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In June, after the final exams, Hu Ruoyun ranked third, while the class monitor, Ji Hongmin, maintained the first position. In the dormitory, aside from the leader, Zhao Jinpu, who remained at the same level as in the last exam, everyone else had made varying degrees of improvement.
Since Lao Liu and Jie Bing had moved out, there were only five people left in the dormitory. The vacant beds were taken over by Hu Ruoyun and Cui Shuigen, who used them to store their goods. The business of selling Phone Cards was primarily managed by Cui Shuigen. As the vacation approached, two batches of goods totaling 60,000 yuan were nearly sold out; there was no need to calculate the accounts since they made a straightforward 10% profit.
With the window period over and profits dwindling, they decided not to engage in large-scale operations anymore. Whenever a "downstream" client expressed interest, Cui Shuigen would release goods without expanding or actively soliciting new customers.
In the beginning, not only was Cui Shuigen a loyal supporter of Hu Ruoyun, but the other three dorm mates also participated in the business to varying extents. For those like the leader and second-in-command, who came from well-off families, this small income was insignificant; however, it was better than being idle.
As summer vacation approached, Cui Shuigen said, "Brother San, I've been out for almost a year now. This summer I want to go home. After I return, I'll ask the elders in my village about some ghost stories to share with you when school starts again."
Over the past year, while Cui Shuigen couldn't claim financial freedom, working with Third Sister Hu Ruoyun on Shoe Insoles, Postcards, and Phone Cards not only alleviated his family's burden but also made his life much easier. His girlfriend from a wealthy province, Feng Yun, shared a similar humble background. Since she started "working" for him, her admiration for him had gradually turned into affection—this was all part of his gains.
Lai Wen suggested that Hu Ruoyun should not return home too early this summer and could work as an intern reporter for four weeks alongside him. Typically, such "intern reporters" served as cheap labor for newspapers—either doing menial tasks at the office or preparing envelopes and letters. The newspaper would issue a temporary work certificate and provide basic living allowances but no salary. Upon completing the internship, they would receive a certificate of social practice that might help with employment upon graduation.
Hu Ruoyun was willing to give it a try as it represented personal growth and an opportunity to adapt to society. He went to Mao Na's school to discuss it. Although Mao Na wanted to return to Annan with him, she didn't want to hinder Hu Ruoyun's "serious work." Looking somewhat aggrieved but ultimately agreeing, she insisted that he must see her off at the station during vacation.
Lai Wen recognized Hu Ruoyun's keen social insights and strong writing skills and directly reported to the human resources department to keep Hu Ruoyun as his assistant.
Over a decade into reform and opening up, economic development had accelerated rapidly while people's values subtly shifted. It seemed that at some point "doing what you do best" became a norm and habit that people accepted without question.
The Jiangbei Evening News launched a citizen hotline and email service to listen to public feedback on governance issues. After two months of collecting and organizing numerous complaints regarding the business environment and public grievances, they drafted a reporting plan titled "Show Us Your Eating Habits" along with relevant proposals.
Multiple reporter teams set out on their assignments while Evening News published several reports in succession.
On Wulu Road stood an administrative service hall in the city center where citizens reported difficulties with shareholder changes. According to regulations, all shareholders must be present with original identification documents for processing. While this requirement was reasonable under normal circumstances, intermediaries could handle these matters with just relevant paperwork—one person could represent multiple shareholders!
Citizens questioned: Was there any benefit exchange happening here? Why could intermediaries bypass standard procedures?
Lai Wen decided to take Hu Ruoyun for an undercover investigation at this location.
Inside the hall bustling with people due to recent reports highlighting issues there, security personnel had lost their previous arrogance while staff members were less impatient than before. However, due to complex commercial procedures, many individuals were unable to complete their transactions in one visit.
Some intermediaries openly roamed around the hall handing out business cards and explaining their services to those seeking assistance.
One of Lai Wen's friends needed to process changes regarding her company's legal representative and shareholders but had been unable to do so due to various shareholders being unavailable. This delay was beginning to affect subsequent business operations.
