Blackstone Code

Joey is a very ordinary high school student, no different from most high school students in the Federation.

His family environment is pretty good. His father runs a delicatessen. It is said that the recipes are passed down from their ancestors and have been passed down for many generations. They are also quite famous in the local area.

Although his family cannot be said to have reached a middle-class family, it is much better than most families.

Originally, according to the original history of the world, he would go to the deli to inherit the "family business" after graduation. The Great Depression made their business not very good, and there was no hope of expansion, so they could only maintain the current operation.

He also sent applications to some universities, but unfortunately no university was willing to give him an interview opportunity.

Their reasons vary.

Some universities thought his studies were not good enough and rejected him.

Some universities considered that he did not actively participate in sports activities during high school, that is, he was not a sports student, and rejected him.

Some colleges rejected him because they thought he did not demonstrate outstanding student qualities in high school.

Some colleges...their sponsorship fees were too high, so Joey gave up.

It's not that he doesn't want to go to college, it's just that he really has no choice.

He didn't want to work in the kitchen early, and then follow his parents' arrangements to marry a woman he might not really like, have two or three children, and then spend his whole life in a muddle.

He hopes that his life will be bright, different and colorful.

But he also understood that he had no hope. The university rejected him. High-end companies would not hire him as a senior manager, not even middle- and lower-level managers, because he had no "alumni" and was not a member of the "fraternity." He is just an ordinary high school student.

But at such a time, driven by the federal president, Mr. Lynch, Sabine City Councilor Ms. Catherine and the governor jointly established a university called "Federal Hope College", which gave him some new hope!

By the way, Lynch originally applied for "Federal University", but the Department of Social Services believed that this name might be misleading. Although no one used it, Lynch's application was rejected.

And today, the weekend of the first week of August, is Joey's interview time.

He got up early in the morning, which was not easy for a growing high school student. After brushing his body well with the brush used to brush the fur of farm horses, he changed into the clothes he wore for the high school graduation ceremony. Formal wear.

Under the leadership of his parents, they came to the interview location of the university.

"There are many people here..."

The hallways were filled with families like Joey's, parents with their children, or a single parent with their children, all nervously awaiting interviews.

Whenever someone comes out of the interviewer's office, the surrounding parents come up to ask about the interview content, and Joey's parents also follow suit.

Originally, Joey didn't like this. It would make him feel that his father was very ignorant and embarrassing.

But at this moment, he desperately hoped that his father could find out something.

After a while, his father came back with a cigarette in his mouth. Joey and his mother immediately stared at the head of the family.

"They said the content of the interview was very simple, just asking about some simple things, such as grades, hobbies, etc., and whether there are any plans for the future."

The man is very relaxed at this time. He also knows what it means to go to college at this time. As long as he works hard after graduation, he can at least join the middle class.

When Joey marries a woman of almost the same class and status, or a colleague, his small family will be able to leapfrog the lower-class handicraft family and become the middle class of society.

They will enjoy a better life, get higher salaries, and their own children will have more opportunities in the future.

Even Joey's success will feed back to their big family, so when Joey mentioned that he wanted to go to college and got an interview notice from Hope College, he didn't even bother to go to the deli and came in person.

Fortunately, the chances look really good!

After waiting for about forty minutes, someone called Joey's name and asked him and his father to enter the interview office, while his mother stayed outside.

Only one parent is allowed inside to avoid parents from overly interfering with their children's performance.

There were four interviewers, and the woman in the middle who looked like she was in her forties was wearing glasses. She looked down at the materials for a while before saying hello with a smile, "Good morning, Joey."

Joey Federal responded, "Good morning, ma'am." He hesitated, "And gentlemen."

At this time, his father was so nervous that he couldn't speak. Heck, he thought it was no different from chatting or bargaining with the customers in the deli. He didn't even behave as well as his son!

Perhaps sensing their nervousness, the lady in the middle smiled and said, "Don't be too nervous, this is just a chat, and you're off to a good start."

The compliment made Joey relax a lot, and his father smiled stiffly.

