Ch 13: Those who wronged me are now begging me for mercy

Tears for the Perfect Salted Fish

Giving salted duck eggs and salted fish as gifts? The recipients might slap Rong Ziyin to death.

However, Rong Ziyin was calm. He even found a ribbon from somewhere and carefully tied it around the basket holding the salted fish.

Contrary to what the system thought, Rong Ziyin didn’t have any malicious intentions. As funny as salted fish and salted duck eggs might sound, they were legitimate, sellable items with genuinely good taste.

Rong Ziyin packed them up intending to give them to his mentor as a gift—a local specialty to try out.

Rong Ziyin was someone who didn’t like owing favors. Despite losing his parents at a young age, he always lived independently, never relying on others for food or clothing. If he ever received kindness, he would do his best to repay it.

He understood that debts could be repaid easily, but owing someone a favor was far more challenging.

When he first arrived in the village, Rong Ziyin was preoccupied with his own matters and didn’t have much opportunity to contact his mentor. Now that he had settled down, he felt it was time to check in and let his mentor know he was doing well.

Moreover, even though Rong Ziyin was working at the livestock station, he had yet to receive his diploma, and his mentor had not removed him from his research group. This was beneficial for Rong Ziyin’s future applications for publishing papers.

Because of this, Rong Ziyin was even more grateful to his mentor and genuinely wanted to show some results.

At the moment, he had a ready-made research subject on hand. He had been observing the duck with complications—the one that had been injected with steroids and eventually subdued by the frozen Belt fish.

Rong Ziyin decided to keep it for treatment, with the intention of delving deeper into the study of duck tuberculosis. This duck was particularly unique, as it had both tuberculosis and duck plague.

It was coincidental that Rong Ziyin’s previous school project was related to the prevention of poultry infectious diseases. The framework of his thesis was already complete, but due to certain events, it had been shelved. Now, with relevant cases as supplements, it was turning out even better than before.

Of course, with such progress in his research, Rong Ziyin definitely needed to inform his mentor. So, he dialed his mentor’s number.

The call was answered after just two rings.

“Rong Ziyin? How have you been? Are you adjusting to your work?” His mentor’s concerned voice came through as soon as he saw it was Rong Ziyin calling.

“I’m doing well, don’t worry. I’m calling today to let you know I’m fine,” Rong Ziyin replied with a smile.

The mentor and student, who hadn’t seen each other in a while, chatted for quite some time. It was the mentor who finally brought the conversation back to the topic of Rong Ziyin’s research.

“It’s almost finished. I was planning to send it to you for review,” Rong Ziyin responded honestly.

“Great!” The mentor was pleased. When he heard that Rong Ziyin had sent him some local specialties, he was even more delighted. “I’ll be waiting for the package.”

After hanging up the phone, Rong Ziyin felt much more at ease. His mentor had always looked out for him, and he was glad to finally give a little something in return.

With his spirits lifted, Rong Ziyin refocused on his thesis. The duck in question was already much better, and now it was just a matter of monitoring.

Two days later, Rong Ziyin finished his thesis, and his mentor received the package he had sent.

Rong Ziyin was his mentor’s prized student, held in high regard. The other professors in the office were well aware of this, so when Rong Ziyin got into trouble, they all felt it was a pity. But since the academy had made its decision, there was nothing they could do.

Now, hearing that Rong Ziyin hadn’t given up on his studies despite being sent to the countryside, they were all pleased for his mentor.

When they saw the mentor walking into the office with a large box, someone asked curiously, “What’s in there?”

“It’s a gift from my little apprentice,” the mentor replied proudly.

Everyone in the office was intrigued. They had heard about the rural place where Rong Ziyin had been sent, so they wondered what kind of local specialty he could have sent.

They all gathered around to see what was inside. As soon as the box was opened, five ribbon-wrapped salted fish stared back at them with their glazed-over eyes. Next to the fish was a handwritten note from Rong Ziyin:

“Dreaming salted fish, with an exquisite taste. Fried and served with porridge, it opens up the appetite and allows one to feel the charm of the stars and the sea.”

“…”

The room fell silent as the confusion settled in.

