I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

In the morning at Yangko University of Science and Technology, the campus is filled with students heading to class.

The December sun was a bit pale, and although it still provided some warmth, it couldn't dispel the increasingly cold air around us. The students had put on their cotton-padded coats and thick jackets to keep warm, making them all look rather bulky.

Shen Kang, wearing a thick jacket, squatted at the entrance of Dormitory No. 3, holding his phone to his ear and talking on the phone.

"...The training should focus on key points. When conducting door-to-door presentations, only convey the message; you must not offend the clients..."

Today, not only did Anjia Tongcheng Hui 1.0 launch, but Huanhuan.com, which had been prepared for a long time, also launched simultaneously.

At Anjia Household Services, the employees have undergone another round of training and will be adding new tasks to their work today.

It can be said that a new battle is beginning, and he is having his final pre-battle communication with Zhong Weiting.

"...That's about it. Keep a close eye on the situation on the front lines, and contact me immediately if there's any important news or feedback. Okay, that's all."

After Shen Kang finished speaking, he hung up the phone and looked around absentmindedly.

The cold weather couldn't extinguish the flames of love. At the entrance of the girls' dormitory, a few boys were still scattered around him. Some were holding bags containing breakfast, probably for their girlfriends; others were empty-handed, seemingly going to have breakfast with their girlfriends.

After Shen Kang waited for a while, He Qiuzhu and her roommates came out.

The most eye-catching one is naturally He Qiuzhu in the middle.

She wore a dark green double-faced cashmere coat that reached her calves, with the belt casually tied at the waist, outlining her slender figure. A section of off-white turtleneck sweater peeked out from the coat's collar, and her scarf, wrapped casually, perfectly accentuated the smallness and whiteness of her face, making it appear as delicate and smooth as porcelain. The tip of her nose was slightly red from the cold, her eyes remained cool and aloof, and her features were deep and distinct, a beauty that made one hesitant to look at her for long.

She's beautiful, but she's too stunningly thin. She'd be even cuter if she wore more clothes and wrapped up like a chubby silkworm. Shen Kang stood up, lost in thought.

When He Qiuzhu saw him, she also broke away from the crowd and quickly walked over to him, obediently stopping beside him and looking up at him.

The boys at the dormitory entrance had all been drawn to her when she came out. Now that they saw she seemed to be taken, they couldn't help but sigh and look away.

Shen Kang looked at her and said, "Did you sleep well yesterday?"

"Mmm." He Qiuzhu nodded obediently.

"It's time to adjust my schedule. Final exams are coming up soon, time to start studying..."

As the two were talking, Fu Rong and the others came over.

Hearing "review", Fu Rong felt a little relieved. "It's a good thing you and she are not in the same major and your courses are different. Otherwise, she would probably be running around every day to help you review, and we would be completely lost."

"What are you talking about? Do I need someone else to help me review?"

"Heh, who doesn't know you? You skip class every day, your books are probably all brand new."...

As they talked, they set off towards the second canteen, chatting as they walked.

Shen Kang breathed in the slightly chilly air, smelled the faint fragrance emanating from He Qiuzhu beside him, and bickered with He Qiuzhu's roommates. After several busy days, he felt quite pleasant and relaxed to have such a leisurely morning.

As they chatted, Du Nanxin asked Shen Kang, "What have you been doing these past few days? It's been several days since I saw you kidnap Qiuzhu. That's quite rare."

"Busy," Shen Kang said casually, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, are any of you, or any of your friends, planning to take the civil service exam?"

Fu Rong and the others exchanged bewildered glances. "Isn't it only senior year students who can take the civil service exam? We're only freshmen, what are we going to do about it?"

Shen Kang directly repeated what he had learned from Liang Zhidao: "That's not how it's said. The actual exam is indeed in the senior year, but preparation can begin in the freshman year. You could even say that the freshman year is the golden period for preparing for the civil service exam!..."

Shen Kang talked all the way until they were almost at the second canteen before he finally finished.

Du Nanxin seemed to take it to heart, and said thoughtfully, "What you said seems to make sense."

Seeing that someone was genuinely interested, Shen Kang perked up. "You're absolutely right! Since you also think it's reasonable to prepare for the civil service exam in your freshman year, then you'll need some study materials. Luckily, I've just started a new website called Huanhuan.com, which has some secondhand civil service exam materials. I highly recommend you buy them."

