Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1054 - 550: Invite Someone

Chapter 1054: Chapter 550: Invite Someone

There used to be a saying "those who make missiles are inferior to those who sell tea eggs," which was a popular saying in the past years. Even now, this phrase hasn’t become outdated at all.

Professor Shu indeed had an unquestionable position in design, just as Professor Xu had said.

But sometimes, status can also be a burden.

For instance, a junior teaching assistant in the school might take some private jobs on the side when the school work isn’t too busy, and earn a little extra money, which seemed acceptable to others. A teaching assistant, after all! It’s quite normal for their salary to be insufficient.

However, if an esteemed senior professor did the same, it seemed somewhat inappropriate, even if it was for the students he mentored. After all, he couldn’t go around explaining to everyone how some students were in such difficult situations, and that, as their mentor, he had both a duty and a responsibility to think on their behalf.

Even though he might not care, the school would still feel it was inappropriate—others might think, if such a senior professor in the school was always out trying to make money by taking up jobs, perhaps the school was treating these professors in a certain way?

The university was, after all, considered top-notch in the province, and reputation mattered.

So, this led to a situation where if someone he knew or their acquaintances came to him for help, it was still acceptable. But if he had to go out and look for opportunities himself, it felt quite demeaning.

Living in society always involves some helplessness, just as the students would jokingly say: I once dreamed of travelling the world with my sword, but then, there was just too much homework and I never went...

In fact, not only the students who were about to enter society were poor, but the professors weren’t much richer. It was just a meager fixed salary, to give a simple example, Professor Qi, who received a fellowship in the first half of the year, was only given a two hundred-dime subsidy—If someone selling tea eggs at the train station in Provincial City only made two hundred dimes a month, they would definitely be running at a loss!

Moreover, as comparably traditional intellectuals, they often had one common flaw: they were shy about discussing money.

In this regard, Professor Shu was already doing well enough, at least he dared to fight for the rightful benefits for his students—so he directly held up three fingers to Yan Fei.

But that was all.

When Yan Fei mentioned a figure of thirty thousand, Professor Shu’s expression was one of stunned shock. Not only him, but even his students had the same expression—they were in fact, merely asking for three thousand as a hardship fee.

Wang Jiuming, standing by the side, couldn’t help but smile. He was aware of the current rates, and he had thought that Yan Fei knew something about it as well, but he hadn’t expected such a blunder.

So everyone had an odd expression on their face, except for Heizi and Yan Fei, who had no idea what was really going on.

Eventually, Professor Shu felt embarrassed, "No, no, no, no need for thirty thousand, three thousand is enough!"

Sometimes, it really is true that like teachers, like students; as soon as he said this, none of the group of students showed any signs of regret or a sense of having missed a great opportunity, all of them visibly relieved instead.

Obviously, earning three thousand already met their psychological expectations. And thirty thousand, that amount of money brought them too much psychological pressure—in fact, it was only because they had to travel several hundred miles away that the price was so high, usually, they didn’t even make three thousand.

To these teachers and students in the campus, having the chance to go out for an internship while earning some living expenses was already a stroke of luck. How could they possibly demand an exorbitant amount like thirty thousand?

Years later, when these students obtained some national-level certificates, which only a few in a province would have, most major projects required these qualified designers and builders to be involved due to stricter project management. Without them, getting a project approval would be out of the question.

At that time, employers were begging to come to them, not to mention being driven around; even a minor project would easily net them a hundred or two hundred thousand.

Recalling today’s situation, it really felt deeply regrettable...

But at this moment, Yan Fei felt somewhat embarrassed. His misunderstanding seemed a bit inappropriate. Asking for three thousand while he suggested thirty thousand made it seem as if he was flaunting his wealth, making the others seem petty.

He, not wanting to lose face, really didn’t treat money as money—and of course, he felt thirty thousand wasn’t much, after all, Professor Qi had said, this man in front of him was a big shot. He was about to lead a group of students who each had a higher educational qualification than his own high school graduates.

So, he unflinchingly said, "For Teacher Shu to make a trip personally, and for these senior brothers and sisters who are all professionals, thirty thousand still seems a bit low to me! Three thousand won’t do. Let’s settle on this. Teacher Shu, whenever you have some free time, I’ll drive over and pick you all up?"

"No, no, no!" Professor Shu waved his hands repeatedly. "It’s just a bit of internship work for the students, it doesn’t need so much, just three thousand will do!"

Yan Fei turned his pleading gaze towards Wang Jiuming—after all, he had already spoken and thought giving more money would result in better blueprints, right?

Wang Jiuming had visited Yan Fei’s place and had some confidence in his wealth, knowing from the houses in Provincial City that thirty thousand was probably not much for him.

Of course, whether it was significant or not, it was Yan Fei’s money, and Wang Jiuming certainly wouldn’t presume to say anything. Seeing Yan Fei’s look imploring him to speak on his behalf, he finally said, "Teacher Shu, since he doesn’t mind, why do you bother with him? Spend some time with him and you’ll understand. Despite his young age, he is quite the little tycoon."