Chapter 10

（As usual, three requests! Votes, recommendations, and favorites!）

Yujing West Station.

A middle-aged military officer in a colonel's uniform, with a firm face, and a middle-aged lady dressed in a fashionable and simple style, were waiting with the crowd to pick someone up.

After standing for a few minutes, the lady showed an impatient expression. The colonel, noticing this, immediately lowered his voice and said sternly, "You really are a delicate flower, can't even stand this for a moment. If I had known, I would have let you drive the old man's car, so my brother wouldn't have to see your gloomy face when he arrives!"

"What's wrong with my gloomy face? Your elder brother isn't even related to our family by blood..." The lady was about to continue but suddenly met her husband's fierce gaze and stopped mid-sentence.

"Hmph, Cao Wei, let me tell you, even if I hadn't been raised by the Yang family for eighteen years, my brother saved my life when I was in the artillery regiment. Just for that, isn't it right for us to wait for him here?"

Cao Wei immediately wilted, "I didn't say anything, just stating the facts..."

"Less talk, my brother hasn't been to Yujing in years. This is his second time. He must be facing some difficulties. When the time comes, don't give me any trouble, understand?"

"Understood."

"Good to hear..." The middle-aged military officer's expression eased slightly. He then turned his head and saw a middle-aged man who looked about 70% like Yang Tang, standing at the exit, looking around with a worried expression. The man was mature and steady, exuding a refined air, but his brows were furrowed. "Hey~~ Brother! Brother Jixue!!"

Hearing the shout, the middle-aged man was startled, then looked in the direction of the voice. Seeing the middle-aged military officer, he quickly approached and smiled, "Xuwu, you really came to pick me up! Oh, your wife is here too? I'm causing you trouble."

"Not at all, not at all!" Cao Wei, who had already been scolded, looked a bit unnatural but didn't dare to speak out of turn. She took the initiative to grab the bag from Yang Jixue and walked out of the station.

"Hey~~ Wife, that thing is too heavy!"

Yang Jixue called out, but the middle-aged military officer stopped him, "Brother, let her carry it. If you hadn't come today, she would be bossing people around at home!"

Cao Wei, walking in front, almost lost her temper at this, but she couldn't lash out in public.

Second Ring Road, Dongsi Liutiao Alley.

Getting off the military jeep, Yang Jixue felt a bit dizzy. He looked around and said, "Xuwu, there aren't many alleys like this in Yujing nowadays, right?"

The middle-aged military officer nodded in agreement. Cao Wei, who had been quiet on the way, finally couldn't hold back, "Not only are there few, but others can't even live in such a place!"

Before the man could scold her, she had already disappeared into the alley.

The middle-aged military officer was furious but didn't want to show it in front of Yang Jixue. After leading him back to the courtyard, he found Cao Wei hiding in the study.

"Alright, Xiaocao, you've grown some backbone, haven't you?" Xiaocao was Cao Wei's nickname. "What did I tell you before? Why are you acting so high and mighty in front of my brother? Do you look down on my brother?"

Cao Wei, who was always weak in front of the middle-aged military officer, quickly defended herself, "I didn't..."

"Looking down on my brother is looking down on me. Are you still holding a grudge over the marriage between the Qin and Cao families? Fine, since our children are grown up and Lan'er is doing well, having been accepted to Jinghua last year, let's get divorced!"

"Divorce?" Cao Wei was completely panicked and became aggressive, "Alright, Mr. Qin, you finally said what you really think. Did you want to kick me out all along? Do you have someone else outside?"

As she spoke, she jumped up and grabbed Qin Xuwu's collar.

Qin Xuwu raised an eyebrow and grabbed Cao Wei's wrist, about to use force. But the door knocked loudly, making them both pause. After a moment of默契 (mutual understanding), Qin Xuwu gave Cao Wei a look. Cao Wei hesitated and asked, "Who, who is it?"

Yang Jixue's voice came from outside the door, muffled by the good soundproofing, "Xuwu, it's me. It's almost time for dinner, I want to take you two out for a meal!"

Qin and Cao, remembering that they didn't often stay in this courtyard and the two housekeepers had been sent back to their hometowns for the Spring Festival, realized the fridge only had some leftover dumplings.

