I'm back in 1990

Chapter 59: Buying a Car

Five of the six people in the dormitory have already arrived, leaving only the person on the top bunk of the middle bed who hasn't come yet. However, there's a note stuck on the side of the bed that says this guy's name is Ding Yi.

This name is really well chosen. It only has two characters and three strokes in total. The parents are really good at choosing names.

Years later, many young parents, lacking common sense, would choose characters with many difficult and obscure strokes when naming their children in an attempt to show off their limited education.

When the child grows up and has to take exams, they will hate their unreliable parents. While others have probably finished half of the test, this child may not have even finished writing their name.

Hao Zhi, who appeared to be the coal mine owner's son, and his parents did not show up until dinner time.

The four of them have already told each other their ages. Huang Xiaochuan is the youngest and Wu Duo is the oldest.

Therefore, Wu Duo temporarily assumed the position of dormitory leader, and was referred to as Wu Laoda for short.

As soon as he took office, Boss Wu proposed, "Brothers, we all come from all over the country. It's fate that brought us together. Meeting each other is destiny. For the next four years, we'll be under the same roof, sharing joys and sorrows. To celebrate this memorable day, let's go out for a meal."

Huang Xiaochuan responded positively, after all, Boss Wu seemed like a decent guy.

"agree!"

Zhang Gaolei chimed in, "Great!"

Chen Zhe remained silent, and the three of them looked at him together. He nodded timidly.

The four reached an agreement, but Huang Xiaochuan raised a suggestion.

"Let's just go to the cafeteria and cook a few dishes. We won't leave the campus. The cafeteria should have a small restaurant, and the prices will definitely be more affordable than outside."

"That's a good idea. Let's go check it out first, try the food, and if it's good, we can improve our meals from time to time." Wu Duo clapped his hands and agreed.

Zhang Gaolei agreed, and Chen Zhe naturally listened to everyone.

They were all young people, and after a few beers, they were as close as brothers. Even the introverted Chen Zhe forced himself to drink a beer.

Zhang Gaolei is clearly the kind of guy who drinks and smokes at home, enjoying himself immensely.

During a break while eating, Huang Xiaochuan asked Wu Duo, "Why did you come to Shanghai to study when you're from Beijing? There are so many schools there, why didn't you stay near home?"

Wu Duo put down his chopsticks and said, "I came to Shanghai because I didn't want to go to school near my home. I finally have a chance to be away from my parents."

After hearing Wu Duo's explanation, Huang Xiaochuan understood. This was also a silly kid who wanted to break free from the constraints of his family and yearned for freedom.

Then he asked Zhang Gaolei, "Old Zhang, why did you come to Shanghai?"

Zhang Gaolei stubbed out his cigarette and said, "When I filled out my college application, I only applied to schools in two places, one was Beijing and the other was Shanghai. My teacher said that Beijing and Shanghai are big cities, and that I should come to big cities to see them and broaden my horizons."

Huang Xiaochuan then looked at Chen Zhe, who seemed to have grown bolder after drinking some alcohol: "My parents helped me fill out my college application. They said that Shanghai is a big city and that I should stay here after graduation."

These are all very simple reasons: big cities are really attractive to people from other places.

At this moment, Wu Duo asked, "Huang Xiaochuan, why did you come to Shanghai?"

"Me?" Huang Xiaochuan thought to himself, "Of course I came to Shanghai for financial freedom and love."

But what this guy actually said was: "Me? I came here to learn about the dream of becoming an economically strong nation."

Wu Duo smiled and pointed at Huang Xiaochuan: "You're not being honest, you're just talking nonsense."

Then Wu Duo asked Huang Xiaochuan, "Xiaochuan, your family seems to be quite well-off?"

Huang Xiaochuan understood what Wu Duo meant and replied, "You mean my pager? It was a college gift from my uncle. He's a small-town entrepreneur in Suzhou. My parents are both wage earners and couldn't afford to buy me this thing."

Huang Xiaochuan used his uncle as a shield again, and it worked really well.

