I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

"Mr. Zhou, the person has arrived," Secretary Zhang said as she stepped forward.

The old man nodded, looking at Shen Kang, and discerned something from the other's expression. "You've guessed who I am?"

"More or less," Shen Kang said noncommittally.

The old man chuckled and, without further ado, got straight to the point: "After our last conversation, I felt what you said made a lot of sense, so I restarted one of the group's waste-to-energy projects, choosing Ningyang City in Handong as the location. I'd like to ask if you'd be interested in serving as a strategic advisor for this project?"

Shen Kang's expression was strange: "No, old man, this project of yours must be worth at least several hundred million, right? I've been bragging to you for so long, and you want me to be your strategic advisor? Besides, I've already been admitted to Yangcheng University of Science and Technology and I'm about to start school. Ningyang City is so far away, I can't just split myself in two, can I?"

The old man waved his hand: "The title of strategic advisor sounds impressive, but there's not much real work involved. Others will handle the specifics. Your job is to review the documents and point out anything you think is wrong. If there's nothing you think is wrong, you can just watch the show. It's very easy."

"As for the location, that's not a problem at all. You can continue your studies in Yangcheng as usual. I'll arrange a trustworthy assistant for you in Handong to act as your eyes and ears. He'll send you all the information remotely throughout the process, and you can treat it as reading material in your spare time. Besides, if anything really needs to be dealt with, it's only a two-hour flight there."

The old man had spent a short time figuring out all aspects of this "strategic advisor" he had come up with on the spot. His main purpose was to train Shen Kang, and he didn't expect Shen Kang to achieve anything right now.

Shen Kang understood the implication and felt relieved. He then asked, "What about the salary?"

"Fixed salary, 5 per month."

Shen Kang laughed: This is great! He doesn't have to do anything, he just lends his name, and he earns an extra 5 yuan a month. That's enough for him to bring in 500 new clients for Anjia.

"If something really happens and I need to fly there, do you have a private jet?" Shen Kang pressed the opportunity.

The old man puffed out his beard and glared, "A private jet? Not even first class! I'll just reimburse you for economy class."

Shen Kang said with a hint of regret, "Could you reimburse me for two economy class tickets each time? I have an assistant too."

The old man had initially been quite pleased to see this kid, but now he was thoroughly annoyed and waved his hand repeatedly, "Fine, fine, fine, I'll reimburse you for two economy class tickets each time. Did you agree? If you agreed, get lost!"

Shen Kang happily bid farewell and left with a smug look on his face. Just as he was about to go out, the old man suddenly called him back: "Don't tell Zhou Man about our two meetings or your role as strategic advisor."

"What did you say to her?" Shen Kang asked, puzzled. "I just went downstairs to buy a bottle of Coke and then went back to my room. Did anything happen?"

The old man couldn't help but smirk, then fell silent, finding the young man quite interesting.

Shen Kang was also escorted to the door by Secretary Zhang.

"By the way, I still don't know what to call you?" Shen Kang asked him.

Secretary Zhang introduced himself: "Zhang, the 'Wei' in 'guard' and the 'Hong' in 'red,' so I'm Zhang Weihong. I'll send you the contact information for the person in Handong later."

This idea was originally Zhang's own foolishness, forced upon him by the old man. He had no one to contact, so naturally he could only find someone first and then contact Shen Kang later.

Zhang Weihong added, "Let's exchange phone numbers. Mr. Shen, if you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, please feel free to call me."

"Thank you in advance, Brother Zhang."

Shen Kang then exchanged phone numbers with Zhang Weihong before going downstairs to his room, where he lay on the sofa and spaced out for a while.

Old Zhou's identity is quite obvious; he is Zhou Man's father.

Shen Kang couldn't understand why Old Man Zhou wasn't angry about Zhou Man's absurd actions, but instead was very friendly to his adopted grandson.

However, this is their family matter, and if he can't figure it out, he won't dwell on it.

Meanwhile, on the same floor, in Zhou Man's room

The laptop was laid out on the table.

Zhou Man had changed into a bathrobe and was sitting in front of her computer dealing with work.

My QQ suddenly buzzed; it was a group message from the "Operations Coordination Committee."

What happened?

Zhou Man opened the group chat and found that He Qiuzhu had posted a photo, which was the same group photo they had taken at the Bird's Nest before.

He Qiuzhu quickly followed up with two more messages.

"Oops, I sent it to the wrong person."

"I want to take a picture, but my camera is full and I need to delete some. So I'm thinking of uploading this photo to the group album and downloading and printing it later. I'll think about it some more."

Then another message popped up.

Mr. Wang, General Manager of AAA Building Materials Wholesale: "Ah, yes, yes, yes."

Guan Bupo: "Shen Kang, what do you mean?"

Mr. Wang, General Manager of AAA Building Materials Wholesale: "What I mean is, she's such a scatterbrain. Mr. Zhou, what do you mean? Do you have something else in mind? Say it out loud."

Guan Bupo: "What I mean is that you should go to sleep. Kids won't grow tall if they stay up late."

Mr. Wang, General Manager of AAA Building Materials Wholesale: "I think 1.82 meters is barely enough. Any taller and I'm afraid the NBA will come after me. After all, I just want to be a low-key college student."

After arguing with Shen Kang on the keyboard for a while, Zhou Man took a break, opened the group album, and quietly looked at the photo that He Qiuzhu had just uploaded.

