I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Wei Shengjun was very interested in Shen Kang's desire to invest.

If there is an injection of funds, coupled with cost-saving measures and efficiency improvements, the chances of his factory surviving the financial crisis will be further increased.

In comparison, offering a portion of the shares is perfectly acceptable. After all, if his factory can't even survive this financial crisis, then the so-called shares are just a piece of paper, worthless.

Trading something that could become worthless for a chance to increase the probability of survival is well worth it.

He immediately said, "If Mr. Shen wants to invest, I think that's fine. I wonder what percentage of shares you'd like to invest? That way I'll have a better idea."

Shen Kang joked, "What if I said I'd acquire it 100%? What would President Wei think?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Shengjun's heart stirred again, and for a moment he was genuinely tempted: In fact, when the financial crisis first hit, he had this regretful thought—if he had sold the factory before the financial crisis, wouldn't he have made a profit without any loss?

Unfortunately, when the financial crisis hit, no one wanted to sell his factory.

Now, upon hearing Shen Kang say that he would acquire the company 100%, he was naturally very tempted and almost blurted out that he would agree.

But the next second, he stopped himself from having that thought.

This factory was something he had built from scratch, piece by piece; he had an emotional attachment to it. And when someone actually tried to buy it, Wei Shengjun realized he still couldn't bear to part with it, still harboring a sliver of hope—maybe he could weather the financial crisis? If he sold it now, and then watched the factory survive the crisis and thrive under someone else's ownership, wouldn't he regret it? ...

"President Shen is joking." After thinking for a moment, Wei Shengjun finally said this.

Shen Kang smiled, "It was just a joke. My funds are limited, and what I'm asking for isn't actually high—15% to 35% is negotiable. The most important goal is to make our cooperation smoother and help your factory weather this financial crisis as much as possible..."

Wei Shengjun wasn't sure if Shen Kang was telling the truth, but the approximate range that Shen Kang gave him still put his mind at ease—it was a range that he could accept.

However, the specifics of the investment still require auditing and evaluation, so the two couldn't discuss anything in detail on the spot. They only agreed on a general range of proportions and confirmed that both parties had the intention to invest and accept investment.

After the intention was confirmed, Shen Kang was quite satisfied.

Financial crisis, crisis, crisis, there is both danger and opportunity.

In such a terrible economic environment, many people are feeling insecure and living hand to mouth, but at the same time, it is also a good opportunity to buy at the bottom.

What's that saying again? ...Be greedy when others are fearful!

Moreover, it's not just about buying at the bottom.

If Anjia Technology can acquire a stake in a third-party partner like Wei Shengjun's factory, it will have an advantage in some cooperation details, such as payment terms, thereby shortening payment terms. This will become another powerful tool for the Anjia ecosystem.

That concludes the discussion.

Wei Shengjun was in a rare state of relaxation, his smile genuine, and he immediately pulled Shen Kang to dinner. After dinner, the arrangements would be meticulously planned to ensure Shen Kang's satisfaction.

Upon hearing this, Shen Kang immediately waved his hands and refused, "Forget it, Mr. Wei, this trip will cost a lot of money. Our cooperation is based on the same goal. It would be more worthwhile to invest this money in production. I'll pay for this trip later, and when the bright future arrives, you can treat me to double the amount. Besides, I usually study in Beilu District, and I have some things to take care of when I finally come to the High-tech Zone. I really don't have time."

Upon hearing this, Wei Shengjun thought to himself: No wonder this General Manager Shen was able to accomplish so much in just six months. He really knows how to spend every penny wisely.

Wei Shengjun invited him twice more, but seeing Shen Kang's resolute attitude, he finally gave up. "Alright, then when we usher in the day of enlightenment, I'll treat you twice, no, five times! Today I was originally planning to call five princesses, but I'll call 25 for you, Mr. Shen! Find the biggest private room, have these 25 princesses stand in a row, and let you choose at your leisure!"

Shen Kang was both amused and exasperated, but could only nod vaguely in response: "Mhm, mhm. Mr. Wei, if I want all 25 of them, is that alright?"

Wei Shengjun was taken aback for a moment, then laughed heartily, "Okay, it has to be okay!"

Shen Kang said, "Then Mr. Wei, you'd better work hard. Coming to such an event costs a lot of money. I hope we can reach that day."

"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Shen. I hope we can reach that day. To allow you to hug 25 princesses in one go, I, Lao Wei, will go all out! Mr. Shen, you also need to take good care of your health. There are 25 of them! Mr. Shen, you are so handsome, you could probably take them all away without any problem. You can't handle it without a healthy body, hahaha."

