I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Let's go back to the present.

After finishing the call, Shen Kang told everyone to get back into the car and drive into the factory area.

Following instructions from above, the security guard at the gate opened the gate and allowed entry. Shen Kang led the way, and the three cars drove slowly through the factory area for a while before finally stopping next to an office building. The group got out of the cars.

A man was already waiting in front of the office building.

The man was wearing a gray work uniform and glasses. He looked to be in his thirties and had a rather robust appearance and build.

Seeing Shen Kang leading the way, the man also came forward to greet him, "Are you President Shen Kang?"

"it's me."

The man introduced himself, "Hello, Mr. Shen, I'm Chen Liquan, the assistant factory manager of this factory area. I will be accompanying you throughout your itinerary today..."

While Shen Kang and Chen Liquan were talking over here.

Behind them, Zong Shijie pulled Guo Pinyan aside and whispered, "Is He Qiuzhu Shen Kang's girlfriend?"

"Um."

Zong Shijie asked in confusion, "Then why did he say she was his god-sister when he introduced her?"

Guo Pinyan was already used to it: "Old Shen likes to play like this, you'll get used to it."

"Dry sister...dry, sister..." Zong Shijie muttered a couple of times before suddenly realizing the secret behind it all. He sighed, "Old Shen is really a pervert..."

Guo Pinyan just chuckled, but it was unclear what she was laughing at.

Meanwhile, Liu Jing wanted to chat with He Qiuzhu for a while, but found that He Qiuzhu was sticking to Shen Kang's side, and Shen Kang was talking to people from the factory across the street. It was not appropriate for her to go over and pull her away, so she gave up.

Zhao Ruyuan, who had previously been too lazy to talk to her, suddenly leaned closer and started a conversation: "Liu Jing, isn't that Gucci outfit you're wearing a new style this year?"

Liu Jing was somewhat surprised, wondering why Zhao Ruyuan, who had previously been rather arrogant, was now taking the initiative to speak to her. However, she still subconsciously said, "No, Lao Guo bought it for me last year."

"It seems like Gucci's autumn collection this year also has a similar design. It looks like the brand's designers have run out of ideas..."

Liu Jing has a good temper. Although she still remembered what happened earlier, she continued chatting with Zhao Ruyuan since Zhao Ruyuan took the initiative to start a conversation. The atmosphere was finally not as cold as it had been when the two of them were waiting for each other on the roadside.

Zhao Ruyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

She had just seen He Qiuzhu and Liu Jing getting along well; the two had been whispering to each other for a while, which made her heart skip a beat.

In Zhao Ruyuan's view, Shen Kang is very likely to become a new member of this circle. Therefore, his "adopted sister" He Qiuzhu is also very likely to join this circle.

Once He Qiuzhu joins this circle, it's foreseeable that she will become the center of attention, with many people revolving around her. And Liu Jing has a good relationship with He Qiuzhu.

If I ruin my relationship with Liu Jing, I might be excluded from the new circle centered around He Qiuzhu and become a marginal figure.

This is something Zhao Ruyuan doesn't want to see.

That's why she's rushing over now to improve her relationship with Liu Jing.

In retrospect, it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have escaped.

On one side, a few young men and women were whispering among themselves, while on the other side, Chen Liquan was still talking to Shen Kang.

As he spoke, Chen Liquan was also sizing up the "President Shen" in front of him, trying to figure out his identity and background.

Chen Liquan received the task from his superiors at the last minute. They said that a coffee shop wanted to cooperate with Jule Foods and would buy coffee beans from them on a long-term basis. The coffee shop came to pick out beans today, and they asked the coffee shop owners to receive them.

Upon hearing the details of the task, Chen Liquan knew that someone with connections had come to help.

If it weren't for a close relationship with the customer, Jule Foods would never accept such a small order from "a coffee shop".

The "General Manager Shen" in front of him confirmed Chen Liquan's guess—he was actually a college student.

Not only that, this college student even brought some other college students with him.

Are you here for an autumn outing?

Chen Liquan's gaze first drifted to He Qiuzhu next to Shen Kang, and then to the girls behind her, as he silently grumbled to himself.

Chen Liquan himself graduated from a prestigious university and worked his way up from the bottom.

He secretly looked down on people like Shen Kang who had connections, especially since this guy was completely irresponsible, bringing a bunch of shady friends to discuss business, which only fueled his disdain. At the same time, he secretly resented not being one of those rich second-generation connections himself. The difference between people truly seems to be determined at birth; some are born into privilege, others into poverty. Sigh…

However, Chen Liquan did not show any of these thoughts; instead, he always wore a kind smile.

Chen Liquan also thoughtfully mentioned another matter, "President Shen, I noticed you didn't bring any technicians to select the beans? But that's alright, we have the necessary personnel in our factory. They can handle the bean selection later, right?"

"There are technical personnel."

Shen Kang pointed to Guo Pinyan, who was whispering with Zong Shijie behind him, and said, "That's our company's C. He's also our technical director and chief barista. But it would be even better if your factory could send someone else to assist us."

