I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

When the three of them came in, they were all taken aback to see that Shen Kang was already in the dormitory.

They were just talking about it in the cafeteria. Old Shen wasn't telling the truth at all. What do you mean he was too busy catching his train to eat? I bet he's out there in a fancy hotel with some people in those cars, feasting and drinking.

"I was wondering why Lao Shen refused to eat with us and ate alone!" Feng Moquan said indignantly.

Wang Pan quietly added, "Old Shen is like that; he never buys laundry detergent, he always steals mine, he's such a sly fox."

The two of them immediately launched into a tirade against Shen Kang, like holding a public denunciation meeting.

Finally, Jin Chao asked, "If he really calls you, would you dare to go?", successfully silencing the two of them.

To be honest, even if Lao Shen had actually asked them to get in the car and leave together, they would have been nervous. It's quite possible that one of them would suddenly have a stomachache and need to find a place to use the restroom, meaning they'd have to eat together another time.

However, after a moment of silence, Wang Pan and Feng Moquan still refused to admit defeat.

"What's there to be afraid of? If he dares to ask, I dare to go!"

"I don't even need him to call me, I'll call him right now and ask him what's going on... Oh no, my phone's dead, Wang Pan, you call him."

"Okay, I'll call... Hey? This lousy cafeteria has no signal."

"What a pity, what a pity. Let's eat first."

"Okay, we'll talk about it next time."

The three of them were just talking about Shen Kang in the cafeteria, but when they came back, Old Shen was sitting peacefully in his dormitory.

After a moment of surprise, Wang Pan walked in, shaking his head repeatedly, looking heartbroken: "Old Shen, I've discovered that you're dishonest and unkind."

Shen Kang was puzzled: "How am I being dishonest or unethical?"

Wang Pan immediately began listing his crimes, "Didn't you tell us before that a relative from your hometown was coming to give you local specialties? Your relative from your hometown came in a convoy? Your relative from your hometown even brought a bunch of bodyguards with them?"

Feng Moquan followed, speaking earnestly: "Old Shen, humility is good, but excessive humility is arrogance. Also, next time you're being humble, please remember to stay away from us, or let us know in advance so we can leave first. Old Jin has high blood pressure and can't handle this kind of sudden stimulation."

Jin Chao, who walked over from the side, immediately tilted his head, stuck out his tongue, and dangled his hands in front of his chest, making a six with one hand and a seven with the other, while uttering "Aba aba" in his mouth.

Seeing this, Shen Kang chuckled, thinking to himself, "Love isn't exactly a good thing, and whoever wants to date can date, but I have to admit, it's incredibly powerful." Old Jin, who was originally a rather quiet person, had only just seen the beginnings of a relationship, and it was still far from settled, but now he was noticeably more lively.

"Old Jin, that's a cerebral thrombosis."

Shen Kang complained, then looked at Wang Pan in front of him, "When did I say I was a relative from my hometown? I clearly said that someone from my hometown was coming to do some business and stopped by to see me and bring me some local specialties."

Wang Pan didn't pay attention to those details. "Okay, what about local specialties?"

Shen Kang pulled the snakeskin bag at his feet out a little so they could see it more clearly.

"Here you are."

The three of them were drawn to it.

Upon seeing the bulging snakeskin bag with the words "urea fertilizer" written on it, all three fell silent.

"..."

Without even opening it, they knew that it was indeed local specialty products—they all had relatives in the countryside and knew very well that when those relatives came to the city on business, they would bring back local specialty products like mushrooms and garlic for their city relatives, and these were always packed in these snakeskin bags.

The taste is so authentic.

Moreover, this kind of thing obviously can't be bought on the campus of Yangke University. In fact, not only on the campus of Yangke University, but in this day and age, there aren't many places in the entire city of Yang that sell these kinds of snakeskin bags.

"no."

Feng Moquan couldn't help but speak up, "Old Shen, did the person who came looking for you just bring this thing?"

"Um."

The three of them still couldn't quite believe it.

They already had that image in their minds:

A convoy of three Mercedes-Benz cars drove along, with the driver in front and a cool-looking bodyguard in black sitting in the passenger seat.

In the back seat, a dark-skinned, simple-looking man with a headscarf was handing a snakeskin bag to Shen Kang while speaking.

"...Kangwazi, these are pickled peppers your aunt made. She specifically asked me to bring these to you when she came to the city on business..."

The three shook their heads repeatedly.

"It's so out of place."

Wang Pan even started complaining aloud.

In Jin Chao's mind, a scene from "King of Comedy" came to mind: Young Master Long went to a nightclub, got drunk, and went to find his first love. When Liu Piaopiao dressed up as a schoolgirl and was about to try it out, the chubby madam was also dressed up in a schoolgirl uniform and was putting on makeup. She even said the classic line, "Give it a try. The taste of rich people is sometimes really hard to predict."

