Chapter 10: Microsoft

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shuo was so angry that he almost laughed, and he said with a cold sneer, "Back then, the Education Bureau clearly said that my teaching qualification could be obtained while I was on the job, as long as I passed the exam within three years. Now you want to make an issue out of my qualifications? If you had said you would transfer me to a vocational high school earlier, I would have gone to the computing center at Petrochemical Plant No. 8!"

Director Wang snorted twice, crossed his legs, and said in a condescending tone, "Then go now, the Education Bureau will definitely let you go."

Zhou Shuo slapped the coffee table, the sound making the tea in the cup spill out, and he said angrily, "The positions in the computing center are already full. Do you think I can just go there whenever I want?"

Director Wang picked up the teacup from the coffee table without a care and said slowly, "What did you expect? Since you're eating the government's rice, you have to follow the organization's arrangements."

Indeed, at the core of Director Wang's philosophy were four words: strict hierarchy. A higher rank could crush a person, let alone a temporary worker with no power or influence. Who would stand up for him?

"Teacher Zhou!"

With a thud, the door to the academic affairs office was pushed open, and He Youyou rushed in, panting.

Gao Wendu frowned and scolded, "Get out! Don't you know to knock before entering a teacher's office? Which class are you from, so impolite!"

He Youyou made a face and huffed, "Gao Wendu, if you have the guts, keep being arrogant. I didn't come for you."

After saying that, a refined middle-aged man wearing tortoiseshell glasses walked in from behind He Youyou.

When Gao Wendu and Director Wang saw him, they looked as if they had seen a ghost, and they stood up in shock. Director Wang, who had better composure, took a deep breath, and a genuine smile quickly spread across his face. He walked quickly to the door, bowed his head slightly, and said humbly but not fawningly, "Director He, you're here, please come in!"

Director He and Director Wang smiled, but did not enter. He first scolded He Youyou, "How can you talk to your teacher like that? Apologize to Teacher Gao and go do your own business."

He Youyou, after being scolded, made a bitter face and said "Sorry" to Gao Wendu, then pouted and ran out.

Gao Wendu, now back to his senses, glanced at He Youyou's back with a puzzled look, suppressed his shock, and followed Director Wang to welcome Director He to the main seat.

"Sit down, all of you. That's right, Xiao Zhou, you sit too," Director He said with a full smile from behind his desk.

Damn! Gao Wendu and Director Wang both thought it was bad. The Education Bureau's Director He actually knew this kid's name. It's over! Could it be that they had unknowingly poked a hornet's nest?

Zhou Shuo didn't think too much about it. Since Director He was brought in by He Youyou, it couldn't be a bad thing.

Seeing the three of them sit down again, Director He said, "Today, I heard that our No. 2 High School has a heroic teacher who acted bravely. The person saved happens to be my niece. I came here today to visit and express my gratitude."

As he spoke, Director He stood up from his chair, extended his hand to Zhou Shuo, and continued, "As an uncle, I want to thank Comrade Xiao Zhou for saving He Youyou."

Zhou Shuo quickly extended his hand to shake Director He's and said modestly, "I am a teacher, and protecting students is my duty."

Hearing this, Director He laughed heartily, "Well said! This shows that Comrade Xiao Zhou is a qualified teacher!"

Although the office was filled with enthusiastic laughter, Gao Wendu and Director Wang's faces were ashen. He Youyou's uncle was the Education Bureau's Director He. How had this girl never mentioned it before? They were in a bind now. Zhou Shuo had saved the Education Bureau's Director He's niece. How could they still send him to a vocational high school?

Zhou Shuo also didn't expect that He Youyou had such a connection. In his previous life, after He Youyou's death, he hadn't had much contact with her family. He only met her mother once during the police investigation and never saw her father, who was said to work out of town and rarely came back.

After saying this, Director He seemed to suddenly remember Gao Wendu and Director Wang and asked casually, "By the way, Old Wang, why are you here today?"

"This, this..." Director Wang wanted to play it off as if he had never been there. But doing so would make him look terrible, as if he was admitting to having a hidden agenda. Besides, this matter couldn't be hidden. If Director He checked, there would be plenty of people willing to provide information.

Perhaps, Director He was just pretending to be unaware, coming at the right time to support Zhou Shuo. It was hard to believe he didn't know the whole story!

In fact, regarding Zhou Shuo's arrangement, Director Wang wasn't entirely wrong. It was a formal administrative process, reflecting the organization's intentions, which must be followed. Regardless of how these intentions were formed, once they were established, they couldn't be ignored. This was the strict hierarchy. You could manipulate the rules, but you couldn't violate them.