He had spoken with Guo Pinyan and learned about the current barista skills at Sanwei Bookstore: Guo Pinyan claimed that his coffee skills were the best among all the baristas at his shop. From the very beginning, it was Guo Pinyan who decided which beans to use. The fact that Guo Pinyan doesn't usually work at the shop, spending his days strolling around, dating, and occasionally taking classes, is entirely due to his business philosophy.

In Guo Pinyan's words, "If I really have to make coffee myself, why don't I just find a coffee shop and become a barista? I could save the money I would have spent on opening a shop. Before I opened a shop, I could already make coffee as a barista. Now that I've invested in and opened a coffee shop, if I still have to be the barista and make coffee myself, then what the hell is the point of opening this shop?"

So, according to Guo Pinyan, although he doesn't usually do any work, his coffee skills are the best in the entire shop.

Therefore, only they came today, and they didn't bring the baristas from the shop with them.

Upon hearing Shen Kang's words, Chen Liquan glanced in Guo Pinyan's direction and thought to himself, "Goodness, I thought that guy was a friend of this President Shen, but I didn't expect him to be C, the technical director, and the chief barista. These people with connections really treat doing business like a game, throwing around titles like that."

"Okay, then. Our factory will also send someone to assist."

Chen Liquan nodded, then asked, "Mr. Shen, shall we head over now?"

"it is good."

So Chen Liquan led a group of people toward the warehouse where the coffee beans were stored. Along the way, he took out his phone and made a few calls to inform them to prepare samples and related equipment. Afterward, he chatted with the other members of the autumn outing group.

It was at this time that Zong Shijie learned that Chen Liquan was the assistant factory manager of this factory area.

Factory Manager Assistant...

Zong Shijie pondered silently, trying to deduce Shen Kang's background from the level of reception: it couldn't be particularly high-ranking, otherwise only the factory manager's assistant would have come to receive him. Of course, there must be connections, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get in at all.

Combining all the details he had seen before, Zong Shijie slowly sketched out the general background of Shen Kang in his mind.

I'd guess he's about the same level as Guo Pinyan, maybe a little higher, but definitely not at the level he claims to be.

As Zong Shijie pondered this, the group of people arrived at the warehouse.

Chen Liquan continued his introduction: "...Our beans here are mainly Brazilian Arabica and Vietnamese Robusta, with a small amount of Yunnan beans from China. We have both raw and cooked beans. The storage conditions are also quite comprehensive; the warehouse is temperature-controlled, humidity-controlled, and dark, so the quality is controllable, and you can rest assured..."

Led by Chen Liquan, Shen Kang first visited the warehouse where coffee beans were stored and found that the warehouse of Jule Foods was indeed quite well-equipped and advanced.

Regarding the scarcity of Yunnan soybeans, Shen Kang had some questions: "Are there fewer Yunnan soybeans in China because of their poor quality?"

In the years that followed, as he knew it, the Yunnan bean industry in China flourished, with increasing shipments, and many well-known coffee brands used Yunnan beans.

The fact that there are very few Yunnan beans in Jule Foods' warehouse makes him wonder if the Yunnan bean industry is still underdeveloped, resulting in poor quality and lagging behind established foreign bean brands.

Chen Liquan nodded. "There is indeed a certain gap."

At this moment, Guo Pinyan, who was standing next to him, chimed in: "Old Shen, you can just ask me about this. Yunnan beans are usually a hybrid of the Catimor series, which is a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta. They have an earthy and bitter flavor, so proper coffee shops don't use Yunnan beans."

Chen Liquan glanced at Guo Pinyan, somewhat surprised: he thought this person just casually wore a bunch of titles, but he didn't expect him to actually know about coffee.

He then added, "Mr. Guo is right, that's a disadvantage of Yunnan beans. But Yunnan beans also have their advantages, namely, they're cheap. They're only one-fifth the price of Brazilian Arabica, so some people who aren't too picky about coffee quality will still buy them."

Shen Kang understood. In short, at that time, Yunnan soybeans in China were still synonymous with cheap and low-quality. It seemed that there was still a long way to go before they could develop to the level of later generations.

After touring the warehouse, Chen Liquan led them to a room inside, where several sample beans and corresponding testing equipment had been prepared.

In this segment, Guo Pinyan stepped in.

Chen Liquan mentioned that the coffee technician who came to assist had also arrived, and both sides were ready to start tasting the beans.

Zong Shijie stood on the periphery of the crowd, not moving in, but instead lowered his head, holding his phone, and sent a message to Meng Chengjiao, telling him his observations of Shen Kang.

Meng Chengjiao quickly replied to the text message: "It's a bit boring. He really is a braggart. You should talk to him later and get him to reveal his true intentions. If he's willing to be friends with us, then we can be friends. If not, then forget it."

Zong Shijie immediately understood. Meng Chengjiao meant that having one more person in the circle wouldn't make a difference, and losing one less person wouldn't make a difference either.

"Understood." Zong Shijie replied, then put away his phone. Looking at everyone in the crowd preparing to taste the beans, he decided to find a time to talk to Shen Kang.

At that moment, some noises could be heard from afar outside the warehouse entrance.