I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Jin Chao was speechless for a moment, seemingly taken aback by Shen Kang's boldness. Wang Pan, however, seemed to have thought of something, his eyes darting around, looking furtive and secretive.

Shen Kang noticed this and glanced at him.

When Wang Pan saw Shen Kang looking over, he felt a little guilty, and his eyes darted around even more wildly, but he tried to keep a straight face and pretend to be calm, looking around at the scenery.

This really made Shen Kang feel good.

"Hey Pan, what funny thing came to mind? Tell us so we can all have a laugh."

Wang Panqian chuckled: "It's nothing."

Shen Kang nodded and didn't ask any more questions, but instead started chatting with Feng Moquan again.

"Old Feng, how many copies do you plan to sell?"

"I haven't decided yet. I could sell them if I really wanted to, but I'm thinking of keeping a couple as souvenirs."

"It's good to keep a couple of copies as souvenirs. Otherwise, if you leave empty-handed when you graduate, without taking any knowledge or a girlfriend, it'll be like you wasted your time at university. Having a couple of books in hand is at least proof that you went to university."

"Old Shen, what do you mean?"

"I didn't mean anything by it, I just agree with you."

"You better not mean anything by this... I've thought about it carefully, and I'm not so desperate that I need two books to commemorate this. I'll sell them all."

"Okay. Just leave it in your dorm and I'll take it later."

Wang Pan watched from the side.

He didn't answer when Shen Kang asked him what he was thinking, but now that Shen Kang isn't asking anymore, he's actually starting to feel a little restless.

In particular, he realized that this matter was closely related to Shen Kang. In fact, it could be said that it determined the success or failure of Shen Kang's business!

I'm really itching to tell you all about it.

But I was planning to make money off this thing...

After struggling for a while, Wang Pan finally made a decision: forget it, every penny he earned was like stabbing his good brother Shen Kang in the back, so he might as well not earn it!

Moreover, if I were to point it out and give Lao Shen some pointers, Lao Shen might be "shocked all over," "shocked all over again," and "shocked all over again," eventually hugging my legs with tears of gratitude, thanking me for pointing out such a fatal flaw.

Wang Pan could even picture that scene:

Old Shen hugged his leg, tears streaming down his face, shouting, "Brother Pan, thank goodness for your reminder! Otherwise, I would have lost everything, even my underwear! It seems that when it comes to business, Brother Pan, I'm far inferior. If you don't mind, I'd be willing to become your strategist. I hope you'll come and serve as the general manager of my humble abode, and give me your guidance. The company's future depends on you, Brother Pan!"

Wang Pan found it increasingly beautiful.

After thinking for a while, he coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and then spoke.

"Old Shen,"

Seeing Shen Kang turn his head and look at him, Wang Pan began to speak.

"I won't say anything about what you did before, but have you noticed a huge loophole in your secondhand textbook business?!"

"What vulnerability?"

Wang Pan then revealed the vulnerability he had discovered.

"Let's say I sell you one book for 5 yuan, and I sell you 10 books in total, then I'll have to give you 50 yuan."

"If I come back next semester and I really fail 10 subjects, according to your logic, you'll still give me those 10 books, and you won't take back the 50 yuan either—you'll just give it to me for free. Wouldn't that mean I get 50 yuan for nothing? I'd be making a killing, and you'd be losing out!"

Shen Kang had been listening attentively before, but upon hearing this, he relaxed and said, "Hey, I thought they were going to steal eggs."

"?"

Why is it a little different from what I expected?

"no."

Wang Pan thought for a moment and said, "Even if I wouldn't do such a thing out of brotherhood, there are so many people in our school, there's bound to be someone who does it. Then they'll spread the word, and it'll spread like wildfire. With so many people involved, they'll fleece you to death, Lao Shen!"

Seeing that Wang Pan was really serious, Shen Kang stopped being perfunctory and said, "Brother Pan, actually, from a purely logical point of view, the loophole you mentioned is actually quite valid."

"But Brother Pan, would you be willing to fail 10 courses for 50 yuan? Or would someone else be willing to deliberately fail a course for 5 yuan?"

Shen Kang spoke of this with great anticipation.

"If there really are such people, and many of them, then I'm willing to give them this money."

"How spectacular it would be to see thousands of students from Yangkou University of Science and Technology failing their courses simultaneously!"

Just thinking about that scene made Shen Kang laugh; he really wanted to see it.

"Compared to this, it's just a few tens of thousands of dollars. Seeing this show is totally worth it."

Shen Kang is usually reluctant to spend tens of thousands of yuan on a piece of clothing, but he would be willing to spend tens of thousands of yuan to watch a show like this.

Wang Pan was taken aback, and then he realized that it was true. Who would want to fail a course for a few dollars? Wouldn't that be foolish?