At the first gathering, not much beer was consumed. Wu Duo and Zhang Gaolei drank the most, each of them having three bottles. Huang Xiaochuan drank two and a half bottles, and Chen Zhe drank the remaining half bottle.

After dinner, Wu Duo and Zhang Gaolei walked ahead arm in arm, while Huang Xiaochuan and Chen Zhe followed leisurely behind them back to the dormitory.

As expected, Hao Zhidu hadn't returned yet. Huang Xiaochuan went to the washroom, took a shower, changed his clothes, and went to bed early.

Wu Duo and Zhang Gaolei were engrossed in their conversation when Chen Zhe, seemingly a bit tipsy, slumped onto the bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, Huang Xiaochuan arrived at the welcome point to find Sang Weihong as promised.

"Senior, will this disturb your work?"

When Sang Weihong saw that it was Huang Xiaochuan, she smiled and said, "I'm not too busy right now. I've asked about that bicycle for you. You can go directly to him later. I told him last night that he won't overcharge you."

"That's great, thank you so much, senior."

Sang Weihong teased, "Just a verbal thank you? Aren't you going to treat me to a meal?"

"I must treat you, but I might have to postpone this meal until after my military training is over!" Huang Xiaochuan's words put the meal on hold for more than ten days, and whether he would even remember it by then was another matter.

Seeing that Huang Xiaochuan readily agreed, Sang Weihong stopped pressuring him and handed him a slip of paper.

"This is a senior from our school. His side job is to deal in things. He collects most of the things left behind by the graduating seniors. If you go to him, he has several old bicycles."

Huang Xiaochuan took the note: "Okay! I'll go find him now."

This guy is a real talent! Starting a business selling recycled resources while in university—that's quite a brain.

Sang Weihong gave Huang Xiaochuan a pager number. It seems this senior student has indeed made some money and his business is doing quite well; he even has a pager now.

To keep a low profile and avoid being taken advantage of, Huang Xiaochuan didn't use his own mobile phone to make the call. Instead, he found a public phone on campus and called the senior student. The call was answered quickly.

After Huang Xiaochuan told the other party who had introduced him and what his needs were, they agreed to meet downstairs at dormitory building number three on campus.

When Huang Xiaochuan arrived at the agreed location, the other party was already waiting for him.

"Huang Xiaochuan?"

"Senior Jiang Bixing?"

After the two made contact, Jiang Bixing led Huang Xiaochuan to a storage room in the school. Jiang Bixing took out his key and opened the door. The room was filled with a lot of random things, including several bicycles that were about 60-70% new.

Huang Xiaochuan picked through the bicycles and finally chose a Phoenix 28 bicycle that was about 60% new.

Huang Xiaochuan patted the dusty artificial leather seat of the car: "Senior, this is it."

After glancing at the car, Jiang Bixing said, "Since Chairman Sang introduced you, I'll just make a storage fee! I bought it for eighty, so you can give me eighty-five."

Huang Xiaochuan then realized that the senior student, Sang Weihong, was actually a student council member. He asked curiously, "Is Senior Sang the student council president?"

"Yes, he's the vice president, the vice president of the Economics Department Student Union," Jiang Bixing said casually.

"I see!" Huang Xiaochuan said as he took out a blue 100-yuan bill and handed it to Jiang Bixing.

After Jiang Bixing took the money, he casually rubbed it in his hand a few times to make sure it was okay. Then he took out a handful of change from his pocket, pulled out a ten-yuan note and a five-yuan note, and handed them to Huang Xiaochuan.

"If you need anything in the future, feel free to come to me, or if you have anything to sell, you can also come to me. I guarantee you a good price." Jiang Bixing put the money in his pocket and then gave himself a "GG" (goodbye).

Huang Xiaochuan nodded in agreement, "That's a must."

After saying goodbye, Huang Xiaochuan pushed his bike to the repair stall outside the school. Jiang Bixing had told him how to get there. The bike had been sitting there for a while, both tires were flat, and the brakes didn't seem to work. He had to take it to the repair stall to get it fixed up properly.