I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Do you need to talk to yourself about something?

Shen Kang then told Yin Zhiqian and the others to go back to Yang University of Science and Technology first.

He himself followed Mu Xin into the house.

The shop was empty. Mu Gang, who was just here, was gone. Nobody knew where he had gone.

Shen Kang sat down at the table where they had just been sitting.

Mu Xin went to the counter and brought over a drink and a glass of water. She placed the drink in front of Shen Kang and took the glass of water herself, sitting down opposite him.

"I want to tell you about my dad."

Mu Xin got straight to the point.

At first, she genuinely believed that Shen Kang was a superhuman like her father, but now she knew that Shen Kang was just a normal person. Therefore, in her eyes, what Shen Kang had said to Mu Gang before was naturally just empty talk to coax Mu Gang into not obstructing the shop transfer, and she wouldn't take it seriously.

This is what she wants to tell Shen Kang now.

"Shen Kang, I know that everything you said to my dad just now was to prevent him from interfering. You won't actually do it once the contract is signed. But I want to tell you, you can't just do nothing; at least put on a show."

As Mu Xin spoke, she even offered Shen Kang some advice: "For example, you can post a few things on the Beiming Community and then leave it alone. That would be considered helping him promote his work."

Fearing Shen Kang wouldn't understand, she explained further: "You don't know my dad; he can be quite reckless sometimes. If you really don't do anything, he might actually cause trouble at your physical store if he gets into a bad mood."

Shen Kang looked intrigued. "Making trouble? Like splashing red paint?"

Mu Xin said, "More or less."

Shen Kang said, "Then you don't need to worry. I'm not lying to him."

Mu Xin was taken aback.

Then he asked, "Are you really planning to form some kind of 'strategic partnership' with him?"

Shen Kang said with certainty, "Of course. I don't have any other strengths, but my greatest strength is that I keep my word. Since I said that I had reached a strategic cooperation with him and would help him promote his website and drive traffic, I will definitely do it."

Mu Xin paused for a moment. Then she asked, "So, you really intend to do what you said about finding someone to write a theme song for him?"

Shen Kang nodded, "Yes."

Mu Xin couldn't understand. "Why? You don't actually believe his methods can succeed, do you?"

Shen Kang smiled. "Maybe?"

Mu Xin fell silent, somewhat confused.

She had already thought Shen Kang was a normal person, so why does he seem to be acting strangely again now? Does he really believe his genius father's methods can work? ...

Mu Xin was confused.

Shen Kang looked around again and asked, "By the way, where's my older brother?"

"I've gone home."

Mu Xin temporarily pulled her thoughts away from the mystery of whether Shen Kang was a normal person and said, "Based on what I know about him, he should have bought some wine and snacks to celebrate."

Shen Kang then asked, "Do you live nearby?"

"No. He built his own house nearby..."

The two started chatting.

Perhaps Mu Xin was also feeling depressed and wanted to confide in someone. Unbeknownst to him, Shen Kang learned more about her family and Mu Gang from Mu Xin.

Mu Xin's family consists of six people: her grandmother, her mother, Mu Gang, Mu Xin, and her two younger brothers, one in junior high school and the other in elementary school.

A family of six lives in a small county town below Yangcheng, crammed into a dilapidated old apartment of just over 60 square meters.

Mu Xin's mother is a sanitation worker in the area.

Mu Gang, on the other hand, did not have a stable job for a long time and did odd jobs everywhere.

Not long ago, Mu Xin called her mother to tell her the good news that a friend had given her a shop.

Then, two days later, Mu Gang arrived.

Mu Gang rented a house nearby and came to her house every day, trying to persuade Mu Xin to transfer the shop to him.

Mu Xin knew her father well; she knew he was unrealistic and daydreamed all the time, so naturally, she would never agree.

The father and daughter were at an impasse, but Mu Xin couldn't resist her father's persistence and eventually gave in, changing the signboard to the one Mu Gang wanted...

"...And then, today came."

Mu Xin picked up the water glass in front of her, took a sip, and put it down.

