I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

"Hey."

Shen Kang walked up to Zong Shijie and called out to him.

Zong Shijie finally snapped out of his fantasy.

Shen Kang was quite agreeable: "What are you thinking about?"

Zong Shijie didn't hide anything and said directly, "I was thinking about secondhand items..."

He opened his mouth, intending to launch into a long explanation of the scene he had just imagined to Shen Kang, but then he changed his mind, patted his pocket, and said, "I've been holding back for ages. Come on, wanna go out for a drink?"

Shen Kang knew he wanted to talk outside, and that smoking was just an excuse, so he nodded and said, "Let's go."

So, having just returned, he went out again with Zong Shijie. This time, the two walked all the way out of the warehouse and stopped under a roadside tree nearby.

Zong Shijie familiarly took out a cigarette from his pocket, shook one out and handed it to Shen Kang. With his other hand, he also took out a metal lighter, ready to light it for Shen Kang.

Shen Kang waved his hand in refusal, saying, "I don't smoke, you can smoke it yourself."

Seeing that Shen Kang wasn't smoking, Zong Shijie simply stopped smoking himself, putting away his cigarettes and lighter. Then, he enthusiastically began to talk about the things he had been daydreaming about: "Old Shen, I have a small, albeit immature, idea for your event. I'll take a very valuable secondhand item and sell it..."

Zong Shijie spoke eloquently, describing all the scenes he had imagined.

Just thinking about it and talking about it made him feel great.

Shen Kang listened, completely bewildered.

After waiting patiently for Zong Shijie to finish speaking, Shen Kang paused briefly before finally speaking, saying with great admiration, "Old Zong, when it comes to showing off, you're a genius!"

It's true that the wisdom of the people is boundless. Shen Kang hadn't even thought of this idea that Zong Shijie came up with.

If we really follow Zong Shijie's approach, it's foreseeable that it will generate a lot of buzz and be a highlight of the first episode!

The most amazing thing is that Zong Shijie paid for all the money; Shen Kang didn't have to pay a single penny.

Where can you find such a sucker... no, where can you find such a pretentious good guy?

Before Zong Shijie could speak, Shen Kang once again exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "I rack my brains, but I can't compare to a genius like you who can show off with a flash of inspiration. I'm impressed. It seems I really can't show off."

Zong Shijie felt very pleased when he heard Shen Kang say that, and his chest puffed out unconsciously. He also felt that Shen Kang was a very honest person who said what he meant and was easy to get along with.

"Everyone has different strengths. Old Shen, you're an honest man, so it's normal that you don't know how to show off. Besides, you do have your strengths; didn't you run a website?"

Shen Kang nodded. "That's true. An honest man like me can only do these kinds of clumsy things."

After the two reached a consensus on Shen Kang's "honest" nature, Zong Shijie got back to business: "Old Shen, what kind of secondhand item do you think I should choose to achieve the effect I want?"

Shen Kang thought for a moment, then asked instead of answering immediately, "What's your budget?"

After thinking for a while, Zong Shijie hesitated before saying, "Something worth about 20,000?"

Zong Shijie's daily spending isn't actually that outrageous; he wouldn't be willing to spend 20,000 yuan in cash to show off. But things are different from cash.

He once bought something for 20,000 yuan, but now he hardly uses it anymore. He takes it out and sells it for one yuan to show off. Zong Shijie is willing to grit his teeth and give it up.

"Twenty thousand..." Shen Kang thought for a moment and said, "That's fine."

Zong Shijie glanced at Shen Kang a few more times, thinking that as the future son-in-law of Shengyuan Group, his vision was indeed different; even something worth 20,000 was somewhat disdainful of him.

Zong Shijie immediately felt a bit nervous and wanted to raise the price again, asking for 30,000, but in the end he suppressed this irrational thought.

Shen Kang continued to offer Zong Shijie suggestions: "If it's 20,000, do you have any women's watches in that price range?"

"no."

"What about women's handbags?"

"No, not at all."

After the two went over the accounts for a while, Zong Shijie's eyes lit up, and he suddenly thought of something good: "That's right, I have a Honda Fit that's been gathering dust!"

"That car was bought for me by my dad when I first started college. He originally planned for me to drive it for all four years of college, but once I got into it, I thought it was too bad. Later, my dad's business got better and better and developed very quickly, so after some persuasion, he bought me the Mondeo I have now."

