Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 157 Be a Different Kind of Hedgehog
My name is Chu Xiang, and I am eighteen years old.

My hobbies are watching movies and listening to music. My strengths are focus and strong organizational skills. My weakness is that I'm not very hygienic.

This summer, I performed exceptionally well, scoring 370 points on the college entrance exam and being admitted to a university in Shanghai. On Zhai Da's advice, I chose to major in communications engineering, which was far better than I had expected.

But the best thing about this summer, I think, was that I participated in a startup with my classmates and accomplished a "miracle".

Yes, that's what I think.

My name is Li Haili, and I am eighteen years old.

Okay, actually I'm nineteen. This is my little secret; I started school a year later than others.

My hobbies are chatting and gossiping. My strength is that I enjoy listening, but my weakness is that I enjoy listening too much.

This summer, although my scores were much better than in the third mock exam, it was still a pity that I missed the undergraduate admission line by a few points. However, on Zhai Da's advice, I applied for the Automotive Electronics Technology major at Shenzhen Polytechnic and have successfully received my admission notice.

But what excited me most was being invited to join my classmates in doing something big together.

This is probably the most glorious moment in my life for an ordinary girl like me, and I will always remember it.

That's my utopia.

My name is Fan Junwei, and I am eighteen years old.

I have no particular hobbies, nor any outstanding strengths or weaknesses.
Graduating from high school was something I had been looking forward to for a long time, but things didn't go as planned.

Instead of working on a construction site, I unexpectedly became a sparring partner at a boxing gym, and even more unexpectedly, I started training in professional boxing. Now I'm preparing for my first match.

However, my main focus was still on helping Zhai Da with his work at Utopia.

In just a few days, Utopia will close down, and everyone will be going to school in different places. It seems that I will be the only one left here.

But that's okay, I will continue to work hard, step by step, in a down-to-earth manner.

By the way, Zhai Da recommended a hospital in Jinling, suggesting I take my grandmother for a check-up at a price I could afford.

Thank you, Zhai Da, he has changed a lot.

My name is Lin Shuyao, and I am seventeen years old.

I started school a year earlier than others.
My hobbies are listening to music, reading, and losing weight. My strengths are being meticulous and conscientious. My weakness is that I'm always confused about my own thoughts.

This summer, I achieved an unexpected score of 377 in the college entrance examination. On Zhai Da's advice, I applied to the English major at Beijing Foreign Studies University and plan to study a minor language.

This is a prestigious university that I never dared to dream of attending before, but I've heard that studying in northern Beijing is very expensive, which worries my family.

There are still many worries.

As my college entrance exam approached, I did something stupid and pretended to like a boy—I won't say who it was—but later I found out I really did like him.

Unfortunately, because of my past foolishness, he has become indifferent to me.

Throughout the entire summer vacation, I couldn't figure out my own thoughts, and it seemed like I no longer had the chance.

However, I still had a fulfilling and meaningful summer, and I was fortunate enough to do something with my classmates that amazed even the adults!
I think I'm confident enough to face my university life now, even if I have some regrets.

My name is Li Dongdong. I am eighteen years old.

My name is Wu Xiaomei. I am eighteen years old.

My name is Ao Wen, and I am nineteen years old.

My name is Xiang You, and I am eighteen years old.
This summer
This summer
So cool!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Ahem, everyone, this is the last class I'll be teaching you today. School will be starting soon."

In the classroom of Utopia, Teacher Zhai was wearing a white shirt.

The students below were filled with reluctance.

Teacher Xiao Zhai is famous, teaches well, is handsome, and is also very humorous.

For them, it was also a very rewarding summer.

"In the previous quiz, everyone in the class improved their Chinese scores by 13-30 points. Under the new rules of 08, this will be a huge leap."

"And the student who made the most progress in the entire Utopia saw his total score increase by a full 110 points across all subjects. I think that as a teacher, this is the best gift you have given us."

Zhai Da put down the "Young Straight Stick," which had been covered in chalk dust from being frequently used as a pointer.

He believed that even without this, these students, who were only a year or two younger than him, would still listen to him attentively.

"I didn't really expect that I would switch roles so quickly and tell my students that this was the last class, so I didn't prepare much, just a few pieces of advice."

"The learning habits cultivated in utopia must be maintained."

"When you go to school, you'll feel the pressure, but you have to be able to handle it."

"If you have a disagreement with your parents when you get home, you must hold on to it."

Zhai Da flicked the half-chopped piece of chalk with his finger, and it landed precisely in the chalk box a few meters away. He clapped his hands and said, "I look forward to hearing your good news next June or July."

At this moment, someone raised their hand and asked, "Teacher Zhai, is Utopia still running during winter break?"

"Unable to respond."

"What about summer vacation? Next summer vacation?"

"I'm sorry, I still can't answer. Time keeps rolling forward, and who can say for sure?"

With a sense of reluctance and sadness, Zhai Da announced the end of get out of class and left before the students.

As we walked through the classrooms, each teacher announced their final lesson in their own way.

At the end of the corridor, a calico cat, seemingly taken root there by the students and fed by them, licked its paws while watching Zhai Da. Zhai Da patted the cat's head as he passed by: "Your summer is coming to an end too."

Summer when people kept feeding you, and you couldn't even finish all the food.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, gradually fewer and fewer people remained in Utopia.

Only a group of "classmates and friends" remained.

Everyone started packing up their belongings, from the classroom, the office, and the storage room.

