The first-generation drone had a very short battery life, only about ten minutes. A-Le excitedly packed the drone away and returned home with Zhou You. "You ge, where did you get this? It's amazing." "Just tell me, is it fun or not?" "Fun. Today was short, didn't get to test the camera function. Next time I'll play with it more. How much does this thing cost?" "As long as it's fun, that's what matters. I don't know the price. It'll hit the market next year, probably a few thousand," Zhou You wasn't sure about the selling price back then. "Which company made it? I've never heard of a drone like this before," A-Le asked curiously. "A company called DJI. I just invested in it. Seems good, with a lot of potential." Zhou You had held back for so long and finally said it. The air suddenly went quiet. A-Le blinked rapidly, mouth wide open, quickly walked over to Zhou You, grabbed his arm, and said, "You ge, what else is there? Tell me all at once. I can handle it." The teacher sat there, leaned back slightly, casually resting a hand on his waist, and looked at Zhou You with a smile. "I think your side gig is teaching, but your main job is investing. No wonder you had me cover your classes a few times." This was also one of Zhou You's goals. This semester, he had troubled the teacher to cover several classes. Although the teacher hadn't said anything, he was somewhat dissatisfied, feeling Zhou You wasn't focused on his work. Coming here was also to clarify the situation, since he'd need the teacher's help again in the future. Zhou You thought for a moment and continued, "I also invested in a CCTV documentary called 'A Bite of China.' It'll probably air next year. I think it's pretty good. You can check it out then, teacher." By now, A-Le had little expression left, but his mind was in turmoil. In his eyes, Zhou You had always been a typical small-town grind and a good student. Who would have thought that after graduation, he'd start thriving? Even though the first bit of money came from football betting, he did make real money afterward, and A-Le couldn't help but admire him. The teacher couldn't figure out this student anymore either. He felt completely different from when he was in grad school. Although he still respected his teachers and valued education as before, he was now noticeably more confident, without the faint inferiority he used to have. Even though he was always polite when visiting, you could see the lack of self-assurance deep down. Since graduating, it was like he had been reborn. Now, with all this money, he wasn't arrogant; instead, he had become calmer, and his relationship with the teacher was getting better and better, unlike before when there was a subtle distance. "Zhou You, have you ever lost money on your investments?" the teacher had to ask. "I've had losses too, but not many. The small documentaries I invest in are basically pure losses, just for fun. A-Le, have you seen 'Mr. Tree'? It came out a while ago, starring Wang Baoqiang." A-Le chuckled. "Yeah, I saw it, but not in the theater. Watched it online. Did you invest in that too?" Zhou You's expression was calm, unlike before when he'd feel embarrassed. "Yeah, lost money, lost everything. Just got a bit of fame out of it." Hearing this, the teacher said nervously, "Zhou You, I shouldn't say this as your teacher, but I can't help it. You need to be more careful in the future. Even though it's your own money, don't invest recklessly. Leave some for your parents, some for yourself, and only use the leftover spare cash for investing." "Thank you, teacher. That's what I'm thinking too. This year, I just renovated my family's house, left some money for my parents, and bought a house for myself. Teacher, if you have spare cash now, it's best to buy some property too, or I can recommend a stock for you to hold long-term." Zhou You thought carefully and decided to speak up. In the end, whether the teacher acted on it was his own business. "I've been traveling a lot lately, meeting and talking with many people. The economy is about to take off fast, and people will flood into cities. Housing prices will rise even more. Keeping money in hand now depreciates too quickly." "I've bought stocks before, but I always lost money. After that, I didn't dare to buy anymore. There's one stock I'm still stuck on, haven't gotten out yet." The teacher's face flushed as he said this. "Moutai and Tencent are both good for long-term holding, but stocks always fluctuate. You need to be mentally prepared for that. I'm only familiar with these two stocks. If you have any questions, you can ask me. Most of my money is in these two stocks now." Zhou You was telling the truth, and he wanted to deepen his relationship with the teacher. The teacher was their department head. Since Zhou You often needed to take leave, he definitely needed the teacher's support. Although Zhou You didn't care about money, he still wanted to get a promotion in his academic title, at least to associate professor. They chatted casually for a while. Soon, the food was ready, and the four of them sat down to eat. Thinking it was a happy day, the teacher cautiously glanced at his wife. "So many good things today, can I have a little drink?" "Fine. Since Xiao You bought you so much liquor, you'd be craving it if you didn't drink," the wife relented, considering the bag she'd received. "But don't drink too much. You know your own health." The teacher had always been in poor health, so he drank less these days. Zhou You stood up to open the liquor, and A-Le went to the kitchen to get some glasses. Zhou You opened the bottle, first poured a glass for the teacher, then one for A-Le. "You're a college student now, it's fine to drink. Who in school doesn't drink with classmates?" Under the wife's stern gaze, the three of them only finished half a bottle. After drinking, Zhou You and the teacher sat on the sofa. "Teacher, I only have a master's degree, which feels a bit low. I want to further my studies and get a part-time doctorate. Do you know any way to do that?" Zhou You genuinely wanted a doctorate—it sounded good and would help with his academic title. "Our school doesn't have a doctoral program in library science right now. We've been applying for it for years, but no one knows when it'll be approved." "If you want to pursue a part-time doctorate now, you'd have to go to another school. Do you plan to keep working as a university teacher?" "Definitely. I love being a university teacher. Since I don't have much financial pressure now, I want to keep improving myself." "Ah, for our field, a full-time doctorate isn't very meaningful. A part-time one is fine. I know the head of the library science department at Wuhan University quite well. I'll ask around in a couple of days. It shouldn't be a big problem." Hearing this, Zhou You felt relieved. The teacher was a very traditional person—even with 100% certainty, he wouldn't say it outright. But if he said it shouldn't be a problem, it basically meant it was settled. "Alright, I'll wait for you to arrange it, teacher." "Having money and continuing to learn—that's good. Read more books, cultivate your mind, broaden your horizons. That way, you can better handle wealth without becoming a nouveau riche who ends up controlled by it." The teacher was always clear-headed. Being able to keep studying was truly a blessing.