Su Yang quietly stole a bag of chips from Little Hus' den. He then headed to the swimming pool and tossed it in.
Pool was not at the swimming pool, but because of the special summoning ability, a bright glow teleported him back to the swimming pool.
It seemed like Pool was following a standard operating procedure whenever he used the special ability, and this time was no exception either. He raised both his hands and provided Su Yang with the options: a piece of gear and…nothing?
Su Yang sighed a breath of relief. 'Finally, no more seahorses…but where's the other option? No seahorses, no options? Can the Inequivalent Exchange return empty?!'
Pool then said, "Lord Su Yang who has lost his way, what did you lose in my swimming pool? Is it this broken gear or…"
He then raised his seemingly empty right hand. "...this sand-burrowing crab?"
Su Yang was speechless. He jumped up and had a closer look at Pool's right hand. He realized that there was a tiny crab in Pool's hand. The crystal clear body looked really beautiful.
'No matter how beautiful it is, it's still a crab! We are done with seahorses and have moved on to crabs now, have we?'
Su Yang believed if this continued, he would be able to open an aquarium filled with sea creatures.
'Wait a minute! You are a swimming pool deity. Why are you giving me sea creatures?! You aren't the king of the sea!'
Su Yang got tired roasting Pool in his mind, so he picked the sand-burrowing crab up and tossed it into the basin with the seahorses.
The basin's 'ecosystem' got livelier with the addition of the crab. As Su Yang watched the seahorses and the crab swimming and crawling around, he grumbled, "I'll cook all of you one day.'
After finishing the trade of the day, the last bit of hope Su Yang had in the Pool Deity fizzled out. He was completely disappointed. The Pool Deity was really as the system described: random and had inequivalent value.
Su Yang went on Taobao to survey the price of the striped seahorse and sand-burrowing crab, but he found that the seahorse and crab only cost a few yuan each. After a quick calculation, he realized he should have eaten the bag of chips instead of trading it with the Pool Deity.
He could sell them but would barely make a cent. He could cook them, but they would not even be filling as appetizers.
After the disappointing trade, Su Yang headed out to meet Chu Xia. She had promised him that she would accompany him to survey the office.
When he reached the campus entrance, she was already there.
Su Yang greeted her and said, "Yo, what a coincidence."
Chu Xia curled her lips into a sweet smile. Even her eyes and brows looked like they were smiling. "Yeah, what a coincidence. Are you free for a walk?"
Su Yang's naughtier side took over and he said, "Of course, my sister-in-law. As long as my brother doesn't know that we are together, we can even elope together."
Su Yang's lame joke caught Chu Xia off-guard. She almost fell into his trap but was quick enough to bounce back. She feigned wiping her tears and said in a sad tone, "Don't worry. Even if your brother knows that we are together from down there, he will bless us."
'Okay, girl! You win!' Su Yang was completely defeated.
After fooling around with Chu Xia for a while, the two of them headed to the high-tech park.
Along the way, she took a set of documents out from her bag and gave them to him. "Have a look at this."
After Su Yang took the documents, she explained, "I've done some research for you last night. Our university actually has a support program and an entrepreneur park which is quite big.
"There are a total of three parks all over Shanghai and one of them is in Baoshan. As a student at Shanghai University, you will be able to get all kinds of benefits if you move in, and if you need funding, you can also receive a portion of funds after inspection.
"The university can also help you to apply for the country entrepreneur program. If you can develop your business well, they will send a mentor over to help you out."
Su Yang's interest was piqued when he heard about the benefits and funding. If the university could provide more help, he had no reason not to choose them, but when he heard the last part, he gave up the thought completely.
He was fine with everything else, but he could not accept the university sending someone over to mentor him.
He had gone through a lot of books about company management recently and found out that the biggest no-no when starting or developing a company was lacking an obvious core business and the boss not being able to erect his own dignity within the company.
If he were his own boss, he should have the power to speak in his company and his words should be the royal decree. If a mentor came in and guided him along the way, what would happen?
If something happened, should he follow his instincts or seek guidance from the mentor?
Besides, Su Yang had the system with him and he might have to use some special items in his company in the future. It should and must remain a secret. Therefore, he would rather give up on the perks than risk it.
With that in mind, Su Yang shook his head. "I think I'm gonna pass on this. I'm not that interested."
The best part of Chu Xia was that she never stepped out of line. She would always tell Su Yang what he wanted to know and leave the decision to him. She respected his decision no matter what, and more importantly, she would never argue or ask why. Therefore, Su Yang found being around her comfortable.
When they reached the high-tech park, Chu Xia checked her phone before she brought Su Yang to the management office at Block A.
They reached the management office and Chu Xia knocked on the door. A strong voice came from behind the door, "Come in."
She opened the door and brought Su Yang in.
The office was an independent unit instead of a shared one. Right in front of the door was the desk and behind the desk was a man who seemed to be in his 40s, writing something with his head down. His face looked square and rigid, giving him the appearance of a strict person.
After Chu Xia and Su Yang came in, the man glanced at them. "Have a seat first. I'll be with you in just a moment." He signed the two of them to sit at the couch before he continued writing.
Chu Xia and Su Yang sat on the couch as told. A minute later, the man put his pen down and looked at the two of them. "Is there anything that I can help you with?"
Chu Xia said, "Hi, Manager Tang, I'm the one who called earlier. I heard that the entrepreneur support program here allows us to rent an office or a workstation at a discounted rate and my boss is interested, so we are here to find out more."
Manager Tang sized the two of them up. "You are students, aren't you?"
Su Yang nodded. "Yes." It was unnecessary to hide the fact that he was a university student.
Manager Tang slightly nodded but did not say anything as he took a set of documents and passed it to Su Yang who stood up to receive them politely.
"You can have a look at the price list and details about the support program first," Manager Tang said.
Su Yang went through the documents in his hand.
A workstation cost 200 yuan per month, but it was located in a coworking space which was a shared office. He could rent multiple workstations according to the number of his employees, and if the number of employees reached a certain number, he could even segregate an area for himself.
As for the office, the price per square meter was 40 yuan a month. All the offices were equipped with desks and individual workstations, and he could also request additional equipment and the park management would do their best to satisfy his needs.
In short, the price was reasonable and the perks were also decent. During his first year, he could enjoy a 50% discount on all the miscellaneous fees.
Su Yang was pleased with the terms. At least, it was much better than working in a commercial and residential unit. On top of that, it would be easier for him to recruit or even headhunt other talents under his wing.
With that in mind, he said, "I'm interested, but may I have a look at the units?"
Manager Tang nodded. "Sure, I'll call someone in to bring you there." He then picked up the desk phone and made a call. A few minutes later, a beautiful lady in her mid-20s came in.
She was wearing a blue uniform, making her look tall and sexy. Her legs were comparable to Chu Xia's but they lacked a pair of stockings. The clean and fair ankles were revealed above her black heels and coupled with her frigid looks, it amplified her sexy secretary vibes.
'But...hmm…she looks familiar, where have I seen her before?'
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