I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Shen Kang was lost in his own jumbled thoughts.

Seeing Shen Kang's silence, Wu Jiahao became even more enthusiastic, his tone quickening: "And you know what? The slogan of 'The Apprentice' is 'You're fired!' That's what Trump says every time he eliminates a contestant; it's really powerful. You guys are so good at building your persona; your name is a brand, and people recognize you wherever you go. Old Shen, I admire him the most in this respect. If you have time, you should really go find a couple of episodes to watch..."

After finishing his eloquent speech, Wu Jiahao smacked his lips, still feeling a bit unsatisfied.

Shen Kang also came to his senses and gave Wu Jiahao another chance to speak, "What are the other books about?"

Wu Jiahao, still not quite finished, continued, "Let me first tell you about 'Ma Yun's Entrepreneurial Theory'..."

This lecture lasts half an hour, and once one book is finished, another one begins.

This road is really deserted; we haven't seen a single car in half an hour.

Shen Kang was truly patient; he just listened without showing the slightest impatience.

Wu Jiahao was quite happy at first, after all, no one had ever listened to him so patiently before. Usually when he talked to others about these things, they would have something come up after listening for a while: their stomachs would suddenly hurt, they would have to go to class, the dormitory supervisor would call them to drink sugar water, and so on, without exception.

That means Shen Kang is very patient and a very good listener.

Wu Jiahao was very happy.

But as he continued, Wu Jiahao got tired, his speech slowed and became less and less passionate. Finally, he simply gave up and looked at Shen Kang.

At this moment, Wu Jiahao suddenly remembered something: "Wait, Lao Shen, weren't we talking about me becoming the manager of one of your stores?"

Instead of answering, Shen Kang asked, "I just heard Senior Wu mention Maslow's hierarchy of needs? What is that? I've never heard of it. Can you teach me?"

The phrase "Teach me" that Shen Kang uttered seemed to possess immense magic, instantly relieving Wu Jiahao's fatigue and energizing him so he could continue speaking.

"This is mentioned in 'The Pinnacle: The Magic of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs,' written by the founder of the world's second-largest boutique hotel chain. Maslow's hierarchy of needs means that human needs can be divided into five levels: physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization."

Wu Jiahao usually liked to talk about this theory with people, and now that Shen Kang was taking the initiative to ask him for advice, he was even more enthusiastic.

Shen Kang, who had been listening silently just moments before, suddenly became more talkative, interjecting, "So, it means: physiologically, it's about not starving or thirsty; safety, it's about having a safe place to live, where you can sleep without worrying about being hacked to death; socially, it's about belonging, having a few people willing to hang out with you; respect, it's about others not treating you like an idiot; and self-actualization, it's about being able to do whatever you want, changing the world if you want to. Is that right?"

Wu Jiahao nodded and took the lead again, "That's roughly the idea. The author of 'The Pinnacle' simply applied Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory directly to businesses, creating three pyramids: the employee pyramid, the customer pyramid, and the investor pyramid."

As he spoke, he gestured a triangle with his fingers inside the carriage.

"At the bottom are physiological and safety needs, which in a company correspond to employees' basic salary and work environment. In the middle are social and esteem needs. What did he do? He called the receptionist 'Manager,' not 'Receptionist.' Do you understand the difference? This change in title completely changes how employees perceive themselves. If you call a receptionist 'Receptionist,' she'll only do receptionist work; but if you call her 'Manager,' she'll act like a manager and do manager's work for you. Do you think this is a loss or a gain? The logic is very simple, but it works..."

This time, Shen Kang didn't interrupt, letting Wu Jiahao speak.

After Wu Jiahao finished explaining what the author had written, he spoke up, praising, "It sounds like Maslow's hierarchy of needs is quite impressive. I've learned something new."

Wu Jiahao's chest became even more erect, and his face showed some signs of life.

Wu Jiahao was taken aback.

He hadn't really thought about that.

After being asked this question by Shen Kang, he thought for a moment and said, "I've reached the fourth level of self-satisfaction, and now I've reached the fifth level, where I'm starting to pursue self-actualization. Actually, my desire to start a business is also for the purpose of self-actualization."

Thinking about it this way, Wu Jiahao felt even better about himself—being able to be on the fifth level meant that he had already surpassed the vast majority of people in the world.

Then, Wu Jiahao looked at Shen Kang standing to the side.

Previously, Shen Kang had always sincerely praised him. Now that he heard that he had reached the fifth level, wouldn't he praise him even more?

Wu Jiahao is ready to welcome him.

But something unexpected happened to him.

Instead of praising him, Shen Kang asked, "How much savings do you have now?"

Wu Jiahao paused, then remained silent.

