Chapter Seven: University Campus

  Zhang Shaocai's prediction was not wrong, and Ding Yuan did mention the matter at the meeting. Zhang Shaocai became the focus of attention for many contractors, but it was not because they thought Zhang Shaocai had done a good job, but rather because Secretary Ding had mentioned him. The relationship between them was intriguing, as in today's society, relationships are equivalent to money and projects.

  What Zhang Shaocai did not expect was that an official from the Provincial Government Office Administration Department came to find him, asking him to take on several small renovation projects within the provincial government. Although the projects were not large, this step was crucial, as long as he could get his foot in the door, he could establish a connection, even if it meant not making a profit. With good connections, everything else would follow.

  Zhang Shaocai was skilled at handling relationships, but his low social status had always held him back. He immediately instructed Yan Yuhuan to buy several packs of Red Tower Mountain cigarettes and prepare some red envelopes. Each official from the Provincial Government Office Administration Department received two packs of cigarettes and a red envelope.

  The officials were surprised by Zhang Shaocai's hospitality and readily agreed to have him come to the provincial government office the next day to sign the contract.

  It was actually Ding Yuan's credit that such a thing happened. Ding Yuan had not forgotten Xu Shaojie, and he intuitively felt that Xu Shaojie was a person who would repay kindness. So, within his power, he spoke up for Zhang Shaocai about some small projects in the provincial government, just making a few phone calls and moving his lips. The call for Ding Yuan to take office as the county party secretary was very high, and people inside the provincial government naturally understood what to do. By doing so, Ding Yuan was reminding Xu Shaojie that he had not forgotten this schoolmate.

  Zhang Shao knew the relationship between them, and in handling human relationships, Zhang Shao was extremely intelligent. Later, he quickly established a good relationship with the deputy secretary-general of the provincial government in charge of logistics and the leaders of the administrative department, and obtained many projects, as well as financial support for Xu Shaojie, more importantly, establishing a relationship.

  Time flies quickly, Xu Shaojie's day of leaving the construction site has arrived.

  Zhang Shaozhai booked a banquet at a hotel in the city to see off Xu Shaojie. Xu Shaojie wore a brand new short-sleeved shirt and black pants, looking spirited and handsome. These were all carefully chosen by Yan Yuhuan for Xu Shaojie. With his good looks and this dressing up, he looked particularly outstanding. After more than a month of tempering, Xu Shaojie had shed the greenness on him and matured a lot.

  Inside the room were Zhang Shao Cai, Yan Yu Huan and Xu Shao Jie. Liu Fu Gui and Song Guang Ming arrived a little later. Zhang Shao Cai took out an address left by Xu Shao Jie, pulled out a red envelope and put it in Xu Shao Jie's hand. He opened his mouth to speak.

  "Brother, this is a little token of affection from your sister-in-law and me. Inside, there's your salary. Don't decline it, or it would be like you're looking down on your sister-in-law and me, your older brother. I've told you before, I'll cover all your expenses during university. I'm the breadwinner, a roughneck, while you're a university student. I won't go to school to find you, lest I embarrass you. From now on, every month I'll send you 100 yuan on time as living expenses. Don't suffer, eat when you should, your older brother can afford it. When you have time during holidays, come visit your older brother and sister-in-law. Your sister-in-law will often go see you too. When the weather gets cold, your sister-in-law will take you to buy clothes."

  Yan Yuhuan stared intently at Xu Shaojie, and in the past half month, Xu Shaojie had left a deep impression on her. Yan Yuhuan often thought that if she hadn't met Zhang Shaocai, she would have definitely not let go of Xu Shaojie. Xu Shaojie was refined and elegant, speaking with refinement and interest, so Yan Yuhuan paid close attention to her own words and actions at all times. She understood that only someone like Xu Shaojie could truly ascend to the realm of elegance. Having spent a long time with workers, Yan Yuhuan had unknowingly picked up some coarse language, but after meeting Xu Shaojie, she found a role model to correct her speech and behavior. Zhang Shaocai said that she had undergone a significant transformation. Yan Yuhuan knew that her status restricted her from expressing her feelings for Xu Shaojie, so she could only bury them deep within her heart.

  Xu Shaojie didn't drink because he had to go to school in the afternoon and being drunk wouldn't be a good thing, Xu Shaojie was still a student and generally wasn't allowed to drink. Zhang Shaocai only had a small cup, he borrowed a Volga car to send Xu Shaojie to school, although Xu Shaojie had been in Xilin City for over a month, he wasn't familiar with the city at all.

  Xu Shaojie has a lot to say, the interaction between people is originally based on mutual benefit, but it cannot be denied that true feelings exist, and only by paying out can there be returns. Xu Shaojie got his current treatment because of two bowls of noodles, which cannot be said to be the result of good fortune, sometimes Xu Shaojie even feels that this is the blessing of his father's spirit in heaven.

