Rebirth of Bloody Romance

Zhong Yuemin picked up the phone again leisurely, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and teased with a smile. "Hey! My wife, what do you want to talk to me about today? Is it me? If you miss me, just say it, don't be shy."

Zhong Yuemin's joking tone seemed to be able to reach Zhou Xiaobai's ears through the telephone line.

After hearing this, Zhou Xiaobai's cheeks flushed slightly, and she scolded shyly, "Yuemin, you just talk nonsense all day long! My daughter and son are right next to us!"

As Zhou Xiaobai spoke, he unconsciously covered the microphone with his hand, fearing that the children would hear more words they shouldn't hear.

At this time, Xiao Shihua, who was standing by, quickly approached the microphone like a clever little monkey and shouted at the top of her voice, "Mom, I didn't hear anything!"

After shouting, the little girl did not forget to playfully blink her big watery eyes, looking very cute.

When little Haichen saw his sister doing this, although he didn't quite understand the deep meaning, he also followed suit and shouted, "Mom, I didn't hear it either!"

The innocent voices of the two little ones intertwined together like a beautiful symphony, which made Zhong Yuemin unable to suppress his inner joy any longer and he laughed triumphantly.

Zhou Xiaobai was both angry and amused when she heard the innocent words of the children. She couldn't help but feel angry and humiliated. She yelled into the phone in a coquettish tone, "Zhong Yuemin, look at you, you only teach bad things to children! I have something serious to tell you!"

Zhong Yuemin suppressed his smile and said seriously, "Hehe...wife, go ahead and talk. I'm listening!"

Zhou Xiaobai cleared his throat gently, and when he spoke again, his tone was a bit coquettish, but also more direct. "Yuemin, I heard from Li Kuiyong that you are planning to get involved in agriculture and prepare to purchase fresh garlic to pickle sugar garlic. Is this true?"

Zhong Yuemin sat on the sofa, legs casually crossed, with his signature, heartwarming smile on his face. "Yes, that's right. I want to give it a try and see if I can open up a new path."

Zhou Xiaobai raised his lips slightly when he heard this, and a sly look flashed in his eyes. "Yuemin, you are a university professor. You are usually busy teaching and educating people, and doing academic research. How can you have time to pickle sugar garlic? This sounds a bit unreliable."

Zhong Yuemin laughed, his eyes full of doting. "Wife, are you worried about me? Don't worry, I know what I am doing. But since you said that, you must have some ideas, right? Just say it directly. If you have any requests, I will definitely agree to them."

Zhou Xiaobai felt warmed when he saw Zhong Yuemin was so open-minded, and he stopped beating around the bush. "Yuemin, what I want to say is, since you want to pickle sugar garlic, can you let Jinqiu County do this project? The people there are hardworking and simple, and their craftsmanship is good. I believe they can pickle sugar garlic very well. This will not only drive the local economic development, but also solve the employment problem of some people."

Zhong Yuemin smiled even brighter when he heard this. "Wife, you really worry about Jinqiu County..."

Zhou Xiaobai pretended to be angry and said, "Stop talking nonsense and just tell me if it's okay or not."

Zhong Yuemin smiled and replied, "Wife, I like your domineering attitude. Don't worry, I will follow your arrangements in everything."

Zhou Xiaobai blushed and said coquettishly, "Hateful! You just know how to make me happy."

Zhong Yuemin smiled and joked: "Wife, you must remember that no matter when and where, I will support you and love you. Because you are the most important person in my life!"

When Zhou Xiaobai was feeling very moved, Xiao Haichen's voice came from the microphone. "Mom, Mom......"

Zhong Yuemin had just been promoted to associate professor, which should have been a happy and high-spirited moment for him.

However, Yuan Jun, Zheng Tong, and some of the better teachers in the school just loved to make fun of his new title.

Whenever they met, they would deliberately draw out the words and shout with a grin, "Hey, isn't this our Associate Professor Zhong?"

They stretched out the word "deputy" and it sounded quite joking.

Although Zhong Yuemin did not seem to care on the surface, he knew in his heart that the word "deputy" in the title did have some subtle meanings.

In the system, deputy positions are often seen as relatively leisurely positions that do not carry much power. Just like the co-pilot, most of the time they just sit there and do not need to bear too much responsibility or work.

