I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Fang Tianming had mentioned at the last time at the Thousand Minzu University that Canon China had a cultural sponsorship project for intangible cultural heritage, which he could introduce to Shen Kang.

Fang Tianming wasn't just talking.

Afterwards, Fang Tianming actually arranged a meeting between Canon Zhonghua and Shen Kang.

At that time, the person who represented Canon China was this Mr. Li from the Southwest Region.

With Fang Tianming's mediation, the two parties agreed on a sponsorship project for the Miao embroidery project. When Long Xingchen and his team organized people to collect samples, Canon China would provide certain travel expenses and corresponding sampling equipment.

Therefore, Shen Kang got to know this General Manager Li at that time.

This time, Shen Kang contacted this General Manager Li again, inviting him out for tea, because he had another matter to discuss with General Manager Li.

……

After introducing Mr. Li to Wu Jiahao, Shen Kang introduced the man behind Mr. Li, "This is Mr. Mai, the manager of Canon China's Yangcheng office."

After introducing the two, Shen Kang also briefly introduced Wu Jiahao to General Manager Li and the others: "This is Wu Jiahao, a college classmate and friend of mine."

Mr. Li, the general manager of Canon China, whose full name is Li Shuwen, is a man in his early forties, about 1.8 meters tall, with a rather thin build, neatly trimmed hair, a small mustache, and wearing a suit.

He looked at Wu Jiahao and asked, "Mr. Shen, is this classmate of yours the friend who's in charge of the Miao embroidery project?"

Shen Kang replied, "No."

Li Shuwen showed a hint of regret: "When I saw that President Shen brought someone with him this time, I thought he was going to introduce me to the people from the Miao embroidery project. To be honest, I am personally very interested in Miao embroidery, and I was the one who first proposed Canon's cultural sponsorship project for Miao embroidery."

Shen Kang chuckled: "If Mr. Li is willing to get to know me, we can find an opportunity to meet up for tea sometime later."

Li Shuwen smiled and said, "That's good. Then I'll wait for President Shen's news."

Just then, a voice cut in from the side.

"Old Shen,"

It was Wu Jiahao who spoke up. He seemed a little confused and asked Shen Kang, "This Canon, is it the Canon used for taking pictures?"

Shen Kang said, "Of course, what other brand would Canon be?"

Wu Jiahao fell silent, quite surprised: before, whether it was the several offline stores or the "waste recycling station", they were all within the scope of "college student entrepreneurship", within his acceptable range.

But then Canon suddenly appeared, giving him a wonderful feeling that "the dimensional barrier had been broken".

It's like when you're strolling down the street with your friends, and a celebrity you've only ever seen on TV suddenly appears in front of you and acts very friendly with your friends.

There's a sense of unreality, as if two worlds have been suddenly connected.

After a brief silence, Wu Jiahao spoke again, interrupting Shen Kang and Li Shuwen's pleasantries.

"Mr. Li, do you know Ma Yun?"

Li Shuwen was taken aback. He glanced at Wu Jiahao, wondering what President Shen meant by this friend. However, he still replied, "We know each other. We've met twice and chatted a bit."

Wu Jiahao's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked again, "Is Ma Yun's mind particularly quick? Is she really like they are on TV, able to see through the merits of a business model after just a few minutes of listening?"

Li Shuwen did not answer immediately, but looked at Shen Kang instead.

Shen Kang smiled and said, "My friend here usually likes to watch 'Win in China' and is quite a fan of Boss Ma." Then, he changed the subject and said, "Since everyone is here, let's not stand here like doormen and go in."

As he spoke, he invited everyone into the teahouse.

The teahouse was decorated in a rather rustic style. As soon as you entered, you could smell the sandalwood incense mixed with the aroma of tea. After the waiter greeted them, he led the four of them to a window seat.

After sitting down and ordering tea, Wu Jiahao stared at Li Shuwen with a yearning look in his eyes, somewhat like he was at a fan meeting. However, unlike a typical fan meeting, he wanted to get to know his idol through "his idol's friend."

"Is Ma Yun's mind exceptionally quick? Is she really like what you see on TV, able to discern the merits of a business model after just a few minutes of listening?" Wu Jiahao asked again.

