I'm back in 1990

Chapter 198: A Society Based on Personal Connections

After helping Zhang Yun light the heater, Huang Xiaochuan declined Zhang Yun's invitation to stay for lunch and left in a hurry.

After leaving Zhang Yun's house, Huang Xiaochuan wanted to go to the bank to make a transfer, but he realized there wasn't enough time and he would have to wait until the bank opened in the afternoon.

After lunch, Huang Xiaochuan said to Ding Yi, "Old Ding, the stove you asked for is back. I'll have someone deliver it to the school gate later, and you can have someone pick it up."

Ding Yi immediately asked Huang Xiaochuan to lend him his mobile phone: "Lend me your mobile phone for a moment, I'll make a call and have someone come and pick it up."

After the call, Ding Yi returned the mobile phone to Huang Xiaochuan.

The two walked together toward the school gate, and as soon as they got downstairs, they met Dong Ling, who had come specifically to find Ding Yi.

When Huang Xiaochuan saw this scheming woman, he secretly frowned and gave Ding Yi a look that seemed to say, "Why haven't you dealt with this woman yet?"

Ding Yi didn't respond to Huang Xiaochuan, but instead asked Dong Ling, "Honey, what brings you here?"

Huang Xiaochuan felt like vomiting immediately upon hearing this. "Damn it, Ding Gungun, can you not be so mushy? I almost threw up my lunch."

Upon seeing Ding Yi, Dong Ling began to coax him, "Ding Yi, I promised to treat my roommates to dinner tonight. They all want to meet you, so why don't you come along?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaochuan couldn't help but curse inwardly. This was clearly a scheme to make Ding Yi, the sucker, pay the bill, while also showing off to his roommates that he had a rich boyfriend. Only a scheming woman would do something like this!

Ding Yi readily agreed: "Sure! Where are we going tonight? I'll go with you."

"The place you treated me to Western food last time, I'll take my roommate there to broaden her horizons."

Hearing Dong Ling's words, Ding Yi's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing in the corner of his eye. Damn it! You really think I'm a fool? Fine! If you're willing to die, I'm willing to bury you too.

Ding Yi immediately put on a smiling face and said, "Whatever you say goes. You're treating, so you get to decide."

After seeing Dong Ling off, Huang Xiaochuan asked her, "How much longer are you planning to put up with this woman? Just get rid of her already, aren't you annoyed?"

Ding Yi watched Dong Ling's retreating figure and sneered, "Tonight is a good opportunity. Don't worry about me. Do you think I'd keep her around for the New Year?"

"Fine, you know what you're doing. This woman is really not a good match!"

"Hey, you've gotten really long-winded lately, haven't you?"

"Ding Gun Gun, do you want me to loosen your bones again?"

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up, my cousin might already be here."

At 1:30 p.m., Huang Xiaochuan took Yang Junmin and He Guang to the bank. Huang Xiaochuan transferred 540,000 yuan into the customs-designated account and received the deposit slip. Then he took Yang Junmin and He Guang by taxi to the customs.

Upon arriving at customs, Huang Xiaochuan asked Yang Junmin and another person to wait outside with a bag containing cigarettes while he went inside to find Tang Yuan'an.

Upon seeing Huang Xiaochuan, Tang Yuan'an smiled and asked, "You're here so quickly?"

Huang Xiaochuan didn't stand on ceremony with Tang Yuan'an: "If you want to get the car as soon as possible, how can you do it later?"

Tang Yuan'an smiled and walked over to Huang Xiaochuan, patting him on the shoulder: "Come on, I'll take you to complete the formalities."

"Brother Yuan'an, the paperwork isn't urgent. Where is your car parked? I brought you some things, but it's inconvenient to bring them in. It's better to just leave them in your car."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yuan'an's impression of Huang Xiaochuan improved even further.

For thousands of years, China has been a society based on personal relationships. Even among very close friends, there are bound to be exchanges of benefits, ranging from small things like bringing a gift to someone's home to larger social obligations. Bringing something makes a completely different impression on the host than bringing nothing at all.

Furthermore, although Tang Yuan'an helped Huang Xiaochuan this time out of consideration for the possibility of a future kinship, Huang Xiaochuan could not accept it so easily. Otherwise, this would have been the only time the two of them interacted.

Tang Yuan'an also promised to help Huang Xiaochuan get a license plate, which was done on Tang Yuan'an's behalf. Tang Yuan'an had to repay this favor, and Huang Xiaochuan understood this perfectly well. If he couldn't even understand this simple principle after living two lives, he might as well just reincarnate early.