“Truly, a unique gift!” One of the mentors tried to break the awkward silence, but after searching for the right words, all he could say was that Rong Ziyin had a special way of thinking.

It’s common for graduates to send gifts to their teachers, but there were few as direct as Rong Ziyin.

The mentor, understanding the meaning behind the gift, was silent for a moment before finally saying, “My little apprentice is actually quite down-to-earth.”

“Yes, very down-to-earth,” the other professors agreed, though their feelings were mixed. For some reason, they felt as if the salted fish were mocking them, saying, “Tui! You bunch of wage slaves…”

Professor Zhang Mingzhi’s Complex Feelings +300, Professor Li Kongrong’s Complex Feelings +444, Professor Xu Youcai’s Complex Feelings +345

…

At the livestock station, Rong Ziyin glanced at the 4,000 coins that suddenly appeared in his account and couldn’t help but sigh, “It seems that researchers really are sensitive at heart.”

System: … It’s surprising that Rong Ziyin’s mentor didn’t kill him—he must be quite kind-hearted.

Despite receiving a somewhat unconventional gift, Rong Ziyin’s mentor remained deeply invested in his progress.

After receiving the thesis Rong Ziyin sent over, he quickly opened the document, preparing to thoroughly review it.

This topic was one the mentor had originally helped Rong Ziyin select, intending it to be the subject of Rong Ziyin’s first published paper after starting graduate school.

Generally, published papers are categorized into six tiers, with the highest being T-tier, like SCI. The rest range from A-tier down to E-tier.

However, graduate theses don’t necessarily need to be submitted to these categorized journals. Submitting to internal publications is entirely acceptable, as long as it’s at least a provincial-level journal.

So the mentor had already planned which journal to help Rong Ziyin submit to, even arranging contacts to secure a spot in the publication.

But as he began reading Rong Ziyin’s thesis, he was utterly shocked!

The quality of Rong Ziyin’s thesis far exceeded his expectations—so much so that he believed it had the potential to be directly submitted to a core journal within the country, possibly even a C-tier journal.

The mentor suddenly remembered that the core journal World Agriculture had recently been promoting student research and was actively seeking submissions from university students.

Although the university had decided not to admit Rong Ziyin as a graduate student, even if he passed the national exam at the end of the year, the mentor knew that if Rong Ziyin’s work was exceptional, anything was possible!

World Agriculture is part of the Beijing University core journals and is considered a top-tier publication in China. This could be Rong Ziyin’s ticket back to academia.

In fact, if Rong Ziyin seized this opportunity and advanced further, he might not even need to return to the university—his future could hold even greater prospects.

Feeling a surge of excitement, the mentor immediately called Rong Ziyin to share the news.

“Take some time to think it over carefully. The submission requirements were sent to the class representatives earlier, so it should be in your class group chat,” the mentor said.

“Thank you, professor.” Rong Ziyin’s heart stirred as he quickly opened the class group chat to check the specific requirements.

Just as the mentor had said, this was an excellent opportunity and the best chance for Rong Ziyin to make a comeback. While some researchers might be sent to rural areas, Rong Ziyin was effectively trapped in the village.

But if his paper was successfully published, it would likely open the door for him to return to academia. Moreover, he needed to stay close to that rich young master to gather evidence of the plot against him.

At the same time, Rong Ziyin wasn’t the only one paying attention to this. His classmates were also discussing it in the group chat.

“Ahhh! World Agriculture, a core journal! I heard from seniors that even graduate students struggle to get published there! I wonder if they’ll lower the bar for student research this time.”

“Don’t kid yourself. The bar won’t be lowered—it’s a core journal, after all. Even if they’re calling for submissions, it doesn’t mean much. If even graduate students have a hard time, what chance do we undergrads have? You’d need to be a real genius to make it!”

“Not necessarily. Speaking of geniuses, don’t we have one in our class? I heard Rong Ziyin had some major research project—maybe he’ll make it!”

After this comment, the entire class group fell silent.

Rong Ziyin had become a taboo topic in the class. Ever since the rich young master had publicly clashed with him, rumors had spread around the school. Some gossip suggested that Rong Ziyin’s placement in the village was due to offending someone.

