Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 307 - 306 Man’s Happiness

At six o’clock, since Shen Tinglan had gone to another meeting, Li Zheng and Lin Yujing could only head to the restaurant together.

Unnoticed, they had been mixing in for a month, and their colleagues’ perceptions of them had started to change.

Initially, everyone thought they were just leaders’ kids sent here to "gild" their resumes, but they ended up solving significant problems.

The institute even issued an official letter requesting the competition committee to approve their absence from the international competition.

In Li Zheng’s eyes, all these were to be expected, but to other colleagues, it seemed surreal, with logic that didn’t add up.

Firstly, leaders’ children were mostly supposed to go abroad.

Sending them here was like adding obstacles to their path of going overseas.

Unless the child wasn’t really up to the standards of studying abroad and just wanted to be slotted into the system in a nominal role.

However, these two were explosively talented, belonging to the top tier of talents.

Why would such people be keen on dying within the domestic system?

Finally, a colleague in his early thirties couldn’t help but stop by their table while carrying his tray and asked,

"Excuse me, are you the two… interns from department one?" he cautiously inquired, "Did you really give up the chance to go to the IPHO?"

Both nodded.

"…" The colleague sighed, "May I sit here?"

"Please."

"Thanks." After sitting down, the colleague didn’t rush to eat but leaned in and whispered, "How did Chen Hongbing and Zhao Zhenhua lure you in? More work, more performance? Subsidized housing? Professional titles?"

The pair looked at each other.

"Could it be…" the colleague looked at them in astonishment, "you wanted to contribute to the aerospace cause yourselves?"

Both nodded again.

"Sigh…" Finally, the colleague scooped some food onto his spoon, "Contributing doesn’t have to be in the aerospace system; other fields work too. As someone who’s been there, I advise you to choose a field where you can easily go abroad, just to have a backup plan."

The two exchanged glances and then, as if they hadn’t heard anything, started chatting among themselves.

"Did you get your salary message?" Li Zheng asked.

"Yeah… Wasn’t it supposed to be just over 2000? Why is it more than 8000…"

"A bunch of weird bonuses, and there’s also the heatstroke prevention and cooling subsidy…"

"Wait…" the colleague’s eyes widened, "You two got over 8000? I only got 7000!"

"I guess that’s what more work, more performance means." Li Zheng continued eating quietly.

"Forget it… I respect that you earn more." The colleague spread his hands, "I read those two papers of yours, they’re enough for one or two people at Institute No. 11 to get a professional title, and the laboratory at Tianda benefited too, probably letting two people earn a master’s degree. But here, you only get a heatstroke prevention subsidy."

Lin Yujing felt something was off as she listened, pulled her tray closer, and asked Li Zheng, "How are you going to spend your salary?"

"Hmm… I’ll give part of it to my dad," Li Zheng shook his head and smiled, "He’s always wanted to buy a battleship model, but he never saves enough money, I spend too lavishly…"

"Why give him the money? Just buy the battleship model directly."

"Don’t underestimate the battleship model… The one he likes costs over ten thousand… that’s not including the customs duty."

Lin Yujing waved her phone and laughed, "Together we’ve got enough."

"!" Li Zheng’s eyes widened, "Are you serious?"

"I’m not giving it for free," Lin Yujing hummed, "You can pay me back next year when your fund settles, with 5% annual interest."

"Forget it… I don’t want to borrow money to buy him a gift." Li Zheng tapped his forehead, "I’m very cautious with financial matters."

"Tsk..." Lin Yujing mumbled as she began to eat, "Then I’ll just buy a fund myself."

"I can introduce my client manager to you," Li Zheng nodded earnestly, "Remember, never buy the product they aggressively promote. The only reason they’d recommend it is that the fund gives them high sales commissions, but that means the product invests the returns into the channel itself, thereby squeezing our yield. So you definitely need to buy the products that the salespeople are too lazy to pitch—those are the honest products, they give less commission to them and more returns to us to maintain their reputation."

"Stop... stop talking...I’m getting a headache," Lin Yujing covered her forehead, "I’ll give you the money, you help me buy it..."

"How can that work? Account opening, risk warnings, signing contracts—all require your own signature."

"Just use your account to buy it..." Lin Yujing muttered while stealing a glance at Li Zheng, "Who made you like to thinker about such boring stuff, Scum Chap."

"That’s called being financially savvy," Li Zheng shook his head, "I’ll introduce the manager to you later, you talk to him, but remember my financial advice."

"Cough..." A coworker, who had been staring for a long time, couldn’t hold back anymore, "Are you stupid, Li Zheng? She’s practically handing it to you on a silver platter, and you’re not seizing the financial power now. Do you want to end up like your dad?"

"Ah," Li Zheng was startled, "Is that what it means? She’s just lazy, right?"

"Lazy or not, she wouldn’t just give away her money like that," the coworker gesticulated frantically, "Just accept, quickly accept."

