Steal the enemy's base at the start and build a technological empire.

Chapter 251 Top Scholar's Roasted Trotters

It was already pitch black in Jinan, and the north wind was howling. Pedestrians on the street were walking quickly with their necks hunched over.

Zhuangyuan Roasted Trotters is an old-style Jinan barbecue restaurant located on Shanda North Road. It has a small storefront with a red-lacquered wooden door and a cotton curtain hanging outside. There are a few bicycles and a black Audi parked in front.

Ling Yun and An Shiyu got out of the car. An Shiyu was wearing a long, beige down jacket, a red scarf, and carrying a paper bag. Ling Yun was still wearing the same black down jacket, unbuttoned.

"Is this the place?" An Shiyu looked at the sign.

"This is it." Ling Yun lifted the cotton curtain. "We used to come here often when we were in college. It's cheap and the portions are generous."

The restaurant was warmly heated, and a mixture of stir-fried dishes, cooking fumes, and liquor wafted through the air. Seven or eight tables in the main hall were full, and the noise was deafening. Waiters carried trays back and forth, calling out, "Excuse me, excuse me."

The shop owner behind the counter looked up, saw Ling Yun, paused for a moment, then laughed, "Oh, Mr. Ling! A rare guest indeed!"

The boss was a fat man in his fifties named Zhang, wearing a greasy apron.

"Boss Zhang, business is still booming." Ling Yun nodded.

"Thanks to you." Boss Zhang came out from behind the counter. "The private room was reserved for you, the usual place, 'Tingyuxuan' on the second floor. Boss Zhao and the others have arrived and just went upstairs."

"Thanks." Ling Yun led An Shiyu upstairs.

The wooden stairs creaked underfoot. The second-floor corridor was narrow, with faded landscape paintings on the walls. The door to the private room at the far end was open, and laughter drifted from inside.

"Brother Donkey! Over here!" It was Zhao Weiguo's voice.

The private room wasn't large; a round table could seat eight people. Several cold dishes were already laid out on the table: peanuts in vinegar, cucumber salad, braised beef, and preserved egg tofu. Four people were sitting at the table: Zhao Weiguo, Chen Lingling, Sun Peng, and Li Mo.

Zhao Weiguo wore a brown leather jacket, his hair was slicked back, and his face was flushed from drinking. Chen Lingling sat next to him, wearing a light gray turtleneck sweater, her hair down, and a faint smile on her face. Sun Peng had gained a little weight, wearing a dark blue wool coat, and was fiddling with his phone—a new Motorola flip phone. Li Mo was still the same as always, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a gray fleece jacket.

"President Ling! Teacher An!" Sun Peng looked up and put his phone down.

"Don't call me President Ling, just call me Ling Yun." Ling Yun took off his down jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. "An Shiyu, you know her, right?"

"Let's get to know each other." Zhao Weiguo stood up. "Hello, Professor An. I've heard of you since college; you're a talented woman in the Chinese Literature Department."

An Shiyu smiled and said, "Hello, Brother Zhao."

Chen Lingling also stood up: "Hello, Sister An."

"Please sit down, don't be shy." Ling Yun pulled An Shiyu to sit down, right between Zhao Weiguo and Li Mo. "Have you ordered?"

"I've ordered, the usual stuff." Zhao Weiguo pushed the menu over. "Take a look and see if you want to add anything else. It's my treat today, so nobody can take it."

"You're treating?" Ling Yun raised an eyebrow. "Have you struck it rich?"

"What do you mean by making a fortune? I'm happy!" Zhao Weiguo picked up his teacup and took a sip. "I have some good news to announce today."

"What good news?" Sun Peng leaned closer. "Did you win the lottery?"

"It's better than winning the lottery." Zhao Weiguo glanced at Chen Lingling, whose face flushed slightly and she lowered her head.

Li Mo pushed up his glasses: "He's getting married?"

"No!" Zhao Weiguo waved his hand, "But almost. Well... Lingling and I are officially dating. Today is... the official announcement!"