Du Nanxin chuckled, "So that's why you've been nowhere to be seen these past few days. Turns out you've been working on a new website. Even when you're out having dinner with He Qiuzhu, you're always trying to sell it to us. You're really dedicated. But why would I buy your secondhand instead of a new one?"

Shen Kang said, "Of course, it's because secondhand is better. The original owners of these secondhand civil service exam materials are all predecessors who have successfully passed the exam and are all outstanding talents. They either go to the provincial government or the local tax bureau. These are not ordinary secondhand civil service exam materials. Putting aside the value of the notes of those successful people in these materials, just the fact that they have a 'passing the exam buff' is something you can't find anywhere else..."

The group chatted as they walked to the entrance of the second canteen, went inside, bought breakfast, and sat down.

Having been brainwashed by Shen Kang all the way here, Du Nanxin was actually a little tempted. While munching on a steamed bun, she thought to herself, "Shen Kang patted his chest and guaranteed that the original owners of all the secondhand civil service exam materials on his website were already successful civil servants. If that's the case, then buying these materials from him would actually be a good option if I really wanted to prepare for the civil service exam… Wait, why do I seem to actually be preparing for the civil service exam?"

After Shen Kang finished his presentation, he stopped talking.

Just as I was about to sit down, I realized quite by chance that Ma Liang was sitting at the next table. He was sitting alone, drinking a bowl of porridge, with dark circles under his eyes and looking listless, as if he hadn't woken up properly.

"What a coincidence, Lao Ma."

Shen Kang sat down and greeted him, "Didn't sleep well last night?"

Ma Liang glanced at him listlessly. "Good morning, boss. Don't you know whether I slept well or not?"

Shen Kang chuckled, pretending not to understand the complaint in his tone.

Ma Liang seemed to have a strong urge to confide in others. Once he started talking, he couldn't stop. He even stopped drinking his porridge and began complaining to Shen Kang: "Boss, I've been through so much these past few days. I've been so distracted deleting forms that I'm completely disoriented."

"When those two websites went bankrupt, I was just like these past few days, constantly deleting tables. These past few days, I've been deleting tables again, and it feels like I'm back in those days when the websites went bankrupt. Every time I doze off for a bit, and then I wake up and look at the table, I feel a bit dazed. I wonder if I'm back in that nightmare again..."

Shen Kang waited until he finished speaking before offering a comforting remark, "Hey, isn't it over already? Go back and get a good night's sleep after dinner to recharge. Your mission is complete."

……

Shen Kang, meanwhile, was leisurely enjoying his university life.

Meanwhile, in Yangcheng City, in a mid-to-high-end residential area, in a three-bedroom apartment.

Yang Shumin was in the kitchen, putting the teacups that had been steeping overnight into the sink.

This is a woman in her forties. She is well-maintained and seems to lead a relaxed and comfortable life.

That is indeed the case.

Yang Shumin's husband was a minor leader in the government system. Although they weren't extremely wealthy, they were certainly well-off, far better off than the average person. Since marrying him, Yang Shumin had never experienced hardship and had nothing to worry about.

The only thing I need to worry about is my son. I need to worry about his job and his wedding.

Now, however, I only need to worry about my son's wedding. Last year, he successfully passed the civil service exam and got a job in a provincial-level government agency.

This made their whole family very happy.

So now, the only thing Yang Shumin needs to worry about is her son's marriage.

Yang Shumin had met the Zheng family's daughter before. She was pretty and had a dignified air about her. More importantly, her family was well-off. Her parents were both tobacco workers, so they were a respectable family. She was much better than the vocational school student her son had dated before... Yang Shumin thought to herself as she put her teacup into the sink.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Hearing the doorbell ring, Yang Shumin wiped her hands, left the kitchen, and went to open the door.

Standing at the door was a cleaning lady from Anjia Housekeeping—a woman in her early thirties named Sister Liu. Yang Shumin's house was her assigned area, and she came every two weeks; she had been doing this for four months.

"Good morning, Sister Yang." Sister Liu changed into shoe covers at the door, then skillfully carried her tool bag inside. "Same as usual today? Focus on the living room and bedroom, and maybe the kitchen?"

"Okay, just mop the living room floor once, the bedroom doesn't need to be too thorough." Yang Shumin took off her apron and hung it behind the kitchen door. "I'm working from home today. I'll be in the study when you're here. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay."

