Zhao Qiang joked, "Just because I can cook instant noodles?"
Xu Xiaoya said, "That's one reason, but you're quite considerate to girls, unlike some boys who always like to go against girls."
Zhao Qiang said, "Thank you for your kind words. I hope my future wife won't be like you, unable to cook anything."
Xu Xiaoya laughed and threw a book at Zhao Qiang, who caught it. Xu Xiaoya said, "Why did you bring all these books? I've seen you with a book in your hand these past few days. Are you planning to memorize them all? Forget about the ones you've already passed. Don't bother."
Zhao Qiang said, "I was afraid of failing Professor Gu's kindness, so I decided to review my university coursework again."
Xu Xiaoya suddenly remembered something important: "I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. It's all your fault for yelling at me as soon as you got back. We have something important to do tonight, so you need to get ready properly. Let's go visit someone."
While stirring the instant noodles in the pot with his chopsticks, Zhao Qiang said, "Go to your house? Your parents aren't my mother-in-law, why would I bother? Besides, I'm not going. The company needs someone to stay and watch the goods."
Xu Xiaoya said, "You want to recognize my mother as your mother-in-law? I'm afraid they won't want you and you'll go to Professor Gu's house instead!"
Ah, Zhao Qiang's spirits lifted. It was like someone had brought him a pillow when he was dozing off. He had just been discussing with Xiao Wei about teaching Professor Gu a lesson instead, and he was worried about not having a chance to get close to him. Now, Xu Xiaoya had solved the problem immediately. She was indeed his lucky charm. He couldn't be mean to her anymore.
"Today is Professor Gu's birthday. Don't ask me why I'm only telling you now. I just found out myself. I haven't even thought about a birthday present yet. I'll eat some instant noodles and then we'll go for a walk around the streets."
Zhao Qiang readily agreed: "Okay, I still have a little over ten thousand yuan on hand. I won't feel bad if you spend it all."
Xu Xiaoya rolled her eyes at Zhao Qiang: "I'd like to spend the money on you, but the problem is that if the gift is too expensive, Professor Yi Gu will definitely be angry! We need to think of a good idea to make him willingly accept our gift. Of course, the gift can't be too cheap, otherwise it won't show our sincerity."
Zhao Qiang was practically penniless. He couldn't think of anything he had that could be considered valuable. Of course, his superb repair tools were priceless, but the key was that he couldn't show them to anyone, let alone give them to Professor Gu as a birthday gift.
Xu Xiaoya ran into her bedroom with a bowl of instant noodles. Zhao Qiang and Xiao Wei then quietly discussed the matter. Xiao Wei said, "Brother, this is an opportunity. You must seize it tonight. Whether you can gain Professor Gu's favor depends on this."
Zhao Qiang said, "I can't think of a good gift for Professor Gu. You know, this gift is the key to getting in touch with him. We can't be extravagant, but we still need to make Professor Gu look at me differently."
Xiao Wei decisively swung her cat paw downwards: "Give the remaining scrap to Professor Gu!"
Zhao Qiang was startled: "Will this work? That scrap material isn't enough to be used for further modification, but the problem is, won't it arouse Professor Gu's suspicion about your identity?"
Xiao Wei said, "No, no one knows I exist except my brother, so he would never consider this aspect. Of course, you can say that you dug this scrap out of the ground many years ago and that you have already done some research and signed an agreement on its properties. I will print out the agreement for you in a while. I will list out which parts Professor Gu needs to know directly and which parts he needs to study little by little. You can then act according to the plan."
Zhao Qiang said happily, "Okay, little sister, having you is like having divine help. If you could turn into a real thing, I would definitely hug you and give you a couple of kisses."
Xiao Wei's cat blushed and disappeared from the screen in a flash. It seems the intelligent program has a pretty high level of user-friendliness in its design.
Zhao Qiang was about to tease Xiao Wei a bit more when his women's cell phone rang. Usually, only Wang Yidong would call him from this phone. Did his computer need optimization again? He took out his phone and saw that the number was Hu Xiaojiang from Flying Bird Studio.
"Zhao Qiang, where are you? There's a job here, a big one!"
(Thank you so much to 363909517514 for the 588 Qidian Coins donation! Please vote for this post. Thank you all!)
(P.S.: Three chapters today. The word count is about to break 200,000, so let's keep Xiaoqiang on the charts for a while longer ^_^ Thank you for your understanding.)
