Chapter 22

Using industry standards and professional ethics from thirty years later to restrain commercial practices from thirty years ago, without considering the current economic conditions at all, was clearly nothing more than Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan's wishful thinking. It had no basis for implementation whatsoever.

As they left the Health Bureau, Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan exchanged a look. They had become deeply aware of just how backward and isolated this era was.

"I know a lot of fast-food restaurants use test strips to check the peroxide value of cooking oil." Huo Baichuan looked at Tao Yan and asked expectantly, "Do you know how to use them?"

Tao Yan, whom Huo Baichuan had practically regarded as capable of anything, shook his head expressionlessly. Given Tao Yan's living environment and range of activity, his daily routine consisted entirely of the company, home, clients' offices, and negotiation sites. He had never come into contact with the kind of restaurants that frequently used test strips to measure the peroxide value of cooking oil.

Tao Yan simply did not pay attention to skills that were practically useless to him.

"So you don't know how to tell whether the acid value and peroxide value of frying oil meet the standards, and you don't know how to filter frying oil either!" Huo Baichuan sighed and scratched his head in frustration.

After pondering for a moment, Tao Yan said, "I heard Auntie mention a simple way to filter frying oil during the New Year."

The housekeeper at Tao Yan's home had been with the family for many years and had worked there since Tao Yan was very young. Because Tao Yan was fussy and germophobic by nature, he found it difficult to tolerate strangers entering and leaving his private space. So after returning to the country, Tao Yan discussed it with Auntie and hired her to clean his home twice a week.

Tao Yan did not have many hobbies. When he was off on weekends, if he was not working overtime, he would cook a few meals for himself and enjoy some time alone. Occasionally, when Auntie came to clean and happened to see Tao Yan cooking, she noticed that he threw away all the oil used for frying food. Thinking it was a pity, she asked Tao Yan if she could take the oil home. She said it could still be used for cooking after being filtered, and she shared the method with him.

But that only applied to household cooking oil that had been used for frying once or twice. With commercial use like the orphanage's, where the oil was repeatedly used for frying over and over, that half-barrel of oil would probably be used until it smoked and turned black. Even if it could be filtered, it would have no value as food.

Huo Baichuan sighed, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Forget it. Let's go back and talk about it."

Tao Yan glanced at Huo Baichuan. He did not have a better solution either.

When the two returned to the orphanage, they saw Aunt Zhao sitting by the entrance with a large basin of potatoes, peeling them while looking out expectantly.

The moment she spotted Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan, Aunt Zhao's eyes lit up. She stood and called out, "Why are you two only getting back now? Someone's looking for you. They've been waiting forever."

"Looking for us?" Huo Baichuan pointed at himself and Tao Yan, somewhat puzzled. "Did Director Shang come again?"

"Not Director Shang. It's two young ladies. One of them is named Jingjing, and she said she bought a computer from you yesterday." As she spoke, Aunt Zhao waved them inside. "Hurry in. The two young ladies are in the activity room!"

"...This is my classmate, He Mei. She's also a journalism student at Jiangzhou University and is currently interning at Jiangzhou Television Station. She wants to buy a computer too. The specifications don't really matter, since neither of us understands them. You two can decide. But she wants the same operating system as the computer you sold me." In the hallway outside the second-floor activity room, Jingjing had one arm around her best friend's shoulders as she introduced her to Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan.

He Mei carefully sized up Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan, then smiled and held out her hand. "Hello, I'm He Mei, an intern reporter at Jiangzhou City Television Station. I previously followed senior staff from the station as they covered Jiangzhou Police's bust of the human trafficking ring. I've heard of you two young heroes for quite some time."

To protect the victims' identities, Jiangzhou Police had not allowed reporters to interview the victims when they released details of the case. However, the various media outlets had still learned more or less about the case. Naturally, they had heard of Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan, the two victims who had first alerted the police.

Huo Baichuan smiled and shook He Mei's hand. "We're no heroes. We just saved ourselves."

"You saved yourselves, but you also saved others." He Mei smiled. "You don't need to be modest. If you hadn't reported it to the police in time, those traffickers would probably have continued committing crimes."

"Let's not talk about that." Huo Baichuan asked, "Tell us what you need from the computer."

At that, He Mei grew serious. "I'm an intern reporter at the television station. My usual work is gathering news with senior reporters, conducting interviews and reports, then compiling and organizing written reports, photos, and video footage."

"My requirements for a computer are actually pretty similar to Jingjing's." He Mei smiled as she continued, "I went to her place yesterday, and I saw that her new computer ran very quickly. Her operating system was also easier to use than the one our office currently has. Jingjing said you specially installed this operating system according to her needs. I never expected the two of you to be so young and already know how to write an operating system."

He Mei clicked her tongue in amazement. "You two are practically geniuses."

Huo Baichuan waved a hand and denied it. "He wrote the operating system. It has nothing to do with me. I'm no genius." Just hearing that word made him feel weak in the kidneys.

Tao Yan shot Huo Baichuan a sidelong glance but said nothing.

He Mei was clearly more interested in the secrets behind Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan. "I'd really like to do an interview with you. It can be anonymous. I wonder if you two—"

"Not interested." Before He Mei could finish, Tao Yan replied flatly.

He Mei: "..."

Huo Baichuan lowered his head and chuckled. When Tao Yan looked over, he put on a serious expression, coughed stiffly, and abruptly changed the subject. "...Then we'll assemble one with the same specifications as Jingjing's."

He Mei, who had just been feeling awkward, immediately picked up the conversation. "That's wonderful. I want one exactly the same. What about the price?"

Huo Baichuan glanced at Tao Yan. Tao Yan said, "Since Jingjing introduced you, I'll charge you twenty-eight thousand for this computer."