Seeing Wu Jiahao like this, Li Shuwen had mixed feelings.

It was this complex feeling that made him unusually interested, and he actually accepted Wu Jiahao's suggestion.

Instead of immediately answering "How is Ma Yun?", he recalled: "Actually, the first time I met Boss Ma was at a private dinner party."

"That was several years ago. The people at our table were all prominent figures in traditional industries. I remember that Boss Ma was wearing a wrinkled shirt and carrying a tattered bag, looking like a salesman. To put it bluntly, hardly anyone at the table gave him a second glance."

Li Shuwen smiled as he said this.

At the same table, besides Li Shuwen, Shen Kang, and Wu Jiahao, sat the person who had come with Li Shuwen, Mr. Mai, the manager of Canon's Yangcheng office.

This Mr. Mai, whose full name is Mai Xiaohui, is a man around forty years old. He is much fatter than Li Shuwen, and has a ruddy complexion.

At this moment, he was also listening with great interest. Mai Xiaohui and this General Manager Li were not actually very familiar with each other. After all, General Manager Li, as the Southwest Regional General Manager, spent most of the year stationed in Jinyang City, the capital of Sichuan Province.

I stayed in Yangcheng for a while because of a cultural sponsorship project.

Therefore, this was the first time Mai Xiaohui had heard Li Shuwen talk about these things.

Mai Xiaohui was quite interested, and Wu Jiahao was even more interested.

When Li Shuwen described Ma Yun's impoverished state at the time, he was not disappointed at all; instead, his eyes lit up even more—yes, yes, that's exactly the feeling of "going from nothing to becoming famous all over the world," so true!

Shen Kang, however, couldn't discern anything.

Hearing Li Shuwen's story, he chimed in with a joke: "Mr. Li, did you guys think back then that this guy was either a conman or mentally unstable?"

Li Shuwen laughed and nodded repeatedly, "President Shen, you're right. That's exactly what we thought back then, exactly the same as what you said."

After saying that, he sighed deeply, "Who would have thought that in less than ten years, Boss Ma would have fallen to this state?"

This is also why Li Shuwen has mixed feelings.

Back then, Ma Yun was just a nobody in his eyes; it was difficult for her to even see him. Now, however, the tables have turned completely—that nobody from back then has become "Boss Ma," a godfather of entrepreneurship. How can Li Shuwen accept this? To be honest, he still can't quite wrap his head around it.

Wu Jiahao's eyes sparkled with surprise.

Yes, yes, yes, this is exactly the feeling! It's like reading a thrilling novel! Isn't this the kind of feeling I want to get when I start my own business?

After expressing his amazement, Li Shuwen continued the conversation and finally answered Wu Jiahao's question: "You're asking me now whether he saw through the business model at a glance? I honestly don't know."

"Looking back now, I thought his rhetoric back then, like 'making it easy to do business anywhere,' was just empty talk. At Canon, we focused on marketing, with our agency system, regional protection, and price control – that's business. His 'free store opening' and 'traffic' concepts were completely incomprehensible to us at the time. You think he was brilliant? I just thought he was reckless, unorthodox, and didn't understand human language. But now that he's successful, everyone calls it 'vision.' Back then? It was synonymous with 'unreliable'..."

Li Shuwen is quite talkative; once he starts telling a story, he can go on and on.

People would chime in every now and then, keeping the conversation lively and preventing it from getting dull.

As they chatted, the topic somehow shifted to Wu Jiahao.

"...Actually, Senior Wu also wants to start his own business. Today I heard a lot of his business insights."

At this point, Shen Kang seemed to remember something, glanced at Mai Xiaohui, and said, "Perfect timing, Mr. Mai is here today too. In entrepreneurship and business, Mr. Mai is quite a senior figure. Why don't you exchange ideas with Senior Wu?"

Mai Xiaohui understood immediately and nodded.

Wu Jiahao's eyes lit up as well.

He does talk about business and entrepreneurship sometimes, but it's always with his university classmates—it's not very interesting. The person in front of him now, however, is a manager at Canon!

Seeing that the two agreed, Shen Kang added, "Mr. Li and I won't bother you any longer. We also have something to discuss."