Shen Kang glanced at her and asked, "You seem to distrust your father?"

Mu Xin chuckled self-deprecatingly. "How could I believe that? He never does anything practical, he just likes to daydream. He also loves buying lottery tickets, he's been buying them ever since I can remember, always dreaming of winning the grand prize and becoming rich overnight. I've told him so many times that the lottery is a scam, even if you were reborn like in a novel and went back to buy lottery tickets, you still wouldn't win, the winning numbers would just change temporarily, but he just won't believe it, saying I've read too many conspiracy theories."

"His current family situation is, in my opinion, no different from the lottery tickets he keeps buying. He doesn't genuinely like this stuff or want to do it; he just wants to get rich overnight."

At this point, Mu Xin's eyes flashed with hatred. "Family is the foundation? Family culture? He himself has no concept of family at all, yet he wants others to accept this so-called family culture. It's ridiculous."

Since her father arrived here not long ago, Mu Xin has received calls from her mother almost every day, asking her to persuade Mu Gang to come home as soon as possible.

My mother is now working, taking care of my grandmother, and looking after my two younger brothers all by herself. Just thinking about it makes me realize how tiring it must be.

But Mu Xin just couldn't persuade her.

This isn't the only time.

In Mu Xin's memory, similar things had happened many times: her father would disappear without a word several times, each disappearance lasting for several months, and then return empty-handed.

In my memory, my mother was always the one who took care of the family.

The father, on the other hand, was more like a tourist...

Shen Kang silently drank his beverage, refusing to comment on other people's family affairs.

Then, putting down her drink, she changed the subject: "By the way, what are your plans after you transfer the shop to me?"

Mu Xin's eyes flickered for a moment, then she said, "Of course, I'll continue going to school."

Shen Kang asked, "You're not doing business anymore?"

Mu Xin said, "Stop doing it, just focus on your studies."

Actually, she planned to get the money and then secretly find another place to open a shop and do some small business.

However, having learned from this experience, she decided to only tell Su Wanwan and no one else, not even her mother, let alone Shen Kang.

After all, Shen Kang and her father are now like "older brother" and "younger brother." Telling Shen Kang would be the same as telling her father, wouldn't that be terrible?

Shen Kang looked at her and smiled. "Actually, university studies are just like that. There's quite a lot of free time. Do you want to consider my suggestion? My shop is about to open and I'm hiring. I think you're pretty good. Why don't you come work at my shop first? On the one hand, you'll get a salary, and on the other hand, you can accumulate some work experience, which will be helpful when you find a job after graduation."

Upon hearing this, Mu Xin's heart stirred.

She knew something about the Beiming Community and had heard that its offline stores were doing quite well. She thought that if she could join and learn from them, it would be helpful for her own business.

"You want me?"

Mu Xin thought for a moment and then spoke up: "I've heard about your shops too, the laundromat, the board game shop, the milk tea shop... but I've never run any of them before, I have no experience."

Shen Kang said, "No experience is fine, you can learn. We have a training process before you start working, which can help you get started."

Mu Xin became increasingly tempted, and finally asked, "Why do you want me?"

Shen Kang didn't hide anything and spoke frankly: "This is Yangshi Normal School after all, and I need a local, and you are that person. Besides, you seem quite eager to change your family's situation, right? You have motivation, which is excellent."

He firmly believes that one is born in hardship and dies in comfort. Mu Xin is currently living in "hardship," which is good, as it gives her a strong motivation to work hard, learn, and make changes.

Abilities and experience are easy to cultivate, but this kind of driving force in life cannot be cultivated.

After thinking for a while, Mu Xin finally agreed, "Okay."

Seeing this, Shen Kang nodded, "Then you should prepare and arrange the course details. I'll arrange for you to go for training in the next couple of days. You'll be leaving Yangshi Normal School and going to the High-tech Zone. Don't worry about food and lodging; they'll take care of that."

The two were discussing work here

North of Yangshi Normal School, there is a cluster of single-story residential houses.

