Rich, Rhine Metal; poor, Rhine Steel. 3

Chapter 3: I Won’t Eat! I Won’t Drink! I Just Want Money! (New book launch, seeking recommendations, seeking monthly tickets!)

Hearing the words “go into business,” (a euphemism for entering the private sector, often implying a riskier but potentially more lucrative path) the other two’s eyes lit up instantly. They lunged behind Lin Yu, looking at what he had written on the paper, and asked in unison:

“Are you really planning to go into business?”

Putting down his pen, Lin Yu thought for a moment, then nodded: “Sort of.”

“Actually, I’m planning to go back to Factory 567. These things are just some ideas.”

“Speaking of which, do you guys have any plans? After the new year, once we’re done with our thesis defenses, we’ll all be going our separate ways.”

Speaking of their futures, Zhou Hang scratched his head and said:

“My dad wants me to join the army. Graduate student enlistment, there are benefits, and the starting point is high.”

Zhou Hang’s words made Lin Yu frown.

Because in his past life, Zhou Hang hadn’t joined the army, but instead went to a certain weapons research institute after graduating with his master’s degree.

Even at gatherings among their small group, he rarely showed up.

Now he’s going to join the army. Could it be because of the butterfly effect I caused? (referencing the butterfly effect, a concept suggesting small actions can have large consequences)

After pondering for a moment, Lin Yu, with no leads, turned his gaze to Long Yu.

“Old Dragon King, what are you planning to do?”

Lin Yu’s question made Long Yu roll his eyes. He responded disdainfully: “What else can I do? The Navy’s research institute, working on radar, of course.”

Long Yu’s trajectory was the same as in his previous life. After a moment’s thought, Lin Yu turned his attention to Zhao Kai: “Your Highness, what about you?” (Zhao Kai is nicknamed “Your Highness” playfully by his friends)

When asked this question, Zhao Kai hesitated for a moment, but finally stated his plans: “Maybe study abroad, maybe… change careers.”

Hearing his words, Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

In his past life, Zhao Kai, this person they jokingly called “Prince Zhao,”

after graduating with his master’s degree, completely abandoned his education and went into business with his parents.

He was on the right side of the boom, and quite successful.

“Looks like we’ll be separated soon,” Lin Yu sighed, turning back to continue scribbling in his notebook.

He didn’t go to sleep until late into the night.

The next morning, he got up in a hurry, packed his bags, and boarded a train from Harbin to Beijing,

to pick someone up.

…………

At the Beijing train station exit, Lin Yu held his cardboard sign as high as he could, waiting for his target to appear.

Heaven did not disappoint him. As the crowd in front dispersed, a somewhat gaunt old man came into view.

At the same time, the old man also saw Lin Yu, windswept and carrying luggage. There was some surprise in his eyes, but he didn’t think much of it, and walked straight over.

“What are you doing here?”

“Of course I’m here to pick up Uncle Qian.”

With that, Lin Yu pulled the old man out.

They hailed a taxi on the roadside, got in, and gave the address.

Upon hearing that it was the General Logistics Department, the driver became very talkative,

“You two must be here on official business. I can tell you’re pros,”

Amidst the driver’s chatter, the building of the Logistics Department came into view.

In front of the building, Lin Yu pulled out his notebook from his pocket and handed it to the old man.

“Take a look.”

Qian Jianguo took the notebook and glanced through it, finding a bunch of disorganized ideas,

some forming coherent thoughts, some not.

After looking for a while, he closed the notebook and asked Lin Yu: “What is this?”

“A while ago, I heard some rumors. Regarding those military factories that can’t be reformed, they’re planning a blanket shutdown.” (referring to a drastic, sweeping policy decision)

“So, I investigated some things, and these are the ideas I came up with,” Lin Yu replied calmly, while beginning to adjust his clothes.

Upon hearing this, Qian Jianguo opened the notebook again and quickly read through it.

Lin Yu struggled to pull his cotton-padded clothes into wrinkles, so that it would be obvious he was living poorly.

After doing this, he turned to Qian Jianguo and instructed:

“This is our last chance.”

“Later, all you have to do is cry. The louder, the better.”

Meanwhile, in the building of the General Logistics Department, Qian Guoheng also received a phone call from the guard,

Instantly, this old veteran, who had spent half his life in the military, face crumpled like a bitter gourd. (a Chinese idiom signifying a distressed expression)

He had no choice.

These two guys, were both his juniors.

Not blood relatives, but he had watched them grow up.

He rubbed his head with both hands for a while before standing up, finding two glass cups, and just as he poured hot water, the door was pushed open.

Lin Yu and Qian Jianguo, with genuine smiles on their faces, stood at the door, waiting for the old leader to speak.

Their reserved manner surprised Qian Guoheng, but thinking about their purpose for coming, he was no longer surprised.

He gestured, pointing to the sofa beside him: “Come in and sit.”

After they sat down, Qian Guoheng handed them the hot water, turned, and stared at Lin Yu and asked:

“Xiaopingzi, I heard from Xiao He that you’re a pretty good student.”

“You’re about to graduate with your master’s degree. What are you planning to do?”

“Are you going to continue your doctoral studies? Or join the army? Do you have a wife?”

“You’re not young anymore. You should think about settling down.”

“While we old guys are still around, if you have kids, we can still get to see them.”

Qian Guoheng smoothly delivered a barrage of questions about his personal life.

But Lin Yu didn’t respond, instead he nudged Qian Jianguo’s waist.

Qian Jianguo was holding his cup, about to drink water, but the interruption caused him to spray water everywhere.

He finally remembered his purpose, quickly put down his cup, and looked at his uncle. His smiling face fell, and he lamented:

“Leader, it’s the New Year, we’ve come all this way, shouldn’t you give us some money?”

“A large group of people in the base, big and small, are counting on this money for the New Year.”

“I heard that other bases have already received theirs, although not much, but they got something.”

“You can’t be unfair.”

The personal life questions failed.

Qian Guoheng held his teacup, silently drinking water, and Lin Yu nudged Qian Jianguo’s waist again.

The next second, Qian Jianguo started wiping away tears,

“Uncle, really, life is so hard now.”

“You know? The little kids in the base, three or four years old, don’t even have a few good pairs of shoes.”

“Those seventeen or eighteen-year-olds are even worse.”

“It’s almost New Year’s, the villages around the base, people have already started slaughtering pigs for the New Year.”

“What about us? We don’t even have any oil or water in our pot.”

“We want to help these people go back to their hometowns, but they’ve been out for decades.”

“They don’t have land, they don’t have jobs.”

“Uncle, if you don’t give us some money, Base 567 will really be finished.”

Qian Jianguo was crying, Qian Guoheng held his teacup, silently observing these two juniors.

Qian Jianguo’s acting was a bit stiff.

As for the boy next to him, he kept giggling, like a little fox that had stolen a chicken.

Taking a sip of his tea, Qian Guoheng handed Qian Jianguo’s teacup to him, softly encouraging:

“Here, drink more water, drink more water, more tears.”

“Other people come to ask for money, who doesn’t cry their hearts out?”

“Yours is a bit lacking.”

As soon as he said this, Qian Jianguo threw his head back and howled loudly:

“I won’t eat, I won’t drink, I just want money!”

“If you don’t give it to me today, I’ll just keep crying here.”

Hearing Qian Jianguo playing tough, Qian Guoheng sighed, turning his gaze to Lin Yu, and asked:

“You little rascal, what kind of trick are you up to?”

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter