I'm back in 1990

Chapter 699: The Summoning

After being scolded by his teacher without any explanation, Qiao Hongbo didn't rest. He called his junior classmates one by one, partly to fulfill his promise to the teacher that day, and partly to find out what caused the teacher's anger.

Among Huang Xiaochuan's students, Qiao Hongbo spent the longest time with him during his four years of undergraduate studies followed by three years of graduate studies. He was also Huang Xiaochuan's first disciple.

Therefore, Qiao Hongbo also benefited greatly from this. Whether in academics, economics, or politics, Qiao Hongbo received a lot of help from various sources. He naturally understood how all this came about, because he had a mark on him: Huang Xiaochuan's student.

It is because his teacher is not an ordinary scholar, but Huang Xiaochuan, the first Chinese to win the Clark Medal, the highest award in economics, and also the richest man in Asia. Therefore, he is a figure that people look up to in both academia and business.

Naturally, his connections and resources are beyond the reach of ordinary scholars. It is no exaggeration to say that Qiao Hongbo sometimes wakes up laughing in his sleep. With this identity, if Qiao Hongbo had not gone into politics, he could have been completely unchallenged in the academic world. Even if he had gone into politics, he had received a great deal of care and countless benefits.

The first call was to Xu Tianlei, who is currently teaching at Shancheng University. "Tianlei, it's me, Qiao Hongbo!"

"Senior Brother?" Xu Tianlei was puzzled when he suddenly received a call from Qiao Hongbo. Since they started working, the interactions between the disciples had become less and less frequent.

Qiao Hongbo asked with concern over the phone, "It's been a while since we last contacted each other, so I just wanted to call and see how you've been. Has anything been up lately?"

Xu Tianlei was completely baffled by this question.

But he replied, "I'm fine! I'm perfectly alright!"

Qiao Hongbo then explained the purpose of the call: "It's good that you're alright, I just wanted to discuss something with you."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tianlei quickly sat up straight: "Senior Brother, please speak! I'm listening!"

Qiao Hongbo then shared his idea with Xu Tianlei: "I've been thinking! We've been graduated for so long, and it's been a long time since we visited our teachers. I'd like to arrange a time for us to go visit them together."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tianlei immediately agreed: "Sure! No problem!"

"Okay, I'll call you back after we confirm the time." Qiao Hongbo then hung up and dialed a new number.

"Winter snow? I'm Qiao Hongbo!"

"Oh! Senior Brother?" Yue Dongxue was slightly surprised.

Qiao Hongbo repeated what he had just said to Xu Tianlei, which naturally received a response from Yue Dongxue. However, he still couldn't find out why the teacher was angry, and it seemed that it wasn't Yue Dongxue's fault.

After graduating, Yue Dongxue went to Shanghai University, while Kong Hao was recruited by Hangzhou University and is currently a lecturer in economics at Hangzhou University. Yue Dongxue, on the other hand, works as a researcher at the Institute of Economics at Shanghai University and has just been promoted to intermediate professional title, removing the two words before "assistant researcher".

Moreover, Yue Dongxue would often call her teacher to say hello, and she was the one among her classmates who had the closest relationship with their teacher, Huang Xiaochuan. In addition, she was the sister-in-law of Lu Jingyun, Huang Xiaochuan's colleague during his time at the University of Finance and Economics, so her relationship with Huang Xiaochuan had an extra layer.

Now that Yue Dongxue is married and has a son, she has naturally shifted her focus to her family. She is not as enthusiastic about academic pursuits as she was at the beginning, which is quite normal. In any case, she is already living a very comfortable life thanks to the prestigious title of being Huang Xiaochuan's student.

After receiving Qiao Hongbo's call, Kong Hao readily agreed and even suggested that Qiao Hongbo make arrangements as soon as possible during his summer vacation.

After receiving Qiao Hongbo's call, Duan Jinglan was in a dilemma. She had been assigned to a remote mountainous area for poverty alleviation, and her workload was very heavy. In any case, she would not be able to spare any time for him in the next few months.

Qiao Hongbo could only express his regret.

In the end, Qiao Hongbo's phone call wasn't in vain; he learned the reason for the situation from Sheng Lei.