More importantly, deputy positions often have to take the blame.

The chief executive is usually responsible for grasping the general direction and holding the core of power. The opinions and instructions they express are often well thought out and will never go wrong.

The deputy needs to follow these instructions, but in the process of execution, he needs to control the depth and degree himself. If he is not careful, he may become a scapegoat.

In school, as an associate professor, Zhong Yuemin does not have the so-called "taking the blame" problem.

The gap between professors and associate professors is not only reflected in status and income. More importantly, full professors are often leaders in their disciplines and have higher academic status and influence.

For Zhong Yuemin, he is well aware that he still has a certain gap to the standard of full professor, so he is already satisfied to be promoted to associate professor.

However, this does not mean that he is happy to be called "associate professor". In the academic world, the general rule is not to use the word "associate" in the title, which is also a kind of respect and recognition for scholars.

The address system in universities was actually influenced by the officialdom. In the 1960s, the Central Committee issued a number of notices on the issue of address, requiring that all personnel holding party positions should address each other as comrades.

However, these rules ultimately did not stick, and people still got used to addressing each other by position and title.

As soon as Zhong Yuemin entered the office after class, he was greeted by Zhu Jianguo and Liu Yansong. "Hey! Isn't this our Associate Professor Zhong? What a great honor to see you!"

Liu Yansong joked, and Zhu Jianguo followed closely behind, shouting with a smile on his face: "Hello, Associate Professor Zhong!"

Zhong Yuemin heard this and smiled playfully, saying, "Are you jealous? If you are really jealous, just say it directly, don't hide it."

At this time, Yang Li also joined the "battlefield". He pretended to be serious and said, "Zhong Yuemin, I am not jealous of you. I just want to kill you. Look at your show-off look. You are so hateful."

After saying this, Yang Li couldn't help laughing. It was obvious that he had come out of the shadow of not being evaluated for a higher position and had regained his former vitality.

Zhong Yuemin smiled and shook his head, then said to Yang Li, "Teacher Yang, you will lose friends if you talk like this, do you know that?"

Seeing this, Liu Yansong took the opportunity to suggest, "Okay, okay, let's not just talk about it. Zhong Yuemin, you have to treat us to dinner tonight. How about Beihai Hotel?"

When Zhu Jianguo, Xie Min and others heard this, they all agreed. "Yes, yes, yes, we must treat them! Associate Professor Zhong has been promoted, we have to celebrate properly."

The corners of Zhong Yuemin's mouth rose slightly, and his iconic, brilliant smile once again bloomed on his handsome face.

Zhong Yuemin cleared his throat, coughed deliberately, and then slowly said, "Hey, how about this, as long as you can shout "Professor Zhong" in unison for me to hear, let alone treating you to a meal, even if I treat you to meals for a whole month, that is not a problem at all!

And, not only that, I’ve also bought all the movie tickets for you. I’ll just invite you to watch the latest movies. Isn’t that a good enough treatment? Ha...ha...ha...ha...ha..."

There was a clear hint of sarcasm in Zhong Yuemin's words, as well as a hint of temptation that was hard to conceal. It was obvious that he was deliberately teasing his colleagues around him.

When Zhu Jianguo heard this, his eyes widened instantly, and without hesitation, he put on a tough attitude, refusing to admit defeat.

Zhu Jianguo stiffened his neck and responded loudly, "Humph, a gentleman can be killed but not humiliated! Associate Professor Zhong, just enjoy yourself! You want us to call you professor? No way!"

Zhu Jianguo's tone was filled with grief and indignation, and even revealed a sense of heroic determination to face death head-on, as if he was engaging in a fierce and silent contest with Zhong Yuemin at this moment.

At the same time, Zhu Jianguo's mind was full of thoughts. He silently thought that he was almost 40 years old now and had been working in this school for many years.

But look at Zhong Yuemin, who has become an associate professor after just two years. Compared with myself, the gap is too big.

Thinking of this, Zhu Jianguo couldn't help but feel a deep sense of sadness in his heart. The feeling was really indescribable.

