1994: From a young man from a small town to a second-generation resident of Shanghai

Yuan Hua called on the two people to go up and count the votes. They were basically the most good-looking couple in the whole class.

Zhang Xiting is 1.7 meters tall, and Chen Yong is over 1.8 meters tall. No matter who becomes the class monitor or the branch secretary of the Youth League, they will both be pillars of the 1994 Finance Class.

Below, Xu Miaomiao said to Ye Linghuan, "Teacher Yuan Hua is so biased. Linghuan performed very well, but he still made her go up to count the votes."

"Yes, just like Chen Yong said, once you get to university, it all comes down to your background. If the teachers are like this, you can imagine what the other leaders are like."

Ye Linghuan said softly, "Don't talk nonsense. The vote count isn't that important. It's all about everyone's choice. I think what Zhang Xiting said earlier was quite good, and I'm going to vote for her."

Ye Linghuan's words won over her roommates, who said, "Linghuan, you're such a nice person. We'll all vote for you later!"

"To add, each person can write four different names on a slip of paper; duplicate slips will be invalid."

Yuan Hua had also prepared a ballot box in advance.

Chen Yong carried the ballot box to collect ballots from the students.

Back on the podium, he took out the ballots and, under Yuan Hua's supervision, began counting the votes.

[Chen Yong, Zhang Xiting, Ye Linghuan, Xu Shijie]

[Chen Yong, Zhang Xiting, Zhu Tianliang, Wang Jie]

[Chen Yong, Zhang Xiting, Ye Linghuan, Liu Cong]

……

……

The vote count shows that Chen Yong received 38 votes, placing him first.

Zhang Xiting received 36 votes, ranking second.

Xu Shijie received 30 votes, ranking third.

Ye Linghuan: 29 votes, fourth place.

Zhu Tianliang received 27 votes, ranking fifth.

……

"The voting results are in. Chen Yong came in first place and was automatically elected class monitor; Zhang Xiting came in second place and became the Youth League secretary; Xu Shijie came in third place as the vice class monitor; and the academic representative came in fourth..."

Yuan Hua announced the voting results.

Liu Cong exclaimed excitedly from below, "My brother Chen is truly awesome! He was the last one to go up and still got elected class monitor!"

Zhu Tianliang had to admit that Chen Yong was quite capable, and he had also cleverly acknowledged that his family background was no worse than theirs. Zhu Tianliang even suspected that this kid had been laying the groundwork from the beginning, waiting to unleash his ultimate move when running for class monitor!

Otherwise, how could everyone remember him so easily?

Running for class officer in the first year of university is both the most difficult and the easiest.

The difficulty lies in the fact that there are always a few classmates around you who are at a similar level, making it hard to stand out.

The advantage is that as long as you show your face to your classmates beforehand and make yourself the first person most people remember, it will be much easier when running for class officer.

This is why so many college students proactively contact their counselors when freshmen are in school to help them pass on messages to their classmates—it's to leverage their connections and gain exposure among their peers.

The vast majority of these people are elected as class leaders.

Moreover, some students, upon entering university, are unaware of the fierce competition and still retain the habit of waiting for teachers to make arrangements, which they had in high school.

After a period of adjustment, these students will be able to put in their best effort in the second year.

However, students who served as student leaders for a year in their first academic year will still be nominated for the next term if they are familiar with their roles and work diligently.

After becoming class monitor, Chen Yong casually shared a few words of reflection on his role in front of his classmates.

After selecting the class officers, Yuan Hua stopped lingering in the classroom and wasting time chatting.

As he left, he muttered to himself, "Do these students think I'm going to ramble on and on? They don't understand my good intentions. They'll regret it later."

Some students are just like that; if you don't explain things clearly to them, they'll keep bothering you in the future.

Even after starting university, I'm still like a baby who hasn't been weaned!

Students all say he's long-winded, but who knows that when he first started working, he was a decisive and efficient teacher?

They only evolved into this state because they were tormented by their seniors.

The way Yuan Hua looked at this year's freshmen was no different from the previous years.

He only pays attention to those who are exceptionally outstanding.

There are a few students in the 94 Finance class: Chen Yong, Zhang Xiting, Zhu Tianliang, Xu Shijie, and Ye Linghuan. These are the ones he should pay more attention to.

He can't manage the others, and he's too lazy to manage them either!

The first thing Chen Yong did after becoming class monitor was to discuss the class funds.

"Since everyone is still here, let's discuss how much class fee we should pay for the first semester."

Several class officers spoke first. Zhang Xiting said to pay twenty, some said thirty, some even forty, and some said five.

They talked all at once, but couldn't come up with a suitable class fee.

Chen Yong gleaned a lot of useful information from them, and some people remained silent.

There must be students in their class who are extremely poor, most likely those who haven't spoken up.

Collecting too much could put enormous pressure on their finances.

Although it was 94, many rural families still did not have enough to eat.

It's difficult to support even one college student.

Don't be fooled by the fact that there are many wealthy business owners in Shanghai who spend money like water; the situation is quite different in inland provinces.

It's no exaggeration to say it's like going abroad.

Chen Yong had to remind the class leaders, "You guys come from good families, but you should also consider the other students from rural areas. Their monthly living expenses are only a dozen or even a few yuan, and you're asking for twenty or thirty, forty or fifty yuan, which is too outrageous."

"I think I'll start by charging 10 yuan, and also share some essential part-time job ideas with some students."

Zhang Xiting agreed to his suggestion.

With Zhang Xiting taking the lead, the others quickly reached a consensus with Chen Yong.

At the same time, I'm curious about what Chen Yong meant by "must-have part-time job for college students".

Chen Yong announced the amount of the first class fee to the class, and Jin Canyi immediately turned pale.

When he came to school this time, his family gave him 100 yuan as living expenses for the first year. He had already spent more than ten yuan on transportation, and the remaining money was needed to buy daily necessities and also for living expenses.

This could very well plunge him into financial hardship, forcing him to borrow money from others in the future.

Several other classmates, like him, were in a bad mood after paying their class fees.

Chen Yong added, "I know some of you might not know what to do in college, and you might be struggling financially. I suggest you try tutoring. Since you've just finished the college entrance exam and your knowledge is still fresh, tutoring high school students can help you earn your living expenses and even tuition fees for college."

So that's what Chen Yong was talking about!

They never even considered tutoring; firstly, they didn't need the money, and secondly, it was a thankless task.

Tutoring offers almost no benefit to graduates, except for earning some money.

It can be said to be the top choice for part-time jobs for ordinary college students.

However, the hourly wage for tutors has always been very high, far exceeding the average hourly wage for salaried workers.

For example, a female garment worker in Shanghai might work a grueling twelve-hour day to earn ten yuan.

But a tutor from a prestigious university can earn five yuan an hour. Two hours of tutoring is equivalent to a whole day's work for someone else.

Some generous parents will give ten yuan per hour.

Moreover, there is a huge opportunity hidden within this.

Chen Yong has no interest in working on a project with very limited potential.

Running a tutoring center with his first pot of gold wasn't very meaningful; nothing beats the money he's making now from his current projects.

The first thing Chen Yong did after receiving the class funds was to take everyone out for a meal to strengthen their friendship.