TYAM Chapter 70

The contract was officially finalized with the seal of approval from the higher-ups. Qiu Mo was the first to call and congratulate Jiang Wang, followed by a flurry of messages from old friends at Swift Express Group, celebrating his formal return.  

Even those who had never met him had heard of the legendary tales surrounding Jiang Wang. Back in the day, he had managed to establish two courier outlets in Hongcheng with virtually no starting capital, building his business from scratch. His rise was credited not only to his sharp insight into Swift Express’ needs but also to his boldness and ability to excel in any industry.  

As the regional general manager, Qiu Mo, who handled the contract, remarked wistfully when she saw the profit-sharing terms, “You didn’t ask for more?”  

“The pay was already very generous.” 

“Fair enough. I’ll make sure to give you a glowing review in the year-end summary.”  

Grabbing her car keys, Qiu Mo took Jiang Wang to the docks.  

At the moment, building transportation networks was a major focus for courier companies. Many high-level executives were working closely with the government to secure several railway lines and were even planning to purchase aircraft to further speed up deliveries.  

“I went on inspection tours with Directors Chen and Huang to several command centers before, but something still felt off.” 

At just 31 years old, Qiu Mo’s rise to an executive position was a testament to her advanced education and exceptional execution skills. Despite her petite frame and beautiful appearance, dockworkers and colleagues respectfully greeted her as “Director Qiu” and stepped aside to make way, watching them pass before continuing their tasks.  

“When I visited your house before, you mentioned… a system issue?” she asked.

Jiang Wang, still observing the slowly departing cargo ships, turned his attention back to her.  

It was his first time at a commercial dock, and the environment was unfamiliar.  

Yuhan, historically known as the crossroads of nine provinces, was centrally located and brimming with business opportunities.  

The sight of towering cargo ships and the scent of oily, damp, algae-laden river winds brought back memories.  

Returning to Yuhan felt like reopening a chapter of his life.  

The dark brown river surged widely, so vast it seemed to invite him to spread his arms and dive in, returning to his origin like a grain of sand.  

He suddenly pondered how he had managed, step by step, to return to Yuhan.  

It seemed that as long as one moved with purpose in the right direction, they could always find their way back to where they wanted to be.  

But this time, he wasn’t alone. He had a lively child by his side, a kind and smiling partner, and a new home bearing their names.  

No longer would he hoard meaningless savings or spend New Year’s Eve staring blankly in an empty rented room.  

Now, earning money was about having the confidence to love without hesitation.  

“Mr. Jiang?”  

Jiang Wang snapped out of his thoughts, smiling and nodding.  

“Take me to the transfer station.”  

In the provincial capital, business volume had been growing exponentially in recent years. Swift Express not only handled freight for large corporations but also began catering to small-scale orders for fresh produce, daily necessities, and other items.  

The latter relied on volume for profit but it has a quick turnover. Although a single order was negligible, the booming trend of online shopping meant that even a small workshop in a residential building could generate hundreds of parcels daily.  

Qiu Mo eagerly showcased the imported sorting facilities, leading Jiang Wang through the operations while confidently explaining the principles and details of each piece of equipment.  

Unexpectedly, Jiang Wang showed no interest in the advanced machinery.  

He bypassed the robotic arms that could autonomously load and unload and followed the flow of goods as if searching for something.  

The staff accompanying them offered to help, but they couldn’t figure out what he was looking for.  

“What are you searching for?”  

“Found it.” Jiang Wang crouched and casually picked up a small parcel from the conveyor belt.  

“This has a barcode on it, right?”  

Understanding his intent, Qiu Mo smiled proudly. “Swift Express collaborated with consultants from the U.S. years ago to establish this system. Scanning the barcode quickly reveals the package’s provincial and city-level information. Other courier companies are now trying to emulate it.”  

Running his finger over the barcode, Jiang Wang asked, “How much information can this store?”  

The scanner operator was puzzled, but a colleague behind Qiu Mo replied, “Around 30 bytes, I think.”  

“That’s too little,” Jiang Wang said with a smile. “It’s not enough to say much.”  

The person who answered the question showed a not very friendly expression. “This is already the latest technology. If you can do better, go ahead and show us.”  

Before Jiang Wang could respond, Qiu Mo silenced the person with a glance. Taking the parcel from Jiang Wang, she asked, “Are you saying there’s a way to store more information in the barcode?”  

If scanning a single code could retrieve extensive information—  organized by date, region, type of parcel, and if it was a fragile or perishable item — the time and cost associated with manual labor would undoubtedly plummet.  

Jiang Wang rubbed his chin. “I’ll look into it. I’m not familiar with programming, but I know who to ask.”  

And indeed, he could deliver.  

By 2014, QR codes would become ubiquitous nationwide.  

And in another few years after that, cash would become almost obsolete, and even a vendor selling vegetables outside an apartment block would have a QR code ready for payment.  

Sometimes, the difference between 30 bytes and 300 bytes could determine a company’s survival.  

Skipping lunch after leaving the docks, Jiang Wang grabbed a bowl of three-flavor bean curd and headed straight to the office to find Ji Linqiu.  

The latter, having just finished a lesson, was napping on the couch.  

Leaning down, Jiang Wang kissed his cheek, leaving traces of the bean curd’s pickled vegetables.  