After he finished speaking, he chuckled to himself.

There was a two-second silence on the table.

Sun Peng was the first to react, slamming his fist on the table: "You, Zhao Weiguo! You've quietly snagged the most beautiful girl in our internet cafe! You deserve a penalty drink!"

"I accept the punishment!" Zhao Weiguo grabbed the bottle of baijiu on the table, poured himself a full glass, and downed it in one gulp. The spiciness made him grimace.

Chen Lingling quickly handed over the teacup: "Drink slowly."

Li Mo smiled and said, "Congratulations."

"Congratulations." Ling Yun raised his teacup. "I'll toast you with tea instead of wine."

An Shiyu also raised her glass: "Brother Zhao, Sister Chen, congratulations."

Zhao Weiguo poured himself another glass: "Thank you, brothers! Thank you, Teacher An!"

After finishing his drink, he sat down, wiped his mouth, and said, "Ah, what a relief! Before, I was always sneaking around, afraid of gossip. Now I can do it all out, it feels so good!"

Chen Lingling gently nudged him: "What are you saying?"

"To be honest," Zhao Weiguo laughed, "President Ling, you don't know how capable Lingling is now. She came back from the United States and is the operations director. She knows more than I do. I was afraid I wasn't good enough for her, and I was nervous for a while."

"You, Zhao Weiguo, also have moments of nervousness?" Sun Peng teased.

"Of course!" Zhao Weiguo glared. "You think everyone is like you, with skin thicker than a city wall?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

The waiter pushed open the door and came in carrying hot dishes: sweet and sour carp, braised pork intestines, stir-fried pork kidneys, braised sea cucumber with scallions... one dish after another was served, steaming hot, and the signature dish, roasted pig's trotters, was brought out.

"Let's eat! Let's chat while we eat!" Zhao Weiguo called out.

After a few bites of food, the atmosphere became even more lively.

"Speaking of which, it's been a year and a half since the four of us graduated, right?" Sun Peng picked up a piece of sausage and stuffed it into his mouth. "Time flies. I deal with steel and concrete every day, while you guys are doing quite differently. One of you runs an internet cafe, one works on chips, and the other..." He looked at Ling Yun, "I can't even explain what you're doing anymore, you're doing all sorts of things."

Li Mo adjusted his glasses: "Chip design is still in its infancy; mass production is a long way off."

"That's still better than me," Sun Peng sighed. "My dad insisted I take over the family construction company, and I'm constantly drinking with contractors and arguing with the planning bureau. You guys are so much better, doing high-tech stuff, it sounds so sophisticated."

"High-class stuff," Zhao Weiguo scoffed. "I deal with computer crashes, kids skipping school to go online, and fights at the internet cafe next door over business every day. Last month, some kid stole a mouse from the store. I caught him, and he cried his eyes out, saying his family was poor and he wanted to buy a mouse to play games. I took pity on him and gave him one, and even found him a part-time job as an internet cafe manager."

"And then?" An Shiyu asked.

"And that kid did a really good job, now he's a key member of one of my stores," Zhao Weiguo said proudly. "So, you have to give people a chance."

Chen Lingling added softly, "Wei Guo is soft-hearted, but he's fair and impartial. He sets the strictest rules in the shop, and he doesn't show any leniency to anyone who breaks them."

"Absolutely," Zhao Weiguo patted his chest. "Rules are rules."

Ling Yun took a bite of fish and looked at Li Mo: "I tried the wireless keyboard and mouse samples, and the latency is still a bit high. You can feel it when you move around."

"Yes, we're optimizing the RF module." Li Mo put down his chopsticks and pulled a small notebook from his pocket. "These are the latest test data. The latency has dropped to 12 milliseconds, but the power consumption has increased. I'm trying to balance it..."

"Stop, stop!" Sun Peng raised his hand. "We're eating, Li Mo. Don't talk about work, I don't understand."

Li Mo paused for a moment, then put away the notebook: "Oh, okay."

Everyone laughed.