Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 301 The Phone Call from Beijing

Sunday night was falling.

On that unnamed road near the back gate, Yueda Catering has once again entered its busy period.

Vans and Iveco vans came and went, and craft beer barrels came and went.

With its recent rapid expansion, Yueda Catering's total number of employees has officially exceeded one hundred, with more than forty employees at its main base at Harbin Institute of Technology, and various branch bases gradually starting to operate, including a factory.

The company's daily supply has increased from 24,000 liters before the Spring Festival to 50,000 liters. The four branch bases have not yet reached full capacity, but the strong profitability is improving day by day. The daily gross profit has increased from less than 300,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan.

Even with rapid expansion and continuous investment, the money on the books is accumulating quickly.

As the weather warms up and spring arrives, the "Misty Tavern," which is not open to the public, has undergone some changes. Several tables and chairs have been set up at the entrance, coffee has been added to the menu, and the variety of snacks offered has become increasingly rich.

Although this bar is located in a remote area, it has already been noticed by some students from Harbin Institute of Technology, especially since many students rent houses in the old residential area behind it, and they can always see the warm light when they pass by at night.

No matter how many times I ask, this place is not open to the public, but I can occasionally see people inside. I can't help but wonder what kind of people are qualified to enter.

Gradually, this became a topic of conversation on campus.

Today, many people came to the Misty Tavern. All members of π were present, and Xu Xuejun, who rarely appears at the back door, also made a special trip.

Bartender Han Qi was busy in the kitchen, and fried snacks were constantly being produced. Xu Xuejun ate two but found them uninteresting, so he walked a few more steps to the opposite street and ordered a lot of barbecue.

As a result, much of the elegance was lost, but the liveliness and excitement rose.

A large-screen TV, specially brought over, was connected to a cable. Cheng Mo was holding his laptop and debugging something, while Xu Xuejun, sucking on a chicken bone, asked, "Why do you need to connect a computer just to watch TV?"

"Grandpa, I have to climb a ladder. This competition isn't being broadcast in China."

Meanwhile, Lu Tao, an architectural genius, was also typing away on his keyboard. The installation of the inverted device was 70% complete, but new problems were emerging every day.

As he took on the role of "leader" for the first time, he also grew rapidly.

Ge Qiaoqiao then discussed with Qi Lin from the "airship" about "taking advantage of the association's profits".

"Really... there's also the direction of rotary-wing drones? There are too many bounty questions, I didn't notice."

Qi Lin smiled and said, "The president has actually prepared some suitable directions for everyone."

In his view, this was a disguised way of giving money to everyone.
After all, given their skill level, it would be difficult for them to produce anything of real value.

In his view, if technology has tiers, academic papers are only at the lowest level.

Even valuable and groundbreaking papers are still quite far from generating practical benefits such as "patents".

Only a small percentage of patents actually generate revenue; the vast majority of patents are useless.

Roughly 100:10:1? Or maybe even lower.

At least that's what Qi Lin thought, but he didn't know that his group would easily break through these so-called "proportions" if they were on the right track.

"Designing a rotary-wing drone isn't difficult; the key is flight control. I'm thinking of learning from Turing."

Just then, a luxury car stopped outside the door; no one could mistake this unique model in the entire city.

Zhai Da led Lu Wei in, drawing a series of greetings.

Not long after, "the only Yue in Harbin" also arrived late. Wu Yue has been very busy lately and is visibly tired, but his aura has become more and more composed.

No matter how imposing it may seem outside, once you step into this little tavern, its sharp edges are quickly melted away by the warm light.

Han Qi handed Wu Yue a cup of his favorite "Monastery" beer at the right moment: "Brother Yue, you've worked hard."

After exchanging greetings, everyone's attention gradually shifted to the television, which began to display footage from an overseas TV station. Judging from the incomprehensible gibberish and bird-like language, it appeared to be from Southeast Asia.

Two days ago, Fan Junwei arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to participate in his 9th professional match, which was also his first international match.

The friends in Utopia unconditionally support Fan Junwei, but going abroad to watch the game is ultimately too troublesome. For example, Zhai Da and his friends can only watch it by climbing ladders here.

However, some people were still quite reckless and actually went to Kuala Lumpur.

While watching the television screen, Zhai Da also kept an eye on the messages in the group chat.

Liu Meng: "Have Chu Xiang and Xiang You arrived yet?"

Ao Wen: "They should have arrived by now, but whether the camera can capture them is another matter."

Li Dongdong: "Damn it! I'm in such a hurry! I don't know how to use the ladder!"

Yes, Chu Xiang and Xiang You, who both studied in Shanghai, actually went to Kuala Lumpur.

What's most commendable is that they earned their own money to go on their adventures.

Xiang You mentioned during the Spring Festival that he made some money by building websites for others, but later felt that it was too tiring to do it alone, so he brought Chu Xiang along.

One of them is at Fudan University, and the other is at Shanghai University. They are not too far apart. One is technically skilled, and the other is good at networking. It is said that their income has doubled in the new semester, and Xiang You plans to start making web games.

