Section Thirteen: The First Sensation

  Dazed and sitting on the bed, Zhao Guotang made an effort to recall everything, all of which was still vivid in his mind, but he didn't know if it was real or not.

  Tang Jin would break up with herself a few months later and throw herself into the arms of that little white face, but her marriage was not happy. That little white face married her for several years before being transferred to the Municipal Political and Legal Committee, and later was seconded to the Qingjiang District Court as deputy director. It seemed that he had hooked up with a young female judge in the court. In the end, they still divorced Tang Jin. Zhao Guodong even remembered that in his dream, many years later, Tang Jin still had two or three intimate encounters with him, but he no longer had that feeling.

  What about Kong Yue? In my memory, she didn't seem to have any development with me, just like two parallel lines. Finally, she seemed to have married the son of some deputy secretary of the party committee in the factory. As a result, that deputy secretary was caught red-handed and fell from power because of his improper relationships with several young female workers after only a few years.

  The factory's efficiency also declined with the opening of the country, and eventually became a private enterprise in the later state-owned asset ownership transfer wave. Her husband, who relied on his father's influence, was drunk every day, and when he came home, he would beat Kong Yue violently. In memory, Zhao Guodong saw scars on Kong Yue's increasingly haggard face several times when he returned to the factory.

  Kong Yue ultimately seemed to have fallen to the point of selling goods on the street in Jiangmiao Street, and even Zhao Guozhang couldn't believe that such a proud person would fall to that state.

  One by one, familiar yet strange names and figures gradually overlap with each other, becoming clear, but there are still more memory fragments in a state of chaos.

  What about me? I spent a year at the Jiang Temple Police Station and returned to the Criminal Police Brigade, but the captain of the Criminal Police Brigade was no longer Liu Sheng'an. He had been transferred to the Traffic Police Brigade as its captain, and Director Zhang De-c'ai also became Captain Zhang. Although my five-year career as a criminal police officer had tempered me, there was one thing that made it impossible for me to gain the favor of my superiors again.

  Taking the wrong road with the right person is more tragic than taking the right road with the wrong person. Zhao Guotang remembered that this sentence seemed to be very popular.

  Until Liu Sheng'an became the deputy director in charge of public security and police stations, he himself seemed to have been demoted to a deputy director at Qiaoguan Police Station. However, two years later, after Liu Sheng'an was transferred to Meixian Public Security Bureau as a political commissar, he again put himself in a difficult situation. Zhang Decai soon became the political commissar, and naturally, there were no good opportunities for him. He stayed at Qiaoguan Police Station for another five years until Zhang Decai retired due to illness after a stroke from drinking. Only then was he transferred to Beiwai Police Station as an instructor, and by that time, he seemed to be already over thirty.

  It's been over three years since I was transferred to the North Branch, and by the time I became the director of the West Suburban Branch, I was already 36 or 37. At 36 or 37, for a semi-militarized organization that requires increasing youthfulness, it's already somewhat old. Without being promoted to deputy department level at 36 or 37, there's basically no more momentum, and at most, you can only be a deputy director of the Public Security Bureau, but even that depends on how well you've mixed in. If you want to step up to an even higher level, it's basically impossible.

  Is this a prophecy or a replay? Zhao Guo-zhun sat in contemplation, his parents' bodies seemed to be fine, at least there were no problems in his memory. Zhao De-shan eventually went to prison, he was unemployed and three years later, he was seriously injured in a fight and was sent to the detention center for intentional injury, he had to pay seven years of freedom to make amends.

  No miracle happened to Zhao Changchuan either, he didn't get into college and ended up rushing to catch the last bus to work in a factory. However, just a few years later, the First Textile Factory was abandoned by the tide of history, and Zhao Changchuan became a standard laid-off worker. In his memory, he didn't even have a partner, and if it weren't for Old Five's financial support, he would be one of the most miserable people.

  Zhao Yunhai is undoubtedly the most outstanding one in Old Zhao's family. After graduating from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, he was assigned to Andu Judicial Bureau, but resigned a few years later to start a law firm with others. His cars also transitioned from the initial Charade and Santana to Bluebird, Jiamai, and finally became BMW 730 and Range Rover. He even got promoted to Deputy Director of Jiangkou County Public Security Bureau thanks to his younger brother's help.

