Teacher's dormitory building.
Ming Zai placed the bedding he had been holding on the ground, glanced at the small single bed and the writing desk right next to it, and asked, "Yaowen Ge, you're living here?"
Huo Yaowen stepped over the wooden bed, placed his suitcase on the writing desk, and hearing Ming Zai's words, turned around and smiled, "That's right, I'm living here. What's wrong? Do you think it's too small?"
Ming Zai shook his head repeatedly, "No, this is much better than where I live. Yaowen Ge, you know my room, it can only fit one bed, and all my clothes are on a rack."
"Alright, stop talking about that. Ming Zai, help me get a basin of cold water. I want to thoroughly wipe down the wooden bed." Huo Yaowen pulled out a stainless steel basin he bought yesterday from under the bed, handed it to Ming Zai, and then led him to the door, pointing to the toilet at the far right of the floor. "That's the toilet. Just get water from there."
"Okay, Yaowen Ge." Ming Zai quickly took the basin and left.
Watching Ming Zai skip out the door, Huo Yaowen chuckled softly, then turned to start unpacking his luggage. Besides some summer and autumn clothes, the paper and pens he relied on for survival were essential. He also specifically bought several notebooks to record the information he found.
It must be said, writing books now was truly troublesome. After finding the desired information in the library, he had to copy everything down. Unless there was a lot of content that required borrowing, small snippets of information had to be transcribed by hand. It was nowhere near as simple and easy as a quick search on Baidu in later generations.
"Yaowen Ge!"
While he was organizing his suitcase, Ming Zai excitedly ran back, holding a basin full of water, and said as he ran, "Yaowen Ge, there are several pretty girls playing badminton on the open ground over there!"
"Let them play, what's so strange about that? It's not like you've never played before." Huo Yaowen didn't think much of it. He took the basin Ming Zai handed him and began to wet a towel, preparing to thoroughly wipe down the desk and wooden bed.
Seeing Huo Yaowen's indifferent expression, Ming Zai was about to say something but found himself at a loss for words. He hesitated for a long time, finally blurting out, "They're all pretty girls!"
"There are pretty girls all over the streets, but I've never seen you this excited." Huo Yaowen pouted, wiping the desk as he spoke, "If you want to see pretty girls, go squat outside the Paramount Nightclub in Kowloon's Wan Chai tonight. Only pretty girls go there."
Ming Zai: "!!!"
"Yaowen Ge, you've been to Paramount!" Ming Zai exclaimed, surprised.
One must know that Paramount in Wan Chai had a history of over twenty years. It was rumored to have been established by Du Yuesheng, the former Shanghai triad boss, after he came to Hong Kong. It had always been one of Hong Kong's most luxurious nightclubs. Ming Zai had only seen the entrance of Paramount during the day and had never been inside.
"No, but just thinking about it, I know there must be a lot of pretty girls there."
Nightclubs, places like that, you could figure out with your toes that there must be many pretty girls there. Not to mention how many times Huo Yaowen had accompanied directors, producers, and others to such clubs in later generations, so he naturally knew the situation inside like the back of his hand.
Although Paramount was an old-fashioned nightclub from the 1950s, some of the most basic business practices were definitely the same, with no major changes.
After Huo Yaowen wiped the table legs clean, he stood up, walked over to the envious Ming Zai, patted his shoulder, and said, "Work hard, and later, Yaowen Ge will take you there to have some fun. There will be all kinds of pretty girls." wap.
"Really!" Ming Zai's eyes lit up.
"Nonsense, when has Yaowen Ge ever lied to you?" Huo Yaowen nodded. After all, these were just verbal promises for now. As for when they would go, Huo Yaowen didn't know. With the money in his pocket now, he probably couldn't even get past the front door.
Before Ming Zai could fantasize about going to Paramount to have some fun and see what it was like, Huo Yaowen said, "Ming Zai, come help me flip this wooden board over so I can sweep the dust underneath."
"Okay."
When Huo Yaowen came yesterday, he only simply cleaned up some visible trash. Now that he was moving in, he naturally had to clean thoroughly. Just tidying the room took almost an hour.
By the time they finished, it was already past eleven in the morning.
Huo Yaowen looked at the bright, refreshed room, then walked over and opened the somewhat small window, glancing at the trees outside the dormitory building.
Hmm, nice place, with trees, good air. Living here in the future, writing novels and articles when not in class during the day, and enjoying the evening breeze at night, it's a good spot.
Thinking this, Huo Yaowen's mood brightened. He tidied up the things in the room, put his arm around Ming Zai's shoulder, and said, "Come on, Ming Zai, Yaowen Ge is taking you out to eat."
...
After taking Ming Zai to a privately run cafeteria within Hong Kong University for a hearty lunch, Huo Yaowen sent Ming Zai to the bus stop. Starting today, he would be living at school. He estimated he might go home once before school started, but for the ten days leading up to the start of classes, he would be staying here.
Ming Zai smiled and said, "Yaowen Ge, you don't need to see me off. I know how to get there. I've been twice already, so I know the way."
"I'll still see you off."
Seeing Huo Yaowen's insistence, Ming Zai grinned and followed him.
Soon, the two arrived at the bus stop.
Before Ming Zai got on the bus, Huo Yaowen repeatedly reminded him, "Remember, don't hang out with Big D anymore. If he asks you to do anything, just say you don't have time, or that you're learning carpentry. Remember, absolutely do not hang out with Big D again, otherwise you'll be the one who gets hurt, understood?"
"Understood, Yaowen Ge, I definitely won't hang out with Big D anymore."
"Yes, learn carpentry as your Dad suggested. Next year, Yaowen Ge will see if there are any good jobs and help introduce you to one or two."
At this moment, the bus arrived. Ming Zai waved and said, "Understood, Yaowen Ge, I'm leaving."
"Okay, go. Be careful on the way, don't run around. When you get to the port by bus, just take the ferry straight home."
"Understood, understood, Yaowen Ge, I'm not a child anymore."
After seeing Ming Zai off as if he were a child, Huo Yaowen watched the bus gradually move away, smiled, and turned to go back to the dormitory.
On the way back, Huo Yaowen noticed that the university had a lot more people. Some new and old students had returned to school early, putting aside their vacation mindset, and preparing to dive into the new semester's subjects.
The students at Hong Kong University now were much more diligent and hardworking than university students in later generations. There was basically no such thing as studying hard the first year and then coasting along the second; almost all of them were constantly studying diligently.
Looking at those young, vibrant students, walking in twos and threes along the quiet paths, their tender faces filled with beautiful aspirations for the new school and new life, Huo Yaowen was infected by this and gradually revealed a charming smile.
This smile made several female students nearby, who had been secretly watching him, feel a softening in their hearts. As if they had thought of a scene from a romance novel, their faces flushed, and they shyly lowered their heads.
Huo Yaowen, of course, didn't notice this. Otherwise, he would definitely have deliberately lingered there for a while longer, and wouldn't have hastened his steps back to the dormitory, leaving those female students who wanted to ask his name to watch him leave so quickly, remaining in place, feeling despondent for a long time.