Courtyard House: My Time Travel is a Bit Too Strong

"Oh, really leaving?" Ma Tao punched him on the shoulder. "What, you think there's no future in the factory?"

"Wait here for the rest of my life? I don't want to." Lin Quan smiled.

"This is Li Rong, Old Li's niece, you know her too—she's in your care now, take good care of her." Ma Tao gently pushed the girl forward, his tone relaxed.

"Okay, no problem," Lin Quan agreed.

Li Rong is a recent college graduate and Li Xiong's niece.

In the past, college graduates were eager to apply; now? Master's degree holders are everywhere.

Graduates from universities are categorized into three levels: Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees.

A bachelor's degree is what is commonly referred to as a "university student," while a master's degree is obtained through postgraduate studies.

Quality inspection is a job that even a junior high school student can master with a little practice. But with so many people applying, the skill level has been raised.

Lin Quan spent more than two hours teaching Li Rong how to recognize vernier calipers, micrometers, and height gauges, how to zero them, and how to read the values.

After we finished eating in the cafeteria, I taught her how to fill out paper forms, enter them into the system, and archive and name them.

As it was almost time to leave work, Ma Tao strolled up to him, grinning, and said, "Ah Quan, want to grab a couple of drinks tonight?"

"Okay." Lin Quan nodded.

"Want to play a couple of rounds?" Ma Tao blinked.

"Let's wait until you transfer classes," Lin Quan said.

When playing cards with his old colleagues, he usually lost more than he won.

There's really no skill involved in playing Bullfighting—if your three cards add up to ten, twenty, or thirty, you have a "Bull".

If there are cows, they eat those who don't; big cows eat small cows; cows seven, eight, and nine times double; cows thirteen times; four flowers four times; five flowers five times; besides betting on big or small, which requires some brainpower, the rest depends entirely on luck.

"Okay, see you later." Ma Tao waved with a smile.

After get off work, Li Xiong, Ma Tao, Lin Quan, and Liu Yu met up at a small restaurant on the street corner.

Li Xiong is 45, Ma Tao is 36, and Liu Yu is 24.

Once the dishes were served and the wine was warmed, the conversation flowed freely, covering everything under the sun, with laughter filling the air.

After the meal, everyone dispersed.

Four people from different places were colleagues in the factory and brothers outside of it.

Lin Quan returned to his rented room, which was less than 20 square meters. Still feeling the effects of the alcohol, he quickly washed his face and went to sleep.

The next morning, after checking the policies, he went straight to the CDC.

The street vendor economy is booming, but you need to get a license to sell snacks.

After a whole morning of hassle, and for a few dozen yuan, I got my health certificate.

"Getting a certificate now is much easier than it was ten years ago."

He then spent several hundred yuan to buy a pedicab.

Spend another two hundred or so to buy a stainless steel bucket with a lid.

"Buy five stainless steel basins with lids—one for soup, one for chili oil, one for chopped green onions, one for mixing noodles, and the last one to keep for washing."

As dusk settled, Lin Quan pedaled his pedicab back to his rented room on the first floor.

Electric tricycles must be registered and licensed before they can be driven on the road, and they are also prohibited from driving on many sections of the road.

Rickshaws are tiring, but as long as you don't go into shopping malls or onto highways, you can go almost anywhere and stop anywhere.

"The seasonings are all ready, and the dried noodles for the cold noodles are also prepared. All that's missing are the plastic box, disposable chopsticks, and plastic bags for packaging."

He carried everything from the car into the house, locked the chain, and then went out to have dinner.

More than an hour later, he returned carrying a plastic box, chopsticks, and a bag.

"It's too late today; we'll officially open in two days. Business license, health permit—we're still missing those two things."

Selling vegetables and fruits doesn't require earning any money at all; setting up a pancake stall or roasting sweet potatoes on the side of a town street won't get you any trouble either.

But in Haizhou it's different; even if you're just setting up a small pot to cook cold noodles, you need to bring along several red certificates.

After taking a hot shower, he sat down at the computer and his fingers clattered as he typed.

"Having spent those years in the world of American variety shows, I can name all the abilities mutants have with my eyes closed."

Following the superhuman settings of those in American variety shows set in 2050, I finished writing over 23,000 words in less than three hours.

"I used to type a hundred words a minute at most, just a few minutes shy of three hours, but I actually typed over 20,000?"

I logged onto the Origin Chinese website, registered an author account, named myself "Zhong Guohong", and uploaded the first three chapters in one go.

Over the next few days, I spent my days running around getting stamps at the window and my nights writing.

My card balance is practically paper-thin; I've used up all the credit card credit I could.

Fortunately, WeChat approved a credit limit of 50,000 yuan, so I don't have to worry about money for now.

"The certificates are finally all in order, and the contract for 'Superpowered' has been signed."

He stared at the stack of documents on the table, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

A few years ago, just running around these procedures, patiently queuing up, and submitting supplementary materials would take at least a month.

Nowadays, services at service windows are much faster, with procedures cut in half, and stamping is no longer a hassle.

After carefully putting away his documents, including his ID card and mobile phone, Lin Quan headed straight for Huaxia Bank.

Starting three years ago, personal payment codes could no longer be used for buying and selling; he had to switch to a commercial code.

"No processing fee? That's generous."

More than an hour later, I received the brand-new aggregated payment QR code.

Banks are fiercely competing for customers; who wouldn't want to bind as many merchants as possible?

The money deposited through scanning a QR code sits in your account without any interest, essentially a free current account.

At six o'clock in the evening, Lin Quan stepped into the small restaurant he frequented.

"How's business going?" Li Xiong asked, picking up his teacup.

"We'll open tomorrow," Lin Quan replied with a smile.

"Don't pretend you've forgotten how much you've made. Remember to call us for a share." Ma Tao tore open a pack of cigarettes and handed one to each person.

"That's too formal—if we really make a profit, you'll definitely get your share!" Lin Quan waved his hand.

"Look up the menu and tell me what you want to eat." Ma Tao pushed the notebook toward him.

"I'll pay, Brother Quan will order," Liu Yu said with a grin.

Lin Quan didn't turn the page. Instead, he grabbed a pen and notebook and started writing and announcing: "One serving of twice-cooked pork, mine; one serving of hot and sour shredded potatoes, Tao Ge's; one serving of braised pork, Lao Li's..."

"Only six dishes? Add two more," Ma Tao exclaimed.

"Four people, six hot dishes with staple food, just right." Lin Quan smiled. "It's not a company team building event, why make it so packed?"

Ma Tao turned to the kitchen and shouted, "Bring a case of beer and two bottles of Shaoxing wine—chill the beer and heat up the Shaoxing wine."

After a few rounds of drinks, the plates were empty, and the four of them strolled over to Ma Tao's house.

"I'll be the dealer, capped at ten yuan. If there's no winning hand, I'll step down as dealer." Li Xiong unfurled a deck of cards.

"To try it out for the first time, five yuan." Lin Quan pushed out a banknote.

"Follow me, number five." Ma Tao chuckled and slapped him as well.

"Ten yuan," Liu Yu said, pressing down with both palms.

Lin Quan picked up five cards and glanced at them: "No bull."

After flipping over everyone's cards, Li Xiong slammed his hand on the table: "Nine of a Kind! A clean sweep—you two each pay ten dollars, and Xiao Liu pays twenty."

"I throw in JQK plus two tens, four suits! Brother Tao, you're awesome!" Liu Yu stared at the cards in Ma Tao's hand and clicked his tongue in admiration.

"What's so special about four cards? Look at this—JJQQK!" Lin Quan slammed the cards onto the table.