Volume 1 [070] The Big List
Twenty minutes later, Hu Xiaojiang arrived at Shunfeng Technology Company by taxi. As soon as he entered, he exclaimed, "What a spacious place! It's much brighter than our doghouse. How much did you pay to rent it?"
Zhao Qiang greeted Hu Xiaojiang and shook hands: "30,000 a year. It turns out to be a large repair shop. I only rented a few offices. The rest of the place still belongs to the owner. It does look bright and spacious, but the location is a bit out of the way and there are too few transient people."
Hu Xiaojiang waved his hand and said, "You can't say that. Good wine needs no bush. Look at me, I've delivered myself to your door."
"Who is it, Zhao Qiang?" Xu Xiaoya asked, peeking out of her window. She thought it was one of her clients.
Zhao Qiang said, "My friend, you should rest. We'll go downstairs to choose a gift later."
Hu Xiaojiang was stunned when he saw Xu Xiaoya. This woman was beautiful. Xu Xiaoya was only wearing a casual tank top, which revealed her full breasts. Her high ponytail made her look very energetic.
"Your girlfriend?" Hu Xiaojiang asked, looking at Xu Xiaoya who had returned to her room with reluctance.
Zhao Qiang said, "I don't have that kind of luck. Our class monitor has been helping me out at the company lately. Let's go to the meeting room to talk."
Because there were enough offices, Xu Xiaoya and Zhao Qiang specially cleared out one room to serve as a reception room. The original sofa, water dispenser, tea set, and teaware were all there. Zhao Qiang brewed Tieguanyin tea for Hu Xiaojiang. This was brought from Xu Xiaoya's home. It is said that a small packet costs more than a hundred yuan. Zhao Qiang usually can't afford to drink it, but now it is perfect for entertaining guests.
Hu Xiaojiang didn't mince words: "The animated video you made for us last time made us famous, and this time we have another big order."
Zhao Qiang coughed to correct him: "It's not me helping you, it's my friends. You know, it's impossible for me to finish it in such a short time by myself, and with such high quality."
Hu Xiaojiang said, "Yes, yes, it's you and your friends, but your friends are too mysterious, so I'll ignore them and talk to you directly, so don't bother with 'you guys'."
Zhao Qiang smiled and said, "That's right, tell me about this big deal."
Hu Xiaojiang asked, "Have you heard of 'Youji'?"
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "I did watch a bit of 'The Promise,' but I didn't finish it."
Hu Xiaojiang said, "The Extreme is a sister film to The Promise. It is a New Year's film by a famous sixth-generation director in China. The film is now more than halfway through, and some computer special effects have been added. Flying Bird Studio has won a big contract this time because of the reputation it made last time. It is a ten-minute special effects production, which is half of the special effects in the whole film. Moreover, the client trusts us very much. We will be fully responsible for the special effects. They will not participate at all."
Zhao Qiang was smarter this time; he wouldn't sell such good special effects animation for a pittance again. "How much did they pay?"
Hu Xiaojiang probably guessed the implication in Zhao Qiang's words. He blushed a little and said, "There is a total of 500,000. You know that the special effects of domestic movies can't compare with Hollywood. Their special effects cost tens of thousands per second. But the box office of our domestic films is limited, so this price is not bad. Of course, the other party's requirements are not too high. If they can fool half of the audience, they will be considered successful. Anyway, they are not here for the special effects. Otherwise, they would go to see Hollywood blockbusters."
My God, 500,000! Zhao Qiang was shocked. He had no idea about market prices. Some foreign films had huge budgets, but the actual shooting costs were sometimes lower than the costs of special effects! Also, it was because Xiao Wei's special effects were so simple to produce that Zhao Qiang felt the price was too high even if he was given tens of thousands of yuan.
Zhao Qiang asked Hu Xiaojiang, "What do you plan to do?"
Hu Xiaojiang said, "We've seen the sketches and the live-action version with the blue screen that they sent us. It's simply impossible for my people to complete it. If we're talking about Hollywood standards, it would be an astronomical amount of work: creating storyboards, previewing, using MatchMove software for tracking, assembling and laying out models, simulating various scenes, rendering backgrounds, and finally compositing all the rendering effects, virtual scenes, and simulation models with the live-action version. I estimate we wouldn't be able to finish it even if we died. After all, we're not a professional team like those overseas. But you're different."