"Um... Well..." Li Zheng hesitated, "Maybe just leave it with me for now, I’ll prepare a statement and a yield report so it’s clear when making withdrawals..."

"Look, look," the coworker earnestly nodded to Lin Yujing, "Exclusive private banking, deposit it quickly."

"Hmm..." Lin Yujing glared at her coworker unhappily, "I’ve changed my mind."

Then she picked up her plate and moved to another table.

Li Zheng was puzzled, "Change her mind just like that, why switch tables..."

"Ah, this..." the coworker scratched his head, realizing that his attempt at assistance was too obvious and had made her uncomfortable, then he also stood up, pulling out a business card to give to Li Zheng, "I’ll make it short... The institute’s terms are nowhere near matching your capabilities, you could easily multiply your income tenfold whenever you want."

Li Zheng glanced at the business card, which wasn’t from Aerospace Group but some unheard of aerospace company.

"Where are you from?" Li Zheng glared.

"Don’t get worked up, I’m officially resigning only on the first of next month, I’m still with the institute until then," the coworker nodded earnestly, "But starting next month, I’ll be working for Xinghai Power. Given your current capabilities, even as part-timers, I can ensure salaries over 60 a year for both of you."

"???" Li Zheng looked around in astonishment, "You’re in an institute’s cafeteria, poaching for a private aerospace company?"

"Keep it down... The national policy does encourage private sector space exploration," the coworker quickly gestured for him to lower his voice, "I’ve been working here since my master’s, nearly ten years, working overtime every day, and except for a professional title, I’ve got nothing. Now my child is about to enter elementary school, and I can’t even afford a bathroom in a school district. Seeing you two, my first thought was you would definitely go abroad, but since you’ve decided this... and even have a common financial plan..."

The coworker stood up, taking his tray sincerely, "What I mean is, with your capabilities, by the time you graduate, you can save enough to buy a decent school district home, not end up like most engineers here in their 30s, slogging all day, burdened with more mortgages and all the worrisome issues with registration and stuff."

Li Zheng simply pushed the business card back.

"Thanks for the offer, but I personally do not plan on delving deep into the aerospace field."

"Li Zheng, I know you’re awesome," the coworker pointed at the business card, leaning towards Lin Yujing, "but you must understand, people change. Once girls step into society, their standards for judging whether you are awesome will change too. A functional school district home is the foundation of happiness."

"Yes," Li Zheng nodded, "but I do have one."

"???"

"She has one too."

"..."

"I know you dislike Jijing locals..." Li Zheng sighed, "but my parents actually prepared for me five years ago, my dad can easily afford a battleship model—he just spends a couple of hours at a private hospital to perform a surgery, and that would be enough."

"..."

The coworker, silently bowed his head.

"Sometimes, I feel powerless too," Li Zheng patted his coworker’s arm, "when I was still ignorant, they already arranged everything, giving me no chance to struggle. Under such good conditions, all I could do was focus on my studies, never needing to think about a mortgage... Alas... That’s probably my fate, destined to study."

"Stop it... Can’t I just leave now..." the coworker gloomily packed up his card, forcing a smile, "But I still recommend Xinghai Power as the most promising private aerospace company. Our goal is to build China’s SpaceX. If you ever consider this field in the future, make sure to contact us first."

"Alright, good luck!"

"Can’t really afford to ’add oil’ anymore... I need to take it slow..."

The coworker, with tired steps, headed towards the corner of the cafeteria.

Li Zheng also carried his plate and sat down next to Lin Yujing.

"Sent away, it turns out it was a private aerospace company poaching talent."

"Huh?" Lin Yujing turned and said, "Call security... Wait, this place seems to be managed by the military..."

"Forget it, they haven’t committed a crime." Li Zheng sipped his soup, hesitated for a moment, then asked seriously with a stern face, "Ms. Lin, about the exclusive private banking matter, are you still considering it?"

"~~~~"

…

Three days later, during the eleven-day holiday, Li Yi rarely took a day off.

An Ning was also rarely at home.

Li Zheng had again gone to some strange place.

Under the right circumstances...

In short, they went to bed very late that night.

Then early next morning, they were woken up by a delivery.

Li Yi, wearing only underwear, answered the door. The courier efficiently carried in a tightly sealed box covered in Chinese and English labels, then handed Li Yi the invoice to sign.

Li Yi, still groggy, signed with Li Zheng’s full name.

"It’s really... such a waste..." Li Yi knocked on the door and said to the bedroom, "Li Zheng is even buying study materials from abroad now. Can’t your Science and Technology Department bring some in so that the students can spend less money?"

An Ning didn’t respond, but the courier was confused, "Aren’t you Li Yi, but Li Zheng?"

"No no... I’m not Li Zheng." Li Yi pointed to the invoice and said, "Because this delivery is for my son Li Zheng, I just signed his name, as I’ve always done..."

"But this package isn’t for Li Zheng." The courier pointed at the invoice and said, "The recipient is Li Yi."