Ji Linqiu wiped his face and frowned playfully. “You’re eating that again? Busy day?”  

“Help me look something up,” Jiang Wang said. “QR codes.”  

Jiang Wang had already searched local websites, but the technology was still in its trial or research phase. It wasn’t mature yet.  

For international resources… he needed Ji Linqiu’s help.  

Sipping coffee, Ji Linqiu browsed through several pages before closing one site and switching to another input method.  

Jiang Wang, watching intently, asked, “Why did you switch?”  

“This was invented by the Japanese. I’m checking DENSO’s official website.”  

Jiang Wang reached out to touch the coffee cup, realizing it had gone cold. Without a second thought, he took the cup, washed it, brewed a fresh one, and handed it back to Ji Linqiu.  

Ji Linqiu skimmed through the Japanese text on the website with ease, his smile growing as he finished reading. “What a coincidence. This company has opened up the usage rights for QR codes, but they’re also selling scanners and related equipment. Should I write down their contact information for you?”  

“Sure.” Jiang Wang could barely recognize a third of the Chinese-like characters on the page. Turning to look at him, he asked, “Exactly how many languages do you know?”  

“Japanese kanji isn’t hard to grasp. If I teach you for a month, you’d be able to read it too,” Ji Linqiu replied modestly. “Really, it’s nothing. There are so many talented people at my school that I feel a bit inadequate when they’re mentioned.”  

Jiang Wang watched as he carefully noted down the email and phone number, then murmured, “I really envy you.”  

“I only studied up to junior high. I can barely remember a handful of English words,” Jiang Wang said, his voice quieter now.  

No matter what, there were still many gaps between them.  

Even though Jiang Wang came from 20 years in the future, there were times when his actions and words seemed rough around the edges.  

When Ji Linqiu brought his father to see the garden of the new house, he had casually remarked, “You can tend to the flowers and plants here in the future.”  

Hearing the phrase “flowers and plants,” Jiang Wang later spent a long time flipping through the dictionary.  

As they grew more comfortable with each other, Jiang Wang would sometimes wander into Ji Linqiu’s study, often borrowing books to read.  

When he came across English books whose titles he couldn’t even understand or Russian poetry collections, he would sheepishly put them back, pretending he wasn’t interested.  

But he cared.  

He cared deeply.  

He wanted to stand as tall as Ji Linqiu, to understand every word he said.  

Sensing Jiang Wang’s low spirits, Ji Linqiu didn’t rush to comfort him. Instead, he followed Jiang Wang’s train of thought.  

“If you have the time, you could start learning from the beginning.” 

Jiang Wang looked up at him, considering the idea. “Are you talking about the adult education exam?”  

Ji Linqiu shook his head.  

“Start with English. What do you think?”  

One step at a time, focus on doing one thing well before moving on, don’t be greedy.

“You teach me how to shoot a gun, and I’ll teach you English. Fair trade.”  

And so, Boss Jiang enrolled himself in a basic English class.  

His days became a mix of meetings at Swift Express in the morning, managing his bookstore and training center in the afternoon, and sitting in a beginner’s English class at night, surrounded by children.  

It was, admittedly, a bit comical.  

The classroom was filled with kids, and the chairs were too small for him, so he brought a little stool and sat in the back row, diligently taking notes.  

The sight left the parents deeply moved.  

What an amazing training center!  

The boss himself sat at the back of the classroom, supervising the teachers. Who would dare slack off with him there? Their children were bound to learn well!!

Adults have much better concentration than young children. What the children took two months to grasp, Jiang Wang mastered in a week. He memorized and wrote down letters and phrases before moving up to Peng Xingwang’s class.  

The kids were startled when Jiang Wang, the “big brother,” suddenly appeared in their classroom. One of them, in the middle of a tic-tac-toe game with a friend, was so shocked that he almost snapped his pencil in half.  

The teacher, suppressing laughter, maintained a serious expression while teaching.  

The homework included memorizing words. Monday was for “one, two, three, four” in English, Tuesday for “apple, grape, banana,” and so on. Each day had ten words, and parents were supposed to test the kids.  

Jiang Wang had no qualms about this. After memorizing the words, he handed his book to Peng Xingwang. “You quiz me.”  

Peng Xingwang, holding the book, looked embarrassed. “Big brother… the teacher meant parents should test the kids. I… I haven’t memorized them yet.”  

Jiang Wang stroked his chin, quickly wrote out the words, and double-checked them himself.  

He got one wrong—he wrote “danana” instead of “banana.”  

Peng Xingwang, witnessing the entire scene, felt an inexplicable admiration, as if he were watching a star student.  

Big brother was so… hardworking.  

Ji Linqiu noticed all this but stayed quiet, carefully avoiding any interference.  

He protected Jiang Wang’s self-esteem with great care, quietly anticipating his transformation day by day.  

After just two weeks, Jiang Wang advanced again, this time tackling vocabulary at an elementary-to-middle school transition level.  

Before class, he stopped by Ji Linqiu’s office, handed him a small note, and left quickly, looking a little nervous.  

Ji Linqiu suppressed a laugh as he unfolded the note, revealing the carefully written words in slightly awkward but earnest English:  

[Hey, I love u.  

Just like I love galaxy, as the shine in your eyes.][mfn]this is the OG text! A couple of grammar mistakes, but that’s fine!![/mfn]