Zhao Qiang patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, we're good friends, I'll help you with this."
Hu Xiaojiang grasped Zhao Qiang's hand: "That's great, Zhao Qiang. I appreciate your kindness. Of course, you should take the lion's share of the compensation. I'll only take the 100,000 yuan referral fee. You know I have a bunch of parasites on my payroll, and they need to eat and live too. Also, I actually pulled some strings to get this deal, so that part of the cost should be factored into the 100,000 yuan. Don't mind."
Zhao Qiang didn't care how difficult it was to create special effects videos; all he cared about was the cash. He was desperately short of money, and 400,000 yuan was a considerable sum. It was easier to earn than selling slimming tea. As for whether Hu Xiaojiang had actually used money to bribe his way into the production team, Zhao Qiang didn't care. Instead, he openly told Hu Xiaojiang about it and expressed his appreciation.
"No problem, just copy all the materials to me, and I'll finish it in a few days. If it doesn't pass the inspection, I'll revise it for free. If it still doesn't pass in the end, I won't charge you a penny."
Hu Xiaojiang practically hugged Zhao Qiang, saying, "You're my brother, let's burn joss paper and become sworn brothers."
Zhao Qiang said, "Let's get down to business. Didn't they pay a deposit or something? I'm short on cash right now."
While taking out a portable hard drive from his bag, Hu Xiaojiang said, "I brought all the necessary materials with me. They're all on the portable hard drive. There's a deposit of 50,000 yuan, which I'll give you in full. The standard will be based on the special effects video from last time, but it can be lowered slightly. Anyway, the other party didn't give us much money, so don't expect us to produce according to Hollywood standards."
Last time, Zhao Qiang and Xiao Wei, unfamiliar with the industry, managed to create special effects for scenes that weren't even filmed on location, shocking the industry. However, Hu Xiaojiang was anything but modest; he and his team stubbornly insisted that it was created using advanced computer graphics, and that without that, they probably wouldn't have gotten the contract. This time, with the blue background and real-life footage, creating the special effects would be much simpler. Zhao Qiang deliberately said it would take a few days simply to avoid making things too sensational.
Five bundles of RMB, each bundle worth 10,000 yuan. Hu Xiaojiang trusted Zhao Qiang so much that he didn't even need to sign a contract. He just waited a few days to pick up the finished product. The special effects video from last time had indeed convinced him of Zhao Qiang's abilities. He had no reason to doubt such a master—or rather, the liaison for such a master's team. The more you trust those mysterious masters, the more they will think highly of you.
Hu Xiaojiang left satisfied. Zhao Qiang excitedly ran to the bank and wired 30,000 yuan home so his parents wouldn't have to worry too much. He claimed it was his earnings from working part-time over the years. He thought winning the lottery would have been better, but Zhao Qiang was worried his parents would think he was addicted to it, so he didn't. He kept the remaining 20,000 yuan, plus the 15,200 yuan he had left, to go to the power company on Monday to see if they would buy up old computers.
After eating instant noodles, Xu Xiaoya took a short nap. Then, the two of them closed the door of Shunfeng Technology Company and went to buy a gift for Professor Gu. Xu Xiaoya already had a plan in mind. She bought a copper paperweight on the antique street with an ancient picture of reading under a pine tree. It was worth more than 5,000 yuan. Zhao Qiang was not a connoisseur. Who knew if he had been cheated by the shopkeeper, who claimed it was an antique from hundreds of years ago?
"Zhao Qiang, have you decided what gift to buy yet?" Xu Xiaoya asked again.
Zhao Qiang knew that even if he brought 'A' substance, he still needed to buy some gifts to save face. After all, 'A' substance was a private gift, and he still had to put on a show. He said, "Then I'll buy Professor Gu a pen holder."
Xu Xiaoya was delighted: "Great! I'll buy a paperweight, and you can buy a pen holder. These are all items from the Four Treasures of the Study. I think Professor Gu, with his vast knowledge, will definitely like them."
Finally, Zhao Qiang took a fancy to a root carving pen holder that cost 300 yuan. It wasn't that Zhao Qiang was unwilling to spend money to buy something better, but he was afraid that spending more money might not get him anything good. After all, both of them were clueless about antiques, and they believed whatever the shopkeeper talked about, unable to tell the difference between genuine and fake items.
