Reborn: I'll Never Fail My Childhood Sweetheart Again-Chapter 392 - 155: What If I Kind of Want to Eat the Grass by My Own Nest? (2)
Last semester, the New Era Zhejiang University branch had just opened and quickly became popular on the Zhejiang University campus, even catching the attention of Zhou Fuliang. He mentioned that we could meet up sometime, but since it was near the semester’s end, and Zhou Fuliang was quite busy, it got postponed to this semester.
"Yes, anytime is good!"
Su Zelin nodded without hesitation.
Meeting Zhou Fuliang at this time was perfect.
New Era needed to continue expanding, and relying on just Dai Chuangxing wasn’t enough.
Because if Su Zelin decided to do something, the scale had to be large enough. The Finance Institute store was considered small, with over 200 square meters, while the Zhejiang University branch had more than 300 square meters.
Most universities wouldn’t have storefronts that met the area requirements, and renting through normal means wouldn’t work. Special measures were needed, like restarting an abandoned warehouse at the Finance Institute, or acquiring land to build your own storefront like at Zhejiang University.
However, with this approach, strong connections at each university were indispensable.
This time, Dai Chuangxing couldn’t provide much help.
Vice Director Dai had a straightforward personality and, due to work, knew leaders from other universities, but not deeply. He only had a close relationship with his university classmate Zhou Fuliang.
But Zhou Fuliang was different; his network was certainly broader and deeper than Dai Chuangxing’s. Through the president of Zhejiang University, it might be possible to establish the connections needed to open stores at many universities in Lin’an.
So for this meeting, no matter how busy, Su Zelin needed to make time.
If New Era really took off, and the scale grew, there might be opportunities to discuss directly with university administrations about moving in, but that wasn’t the case yet.
Dai Chuangxing nodded slightly: "Alright, I’ll talk to Old Zhou later, arrange a convenient time, and then call you!"
...
After dinner, having stayed at Vice Director Dai’s home for a while, Su Zelin returned to the dormitory. That night, he arranged for the residents of rooms 302 and 501 to go sing karaoke together — since he initiated it, he couldn’t miss it.
As night fell, the group set off brightly and cheerfully.
In 2001, karaoke was still a trendy thing. Back then, places weren’t called KTVs but karaokes.
Jianglan only had a few such spots, like Grand World, Great Singer, Passion, End of the World, Emperor, all with cheesy names.
As for clubs called discos, those were even fewer, with only one in Jianglan. The customers were almost all small-time hooligans, frequently embroiled in drunken brawls. It was chaotic, and generally speaking, students wouldn’t dare to go there.
Of course, many hooligans knew him, and as long as Su Zelin didn’t start trouble, nobody would bother provoking this street ruffian known for his fierceness.
But Su Zelin wasn’t an ordinary student. In his previous life, he had gone clubbing in high school, just for curiosity, to see what it was like.
The first time seemed exciting, but after a few more visits, the thrill wore off.
Clubbing required a bit of alcohol, lively friends, and girls accompanying you to be fun.
During high school, clubs seemed disreputable to students, so who would go with him?
Plus, at that time, Su Zelin didn’t dare drink, fearing a scolding from his parents when he got home.
It wasn’t until later, when the alcohol ban ended and his mother couldn’t control him, that he could plan outings with a few buddies and girls, discovering the true fun of clubbing.
As a provincial capital, Lin’an naturally had more venues than Jianglan, with two near the Finance Institute alone.
Su Zelin smoothly handled the booking at the reception and was led to the room by a server.
The decor really wasn’t anything special, quite outdated.
A 29-inch "big screen," a subwoofer, two tables, and two brown sofas, that’s it.
The microphones were still wired, dragging long cords on the floor, which looked inconvenient.
Private bathroom?
Sorry, none.
Laser lights? 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Sorry, also none.
In future times, such a place wouldn’t even attract a dog, but that’s how it was in the early 21st century. Other venues wouldn’t be much different, not any better.
In the KTV, there was a small room besides the main one, empty except for a sofa.
Hu Xu asked curiously, "Third Brother, what’s this small room for, is it a storage room? But why is there a sofa?"
Su Zelin had hosted karaoke sessions a few times but never figured this out.
"No!" The hooligan lowered his voice and uttered two words: "Love room."
Many karaokes of this era had such small cubicles.
If you lift the sofa, you might find some surprises underneath.
Hu Xu then understood, and everyone shared a knowing smile, a hint of mischief.
Only Cai Wensheng asked cluelessly, "What’s a love room?"
Old Feng cleared his throat: "Adult stuff, kids shouldn’t ask too much!"
After a short while, the server brought the items — besides beer, there were also soft drinks, as some of the girls didn’t drink alcohol.
The snacks weren’t abundant, basically just peanuts and sunflower seeds. Even if you had money, the menu was limited.
Unlike future KTVs where you could order anything, Su Zelin had even been to places where you could eat hot pot, singing while eating, which was quite a peculiar experience.
Nowadays, going to karaoke was really about singing, not just drinking alcohol.
Especially for those who had never been, they were immediately eager to pick songs.
