Chapter 145: Xishan Tower’s Xu Tingsheng (2)

Xu Tingsheng’s heart was not broad at all. He still always had that awkwardness within his smile, feeling greatly uneasy whenever he was placed in the limelight. If there was a day when he would be pointed out on the streets to their friends by those who recognised him...he felt that he would really be unable to live comfortably with that.

Thus, being in the limelight over this current period of time, he would avoid returning if he was so able to.

The interest of university students towards any single matter was always intense yet temporal. It would leave just as quickly as it came. As long as Xu Tingsheng was able to keep away for these couple of days, the situation would then take a real turn for the better.

Amongst those heated discussions that Xu Tingsheng couldn’t hear and also didn’t wish to see, there seemed to remain but a single deficiency in this first year university student, and that was his lack of money.

There were many things that seemed to prove this.

First was that previous conversation between him and Cao Qing, in which he had personally admitted to coming from the poorest county of the poorest city of Jianhai Province, his family farming as well as running a store for a living. It was also said that he had actually been the host for that meal, yet had skipped out on paying the bill in the end.

Second was the photographs of the riverside residence that had been posted on the forums. Hucheng was developing amidst great difficulty, lacking the ability to generate revenue. At the same time, it was said that even Xu Tingsheng himself had had to take up a home tutor job for his livelihood.

Thirdly, Xu Tingsheng was comparatively low-key in his daily life. He didn’t have a car, and his usual food, clothes and other lifestyle choices were very ordinary as well.

Fourthly...

Regarding this, some guys who were rather lower in quality would comment due to jealousy and short-sightedness, “What’s the use? Isn’t he still freaking poor at the end of the day?”

Most people, though, wouldn’t have their opinion of him changed by this. This was especially so for the girls, who were instead more inclined towards sighing incomparably conflictedly once in a while, “If only he had a little more money.”

This conflicted state was as if Xu Tingsheng was kneeling on one knee before them, proposing. However, they were caught in inner turmoil: Everything’s good about this guy, just that he’s poor.

On Tuesday, Hucheng Education announced its successful acquisition of the Modernity Training Institute, renaming it as Hucheng Education Training Institute.

At the same time, they began recruiting personnel via various channels on a large scale. This included technicians, operations and management personnel as well as full and part-time teachers, calligraphy teachers, drawing teachers, piano teachers...and even cleaning personnel.

As for Taekwondo coaches, Chick Bao and an ultra senior brother of hers had already been pre-booked for this.

Those of Hucheng had once debated on these non-culture related lessons before. At the end of it all, Xu Tingsheng had clapped the table, simply saying, “It’s these that really rake in the cash.”

What he had not been able to tell the others was what he had once seen. Even in the poorest Jiannan City of Jianhai Province, the head coaches of the of the city’s most famous Taekwondo schools would drive a Porsche and live in a luxurious villa. You would be able to see children or even white-collar workers in Taekwondo gear out on the streets everywhere without fail.

There was also no way for him to tell them that the the number of art students sitting for the university entrance examinations would be rising unceasingly over the next few years, artistic classes appearing in virtually all schools with some schools even appearing with art as their speciality as well as focus.

And be it drawing or music, the expenses forked out by art students would always be shockingly high.

From these next few years onwards, drawing studios for the interest development of children or in service of art students would gradually come to encompass all the cities of the nation, especially the Zhuantang district of Xihu City where there would be hundreds of these on a single street. Meanwhile, the income as well as revenue-generating capacity of these training institutes would really be at an unimaginable extent with regard to the common person.

He wanted Hucheng to build up its name in these areas first, establishing its brand and image.

Xu Tingsheng had chosen education for his first career since his rebirth. Firstly, it was because he had always had that education dream. Secondly, it was because he was familiar with this industry. Thirdly, it was because in actual fact, the potential of the education industry far surpassed the imaginations of many.

Of course, this was only a single part, a single phase of the life that he had planned out. There might really be one day in the future in which he truly went out to the outside world to make a killing like Mr Xu had said before.

......

In order to dispel everyone’s doubts, Hucheng’s recruitment advertisements displayed the entirety of Hucheng Education Training Institute, including their brand new school buildings, their complete set of facilities and hardware installations...and even their property certificates.

The training institute was located in the suburbs of Yanzhou City, between Xishan Academy City and Yanzhou’s main city district. Whilst having a tranquil environment, it also sat at a very convenient location. Additionally, its property prices were not high as well.