Inside the courtyard, Fan Junwei was helping Xu Xuejun hold the ladder as they were removing a light bulb from the treetop. No one knew why Zhai Da had placed it there, but it had never been turned off.

Xu Xuejun glanced at it and asked in confusion, "What era is this light bulb from? Why keep it?"

Fan Junwei quickly said, "Zhai Da wanted it, don't break it!"

Zhai Da had the most belongings, so it took him the longest to tidy up.

It's not that I can't come after tomorrow, but it's better to leave the end of the ritual to the time of the ritual itself.

As he walked out of the office, everyone was already in the courtyard. There were fifteen people in total, including him, who were the "full-time employees" of Utopia.

Oh, and we also have two special guests: one is Teacher Shen Rui, and the other is Mr. Yu Donglai, who came all the way from Xuchang City, hundreds of kilometers away, after Teacher Shen made a phone call to us.

This boss, whose net worth is in the hundreds of millions, came to witness the closure of a tutoring institution run by a student. He's certainly not afraid of trouble.

Zhai Da stood on the third floor, intending to say something from this spot, but when the words reached his lips, he felt it was inappropriate.

So he went downstairs and took out the microphone that was always with him.

Zhai Dalang said loudly, "Everyone, today is the last day, but there are still many things to be dealt with. Let's sort them out together tonight."

Everyone crowded around, having already regarded Zhai Da as the core figure, and eagerly awaiting what he would say.

Zhai Da looked down at the pairs of curious eyes, trying to find the one who had guessed what he was going to do.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a single one.

These guys are really... adorably innocent.

---

Let's go back to a little over ten days ago.

Jinling Railway Station, inside the waiting hall.

Zhai Da and Shen Rui sat at the edge of the table.

"According to market rules, you invest, you create, and you take. There's nothing wrong with the big players and capital taking all the profits, so if you change your mind, I think it's normal and you don't need to feel pressured."

"Actually, everyone has selfish desires. Protecting one's own interests is a human instinct. It is undeniable that you are the absolute core of the entire utopia. Or rather, it seems that if the dozen or so students were replaced by another group, it would not affect the achievements of utopia."

Zhai Da laughed: "Teacher Shen, why do I feel like you're trying to persuade me to change my mind between the lines?"

"Don't think that way. What if I was being sarcastic?"

"But your perspective is really sharp. Of the dozen or so 'classmate employees,' apart from a very few, it seems that changing the batch wouldn't have affected the results. It seems that the most correct thing they did was just good luck. To put it bluntly, if it weren't for me, they wouldn't even have received their fixed salary of 1300."

Zhai Da gazed into the distance, watching all sorts of travelers rushing past him. It was so late, and they were still catching trains; most of them were probably on business trips. He himself had once been one of them.

To compete on a proposal, I had to rush to a certain place overnight, painstakingly helped the boss change his wife and house, and finally sang "A Grateful Heart" without feeling anything was wrong.

"Yes, when I first approached them, I did say that in addition to a fixed salary, everyone would be considered a partner if we made money in the future. But I doubt many people took it seriously. Some of the more impatient ones didn't even listen to the end of what I was saying. In the two months that followed, not a single person asked me anything. I probably just gave each of them a red envelope and that was it."

"Yes, I posted a note on the blackboard at the back of the classroom that said 'Let some get rich first, then we'll all get rich together.' I thought it was cool, but as long as I don't take it seriously, no one else will, and no one can force me to take it seriously. It's perfectly reasonable to keep the money I make to myself as much as possible."

"So?" Shen Rui asked.

"So I stick to my opinion."

"reason?"

"This is my original aspiration."

Shen Rui carefully observed Zhai Da's expression, seemingly trying to detect a hint of "pretending to be tough," but in the end, he found nothing.

Only that kind of high spirit of fulfilling promises.

"If luck is also part of fate, why not admit it? They were just lucky to have chosen a reliable and capable leader, and that's a legitimate reason for their success. Is it so hard to admit that?"

"I've heard the slogan 'Let the rich help the poor' since I was a child. But how rich do the rich have to be before they think about the poor? When they're rich enough to be charitable?"

Zhai Da suddenly laughed, a hearty laugh.

"I think the answer is simple: when you're rich enough to keep your promises."

Shen Rui suddenly laughed too, and laughed even more heartily.

Zhai Da unscrewed the Assam milk tea he bought at the station, took a sip, and said frankly:

“A year ago, I couldn’t have done this, but in the last six months I’ve met a lot of people, especially Mr. Yu Donglai, whom I bumped into that day. To be honest, I’ve re-examined my values.”

“I don’t yet have such lofty ideals and beliefs, nor can I be as thorough as Mr. Yu, but I feel that I will not regret doing things that are ‘difficult but right’. I may be a hedgehog who has been hungry before, and also a hedgehog who has been deceived.”

"Now I'm walking through a forest full of fruit, and I'm lucky enough to catch an apple. I don't want to be the kind of hedgehog that tricked me before. I'm willing to share my good luck with others."

Shen Rui understood Zhai Da's analogy, but was still surprised and said, "You attribute the success of Utopia to luck?"

Zhai Da chuckled:
"Many people don't acknowledge that their success has an element of the times and luck; they insist that they are different from others, that they are born noble, and that they are exceptional. But I am the most qualified to speak on this matter."

I've returned to this era, and I have the luck to start over.

　An extra chapter is added today for plot purposes.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)