  After settling down, Xu Shaojie opened the red envelope and found 2000 yuan inside. This was a huge sum of money. The registration fee was 245 yuan, which Xu Shaojie had already paid. Calculating it out, in just over a month's time on the construction site, Xu Shaojie had earned 2300 yuan. At his mother's salary, it would take two years to earn this much money.

  Xu Shaojie thought carefully and decided to keep 1000 yuan for himself and send the remaining 1000 yuan back home. With this money, they could improve their living conditions and his sister could eat better. Xu Shaojie had already written a letter to his mother detailing his situation in Xilin City, explaining that he had found a management position on the construction site with a high salary, so there was no need for her to send him any more money.

  A peaceful student life has begun, the campus of Xilin University is very beautiful. Xu Shaojie's performance is similar to that of other students, but he appears much more mature. Xu Shaojie is not as outspoken and enthusiastic as others, but rather practical. He often goes to the library, where he reads mostly biographies of famous people, especially those of political figures. Through these biographies, Xu Shaojie has gained a lot of knowledge. As a student in the Chinese department, reading books is also part of his studies.

  The academic atmosphere at Xilin University is still very simple and honest, especially for freshmen and sophomores who follow the rules and study hard. However, juniors and seniors are quite different, with many of them dating. Xu Shaojie often sees older students from other dorms dressing up neatly to go out. In a quiet corner of the campus, there is an English corner where couples sit together, some reading English books, but most just enjoying each other's company under the moonlight. There are many beautiful girls in the Chinese department, and Xu Shaojie knows that some seniors' girlfriends are from other universities.

  There are 8 people in the dormitory, all of whom are from the Chinese department. This time, it's unknown why it was so coincidental that all the students from the Chinese department were assigned to one dormitory. Xu Shaojie quickly became familiar with everyone, although they weren't from the same class. Everyone thought that since they were all in the same dormitory, they should consider each other as brothers.

  Among the 8 people in the dormitory, 3 are from Xishan Province, and the remaining 5 are from 5 different provinces and cities. There is a student from Beijing named Ma Jianhua who appears very gentle and looks like a girl. A student from Shanghai named Du Yuxin speaks and acts with some refinement, loves cleanliness, and appears somewhat deep on the surface.

  A student from Shaanxi named Sun Yong has a loud voice and the boldness of a northerner. The other students all have their own unique characteristics. The living conditions of the students vary, with some being better than others. There are also two students whose families live in rural areas. However, compared to them, Xu Shaojie's living conditions...

  It's the best. Yan Yuhuan is very considerate, every month she prepares three packs of Hongtashan cigarettes for Xu Shaojie, and no one asks about smoking among college students, plus 100 yuan living expenses, which exceeds what a worker earns, Xu Shaojie lives a carefree life.

  Xu Shaojie's secret was soon discovered by everyone, and the dormitory began to stir up a storm of fighting against the wealthy. After class, the students in this dormitory returned the fastest, all rushing for Xu Shaojie's cigarettes, Hongtashan cigarettes, which even professors at the university couldn't afford. Xu Shaojie was a student, with three packs per month, rich to the point of overflowing. Of course, everyone wanted to fight against the wealthy. The news spread quickly, and people from several nearby dormitories knew about it, occasionally coming over to freeload. Xu Shaojie's cigarettes were clearly not enough, three packs of cigarettes could barely last half a month.

  Xu Shaojie is still a straightforward person, in this aspect, he has learned a lot from Zhang Shaocai, of course, there is also the factor of being young. Every day after class, everyone in the dormitory chats and laughs, discussing which schoolgirl is beautiful, which senior is elegant, and joking around, relieving their boredom. The academic workload in college is not heavy, it's a world of difference compared to high school.

  In a very short period of time, Xu Shaojie gained prestige in the dormitory, which came from his generosity and maturity. Every day at mealtime, someone would help Xu Shaojie finish his food, and almost every meal was meat, life was still pretty good. For just over 1 yuan, you could buy stir-fried meat, and in a month, it cost less than 100 yuan. Of course, Xu Shaojie's stir-fry couldn't be eaten completely into his stomach either, sometimes the rice he brought back had only vegetables left on top, and all the meat was gone, but Xu Shaojie didn't care.

  Before I knew it, a month had passed.

  Xu Shaojie knew that he was nothing in school, the real deal were those officials' children. Every day after school, there would be many cars waiting at the gate to pick them up and take them home. They usually didn't live in the dorms and didn't have much contact with others. Xu Shaojie felt that these officials' children had a kind of arrogance, as if they were born different from ordinary students. Of course, there were also some who were friendly and low-key.

  College students are often a bit arrogant, thinking themselves superior to others, looking down on many things in today's society. If you asked one of them to be the Premier, they would think they could do it easily and govern the country perfectly. Xu Shaojie didn't have such views. He knew that life was not easy, he understood human emotions, and through reading many biographies of famous people, his perspective had broadened a lot.