Professor Gu lived in the faculty apartment of Huaxia University of Technology. It was a very ordinary apartment, less than 100 square meters in size. When Zhao Qiang and Xu Xiaoya arrived, there were already several people sitting in the apartment chatting with Professor Gu.
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Volume 1 [071] Senior Brothers
Zhao Qiang followed behind Xu Xiaoya with a restrained air. At this moment, he was neither the boss of Shunfeng Technology nor the owner of a heaven-defying artifact. He was just a student. Yes, Zhao Qiang was essentially an ordinary college senior. Because he was used to being led by the class monitor, Xu Xiaoya was the main character at this moment.
"Zhao Qiang, don't stand in the back. Put down your laptop bag and say hello to the senior students." Xu Xiaoya was somewhat exasperated. Zhao Qiang had never participated in class activities, and his off-campus part-time jobs were mostly manual labor. He didn't have much experience in socializing. The reason he was so relaxed at Luo Xiaowei's house was simply because she lived alone, and he and Luo Xiaowei were just normal classmates, so there was no pressure. But now Zhao Qiang felt pressured.
Zhao Qiang quickly hung his laptop bag on the hook on the wall behind the door, changed into guest slippers, and came to the center of the living room. He gave a proper student salute. The old man sitting in the center was Professor Gu Yu, who had inspected the midterm exams.
"Hello, Professor Gu." Although Zhao Qiang came today with the intention of 'guiding' Professor Gu, he lacked confidence. He had never heard of anyone who suddenly exuded an aura of dominance after finding a treasure. Confidence and a kingly demeanor need to be cultivated little by little. At least Zhao Qiang felt that he could stand up straight in front of Wang Yidong, and he was not necessarily inferior to Boss Qian. So his temperament was taking shape, but it was impossible for him to overshadow the senior brothers present or even a great master like Professor Gu.
Gu Yu looked up and sized up the boy he had chosen as his student. He was dressed simply, had a sincere attitude, and spoke with a unique kind of honesty. Although he showed some timidity, it did not affect his genius mind for quick mental calculation, which was exactly what Gu Yu valued in him.
"Alright, Zhao Qiang has finally agreed to come see this old man." Gu Yuren wasn't rigid; on the contrary, he liked to joke around. He meant that he was annoyed that Zhao Qiang hadn't agreed to be his student before and that he had to persuade him through Xu Xiaoya to 'recruit' him.
Zhao Qiang chuckled twice, looking down. "Professor Gu, I was afraid of letting you down, because my grades aren't usually that great. Last time, I just got lucky."
Gu Yu said, "I don't think so. Hehe, let's not talk about that for now. Let me greet your senior brothers and get to know them. I'll go to the study to finish the last bit of work, otherwise I won't be able to complete today's task after having some drinks."
There were four men in the living room. The oldest was forty-six or forty-seven, and the others were in their early thirties. Judging from Professor Gu's words, these four were all his students. And how old was Professor Gu Yu? According to Xu Xiaoya, he was 52. Judging from the age difference between the teacher and students, Professor Gu might even be a graduate of the University of Science and Technology of China's gifted youth program.
"Greetings, senior brothers." Xu Xiaoya bowed to the four men. When the four men learned that these were Professor Gu's newly accepted disciples, who were like their junior sisters and brothers, they quickly stood up to return the greeting. Soon, everyone introduced themselves. The oldest senior brother was named Shan Hongfei, followed by Ye Wen, Ning Xiangdong, and Zhou Baoqiang. Professor Gu rarely accepted female students, and today's birthday dinner was not announced to the public, so everyone present was a man.
Xu Xiaoya excels at socializing. Since these people will be her senior brothers in the future, she's not afraid of being called a social butterfly. "Senior brothers, you must take good care of Zhao Qiang and me in the future, otherwise you won't be qualified to be senior brothers."
Dan Hongfei chuckled and said, "That's for sure. Junior Sister and Junior Brother were chosen by the teacher at such a young age, which is enough to prove your talent and ability. Your future is limitless. Maybe the senior brothers will even be waiting to benefit from your success."
Xu Xiaoya said, "I dare not say anything for the future, but we will cover the cost of computers and supplies for our senior brothers."
The four were puzzled: "Oh?"