But Rong Ziyin had always kept to himself, spending his time either earning money or in the lab working on his projects—where would he find the opportunity to make enemies? It could only be that rich young master!

And as luck would have it, that very rich young master happened to see the chat, and he wasn’t happy.

Rong Ziyin had already pulled a few stunts recently that nearly ruined him, but he hadn’t found a way to get back at him yet. Frustrated, he lashed out in the group chat, “Even if Rong Ziyin writes it, he still needs money to publish. Has he paid off his 200,000 debt yet? Haha.”

A sharp, venomous remark.

Publishing a paper in a journal costs money, and the fees vary between journals. General journals, whether provincial or national level, are the cheapest—anywhere from a few hundred to a maximum of 5,000 yuan for a national journal.

But core journals are different. If it’s a sci-tech core, it’s slightly cheaper; Beijing University core journals cost over 10,000 yuan, while those in the Nanjing University core are almost double that.

And World Agriculture, though a Beijing University core journal, still required real money.

So, while other students faced challenges of intellect, Rong Ziyin’s problem was his poverty.

But even so, the rich young master’s tone was obnoxious enough to irritate others in the group. One person, using an anonymous account, retorted, “Don’t be so harsh. Rong Ziyin has a job now—how do you know he doesn’t have money?”

“Besides, if he really does produce results, it would benefit our university too. The department might even fund it!”

The rich young master sneered, “If the department was going to support him, why wasn’t he given a guaranteed spot for grad school?”

“And we all know why he didn’t get it, don’t we?”

“He did something shady and deserved it. Just like you cowards hiding behind anonymity—dare to take off your masks and face me directly?”

“…”

Face him directly? Who would dare?

The rich young master had dirty dealings, but it was clear that crossing him could ruin someone’s future, just like how he had derailed Rong Ziyin’s. No one was stupid enough to confront him head-on.

His arrogance was off the charts.

Rong Ziyin, sitting in front of his computer, watched the conversation unfold in the group chat.

The system was fuming, unable to resist cursing, “Damn this bastard! I really want to smack him with that frozen fish!”

“Calm down. It’s not time for him to cry yet.” Rong Ziyin was completely unfazed, calmly typing a line in the chat, “Thanks for your concern. The paper is finished and ready for submission—no need for departmental funding.”

“!!!”

“Holy crap! The genius is back!”

Rong Ziyin’s sudden appearance caused quite a stir, especially among those who relied on his notes before exams. They couldn’t help but tag him anonymously, lamenting that exams had become much harder since he left.

The rich young master couldn’t stand how Rong Ziyin was being praised by everyone and couldn’t help but question him, “Where did you get the money to submit to a journal?”

Rong Ziyin’s response was as cool as ever, “From selling salted duck eggs.”

“???” The rich young master was completely taken aback, unable to respond for a long time.

Seeing the chat fall silent, Rong Ziyin realized his response might have been a bit blunt.

Given that he was now somewhat of a businessman and might even sell his salted duck eggs in the school cafeteria someday, Rong Ziyin decided to lighten the mood. He downloaded a popular meme of the Ghanaian pallbearers, carrying a white coffin with joyous expressions, dancing in sync with a lively rhythm.

“…” The chat became even quieter, until finally, someone awkwardly replied, “Haha, you’re really funny, genius.”

This comment earned Rong Ziyin a whopping 2,000 points of awkwardness.

As for the rich young master, he was left speechless and stewing in anger, his frustration mounting as he realized that Rong Ziyin had indeed resurfaced in the group chat.

After the humiliation from the previous video and the repeated embarrassments over debt repayment, the rich young master finally found an outlet for his resentment.

He quickly opened the private chat with Rong Ziyin, furiously typing out a string of accusations in under three minutes, only to be met with a red exclamation mark.

The message came with a notification: The recipient has blocked you.

“F**k you, Rong Ziyin!” The rich young master, fuming, provided Rong Ziyin with another 3,000 points of anger.

With the points from his classmates, Rong Ziyin ended up with over 6,000 coins, bringing his total up enough for another ten-pull.

Rong Ziyin: Should I draw or not?

🍉🫐🍇🍒🥝