  Will all this become a reality? Or was it originally real, but he just predicted it in advance? Zhao Guotang had no way of knowing, but the footsteps outside the door made him realize that now was not the time to indulge in that somewhat illusory dream. The discomfort of his underwear was what needed to be solved immediately.

  The whole afternoon, Zhao Guocong seemed a bit distracted, and everyone in the family noticed it. However, they all thought that Zhao Guocong's bad mood was due to his transfer back to Jiangmiao Police Station from the Criminal Police Brigade, so no one said anything more.

  It wasn't until after dinner that Zhao Guotang suddenly came back to his senses from his daze, as if he had just woken up from a dream.

  "Sister, Liu Cheng is quite good, worth getting along with." Zhao Guotang said succinctly.

  In memory, Liu Cheng and his elder sister took care of the children for a short time before both were laid off. However, the couple supported each other and opened a hot pot restaurant in Jiangkou County, starting from scratch and making it big. At that time, Zhao Yunhai had just graduated from university and was not yet the breadwinner of the Zhao family, relying on Zhao Lingshan and Liu Cheng for financial support. Liu Cheng's good husband behavior also proved Zhao Lingshan's keen eye for choosing a partner.

  Zhao Lingshan was overjoyed, her younger brother's status at home was now unshakeable, even their father wouldn't easily go against his wishes, let alone Zhao Desheng. In front of Zhao Guotang, he was like a model student in front of his teacher. This sentence also meant that she and Liu Cheng could openly date without worrying about anything anymore.

  "Brother, how did you know?" Zhao De-shan said in a rough and arrogant tone, twisting his neck. He looked down on Liu Cheng's honesty, thinking it was foolishness.

  "I say he's fine, and he is." Zhao GuoZhong gave Zhao DeShan a sideways glance, seeing the other's gaze shrink back before coldly saying: "Do you think your brother's eyes and ears can't see or hear? Let me tell you, Old Three, when Liu Cheng comes to our house, don't give me that look. Others are guests, don't let outsiders say that the Zhao family doesn't understand etiquette!"

  Zhao De-shan muttered to himself, not daring to say more. In front of his brother Zhao Guo-dong, who was superior to him in every way, he had no confidence at all. Even the fighting skills that he took great pride in would only get him a mouthful of dirt and a lost tooth in front of Zhao Guo-dong.

  Zhao Guodong came to a realization: no matter whether those things in his dreams were true or not, life still had to go on according to its own rules.

  The US attacked Iraq and Afghanistan, the 911 incident, the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia, Milosevic's trial, Saddam was captured and hanged, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes, the Asian financial crisis, the South China Sea collision, China hosted the Olympics, the US subprime mortgage crisis triggered a global financial crisis, the ups and downs of China's stock market and real estate market, the rollercoaster of international oil prices, Obama was elected as the first black president of the United States. These things seem to be changing rapidly, making people's blood boil, but even if all this is true, what can one do? One is powerless to change anything, at least for now.

  Arrogant prophecies will only make people think they are mad or mentally ill. This world has no Nostradamus.

  Moreover, Zhao Guodong doesn't think that he will have the ability to change all this in a few years or ten years. The butterfly effect can only be possible in a very specific environment, and the probability may not be much higher than winning the lottery. To make himself write a Harry Potter to become famous worldwide, Zhao Guodong estimates that even if he goes to university to study Western literature for ten years, he still won't have that kind of talent.

  Of course, as Chairman Mao said, the laws of science do not change with people's will, but people can use the laws of science to transform the world. If dreams are real, can't I also borrow a little bit of power from them to change some small things and make my life better? Thinking of this, Zhao Guozhu's heart started pounding rapidly.

  Zhao Guodong tried hard to recall his dream, hoping to gain some insight into the recent changes in his life. However, he was disappointed to find that there was almost nothing worth mentioning in his memories. Tang Jin was about to leave him, and he wanted to tell her that he could predict the future, but she wouldn't listen. She followed that pretty boy and wouldn't be happy with him, so why would she leave him? It's impossible!

  Tell Liu Sheng'an that he will become the deputy director in a few years and then go to Mei County Public Security Bureau as a political commissar. Maybe tell him at that moment, he will be treated as a mentally ill patient, which may even affect the real direction of things.

  No, no, at this moment Zhao Guodong found himself unable to express the distress he felt. He urgently needed something to prove whether his dreams were real or not. However, what he could recall now seemed to be some trivial matters, some small things that might change due to external factors at any time, or things that would take several years or even decades to see results.