Chapter 23

“Mom!” Tian Yuxi called out, walking up to the middle-aged woman with a puzzled look. “He’s the Song Haowen, I told you about.”

Tian Yuxi’s mom smiled at Song Haowen and warmly said, “Welcome, little fellow to our house. Thank you for saving Xi’er in the car. If it weren’t for you, who knows how serious the consequences would have been.”

“Auntie, it’s nothing,” Song Haowen humbly replied.

“When her dad and I heard about what happened, we were scared for days. We didn’t expect someone as young as you to be so brave and capable,” Tian Yuxi’s mom praised, leaving Song Haowen feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Auntie, I just did what anyone should do.”

Tian Yuxi’s mom invited Song Haowen into the living room, personally poured him a cup of tea, and offered grapes, apples, and other fruits.

“I told Xi’er a long time ago to invite you over. We wanted to express our gratitude in person.”

Facing the warm and hospitable hostess, Song Haowen’s initial restraint disappeared, and he answered her questions about his family and university studies.

Soon, Tian Yuxi’s dad also returned, and he was pleased to meet Song Haowen. They all chatted happily.

Seeing that it was getting late, Song Haowen suggested heading back to school. Tian Yuxi’s parents insisted he stay for dinner, refusing to let him leave before eating. Helpless, he agreed to stay for dinner and not insist on leaving early.

During dinner, Tian Yuxi kept praising Song Haowen, mentioning that he had become the top scorer in the provincial college entrance examination at such a young age. She also mentioned his ability to make money, buy a house, and open a store. Tian Yuxi’s parents were astonished and could hardly believe that all of this was true.

Tian Yuxi also informed her dad about Song Haowen’s desire to obtain a business license. Her dad mentioned that although there had been economic reforms and some flexibility for individual businesses, issuing business licenses to them was still unlikely. He promised to inquire about it tomorrow and see if there could be a special arrangement.

Song Haowen vividly remembered that in his previous life, the first business license for an individual business was issued on December 11, 1980, to a 19-year-old woman in Wenzhou. It was numbered 10101 and created a huge sensation in the country.

Song Haowen wondered if this event would undergo changes in this life due to his rebirth.

After dinner, it was already dark. Song Haowen bid farewell and went back home. Tian Yuxi accompanied him to the bus stop and watched him board the bus before returning home.

Back at home, instead of immediately working, the image of Tian Yuxi’s family’s courtyard kept lingering in Song Haowen’s mind. He knew that a similar courtyard in the second ring of Beijing would cost from thousands to tens of millions. Most of the courtyards in his current neighborhood were still priced below ten thousand yuan. With the nearly 40,000 yuan he had, he could buy three or four courtyards. He decided to try and purchase one or two as soon as possible.

With this plan in mind, Song Haowen was excited. He made a cup of strong tea and started working under the lamplight. Unconsciously, dawn arrived. Although a bit tired, he had to attend classes and couldn’t afford to sleep. So, he took a cold shower in the bathroom, had breakfast on the street, and went straight to school.

Due to staying up all night, Song Haowen persisted in not closing his eyes during the first and second classes of advanced mathematics in the morning. As for what Li Bai and Su Shi said to Song Haowen, Song Haowen had no idea.

During the four sessions of traditional Chinese studies, Song Haowen was completely no idea what the topic was as he was too focus on not falling asleep.

Li Bai and Su Shi did not notice him at all. Later, he was simply to tired and just lay down at his desk, making the teacher Chinese culture almost faint with anger. After two classes, the teacher of traditional Chinese culture refused all communication and left without hesitation.

Ding Mo and his classmates in the dormitory expressed incomprehension when they saw Song Haowen exhausted and not even wanting to have lunch. Yu Guangzhong even joked, “Did you do something bad at night and get tired?”

Zhu Hongyu only knew that Song Haowen was renting a house outside and partnering with others to do business, but she knew nothing about what he was actually doing.

Due to the class monitor’s sense of responsibility, when the afternoon class ended, she immediately followed him out of the classroom to find out the truth about his business.

Seeing Song Haowen bowing his head and walking a short distance on the road through the south gate, he entered a door on the roadside and stopped went inside.

Zhu Hongyu quietly walked over and looked inside. She didn’t see him but saw a young girl sitting behind a counter in the room, with clear eyebrows and eyes. She was writing something in her notebook with a pen.

On the shelf behind the girl, there were several rows of appliances, including a TV, cassette player, radio, and desktop fan. On the ground next to the counter, there were also many old floor-to-ceiling fans and washing machines.

Zhu Hongyu couldn’t resist her curiosity and walked in. The girl sitting behind the counter immediately stood up with a smile on her face and asked softly, “Comrade, what can I do for you?”

Zhu Hongyu pretended to be indifferent and asked, “I came in to take a look. Is it okay?”

The other person pointed to the billboard next to the table and said, “We mainly do electrical repairs and sell second-hand appliances.”

Zhu Hongyu nodded, pretending to want to know more, and asked about the prices of a few second-hand appliances. Then she asked again, “Who are you guys and do you know who just came inside?”

The other party immediately became alert and asked coldly, “Why are you here? What do you want to do?”

Zhu Hongyu’s face suddenly turned red and said, “Don’t misunderstand, girl. I’m his college classmate. I want to know where he went?”