Liu Jian is over thirty this year, unmarried, with a very ordinary job as a small foreman in a factory. There's not much of a future to speak of, but his one saving grace is that he owns a house. Unfortunately, this house isn't in a major city like Beijing or Shanghai, but in Panshi, a very ordinary prefecture-level city in the Northeast, considered a third-tier city. Probably only people from the province know about this city, and outside the province, not many people would know it exists. As for understanding it, probably only native Panshi people truly know it. This is normal, that's how society is now. People from third-tier cities flow to second-tier cities, and those from second-tier cities strive for first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai, some even willing to become "ant tribe" members for this purpose.
Liu Jian was also such a striving "ant tribe" member, having spent many years in the provincial capital. He didn't earn much money, nor did he see much future development. Finally, Liu Jian's parents couldn't stand it anymore and put aside their pride to contact a friend they hadn't contacted in a long time. This friend has now retired to the second line and is the director of the Panshi Municipal People's Congress. Back when this friend was the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, Liu Fu didn't ask him for any favors, but what wouldn't parents do for their children? And so, Liu Jian was arranged a job. He got a formal job in the government of a county-level city under Panshi.
Having a formal job in the government, and even being a staff member with a guaranteed position, made it easy to find a girlfriend. Before long, the enthusiastic older women in the office had inquired about Liu Jian's situation. He was from the city, had an apartment, and graduated from college, although it was a worthless diploma from a no-name university, it was still a college degree. They enthusiastically started setting Liu Jian up, and soon a middle school teacher became his girlfriend.
Liu Jian was very satisfied. After struggling in society for so many years, the lofty ambitions he had when he graduated had long been worn down. He wouldn't dare expect to find a heavenly fairy as a wife. Realistically, finding a teacher was very good. Both of them had jobs, and in the future, it would be all about daily life. Of course, this girlfriend was a bit plain-looking, but isn't that how ordinary people live? An ordinary job, a plain-looking wife, and an apartment big enough for a family of three, living a stable life in a third-tier city, Liu Jian was very satisfied.
Life just loves to play jokes on people. Today is March 8th, a holiday for all great women. After getting off work, Liu Jian went to the street to buy a bouquet of flowers, and then walked into Hongtai Jewelry, planning to buy a necklace for his girlfriend. Gold was out of the question, at over 400 yuan a gram, it was simply highway robbery. He'd rather buy silver at a little over 10 yuan a gram.
Liu Jian, who was picking out a necklace, didn't notice a van parked at the door. Then, four or five people with guns rushed into the jewelry store, followed by screams and gunshots. Liu Jian's last memory was of himself holding a necklace in one hand, looking in astonishment at the chaotic jewelry store, then seeing a masked robber, in a hurry, fire a shot. Unfortunately, the shot hit Liu Jian.
To borrow a quote from a great author, the wheel of history took a detour here, and then rolled on down the fork in the road...