Accompanying her in line at counter number four, Lai Wen observed a female staff member devoid of expression flipping through documents and photocopies of identification: "Is everything in order? Are all shareholders present?"
The classmate quickly smiled: "One is on a business trip; please see..."
The documents were unceremoniously dropped onto the counter: "That's not acceptable; come back when everyone is here!"
The two of them had no choice but to step back from the crowd. A middle-aged woman with short hair noticed the dejected expression on Lai Wen's classmate's face and approached them. "Teacher, do you need help with the paperwork?"
Lai Wen's classmate replied, "We're changing the legal representative, shareholders, and equity, but not all the shareholders are here."
The middle-aged woman said, "For 500 yuan, I can take care of it for you!"
Lai Wen asked, "Is that possible?"
The woman replied, "If you don’t trust me, I can do it right now. You can pay me after it's done."
This idea seemed feasible. The three of them squeezed back to the counter with the middle-aged woman, while someone shouted from behind, "No cutting in line!"
The middle-aged woman retorted, "We were just at the front; our business isn’t finished yet." She then turned to the female clerk at window four and said, "Changing the legal representative, shareholders, and equity!"
The female clerk seemed oblivious to the commotion about cutting in line. She took the documents handed to her and quietly remarked, "Isn't this because not all the shareholders are here?"
It appeared that the middle-aged woman accidentally dropped a folder containing documents into the counter. She didn’t ask for it back, and the female clerk didn’t offer it either; she simply picked it up and set it aside. Everything seemed unintentional, but Lai Wen's camera captured the entire process of the woman stuffing money into the folder and pushing it into the counter while the female clerk accepted it.
The middle-aged woman exclaimed, "Everyone's here now!"
The female clerk didn’t say anything further and began processing the paperwork. After everything was completed and filed away, she told Lai Wen and his classmate waiting nearby, "Come back in half a month to collect your new license."
Was that it? If it weren't for Lai Wen's purpose in being there, it would have been hard to uncover the secrets and interests at play.
When Lai Wen's classmate paid the middle-aged woman, Lai Wen casually asked, "Sister, how come you can get this done so smoothly?"
The middle-aged woman replied proudly, "We have connections; everyone has their own way of doing things!"
Perhaps due to how smoothly their covert operation had gone, Lai Wen felt overly pleased with himself. Just as they were about to exit the hall, a security guard caught sight of his hidden camera. Perhaps their superiors had already given them instructions; three security guards blocked Lai Wen’s path. "What are you doing? No photography allowed here; hand over your film!"
Given the complex situation, Lai Wen didn’t want to get entangled with them or expose his identity. Otherwise, before he could even write his piece, any public relations efforts might reach the editor-in-chief or president. After all, leaders are people too; they need to manage various relationships.
Lai Wen's classmate stepped forward and said, "We're just here for business; what's wrong with that?"
The security guards ignored her and pointed directly at Lai Wen. "Take out your camera; we need to check it!"
This was too much. Hu Ruoyun stepped in front of Lai Wen and said firmly, "What authority do you have to check our camera?"
The three security guards were even more convinced of Lai Wen's identity as their leader stated firmly, "If you don’t hand over your camera, you can't leave!"
Seeing the commotion, many people in the hall gathered around to watch.
In this era, security guards, especially those in such establishments, often considered themselves superior. However, because Lai Wen was a woman and the situation was under public scrutiny, they hesitated to resort to violence against her. Instead, they were less courteous towards Hu Ruoyun. One slightly overweight guard, with his eyebrows raised, pointed a rubber baton at Hu Ruoyun and declared, "We have the authority here!"
Lai Wen noticed that Hu Ruoyun was about to be at a disadvantage and quickly revealed her press credentials. "Don't lay a hand on us; we are from Jiangcheng Evening News!"
To her surprise, the leading guard became even more arrogant upon hearing Lai Wen's words. "It doesn't matter which newspaper you're from; hand over the film and leave, or you won't be going anywhere!"
At this statement, the crowd erupted in disbelief. How could a security guard restrict a journalist's freedom?
Ignoring the murmurs of the onlookers, the leading guard charged towards Lai Wen, attempting to snatch the camera from her hands.
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