"That Fit has been unused for a long time, just sitting there collecting dust. According to the current used car market, that Fit can only be sold for a little over 20,000 yuan, at most 23,000 yuan, Yang Zilong."

After explaining the origin of the car, Zong Shijie stared at Shen Kang, very excited. "So, how about this Fit? Selling it for just one dollar, isn't that cool and sensational?"

In fact, according to Zong Shijie's spending habits, this could be directly converted into a Honda Fit worth more than 20,000 yuan, which is the same as more than 20,000 yuan in cash, but he is reluctant to part with it.

But the thought of the sensational gimmick of "selling a car for one dollar" got him hooked.

By then, not only will the students in Beiming Community know his name, but the entire university town of Beilu District will probably know about him! He'll be all the rage!

Even if Wei Minglun and Meng Chengjiao are incredibly capable, can they make all the students in the entire Beilu District University Town know their names? No. But I might, I could!

Thinking about this made Zong Shijie even more agitated.

Upon hearing this, Shen Kang was somewhat tempted, but could only regretfully decline: "The car won't do. If we really used this Fit, it would certainly generate a lot of buzz."

Even a fool could figure it out: selling a Honda Fit for a dollar is going to generate a lot of buzz.

"But you have to consider the girl's feelings."

"If it's a watch or a bag, even if they know it costs around 20,000, they might still buy it for just one dollar, since the immediate impression isn't that much. But with a car, the immediate impression is completely different. In that case, you'll most likely not be able to sell it; nobody will dare to buy it."

If Zong Shijie had hesitated even slightly before due to his superiors' influence, now that Shen Kang had rejected the plan, he had no more hesitation whatsoever. He anxiously asked, "Nobody's buying, nobody's buying... Does this event absolutely have to sell out?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Kang's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Zong Shijie: "You mean, even if no one buys it, you're still willing to take this Fit?"

Zong Shijie thought for a moment, then nodded, "Hmm!"

He's completely obsessed with his fantasy of showing off. Whether or not he gets to hold hands with a girl doesn't matter, since he's never short of women. What he really lacks is this kind of moment of showing off and being in the limelight.

"Okay then."

Shen Kang clapped his hands. "If that's what you think, then bring this Fit with you!"

He thought Zong Shijie was after girls, but it turns out he only cared about showing off. Hey, why didn't he say so earlier?

However, this is also better, as it generates buzz and eliminates potential risks.

Seeing that Shen Kang had agreed, Zong Shijie became excited again, "Then it's settled!" He raised his hand and gave Shen Kang a high five as a pledge.

After agreeing on the "If You Are the One" program, the two went back.

The bean tasting went quite smoothly.

Some local wholesale companies in Yangcheng source their goods from Jule Foods, and some coffee shops in turn source their goods from those wholesale companies. In other words, many coffee shops in Yangcheng are actually using Jule Foods' products.

Their ability to use it naturally demonstrates that Jule Foods' coffee beans are K.

After some searching, Guo Pinyan finally chose a Brazilian Arabica bean from this store. Although the price was on the higher side compared to other coffee beans from Jule Foods, Guo Pinyan said the quality was good and the price-performance ratio was the best.

While selecting coffee beans, it was lunchtime, and Chen Liquan treated everyone to a meal out.

Shen Kang even made a phone call to ask where He Qiuzhu was now, only to find out that she had already been taken away from Linshui District by Zhou Man to go shopping, so he let it go.

After lunch, everyone continued working. Once the coffee beans were sorted, Shen Kang went to work on purchasing snacks for study room 302.

By the time all the work was finished, it was already past four o'clock.

When he was almost done with his work, Shen Kang called Zhou Man in advance to tell her that he was almost done and asked her to return He Qiuzhu as soon as possible, because he wanted to take her back to school.

Therefore, when they were about to return to school, Zhou Man also brought He Qiuzhu back with her.

Zhou Man came this time in her Bentley again.

The mother and daughter got out of the car, carrying large and small bags.

Shen Kang then went over and opened the trunk of his car, and the mother and daughter came over and put their things inside.

As Zhou Man put them away, she complained a few times, then pointed to a few bags and said to Shen Kang, "I just happened to catch the grand opening sale, buy one get one free, and I accidentally bought a few extra things. You can take them and use them."