Jin Chao has this feeling now.

It's really hard to say what the taste of wealthy people is like.

After reluctantly accepting that jarring reality, Feng Moquan said, "Old Shen, why are you back so soon? We thought you wouldn't be back until tonight."

Shen Kang was annoyed: "I'm not senile. I have an exam this afternoon. What else am I supposed to do if I don't come back? Besides, I already told you guys that I'm very busy and have to catch a train. I don't have that much free time. Just bring my things and leave."

Upon hearing Shen Kang mention the afternoon exam, Wang Pan immediately asked, "Old Shen, are you still planning to hand in your paper early this afternoon?"

"Possibly, what's wrong?"

"Let's make a deal. Don't hand in your paper early. Can't you check it carefully after you're done?"

"Yes, they're all correct. It's pointless to do a check."

"I can't stand this! It was because you handed in your paper early this morning that I was distracted and didn't finish the last two big questions!"

"Is it possible that you simply can't do it in the first place? What does that have to do with me?"

"Then don't worry about it, just don't hand in your paper early this afternoon."

While Wang Pan and Shen Kang were pulling back and forth, Feng Moquan was silently recalling something.

After recalling the events, Feng Moquan was quite surprised.

"Wow, Lao Shen, I've been thinking about it, and you haven't told a single lie from beginning to end?"

Shen Kang spat at him, "Isn't that obvious? I just find lying too tiring; telling the truth is much easier."

Feng Moquan was very puzzled. "The most amazing thing is that you're clearly telling the truth, but it sounds completely different to us. How do you do that?"

Everyone was very interested in this question and actively participated in the discussion.

Wang Pan said that this is "cunning," which shows that Lao Shen's nature is extremely bad.

Jin Chao said that this is the art of language.

Shen Kang said it might be a professional habit.

So everyone understood that Lao Shen's real main job wasn't starting a business, but being a "truth-telling liar".

Shen Kang said that the two are the same thing.

After chatting for a while, Shen Kang distributed the things he had bought from the supermarket to everyone.

Wang Pan and the others were initially worried that Shen Kang would take out some dirty things from the snakeskin bag and insist that they eat them.

At that point, it's a dilemma – whether to eat it or not.

Now it's much better. When that person delivered the local specialties, they also brought these packaged snacks for Lao Shen. They look much cleaner, more stylish, and tastier.

The three of them didn't stand on ceremony and each took a piece, all quite happily. Even though they had just eaten lunch, they each opened a small portion to taste it.

After tasting it, Wang Pan and the others stopped joking around and immediately took out their review materials for the afternoon class, quickly putting in a final, last-minute cram session.

There was no way around it; I was really provoked by Lao Shen this morning, and a sense of urgency crept in.

Shen Kang watched from the side, feeling very gratified.

I only handed in my paper a little early, and it successfully inspired my three roommates to love learning. I've done a truly great deed. It would be really inconsiderate of the school not to give me a "Learning Promotion Ambassador" award.

After that, I stopped looking at them and turned on the computer.

Seeing that Lao Shen wasn't making the most of his last moments to review, but instead had turned on his computer, Wang Pan couldn't help but ask, "Lao Shen, are you still playing games instead of studying?"

"I've already studied quite thoroughly, so I feel that cramming at the last minute is pointless. It's better to relax."

Feng Moquan couldn't help but turn his head to look at Shen Kang next to him. He felt an aura of academic genius emanating from him. It was as if the ruthless academic genius from when the semester first started had returned.

Shen Kang ignored them and opened a webpage to start researching.

……

The next few days were filled with nothing but tedious exams, exams, and more exams.

Time flies, and a few days passed quickly. The exams were all over, and everyone was ready to leave school.

That day, after the last exam, Shen Kang and his three roommates had dinner and returned to their dorm to pack their things, preparing to spend one last night there before heading back to their respective hometowns the next morning.

It was already dark.

Occasionally, sounds from other dormitories could be heard in the hallway—the sound of suitcase wheels being dragged, shouts of farewell, and a guy from some dormitory belting out "Friends for life" before being yelled at by someone next to him, "Stop fucking howling, he's not leaving yet."

Inside the dormitory, the three of them were packing their things.

Suitcases were spread out on the floor, and the table was piled with things to take back and things not to take back. The whole dormitory looked like it had just been robbed.

Shen Kang, on the other hand, leaned back leisurely in his chair, finding a sense of tranquility amidst the chaos—he still had some things to do at school and would stay for two more days, not leaving tomorrow, so he didn't need to pack today.