In short, the two of them spent a huge sum of money, even paying out of their own pockets, to travel thousands of miles to support Fan Junwei.

Zhai Da's assessment was: Two idiots.

He also reminded them to be careful and stay with Fan Junwei's team so they wouldn't get separated from others, as it was a large club group outing.

Some might say that Malaysia is alright.

But Zhai Da said never to trust the security situation in Southeast Asia.

The TV first showed a series of advertisements, all for local brands, none of which I recognized. This boxing match had a big name, called the "Asian Boxing Championship," with athletes from many countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam participating. The event covered both boxing and kickboxing, and the gold belt was quite prestigious.

If he wins the championship, he can call himself the "Asian Boxing King".

Of course, Fan Junwei repeatedly emphasized in the group that he was just going there to gain experience in international competitions, and that everyone should not have too high expectations, as he might get knocked out in one match.

Finally, the commentary and boxer information appeared on the screen. Fan Junwei appeared in the studio as a static card, but unfortunately, the host's introduction was completely incomprehensible.

Ge Qiaoqiao stared at the imposing figure and exclaimed, "This is your high school classmate? What did he eat to grow up like that? He's so strong!"

Zhai Da smiled and said, "He was even stronger in high school than he is now, though he was fat and strong. This is after he had already been in professional training for almost a year."

Fan Junwei was only in the preliminary round. The broadcast of this kind of competition doesn't last long. After the host talked for a few minutes, the program switched to the live scene.

Zhai Da laughed out loud, thinking to himself that he had underestimated Chu Xiang and his team. It wasn't a matter of whether the camera could capture them or not; it was that it was very difficult for them not to be captured.

There weren't many people in the stands to begin with, and two conspicuous figures were holding up a huge banner that read, "The Mountain of Flesh Demon King will win!!!"

Below that is a line of smaller print that reads in Korean: "Kill the Koreans."

Because Fan Junwei's first opponent was a South Korean.

The director specifically gave this banner an extra ten seconds or so. While East Asia might be considered fragmented, in the sports world, if you dislike South Koreans...
Then we are all good friends.

Finally, the boxers took to the stage one by one. The first to emerge from the tunnel was Fan Junwei, a relatively unknown newcomer. He wore a bright red hood, and his strong physique, barely concealed, was revealed as his long robe swayed.

Chemistry genius Sun Ting subconsciously bit her straw, thinking to herself that this hand was thicker than her leg.
It has to be said that Fan Junwei is quite handsome after losing weight, not the kind of handsome that comes from the entertainment industry, but the kind of handsome that comes from a resolute and high-spirited nature.

"Meat Mountain" turned around and waved to Chu Xiang and Xiang You behind him.

Then he smiled at the camera and said, "Go Utopia!"

It's obvious they know everyone is using various methods to watch the game.

The group chat immediately erupted, but Li Dongdong from Chengdu felt like the sky had fallen; he still hadn't figured out how to climb the ladder.

Ao Wen: "The Flesh Mountain Demon King is awesome!"

Liu Meng: "Get him!"

Li Haili: "Girls shouldn't be talking about doing things or not, you need to be able to do it!"

Li Dongdong: "Oh no, I'm not done yet, I need to go ask my senior for help!"

There was a senior student upstairs who, although unkempt, chubby, and with a thick beard, was very kind and willing to help with anything. On TV, Fan Junwei's opponent also appeared, wearing a blue hood and looking more imposing, thanks to a gold belt around his waist.

I don't know about its gold content, but it's definitely quite coarse.
Zhai Da, who had done his research, explained, "These guys used to be light heavyweights, but they gained weight to come up to heavyweight, and the belts they wear are from their own country."

Cheng Mo asked, "Is it strong?"

"Who knows? Anyway, South Korea boasts about it a lot, calling themselves the strongest force in the Republic of Korea, but it seems that the gold belt they won wasn't won honorably. It's said that the only thing missing was the referee coming into the ring to help them."

电视上给出了两边的数据对比，范俊伟8胜0负8KO，对方是27胜7负14KO。

As I said before, there wasn't much pre-event promotion, so it's already a big favor that the preliminary round was even broadcast.

Moreover, it was to give face to the South Korean athlete "Choi Man," since he was carrying one on his waist.

As the bell rang, the two officially began their match. Zhai Da also stood up and moved closer, but the image was still not clear enough.

In comparison, Cui Wan is taller than Fan Junwei, but he has less muscle mass and a larger frame.

However, his opponent is several years older than Fan Junwei, has received nearly ten years of professional training, and is in his prime as a boxer.

Based on the data on paper, Fan Junwei's chances of winning are slim.

The South Korean player glanced at the banner and even wrote in Korean that his anger level was already at MAX.

So he said something to Fan Junwei.

Zhai Da frowned slightly. Although he didn't understand lip reading, what good could come out of a Korean's mouth? It seemed to be a discriminatory "Qingqiang Poor".

