Upper Part of Downstream

"Flower" looks back on half of his life in the first person of the author, describing the growth trajectory of a farmer's son who was born in Progressive Village in Northeast China in 1993 from the countryside to the workplace in Nanjing. When he was a child, he grew up in a rural mud house and a field. He encountered an old man with a white beard who left a prophecy that "you will never lack money and enjoy whatever you choose." He almost died twice but escaped by chance, which convinced the villagers that he was born with a hard life. From a village elementary school, a township junior high school to a provincial key high school, the protagonist is inspired by opportunities and relatives and friends to step out of his hometown step by step: his aunt arranges for him to study, his uncle contributes money and effort, his classmates and friends provide help, and he often settles down due to unexpected quotas when entering higher schools and choosing schools. He relied on his excellent grades to gain a foothold in various social circles, learned to pretend to be decent amid the gap between rich and poor, and smoothed the edges amid ignorance and youthful recklessness. He accidentally missed out on his favorite college in the college entrance examination, so he enrolled in the land major of the Agricultural University. Then he went to graduate school and settled in Nanjing through the recruitment of state-owned enterprises. He started a family and started a business, achieving a class jump in the eyes of others. When people reach middle age, they suddenly realize that life seems to rely on their own efforts step by step, but in fact, they are always driven by fate and drift along the current. The book strips away inspirational narratives and debunks the one-sided conclusion that "reading can change one's destiny": destiny provides money and ensures a smooth living, but it stingily gives the right to make one's own choices. My childhood home, my separated playmates, and the noble people I met along the way are all scattered over the years. All the luck and success in the past are just a stream of water pushed by fate.