This area is somewhat similar to the back street of Yangko University of Science and Technology. It used to be a village with houses belonging to villagers. Later, the university town came, and some houses were demolished, while others remained, resulting in the current cluster of single-story residential buildings. Because of the low rent, many low-income workers who work nearby live here.

Mu Gang, carrying a bottle of baijiu in his left hand and two plastic bags filled with braised food in his right, swaggered into the alleyway of the residential area.

He was in a great mood, humming the tune of "Outside the Window," and his steps were light and airy.

After turning left and right through the alley, Mu Gang arrived at a house, handed the bag of braised food in his right hand to his left, took out his key, opened the door, and went inside.

This is a one-bedroom apartment that I managed to snag at a bargain price. The walls are covered with yellowed newspapers, many of which are curled up.

Mu Gang sat down on a blue plastic stool next to the folding coffee table. Without going to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks, he threw two plastic bags on the table, opened them, and eagerly picked up two pig ears with his hands and put them in his mouth, crunching and chewing with a look of enjoyment on his face.

He hasn't been able to bring himself to buy these things to eat for quite some time.

While chewing, Mu Gang also opened the bottle of baijiu with his hands. After swallowing the pig's ear in his mouth, he held the bottle to his lips and took a big gulp.

Then he put it down and let out a long "ha".

Mu Gang ate and drank at the same time.

They even started reminiscing about the bitter past and appreciating the sweet present.

He felt that his past life was a nightmare of making the wrong choices.

Back then, he had a great opportunity to work in Yangcheng, but because he met Mu Xin's mother, he couldn't control his lust and got her pregnant. For the sake of the child and Mu Xin's mother, he gave up the opportunity to come to Yangcheng and stayed in that small county town.

At first, things were alright; life wasn't incredibly wealthy, but it was manageable.

But gradually, he was tormented by that boring and gloomy life, and his life became bleak.

Every day, the first thing he thinks about when he opens his eyes is how to earn enough money for his family's food expenses next month; after a hard day's work, he comes home to his constantly crying daughter; Mu Xin's mother is always nagging him about how prices have gone up again; he wants to be affectionate with Mu Xin's mother, but then his mother comes home again...

This was just the beginning; later, with the birth of two sons, life became increasingly bleak.

Finally, one day, Mu Gang had a sudden realization—working for someone else was a dead end; only by becoming a boss could he turn his life around!

So he started buying lottery tickets every single time, discussing the patterns of winning big with other lottery enthusiasts, hoping to one day become rich overnight and completely change his current bleak life; he also began to think about various ways to get rich, and was willing to try anything that a friend mentioned to him...

Life was too bleak, and only by clinging to such a beautiful dream could he persevere.

Moreover, Mu Gang found that his life became easier after this.

When he was in the lottery shop, discussing lotteries and dreaming of winning the jackpot with fellow lottery enthusiasts, he could temporarily escape that gloomy home and be happy; when he went to other places with his friends to make money, he could also temporarily escape that gloomy home and be happy...

And so, he ended up living the life he has now.

"Ha..." Mu Gang swallowed another mouthful of strong liquor, let out a long breath, and shook his head.

After the bitter memories were over, he began to savor the sweet ones.

He didn't think about the specifics of what to do with his family; he simply imagined what his future success would look like.

I arrived at a newly opened store in a Mercedes-Benz.

The scene inside the store was blurry, and it was hard to see what they were selling, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that after he got out of the car, a group of people around him called him "President Mu".

He took the large golden scissors and went up to cut the ribbon.

CCTV also came, carrying cameras and filming them relentlessly.

The reporter even came up to interview him.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, I took a car home.

My home is no longer that old, dilapidated 60-square-meter apartment, but a three-story villa.

Walking inside, Mu Xin's mother was playing mahjong with someone, no longer nagging her about "tuition fees," "bride price," and "house"; her two sons each had a tutor, no longer bothering her with questions about how to solve problems; and her mother had her own maid to take care of her, so she no longer had to clean up after her...

"Hehehehe..."

Mu Gang chewed on a pig's ear, imagining that scene, grinning from ear to ear as he chewed.