I guess he thought Fan Junwei wouldn't understand if he spoke Korean, so he used English instead.

Well, although Chu Xiang and his team also fired back, that was from the audience; it's a different story when the contestants are on stage.

Fan Junwei did not react.

Because he had never scored above 30 on an English test, it was like casting pearls before swine.

In reality, this term only affects straight people, including those from other Asian countries that have been subjected to ideological colonization. It doesn't really have any impact on Chinese people; they just feel speechless.
There's not much to say, let's call Eisenhower out for a chat.

This "young general" was just taking the game seriously. After pacing around twice, he took the initiative to probe, and the blue team launched a counterattack with a sudden swing of their long arm.

If that punch had landed squarely on the masked man, half the people in the Misty Tavern would have collapsed, and the other half would have ended up in the ICU.

But Fan Junwei didn't even blink, letting the wind from the punch pass over his nose.

The scene was quite dramatic; Fan Junwei's expression was as calm as if a mosquito had flown past him.

This is the ultimate mastery of "distance," and for a boxer, distance is the best defense.

The South Korean player seemed to be angered by the overly calm reaction; he was at MAX just now, and now he's probably at +∞.

Another jab.

Fan Junwei suddenly sank down, using his shorter stature as an advantage to close in on his opponent at a speed that was disproportionate to his size.

A right hook, aimed squarely at the liver.

A loud "bang" came from the television; the South Korean boxer was already swaying, his defense in disarray.

But before Fan Junwei could finish his combo, he ducked down and threw a left uppercut right to the chin.

He looked up and threw a right hook, hitting his cheek again.

The damage was completely excessive; the South Korean player had been dead for some time even before he fell to the ground.

The body, taller than Fan Junwei, fell to the ground with a thud. The referee slid in on his knees to start the count, afraid of being even a second too late.

Fan Junwei turned around and went to get a drink of water.

The Misty Tavern was initially silent, then filled with people looking at each other in bewilderment.

Is this over?

We spent the whole night building up, and it was all that short?
Han Qi curiously lifted the curtain from the back kitchen, thinking to herself, "My potato wedges aren't even cooked through."

Xu Xuejun had only sucked half of the chicken frame when he said, "Zhai Da, didn't you say that Xiao Wei was just accumulating experience and that we shouldn't have too high expectations?"

When this kid was in Utopia, the two of them often worked together. How come they're so good at fighting?

Zhai Daxin said: I don't know, he said it himself!
Dude, you're so humble when you're so good at beating people?

I did give you a little cheat, but it's just restoring stamina.
On camera, before the countdown was over, Fan Junwei was already resting against the edge of the table. Coach Lu Zhe handed him a water bottle, which used to be called the "Wanli Water Bottle" but is now called the "Victory Water Bottle".

The kettle has been decorated with a five-star red flag affixed to it.

The camera also gave the red flag a close-up.

But Fan Junwei didn't drink it, rinsed his mouth, and then vomited. It seems like all boxers are like that. It's unclear whether this will trigger the desired effect.

In the end, the South Korean boxer still couldn't get up. He rolled over on the ground, side A and side B, but couldn't get up no matter what.

Heavyweight boxing is all about hard punches; one punch can decide the outcome, and he was hit by three punches.

That's quite impressive in a certain sense.

Zhai Da was speechless. He looked at the crowd behind him and coughed lightly: "Well, although it ended a bit abruptly, that's how a macho man is—the more intense, the faster."

"But the party isn't over yet, everyone continue."

As they were talking, Zhai Da's phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number, and it was a landline.

Years of habit made him hang up in a second, his hand moving faster than his brain, but he quickly dialed back.

Zhai Da could only gesture for everyone to continue playing music and dancing, then answered the phone and walked outside.

On the other end of the phone came an old, kind voice.

"Is that Xiao Zhai?"

Zhai Da asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

"I am Jiang Ying. I've met you before."

Zhai Da was confused for a moment before he realized that this was Qian Lao's wife!

"Hello, Grandma Jiang Jiang."

The voice on the other end said, "I asked Academician Yu for your phone number. I hope I didn't disturb you."

"No no."

After a few words, Zhai Da received two surprising pieces of information.

First, Mr. Qian read his "Handbook for Cohabitation Across Time and Space" and was very interested in it.

For a moment, Zhai Da thought the other party had made a mistake; it was a soft science fiction romance novel.

Grandma Jiang, are you sure? Is this nuclear-safe?

The second was when the other person asked me if I had any plans for the upcoming Qingming Festival holiday, and if so, if I had time, I would like to invite them to visit northern Beijing.

Zhai Da quickly asked if there was anything he could do for him.

"It's nothing, just a family dinner. You can chat with your Grandpa Qian, and I'll cook you something delicious."

Inviting people to your home for dinner during the Qingming Festival is actually a bit inappropriate.

But at this age, who knows when I'll miss out again?
Zhai Da was still a little dazed after hanging up the phone.

This banquet is quite extravagant.
(End of this chapter)