Gu Jianping used to have everything.
It was the early 1970s. His father was a prominent man in the county, there was always candy in his pockets, and he got new clothes for the New Year. His mother would even make him longevity noodles with two eggs poached separately just for him. He was the youngest in the Gu family, with three older sisters and two older brothers, and the whole family had raised him like a precious treasure.
When he was eight, his world came crashing down.
His father died in an accident, and his mother fell ill and passed away six months later. His eldest brother and sister-in-law seized the family property, and the once-prosperous Gu family fell apart overnight. Gu Ping went from the family's most cherished youngest child to a burden living under someone else's roof.
At fourteen, he burned his textbooks and left the county town. He did every kind of filthy, grueling job there was: at coal yards, construction sites, and freight depots. He slept beneath bridges and got into fights. His hands were covered in calluses and chilblains. After nine years of living like a stray dog, he learned to tell people what they wanted to hear and to lie through his teeth to devils. His eyes held a fierceness far beyond his years.
At twenty-three, he returned to the county town and discovered he didn't even have a place to stay.
