Can you imagine what kind of industry you’d have to be in to make it into the top twenty nationwide? Wouldn’t you be exhausted to the point of coughing up blood? I was attending university and training at the same time, and before I even graduated, I’d already received this honor—doesn’t that just make people jealous? The most infuriating part was that the training location was right near his house. While everyone else had to rush over after lunch, braving the scorching sun or biting cold like they were scrambling for filial hats, he could just take a nap, slip on his slippers, and stroll in. To sum it up in one sentence: he got everything without lifting a finger!

Besides the incredibly smooth training process, Brian Carter gained a lot of extra benefits here, the most important of which was making a large group of friends. These people were all employees from various performing arts troupes and cultural departments. Don’t be fooled by their current status as ordinary workers—in a few years, many of them would become big names in their fields. Whether in professional audio or the performing arts industry, they were among the first to go independent and make a name for themselves. After all, they were the first batch to get professional certification, and that invisible advantage was huge. Don’t underestimate this certificate—at the time, for several years, it was a symbol of status, ability, and credibility.

Among this group, Brian Carter was the youngest and also the most active. He had no conflicts of interest with anyone, and there was no such thing as “rivals in the same trade,” because he wasn’t even in their line of work. As a result, he became classmates with these older brothers, sisters, and even uncles. A year and a half of interaction wasn’t exactly long, but it wasn’t short either; the relationships weren’t deep, but there was some camaraderie. In the years that followed, these people provided him with a lot of help, both financially and in his career. Wherever he went, just saying he was so-and-so’s classmate would leave people surprised—and they’d have to show him some respect.

Starting from his senior year, he began taking on side jobs with two classmates who were sound engineers. Both of them worked at a film studio, so they had the means and ability to take on audio and lighting projects for restaurants, karaoke bars, and conference rooms. They also had the connections and funds to buy smuggled foreign audio and lighting equipment from the south. He had nothing but time and energy, so he became the deputy supervisor on site, using his expertise to direct workers in installing basic wiring according to blueprints and coordinating with the client to modify the acoustic environment. After the project was finished, he was also responsible for post-project maintenance and settling the final payment—only then could he earn a decent sum for his hard work.

If he hadn’t been classmates with those two sound engineers, they never would have trusted him with such responsibility. But now, they couldn’t help but trust him—they knew exactly what he was capable of, since they’d studied together, and Brian Carter’s grades were even better than theirs. At this point, refusing to help would just make him look petty and offend people. That’s the importance of having the right circle: if you choose the right group and have the ability, you don’t have to chase after money—money chases after you, and you’ll get scolded if you don’t take it.

But these projects didn’t come every month. When one came along, it usually lasted half a month to a little over a month; the really big ones could last up to three months. What was he supposed to do with the rest of his time? Plus, supervising construction sites was exhausting, dirty, and carried a lot of responsibility. If you overlooked something, you might have to redo the work, which meant losing money. So after a while, Brian Carter lost interest—the novelty had worn off.

And after two years of hard work, there was no shortage of people who could supervise projects. The two sound engineers had also taken unpaid leave from their jobs to start their own small company and had trained a few apprentices. They never expected to rely on Brian Carter forever. It wasn’t that they wanted to abandon Brian Carter—they’d asked him in advance if he wanted to become a partner, but Brian Carter said no. He was happy to help out, but absolutely refused to go into business together. Right now, he was just getting paid to help; if he became a partner, he’d have to work himself to death, which clashed with his life philosophy. So he became an unofficial member of the team—when they were busy, they’d call him in to help; when they weren’t, he was completely out of work.

Brian Carter was not someone who could sit still. He didn’t want to work himself to death at a regular job, but he didn’t want to do nothing all day either—he was just picky like that. After being idle for more than two months, he started thinking maybe he should find a job. He’d never considered going into business, and back then, doing business wasn’t all that popular anyway, and he didn’t want to deal with the hassle. What suited him best was a job that wasn’t too busy, was close to home, and had plenty of free time.

Brian Carter didn’t go to any job fairs—there was nothing there that met his requirements. He did look at job ads in the newspaper, but there was nothing suitable. The jobs he liked didn’t want him, and the ones that wanted him, he didn’t like. In the end, it was a sound engineer classmate who introduced him to a company—the satellite company he’s at now.

Chapter 0004: I Can Launch Satellites!