Shenzhen: A City That Doesn't Believe in Tears

In 2010, nineteen-year-old Chen Lei arrived in Shenzhen with nothing but a mourning garment. Orphaned and penniless, he spent his first night under a bridge, listening to the traffic, thinking he would die there. Three years on the assembly line, twelve hours a day, ears ringing from the machines, blisters on his hands forming and breaking repeatedly. He witnessed betrayal, suffered scheming, and endured cold stares, but in the darkest nights, he met Zhou Xin, a fellow sufferer. She was a widow with a child in others' eyes, but the only light in his heart. To keep her from enduring hardship with him, Chen Lei gritted his teeth and left the factory, plunging into the chaotic and bitter world of labor dispatch. Sleeping in internet cafes, eating instant noodles, being cheated and trampled upon, he got up again and again. While others relied on slickness, he relied on sincerity; while others played tricks, he followed his conscience. From a homeless wanderer to the owner of dozens of chain stores in Shenzhen, after sixteen years of drifting in Shenzhen, he had seen money, power, and temptations, and endured broken relationships and cold hearts. Only when he reached the top did he understand—Shenzhen doesn't believe in tears, only in those who grit their teeth and persevere. And what is truly precious is never fame or fortune, but the person willing to share steamed buns with you when you have nothing.