"Yeah, 25 of them. I don't know if I can handle it."

And so the two made a pact to "find 25 princesses for President Shen".

Afterwards, Shen Kang had to go about his business.

Wei Shengjun pushed his car keys over directly. "President Shen, I picked you up. It's not convenient for you to move around here by yourself, so please take my car and use it for as long as you like. When you want to leave, just drive the car back to the factory and leave the keys. I'll let my subordinates know."

Having a car would indeed be more convenient, so Shen Kang didn't refuse. He took Wei Shengjun's car keys and went downstairs.

Wei Shengjun drove an Audi A8 to the industry conference this time, and the car key he was given was also this one.

After getting into the car, Shen Kang drove directly out of the factory area and headed towards the Third Welfare Home.

Just before we arrived at the welfare home, we turned a corner.

After turning several corners, it finally stopped outside an old residential area.

After getting off the bus, Shen Kang entered the residential area and, familiar with the layout, arrived at Building 3. He went into Unit 1 and went straight to the door of apartment 101, where he knocked.

"Who is it?" A voice came from inside very quickly.

"I am Shen Kang," Shen Kang replied.

A moment later, a sound approached from behind the door, and the door opened, revealing Shi Jian sitting in a wheelchair behind the security door.

"Brother Jian."

Shen Kang greeted him, thinking to himself, "What a coincidence, Brother Jian has lived in this neighborhood for two lifetimes."

He also remembered that in his previous life, Shi Jian had lived in this neighborhood for a long time. He had been here many times, so he was quite familiar with the place.

In this life, Shi Jian became his customer service employee. Shen Kang would contact Shi Jian online from time to time to find out about the situation on the customer service side. So he also learned that after Shi Jian took the customer service job he gave him, he moved out of the welfare home and rented a house in this community.

"Shen Kang".

Shi Jian looked towards the door with a delighted expression, clearly happy to see Shen Kang there.

Then she hurriedly opened the security gate. "Come in quickly. What brings you here? Is your school on holiday? But that doesn't make sense; it's November, there aren't any public holidays. Today is Sunday, and you made a special trip back to the High-tech Zone on Sunday?..."

Shi Jian kept talking as he slowly wheeled himself into the house, making room for himself.

Shen Kang followed him inside, closing both doors behind him. He casually explained to Shi Jian, "There aren't any public holidays. I was just discussing business with a boss and came to the High-Tech Zone. Since I was already here, I thought I'd come and see you..."

As he spoke, Shen Kang quickly surveyed the house where Shi Jian lived.

Generally speaking, it's a typical 1990s-style decor, but the living room is quite different:

The living room was almost completely emptied; there were no sofas or televisions. In their place were three tables and three computers, arranged with one seat on the left and two on the right.

The computer on the left is empty; it's probably Shi Jian's computer.

In front of the two computers on the right, two people, a man and a woman, were working. They both looked to be in their early twenties.

The man, like Shi Jian, was also in a wheelchair.

The woman sat in a normal chair.

The living room wasn't big. After Shen Kang took a couple of steps in, he saw their computer desktops: one was the backend interface of Xianyu.com, and the other was the backend interface of Beiming Community.

Upon hearing someone enter, both of them turned to look.

"This is President Shen Kang."

Shi Jian introduced Shen Kang to the two of them first.

The two men had probably heard about Shen Kang from Shi Jian, so they weren't surprised by Shen Kang's age. However, they became somewhat reserved after learning that the person in front of them was Shen Kang.

Then Shi Jian introduced the two people to Shen Kang.

First, he gestured to the man who was also in a wheelchair, saying, "This is Luo Hui." Then he gestured to the woman, saying, "This is Zhao Huizi."

"Hello." "Hello."...

When the three greeted each other, Zhao Huizi didn't speak, but just made hand gestures, like a Naruto character performing hand seals.

Shen Kang was not surprised by this: in his daily contact with Shi Jian, he already knew that the two were Shi Jian's newly recruited employees, and that Luo Hui was paralyzed in the lower limbs and Zhao Huizi was mute.

"You can continue your work."

Shi Jian spoke to the two of them, and they turned back to work.

Shen Kang spoke up, looking quite interested: "Brother Jian, would you like to show me where you usually live?"

"Okay."

Shi Jian then led the way in his wheelchair, showing Shen Kang around the entire house.

"It's a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment that the three of us share. We've made some minor renovations to make it more convenient for Luo Hui and me. We usually work in the living room and then go back to our rooms to sleep at night..."

Shi Jian walked and introduced the place, seemingly in high spirits.

