I took out my pager and sent a message to Su Ya. Luckily, she replied promptly.

Xing Baohua asked, "Why is the phone off?"

"The battery is dead!"

"?"

Xing Baohua thought to himself, "How many phone calls did he make? Did he have a long phone conversation with his family?"

Knowing what was going on, he stopped worrying about whether it was a battery issue and texted Suya to go out for dinner.

Su Ya also remembered Xing Baohua's advice to her: if she wanted to get along well with her classmates, she should treat them to a meal whenever possible.

Su Ya put down the pager and installed a spare battery in her phone. This scene completely stunned Tang Shuo on the other end.

I was also wondering, what exactly is Su Ya's identity? She has both a cell phone and a pager. And a brand new pager that can send messages, plus the service fees, it must cost over ten thousand yuan!

These two things combined are close to the average person's salary for nearly ten years!

And that $199 Walkman?

With such good family conditions, why did they come to this lousy school to study for a junior college degree? Wouldn't it be easy to just work hard and get a bachelor's degree?

Did you do poorly on the college entrance exam?

"Ladies, my boyfriend is treating us to a big meal. Anyone want to come? It's a rare opportunity! He's going back to Shandong tomorrow."

As soon as she finished speaking, two girls from the upper bunks started changing their coats, preparing to come down and follow Su Ya out.

After their brief contest, it became clear that neither of them was a fool. Su Ya's qualifications were several levels higher than Tang Shuo's.

If you curry favor with this kind of person, you'll live a very comfortable life in the future; at least you can listen to those cassette tapes and such whenever you want.

Su Bei Xiaomei didn't move. Su Ya gave her a look and said, "You've met my boyfriend before. It's okay. Come along for a meal. You'll rarely get to eat at such a lavish place again."

Everyone went outside, Tang Shuo's eyes flickered uncertainly, and finally he gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, grabbed the IOU he had just written, and chased after them, shouting, "Wait for me!"

Xing Baohua waited downstairs for people to come out, and soon saw a lot of girls, chatting and laughing, coming out of the dormitory building.

Su Ya walked in the center, supported by her roommates.

Wow, in less than a day, he's already secured the position of the top student in the dorm.

Thinking back to how she got her job in that chaotic machine factory, if she couldn't handle a few young girls, Su Yabai would have been working there for a year.

There were too many people, and the cars parked at the school gate couldn't fit everyone. Luckily, there was a Dafabet taxi parked at the school gate.

Ask them if they want hot pot or roast duck.

Seeing that they didn't say anything, Suya made a decision for them: to eat roast duck.

We headed straight to the most famous roast duck restaurant.

Tang Shuo just pursed his lips. Locals don't go there much anymore; it's mostly outsiders who go there to try something new.

Despite being a century-old establishment, the staff and the brand have changed several times, resulting in a different taste and higher prices.

Therefore, locals won't waste their money to eat a tasteless duck.

During the meal, Xing Baohua also noticed that Su Ya loved to eat duck, which he guessed was inherited from her mother-in-law.

"If you love duck, just come here often. Ask your local classmates where the best duck is. On Sundays when you have time off, try all the delicious food in the old imperial city."

Tang Shuo curled his lips again. No one in the old imperial city would dare to make such a boast. If Su Ya hadn't had something worth tens of thousands of yuan, she would have already spoken up.

Judging from Xing Baohua's every move, they concluded that he was the son of a high-ranking official. The two should be a good match in terms of social standing.

Are they both that rich?

For Su Ya to be able to eat the delicacies of the old imperial city, it's not just a matter of money; she also needs coupons. Grain coupons are fixed, unless you buy them on the black market.

Okay! They're rich, they can buy tickets and eat whatever they want.

That's really enviable. Tang Shuo also grew up in a family with a formal system, so he understands and knows a lot about things.

I casually inquired about Xing Baohua's workplace, and he said, without any pretense, that he worked in an electronics factory.

Now Tang Shuo felt more confident. Looking at Xing Baohua's young age, how high could her position be?

Stop using business trips as an excuse to eat off public funds, okay? Is this kind of thing very common?

Don't be fooled by our inferiority in terms of money and material possessions. When it comes to connections within the system, humph! Just wait and see, I'll show you what the system is all about.

After finishing their meal and sending everyone home, Su Ya accompanied Xing Baohua on a stroll.

No more overnight stays tonight; the registration period is over in the next couple of days, so management isn't strict. Tomorrow is the official start of school, and there will be room checks tonight.

The two walked hand in hand along the curb, and Su Ya recounted how she had tricked Tang Shuo to Xing Baohua. This made Xing Baohua laugh heartily.

Su Ya has also become cunning; forty-odd yuan is enough for a student's living expenses for two months.

Even for families with better financial conditions, it's only about thirty yuan.

Of course, most students don't spend much of their own money.

Elementary school is now completely free, but universities have started charging fees.

In the past, college graduates were guaranteed job placement.

Rural levies, fundraising, and even grain taxes. (In some areas, levies were equivalent to agricultural taxes.)

These tax and fee reduction policies have greatly reduced the pressure on farmers, and their lives are gradually improving.

The government also provides various subsidies for farming and various social security benefits for rural residents, including medical care and old-age support. Access to medical care is no longer a basic difficulty.

The days of being unable to afford medical care and waiting to die are over.

Xing Baohua took Su Ya back and told her to let him know if she needed more money. He even used a line from later generations used to tease girls: "You take care of being beautiful, and I'll take care of making money for you to spend."

Su Ya, who was not interested in such sweet talk, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Xing Baohua returned to central Shandong and began working. The motherboard for the precision CNC machine tool had been replicated, and now it was just waiting for Xing Baohua to package the chip program.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!