One rainy night, modern-day delivery rider Lin Chen is in a traffic accident while making a delivery and unexpectedly transmigrates back to the countryside of Central China in 1982, returning to his fifteen-year-old self. His parents are alive, his family is poor, but the 1980s are full of opportunity. Armed with memories of the next forty years, Lin Chen is determined to seize the opportunities of economic reform and change the fate of his family and himself.
He spots a ready market for summer ice pops, persuades his parents through sheer persistence, and rents an unused cold-storage facility in the neighboring village on credit. With his clear cost calculations, he negotiates a wholesale price below market rate with an ice-pop factory manager. He then hires local children to sell the treats in different areas and launches a “buy five, get one free” promotion. The business quickly takes off, but it also draws extortion attempts from the idle Zhang Erlai and accusations that Lin Chen is engaging in “speculation and profiteering.” Lin Chen stays calm and proves his innocence to the commune officials with complete purchase receipts and a rental contract. Not only does he defuse the crisis, he is held up as a “model of invigorating the economy,” and his name spreads through the surrounding villages.
By the start of autumn, the ice-pop season is over, and Lin Chen has earned the first pot of gold in his life, greatly improving his family’s standard of living. When he hears that the town will soon hold a trade fair, he quickly spots new opportunities and sets his sights on sought-after goods such as Shanghai Snow Flower Cream, polyester-cotton fabric, and Guangzhou digital watches. He prepares to embark on the next stage of his business journey with the next big opportunity.