He was indeed in high spirits, after all, he now has a stable job that allows him to support himself and also helps his friends by introducing them to this good, stable job, thus realizing his own value.

Shi Jian was quite satisfied with his life over the past period.

As Shen Kang toured the site, he would occasionally ask questions.

"Judging from the look of this kitchen, do you usually cook for yourselves?"

"Okay, let's take turns doing it."

"Are your daily expenses high? Is your salary enough?"

"It's more than enough, more than enough. After all, the apartment is shared, and meals are also shared, so it only costs a few hundred yuan a month when split between the two. My salary is more than enough."...

The two walked and talked until they arrived at Shi Jian's room.

Shen Kang closed the door, and seeing that there were no chairs in the room, he looked at the bed and asked, "Brother Jian, can I sit on the bed?"

Shi Jian chuckled. "Sit down. You never used to ask me that when you were still in the hospital. You've really grown up now, gone to university, and are a boss now. Things are definitely different, haha."

Shen Kang chuckled, plopped down on the edge of the bed, and started chatting with Shi Jian: "Luo Hui and Zhao Huizi, did you meet them outside, Brother Jian?"

Shi Jian, sitting in his wheelchair, nodded: "Yes, we met back in school and have a good relationship. I was too busy with work recently, so after you asked me to hire more people, I called them over."

Shen Kang then asked, "Brother Jian, do you know many friends like this? The kind who would be suitable for customer service?"

Shi Jian thought for a moment and said, "There are quite a few people who can do customer service. Among them, I think these two are the most educated, so as soon as you said you were hiring, I called them over first. If you need more people later, I have more available."

At this point, Shi Jian became interested: "What? Are you recruiting again?"

Shen Kang nodded. "I just saw that Zhao Huizi handles the work of the Beiming Community. She should have noticed the recent surge in traffic to the Beiming Community. I do have some people at my school, but I plan to have them all do content creation. Customer service will be handled by you guys..."

After chatting about work for a while, the two gradually started talking about their lives.

Shen Kang also mentioned that Wei Shengjun had invited him to dinner for an event: "...The boss said he would call five princesses over for me. From what he said, I could have all five. I thought I still had to come and see you guys, so I quickly slipped away."

Shi Jian listened, his eyes filled with longing.

But as soon as he saw Shen Kang looking over, he immediately became serious and gave a very composed chuckle.

Shen Kang smiled but didn't say anything.

After a moment of silence, Shi Jian suddenly spoke up: "Xiao Kang, you're an adult now, and your business has grown quite a bit. Have you... ever tried that kind of thing?"

Shen Kang thought for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, I have."

After saying that, without Shi Jian even asking, he began to speak: "Actually, there are two types of business banquets. One is going for a massage, and the other is going to a karaoke bar."

"For massages, it's a bit more straightforward. Once you arrive and take a shower, you each find a private room to lie down. Someone will come over and ask if you know anyone. If you do, and they're available, you can call them over. If not, the shop will arrange for someone to come over. If you're not satisfied, you can change it."

"Once the person is chosen, it's time for the massage. There are two types of massage: vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Generally speaking, the vegetarian type is of higher quality. Of course, if you're skilled, handsome, and exceptionally gifted, you might be able to make the other person spontaneously become non-vegetarian during the vegetarian process..."

Shi Jianting was completely absorbed.

Shen Kang continued.

"When it comes to shopping karaoke, it's not so straightforward. Speaking of shopping karaoke, we have to talk about karaoke bars. There are two types of karaoke bars: one is a chain karaoke bar, which is simply a place to sing. The price is relatively low, and students, white-collar workers, and friends and family can all go there if they want to sing or celebrate birthdays."

"However, I've heard that some chain karaoke bars are now starting to outsource hostesses. They don't stay on-site; if needed, the manager can call them over temporarily."

"The other type is a business-style KTV, or business K for short. Business KTVs are more expensive and usually have a minimum spending requirement. Once you're inside, you can call over the hostesses, and if you're not satisfied, you can ask for a replacement. Generally speaking, the hostesses at business KTVs are of higher quality than those at massage parlors."

"The quality is ranked from high to low, from commercial to vegetarian to meat, which is basically the order."

"As for Princess K, once you've chosen her and she's in, she'll just accompany you to sing songs and drink drinks. Nothing else will happen on the spot. You'll have to negotiate the price yourselves. If you've agreed on a price, or if she's willing, you can take her away. But that's not absolute..."

Shen Kang spoke at length.

Shi Jian listened attentively from beginning to end.

After he finished speaking, Shi Jian still seemed a little unsatisfied, and there was an undisguised envy in his eyes as he looked at Shen Kang.