After all, Sheng Lei was in Huang Xiaochuan's office when he called to reprimand Qiao Hongbo.

After learning the reason, Qiao Hongbo finally understood. On the surface, it was his junior brother Fei Song who had encountered workplace injustice and suffered grievances, but in reality, it was because he, as the senior brother, had not cared enough about his junior brothers and sisters. There was too little interaction and communication among the fellow disciples, let alone any mutual help. In particular, deep down, he did not really consider Fei Song, Sheng Lei, Pu Shouzhong, and Qiu Zihuai to be his junior brothers and sisters, since they had not graduated from his teacher's class.

Although the responsibility did not lie with the four of them, Qiao Hongbo still lacked a sense of recognition to some extent, but Huang Xiaochuan's phone call woke him up.

As he thought about it, Qiao Hongbo's respect for his teacher deepened even further.

They couldn't help but marvel at how they, a bunch of good-for-nothings, had managed to snag such a wonderful teacher, something that made countless people envious.

Just as Qiao Hongbo was busy making phone calls to gather his fellow students in Shanghai to visit their teacher, Huang Xiaochuan was invited to his alma mater, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Hong Yongze has now been promoted to president of the University of Finance and Economics. The fact that this position was given to him is more or less due to his relationship with Huang Xiaochuan.

After all, many people, especially those in the organization, knew about the relationship between Hong Yongze and Huang Xiaochuan.

So the person who invited Huang Xiaochuan to the school today is Hong Yongze.

The reason is simple: they sought sponsorship from Huang Xiaochuan.

Huang Xiaochuan arrived at Hong Yongze's office with practiced ease.

"I've finally managed to get you here. It's not easy to see you these days." Hong Yongze personally came to the door to greet Huang Xiaochuan.

Huang Xiaochuan protested, "Senior brother, you're wronging me! You only needed to call me to come!"

After the two were seated, Huang Xiaochuan took the initiative to ask, "What's the matter? Why did you call me here in such a hurry? I wanted you to say it over the phone, wasn't that enough?"

"How can I say this over the phone? I have to tell you this in person." Hong Yongze personally placed a cup of tea in front of Huang Xiaochuan.

"Then tell me now!" Huang Xiaochuan adopted a look of being all ears.

Hong Yongze spoke frankly: "It's like this, the school's facilities are all too old. I'm thinking that during my term, I should rebuild or renovate the facilities that need to be renovated. I applied for a sum of money from the city, but it's still far from enough. That's why I thought of you. I hope you can generously donate some money."

Huang Xiaochuan pondered for a moment, then asked, "How much of a funding gap is there?"

Hong Yongze started calculating the costs for Huang Xiaochuan, counting on his fingers: "The auditorium needs to be renovated inside and out, which will save a lot of money. The original steel frame structure of the basketball court is too old and poses a safety hazard, so we plan to demolish it and build a new one. In addition, we plan to expand the original eight outdoor basketball courts into sixteen to provide more sports facilities for the students. All of these things together will cost around 33 million. I've run myself ragged, but the city only gave us 10 million. I have no choice; I'm like a skilled cook without rice. After thinking about it, I finally thought of you."

Upon hearing that it was only a small amount of money, Huang Xiaochuan readily agreed: "Twenty-three million, right? I understand. I'll arrange for someone to contact you right away."

Hong Yongze originally thought he would have to put in a lot of effort to persuade him, and maybe even negotiate some terms, but he didn't expect Huang Xiaochuan to agree so readily, which left Hong Yongze completely bewildered.

"Huh? You agreed to that?"

Huang Xiaochuan was amused by Hong Yongze's words and said, "Yeah, you've already asked, how could I refuse? At least it's good to keep the benefits within the family."

Hong Yongze was stunned by Huang Xiaochuan's straightforwardness and didn't know whether to be happy or express his gratitude. In the end, he said, "Come to my house tonight. I'll bring the old man over too. Have your sister-in-law make dumplings, and the two of us will eat dumplings with the old man."

Huang Xiaochuan readily accepted the invitation: "Sure! I'll pick you up, Grandpa. You should go back early and help your wife make dumplings."

Hong Yongze laughed: "Then it's settled!"