"Okay, okay."

After making their way out, Shen Kang and Li Shuwen got up, left the table, and went to book a private room.

After the two sat down in the private room and chatted for a while, they got down to business.

"...Mr. Shen, I've checked out your Anjia Local Community website."

Li Shuwen held a small teacup to his lips but didn't drink. After a pause, he said, "Currently, the number of users is very small."

After saying that, he brought the teacup to his lips and took a sip.

Shen Kang said calmly, "The reason there are few users is because we've deliberately controlled user entry and set a relatively high standard. As time goes on, more and more users will naturally meet the standard, so Mr. Li doesn't need to worry about the quantity; the key is quality."

"High-quality clients like our Anjia Home Service are hard to find, and they are also Canon's target customer group. In particular, those selected for this 'High-end Ethnic Customs Blind Date Tourism Project' are the best of the best, and they are all people with outstanding economic strength."

"Even if these people already own cameras, if they experience your new camera during their travels and find it truly has advantages, they're very likely to buy a new one. Not to mention, throughout the entire process, we'll consistently promote your brand on this project, which is a long-term form of advertising, precisely targeting your intended customers..."

Shen Kang explained in detail the benefits that Canon could gain from sponsoring this project.

As for the "high-end ethnic customs matchmaking tourism project" he mentioned, it was an idea that popped into his head last night while he was browsing Anjia Tongcheng Hui.

At that time, he saw a "friendship post" posted by a user in Anjia Tongcheng Hui.

It's advertised as a dating post, but even a fool could tell it's a matchmaking post.

Shen Kang glanced at the post and wanted to leave to check out other updates on Anjia Tongcheng Hui, but his hand stopped just as he was about to leave.

He suddenly realized something he had overlooked: his Anjia Tongcheng Hui (安家同城汇) was targeting high-net-worth individuals, which made it a very high-end matchmaking pool.

The wicked capitalist Shen Kang stole another idea from the wisdom of the people, and continued to think about it:

I can definitely make "high-end matchmaking" another attraction for Anjia Tongcheng Hui.

Well, in addition to its usual high-end matchmaking attributes, it can also organize an event to convey these attributes to users.

What kind of activity is it?

Yes, we've got it! This will be linked to the "Collect Miao Embroidery Bookmarks" activity that's already underway in the local community, making it a win-win situation: all users who collect all three Miao embroidery bookmarks will receive a free "Miao Ethnic Culture Tour".

This Miao ethnic cultural tour lasts for three days and two nights, or seven days and six nights, etc. Participants will travel to Miao settlements to experience the natural scenery and various aspects of Miao culture, including intangible cultural heritage experiences. During this process, men and women will get to know each other, have in-depth experiential matchmaking, and get to know each other.

It's similar to the dating reality shows of later generations, but much more authentic.

The project concept is there, but who will provide the funding?

Shen Kang immediately thought of cost transfer and attracting sponsorships.

Didn't I just happen to meet the Southwest Regional General Manager of Canon through the Miao Embroidery Project? This project is very much in line with their style.

So he called Li Shuwen, which led to today's meeting.

……

Li Shuwen sat opposite Shen Kang, listening to Shen Kang explain the benefits that Canon could gain from sponsoring the project. He remained silent for a while, silently calculating in his mind.

He only learned about "Anjia Household Services" after he arrived in Yangcheng.

After learning about the company, Li Shuwen discovered that its customer base did indeed belong to the mid-to-high-end market, which largely overlapped with Canon's customer base.

If GG were to be offered directly to all of Anjia Household Services' clients at a reasonable price, Li Shuwen would be quite willing.

However, the fact that this offer was only available to Anjia Tongcheng Hui made him hesitate.

Yesterday, he specifically looked into Anjia Tongcheng Hui and even asked Shen Kang for an account to browse around carefully.

After reviewing it, Li Shuwen felt that the online community was alright, but it had a fatal flaw—too few users.

The sponsorship fee that Shen Kang asked for was relatively high—at least for such a small number of users, the sponsorship fee was simply too high.

These two factors combined made Li Shuwen hesitant, so he decided to come and see Shen Kang again today to learn more information before making a decision.