He was reluctant to answer this question, especially in front of Shen Kang.

Seeing this, Shen Kang didn't press the matter further, but simply moved on to the next question: "Where did you get the money for your meals, transportation, and books?"

That solves the problem.

"It was given to me by my family," Wu Jiahao replied matter-of-factly, after all, as college students, their money all came from their families.

Shen Kang then asked, "If your family's mortgage payments were cut off, would you survive until next month?"

"?"

Wu Jiahao glanced at Shen Kang, unsure of what Shen Kang meant by asking these questions, but still replied, "Maybe we won't have money for food."

Shen Kang nodded and said, "Senior Wu, when you were explaining Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you also mentioned that these needs are layered upwards, like a pyramid, with the foundation at the bottom. You don't even have a foundation yet, and you're already thinking about the topmost things—isn't that just building castles in the air?"

"Didn't you ask me before why you haven't accomplished anything? It's because you didn't have a foundation, so this attic can't be built."

Wu Jiahao opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to refute, but suddenly didn't know how to refute it—Maslow's hierarchy of needs was his own theory, and now Shen Kang was using his own methods against him.

You dare use my magic against me, Potter?

However, Wu Jiahao still had some quick wit.

Looking at Shen Kang before him, Wu Jiahao suddenly thought of a way to refute him, "So, according to you, one must independently complete the construction of the lower level before pursuing the upper level? Yes, without my family's money, I wouldn't have completed the lower level, but family ties are an inseparable part of me. They helped me build the lower level, so it's essentially mine. Just like you, weren't you also funded by your family?"

Shen Kang grinned. "Yeah, my family gives me money, so I'm still on the first level. I don't pursue self-actualization. I don't care what level I am. I just take the money my family gives me and spend it. First level or fifth level, it doesn't matter. I don't care what level I am."

"..."

Wu Jiahao remained silent as he looked at Shen Kang's shameless demeanor.

He originally intended to drag Shen Kang down with him to achieve a counterattack, but he didn't expect Shen Kang to be so indifferent. Shen Kang completely treated him like a piece of shit, and he couldn't drag him down anymore.

Seeing his expression, Shen Kang continued, "Besides, even considering family factors, you still don't have enough. My family can give me 300,000 yuan to spend as I please. Can your family do that?"

Wu Jiahao fell even more silent, feeling like he was about to vomit blood.

This was the first time he had ever seen someone so blatantly flaunting their wealth.

Shen Kang ignored him and continued, "Obviously, no. Your family can only guarantee your survival; they can't afford to support your business. That's why I said earlier that you and I are different, and you can't follow my path. However, there is someone else's path that would suit you quite well."

"That person's family circumstances are probably similar to yours. Not the worst, but not much better. They're just a middle-class peasant family."

"That person has a group of partners. His group of partners are just like you, skipping the foundation and heading straight for higher-level goals, because these higher-level goals sound correct, great, and theoretical, which makes people excited."

"But that person was different. He first led people up the mountain to address the first basic need—survival."

"At the time, many people felt he wasn't great enough, that he was too cowardly, but that person knew he wasn't on the fifth level; he was on the first level, so he needed to solve the problems on the first level first. If this level wasn't solved, any level above it would be empty. That's called being realistic."

"Two different directions, and two different results: those comrades were all very brave, heading towards higher-level goals without hesitation, and then they failed, failed, and failed again."

"That person said that they were not killed by the enemy, but by their own arrogance. They thought they were great and heroic when they died, but they used their greatness to escape the real, difficult, tedious, and not-so-exciting work."

"In another direction, that person, leading a group on the mountain, successfully resolved the first level's requirements and survived. It wasn't because he was exceptionally talented, but because the first level's task was far simpler compared to the higher-level objectives."

"Then, standing on the foundation of the first level, he moved towards the second... Some of his surviving companions joined him, deciding to follow him to the third level... He never let the ultimate goal dictate where he stood. Instead, he built layer by layer, accumulating strength. His eyes were on the highest level, but his feet would only step on the levels he had already built, climbing step by step..."

Wu Jiahao listened intently.

He knew who Shen Kang was talking about; everyone who had gone through nine years of compulsory education knew who it was. But he had never imagined that period of history was essentially like this? And that it could coincidentally align with Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

The key point is that, when you listen to it, it actually feels like that.

At this point, Shen Kang also gave his final concluding remarks.

"...The first, second, third, and fourth floors are all built, so he naturally walked to the fifth floor. He's shown you the way; just follow."

The car fell silent for a moment.

Wu Jiahao remained silent, the thoughts in his mind gradually coalescing into a single idea.

Oops, I read the wrong book.

I should have read Mao Dun's Selected Works.