At the same time, Cao Wei keenly sensed that the Qin family didn't want Qin Xuwu to be too close to Yang Jixue, but then she thought, if Qin Xuwu still wanted her involved, she wouldn't make a fuss.

"Brother Jixue, no need to go out and waste money. The three of us can just have some noodles and eggs at home!" As he said this, Qin Xuwu glared at Cao Wei.

Cao Wei naturally knew what he was glaring at—her poor cooking skills—but knowing it was true, she couldn't argue and even blushed.

"Alright, I'll go to the kitchen and start frying the eggs!" Yang Jixue's voice faded away.

"Slap!"

Qin Xuwu slapped Cao Wei's hand, lowering his voice, "Look what you've done!"

Cao Wei rubbed her red hand and said, "What did I do? I wouldn't have caused a fuss if you hadn't mentioned divorce..."

"You still have a reason!?" Qin Xuwu glared at her, "Who's going to make the noodles then?"

Cao Wei hesitated, "You, I'll chop the scallions!"

"You think so? I don't want to eat your fingernails!" Qin Xuwu mocked her, then changed his tone, "So, whatever difficulties Brother Jixue faces in Yujing, we have to help him!"

"Even if it's illegal?" Cao Wei deliberately argued.

"Slap!"

This time, Cao Wei's plump buttocks were hit by Qin Xuwu, "Can't you think of something good for my brother?" He then opened the door and walked out.

******

Fog City, Yang Family.

Yang Tang, sitting at his desk, had been on the internet after finishing his noodles.

"Damn, the top ten songs on the music chart all have over 100 million downloads, and the top one is almost at 1 billion. Is the data wrong?"

"No, no, the population of China is just over 1 billion, how could everyone download it once?"

After a thorough search on Baidu, Yang Tang finally understood the reason.

It turned out that in this world, the computer operating system was no longer dominated by American Microsoft. Instead, it was a balanced competition between China's Tenglong system and Microsoft's Windows system. Globally, Microsoft had 50% of the market share, Tenglong had 40%, and the remaining 10% belonged to open-source systems.

Ten years ago, Tenglong Company launched an encryption software called "THR" and applied it to audio and video files, leading to the widespread paid download of digital music and videos.

The THR encryption software is complex but also simple. It mainly encrypts audio and video files, and encrypted files can only be copied or cut three times. The copied files, due to special markings in the source code, can only be played normally and cannot be copied or cut again.

Because of this software, piracy has almost been eradicated. The download prices of audio and video files have halved compared to ten years ago, but the download volume has increased exponentially. As long as fans get excited and copy or cut the files a couple more times, they have to pay again to download, because they might have it on their computer but not on their laptop, and on their laptop but not on their phone, and on their phone but not in their QQ space background music.

After another two hours, Yang Tang learned more about the common customs and legal principles of China in this world through the internet. The differences from his previous life were not significant, but the details were different, giving him some room to maneuver.

"Should I take the opportunity to accumulate some wealth?"

Notably, in this world, China caught up with the second industrial revolution and was influenced by the Western "credit system." Therefore, citizens are assigned a 20-digit social security number and a linked national bank account from birth. To promote "Eastern cultural influence," the China Media Administration launched an original content platform.

Major media websites, once certified by this platform, can accept registrations for original poetry, scripts, ancient texts, and songs from the public. Any Chinese citizen can upload and certify "original text and lyrics" by logging in with a valid social security number. The review time is within 72 hours, and the review fee is 10 Chinese yuan per year.

Of course, Chinese citizens can also upload and certify "original text and lyrics" directly on the official website of the China Media Administration, but the review fee is 20 Chinese yuan per year.

Yang Tang wasn't being modest. Although he had forgotten or only partially remembered most of the things he had seen, heard, or read in his previous life, such as films, literature, poetry, and songs, there were a few that he still remembered clearly, like "White feathers float on green water, red palms stir the clear waves," and "Before my bed, the bright moonlight, on the ground, two shoes..." Cough, cough, in short, there were about ten well-known poems he could recite.

Additionally, he could clearly remember the sheet music for about five or six popular songs, though not many, each was a classic of the time and something he found appealing, such as "Where Has All the Time Gone," whose lyrics and sheet music were etched in his mind.

As for those popular songs that were only popular for a while, Yang Tang could hum a few lines, but he couldn't remember the complete lyrics and music, so he couldn't use them to fill in the gaps.

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