  Struggling in society is not easy, often you have to bow your head to reality. His father was an old college student, but even after a lifetime, it didn't turn out that way, ending up with nothing but regret. So Xu Shaojie was very low-key, never showing off himself, and anyway, there was nothing worth showing off about.

  The weather is getting cooler, Xu Shaojie went to the construction site once, and the project is nearing its end. Zhang Shaocai has already started busy with the maintenance work in the provincial government, very busy, running back and forth every day. Xu Shaojie knew that Zhang Shaocai's more important task was to revive relationships. Despite being busy, Zhang Shaocai still took out half a day to go to the mall with Yan Yuhuan and brought Xu Shaojie along, buying him two jackets, two sets of autumn clothes, and a pair of leather shoes. Xu Shaojie felt very embarrassed, but Zhang Shaocai's attitude was not to be questioned. The weather has changed, and it's necessary to add warm clothing, later they will still need to buy down jackets, woolen sweaters, and fur-lined boots, the body is the most important thing.

  Xu Shaojie and Yan Yuhuan have a close relationship, but Xu Shaojie knows how to control himself. Zhang Shaocai has started to get busy, sometimes Yan Yuhuan comes to school to visit Xu Shaojie, Yan Yuhuan insists on giving living expenses and cigarettes directly to Xu Shaojie every time, Zhang Shaocai does not object, Zhang Shaocai is very trusting of Xu Shaojie. Now, the relationship within the municipal government has started to slowly become harmonious, Zhang Shaocai wants to seize this opportunity to further improve relations, these things all need to be done in person.

  Xu Shaojie considered the issue of joining the party. In college, there is a party branch, and Xu Shaojie had joined the Communist Youth League in junior high school. Xu Shaojie's views on the Communist Party's tenets were still somewhat vague, but he did realize one thing: to engage in politics, one must join the party; otherwise, everything would be impossible. It can be said that Xu Shaojie was one of the few students among all the freshmen who considered this issue.

  Coincidentally, it was time for the class to elect its cadres. After a month had passed, the teacher had become familiar with the students, and the students had learned some rules, so the election of class cadres began. Generally, newly enrolled students were not part of the student union.

  Xu Shaojie's stability had caught the attention of his class teacher, Xu Zhuxin. She was a woman in her 30s and a senior lecturer at Xilin University. It was impressive that she had achieved such a title. Xu Zhuxin shared the same surname as Xu Shaojie, so she naturally felt close to him. Xu Shaojie looked handsome, and if he were in his third year of university, he would have already started dating. However, Xu Zhuxin noticed that Xu Shaojie was different from his classmates - he was calm and composed, rarely showing excitement. He exuded a maturity that didn't match his age, as if he had experienced many hardships. After reviewing Xu Shaojie's file, Xu Zhuxin learned that his father had passed away just a few months ago, but this wasn't the reason for Xu Shaojie's maturity. In several conversations with Xu Shaojie, Xu Zhuxin found him to be polite and humble, never arrogant. Therefore, she had already decided to appoint Xu Shaojie as class monitor, which would be very beneficial for his future.

  Things didn't go smoothly, as there was a student in the class named Liu Hong, whose father was one of the people in charge of the Xilin University district, and he wanted his son to be the class leader. However, this Liu Hong was really not great, with an arrogant attitude, looking down on others, and speaking as if everything was beneath him, giving off a "my dad is number one" vibe. He didn't get along well with people in the class. University students don't take kindly to that sort of thing, especially freshmen who think all students are equal, so everyone usually avoided Liu Hong and tried not to interact with him. Xu Shaojie was different, though - he had a natural charm and was generous and open-minded, and as a result, he had quite a few friends.

  Xu Zhuxin eliminated the interference and appointed Xu Shaojie as the class monitor. Of course, Liu Hong was also good, serving as the life commissioner, which is a relatively important position that can represent students' opinions and suggestions on school life and management. After the result was announced, Liu Hong was very dissatisfied, thinking that not being able to serve as class monitor was a personal shame, and even prepared to refuse to take up the post of life commissioner. Fortunately, Liu Hong's father understood the reasoning behind it, knowing his own son well, if things got out of hand, it would be bad overall, so he scolded Liu Hong, telling him to focus on studying and doing things well.

  Among them, Xu Shaojie soon knew that during a conversation with Xu Zhuxin, Xu Zhuxin inadvertently mentioned the matter. Xu Shaojie once again felt the importance of power. According to ability and performance, Liu Hong was not qualified to serve as a life committee member, but because he had a good father, he could easily take on the role of life committee member. Liu Hong was still dissatisfied and thought that he couldn't become the class leader. After a series of events, Xu Shaojie had a new understanding of power, which is the manifestation of status, and this fact cannot be denied.