Restart life

Chapter 95 0092 [They're all my working class]

Founded in 1998, Peking University Yuanhuo Society is one of the earliest established university animation clubs.

Unlike the later scale of two or three thousand people, there were only a little over a hundred members at this time.

Upon hearing that Chen Guiliang wanted to hire someone to paint the original artwork, the senior sister was taken aback at first, then smiled and said, "Junior brother can join our Yuanhuo Society first. Once you join Yuanhuo, you'll be like-minded, and everything can be discussed."

"Give me the registration form." Chen Guiliang accepted it gladly.

A senior student sitting at the table said, "Junior brother, come sit down and fill out the form."

While filling out the application form to join the club, Chen Guiliang chatted with his senior classmates.

The four people in front of me are three sophomores and one junior, from different departments.

The senior sister who just spoke to Chen Guiliang is named Guo Caicai, and the other three are named Li Hang, Zeng Hui, and Sheng Qingchuan.

They are all key members of the Yuanhuo Society.

Li Hang, who majored in computer science, was also skilled in using Photoshop 7.0 for drawing. This was considered advanced technology in 2004, when most artists were still drawing by hand on paper.

Once Chen Guiliang pays his membership fee, he'll be considered one of their own.

Guo Caicai asked, "What does Junior Brother want to draw?"

Chen Guiliang only left written materials at Peking University Science Park, but he carried with him a simple deck of Three Kingdoms Kill cards: "Let's play cards first."

A few minutes later, the five of them sat around the table and started playing the card game "Three Kingdoms Kill".

Just as everyone was having a great time, a freshman wearing glasses stood next to them, looked at the promotional poster on the banner, and asked, "Um... can I join?"

Li Hang didn't even bother with recruiting new members. He picked up an application form and said, "Junior, fill this out yourself."

The little boy filled out the registration form, paid Guo Caicai money, and then stood aside watching them play cards.

Having roughly understood the rules, the boy asked, "Is this also a regular activity of the anime club?"

"That's possible," Chen Guiliang said, settling on the tone.

He suddenly had a good idea: once the Three Kingdoms Kill cards were printed, he would give a set to every student organization at Peking University for free. Hmm, he could also give a lot to Tsinghua University next door.

Turn all these university clubs into your own Three Kingdoms Kill promotional platform!

As noon approached, Zeng Hui said, "You guys have fun, Sheng Qingchuan and I are going to get lunch."

The two were most likely a couple; they left chatting and laughing, taking several lunchboxes with them.

There were more than just one or two people watching the card game. As soon as they left, they sat down, and Chen Guiliang simply pulled three more people to play an eight-player game.

“Burn bridges across rivers!”

"Immaculate!"

"kill!"

"Gossip. Haha, gotta go."

"Lightning bolts are on, Sima, be careful."

"..."

The atmosphere here is getting more and more lively, and students who happen to be passing by stop to watch them play cards after hearing the commotion.

A little girl asked, "What game is this?"

Chen Guiliang said, "The Three Kingdoms Kill game will be printed and sold in a while."

Li Hang asked, "What are your requirements for the original artwork?"

Chen Guiliang said, "Wei, Shu, Wu, and the other groups each have their own underlying color. Wei is blue, Shu is red, Wu is green, and the other groups are gray. The character designs are inspired by CCTV's 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms.' By the way, have you ever played 'Dynasty Warriors' or Koei's 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'?"

“I’ve played it,” Li Hang said.

“We can also draw inspiration from these two games,” Chen Guiliang said.

Li Hang laughed and said, "These two games, especially Koei Tecmo's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, are actually drawing inspiration from CCTV's Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

Chen Guiliang asked, "How much does it cost to produce an original painting, senior brother?"

"do not know."

Li Hang paints out of interest and has never charged money, nor does he know the current market price. He teaches Photoshop 7.0 painting techniques at Yuanhuo Studio, always for free, because he feels embarrassed to charge money.

