HaiboHouse of Alibaba

Chalk dust on my fingers, teaching English to the youth My reflection in the window was a portrait of the truth A dead-end road, a bicycle, a market full of greens Knew the dean's whole future, it wasn't in my dreams Then a voice on the airwaves, a prophet's decree Deng's southern tour saying "To get rich is a glory" Felt a switch in my spirit, a new chapter for the dynasty A new virtue in the currency, that shit was meant for me Resigned from the institute, left the iron rice bowl Traded lesson plans for a business plan to take control Five retired teachers, a dusty YMCA room The first seeds of an empire planted in the gloom Jumped in the sea, they call it Haibo Payin' the rent with my faith on a tightrope Yeah, the name meant "hope," but the wallet meant "broke" Just a hustler's prayer rising up through the smoke Gotta keep the Hope alive, gotta make the dream float The sign on the door said "Hope Translation," a global sound Reality was peddling trinkets on the cold, hard ground From Yiwu to the curb, a peddler in the night Selling plastic carpets underneath a pale moonlight First month's income wouldn't even cover the damn key Twenty dollars profit, three hundred in rent, you see the decree? So I did it all, sold flowers, books, whatever they would buy Just to keep the lights on, just to keep the dream from dying My students lent a hand, holding banners in the square Believed in the vision, breathing in that polluted air This wasn't e-commerce, this was survival, raw and basic The first hard lesson: a dream's no good until you chase it Jumped in the sea, they call it Haibo Payin' the rent with my faith on a tightrope Yeah, the name meant "hope," but the wallet meant "broke" Just a hustler's prayer rising up through the smoke Gotta keep the Hope alive, gotta make the dream float Then the phone rang, a government dispute in Tonglu County A highway deal gone sour, they needed my translation bounty A failing business, a broke man, was my only reputation But my English was the key, my struggle was the qualification They didn't see a tycoon, they just saw a man who could speak Didn't know they were handing me the future that I'd seek One job, one flight, one chance to break the cycle's hold The price of the ticket was everything that I had sold Make enough mistakes Don't worry You Fall, You stand up You Fall, You stand up Enjoy it One way ticket. A government dispute Didn't know I was flying towards the future Just knew I was flying away from this