Chapter 535: Chapter 202: Qin Shiqing’s Flicking Skill

The day after Zhao Lixia agreed to get broadband, the father and son excitedly ran to the service hall.

Broadband in 2002 wasn’t dominated by the telecom giants like today; it was almost monopolized by Telecom.

However, there was Great Wall Broadband, which many people in later generations might not have heard of.

Great Wall Broadband was once the largest private broadband developer in the country, boasting over ten million online users at its peak.

Then it fell into decline in later years, eventually sold for a mere million.

Speaking of contributions, Great Wall did make significant efforts to lower the hefty initial ADSL installation fees for internet users.

When cable broadband was first introduced, the initial installation fees were quite shocking. In 2000, they were over two thousand, but in early 2001, Telecom generally reduced them to over a thousand, and they further dropped to eight or nine hundred by the year’s end.

The following year, Great Wall Broadband would cut the installation fees even further, down to less than two hundred.

Yet, Su Zelin was too impatient to wait another year.

After all, it’s his dad paying for it anyway.

When Su Jianjun arrived at the service hall, he learned about the initial installation fee.

But since he’d already convinced the mother tiger, and was willing to spend several hundred monthly, he’d just have to grit his teeth for the thousand-plus installation fee.

Being able to surf the internet at home was quite enticing, so Old Su didn’t hesitate, paying and completing the paperwork on the spot.

With the receipt in hand, they didn’t wait long after arriving home; the next day, the Telecom broadband installation staff came.

In these times, home broadband was very expensive, and there were even fewer personal broadband users in small places like Jianglan, almost eliminating the need to queue.

After dinner, Su Jianjun went straight into the room.

Though it was Old Su’s money, they had agreed on usage terms before installation: son during holidays, father when school resumes.

Still, Su Zelin was generous, allowing Old Su an hour each day during holidays to indulge, read news, or whatever.

"Dad, time’s up!"

As the clock pointed to seven-thirty, Su Zelin entered the room.

After dinner at six-thirty, it was precisely an hour.

Old Su was engrossed in Mahjong on Lianzhong Game, simultaneously watching financial news, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Just a little longer, just a bit!"

Su Jianjun finished his Mahjong game, browsed a few news articles, and reluctantly parted with the computer after dragging it out for a few more minutes.

Surfing at home is indeed comfortable, much better than going to internet cafes without worrying about being hurried by the mother tiger.

Old Su felt itchy, wishing his son would return to finance school sooner so he could monopolize the computer.

But seeing it would have to wait over a month, he then went to the living room to watch TV with his wife.

Not long after, Qin Shiqing walked into the living room.

"Uncle, Aunt, have you eaten?"

This is the etiquette of Xia Country; even knowing the meal’s been eaten by this time, the question must be asked.

"We’ve eaten, Shiqing, you’re here!"

Seeing the neighbor’s daughter, Zhao Lixia smiled with extra kindness.

"Yeah, I’ve come to use Zelin’s computer to go online!"

As soon as the broadband was installed in the afternoon, Zhao Lixia ran next door to tell Qin Shiqing, saying she could just come by their place to use the internet, saving the cost of internet cafes.

"Haha, we’re all family, don’t worry about using it, Zelin’s inside, go on in!"

"Okay, Auntie!"

Qin Shiqing walked into Su Zelin’s room, seeing her childhood friend playing Landlord in Lianzhong Game.

Slacking off made him blacklisted in the dorm, so he could only play cards online.

"Xiaolinzi, log me into Q!"

Qin Shiqing found a chair and sat beside her childhood friend.

How did Qin Shiqing know so quickly that my family got broadband?

Oh, it must be Mom who told her. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Su Zelin found it a bit odd but quickly figured it out.

As soon as the card game ended, Su Zelin exited the waiting state.

He opened the QQ login box, swiftly entering seven digits, then handed over the keyboard: "Enter the password!"

"Wow, Xiaolinzi, you still remember my QQ number!"

Qin Shiqing laughed.

"My memory is exceptional. Besides, your number is easy to remember!"

In truth, Qin Shiqing’s QQ number remained the same in later years, and she often entrusted him with her account password, asking him to log her Q on her behalf, so how could Su Zelin forget?

"Easy to remember?"

Qin Shiqing was puzzled.

She thought her account wasn’t particularly special, with seven digits being mostly different, neither following ascending nor descending patterns for easy recall; it was completely random.

"Hurry up, I need to play cards!"

Su Zelin grew impatient.

"You do it for me; the password’s my lunar birth date!"

At this time, QQ passwords didn’t require letters plus numbers; pure numbers were acceptable.

Su Zelin didn’t waste time, logging her in.

Qin Shiqing had him open the flashing QQ avatar, mostly messages from classmates and friends.

Since Su Zelin appeared on Zhejiang University’s campus and had a romantic date with her, those admirers almost vanished.

With her QQ logged on, Qin Shiqing sat beside him, watching him play cards with fascination.

She then noticed that the slacker often won, even with some pretty poor hands.

This kid truly is smart.

Qin Shiqing couldn’t help but be impressed.

"How can you win with a bad hand?"

She couldn’t resist asking.

"It’s all about the tricks. First, you must remember the cards and know how to calculate the remaining ones. Besides, Landlord is like a four-party battle; you must be strategic, form alliances when necessary, and compete individually when needed, treating the other three players as both allies and enemies!"