Guo Caicai knew the market rate: "Professional illustrators for magazines like 'Comic Friends' earn about 200 to 500 yuan per drawing. Animation companies charge 80 to 150 yuan per second for key animation drawings, and it's much lower if you pay by the drawing."

Li Hang was really embarrassed to accept money, but he did want to make some: "Let's say the original artwork for the general cards is 100 yuan per card. As for the other things like equipment and peaches, my junior brother has already drawn them himself. I'll just polish them up for you, and that'll be 20 yuan per card."

"Sure," Chen Guiliang readily agreed.

It's great to do business with college students; they actually offered to lower the price.

Chen Guiliang added, "Once the Three Kingdoms Kill cards are printed, I will give one set to Yuanhuo Society and five sets to my senior brother Li Hang."

"A word is settled!"

Li Hang was extremely happy, even happier than when he received the money.

As more and more students watched them play cards, Chen Guiliang simply gave up his seat.

He and Li Hang exchanged phone numbers, QQ numbers, and email addresses.

"Senior brother, you can keep this set of Three Kingdoms Kill for now," Chen Guiliang instructed. "Get the artwork done as soon as possible, I'm about to register my company." Li Hang smiled and said, "No problem, I'll go study the TV series and game prototypes tonight."

Chen Guiliang rode his bicycle to the now-renamed Yannan Canteen, where the rice was indeed softer than that of the No. 1 Canteen.

Damn it, Chen Guiliang has lost weight again during military training.

I need to quickly replenish my nutrition and gain weight to at least 140 pounds.

After returning the bicycle to the 28th floor, Chen Guiliang strolled back to his dormitory in a cheerful mood.

The last roommate of 404, that celestial being named Guo Feng, has finally returned to the dormitory after his travels.

This guy was wearing a faded, old T-shirt, tall and thin, with a side-parted hairstyle. He was sitting in front of the computer, watching "Kangxi Lai Le" which he had downloaded from somewhere, occasionally letting out a silly laugh.

That strange laughter reminded Chen Guiliang of Guan Zhiqiang.

“This show is quite interesting,” Chen Guiliang said, striking up a conversation.

Guo Feng glanced at Chen Guiliang and said, "The program from Taiwan only started airing this year. Download resources are hard to find, so I just copied it from a friend."

"My name is Chen Guiliang, and I'm a freshman," Chen Guiliang introduced himself.

Guo Feng said, "My name is Guo Feng, I'm a junior in college... Hahahaha, Little S is so funny!"

Chen Guiliang frowned, realizing that this legendary immortal was not quite the same as he had imagined.

He has no air of otherworldly wisdom whatsoever; instead, he is obsessed with children's entertainment programs.

Okay, that's nothing.

When Chen Guiliang was 40, he still watched Ultraman with his relatives' children during the Spring Festival. He also enjoyed watching BabyBus, finding it much more interesting than mindless romantic comedies.

Senior Brother Min and Jiang Junlai were not there; only the two of them were in the dormitory.

Chen Guiliang tried to probe by making conversation: "I heard that Senior Brother Guo has chosen a lot of courses?"

"I just picked them randomly, too lazy to plan," Guo Feng said, still staring at the computer screen. "I had my advisor recommend a few major courses, and I just picked the rest blindly, since they're just for getting credits anyway."

Chen Guiliang asked, "What are your plans after graduation?"

"I don't know, I still have two years until graduation, why think so much?" Guo Feng picked up the mouse and clicked to watch the next episode.

Chen Guiliang glanced at the timetable next to the computer. It was Guo Feng's own timetable, another messy bunch of classes. Based on what Senior Brother Min had said before, and combined with this timetable, Guo Feng would probably have 20 extra credits by the time he finished his junior year.

As long as Guo Feng can finish his professional thesis, he can graduate after his third year.

Just then, Jiang Junlai returned to his dormitory, followed by Yun Fan and Deng Chen from the opposite room.

When the three saw Guo Feng watching the program, they all gathered around to watch it together. One was a math Olympiad student admitted to university through special admission, one was a provincial top scorer, and one was a municipal top scorer; they were all watching with great interest.

