I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Seeing that Zhang Weihong brought it up herself, Shen Kang continued the conversation, asking, "Did you call the police?"

Zhang Weihong nodded, "I've reported it. But the investigation will take a little more time."

As she spoke, she looked at Shen Kang with interest: "Although I already knew that you were no ordinary eighteen-year-old boy, Shen Kang, your reaction still surprised me a little."

Shen Kang was taken aback. "Surprised? Why?"

Zhang Weihong chuckled. "What normal eighteen-year-old boy, upon hearing that someone is going to kill someone, would simply calmly ask, 'Have you called the police?'"

"..."

Shen Kang was a little embarrassed. "Too calm?" After thinking for a moment, he said, "Maybe it's because I'm naturally bold?"

Zhang Weihong shook her head. "It has nothing to do with courage, but rather a kind of..."

He thought for a moment, but didn't know how to describe it in simple words, so he simply elaborated on it.

"Let me start by talking about the environment I'm usually in. Everyone is impeccably dressed, sitting in conference rooms for meetings, or attending various banquets, clinking glasses and chatting. Everyone is polite and friendly, and arguments are rare. It's civilized, very civilized. Some people even call it 'high society'."

Zhang Weihong said, "Peaceful, refined, polite, and harmonious—that's the kind of environment it is. And yet, in this environment, people are using the most primitive methods to try and physically eliminate you."

Shen Kang listened and then gave it a qualifier: "Incongruous, disjointed."

Zhang Weihong thought about it and felt that it had a certain flavor, but it was still not precise enough.

However, he didn't dwell on the matter, as long as he knew that Shen Kang understood what he meant.

So he continued, "That's roughly the feeling. Most people would probably think that this kind of thing only happens in movies, in remote mountain villages reported on in legal programs."

As she spoke, Zhang Weihong looked at Shen Kang again, a smile playing on her lips. "And what you did was simply ask if we called the police. It seems to you that in our so-called 'civilized' and 'upper-class' environment, such things are perfectly normal."

It turned out to be the case.

Shen Kang realized that it was his own habitual way of thinking that made him act as if it were "perfectly natural," which surprised Zhang Weihong.

He thought for a moment, then, without hiding anything, directly stated his true thoughts: "That might be due to my own thinking."

"My thinking is rather extreme. I believe that the most fundamental logic of this world, from the very first day of humankind's birth, has been violence, and that hasn't changed. What has changed is that humanity has continuously discovered more efficient means to achieve violent ends."

"In the Shang Dynasty and earlier, the most efficient method was sacrifice, which improved efficiency. During the Zhou Dynasty, the most efficient method was the Zhou Rituals, which further improved efficiency. In the following thousands of years, the combination of Confucianism on the outside and Legalism on the inside represented an even greater improvement in efficiency. Today, this improvement in efficiency has become 'modernization.' But no matter how it changes, it is all about replacing violence and achieving goals in a lower-cost way."

Shen Kang glanced at Zhang Weihong's legs.

"So, Brother Zhang, I don't think this kind of thing is normal. I just think, in a biased way, that when a person fails to achieve their goal using 'more efficient methods,' returning to the most basic logic is an inevitable option."

There was a two-second silence in the car.

Zhang Weihong looked at Shen Kang for a while, then nodded, chuckled, and said with some emotion, "When the chairman was your age, he was still carrying fertilizer bags at the supply and marketing cooperative."

Shen Kang smiled, somewhat regretfully, "It's a pity my phone is too old and doesn't have a recording function. Otherwise, if I had recorded what you said, Brother Zhang, I might have been able to squeeze some money out of you, right?"

Zhang Weihong laughed heartily.

Shen Kang laughed, and after laughing, he added, "So I was wrong earlier, I was just bragging. I just have a slightly extreme view, but I'm not that bold. When I heard you talking about this, Brother Zhang, I was a little worried that it might implicate President Zhou, and then implicate me."

Zhang Weihong understood what he meant and suppressed her smile. "You don't need to worry about that. They're only after me, it has nothing to do with Sister Zhou. Besides, these kinds of things are all about a decisive blow. If they fail the first time, they won't be able to cause trouble for long. They won't dare to make any more moves lately, and they might already be thinking about how to escape."

As he spoke, he sighed, "So, I don't think it's really necessary to make such a big fuss. It's quite inconvenient to travel, but Jay Chou insisted on arranging it this way."

Shen Kang shook his head. "I agree with Jay Chou on this point. Better safe than sorry. Brother Zhang, you still need to take good care of yourself. I'm counting on maintaining a good relationship with you so you can take care of me in my old age. Anyway, for you, it's just a matter of losing a little money."

Zhang Weihong was both amused and exasperated. "What utter nonsense!"

After chatting for a few more minutes, Zhang Weihong took a bulging, heavy snakeskin bag from beside her.