Director Wang opened his mouth, hesitated, and said, "Report to the director, I came today mainly to discuss Teacher Zhou's work arrangements and to communicate with the concerned party."

"Oh? Is there a problem with Xiao Zhou's work?" Director He sat down on the sofa to the right with Zhou Shuo.

"Um, not a big problem—" Director Wang stammered.

Director He waved his hand and said casually, "Come on, don't worry about me. Just speak your mind."

Director Gao gritted his teeth, thinking that whether he spoke up or not, it would be the same. He might as well be straightforward: "It's mainly about Teacher Zhou's position. Considering he doesn't have a teaching qualification, teaching at a key high school like No. 2 High School might cause a bad influence."

Director He turned to Zhou Shuo and asked, "Xiao Zhou, you haven't obtained your teaching qualification yet? How did you get into No. 2 High School?"

Zhou Shuo shook his head and said straightforwardly, "I graduated from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications with a degree in computer science. No. 2 High School couldn't find a teacher for computer classes, so they hired me. The agreement was that I would obtain my teaching qualification within three years while on the job."

Director He turned to Director Wang and asked, "Since you have three years, why are you so eager to adjust Xiao Zhou's position?"

Director Gao laughed awkwardly and said, "Mainly because Teacher Zhou's score in the open class evaluation this semester was relatively low. Considering he is a recent graduate with no work experience, it might affect his teaching ability."

Zhou Shuo's lips moved, but he held back from arguing. Open class evaluations were subjective, and if a decision had been made, trying to overturn it would be futile and would offend many people on this professional line.

As Zhou Shuo was hesitating, he heard a knock on the office door. The door handle turned, and He Youyou walked in.

He Youyou stood at the door and said with admiration, "Teacher Zhou, someone is looking for you!"

Following He Youyou's words, two people, one tall and one short, walked in from behind her. The tall one was a blond, blue-eyed foreigner, probably in his thirties. The shorter one, who was actually not short at all, was about 1.75 meters tall, dressed neatly in a suit, and looked very capable.

Seeing the visitors, Zhou Shuo stood up in surprise and said with a smile, "Old Liu, how did you find me here?"

"I asked this female classmate for directions, and she led us here!" Old Liu also stepped forward excitedly, shook Zhou Shuo's hand vigorously, and then pointed to the foreigner, introducing him, "This is Mr. James, James Wallace, the general manager of Microsoft's China office." Old Liu then pointed to Zhou Shuo and introduced him to James, "This is the author of the software, my classmate Zhou Shuo."

James eagerly extended his hand to Zhou Shuo, gave him a big hug, and said in broken Chinese, "Oh, Zhou! It's great to meet you, you're a genius!"

Zhou Shuo hugged him back and said, "Mr. James, you're too kind. I'm just an ordinary person."

"No! No!" James shook his head vigorously and patted his chest, "You have a great business sense. I think anyone who could come up with this software idea is definitely a genius!"

Zhou Shuo smiled but didn't respond, turning to introduce the two groups. Although Director He, Director Wang, and Gao Wendu didn't know what Microsoft did, when Zhou Shuo mentioned it was an American computer company, they were immediately in awe—this was an American high-tech company!

Thinking about it, Director Wang's face darkened again.

Damn, I must have forgotten to check the almanac today. Just as I was about to transfer Zhou Shuo, Director He came. Just as I said he wasn't proficient, a foreigner showed up. Why is everyone against me? Director Wang was truly angry at Zhou Shuo but could only vent his frustration on Gao Wendu. If it weren't for this unlucky star, he wouldn't have targeted Zhou Shuo!

There was nothing to say. Director Wang secretly pulled out the transfer notice, crumpled it, and stuffed it back into his pocket—purely out of tears!

As for Gao Wendu? He wished he could become invisible, hoping no one would notice him.

After the introductions, Director He also wanted to know why the foreigner was looking for Zhou Shuo. It was 1994, and the number of foreigners in the city could be counted on one hand. So, he said, "A guest is a guest. Mr. James, please tell us why you're here to see Teacher Zhou!"

James was delighted and thanked Director He, then said seriously to Zhou Shuo, "Mr. Zhou, I am representing Microsoft in the United States to invite you to work for Microsoft in the U.S.!"

"Ah?" Director He was surprised, his mouth wide open, never expecting them to be here to poach!

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