I'm back in 1990

Chapter 195: Worse Than a Beast

The next afternoon, Ding Yi replied to Huang Xiaochuan. He had someone arrange for Huang Xiaochuan to skip the queue and take the driver's license test directly. As for whether he could pass, that depended on Huang Xiaochuan's ability. That was all Ding Yi could do to help.

Now that I've sorted out my driver's license test, the next thing to consider is what kind of car to buy. The selection is limited right now, mostly confined to joint venture and imported vehicles; the golden age of domestic cars hasn't arrived yet.

Huang Xiaochuan gets a headache when it comes to imported cars, mainly because the tariffs are too high. In an era when the average monthly salary is only three to five hundred yuan, an imported Accord costs more than 300,000 yuan, and a Santana produced through joint ventures costs 180,000 yuan.

Currently, the only models available in China produced through joint ventures are the Santana, Audi 100, Jetta, Cherokee, or Yangcheng Peugeot.

Audi is too bureaucratic, so I won't consider it.

The Jetta has too little space and the water tank is prone to overheating, so it's not an option.

Peugeot is too unconventional and will soon withdraw from the Chinese market, so we won't consider it.

The Santana is an outdated model from overseas that is sold at a high price in China through joint ventures, so it's not an option.

The Cherokee's chassis is too stiff and bumpy, making it too uncomfortable; I won't consider it.

This means that the only option left is to choose from imported cars.

What kind of car can I choose?

Friday, December 13.

The second class in the morning was statistics. Huang Xiaochuan walked all the way to class and met Zhang Yun, who was on her way to give the class, on the way.

Upon seeing Huang Xiaochuan, Zhang Yun said, "Huang Xiaochuan, you skipped my class on Monday. If you don't give me a reasonable explanation, you won't pass the final exam."

Huang Xiaochuan quickly protested his innocence: "Teacher Zhang, I didn't skip class. I went through the proper leave application process. If you don't believe me, ask Teacher Dai. He can vouch for me."

However, Huang Xiaochuan quickly realized from Zhang Yun's cunning eyes that this woman was doing it on purpose. How could she not know that he had asked for leave? How could this woman be so petty? It was just a joke he made with her last time. Honestly, she still holds a grudge.

Zhang Yun didn't dwell on Huang Xiaochuan's skipping class anymore. Instead, she brought up another matter: "Huang Xiaochuan, I heard that your dorm pooled money to buy a heater. You must know where you bought it, right? Tell me the place, and I won't pursue your skipping class."

Huang Xiaochuan rolled his eyes inwardly, thinking, "Even if I told you this place, you still wouldn't be able to buy it."

However, he still said, "This is imported; we bought it through someone else."

"I know it's imported. Is it a kerosene-burning heater from Japan? I guessed it when I heard others mention it. Are they sold domestically now?"

Huang Xiaochuan looked at Zhang Yun in surprise, wondering how she knew so much about it.

This isn't Huang Xiaochuan's fault. He only knew that Zhang Yun was a returnee from overseas, but he didn't know where she had studied! Zhang Yun didn't mention which country she studied in every day either.

Seeing Huang Xiaochuan's questioning look, Zhang Yun smiled and said, "I've been to Japan and I know that they mostly use these kinds of stoves for heating in winter. You didn't know that, did you? Central heating isn't common in Japan; ordinary households use these stoves for warmth."

How could Huang Xiaochuan not know? But for now, he could only pretend to be ignorant.

And then, in an exaggerated way, they'd say, "Really? Japan is a developed country, and they can't even afford central heating?"

"You still haven't told me where you bought the stove!"

"We also asked someone to bring them back from Japan. If you want to buy one, Professor Zhang, I can ask if I can bring you another one, but the price is a bit high."

"It's just a thousand yuan, no problem. The latest chapter is going to be a huge plot twist! I'll keep up with the updates. Ask him to get me one. Winters in Shanghai are unbearable; no air conditioning, no heating, I'm freezing."

Huang Xiaochuan was amused. It seemed that this was also a northerner who couldn't stand the cold winters of Shanghai, and also someone who wasn't short of money.

I casually asked, "Professor Zhang, are you from the North?"

"From Northeast China."

"No wonder, northerners are generally not used to winters here. I understand, I'll ask someone to bring you one as soon as possible."

Zhang Yun sniffed and smiled happily, not caring about her image at all. She was so cold, she didn't care about her image at all!

Taking a break, Huang Xiaochuan called Ge Changli and asked him to help buy fifteen more heaters. This time, they needed them urgently, so he asked Ge to import them via air freight, which would definitely be much more expensive. But he figured he'd have to pay for it anyway, and it would be good enough if Huang Xiaochuan could get the heaters for them as soon as possible.

Because the two of them entered the classroom chatting and laughing together, as soon as Huang Xiaochuan sat down, Ding Yi's face came close to his.

"What's going on with you? You dare to lay a hand on the beautiful Zhang? You're a beast!"

"Get lost! You can't say anything nice. I just happened to run into her before I came in and greeted Teacher Zhang. Ding Gungun, you've fallen from grace. Someone like you wants to be a successor to socialism?"

Ding Yi ignored Huang Xiaochuan's comment and exclaimed in a low voice, "Then aren't you worse than an animal? You're not even tempted by someone as beautiful as Zhang? Are you even human?"

Damn it, it's obvious that Ding Yi is indirectly insulting Huang Xiaochuan. This is intolerable.

Huang Xiaochuan raised his hand high, and Ding Yi didn't react for a moment.

Just as Zhang Yun was about to call roll, she saw Huang Xiaochuan raise his hand and asked, "Huang Xiaochuan, what's up?"

This terrified Ding Yi. He knew that Huang Xiaochuan was definitely up to no good, and if that guy blurted out what he had just said, he would be in big trouble.

She quickly tugged at Huang Xiaochuan's pants, clasped her hands together, and looked pleading.

Wu Duo, having also gone astray, seized the opportunity to press Ding Yi's defenses: "Xiao Chuan, give him some face and let him off the hook. Old Ding said he'd treat us to a French feast and he'd pay for it."

Upon hearing Wu Duo's challenge, Ding Yi initially glared at Wu Duo, but after thinking it over carefully, he quickly nodded vigorously and immediately agreed to the condition.

Huang Xiaochuan then said, "Teacher Zhang, my stomach hurts a little, I need to go to the toilet."

"Alright! Go ahead!"

Ding Yi has really lost big this time. Just kidding, he lost a French feast. These animals can eat as much as anyone else. It definitely won't be enough to pay less than two thousand yuan. Oh my god!

After class, Wu Duo lectured Ding Yi with great distress: "Old Ding! I'm not trying to criticize you, but why did you provoke Xiao Chuan? You've really tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice instead."

"Old Wu, you're no good either. You're handing people knives when they're arguing. You're so wicked!" Ding Yi was furious when he saw Wu Duo pretending to be a good person.

Wu Duo decided to stop while he was ahead. He was already getting a French feast, so he didn't want to provoke Ding Yi, this sucker.

Zhang Gaolei and Chen Zhe just watched the commotion from the sidelines, only laughing and not saying a word.

Feeling cheated, Ding Yi found the braised pork in the cafeteria at lunchtime unappetizing; he hadn't even finished a serving.

Seeing this, Huang Xiaochuan shoveled all the food into his own bowl with a spoon. Ding Yi angrily said, "I haven't finished eating yet! Are you some kind of bandit?"

Huang Xiaochuan pursed his lips: "You've been eating so much rice for so long, I don't think you can eat anymore. It's such a waste to waste this braised pork, I'll eat it for you."