Xu Xiaoya said, "Zhao Qiang has opened a Shunfeng Technology Company, which mainly sells and repairs computers and provides office supplies. I hope you senior classmates will help him out in the future." Zhao Qiang was sweating bullets. Xu Xiaoya was even advertising at Professor Gu's house. At the same time, Zhao Qiang was also touched. Xu Xiaoya didn't own any shares in the company, yet she was still so enthusiastic in helping him. He would definitely share more of the profits with her. Indeed, classmates have the strongest bond. Who else would have the time and energy to promote and attract customers for him all the time?
The four senior brothers chuckled at Xu Xiaoya's advertisement: "Okay, we'll definitely contact Junior Brother Zhao if we need anything. So give us a business card so we can keep in touch."
Xu Xiaoya nudged Zhao Qiang and reminded him, "Hurry up and hand out name cards to the senior brothers."
Xu Xiaoya printed business cards for both of them. Zhao Qiang's title was General Manager of Shunfeng Technology Company, and Xu Xiaoya's title was Assistant Manager. Unfortunately, Zhao Qiang didn't have the habit of carrying business cards. He searched his laptop bag and pockets but couldn't find any. He looked embarrassed. Who would have thought that he would need to use business cards to wish Professor Gu a happy birthday? He was seriously inexperienced and had no business sense at all.
Xu Xiaoya quickly took out her business cards and handed them out to her four senior brothers, complaining to Zhao Qiang, "You really made me angry. Luckily, you senior brothers aren't outsiders, so you can contact me if needed."
Dan Hongfei winked at the other three, saying, "Yes, yes, you two aren't outsiders, and neither are we. You two can contact anyone, since we're together every day anyway."
Zhou Baoqiang was even more direct: "Junior Sister is decisive and has great courage; she truly deserves to be Junior Brother's virtuous wife!"
Zhao Qiang's face flushed red, while Xu Xiaoya was a little better. She stomped her foot at Zhou Baoqiang coquettishly, "Senior brother, what are you saying? We're just ordinary classmates!"
Ning Xiangdong said, "Yes, your sister-in-law and I initially developed from ordinary classmates. Back then, she explained to outsiders in the same tone as you."
Xu Xiaoya also started to blush: "Oh dear, what are you saying, senior brothers? You're bullying us."
Ye Wenren, being more composed, worried that the laughter might disturb Professor Gu in the study, so he smoothed things over by saying, "Alright, junior sister, your senior brothers were just joking with you. You're so beautiful, it would be Zhao Qiang's good fortune to marry you."
Zhao Qiang thought to himself, "What nonsense are you talking about? I would never find a wife like that. If I were to find one, I would want a gentle and virtuous woman." But Zhao Qiang knew that he couldn't interrupt at this moment, otherwise he would continue to be teased by these four "disrespectful" senior brothers.
The sizzling sound of stir-frying filled the kitchen. Xu Xiaoya, wanting to escape the awkward situation as soon as possible, said, "I'll go help in the kitchen and say hello to Professor Gu's wife while I'm at it." Professor Gu's wife, Gong Xiaolan, worked in the logistics department of the university and was a very kind person.
There were only five men left in the living room. Zhao Qiang didn't know what to say, so he could only sit on the chair far away, lost in thought. Shan Hongfei said to Zhao Qiang, "Junior brother started his own company before he even graduated. He has much more courage than we did back then. Moreover, he can balance his studies and work. We senior brothers really admire him."
Shan Hongfei's point was very true. The four of them were the best among Professor Gu's disciples left in Donghai City. They had the deepest understanding of their teacher's personality and were well aware of Professor Gu's strictness in selecting disciples. Zhao Qiang could not possibly have gotten away with it. The fact that he could balance work and study was something the four of them truly admired.
Then there's Xu Xiaoya. Her appearance surprised Shan Hongfei and the other three. As far as they knew, Professor Gu Yu had never taken on any female students. The reason for this was unknown, but now that Professor Gu had suddenly taken on a female student, she must be quite important to him. All four of them were thinking about getting along well with Xu Xiaoya in the future.
Faced with Shan Hongfei's praise, Zhao Qiang told the truth: "Senior brother, you flatter me. I just got lucky and stumbled upon this opportunity." Outsiders, unaware of Zhao Qiang's background, would naturally think that Zhao Qiang was being modest, but the reality was indeed so.
Ning Xiangdong said, "Junior Brother is indeed lucky. With Junior Sister by your side to assist you, it would be difficult for you not to succeed in your career. The two of you complement each other perfectly, one is good at external affairs and the other at internal affairs. Not bad, I have high hopes for you two."