resources to smooth his way, he relied on his own abilities and refused to bow his head, slowly becoming a contractor who could stand on his own. Just as life began to improve, an accident, betrayal by a brother, his wife's affair, schemes by business rivals, and a loan shark's pursuit left him burdened with tens of millions in debt.

Threatening calls from loan sharks became his midnight nightmare. When he fled his hometown in a wretched state, he didn't even have the courage to look back. Then he met someone willing to help him rise again. Only when a woman told him, “Don't be afraid. I'm here,” did he dare lift his head from the mud. Her shoulder held up the world that was about to collapse around him; her genuine warmth helped him pick up his hammer again and start a new business, slowly carving out a new path forward. Before long, he had reached the pinnacle of life.

Later, he struggled his way through one field after another, paid off his debts, brightened his life, and became the person he had once looked up to.

I wrote his story not to tell some tale of a spectacular comeback, but to give those of us born in the 1980s a little more fire. Who among our generation hasn't been knocked down by life? Who hasn't bitten back tears in the dead of night? But just like Li Han, don't accept defeat when you fall in the mud. If someone offers you a hand, grab it. If no one does, find the strength to stand back up on your own. Living well and moving toward the light: that's the hardest thing our generation has going for us.