"Huh???" Li Yi rubbed his eyes and grabbed his glasses to take a closer look, then suddenly exclaimed, "Holy shit??!!!" (censored)

"It’s okay, signing it like this works too. I just wanted to confirm," the courier said with a smile while tearing off the invoice, "After all, it’s international delivery, and it’s a fragile, valuable item, so it’s good to check."

"Wait..." Li Yi crouched down to look at the pile of English labels on it; his entire body began to tremble, "This is... that model factory’s address..."

"Seems so..." the courier said awkwardly, "Then I’ll get going..."

"Wait, let me check..." Li Yi scratched his face and took a pair of scissors, struggling to open the layers of packaging.

Amidst a strong smell, he saw the eagerly anticipated hull.

"Wisconsin BB-64!!! 1/150!!!" Li Yi jumped up, clutching his head, "Aaahhhhhhhh!!!"

In the bedroom, Ning’er’s cries of alarm followed, "Is it an earthquake???"

"Wife, I love you!!!" Li Yi shouted from the bedroom door, "So that’s why my paycheck was so clean this month, it was for this!!"

"???" An Ning, sleepy-eyed, said, "What are you talking about?"

"Wasn’t it you who sent this? The model at the door?"

"Why would I send you that? It’s expensive and takes up space; I wouldn’t be able to throw it out..." An Ning rubbed her eyes, "Wait, did you buy another model? Where did the money come from?"

"…" Li Yi panicked and ran to the door, grabbing the courier who was about to leave, "Let me see the invoice again..."

"I left the copy over there." The courier nodded toward the shoe cabinet by the door.

Only then did Li Yi let the courier go and picked up the invoice.

[Note:]

[A man remains a boy all his life.]

[——Li Zheng, Lin Yujing gift]

"Fuck..." Li Yi, stunned, grabbed his head.

An Ning also put on her clothes and came out, looking at the big boxes all over the floor and starting to get a headache. "Why did you randomly buy again..."

"Not me," Li Yi said blankly. "It was Li Zheng and Jingjing. They must have gotten their paychecks."

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"..." An Ning walked over to the box with a worried look on her face, "How much is this?"

"Converted to RMB... about twelve thousand three hundred..."

"They earn so much during their internships?" An Ning was shocked, "The Aerospace budget really produces results fast."

"Must be from both of them combined," Li Yi gloated as he pulled out model parts, "Hasn’t been raised for nothing, hasn’t been raised for nothing!"

"No..." An Ning frowned again, "It’s taking up too much space, you can’t keep it in the house."

"No, no, no..." Li Yi ran next to An Ning and acted coquettishly, "It’s also a gesture from Jingjing, think about it. Next time Jingjing visits our house, won’t she be delighted to see this model?"

"..."

"Just this once, I won’t let them buy anymore next time."

"Sigh..." An Ning sighed, "Assemble it in the bathroom, I can’t stand the smell of the glue."

"Wife, I love you!"

...

Meanwhile, Li Zheng had boarded the company shuttle at the headquarters, heading to the Yangtze Academy training center in the Southern Suburb.

As soon as he settled in, his phone rang.

[Li Yi: Son, I love you! And I love Jingjing!]

[Li Zheng: Let’s separate the issues.]

[Li Yi: Next time buy it under Lin Yujing’s name, then your mom can’t easily throw it out.]

[Li Zheng: Go assemble the model, happy October 1st.]

[Li Yi: Happy!]

Li Zheng then smiled and put away his phone. Though burdened with an aerospace responsibility, he had to admit, this was probably his biggest takeaway since he started the internship.

At that moment, a buzz-cut man with glasses sat beside him, quite excited.

"Can’t believe I got such a good opportunity just starting the job." The man with glasses, energized, nodded vigorously at Li Zheng, "I heard that the core teacher from the Yellow 2 project will also give a lecture."

"Ah... really..." Li Zheng chuckled along, "Actually..."

"Looking at your face, you’re an intern aren’t you?" The man with glasses extended his right hand laughing, "Yin Hang, from Institute No. 3."

"Li Zheng, from Institute No. 1." Li Zheng reluctantly shook hands.

"From Institute No. 1?" Yin Hang asked excitedly, "I heard that Yellow 2 might launch by the end of the year, is that true?"

"Just a possibility..."

"Ah, right, an intern wouldn’t know too much..." Yin Hang gripped the handrail in front of him, "I initially wanted to go to Institute No. 1, but there were too many applicants, so I had to start with missiles in Institute No. 3, hoping to transfer later..."

"Um, this..."

"Let me give you some advice as someone who’s been through this; being so hesitant isn’t good," Yin Hang said, staring at Li Zheng. "Even though we are technicians, we need to bravely present ourselves, otherwise the leaders won’t notice us. This time, I plan to perform well in front of the Yellow 2 project team’s teacher, at least let him remember I exist, in case there’s a chance in the future."

"Ah... he should remember you..." Li Zheng swallowed, "Yin Hang, right?"

"Right, Aerospace’s Hang, not the bank’s Hang."