What Chen Guiliang considered to be children's entertainment programs was incredibly novel and exciting for college students at the time!
Chen Guiliang asked, "Senior Brother Guo, where would be a good place to get a computer?"

"Just call me by my name."

Guo Feng said knowingly, "If you want to choose the components yourself, go to Hailong Building. They have the most complete selection of parts there. If you want to buy a complete system, go to Pacific Plaza. Be careful not to get ripped off at either of those places. Dinghao Electronics City, which opened last year, has more transparent pricing than Hailong and Pacific because it's competing with established businesses."

As he spoke, Guo Feng added, "I suggest you wait a while before buying a computer. Especially next semester, when seniors are graduating and will be posting on BBS to sell their computers. The price will be around 1000 yuan, and even the best configurations won't exceed 2000 yuan. You can buy a lower-performance one for a few hundred yuan."

Deng Chen asked, "Are you very knowledgeable about configuring computers, senior brother?"

"I took computer science as an elective and even worked at a digital plaza," Guo Feng glanced at the computer timer. "You guys have a lecture by your advisor this afternoon, right?"

Jiang Junlai said, "Professor Xu Lai's lecture."

Guo Feng said, "His classes are quite interesting, but they are very difficult to get into, especially the 'Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism' course. When I was a freshman, I stayed up all night waiting for a spot on the computer, but I still couldn't get one. Later, I tried to audit the classes, but those were often full, and if you arrived a little late, there were no seats left."

Chen Guiliang lay down for a nap, and Jiang Jun said, "Wake me up when it's time."

In a daze, laughter occasionally broke out in the dormitory, as the four top students were amused by Little S.

"Chen Guiliang, go to the lecture!"

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Guiliang was woken up by Jiang Junlai.

The group arrived at a large classroom, where all members of the Yuanpei Class, regardless of whether they were in the arts or sciences stream, were present.

A professor who looked quite young stood on the podium: "Hello, students. I have been a strong supporter of Peking University's Yuanpei Program from the very beginning. I know you are feeling lost right now, and I was lost when I was young too... Back then, I went to serve in the army on the grasslands, and I knew nothing about anything, not even what I should do in the future. I only had three volumes of 'History of Chinese Literature' with me. There should have been four volumes, but somehow one was missing..."

"Life is full of experiences. Every experience is a valuable asset. For example, after you choose your courses, you have a two-week trial period. Most students from previous Yuanpei classes say that the experience of choosing the wrong courses is very valuable. By choosing the wrong courses, you can clearly understand what you like and what you are suited for. Then you can ask your tutor to change your courses, and you will study with extra seriousness and motivation..."

"I learned to make noodles while serving in the army on the grasslands. I was a cook back then, and I've kept this skill to this day. If you have the chance, I'll treat you to noodles I made myself..."

"My introduction to philosophy began with Lenin..."

This wasn't a proper academic lecture; it was just a ploy to trick freshmen into choosing philosophy courses.

Professor Xu Lai recounted his interesting experiences serving in the army on the grasslands, and also mentioned that when he took the entrance exam for Peking University's graduate program, he wrote "I am very nervous during the exam" on the back of each exam paper.

The students burst into laughter from time to time.

“In 1985, I was Mr. Feng Youlan’s assistant. He had just finished writing ‘A New History of Chinese Philosophy: The Wei and Jin Dynasties,’ and I disagreed with some of his analyses. I gave Mr. Feng my opinions, and he agreed with me and accepted them. Later, when the book was published, he revised it back… Everyone has their own thoughts, and academic differences are normal. If you think I’ve said anything wrong in the future, you can point it out to me directly. We learn from each other…”

After listening to the lecture, the students found it very interesting and decided to enroll in Professor Xu Lai's classes.

But the lectures over the next few days were all very interesting... and I don't know which one to sign up for anymore.

Having too many choices can be painful.

(Please give me a monthly ticket.)
(End of this chapter)