Chapter 63: Trading Favors

University President Song did not come to the computer lab to watch the program demonstration alone that afternoon; instead, he brought along most of the school's leadership team, catching Dean Fei and Liu Shaosong off guard. They were terrified that Di Ye would get stage fright or mess up, but as it turned out, not only did he not get stage fright, he was relaxed and eloquent, talking until President Song and his party were beaming with satisfaction, and they agreed on the spot to the so-called "Special Talent Training Program."

"Di Ye, besides the tax-free car purchase, do you have any other requests?"

"I would like to ask President Song to help urge the city to have the Post and Telecommunications Bureau launch the internet sooner. This will not only give this browser a place to be put to use, but also help Yun University maintain a leading position in the country regarding the internet."

"Good, I promise you this matter. I will call and communicate with the city in a moment."

After Di Ye signed the guarantee for staying at the school for further studies and everything was settled, Liu Shaosong took him to his office, took out a copy of the "Hojo Tsukasa City Hunter Color Artbook" published in 1991, and said with great heartache: "Out of so many manga in my bookcase, you just had to pick this one. This was the first manga book I bought by scrimping and saving when I went to study in Dongying back then. You must keep it well; don't lose it."

"Teacher Liu, no wonder we hit it off like brothers from a past life; it turns out we both like long-legged beauties in tight clothes."

"A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory! Who is a brother from a past life with you? I just like the dashing style of Hanyu Ryo."

"Isn't 'dashing' just a synonym for lecherous?"

After Di Ye and Liu Shaosong bantered for a few moments, he carefully placed the manga book into his notebook computer bag and said, "Teacher Liu, you really are the expert. You specifically taught me some new vocabulary this morning—things like 'major technological breakthrough,' 'international advanced level,' 'filling a domestic gap,' 'worth a million US dollars,' and 'outstanding teaching achievements.' After a combination of these moves, there aren't many bureaucrats who wouldn't be moved."

"This was all my father-in-law's idea; I was just helping to pass on the message."

"Having an elder in the house is like having a treasure. Director Fu is old and cunning; Teacher Liu, you should learn well from him. You might be able to become a Dean or even a University President in the future."

Liu Shaosong was caught between laughter and tears, waving his hand to shoo him away: "If you have something to say, say it; if not, leave quickly. Don't delay my lesson preparation."

Di Ye actually did have something to say. He took out paper and pen from his computer bag and asked, "Teacher Liu, have you discovered any outstanding talent among the sophomore and junior students?"

Liu Shaosong hesitated for a moment and said, "You plan to recruit from the lower-year students to go to Pengcheng to develop the browser? Their foundations aren't solid yet; I estimate they won't be able to help much. If you really want to find helpers, it would be better to choose a few from the current master's students."

"Master's students are all arrogant and conceited; they wouldn't listen to the command of an undergraduate like me."

Di Ye did not want anyone to challenge his leadership, so he reined in his grinning demeanor and said seriously, "I think there is a big problem with the teaching quality in our department. The textbooks used and the software in the computer lab are all antiques from the 80s, and the thinking is still stuck on writing small, standalone application software. It simply cannot adapt to the needs of the internet era. With such a foundation, the more solid it is, the smaller the room for future development."

Liu Shaosong felt the same way, but still insisted on his own point of view, saying, "Of course I know there is a big problem with current teaching thinking, but the foundation I'm talking about refers to things like Data Structures and Compilation Principles. If they haven't even mastered these things, what will they use to help you?"

"As long as they are excellent enough, I can teach them myself. When the school teaches these courses, they only write and draw on the blackboard, which is slow and hard to understand. If they can have open source code for reference and learn while practicing, they can master it proficiently in a month or two at most."

"This is also something that can't be helped. There are only 200-plus computers in the computer lab in total, and all 10,000-plus teachers and students in the school use them together. They can't be allocated at all, so we can only write and draw on the blackboard."

"I have quite a bit of spare cash on hand now. When I get to Pengcheng, I'll equip each of them with the latest Pentium compatible machine."

"I hope you keep your word."

Liu Shaosong stopped insisting and gave Di Ye the names of 5 students, saying, "These students are all very talented. It's good for you to take them to see the world, but you must respect their own wishes; you are not allowed to use money to bribe them."

Di Ye laughed and sophistically argued, "The pursuit of material wealth is a manifestation of human nature; how can you call it bribery?"

Liu Shaosong could do nothing about him and asked, "How many people are you planning to take to Pengcheng? When are you going?"

"It depends on the situation. At least four or five, at most seven or eight. We'll go in early March."

"With so many people going, how will you solve the food and housing situation over in Pengcheng?"

"It's simple. I'll just buy two larger houses—one as a dormitory and one as a studio."

