I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Seeing that Secretary Zhang did not move, Chairman Zhou withdrew his gaze.

After Shen Kang finally finished speaking, still seemingly wanting to say more, the old man said, "That sounds really good, but I still think real estate is more profitable. Although housing prices have dropped this year due to the subprime mortgage crisis, I think they will rise again, and rise dramatically! Do you believe me?"

Jay Chou's acting was pretty good. He was blowing his beard and glaring at people. Even though he was talking about his own professional analysis, he still managed to sound like one of those old men, as if he was bragging.

Shen Kang agreed: "Indeed, I also think it will rebound, and be particularly strong."

He knew all too well that with the release of the four trillion yuan stimulus plan at the end of the year, domestic housing prices would rise to a historic and terrifying level next year—24%!

This rate of return is practically usury; it's outrageous.

Jay Chou remained calm, but inwardly he was surprised: the housing market had been sluggish this year, and many people were saying the housing boom was over. In this situation, how could this kid have come to the same reverse conclusion as him?

This unexpected event meant he no longer needed to say some of the things he was going to say.

This kid can take the topic a step further and give Jay Chou the answer he most wants to hear about that question—his answer.

Shen Kang did indeed do just that.

"However, I still think that the waste-to-energy sector is more worthwhile to enter."

Jay Chou's eyes flickered. "Oh? Why?"

"Because I felt this was the last chance."

Shen Kang said, "In my opinion, in the current waste-to-energy sector in China, state-owned enterprises are leading the way, while a few private enterprises are also participating and developing rapidly. Everyone is quietly expanding their territory and monopolizing the waste resources of as many cities as possible."

"If you're thinking of investing in real estate first and then getting into waste-to-energy later, it'll be too late. All the land will be snapped up. If you try to get in then, you'll be lucky to get a piece of the pie, and you might even lose money."

"So this is the last chance."

Shen Kang made this judgment entirely based on data he had seen in his later life: the number of waste-to-energy plants built in the two years after 2015 was twice the number of all waste-to-energy plants built in the previous thirty years!

Most of these factories entered the market after 2012, seeing the potential of this field and hoping to profit, but they were too late and could barely get any scraps. Many factories in later years had no waste to burn for half the year.

So now is indeed the last good time to board this train.

"Furthermore, how long can the real estate boom last? The experiences of developed countries abroad all point to one fact—housing prices will stop when they're supposed to. And as long as people are alive, they will produce waste, and I don't see that end yet. Of course, due to the limitations of the BOT model, a plant can generally only make money for 25 years, after which it has to be handed over to the government. But isn't there also the BOO model? We can negotiate to extend the operating period. And it's not just domestically; there's also a demand for waste-to-energy abroad. We can open plants overseas and make money from foreigners."

"Finally, there's national policy. In the real estate sector, the government has always been both pushing and pulling, making the policy risks too high. However, in waste-to-energy, the government has been actively supporting it with various policies, making the risks relatively much lower. When doing business, it's essential to actively consider the attitude of your own government."

Shen Kang felt great after his eloquent and unrestrained speech.

As he listened, Mr. Zhou's mind flashed through the analyses his group's elites had made regarding "average annual rate of return." He finally sighed inwardly: "Everyone says capital is short-sighted, and this is a perfect example. This little kid's perspective is much more to his liking."

"Your stuff sounds plausible, doesn't it? Where did you get all that information from?"

"Online, of course."

Shen Kang simply pushed the blame to the almighty internet, "Grandpa, you don't know? You can find anything online. Search carefully, think about it a little, and that's it."

Jay Chou nodded, "The Internet is really amazing."

In his heart, he cursed, "You brat, do you really think I don't go online? There's a ton of information on the internet, but you have too many inferences and strategies, many of which are predictions about the future. Can you even find that online? Your 'think about it a little bit' is way too little."

However, with Secretary Zhang waiting there and the old man having gotten what he wanted, he didn't plan to stay any longer.

"It's much more interesting to listen to you brag. You're much better at bragging than Old Liu next door. If I really moved in, would you come over and brag to me every day?" Jay Chou asked.

Shen Kang was very dissatisfied. "Grandpa, what do you mean by bragging? Let me tell you, if I said these things outside, I could make money! Today, I only bragged to you because I like you and we hit it off. I mean, I had a great chat with you."

"hehe."

The old man gave a forced smile.

Shen Kang thought for a moment and then said, "But I'm going to university soon, so if you really move in, you probably won't see me very often."

"That's a bit boring."

The old man stopped arguing with the young man, stood up, and said, "My son is here to pick me up. I'm leaving."

"Take care, sir!"

After watching the old man leave, Shen Kang chatted with the other old men at the welfare home. However, after a few words, he mostly listened and watched for amusement.

That old man from earlier was quite interesting. He was clearly very knowledgeable, yet he ended up in such a miserable state in his later years. But that wasn't too surprising. After all, Shen Kang had seen quite a few highly educated people in his later years who didn't fare well.