"Jay asked me to bring this to you. He said that your suggestions on waste-to-energy in Handong over the past six months have been very useful and effective, and he wanted to express his gratitude to you."

As she spoke, Zhang Weihong began to untie the knots on the snakeskin bag.

Shen Kang, however, had a strange expression.

The suggestions regarding the waste-to-energy project in Handong have been very effective... For the past six months, I've just occasionally checked the emails Huang Antong sent me from Handong. I've only read them; I haven't offered any suggestions whatsoever. I feel a little guilty taking a monthly salary of 50,000 NTD. How could there be any "very effective suggestions"?

Yes, perhaps my spirit transcended time and space, inspiring my comrades over there and encouraging them.

Shen Kang found a reason for Jay Chou.

Then, he lowered his head slightly and looked at the snakeskin bag.

Zhang Weihong had already untied the knot on the snakeskin bag, revealing its contents, and a pungent smell wafted out.

"There are several pounds of braised beef, cured pork, and sausages, and six smoked pig trotters. They are all from black-haired pigs in western Sichuan, just like decades ago. They are fed grain, not feed. The smoking materials are cypress branches and orange peels from the mountains, without any other random stuff."

Zhang Weihong introduced the products with great relish, like someone selling local mountain goods.

After the introduction, he seemed to recall some memories, "When Sister Zhou was little, these were the things she craved most. But everyone was struggling back then, so she could only dream about them; she could only eat them a few times a year..."

Shen Kang then understood: This wasn't some local specialty gift for him at all! He only had a few days left on vacation; how could he possibly finish all this stuff in a few days? He'd just have to take it back, and then it'd end up in Zhou Man's mouth?

The old man was really something else. He prepared things for his daughter, but instead of delivering them himself, he insisted on sending them to himself in a roundabout way.

As Shen Kang thought about it, his mischievous side kicked in. He took out a bag of vacuum-packed braised beef and pretended to tear it apart.

"Jay Chou is so good to me, I'm so touched, I want to try the taste right away. Shall I give it a try?"

"..."

Zhang Weihong thought to himself, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

Shen Kang didn't wait for him, tearing it open and taking a piece, which he then put into his mouth and chewed. His voice was a little muffled, "Hmm, it tastes good. Next time, ask Jay Chou to add more spice; I like it spicy."

Seeing him like this, Zhang Weihong suddenly burst into laughter.

Shen Kang ate his braised beef while laughing, and tore off a piece of braised beef and handed it to Zhang Weihong, saying, "I can't finish this by myself, Brother Zhang, you should try some too, it's on me."

Zhang Weihong glanced at the braised beef handed to her. "You little brat, trying to drag me into this, huh?"

Shen Kang wore an innocent expression that said, "I don't understand what you're saying." "What offal? I don't think there's any pig offal here."

"Brother Zhang, if you want some offal, then don't leave yet. I'll treat you to a meal at the cafeteria. For now, let's have some beef to fill our stomachs."

Zhang Weihong was both amused and exasperated. Shen Kang had also awakened her childlike side, so she took the braised beef that Shen Kang handed her and started eating it.

Well, you know what, Jay Chou's cooking skills are pretty good. After all these years, he's still got it.

Both of them had good appetites and finished a bag of braised beef in no time.

Zhang Weihong was quite busy, so she brought up another matter. Because she had just finished eating, her accent was a little distorted, "You know what?...

Shen Kang waved his hand, "I don't know anymore, I'm a little full."

Zhang Weihong was stunned for a moment before she realized what she meant. She smiled and continued, "Sister Zhou probably won't be able to come home for the New Year this year."

Shen Kang glanced at him. "Why?"

Zhang Weihong said, "Everyone has been quite busy this year. Jay Chou is busy, Brother Zhou is busy, their schedules during the Spring Festival are all full, and they're not even in the country. If Sister Zhou goes back, she'll be all alone, so it's better not to go through all that trouble."

After saying that, Zhang Weihong looked at Shen Kang as if she had suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Shen Kang, what are your plans for spending the Spring Festival this year? Are you spending it alone, at an orphanage, or something else?"

"..."

Shen Kang remained silent for a long time, thinking to himself, "So this is Zhang Weihong's real purpose in coming to find me."

He couldn't help but sigh, "Brother Zhang, you're already in this situation, and you have a ton of important things to do. Why are you still worrying about this? Mr. Zhou, you should just let someone else handle this so you can focus on your own business."

Zhang Weihong sensed the concern in Shen Kang's words, which warmed her heart. She then smiled and said something from the bottom of her heart: "This is not a work assignment."

"Shen Kang, you may not know much about my relationship with Sister Zhou. We can say that we grew up together. To put it in a cheesy way, Sister Zhou is not much different from my own sister. So there are some things that not only Jay Chou worries about, but I worry about them too."

"Besides, when I think about it, it seems like only you and I can really talk to Jay Chou."