He has been disabled since he was very young.

Shi Jian also knew that he was different from ordinary people.

For Shi Jian, being able to survive on his own, despite being so different, is already the greatest goal in life.

As for things that other normal people would do, such as getting married, he wouldn't even dare to think about them.

However, Shi Jian was only crippled in his legs; he did not lose his genitals.

He is a human being, a man, and has needs.

However, his physical condition made him inherently inferior to others, making it impossible for him to face that desire.

Only at this moment, listening to Shen Kang talk about those things, did his desire to wield the sword seem to be somewhat satisfied...

Shen Kang looked at Shi Jian, smiled, and said, "Brother Jian, how about I take you to sing karaoke tonight?"

Shi Jian was startled, realizing what kind of singing Shen Kang was referring to, and quickly waved his hands, saying, "Never mind, never mind."

"Don't be shy. And don't worry about the money, it's on me."

"Really, forget it, no, no." Shi Jian's hand shook even more violently.

Actually, when Shen Kang said he would take him to sing karaoke, Shi Jian was very tempted. But when he thought about the beautiful women Shen Kang described, when he thought about going there in a wheelchair, and when he thought about the way they would look at him...

Shi Jian had seen too many looks like that.

Disgust, pity, fear, sympathy...

Whether it was positive or negative, Shi Jian didn't really like it.

If he were to actually go singing with Shen Kang and see those looks in the eyes of those beautiful women, he felt he wouldn't be able to bear it and would feel extremely uncomfortable.

"...Then forget it." Shen Kang looked at Shi Jian and finally figured out something, so he didn't insist any further.

He remained silent for the time being.

Shi Jian didn't speak either, his eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if he was thinking about something.

Finally, Shen Kang broke the silence, "Brother Jian, are you in a relationship?"

Shi Jian's reverie was broken, and he exclaimed, "Huh?" He hadn't heard what Shen Kang had just said.

Shen Kang repeated his question, and Shi Jian laughed self-deprecatingly, "Xiao Kang, you know my situation. I'm like this..."

As he spoke, Shi Jian slammed his right fist against his right leg. "Who would want me?"

"What's the big deal?"

Shen Kang casually gave an example, "You know Stephen Hawking, right? He couldn't move his whole body, but he still had two wives. The first one was one thing, but the second wife married him after he became immobile. Brother Jian, you only can't move your legs, it's nowhere near as serious as Hawking's situation."

Shi Jian had indeed heard of Hawking, and he found it both funny and absurd. "How can I compare to him? He's a great scientist, and I'm just an ordinary person."

Shen Kang denied this claim, saying, "Brother Jian, how can you be just an ordinary person? You're now the head of customer service at Xianyu.com and Beiming Community! Don't be fooled by the fact that you only have two people under you now. As Xianyu.com and Beiming Community grow and expand, you'll have many more people under you. I reckon that once these two websites reach a nationwide scale, you'll be managing hundreds or even thousands of people."

"Putting everything else aside, could Hawking really manage that many people? Just in terms of the number of people he manages, you'll be better than Hawking, Jian-ge. And as for salary, I reckon you'll be making at least several hundred thousand a year, right? You'll be absolutely top-notch! Even if you have that little defect, I believe many girls won't mind. At that time, not only normal girls, but I think quite a few beautiful girls will want to date you, or even marry you..."

Shi Jian actually listened to that.

After all, the dream Shen Kang described was beautiful, and he was willing to listen.

After listening, Shi Jian quickly woke up from the dream and joked, "Then it's up to you, Boss Shen, to work hard and make these two websites bigger and stronger."

Shen Kang nodded, chuckled, and patted Shi Jian on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Brother Jian. To help you find love and get married, I also have to work hard to make these two websites successful."

After seeing Shi Jian, Shen Kang said he was going to visit the director and children at the welfare home, and then he left.

After seeing Shen Kang off and closing the door, Shi Jian passed by the entrance hall and noticed a spot on the counter that had clearly been disturbed. His eyes lit up, and he reached out his hand.

"It must have been Xiao Kang who left the money; we'll transfer it back to him..."

As Shi Jian thought this, he rummaged through the items and was then stunned—there was no money left by Shen Kang as he had imagined. Instead, a small bag of biscuits that he had left there was gone; it must have been taken by Shen Kang.

"……Ha ha ha ha."

Shi Jian laughed out loud, then shook his head repeatedly, thinking about that kid Shen Kang. Then he thought of more things, and gradually stopped laughing, sitting still.

After a long while, a barely audible sound finally came through.

"I also want to be loved..."