These people often have various reasons, such as lack of motivation, bad luck, family burdens, and so on. There are too many reasons to list.

On the contrary, some people who are bad at everything, some even lacking common sense, are doing very well. There are all sorts of reasons for this, but one reason that cannot be ignored is good luck.

Having witnessed so much, Shen Kang even began to genuinely believe in the existence of "luck." Because of this, in his later life he even learned some strange and unusual things. Whether they were useful or not is unknown, but they certainly provided a sense of peace of mind.

……

To conceal their movements, the old man and his companions chose the Hanting Hotel as their accommodation in Yangcheng this time.

Room 8303 on the third floor.

The old man had taken off his tattered undershirt and put on a Tang suit. He sat at the narrow table in the room, staring out the window, lost in thought.

Secretary Zhang came out of the restroom, having already changed her clothes.

He looked at the old man, wanting to ask him something, but the old man was in a state where it was not appropriate to disturb him. He might be thinking about some important matters concerning the development of the group, and interrupting his thoughts would be very serious.

So Secretary Zhang just stood there, waiting.

When the old man finally came to his senses, Secretary Zhang was about to speak when the old man spoke first: "Write this down, I will write it down as follows..."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man froze, his words abruptly stopping. Then, realizing what he had done, he chuckled and shook his head.

That kid really left a deep impression on me.

Then, he switched to normal conversation: "Xiao Zhang, book your flight for tonight. I need to go back to Yanjing tonight. Also, didn't you give me a waste-to-energy project proposal before? Can you form a group of six people and we'll review that project again? We should have our first meeting no later than tomorrow afternoon."

Secretary Zhang made a note of it and asked, "What about things here?"

"The group is so busy, how can I have time to deal with her trivial matters?" The old man sighed helplessly.

Secretary Zhang was greatly shocked upon seeing this!

Based on his understanding of Jay Chou, this means Jay Chou has tacitly approved of this contractual relationship between Sister Chou!

Is this matter resolved just like that?

My plan to stall for time actually worked?

Although Secretary Zhang had a vague premonition when he saw the scene in the courtyard of the orphanage, he still felt a great sense of disbelief when the premonition came true.

Did I really win the lottery?

"You think so highly of Young Master Shen?" Secretary Zhang couldn't help but ask.

He still couldn't quite believe it.

The old man scolded, "This is a new society now, what's with all this talk of young masters and young ladies? Just call that brat whatever you want to call her, call her Xiao Shen."

Secretary Zhang didn't retort; he knew the old man didn't like hearing such things.

After reprimanding him, the old man pondered for a moment, "This kid... he's barely passable, at least he seems like a decent person. But you can't judge a book by its cover, let's see how he behaves."

It seems that Chairman Zhou is really satisfied with Shen Kang and plans to observe him for a long time. Secretary Zhang translated the old man's words in his mind.

Holy crap!

Secretary Zhang exclaimed inwardly.

He never expected that among teenagers of that age, there could actually be someone who could satisfy Jay Chou! What kind of prodigy is this?

After the initial shock, Secretary Zhang's feelings were mixed: the plan to delay had unexpectedly succeeded, which was certainly something to be happy about, but hadn't all his brain cells been wasted these past few days? And he had actually come up with such an idea!

And he thought that idea was really brilliant!

Sister Zhou, I'm sorry, I was only doing it for your own good.

Secretary Zhang finally spoke up: "Mr. Zhou, I've actually been thinking about something these past few days. According to my investigation, Ms. Zhou and her husband are living separately and each has their own residence."

"You know Sister Zhou's personality. Even though she did something like this, she must be feeling very...confused right now."

The old man snorted in dissatisfaction: "Just say she's probably terrified right now. You don't need to embellish her story; that's just her problem—she's a coward."

Secretary Zhang didn't respond, but continued, "So, given Sister Zhou's mindset, you can now state your terms, and she definitely won't refuse."

The old man frowned in thought, then raised his hand. "Continue, what are your conditions?"

"It's very simple, just let the four of them live together in one house."

The old man's brow twitched, and he subconsciously objected: "No way, how can she live with a strange man!" As for Xiao Shen and Xiao He, he didn't consider them, because in the old man's subconscious, they were still children.

Secretary Zhang quickly said, "Mr. Zhou, don't rush into this. Let's think about it. Don't you hope that Ms. Zhou will find someone she loves within three years, then get married and have a baby? Wouldn't that be perfect? ​​If they live in the same house every day and see each other every day, maybe they'll fall in love? As the saying goes, familiarity breeds fondness. Besides, you know Ms. Zhou, and you've met Mr. Xiao, and we've investigated him—they're both good people. Even if they live in the same house and don't see eye to eye, nothing untoward will happen. If something does happen, it must be mutual affection. Then their fake marriage can become a real one, and they can still have a baby—wouldn't that be exactly what you want?..."

The old man's brows gradually relaxed, and the more he thought about it, the more brilliant Zhang's plan seemed!

"Xiao Zhang, you really have a bright mind."

The old man exclaimed in approval, then made the decision, "That's it!"