When Fang Chen had obtained the loan from the banks, Xu Tingsheng had moved that they also take ownership of that real estate at all costs.

Like this, Xu Tingsheng who was very familiar with the trend of property prices over the next few years and had been troubled by such in his previous life for many years gained his first piece of real estate ever since his rebirth.

In having done all this, Hucheng wanted to tell all those potential applicants who were still hesitating: Come, join us. Don’t worry, we have the money.

While in the eyes of the students of Xishan Academy City, the message they received from this was something different altogether: So he actually didn’t lack money either. He’s very rich.

In the heated discussions that ensued, Lu Zhixin was the most pitiful victim.

People had previously scolded and mocked her, laughing at her for shamelessly following Xu Tingsheng and thus getting into big trouble together with him. Now, they were scolding her for scheming so deeply, being greedy and money-loving, overflowing with ambition...

These girls all seemed to have forgotten that they had just been feeling conflicted not all that long ago, finding Xu Tingsheng to be too poor. Now that they were no longer feeling conflicted, they instead discovered that Xu Tingsheng actually wasn’t kneeling in front of them. He was someone else’s.

Thus, they would feel uncomfortable if they didn’t cuss Lu Zhixin a little, feeling that something had been stolen from them for no rhyme or reason.

It was to the extent that even Lu Zhixin’s roommates and friends who had helped her before were currently all looking at her with weird gazes: It’s no wonder that she was so enthusiastic before. So there were so many things that she didn’t tell us. She hid herself so deeply before...

Lu Zhixin did not show any abnormalities with regard to these discussions at all.

Afraid that she might be having it hard, Li Linlin comforted her rather sympathetically, “Zhixin, don’t be too distressed. Those people...”

Lu Zhixin shook her head, “Relax, I’m fine. Actually, I’m instead feeling pretty happy like this. The more it’s like this, the guiltier Xu Tingsheng will definitely be feeling. He’ll have to feel that he owes me again.”

“Why do you want Xu Tingsheng to owe you so much? You want him to repay you with his bachelor self in the future?” Old Wai jokingly interjected.

Lu Zhixin smiled, not speaking.

“Zhixin, don’t be silly. What can owing alone do? Even if he owes you, he might not actually pay it back, might not actually do something for you. It’s still catching the actual person himself that’s the most important,” Said Liu Daiyun, Hucheng’s employee who was the closest to Lu Zhixin.

“Maybe not for others, but if it’s Xu Tingsheng, he definitely will.”

Lu Zhixin left the office with a smile on her face with these cryptic words, leaving behind a perplexed Liu Daiyun shaking her head in utter incomprehension.

......

Zhao Kangwen had originally wanted to find a time to talk with Xu Tingsheng a little, comforting as well as encouraging him. However, when two days had passed and Xu Tingsheng had still yet to return, he found himself saddled with responsibilities of his own.

Zhao Kangwen brought along his Vice-Principal, a military man by birth, along with an assistant in making a trip to Xihu City where they attended a meeting of the higher-ups of the various universities of Jianhai Province.

In this meeting of the higher echelons, apart from listening to the targets that had been set for them, another, very important thing was competition. They had to compete for funds, compete for projects, compete for quotas. At the end of the day, they were competing for their standings.

Zhao Kangwen didn’t really like attending such meetings, because there were very few things that he could win for their side, his voice holding too little weight.

Yanzhou was an economically flourishing zone, the local government also being very supportive of Yanzhou University. Thus, Yanzhou University was not lacking in money. Instead, what they lacked were research results, which held foremost priority in the rivalry between universities.

Yanzhou University which focused primarily on education and the humanities was truly too weak in this area.

Amidst the discussion, Zhao Kangwen along with the Vice-Principal and the assistant sat there silently for a long time, feeling stifled. Ever since the start of the discussion, in the competition over all those projects, he had been directly rebutted every time he opened his mouth to speak. Just a single ‘Show us what research abilities and results Yanzhou University has’ was sufficient in dissipating his body into scattered ash, rendering him speechless.

As Zhao Kangwen was listening quietly, a new topic surfaced in the discussion, “A first year university student recently wrote a thesis on the location of Cao Cao’s tomb, that is, Anyang Mausoleum. It was written very logically and substantively...the experts are all raging to the heavens discussing it now.”

Zhao Kangwen had originally wanted to join in the commotion as well, but then thought: Forget it. It doesn’t have anything to do with our Yanzhou University anyway.