October 8, 2008.
Jiangzhou City, Chengnan Industrial Park, Jiuzhou Automobile Factory.
In the factory director's office, the young man who had only recently taken over as factory director sat behind his desk, staring at the scene before him in utter confusion.
On the solid-wood desk sat an old-fashioned, bulky LCD monitor and a membrane keyboard, a far cry from the ultra-thin, widescreen models he was used to.
"Am I still asleep... No, I'm wide awake!"
Xu Yifan looked bewildered as he sorted through the thoughts in his mind.
After quite some time, he finally accepted his situation.
"Did Heaven decide to reward me for all those diligent hours working the grind? I'd just played some games last night, gone to bed at two in the morning, and when I opened my eyes again, I'd already crossed over."
Xu Yifan had imagined crossing over before. There had been a time when he was obsessed with novels, and he often fantasized about something like this happening to him.
He never expected it to really happen. It was certainly something to be happy about—especially given what he'd learned about the body he'd crossed into.
A rich second-generation heir, 185 centimeters tall, and handsome: the perfect recipe for a life-winning, tall, rich, and handsome man.
"Now this is what you call immersion!"
They shared the same name. By comparison, when Xu Yifan thought about his previous life, he remembered growing up with an alcoholic father and getting beaten three times a day. It was a miracle he'd survived.
He'd studied hard to get away from that man, found ways to earn tuition money starting in high school, and never went back after getting into college.
For some people, family wasn't a source of happiness or a bond worth holding on to.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the office windows and fell on the young man who had just crossed over. A warm smile spread across his handsome face.
"Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it!"
"Getting a second chance at life means I don't have to struggle like I did in my last one. At the very least, with this handsome face, I could easily charm some rich older woman."
"Wait, I'm a rich man myself. I don't need some rich older woman. A cute girl would be much better!"
"I'm a rich second-generation heir now, with a happy family. I've never even been beaten. What a life!
"I just graduated from college, and I've been put in charge of an automobile manufacturing company to gain experience. Whether it makes money or not doesn't matter. The point is to build my management skills."
"Is this crossing over my reward for all the hardships I went through in my last life?"
As Xu Yifan thought about the circumstances of this body, even he felt a little jealous. That feeling only grew stronger when he compared it to the life he'd lived before.
At least now, he'd be the envy of everyone: a tall, handsome, rich young heir.
"The way things stand, I've only been in charge of this company for less than a day."
Xu Yifan lowered his head and looked over the company documents spread across his desk.
Jiuzhou Automobile Factory had been established in 2001.
It had originally been founded by several local businessmen, who had set their sights on the crown jewel of industry—the automobile—and expected to make a fortune.
But things hadn't gone as they'd hoped. Unlike other industrial products, cars hadn't brought in so much as a hint of profit. They'd only burned through cash.
Over the course of seven years, the factory had gone bankrupt twice.
The first time was in 2005, after it had burned through the founders' money. Terrified of pouring in more cash without any sign of a path to profit, they declared bankruptcy. Local officials then brokered a deal to sell the company to a major firm in the provincial capital.
After all, if a large automobile factory could be brought back to life, it would bring huge benefits to this small, fifth-tier city.
But the dream had been far more appealing than reality. The automobile factory still hadn't recovered. Instead, it was now mired in all kinds of problems.
In 2006, Jiuzhou Automobile's first product finally came to market, thanks to the hopes of the local officials and the company's owner. The factory produced a car.
But the car's brief moment of promise turned to disappointment in less than two months. It sold only a few dozen units.
Most of those few dozen cars had been bought by friends of the original local owners, or by business partners of the new owner.
Then various quality issues cropped up. The factory's engineers were all reassigned to after-sales support, but they still couldn't fix the product's poor quality.
In a fit of anger, the major firm's owner recalled every car and refunded the purchase price.
After that, the firm realized it couldn't keep pouring money into the company. For the past couple of years, it had been looking for a buyer to take over. Last month, it finally found a real sucker.
That's right. The sucker was Xu Yifan's father, a businessman who sold leather goods in the provincial capital.
His son liked cars and had majored in automotive engineering, so he'd spent fifty million yuan to buy the factory for him to practice running a business. The original plan was to invest several tens of millions more over time, depending on how things went.
Two hours later, Xu Yifan finished reading the factory documents and couldn't help but sigh. "Money really does let you do whatever you want!"
"Jiuzhou Automobile. Not a bad name. Jiuzhou is also called Handi, Zhongtu, Shenzhou, the Twelve Provinces, China, and so on.
"The term first appeared in the pre-Qin classic Book of Documents: Yu Gong. Since ancient times, it has referred to the ethnic and geographical concept of the lands inhabited by the Han people of China."
But after that sigh, Xu Yifan had to face the problems in front of him.
Even if the company never earned a cent, he could still live comfortably as a rich heir relying on his parents.
But he'd only just taken over the factory, and he'd already confidently told his father he wanted to make something of himself in the automobile industry.
"Right now, the factory has nothing but a pile of parts, an outdated production line, and a license to manufacture passenger cars."
"To turn things around, I'd have to bring in a more advanced production line and better engines, and develop a chassis, among other things?"
"As someone who crossed over from 2023, I know electric cars are the future!"
"But running a company is nothing compared to taking it easy. Maybe I should just walk away and do nothing. A few years from now, I can apologize to Dad, take over the family business, and sell leather shoes!"
"Wait, I've crossed over. Why sell leather shoes? Wouldn't it be better to take a hundred million yuan and buy property? Housing prices haven't taken off yet. I could buy a building in Beijing, one in Shanghai, one in Shenzhen, and one in Guangzhou. Collecting rent every day would be the life!"
Just as Xu Yifan was considering the best way to take it easy—
Ding! The system had arrived!
A soft chime sounded, and a stream of text and data appeared before his eyes.
[Host scan in progress...] [Scan complete] [Super Factory System activated] [Host: Xu Yifan, age 23] [Owned: Jiuzhou Automobile Factory]
????
"Crossing-over novels really don't lie. There's actually a system!"
"I'll marry a rich, beautiful woman and reach the pinnacle of life!"
Excited, Xu Yifan focused his attention on the Super Factory System and looked for more information about it.
[Super Factory System: Level 1] [Funds: 1.9 million] [Buildings: R&D Center, Employee Dormitory, Production Workshop, Cafeteria, Warehouse, Office Building.] [Employees: 57 (Satisfaction: 57)] [Product: Jiuzhou Shenxing Sedan (Industrial Waste!)] [Technology: None (A garbage company with no core technology of its own!)]
Before you continue