Sister Liu started working, first tidying up the clutter on the coffee table in the living room. Her movements were quick and efficient, and she didn't say a word, just like usual.

Yang Shumin took a glass of water into the study, opened her laptop, and prepared to deal with the emails she hadn't finished replying to yesterday.

About forty minutes later, Yang Shumin came out to get water. As she passed through the living room, Sister Liu was wiping the bookshelves, holding a damp cloth and gently wiping the dust off each shelf.

Yang Shumin saw Sister Liu wiping the third shelf of the bookshelf—where her son's civil service exam materials from last year were stored: a stack of books, notebooks, printed past exam papers, and a large bag of loose pages, piled up for more than half a year without being touched.

"Sister Liu, there's no need to wipe that layer anymore. It's covered in old books and has too much dust; it won't get clean," Yang Shumin said casually.

Sister Liu responded, moved the books aside, wiped the shelf, and then put the books back in their original positions one by one. As she did so, she picked up the top book, "Essay Writing," flipped through the cover, but didn't open it.

Then she turned her head, her tone casual yet natural: "Sister Yang, is this for your child?"

Yang Shumin placed the water glass on the dining table and sat down: "Yes, these are my son's. He took the civil service exam last year and passed this spring, working for a provincial government agency. These things have been sitting here for more than half a year, and I haven't tidied them up."

When talking about "provincial-level government agencies", Yang Shumin straightened her back involuntarily, and looked very proud.

"So your child passed the exam?" Sister Liu's tone carried a hint of natural surprise and admiration. "Oh my, that's no easy feat. Several of my clients have children who are also taking the exam, some for two or three years without success. Your child is truly remarkable."

Yang Shumin's lips curled up slightly, but she didn't reply.

Sister Liu put the "Essay Writing" book back in its place, dusted off imaginary dust from her hands, and then said, "Sister Yang, I have a question—what are you planning to do with this pile of documents?"

Yang Shumin glanced at the stack of books: "I was thinking of selling them as scrap, but I haven't gotten around to it. Besides, those notebooks were written by him, so it's a bit of a waste to throw them away."

"Indeed." Sister Liu nodded. "During company training, they talked about something. They said that after a child passed the civil service exam, the valuable thing about the pile of books and notes on his desk wasn't the paper itself, but what was written on it. All those circles, underlines, red pen annotations, and self-summarized mnemonics were more useful to the next person preparing for the exam than any training course."

Yang Shumin listened without interrupting. She had indeed seen her son's notes—densely filled with writing, the handwriting was ugly, but every page contained something. At the time, she didn't think much of it, just that "this kid's handwriting is really messy."

Ms. Liu continued, "That's why our company recently launched something called 'Swap.com,' which is specifically designed to help customers deal with things that are 'taking up space but are a waste to throw away.' Things like your child's civil service exam materials, notebooks, and those electronic dictionaries that you only used for a short time before discarding—we can collect them, organize them, and resell them to college students who need them."

Yang Shumin understood: "You want to pay money to buy these things and then sell them for money?"

He instinctively wanted to refuse.

What she just told Yang Shumin, "I wanted to sell it as scrap," is true, and "I haven't had time to" is also true, but ultimately, the reason she hasn't had time to sell it is because she's too lazy to do so.

These things, if sold, would be worth at most a few dozen yuan? Maybe even less? Selling these things for such a small amount of money isn't worth it; her family isn't short of cash. It's better to keep them as souvenirs.

In Yang Shumin's opinion, if Anjia Housekeeping were to collect these things and sell them, the profit would probably be only slightly higher than that of those who collect scrap metal, at most a few dozen yuan.

Yang Shumin had previously been too lazy to sell these things for a few dozen yuan, so naturally she wouldn't be willing to now either.

So, I subconsciously wanted to refuse.

Sister Liu, however, spoke first, following the training: "Sister Yang, it's like this, we don't pay you when we buy these civil service exam materials, and we don't give you a share after they're put on the shelves and sold."

Yang Shumin was stunned: "They take your own things to sell for money, and then don't even share the profits. And they say it's so aboveboard?"

She was so angry she almost laughed.

But Sister Liu hadn't finished speaking.

"But we will make a commemorative album and an honorary medal for you. In addition, we will also mark who ultimately received the civil service exam materials you donated, and whether that person passed the exam or not. As the donor, you can see all of this. Perhaps, your donation of these materials can help a college student succeed in the civil service exam and change the fate of his family."