Taking a responsible approach, Zhang Yuan gathered his thoughts and said, "The current pillar industries are space botany, space industry, and nanomaterials."
"Space botany means cultivating superior mutant plants. These plants are widely used to grow food, extract industrial materials, and for medical purposes."
"Though the minimum educational requirement for working in this field is a graduate degree... I think."
"A master's degree..." Ye Qingqing muttered, frowning.
She actually liked plants. Growing all kinds of flowers and greenery was relaxing and enjoyable, and the pay was good too. But hearing the educational requirement made her a little nervous.
Zhang Yuan continued, "The space industry is much larger. It covers pretty much every sector, and the most advanced manufacturing has already been moved to the moon. Low gravity and an oxygen-free environment are better suited to heavy industry. The latest generation of photonic chips is manufactured on the moon."
"There's a huge shortage of talent in this field. The more advanced positions are various kinds of engineering jobs, while the less advanced ones are mechanical repair jobs. These all require at least a graduate degree."
"Below those are the skilled laborers. The minimum requirement is a bachelor's degree, and it has to be from a 995 Project university..."
"995..." Ye Qingqing repeated, eyes wide.
The 995 Project was a major decision made by the Xia Kingdom at the turn of the century. It included a total of 40 universities, mostly the best in the country.
She couldn't help sticking out her tongue. "There's no way I could get into a school like that..."
Zhang Yuan went on, "As for nanomaterials research, the educational requirements are even higher. You can't do the job without a doctorate. Even the skilled workers in the production workshops need to have graduated from a 995 Project university."
"Ah, so with just a bachelor's degree, you can only be a worker..." her uncle-in-law murmured, startled too. "And you still need to have graduated from a 995 Project university!"
Workers in space cities were worth a lot more than workers on Earth. An annual salary of hundreds of thousands wasn't so easy to earn.
Zhang Yuan hurriedly added, "Oh, there are all kinds of service jobs in space cities too. People can't work all the time; they need to rest and have fun. For girls, jobs like doctor or nurse could get them into space, if they're good enough. Artificial intelligence still can't fully cover those fields."
"The acceptance rate is about one in a thousand."
One in a thousand!
Ye Qingqing flushed. Even with her poor math skills, she knew what that figure meant.
"...So, if you want a bright future, you have to get into a good university. If you get the chance, you should aim for a doctorate. There's no such thing as being overeducated. It's unlikely that you'll end up unable to find a job after earning a doctorate, like people did in the old days."
Ye Qingqing's brows had long since knitted together. Even though she knew how important studying was, she was still at an age when she hadn't yet experienced the ups and downs of life. She couldn't help feeling reluctant to study.
Studying was such a pain!
Good heavens, if she had to keep studying until she earned a doctorate, that meant another ten years of school. It felt as if an angry little bird had taken up residence in her heart. She wanted nothing more than to slam headfirst into the culprit—Zhang Yuan!
"Cousin... what kind of degree are you looking for?" Ye Qingqing asked, her eyes darting around mischievously.
"Me..."
Zhang Yuan scratched his head and said sheepishly, "I majored in space mechanical engineering... I just graduated with my bachelor's, so I don't have the qualifications. That's why I'm just a repair worker. After boarding the spaceship, my daily work is to inspect and maintain it, or do a bit of cleaning. It's very simple work."
"If I learn more, I should be able to move up to a higher-level position..."
There was nothing wrong with calling himself a worker. After all, he'd still made it through a selection process with a one-in-a-thousand acceptance rate.
Zhang Yuan had always been a diligent person. Now that his intelligence had been enhanced, he was even more so. He was confident he could reach a higher level in a few years.
"A spaceship repair worker—can you fix things? Air conditioners, TVs?" Ye Qingqing asked again.
Faced with such a strange question, Zhang Yuan was taken aback. He repaired spaceships. How could he possibly fix an air conditioner?
The two were worlds apart.
"Could you fix my dad's broken radio?" Ye Qingqing asked slyly.
A thought crossed Zhang Yuan's mind, and he quickly understood what the girl across from him was trying to do.
She was trying to undermine the idea that studying was useful, so her parents would put less pressure on her in the future! And he, Zhang Yuan, had inadvertently become the dreaded "other people's kid."
He smiled to himself. It was normal for kids that age to dislike studying. He'd been the same way back then. Apart from a few weirdos, who liked studying all day long?
Did people really think using your brain wasn't exhausting?
"That radio is so noisy, really noisy! Big brother, could you fix it for me?"
Faced with the girl's tricky challenge, how could a... ahem, genius like him be stumped by his own line of work?
Fixing things was easy!
Zhang Yuan said shamelessly, "Ordinary electronic devices aren't very complicated. A radio shouldn't be too hard."
His uncle-in-law hurriedly cut in, "Why are you talking about radios? Eat first, eat!"
After the meal, for some reason, Zhang Yuan felt a strange itch in his heart.
This odd urge to explore kept egging him on, urging him to try, to find out more.
"Uncle, if it's all right with you, let me give it a try!"
His uncle-in-law hesitated, but in the end had no choice but to return to his room and bring out his beloved collectible.
"I paid a fortune for it! Even got a little bargain. It'd be worth more if it didn't have this problem..." Faced with his precious collectible, his uncle-in-law beamed, looking very pleased with himself.
Zhang Yuan was taken aback. It was an antique from the twentieth century.
The square radio in front of him had two long antennas. Its black plastic casing had been wiped clean, but felt rather rough to the touch. At a glance, it had the timeworn look of a true antique.
People nowadays generally called the era before the oil crisis the "Old Era," the chaotic, regressive century that followed the "Gray Era," and the period after nuclear fusion was harnessed the "New Era."
Collecting electronic devices from the Old Era had become a new fad, much like collecting jade and antiques.
His uncle-in-law was one of its most devoted enthusiasts.
"Does it still work? It's nearly 300 years old, isn't it!" As he said "300," Zhang Yuan drew out the word.
Hearing the surprise in Zhang Yuan's voice, his uncle-in-law felt as if he'd scratched an itch. "Of course it works. The sound was just a little loud at first. I don't know why there's so much static, but that's the only problem..."
He took a cassette from the safe and inserted it into the radio.
The cassette was an antique too. The picture stuck to it had faded so badly that it was impossible to tell which star it showed.
When he plugged the radio into its special power supply, it suddenly erupted in a long burst of static, and the whole unit trembled slightly.
"Bzzzz—bzz!"
It startled Zhang Yuan badly.
Before you continue