Chapter 288: Requesting an explanation

'If a person loses their dreams, what's the difference between them and a salted fish? Teacher Zhou, you said it so well!'

Ye Ning excitedly said, waving her little pink fists vigorously, as if she wanted the whole world to know. She also said to Zhou Ming, 'Teacher Zhou, I believe it is precisely because you have always persevered in chasing your dreams that you have such great achievements today, right?'

'Of course. Sometimes people must have something to hold on to, otherwise they will become like a water lily drifting with the current, not knowing what they really want to do.'

Zhou Ming smiled and replied to Ye Ning, but in fact, Zhou Ming wanted to answer something else. No one knows, but Zhou Ming himself knows very well that he is not the protagonist of any fairy tale. If he doesn't get a second chance, no matter how much he insists on having dreams and how much he doesn't want to become a salted fish, he can't change his fate against the heavens. Zhou Ming doesn't know if he can, but it will definitely be a world of difference from his current state.

However, in the face of Ye Ning's hopeful gaze, it would be too cruel to say something that would hurt her at this time. Zhou Ming thought to himself that he could not do such a thing.

'So Ye Ning, you and your classmates in the finance class also need to have your own dreams, so that you can radiate your light to the fullest,' Zhou Ming said.

Ye Ning nodded desperately, 'Mr. Zhou, don't worry, the students in my finance class will definitely not let you down!'

'I have full confidence,' Zhou Ming said, and he took Ye Ning to the car. They went back to the dormitory together, and an hour later, Zhou Ming was already lying on the bed in his room.

He threw the towel used to wipe his hair aside and looked at the ceiling. Suddenly, the phone on his bedside table rang. Zhou Ming answered it. It was a call from Li Chengcong in Gangcheng.

The future richest man in China praised Zhou Ming as soon as he answered the phone: 'Zhou Ming, you really are restless wherever you go. You've only just gone to the United States for a short time, and you've already gotten into fights with the son of a congressman, been a victim of racial discrimination, and even got a presidential pardon. You have to remember that you're going to Harvard in Massachusetts, not some African country where there's war every day.'

Zhou Ming laughed and said, 'Cheng, your information is not very accurate this time. Just today, at the Harvard University opening ceremony, I went up on stage as the freshman representative.'

'Is that so? But if I remember correctly, shouldn't the freshman representative this time be an American?' Li Cheng said, sounding a little doubtful.

Zhou Ming replied, 'Cheng, I'm not fooling you. At today's Harvard opening ceremony, it was indeed me who gave the speech.'

'Zhou Ming, you are really something. Although there have been Chinese representatives speaking at Harvard University before, the number is really very small. What did you do to get this spot?'

Li Cheng said helplessly. He personally did not believe in such absurd things rationally, but subconsciously he felt that nothing seemed impossible with Zhou Ming. After all, the freshman representative of Harvard, although it does not have any practical significance, also represents the school's affirmation of this student, which means that in the school, such a student can gain a greater advantage in all aspects for no reason.

'Brother Cheng, I won't be happy if you talk like this. I didn't make any trouble this time. It was Mr. Lawrence, the president of Harvard, who himself said that a Chinese person should be on the stage as the freshman representative to give a speech. I went up there on behalf of the finance class,' said Zhou Ming.

'What the hell is going on?' Li Cheng asked in incomprehension.

Facing Li Cheng's question, Zhou Ming did not answer immediately, but thought about it for a while before asking him in return, 'Cheng, let me ask you first, have you heard of this person Tiger Uncle? His nickname is that the Americans call him tiger...'

Before Zhou Ming finished speaking, Li Cheng immediately exclaimed, 'Tiger? My god, Zhou Ming, what have you done that would make him angry?'

Hearing Li Cheng say this, Zhou Ming's spirits immediately perked up, but he still said first, 'Brother Cheng, don't worry, I didn't provoke him. On the contrary, ever since I arrived in the United States, someone has been watching my back and even helped me a lot. Just the other day, this tiger even personally met with me. I just left from Principal Lawrence today's opening ceremony, and he told me that it also had something to do with this tiger.'

'Unbelievable, it's unbelievable that the tiger would do this to you!'

Li Cheng muttered on the other end of the phone. He sounded as if he couldn't believe what he was saying himself, but despite this, Zhou Ming still heard the key point.

'Brother Cheng, from the sound of your voice, you know this Mr. Tiger?' Zhou Ming asked.

Li Cheng took a deep breath before answering, "I'm not qualified to know this Mr. Tiger. I just know some things, that's all.'

'What things?" Zhou Ming asked immediately.