"There are a few pieces of clothing in this bag. I don't know if they're your size. If you can't fit into them, there's nothing I can do. You're just unlucky."

Shen Kang stood next to the mother and daughter, nodding perfunctorily, "Mhm, mhm."

Zhou Man pointed to another bag: "Inside are some skincare products, facial cleanser, face masks and such."

Shen Kang continued to nod perfunctorily like a woodpecker, "Mmm, mmm."...

Zong Shijie watched from the side, somewhat surprised, and increasingly felt Zhou Man's approval of her future son-in-law—she had already bought him clothes, pants, skincare products, and so on, practically raising him like a son. How much approval did she have for him?

But Shen Kang still had a completely undisguised perfunctory expression on his face.

What's more, Zhou Man wasn't angry at all.

The position of the future son-in-law of Shengyuan Group seems too secure...

After putting everything away and closing the trunk, everyone prepared to head back to school. Zhou Man then said, "It's almost dinnertime. Let's go grab some food. Ah... it's on me."

She had originally intended to address the children as "auntie" like everyone else, but when the words came to her lips, she felt frustrated and couldn't bring herself to say it—she wasn't even forty yet, still very young—and ultimately used "I" instead.

Everyone agreed to the suggestion, so the group drove off to eat.

The restaurant was chosen by Zhou Man; it was a quaint, upscale eatery not far away. There was a rockery and flowing water right at the entrance, and ornamental fish were kept in the pond.

On the way to the private room, Zhou Man led He Qiuzhu by the hand, while the three boys walked together behind them.

Zong Shijie was still in the excitement of imagining his moment of showing off, whispering to Shen Kang about the details, striving to perfect the performance and make it the ultimate show-off.

Guo Pinyan turned her head and looked at him, feeling that Old Shen was a bit of a mystery. Zong Shijie was usually quite arrogant, but he was completely submissive in front of Old Shen. If this could be explained by "Shen Kang currying favor with a powerful figure," then this genuine familiarity couldn't be explained.

This prompted Guo Pinyan to chime in, "Old Shen, I've noticed you're quite something. You and Old Zong only met today, right? But you seem like you've known each other for ages."

Zong Shijie was indignant upon hearing this, "What do you mean 'like'? Lao Shen and I are just good buddies!"

Shen Kang has provided him with such a huge stage to show off, isn't that what a good buddy is?

Guo Pinyan didn't argue with him and continued, "No wonder He Qiuzhu's mother and you are so close. When the mother and daughter went shopping together, she even bought you things. If you didn't know better, you'd think she was your mother."

Zong Shijie nodded, deeply agreeing with this point. Just then, a sudden thought flashed through his mind: "Old Shen, Old Guo told me he saw the registration for your BMW, it's in your name, but you insist someone else lent it to you. Could it be that President Zhou lent it to you?"

There was nothing to hide, so Shen Kang readily admitted, "Yes."

"..."

Is that really true?

Guo Pinyan was speechless and remained silent, thinking to herself that if there were levels to being a gigolo, then this bastard Lao Shen would be a top master in the gigolo world, at the level of the Central Divine.

Most importantly, even if someone is materially satisfied and lives off a beautiful woman, they will definitely suffer in spirit and feel inferior.

Where is that bastard Shen Kang?

I won't go into how beautiful He Qiuzhu is, but more importantly, she has a good personality.

Guo Pinyan knew very well that He Qiuzhu was always meek and submissive in front of Shen Kang, that bastard. She would never contradict Shen Kang. On several occasions, Guo Pinyan even saw He Qiuzhu struggling to pedal her bicycle with Shen Kang on the back, while that bastard Shen Kang sat leisurely in the back. Guo Pinyan found it amusing at first, but then she felt envious.

This is fucking blatant exploitation!

"All the good things in the world have fallen on your head, Lao Shen," Guo Pinyan couldn't help but say. "Your ancestral grave must be emitting auspicious smoke all the time. People who don't know the situation would think that your ancestral grave contains a coal-fired power plant."

Ancestral graves?

That thing never existed in Shen Kang's life.

He was quite puzzled by Guo Pinyan's envy, wondering what nonsense Guo was spouting.

Zong Shijie added, "It's not a coal-fired power plant; it's a nuclear power plant."

Will nuclear power plants emit smoke?

"I don't think I'll be able to, right?"...