When Zhong Yuemin saw this situation, he turned around and pretended to leave without saying a word. He looked as if to say, "Humph, if you don't want to call me Professor Zhong, I will definitely not go to this meal!" He crossed his arms across his chest, with a proud look on his face.

At this moment, Xie Min was quick to reach out and grab Zhong Yuemin, with a bright smile on her face, and said in a tender voice, "Oh, Professor Zhong, you are so magnanimous, don't bother with us. As the saying goes, eating is one of the greatest blessings in life!"

Xie Min's words were like a spring breeze blowing through everyone's hearts, causing everyone present to burst into laughter. The originally tense atmosphere instantly became relaxed and joyful.

Seeing this, Liu Yansong, who was standing by, didn't care about his moral integrity in order to eat as soon as possible. He nodded and agreed, "That's right, Professor Zhong, let's go quickly. If we go too late, the good seats may be taken by others!"

Yang Li didn't seem to care at all at this moment, and continued casually, "That's right, Professor Zhong, time waits for no one. If you keep dawdling like this, it will be six o'clock in the blink of an eye!"

After hearing this, Zhong Yuemin was in a good mood. He turned to look at Zhu Jianguo happily and deliberately teased him, "Comrade Zhu, why don't you just go home and read your books, so as not to be with us and suffer my 'insult'. After all, it is really difficult for Professor Zhong to speak up, ha... ha..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jianguo curled his lips in disdain and spat. "Tsk, you're dreaming! Today, I'm going to eat you up and bankrupt you. Everyone knows that Professor Zhong is very wealthy and can afford this little money!"

Although he spoke toughly, his body was very honest. Before he finished speaking, Zhu Jianguo couldn't wait to take small steps and followed closely behind the main group.

Influenced by Zhong Yuemin, these people now use a lot of new words when they speak, and the whole atmosphere is both relaxed and pleasant.

Everyone knows that Zhong Yuemin is not short of money, and everyone knows that he has done some small business and made some money.

Everyone came back from the restaurant after dinner, and everyone was a little drunk, with satisfaction and joy on their faces. Liu Yansong took advantage of the alcohol and pulled Zhong Yuemin's sleeve, and the two fell behind the team.

"You said you can do business, can I do it?" Liu Yansong's voice was a little low, but full of expectation. He obviously had some trust in Zhong Yuemin and hoped to get some advice from him.

Zhong Yuemin was a little surprised. He didn't expect Liu Yansong to suddenly bring up this topic. "Are you short of money? I have some money here. How much do you need? I'll give it to you."

However, Liu Yansong shook his head, his eyes revealing a hint of determination. "I can't keep borrowing. I have to think of something. My parents, brothers and sisters are still in my hometown, and my younger brother is about to reach the age of marriage, and they are all counting on me. After all, they think I have a stable job in the city, but they don't know that I only get such a low salary every month."

Zhong Yuemin listened quietly, and a strong feeling of sympathy and admiration rose in his heart. In fact, in this era, most people who came out of the countryside were like this.

They had finally been admitted to university and left the countryside, living an extremely frugal life just to be able to send the meager income they had saved up with great difficulty back home to supplement the household expenses.

"You know that I love buying books, and almost all of my monthly salary is spent on them. I can't save any money at all. Not only that, I have to borrow money from people everywhere to make ends meet, but the debt is like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger, and now it's almost to the point where it can't be repaid. I really have no other choice. I'm thinking about whether I should go out and find some tutoring work, or just a part-time job, so that I can at least earn some extra money for emergencies. You have always been smart, so please help me think about it." Liu Yansong looked at Zhong Yuemin eagerly while telling him about his predicament, and his words revealed a bit of impatience and eager expectation.

Zhong Yuemin stared at Liu Yansong and saw that he had indeed made up his mind, so he slowly said, "These days, there is no business that can't be done! It's just that I'm worried that you can't let go of that so-called face."

Liu Yansong heard this and shook his head with a helpless smile. "We are almost too poor to even afford food, what's the point of maintaining our dignity?"

At this moment, Liu Yansong gradually felt a glimmer of hope in his heart, and he became a little eager to make a move. He thought to himself, since someone like Zhong Yuemin could go into business, why couldn't he?

Although I am a bit self-righteous in my daily life, at the critical moment of life and death, what does integrity mean? After all, who can resist money?