Chapter 466: Procrastination in every way

Chapter 466: Chapter 466: Procrastination in every way Shao Zhijie, who finally looked less fat at the Provincial University of Economics, still couldn't change his bad temper of liking to talk to and get close to girls. Together with a few boys, he followed a few girls in the class, laughing and joking as they walked out of the classroom.

Just as he was about to get on his bike and follow everyone else, he suddenly heard someone call his name in his native dialect, 'Xiao Zhijie!'

His heart gave a little thump, and he turned to look. Not far from the roadside, Vice-Principal Zhang, no, now he should be called Principal Zhang, was wearing a black jacket, with an old-fashioned leather bag by his side, holding a stainless steel water cup in both hands, sitting on a bench by the roadside, looking at him with an inscrutable expression.

For those born in Feng Yiping's generation, in this place, who were relatively well-behaved and obedient peers, there was only one creature they respected and feared at the same time when they were young, and that was the teacher, specifically, the teacher in primary and junior high school.

In high school, they had already grown up, and while they still respected their teachers, they no longer feared them. Moreover, the teaching methods and approaches of high school teachers were different from those of junior high and elementary school teachers, so they no longer feared them.

In university, the people they came into contact with most were tutors who did not teach classes and were not much older than them. Those who got along well with their tutors would hang out with them, drink with them, and sometimes even exchange tips on how to woo girls. No, that's not quite the right word; they should exchange experiences on how to woo girls.

As for other teachers at the university, sorry, most of them simply don't give you the opportunity to respect or fear them.

So, even though you are no longer under the jurisdiction of your previous teachers, when you see them, it's like a conditioned response, and you immediately become nervous.

Just like Xiao Zhijie now, he didn't even bother to say hello to the student in front of him and hurriedly pushed his cart over. 'Teacher Zhang, why are you here?' His voice was a little shaky. 'When did you arrive? Why didn't you let me know so that I could pick you up?'

Xiao Zhijie couldn't help but feel nervous. Apart from the intimidation that Teacher Zhang had left in his heart, he had been hiding the fact that he was courting his only daughter from Teacher Zhang. How could he not be nervous when he saw that Teacher Zhang had come looking for him without a word of warning?

'I need to talk to you about something,' Teacher Zhang said lightly as he looked at him.

Xiao Zhijie's bad feeling grew stronger and stronger. 'You haven't eaten yet, have you? Then let's eat and talk,'

'That's fine, you find a place,' Zhang Qiuling stood up with her bag and a cup of water in her hand.

'Okay, just a minute, I'll put my bike away,'

He wasn't going to put his bike away. Taking advantage of the moment, he quietly dialed Zhang Qiuling's phone number. No one answered. Was she still in class? He then dialed Wang Changning's phone number. This time, it went through. 'It's urgent. Principal Zhang suddenly came to see me. Take a taxi to the restaurant next to the school. I'll take you there. We've been there before,'

'Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can,' Wang Changning couldn't afford to laugh at him at this point, and was already almost at the entrance to the canteen, hurrying back out of the school grounds.

Xiao Zhijie led Zhang Shouliang slowly along the tree-lined path on campus. At this point, Zhang Shouliang was still being polite, listening to Xiao Zhijie's introductions and also asking about his studies, which made Xiao Zhijie feel slightly relieved.

When it came time to introduce the dormitory, Principal Zhang asked, 'I heard that your family has already bought a house in the provincial capital. Do you still live in the dormitory?'

'I've always lived in the dormitory,' Xiao Zhijie instinctively didn't want to continue with this topic, 'Teacher Zhang, did you know that the house my family bought was also purchased with a loan, at the instigation of Yiping? Not only my family, I know of many others who bought houses in the provincial capital.

But it's really good. My family's house has now appreciated in value by nearly 20%. The first house that Yiping's family bought has now doubled in value. I heard from his sister that they seem to be going to Shanghai to buy one now.'

Principal Zhang nodded, 'Well, Yiping has vision. Not only has his family developed well, they have also driven many people to get rich together. Your parents also followed their example and opened a noodle restaurant, is it doing well?'

Xiao Zhijie understood that there was no avoiding this question. 'It's quite hard work, but the business is not bad,'

'Everyone from our hometown, in order to give their children a better life, doesn't care if it's hard work or not, don't you agree?' Principal Zhang said. Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

'Yes, but teacher, I think, you might as well consider buying a house in the provincial capital, it's really much more cost-effective than putting your money in the bank,' Xiao Zhijie tried hard to change the subject.