Without realizing it, the corners of my mouth turned up in a smile.

……

Going to Yanjing to watch the opening ceremony was just a "mission". The next day, the family of four returned to Yangcheng from Yanjing, and Shen Kang threw himself back into his work.

With its cash-burning strategy, Anjia's business has also developed rapidly. By August 11, exactly one month after its opening, the number of orders in the first month reached 2490! Even after deducting the more than 1200 first orders that lost money, the number of repeat orders exceeded 1000.

Correspondingly, the workforce has also grown rapidly, with 30 contracted cleaning staff, 10 inspectors, and management personnel, bringing the company's total to nearly 50 people.

Shen Kang had already spent nearly 200,000 yuan, so he didn't care about spending a little more. He went straight to a hotel, booked five tables, and invited everyone to celebrate.

The atmosphere was very lively, and everyone was very happy.

Meng Dawei was the happiest, his face flushed from drinking.

Meng Dawei was naturally happy, because he was the "cleaning champion" in Anjia's first month! Just now, Shen Kang had pulled him up and specially praised him in front of everyone, and even gave him an extra 1000 yuan bonus.

Last month, Meng Dawei worked himself to the bone, but his earnings were also incredibly high, reaching 5600 yuan! After deducting the 400 yuan tool kit that the company initially paid for for them, his income was still 5200 yuan. Adding the 1000 yuan bonus for being the "cleaning champion," it came to a staggering 6200 yuan!

You know, a waiter in a small restaurant in Yangcheng only earns 1800 yuan a month, and a college graduate only earns around 2200 yuan. But Meng Dawei earned 6200 yuan a month and was even publicly praised. How could he not be happy?

Apart from Meng Dawei, the other cleaners earned between 4000 and 5000 yuan last month, which is already a very high income, so everyone is very happy today.

Meng Dawei initially came to Anjia because he had just lost his job and was desperate to find one. Anjia promised a basic salary, so he decided to give it a try. He never expected to earn so much!

This high income is also the fundamental reason why Anjia can provide high-quality services. After all, you can't expect someone to provide high-quality services with very little money.

Of course, while some people make a fortune, others are struggling to make ends meet.

Kang Zhengyang then pulled Shen Kang aside and started talking about this matter.

"...Our model does have a good reputation, but the profit margin is just too low. After deducting the initial investment and marketing costs, the net profit in the first month is only 9%! If we hire a few more inspectors, even this small net profit will be squeezed dry."

Every advantage has its disadvantages. Anjia's ability to build a good reputation and rapidly expand its user base inevitably comes at the cost of increased expenses, such as the "monitor" position. The price of this is extremely low profit margins.

"So, Mr. Shen, I'm thinking, shouldn't we expand into some higher-profit services, such as appliance repair, major item maintenance, and third-party services?"

Shen Kang had drunk a bit too much, and his face was a little flushed, but his mind was still relatively clear: "Teacher Kang, your idea is excellent. This is also my plan for the future. You can start working on this now, and it will also enrich our product line. However, there is one thing: daily cleaning is the foundation of Anjia and also our key to attracting customers. The service quality in this area cannot be lowered; that's my bottom line."

After the two finalized their development plan, Kang Zhengyang got to work on it. Within a few days, he opened the new "Third Sister Group" and "Maintenance Group," which, together with the existing "Cleaning Group," formed the three pillars of Anjia's business. Then, he began recruiting and training service personnel for the two new groups.

After a busy week, it was almost late August.

Shen Kang is also going to start school soon.

He was successfully admitted to Yangcheng University of Science and Technology and is scheduled to report on August 26th. With only a few days left, he's been handing over his work these past few days…

That noon, Meng Dawei came to the store and approached Shen Kang.

Looking at Shen Kang's young face, Meng Dawei felt a little guilty: a housekeeping company owner had approached him these past few days, offering him a manager position where he wouldn't have to work himself to the bone as a cleaner, and would earn 5000 yuan a month. All he would have to do was replicate Anjia's system.

In short, Meng Dawei, the "first month's cleaning champion of Anjia," has been poached.

Meng Dawei never expected that he would be poached by another company. It was amazing. Moreover, the offer was indeed tempting, and he was already considering switching jobs there.

This is why Meng Dawei felt guilty when he saw Shen Kang.

However, he came today not to resign, but for something else.

"President Shen, I won't ask for leave for the last few days at the end of August. I'll cancel my leave here instead." Meng Dawei forced a smile, trying his best not to let Shen Kang see his guilty conscience.

Shen Kang also looked up from behind the computer screen, somewhat puzzled: "Oh? I remember you said your son got into Ningyang Engineering College in Handong, and you were going to take him to school. Why didn't you ask for leave all of a sudden?"

Meng Dawei gave a wry smile: "My kid said he's all grown up and can manage on his own, and he absolutely refuses to let me go. I'm not going, so I won't take this leave."

Shen Kang thought for a moment and asked, "Uncle Dawei, do you want to go and take your son there yourself?"

Meng Dawei remained silent.

Of course he wants to, how could he not? But the kid just won't let him, he's so stubborn, what can he do?

Shen Kang could tell the answer from his expression, so he smiled and said, "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to send your son to university for the first time. Uncle Dawei, don't cancel your leave yet. I'll go to your house with you after get off work today. Leave this to me."

Meng Dawei was taken aback.