As for why I need to stay at school for a few more days, it's about buying up secondhand textbooks.

The Huanhuan.com project originated from a competition project he participated in. He mentioned it during the competition as a model for a platform for sharing secondhand teaching materials.

Now that it's the end of the semester, it's natural to get this matter settled.

Actually, the most important part of this second-hand textbook project is the end of the next semester.

It was graduation season, and most of the senior students were selling their textbooks. They were about to leave school and had to sell them all before the end of the semester. That was the real stage for Huanhuan.com's second-hand textbook project.

Last semester's final exams were somewhat disappointing.

However, we still have to do it. On the one hand, it's to accumulate experience and prepare for the graduation season next semester; on the other hand, it's also an opportunity to further extend Huanhuan.com's reach through the "second-hand teaching materials" project.

Whether we make money or not is secondary. The most important thing is to expand the network further and let more people know about and use Huanhuan.com.

After thinking for a while, Shen Kang looked at the other three guys in the dormitory.

Compared to his leisurely pace, the other three brothers had much larger operations.

Wang Pan squatted on the ground, trying to forcefully close a clearly overweight suitcase. The clothes inside seemed to resist; he pressed down on one side, and the other side would spring back up. After three or four attempts, the zipper still wouldn't close. Finally, he knelt on the suitcase, using his weight to press it down, and barely managed to zip it up. When he stood up, his knees were red.

Feng Moquan was rummaging through his bookshelf, pulling out textbooks one by one, piling them up on the table. He looked at each one as he went, each book filled with dense notes, highlighter marks and tiny handwriting in the margins on every page. He would look at one book, nod, put it aside, look at another, nod again, his expression as confident as a student who had just checked their answers and found they were all correct.

Jin Chao was quite tidy; his clothes were folded neatly, and his books were neatly categorized. He seemed to be the most composed of the three. But halfway through tidying up, he suddenly stopped, picked up his phone, sent a text message, and stared at the screen for a while. The corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up slightly, but he quickly suppressed it, pretending nothing had happened, and continued folding clothes.

Shen Kang looked at them and spoke.

"Hey guys, how were your exams this semester?"

Wang Pan was wiping the mud off the wheels of his suitcase with a towel. Hearing this, he didn't even look up. "I did pretty well. I'd conservatively estimate an average of over 85. One class was so easy I almost fell asleep."

Shen Kang praised, "Awesome! No wonder you're the class monitor," then turned to Feng Moquan: "Where's Lao Feng?"

Feng Moquan pulled the last textbook from the shelf, dusted off the cover, adjusted his glasses, and said casually, "It's alright. I should be able to get high scores in two subjects, and the rest, even if they're not top-tier, won't be too bad. Anyway, I should have a chance to apply for a scholarship next semester."

He spoke with great confidence.

Feng Moquan was indeed the most diligent student in the dormitory, and he was also quite attentive in class.

Shen Kang sighed again, "Awesome!" and looked at Jin Chao: "Old Jin?"

Jin Chao had just folded the last t-shirt and put it in the box when he heard this. He looked up, thought for about three seconds, and then replied in a very cautious tone, "Anyway, I've written everything I need to. The rest depends on whether the teacher will give me face."

Shen Kang smiled.

"That's good. Looks like you guys all did well on the exam, so I'm relieved."

He sat up straight in his chair, as if suddenly remembering something: "Oh right, let's get down to business. Huanhuan.com is currently doing textbook recycling. Instead of taking your used textbooks or selling them as waste paper, why not sell them to us? The price will definitely be higher than buying waste paper."

Wang Pan closed his suitcase.

He had been trying to close it for ages but couldn't, but this time it locked with just a light press.

Wang Pan stood up, dusted off his knees, and wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead with a towel: "Oh... well... I just remembered that I still have some things to sort out. You guys talk first, I'll go first..."

"You just closed your suitcase," Shen Kang reminded him.

"...Oh right, then I'll take it apart and sort it out again." Wang Pan busied himself with work again.

Jin Chao's reaction was the most honest.

He put the book he was holding directly into his suitcase. Only after he finished did he realize that he didn't want to take it out again, so he coughed and said, "Actually, I think that books are something you might still need when you start working, so it's good to keep them as a souvenir. After all, they're textbooks for the first semester of university, so they have some significance."

Both of them were stammering.

Only Feng Moquan seemed genuinely interested and asked Shen Kang, "What's the price?"

Shen Kang held up two fingers, "Two-fold."

Feng Moquan frowned and couldn't help but complain, "Old Shen, I've discovered you're a real capitalist, so ruthless. I've seen people selling old textbooks on secondhand websites these past few days, and they're selling them for at least 30% of their original price. You're just buying them for 20% of their original price; I might as well just list them on secondhand websites myself."