What followed was a very conventional interview, asking some questions about Joey's grades, giving some comments on his performance in high school, and asking him to describe something he was good at or something he could be proud of. .

In the end, the four of them exchanged opinions, and the woman in the middle gave the Joeys the answer they needed.

"I looked at your files and found that you are from the state. This also meets the admissions standards set by Mr. Lynch. We only recruit students from the state or students from families who have their own property in the state."

"Joy, you actually feel very good to me. Maybe your grades are not particularly excellent, but at least you meet the federal education standards and are above the passing line..."

All four looked serious, as if they didn't know that so-called federal education standards were actually a joke.

Maybe they had to endure it at first, but now they're used to it.

Joey nodded repeatedly. He had already realized something. Maybe his life would become different from others from this moment!

The lady continued, "You have excellent self-expression skills, your own independent personality and emotional expression, and you are not afraid of stage fright. These are very good qualities, so we have initially approved your application."

Looking at Joey who was about to jump up, the lady raised her hand to stop him slightly, "Of course there are some procedures you need to do, such as tuition fees..."

Finally talking about what he is good at, the old father, who had not seen the whole process, suddenly puffed up his chest. This is the meaning and value of his being here!

As a father of a family, he may not always do well in many places, but there is one thing he can do well, and that is when it comes to spending money.

"How much does it cost, for a semester?"

Joey's father had saved some money through his work over the years. He didn't have any bad habits and had saved some money, so he felt confident when he said this.

A gentleman who sat aside and remained silent said with a smile, "It's not much, only 3,500 yuan per semester."

When he heard this figure, Joey's father's lips raised slightly. Two semesters a year, but only seven thousand yuan.

In fact, the tuition fee is not expensive anymore. Tuition fees at Holy Peace Colleges and Universities, for example, are more than tens of thousands of yuan a year. Except for those who can get full scholarships, the rest are wealthy people.

For ordinary schools, four to five thousand is more common, three thousand to five hundred...

Maybe seven thousand yuan a year is an unaffordable figure for many ordinary families, but Joey's father thinks it's nothing.

The gentleman could see the pride on his face, and then he pulled out a form and put it on the table, motioning for them to come closer.

Only after the father and son walked in did they realize that this was another fee.

"The tuition fees I mentioned just now are just tuition fees, but they do not include these."

"Such as various needed books, various notebooks, library usage fees, additional educational resource usage fees..."

Joey's father looked down at the form, and the slightly proud smile on his face disappeared. He really didn't know much about the composition of university tuition fees. He thought... seven thousand yuan a year was all.

Now it seems that these 7,000 yuan may be just the smallest part of it!

As the gentleman explained that the tuition fees had risen from 7,000 a year to nearly 20,000, Joey's father also began to become silent.

After all the list is explained, the total tuition for one year will cost about 26,000 yuan, and you should prepare another 2 to 3,000 yuan, because you may sometimes participate in certain activities, which also require money.

Four years...one hundred thousand dollars.

To be honest, Joey's father couldn't afford this investment. If he really had 100,000 yuan, he would have expanded his deli long ago.

Perhaps realizing that the father and son were in trouble, the gentleman who had been explaining the fees smiled and said, "This is an ordinary tuition fee. If Joey can get a scholarship, whether it is full or half, or just some kind of incentive , these costs will be reduced accordingly.”

"If you know anything about universities, you should know that some people can make money by studying at universities for free. We also very much welcome such students to join us."

"Of course, if you are not too confident in these and are a little nervous..."

The man took out a business card and handed it over.

There are many titles on business cards, most of which are managers, account managers, or operations managers.

But in the most eye-catching position, there is a name like "Blackstone Insurance" printed on it.

The father and son were a little confused, and the gentleman explained it kindly.

"Blackstone Insurance is Mr. Lynch's insurance company. He knows that the children of many families are full of visions for college and the future, but certain problems restrict their pursuit of their dreams."

"That may have been the case before, but now, for the students in our schools, it has changed."

"We have brand new student loans..."