Wang Pan was a little embarrassed and wanted to save face, so he forced another angle, "There might not be that many people who do it on purpose, but there are still some who fail the course and can't pass the retake. Are you really going to give the money away to them for free? Is it still a waste or a loss?"

"It's just a small amount of money, don't worry about it."

Shen Kang waved his hand and said, "Besides, they've already failed their courses and had to retake the exams, and they still haven't passed the retakes. They're already in such a bad situation. Giving them some money is just a way of showing some comfort since we're from the same school. Consider it part of our Huanhuan.com's psychological support program."

This time, Shen Kang didn't refute his idea, but instead explained it as "public welfare." Wang Pan managed to save face a little, nodded, and said, "Old Shen, you're still too kind."

Shen Kang sighed helplessly, "There's nothing I can do. I guess I'm just too honest. My friends often say that an honest person like me can't do business; I'm likely to lose money..."

After talking with Wang Pan for a while, Shen Kang brought the topic back to the present.

"So, Pan Ge, Lao Jin, are you two going to sell?"

Neither Wang Pan nor Jin Chao responded immediately.

Just now, one of them boasted that his "average score was over 85," and the other said that he "wrote everything that needed to be written." The boasts had barely been uttered and the heat of their bragging hadn't even dissipated yet.

If we let them choose now, we should just buy them out. But I feel guilty about that – what if they fail and have to retake the exam next semester?

But if we delay the trade... both of them "did very well" on the test, so why choose to delay the trade? Wouldn't that be admitting that they were just bragging?

Shen Kang glanced at the two of them and suddenly smiled.

"Do you two think that delayed trading is just for people who are unsure about the future?"

Wang Pan and Jin Chao didn't speak, but their expressions answered for them.

Seeing this, Shen Kang shook his head and said decisively, "Wrong!"

"Delayed trading is designed specifically for people like you who get good grades!"

"..."

"..."

Wang Pan and Jin Chao were about to lose their composure and wanted to say to Lao Shen, "Lao Shen, do you want to recall what you just said?"

You just said that the delayed transaction model was created to prevent people from selling books only to find themselves needing to retake exams next semester and having no books to study.

Why is it that now, delayed transactions are designed for those who do well on exams?

Before they could speak...

Shen Kang glanced at their expressions and continued speaking.

"A direct buyout would indeed give you more money than a delayed transaction, and the deal would be done. But have you considered what you'll do with that extra money before the next semester starts?"

Shen Kang leaned back in his chair. "Buy a few packs of spicy strips? Top up my phone credit? Or go to an internet cafe for a few all-nighters? It's all just money I can spend without even making a sound."

"But delayed transactions are different."

Shen Kang sat up straight, his tone shifting, "Delay the transaction. You can take the down payment now, but I won't give you the remaining balance. It's not that I don't want to give it to you, but I'll keep it for you. Until when? Until the start of next semester, the day the grades come out."

He held up a finger and pointed it in front of Wang Pan and Jin Chao.

"Pay attention to this timeframe—the start of the next semester."

"When does school start? It's when you've just spent all your New Year's money, your new allowance hasn't arrived yet, but you're facing a constant stream of expenses. At this time, you suddenly have a sum of money in your account—not much, but it arrives just in time for the start of school. What's that called? That's called cash flow management."

Wang Pan's eyelids twitched when he heard the words "cash flow management".

"But cash flow management is only the first layer."

Shen Kang stood up, one hand supporting himself on the edge of the table, the other gesturing in the air. His tone shifted completely from the casual conversation to a more formal one, as if he were explaining his product to an investor.

"Think about it more deeply. What is a direct buyout? It's cash on delivery, the logic of the traditional secondhand market. You liquidate your existing assets in one go, take a lump sum of dead money and leave. Your relationship with the platform ends there, it's zeroed out. That's called an asset-based mindset."

He pointed to the stack of textbooks on the table: "But delayed trading is not."

"A delayed transaction means that when you give me the book, the transaction isn't over; it's just beginning. Your final payment is in the system, and the settlement will be automatically triggered when the results are released. You won't have to do anything; the money will be in your account. This isn't just selling a book; it's turning an old textbook into a cash flow product with a time horizon."

As soon as the words "cash flow products" were uttered, Wang Pan's eyebrows twitched for the second time.

Jin Chao also sat up a little straighter.

"By reaching this level, you might think you're already pretty impressive. But you're not yet."

As Shen Kang spoke, he became more and more fluent, and began pacing in the open space in the middle of the dormitory. "Think about it on a third level. In traditional secondhand transactions, users sell and leave, never to return. But what about delayed transactions? Users will come back next semester to check their grades, collect their final payment, and perhaps even see what new books or features have been added to the platform. This isn't a one-off transaction; it's user lifecycle management."

"You are not one-time customers; you are active nodes in my entire business loop."

"..."

Wang Pan, Jin Chao, and Feng Moquan listened blankly, completely bewildered.