Tang Yuan'an didn't stand on ceremony with Huang Xiaochuan. He led Huang Xiaochuan to his car, and Huang Xiaochuan waved. Yang Junmin ran over, gave Huang Xiaochuan the bag, and then returned to the door to continue waiting.

Huang Xiaochuan put the bag into the trunk of the Accord and then said, "Brother Yuan'an, it's nothing special, just a few packs of cigarettes for you, don't mind! Saturday night at Haibao Boat Festival, you invite people there and I'll pay, I can't let Brother Yuan'an do me a favor."

Tang Yuan'an smiled and pointed at Huang Xiaochuan: "You! Okay! I'll listen to you. I'll introduce you to some friends on Saturday."

More than an hour later, after completing all the formalities, Huang Xiaochuan, along with Yang Junmin and He Guang, picked up the two cars.

Before Huang Xiaochuan left, Tang Yuan'an told him, "The car is too dirty. Go find a place to wash it quickly. Tomorrow or the day after, whenever it's convenient for you, go directly to the vehicle management office to register it. The director is my buddy, and I've already spoken to him. Besides, all the paperwork is in order, and it will be registered directly in your name."

Huang Xiaochuan replied with a smile, "I know, I'll take care of the license plate tomorrow. Luckily, it was you, Brother Yuan'an, who stepped in, otherwise I would have been completely lost."

"Alright, we're all relatives, why be so formal? Go on! Be careful on the road, this car is still in its break-in period, don't floor the gas pedal."

"Okay! I understand! It won't happen!"

After waving Huang Xiaochuan away, Tang Yuan'an turned around and went back to his office. Once there, he made several phone calls, and later that evening he also called his sister, Tang Yuan.

After driving the car back, it was temporarily parked in Wenyuan. Nowadays, there are very few private cars, so there is more than enough space to park two cars in the yard. Huang Xiaochuan asked Yang Junmin and He Guang to give the gatekeeper a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes, so that the gatekeeper would be willing to help look after the two cars.

That evening, Huang Xiaochuan received a summons from Yu Wei. Huang Xiaochuan immediately guessed that Tang Yuan'an had told Tang Yuan about it, and if Tang Yuan knew, then Yu Wei would naturally know as well.

However, Huang Xiaochuan didn't rush to return Yu Wei's call; he wanted to give the kid a break.

Seeing that Huang Xiaochuan did not return the call for a long time, Yu Wei continued to dial the paging number: "Please call 11666 for me urgently, call it three times, and call back xxxxxxx."

That evening, Tang Yuan'an, Tang Yuan's brother-in-law, called Tang Yuan and told him that Huang Xiaochuan had bought two SUVs from him that day.

The news left the young couple completely stunned. What was going on? Where did Huang Xiaochuan get so much money? Buying a house and a car? Could his uncle really give him that much in commission?

Yu Wei was impatient, so he immediately went downstairs to call Huang Xiaochuan. However, his mobile phone was not turned on, so he called the paging service to call Huang Xiaochuan.

Half an hour later, Huang Xiaochuan finally called Yu Wei back. Yu Wei had been waiting so long he was practically wilting.

The first thing Yu Wei said after the call connected was, "Holy crap, you bought cars? Two of them?"

"Why are you getting so excited about me buying a car?"

"So, does that mean we can drive home together during winter break?"

"It's hard to say right now, I haven't gotten my driver's license yet."

Upon hearing this, Yu Wei got furious!

"Damn it, you bought a car without a driver's license? Are you just throwing money around?"

"Hey hey hey! Watch your tone when you talk to me. Do you want to hitch a ride home with me next time? If you make me unhappy, you'll have to squeeze onto the shuttle bus to go home by yourself."

Yu Wei said disdainfully, "You don't even have a driver's license, let's see how you drive!"

Seeing that Yu Wei had taken the bait, Huang Xiaochuan wentaded him: "How about we make a bet? If I get my driver's license, you'll call me brother-in-law, okay?"

Yu Wei did the math. Driving school training usually takes at least three months. It's December now, and the Lunar New Year is in early February. How come Huang Xiaochuan won't get his driver's license? He decided to bet on him.

"What if you can't get it?"

"If I don't get my driver's license, how about I buy you a car after you get it?"

"A gentleman's word is his bond?"

"No horse can catch up with it!"

After hanging up the phone, Huang Xiaochuan was overjoyed!

Yu Wei, on the other hand, was a bit annoyed. "I called to ask where I got the money to buy this car. How did it end up being a bet with Huang Xiaochuan? Oh well, I'll ask my older sister for details another day."