'Haha, with my measly salary, how can I afford to buy a house in the provincial capital?' Zhang the principal laughed.

Finally, they could talk again. 'Yiping says that house prices will only keep going up. If we buy now, we'll probably only be short tens of thousands of yuan, but if we wait, we'll be short hundreds of thousands. So he says that even if we borrow money to buy now, it'll still be worthwhile.'

For example, in the central area of the provincial capital, the average price of an existing property is less than 2,000 yuan, and the price of an off-plan property is even lower. For a 80-square-metre flat, the total cost is only 170,000 to 180,000 yuan. What's more attractive is that for this price, in the slightly more remote districts, you can buy a villa with very good facilities.

In another seven or eight years, the price of housing in these places will definitely be tens of thousands of yuan. By then, a 80-square-metre flat will cost at least 800,000 yuan in total. How can income increase that fast? Isn't the difference just a few hundred thousand yuan?

This conversation really took a while to get off the rails. Principal Zhang now has a bit of savings, but it's only enough to pay the down payment on a small apartment. As for several hundred thousand yuan, such a large sum, after calculating his various incomes, he discovered that it was really an astronomical number.

'House prices can be tens of thousands of yuan? No way,' he asked, turning his head.

'This is what Ping said. It's hard to say if it will be tens of thousands, but in my opinion, it will easily be 5,000 to 6,000. Right now, the most expensive property in the city has an opening price of over 4,000,' Xiao Zhijie was quite happy. The restaurant he had told Wang Changning about was just ahead.

'Teacher Zhang, this place is not bad. When we usually have a lot of money to spend, we come here to treat ourselves,'

'Okay, find a quieter seat,' Principal Zhang deliberately said.

Xiao Zhijie was now 100% sure what the principal had come for. 'Okay, let's choose a private room.'

The principal looked around at the diners, and Xiao Zhijie ordered a private room, and also told the girl at the front desk that someone would be looking for him later.

In the simple private room on the second floor, the principal pushed the menu at him, 'I'll eat whatever you recommend! Your parents are so busy downstairs, they don't usually have time to see you, do they?'

'I'll go visit them during the holidays,' Xiao Zhijie looked at the menu and said to the waiter holding the bill, "Steamed fish, stir-fried shrimp, pork in black bean sauce, mapo tofu, poached cabbage, peppers in spicy sauce, and pigeon soup. That's it for now, if there's not enough, we can order more." He ordered a few dishes with ease.

'Too much, too much, there are only two of us, how can we eat all that?' As soon as Zhang finished speaking, the door to the private dining room opened and Wang Changning walked in with a smile on his face, "Hello, Principal Zhang!'

'Changning, right? Hello. Hello. Why are you here?" Principal Zhang stood up, shook Wang Changning's hand formally, and glanced at Xiao Zhijie.

'I told him to come. I also wanted to contact a few other alumni, but they couldn't make it in time,' Xiao Zhijie said.

'Principal, you're in the provincial capital, why didn't you give us a heads-up in advance so we could get ready? Have you booked a place to stay? If not, let us make the arrangements. The Yiping family now runs a hotel too, and the conditions are quite good,' Wang Changning chatted with Principal Zhang very skillfully. He hadn't hit on Principal Zhang's daughter, so he was much more at ease than Xiao Zhijie.

'You guys sit for a while, I'm going to the bathroom,' Xiao Zhijie said, hurriedly walked out to the corner, and dialed Zhang Qiuling's phone number. It rang once and then connected. "Have you eaten yet? I was busy just now, I was just about to call you," listening to Zhang Qiuling's words, it seemed that she knew nothing about her father coming to the provincial capital.

'I was just about to eat,' Xiao Zhijie thought about it, but still didn't tell her, 'Can you come and see me this week?'

'I really can't come,' Zhang Qiuling said a little dejectedly. "Yesterday my father came to the school to find me and said that there have been family matters in recent weeks, and told me to go home on holiday to help out. Just wait a little while, I'll try to find some time,'

'That's fine, I can wait. Helping out at home is important. And don't work too hard, don't always stand in for other teachers," Xiao Zhijie said, and at this point, he was even more certain of the reason for Principal Zhang's visit.

Principal Zhang still asked about Wang Changning's academic performance. Seeing Xiao Zhijie return, he smiled and said, 'You and Yiping had a good relationship in junior high school, and it's really not easy to maintain it until now,'

'Yes, but it's just the three of us who keep in touch more. After graduating from junior high school, we slowly drifted apart from the other students,' Xiao Zhijie said.

'So did you go on that trip last year together?' Principal Zhang asked with a smile.