Li Cheng didn't answer right away. He thought about it for a while before saying, 'Zhou Ming, are you sure you really want to know?'

If it were anyone else, they would have responded with a simple 'why wouldn't I want to know?' in response to Li Cheng's rhetorical question, but Zhou Ming did not ask, because Li Cheng's words reminded him of his current identity and position. Put simply, it was like the Consul General Cheng Jun in New York, the head of the Brighton branch of the Tang Dynasty Bank, Hoover, and the President of Harvard, Lawrence, not telling him, that is, his current level is not high enough to know these things.

Perhaps for some people, knowing doesn't seem like a big deal, but in fact, if a person knows that they are much higher than themselves, it will only cause them trouble and will not lead to any other results.

This is like spoilers that everyone hates, and it is even more annoying than spoilers, because if the other person is an existence that you cannot imagine right now, then knowing the result in advance will strike a blow to your confidence.

Therefore, on the other hand, for Zhou Ming, he would rather hope that he could uncover this himself, whether it be that Tiger Uncle or the forces behind him. He hopes that he can uncover these things bit by bit himself, rather than through someone else's spoilers, until he finally climbs to the same height as them, or even higher.

'Thank you very much, Brother Cheng, for reminding me at this time,' Zhou Ming said.

Li Cheng laughed on the other end of the phone and said, 'In fact, even if I don't remind you, you will remind yourself, because I can tell that you are not the type of person with a short-sighted perspective, and you have very lofty ambitions.'

'Brother Cheng, you are too kind in saying that. I don't have the great abilities you are talking about. I just suddenly remembered a story you once told me, a story about knowing what you know and not knowing what you don't know. So I feel that since there are some things that I shouldn't know, especially since you have reminded me, of course I will pull back from the brink,' Zhou Ming said.

'That's not necessarily the case. I think that truly accomplished people are not necessarily those with great abilities. Most are people who can control themselves and others. This is a rare ability. After all, the power of one person is always limited. No matter how capable you are, only by bringing together all capable people can you best achieve great things.'

Li Cheng said, 'Just like me, I was also very stupid. Even though my father was a teacher, I still didn't learn a single method of learning.'

After making a joke of himself, Li Cheng then brought the topic back to the main point and said, 'Little brother Zhou Ming, since Mr. Tiger values you so much that he not only personally met with you, but also helped you with the amnesty and the opening ceremony, I'm afraid he didn't do it just because he was bored.'

'Actually, I don't think Mr. Tiger is doing this because he's bored,' said Zhou Ming. This comment caught Li Cheng a little off guard. "Because Mr. Tiger's request of me is to establish a sufficiently influential consortium in Brighton before I graduate from Harvard.'

This request left Li Cheng speechless for a long time. After a while, he said, "Little brother Zhou Ming, doesn't this Mr. Tiger know you very well?'

Li Cheng asked this question for a reason. The request made by tiger was for a student to get an influential consortium in his city before he graduated; and this influence must be more than just being on the cover of newspapers or magazines. It must at least be able to influence the political situation in Brighton and even the entire state of Massachusetts, and even be able to influence the gubernatorial election.

This is not just a matter of words. Just imagine, in China, how can a college student without any background set up a company that can influence the provincial party secretary?

This request is nothing but a tall tale for other people, but for Zhou Ming, who is already full of miracles, it is very normal. Li Cheng also knows that Zhou Ming's original purpose for going to the United States is here, and it is even higher than this.

In that case, doesn't Mr. Tiger's request become very boring?

Zhou Ming shook his head with a wry smile on the other end of the phone and said, 'I have no idea, but from the fact that he knew about the amnesty and the influence on the Harvard commencement ceremony, he and the forces behind him should have investigated me, so it's very puzzling that he still only has this request.'

'It is indeed very puzzling,' Li Cheng said. "So what are you going to do?'

'I will do what I have to do. At least from what he has asked of me, he will not only not cause me trouble, but will also help me solve my problems when I encounter them. Since I have such a good platform, what reason is there for me not to work hard?" Zhou Ming said.

After listening to Zhou Ming's words, Li Cheng thought carefully and said, 'In that case, I'll tell you a little bit as well. Perhaps what I'm about to say will sound like nonsense to you. This Mr Tiger is not as simple as you think. The United States, or the world, is not what it seems. The world you're in contact with is the one you've been looking for.'

'Brother Cheng, what you're saying is really nonsense, because I already guessed it,' Zhou Ming laughed, 'but I'm still very grateful to you, because you've confirmed what I was thinking.'

  'Next, I can only say, good luck, and if there's anything I can do to help, feel free to call me,' said Li Cheng.