Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

"I can't talk to you anymore, dinner's almost ready. I have to go back."

"oh."

Next, Niu Dazhuang experienced semi-military management. He could sleep in late for breakfast, but if he got up late, he would go hungry for half a day. If he wanted to go out to eat, he had to submit a report.

Every time he went out, he had to submit a report, and he also had to report back upon returning. After a few days, Niu Dazhuang was really getting restless.

I need to report that I need to go out.

"Oh my god, I thought it was a report to the vice president, but it turns out it's a report to you!"

"Why didn't you think of that? Were you feeling stifled?" Bai Hongmin said, handing Niu Dazhuang a standard form.

"Draw one yourself based on this, showing the purpose of your trip, who you're going to see..."

"This is such a hassle. I'm all alone in my dorm every day, I'm going to go crazy. How am I supposed to learn Cantonese without anyone to talk to..."

"You can listen to the radio, right?"

"I need one too. You've reminded me; I'll buy one this time. I don't need to report which frequency I listen to, do I?"

"You said it."

"Depend on!"

"You'd better not listen to those random radio stations. Otherwise, you'll be influenced by the confusing sounds of capitalist society."

"It's still uncertain who will influence whom; will newspaper subscriptions be allowed?"

"Can……"

It was Niu Dazhuang's first time going out alone, so he was very cautious, trying not to speak and glancing behind him every now and then.

To be honest, the skyscrapers and dazzling lights of Hong Kong Island hold no appeal for Niu Dazhuang whatsoever.

It was crowded and noisy, like the 1980s there, with those old-fashioned light boxes hanging all over the streets.

Having grown accustomed to the predominantly military green and blue color schemes of clothing during the Lunar New Year, seeing Hong Kong Island today is indeed quite a shock.

Especially people from Hong Kong Island dress boldly, with waistbands, deep V-necks, and a wide variety of colors.

If it's a native mainlander, it certainly has a significant impact.

Who is Niu Dazhuang? His soul in later generations is nothing but a drop in the ocean!

I didn't have any specific purpose for this trip; I just wanted to take a short walk, subscribe to a newspaper for a year, and buy a radio.

There are many newspaper stands on the street.

Buying a newspaper infuriated Niu Dazhuang. It was just a street stall selling newspapers, and as soon as they heard his accent was from the mainland, their tone immediately became condescending.

"Mainland boy, it's number one!"

Niu Dazhuang didn't argue with him; it wasn't worth it. Besides, getting into a fight on his first day out would definitely get him criticized when he got back to work, and it might even make it harder for him to get out in the future.

Niu Dazhuang had absolutely no good impression of the people of Hong Kong Island. Even in the 11th century, after Hong Kong Island had been returned to China, mainland tourists were still treated differently.

They've developed a sense of superiority from being second-class citizens to foreigners; it's a mysterious kind of self-confidence.

Without giving him any money or saying anything, he tossed him a penny, picked up a copy of the Sing Tao Daily, and left.

He bought another set of clothes to change into, and all his money was gone. He had borrowed the money from Bai Hongmin before leaving home.

Niu Dazhuang's personal space contains gold, silver, US dollars, and RMB, but no Hong Kong dollars.

I found a jewelry store nearby, hoping to buy a few small yellow croakers to make some money. When I asked the price...

Niu Dazhuang felt resentful. Damn it, after the conversion, a small yellow croaker from the Republic of China era was only worth 205 Hong Kong dollars.

I don't know if it's because the US dollar is too valuable or because gold has depreciated.

The current wage for an average worker on Hong Kong Island is between HK$200 and HK$300.

Fearing he would be cheated, Niu Dazhuang visited several more jewelry stores, but they were all similar. He couldn't bear to part with the antiques from his spatial dimension, so he decided to sell some gold first.

The grumbling Niu Dazhuang sold ten small yellow croakers and only had HK$2050 left.

I painfully spent HK$289 on a multi-band portable radio. The Hong Kong dollars I just exchanged immediately lost more than a tenth of their value.

Niu Dazhuang cursed himself inwardly for being a cheapskate. He didn't feel bad about spending money on women or children, so why did he feel bad about spending money on himself?

He didn't order a newspaper, but he went to the newspaper office and placed a missing person notice. In those days, there were quite a few people who placed missing person notices in newspapers, so Niu Dazhuang's notice wasn't very eye-catching. He left his name as "Yonghegong Da Niu".

I'm sure Lin Yongmei will recognize him when she sees this. He didn't dare leave the newspaper's address for the meeting; instead, he left the Tsim Sha Tsui landmark, the Clock Tower.

This is a great spot, facing Victoria Harbour, perfect for a date. We've already written the meeting time on the missing person poster.

Another month's worth of missing person notices costs HK$180.

I finished all my business for the day, and went back to headquarters to report my itinerary to Bai Hongmin in the office and settle my accounts.

The fact that I placed a missing person ad in the newspaper is definitely something I can't mention.

Bai Hongmin could tell he was in pain: "Don't worry about it. Prices in Hong Kong are like this. Our wages are even higher than in mainland China."

This person, who never cared about their salary before, started asking about it today: "How much is my salary? When will I get paid?"

"You never worry about anything, you even ask me how much your own salary is?"

Niu Dazhuang smiled awkwardly: "I don't know how much I used to earn."

"I'm really impressed with you. Let me check it for you."

"You've been assigned to a junior clerk position, with a corresponding salary of HK$410."

"That's quite a lot. Are you a bit taller than me?"

Bai Hongmin raised her chin slightly: "Of course, I graduated with a bachelor's degree, so my qualifications are definitely higher than others. However, I'm going for an administrative position, while you're going for a technical one. Tell me, how does it feel?"

"Tell the truth?"

"Of course!"

"It's just so-so. Objectively speaking, they have more resources than we do in China, but prices are also higher."

"That's it?"

"It's gone!"

Have you considered staying here long-term?

Niu Dazhuang shook his head like a rattle drum: "Why stay? I can't stand this. If it weren't for my current status, I would have gotten into a fight with the newspaper vendor today."

"To be a second-class citizen for foreigners and even feel superior about it? They must be out of their minds!"

Bai Hongmin nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, you're starting to understand."

"I'll take that as a compliment. I'll head back now."

After Niu Dazhuang left, Bai Hongmin quickly began writing a report, truthfully recounting her conversation with Niu Dazhuang that day.

In the past two weeks, Niu Dazhuang went to China Resources Company. The Industrial Department had given him a task: a long procurement list, including electric pneumatic measuring instruments, high-precision inductive micrometers, etc.

Anyway, Niu Dazhuang didn't understand anything, so he took the purchase list to the person in charge of China Resources Company to communicate.

Most of it needed to be imported from Japan and Europe. With something to do, Niu Dazhuang was no longer bored. He spoke Cantonese frequently and made rapid progress.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and it was March 15th. That was the date Niu Dazhuang had posted in the missing person notice to meet him.

Niu Dazhuang wrote his application a day in advance, ate breakfast in the cafeteria, and then went out.

One person had been circling Big Ben in Tsim Sha Tsui until almost noon, but still hadn't seen Lam Wing-mui...