Liu Shaosong was choked by Di Ye's wealthy and overbearing attitude and didn't know what to say. He picked up his cup, took a sip of tea, thought for a moment, and said, "You are too young and your personality is too flighty. This time, when you go to Pengcheng to develop the browser, the school will definitely have to send someone to follow along to supervise and take care of things. What do you think of my father-in-law?"

Di Ye was slightly stunned and said, "Isn't Director Fu already retired?"

"He is old in age but not in spirit; he always wants to find something to do to exert his remaining energy. You have been lawless lately; it is very suitable for him to discipline you."

Di Ye had gone to pay a New Year's call to Liu Shaosong on the fourth day of the first lunar month carrying a case of Moutai, only to be misunderstood and scolded by Fu Chuanyi. At the time, he felt the old man was quite principled. Today, having received his guidance to settle the school leadership, he felt he was quite slick and was a suitable candidate, so he said, "If Director Fu is willing to take the lead, that would of course be for the best."

After finishing his talk with Liu Shaosong, Di Ye ran to Dean Fei's office to ask him to help persuade the Dean of the Foreign Languages Institute to handle Fangfei's classes as a special case.

After hearing this, Dean Fei shook his head like a rattle-drum and firmly refused: "The institute has given you a massive green light to let you go to Pengcheng for research, not for you to go on vacation. You actually want to bring your girlfriend? Don't even think about it! Besides, I'm not close with Dean Lin of the Foreign Languages Institute; I can't help with this."

"Look, you even know the surname of the Dean of the Foreign Languages Institute, yet you say you aren't close."

Di Ye had figured out Dean Fei's temper over the past two days. He first used banter to ease the atmosphere, then said with a grin, "Dean, when I was negotiating terms with President Song earlier, I said I wanted a quota for tax-free car purchase. You were bristling with anger behind me; were you thinking I was small-minded?"

"You are a student of the Computer College; even if you were to make a request, you should have asked for a high-performance computer. As it turns out, you actually wanted some quota for tax-free car purchase. You've made me lose all my face!"

"If I asked for a minicomputer worth over a million, President Song definitely wouldn't agree. If I asked for an ordinary computer, it would be at most ten or twenty thousand yuan. How could that compare to a tax-free car purchase quota? That can save over a hundred thousand."

"You might as well go to the vegetable market to sell vegetables; you're calculating every penny and will never achieve anything great!"

Di Ye laughed out loud, raised his right hand, simulated the action of counting money, and said, "Dean, if I donate the hundred thousand-plus I saved on the car to the institute as teaching funds, would you be willing to help me persuade Dean Lin of the Foreign Languages Institute?"

Dean Fei was stunned for a moment and subconsciously questioned, "You would donate the money?"

"How could that be fake? I plan to sell the shares of the VCD Player company before going to Pengcheng. By then, I'll have quite a bit of spare cash on hand. I'll round it up and donate 200,000 to the institute."

"Really?"

"As long as you help me persuade Dean Lin, I will immediately write a donation commitment letter and deliver the money to you by March 1st at the latest."

Dean Fei slapped the table, stood up, and said, "I'll go find Dean Lin right now. You brat made me unable to sleep well all last night; it's time for you to bleed a little!"

Having settled the matters at school, Di Ye ran non-stop to the Municipal Post and Telecommunications Bureau to analyze the development prospects of the Data Communications Bureau with Di Yan. Di Yan was very suspicious of Di Ye's character, but she had blind trust in his judgment. She said distressingly, "The Data Communications Bureau is concurrently managed by Deputy Director Du of the Telecommunications Branch, and he won't retire until the year after next. I have no way to transfer there right now."

"Sister, as long as you agree to transfer there, I will arrange the rest. I guarantee I will turn you into a Section Chief-level Director Di."

"You have already been recommended for a doctoral program and have a bright future; please don't do anything illegal or undisciplined."

"Don't worry, I won't. I'm just pushing things along from behind; I will absolutely not offer bribes."

In front of Di Yan, Di Ye used the office landline to dial Zheng Yingyong's private number and said straight to the point, "Zheng, I would like to ask you for a small favor."

"Go ahead."

Di Ye first introduced Di Yan's identity, the business of the Data Communications Bureau, and the profits of launching internet access services, then said, "I have already asked President Song to communicate with the city. If there are no accidents, the Municipal Post and Telecommunications Bureau will soon take action. If you can help my sister transfer to the Data Communications Bureau, then we can cooperate to establish a company specifically to do internet access services."

"The internet access service you just mentioned—can it really have a profit of 200,000 US dollars per order?"

"Only more, not less. There is currently only one competitor in the whole country. It's a purely high-tech industry; not only can it make money, it can also earn fame."

Di Ye had already handed over all work of Yingfeng except for finance to Li Ailing over the past few days and had established a relatively solid relationship of trust with Zheng. After pondering for a few seconds, he said, "Have your sister communicate with her superiors. Within a week at the latest, she will be able to become the Director of the Data Communications Bureau."

"Many thanks, Zheng."