Stolen? No, I Gave It Away.

Simon was living my old life. The moment school ended, he followed Ronald to collect scraps.

Because of what he had done at the orphanage last time, Ronald had been deeply moved. Compared to what I went through before, Simon was spared much of the hardship.

Most of the dirty, exhausting work never even passed through his hands. His skin got a little tan, but there were no extra cuts or scrapes.

Even so, Simon was not willing to endure even that much.

He cornered me in the bathroom, grabbed my collar, and yelled at me like he had lost his mind.

“When is this miserable life going to end? When did you start the company? Tell me!”

Collecting recyclables must have built up his strength. His grip was much stronger. It was tight enough that I was struggling to breathe.

Terry walked out of a stall and saw what was happening. Without hesitation, he kicked Simon away.

“What’re you doing? You psycho!”

Simon really did look unhinged. A second ago, he had been raging, but he was laughing at that moment.

“Fine! Don’t tell me. The hardship I’m going through now is only temporary. But it’s different for you, Wesley. Enjoy your life while you can. It won’t be long before you’re homeless.”

I knew that. I intended to make the most of the opportunity this time.

Last time around, I barely finished high school before Ronald pulled me out full-time to collect scraps with him.

Even after I eventually founded the company and hired plenty of highly educated professionals, I could not shake the regret of never having finished high school.

It was not that I was unwilling to tell Simon when the company would be established. The truth was, given how things were unfolding, I could not guarantee that Summit Forge Steel would come into existence.

Back then, it had not been long since Ronald forced me to drop out of school to collect scraps with him.

There was a large construction site being developed on the south side of the city. Ronald took me there to look for scraps.

I quickly noticed that a significant amount of discarded steel had been left behind.

So, I tracked down the contractor’s boss and asked if he would be willing to sell the scrap steel to us at a low price.

Those materials were essentially useless to them anyway. Since we were offering to pay for removal, the contractor readily agreed.

Ronald thought I was wasting money. In the end, I used the small allowance I had saved from my time at the orphanage to buy a modest amount of scrap steel. I had to beg him to let me haul it back home.

After that, I spent a long time researching and following the news. I eventually got in touch with a steel plant in a neighboring northern city. I resold the scrap steel to them.

Even though it was not a lot, Ronald still made a considerable profit from that deal.

From then on, he began to trust my judgment. He returned to the contractor and purchased a large batch of scrap steel to resell.

We used the money we earned from flipping scrap steel as our starting capital and travelled from city to city. That was how Summit Forge Steel eventually came into being.

Ronald had no real sense of judgment. That was why I was the one who handled every part of the process, beginning from sourcing the scraps, purchasing steel, securing warehouses, building the plant, and bringing in equipment.

There were many times when others grew jealous and retaliated. I survived more close calls than I could count. Only someone who lived through it could understand how brutal those years were.

Simon was simply waiting for Ronald to somehow conjure up a steel company out of thin air. It was nothing short of daydreaming.