Reborn, I Became Xinjiang’s Richest Man by Selling Naan

A Bu Du is reborn. Other people use their second chance to get into the internet or real estate, but when he opens his eyes, he finds himself facing a clay oven belching black smoke.

Nadire, the tough childhood friend he grew up with, hands him some cumin. “A Bu Du, what are you spacing out for? The naan’s about to burn! If we can’t sell it today, we’ll have to go hungry!”

A Bu Du slaps his thigh. “Hey! What do you know, girl? This isn’t selling naan, it’s the foundational architecture of a carb supply chain for the lower-tier market!”

Nadire rolls her eyes. “Have you got a fever that’s cooked your brain? Foundational architecture, my foot! Pay off that five-mao flour bill first!”

Starting with a rundown naan stall in the Grand Bazaar, A Bu Du takes the business world of the 1990s by storm, speaking Mandarin with a thick Xinjiang cumin accent.

He launches “blind-box baked buns,” creates a crossover deal for “killer Da Wusu,” and builds a private traffic network with “buy a cut-cake, get a VIP naan card.”

Later, a reporter interviews the richest man in the world, A Bu Du, at the Nasdaq opening bell: “What’s the secret to your success?”

A Bu Du rubs his belly. “It’s been a real struggle! It’s all thanks to my partner Nadire, who can eat and work like a champ. She’s behind me with a rolling pin every day, so I don’t dare fail to sell my naan all the way to Wall Street!”