I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

"Grandpa, you know about waste-to-energy?" Shen Kang asked the newcomer.

Jay Chou nodded. "I've seen factories like this before."

Shen Kang said, "No wonder your accent isn't local, sir; you must have moved here from another province."

Yangcheng's first waste-to-energy plant will not be completed and put into operation until 2018, which will also be the first waste-to-energy plant in Qianlin Province.

However, waste-to-energy businesses already exist in other provinces—similar to the overall domestic economic environment, waste-to-energy is developed in the southeast coastal areas and underdeveloped in the southwest inland areas.

This old man has only ever seen waste-to-energy plants, which is obviously something you can only see in other provinces.

"You're very optimistic about waste-to-energy?" Jay Chou asked again.

I guess so.

"But I don't think waste-to-energy plants are a good idea. Can they really be so numerous that there isn't enough waste to go around, like you say? The people living next to that waste-to-energy plant I saw are all very opposed to it. They say that the plant pollutes the environment, and their health has deteriorated because of living nearby. I saw an entire village of them holding up signs saying 'XXX,' demanding that 'XXX be demolished'."

Jay Chou actually remembered some of the contents of that waste-to-energy project proposal, but he kept his current identity in mind and did not talk about those professional things. Instead, he used simple and straightforward content to communicate and guide the discussion.

"Some factories don't have very good technology, and they may indeed pollute the environment and affect the lives of people around them. Maybe the one you saw is one like that. Of course, we can't rule out the ulterior motives of certain forces, so we have to be discerning."

"Oh?"

Jay Chou raised an eyebrow. "The ulterior motives of certain forces? How do we discern them?"

Shen Kang spread his hands, saying helplessly, "This matter is too complicated; how could I possibly understand it?"

However, this new old man talked about specific things, unlike the other old men who talked in generalities, which suited Shen Kang's taste quite well.

So he added, "I can only speak from my own perspective, let's take the matter you mentioned as an example."

"If XXXXXXXX occurs, the result is XXXXXX, and there are XXXXXX slogans, then we need to be wary of whether they have been paid. Of course, it's not necessarily the case; a thorough investigation and evidence collection are still necessary."

Finally, he sighed, "XXXX's desire to destroy me is unwavering!"

He was particularly moved by the fact that in the later generations, aquaculture had come to the forefront.

Jay Chou looked at the kid and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

He now finds this kid increasingly interesting.

"So, you're saying that if you were the factory manager, you wouldn't care?" Mr. Zhou asked again.

Shen Kang shook his head: "Like I just said, we need to investigate and collect evidence, and at the same time, we need to understand the situation of our own factory project to see if there is really any pollution. If there is indeed pollution affecting the surrounding villagers, then regardless of whether it is spontaneous or organized by someone, we need to take measures, pay for their resettlement, and at the same time accelerate research and development and upgrade our technology. But one thing is certain: the factory cannot be closed, much less demolished! Development will have various problems, but we cannot stop developing just because there are problems..."

This new old man really suited Shen Kang's taste.

The new old man's words often hit the mark for Shen Kang, and before he knew it, Shen Kang became more and more open, talking more and more enthusiastically and speaking with great passion.

Shen Kang got even more excited when the new old man posed the hypothetical scenario of "what if you were the CEO of a waste-to-energy company".

He used to share his various thoughts while watching those related videos, combined with the future trends he saw, and he felt a great sense of pride in bragging to his roommates.

He readily answered the questions raised by the new elderly man at just the right time.

Jay Chou asked, "Where will you choose for your first factory?"

Shen Kang said, "Handong, it has to be Handong! It's economically developed, densely populated, and produces a lot of garbage. It has a high degree of urbanization, and the process of merging villages is underway. Moreover, the entire province is a plain, so the cost of garbage collection and transportation is extremely low. The subsequent factory sites will all be selected in first-tier cities and economically developed areas. We will abandon third-tier cities and below for now, because the cost of collecting garbage in those places is too high."

Jay Chou asked, "Does a waste-to-energy plant make money entirely from generating electricity?"