Shen Kang then explained to him, "That's not how you do it. Have you been following up on those book sellers? They've been listing their books for days without selling them. At this point, the only way to sell old textbooks is through our website, Huanhuan.com, which offers direct payment—it's convenient and fast."

Feng Moquan thought for a moment and then said, "If they don't sell well at the end of the semester, I'll save them for the beginning of the next semester. Course selection will start then, so they should sell out by then, right?"

Shen Kang shook his head. "You've fallen into another misconception. Next semester, you'll still be a freshman. Who are you going to sell these textbooks to? If you really want to sell them, you'll have to wait until next year, when you're a sophomore in the first semester. That's when our juniors arrive, and then you'll have a chance to sell your old textbooks to them."

Feng Moquan was taken aback, and upon further reflection, realized that this was indeed the case. He had fallen into the mathematical trap of focusing on "beginning of the semester" and "end of the semester," without considering anything else.

Shen Kang continued speaking, not only to Feng Moquan, but also to Wang Pan and Jin Chao.

"Waiting until the second half of next year is too long. Besides, by then you'll still have to list it on secondhand websites yourself, sell it slowly, and find customers yourself... Considering currency devaluation and inflation, as well as time and energy costs, don't you think it's worth 10% or 20% less?"

After listening to Shen Kang's explanation, Feng Moquan gradually realized that what Old Shen said made sense.

If you want to sell textbooks, from a comprehensive perspective, it seems better to sell them to Huanhuan.com.

"OK."

Thus, Feng Moquan basically settled on this intention.

After dealing with Feng Moquan's situation, Shen Kang looked at Wang Pan and Jin Chao.

"Didn't you all just say you did very well on the test? If you did so well, why keep the textbooks? You can just take the new ones next semester. Out with the old, in with the new."

These words were like a needle, precisely piercing the Achilles' heel of both of them.

Wang Pan stopped wiping the suitcase. Jin Chao stared at the books in his suitcase for a while, then silently turned the books over so the covers were facing down.

"That's not how it works," Wang Pan launched the first counterattack. "Learning shouldn't be about throwing away knowledge just because you've passed an exam. Knowledge is priceless."

"You just said you almost fell asleep in the exam room."

"That's because I'm too good at learning and can solve problems too quickly, it doesn't mean I don't cherish knowledge."...

Seeing Wang Pan and Shen Kang start to pull at each other, Jin Chao couldn't stand it anymore.

He couldn't keep up the act any longer, so he sighed and said directly, "Old Shen, let me be frank. I'm afraid of failing. If I fail, I'll have to retake the exam next semester, and without the textbook, what am I supposed to study? So I really don't dare sell this book right now. This is the first semester of university, who knows what the final grades will be like?"

Wang Pan turned to look at him, his eyes filled with "Why did you confess?"

Jin Chao shrugged: "Anyway, I'm telling the truth."

Shen Kang slapped his thigh: "You should have said so earlier. I thought it was nothing serious."

All three people looked at him at the same time.

Shen Kang stood up, walked to the table, picked up a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and then naturally explained, "You think that buying teaching materials from Huanhuan.com is as simple as cash on delivery? It's not like that."

He put down the water bottle and held up two fingers: "We have two methods for collecting teaching materials."

"The first option is to buy it outright. You sell the books to me, I pay you, and the books belong to me. Whether you fail or not is none of my business. If you need to retake the exam, you'll have to figure out how to study on your own."

"The second type is called 'deferred transaction.' The process is like this—you give me the textbooks, and I pay you a portion of the cost upfront, say 70% of the original price. Then, when the next semester starts and the makeup exam results are released, if you haven't failed, I'll pay you the remaining 30%. If you have failed, you can come to me and borrow the corresponding textbooks for free to review and retake the exam. After you pass the makeup exam, you just need to return the books. If you pass the makeup exam, the remaining money will still be paid to you. If you still haven't passed the makeup exam…"

Shen Kang paused, then smiled and said, "Then I'll give you the book for free. I can't charge you, right?"

The dormitory was silent for three seconds.

Wang Pan was the first to react, his eyes lighting up: "You mean, I'll sell you the book first, and if I die, I can get it back for free?"

"That's right."

"What if you fail several subjects?"

Shen Kang was very generous: "I'll give you ten books if you fail ten subjects.

"...You're cursing me during the Lunar New Year, aren't you?" Wang Pan retorted.

Jin Chao, however, was more concerned about something else: "Old Shen, you just said that if I fail the makeup exam, you'll give me the books for free. Do I have to return the money you gave me before?"

Shen Kang was quite magnanimous: "I already said it was a free gift, why would I ask you for the money back? It's yours!"

"..."