Shen Kang said, "Of course not, that's only part of it. The government currently subsidizes waste disposal; they pay you to process waste, that's one source of income. The electricity generated from waste is considered green electricity, which is another subsidy. Add to that the money from selling the electricity, and that's the total revenue. And this is just for now; technology will definitely continue to develop. We need to be willing to invest and maintain technological leadership so that we can manufacture the corresponding equipment in the future, which will be another major source of income. Climate conferences are held every year now, and international carbon trading is inevitable. Waste-to-energy is green electricity, and carbon trading will be another source of income in the future!..."

Waste-to-energy is indeed a good project, but the entry barrier is too high, the first hurdle being money. Even the smallest waste-to-energy plant requires tens of millions, medium-sized projects directly require hundreds of millions, and large projects are even more terrifying, costing billions.

The second hurdle involves other things that money alone cannot solve; you can tell by looking at how many state-owned enterprises are involved in this industry.

Of course, the government is strongly encouraging private enterprises to enter the market and mobilizing private capital to accelerate development, and some private enterprises can participate. In later generations, some of the top ten in this industry also included private enterprises, but they were certainly beyond the reach of Shen Kang in the present.

Although you can't touch it, you can still brag about it.

Shen Kang was indeed getting carried away with his boasting, speaking with great confidence and authority, as if he were already directing his waste-to-energy empire to conquer territories across the country, detailing each step in great detail.

As Jay Chou listened and watched, the scene before him vaguely seemed to overlap with a scene from a movie he had once seen:

Liu Yalou, take note of the following adjustments I've made:

The 4th and 11th Columns, plus two independent divisions, were used to reinforce the Tashan defense line; the 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th, and 9th Columns, plus the 17th Division of the 6th Column, were used to attack Jinzhou; the 10th Column, plus one division, was used to block Liao Yaoxiang's army group along the Heishan and Dahushan lines; and the 12th Column, plus twelve independent divisions, besieged Changchun...

The old men nearby, seeing how enthusiastically they were chatting, some even came over to listen. But when they heard that Xiao Shen was talking about so much detail and the information was so dense that they couldn't understand it at all, they immediately stopped listening and went back to their own conversations.

However, Jay Chou listened with great interest.

You know what, this kid really knows his stuff.

The same waste-to-energy business was much more exciting than what those professional managers and analysts talked about. As he listened, he felt that the project had great potential!

However, there is still one problem that he has never been able to solve, and that will be the last problem he guides.

He was really looking forward to the kid's answer.

At that moment, Secretary Zhang walked into the courtyard.

……

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, creating patches of light that shone on Secretary Zhang as he walked toward the courtyard.

Secretary Zhang, walking briskly, also tugged at the plastic rope belt around her waist.

To keep the pants at this lower chest position, this thing is really tight, much more uncomfortable than a belt, but there's no way around it, his current status requires this kind of attire.

However, Secretary Zhang didn't pay much attention to it. He was more concerned about Chairman Zhou, who hadn't returned for half a day, and was a little worried.

He'd been chatting idly with the dean for ages, but Jay Chou still hadn't returned.

This is very unusual.

You know, Jay Chou always returned quickly after seeing those two before, but this time he's been chatting with the dean until they run out of things to say, and Jay Chou still hasn't come back.

Has something happened? The old man went to too many nostalgic places yesterday and today; he must be exhausted and can't hold on any longer? Or did some unexpected accident occur? ...

Secretary Zhang's mind raced, her face tightened, and she quickened her pace.

Then he walked into the courtyard and immediately saw Jay Chou sitting there.

This relieved Secretary Zhang.

Subconsciously, Secretary Zhang took a step forward, but when she saw Chairman Zhou looking over, she shook her head slightly.

Secretary Zhang, who was very familiar with the old man, immediately stopped in his tracks, but was even more puzzled.

Then Secretary Zhang noticed the enthusiastic young man in front of the old man, who was speaking with great enthusiasm.

"Is it that 'youngest son'?"

The information was all collected by Secretary Zhang for the old man, so he naturally recognized the man as Shen Kang at a glance.

"So, Jay Chou didn't get into trouble, but has been chatting with him the whole time? And he's even preventing me from going over there, wanting to continue talking to him?... "

Secretary Zhang's mouth was slightly open, somewhat taken aback and quite shocked.

He knew the old man too well and understood what this meant.

The old man was interested in Shen Kang!

This was something Secretary Zhang never expected...