Especially Wang Pan and Jin Chao, the two of them were not only confused, but also suddenly enlightened:

So, delayed transactions are actually a financial product?

Makes sense!

The Lunar New Year is the time when I spend the most money. I have some money deposited with Lao Shen to prevent myself from losing my willpower during the holiday and being tricked by a relative's kid. I'll come back to Lao Shen to get the money after the New Year when I go back to school—isn't this forced savings, isn't this financial management, what is it?

And it's not just about financial management.

They have become an active node in Lao Shen's business loop, participating in this cause!

Without their help, could Lao Shen manage on his own?

No.

They are very important...

"So you see, what does a direct buyout mean? It means treating you as traffic with no sustainable value, just grabbing a piece of the pie and leaving."

"What is delayed trading? It means treating you as a long-term, symbiotic user asset, and growing together with you."

"If you do well on your exams and get excellent grades, you can continue to sell and buy books on my platform next semester and introduce new users—that's what I want. Failing a course? Failing a course is just an abnormal branch in this system; I can cover it by adding a safety net clause. But the real core users of this model have been you people who do well on your exams and are guaranteed to pass from the very beginning."

"You're not here to get a guaranteed return; you're here to work with me to make this business model work."

Shen Kang sat back down in his chair, spread his hands, and gave a concluding speech.

"In other words, it's not that you need delayed transactions; it's that delayed transactions need you. Without high-quality users like you, this model can't function."

"You are my Yangke partners."

The dormitory was silent for several seconds.

Jin Chao spoke first, his voice half an octave louder than usual: "Delay the transaction." He paused, nodded seriously, and emphasized even more, "Delay the transaction!"

Old Shen needs him.

As a member of the dormitory, he had no choice but to reluctantly postpone the transaction and help Lao Shen out.

Shen Kangchong gave him a thumbs up, then looked at Wang Pan.

Wang Pan finally slapped his thigh, this time harder than any before, the sound echoing through the dormitory for a while: "Delay the transaction! The transaction must be delayed!"

He took a deep breath and said in a tone that said, "I finally understand," "My hesitation just now wasn't because I was afraid of failing the course, but because I always felt that there was something wrong with a direct buyout, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Now, Lao Shen, you've explained it clearly: a direct buyout is like selling used goods; a delayed transaction is called user lifecycle management. Are these two the same?"

"Brother Pan's understanding is insightful."

Shen Kang also gave Wang Pan a thumbs up, "Choosing delayed transactions, that's the right thing to do. What does this mean? It means that everyone in our dorm is a high-quality user, everyone has user assets, and everyone has entered my business loop."

"Absolutely."

Wang Pan leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and looked as calm as if he had already secured Series A funding.

"No offense, Lao Shen, but when I was doing business, you were still memorizing vocabulary. I understand this kind of internet thinking immediately. Delayed transactions are essentially the underlying logic of user retention and repeat purchase rates, right?"

"Brother Pan, if you keep talking, I'll let you be the C."

"It's not that bad, I'll save you some face."

……

Feng Moquan sat next to him, still holding the textbook he hadn't put down.

He glanced at Wang Pan, then at Shen Kang, his lips moved, but he couldn't hold back any longer: "Then I chose to buy out the entire deal just now..."

"You are an angel round investor."

Shen Kang didn't even look up. After a brief thought, he said, "Angel round users enjoy different benefits."

Feng Moquan's spirits lifted. "What kind of benefits?"

"When Huanhuan.com goes public, you can stand next to me and watch me ring the bell."

"..."

Just then, Jiang Yateng from next door came in through the door and immediately heard the "ringing of the bell".

"Ring the bell? Old Shen, you want to ring the bell in our school's clock tower?"

Jiang Yateng skillfully squeezed in among the group, his expression conveying a sense of certainty that "you've finally hit the nail on the head." "Let me tell you," he said, "don't touch that clock. Do you know when it last chimed?"

He paused, waited a moment, and when no one answered, he took the call himself.

"Two years ago, a physics professor, who had spent most of his life trying to get promoted to full professor, drank most of a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) the night the results of the title evaluation came out. He climbed up the clock tower in the dark, took an iron hammer from the laboratory, and rang the bell for a full three minutes. While ringing it, he shouted, 'Relativity is wrong.' The next day, the school gave him two punishments: one for improper use of school property and the other for disturbing public order."

As Jiang Yateng spoke, his tone acquired a rhythmic quality reminiscent of a folk storyteller:

But that's not the point.

"The key point is that, from then on, the school had an unwritten new rule—nothing that could ring the bell was allowed within 50 meters of it. All the iron hammers in the physics lab were replaced with rubber-handled ones. And what happened to that professor? He was promoted to full professor, and then promoted exceptionally the following year. Who says ringing the bell is useless? It's just that while it's useful, it also comes with certain risks, so you still can't just ring it randomly."

Jiang Yateng finished speaking in one breath and realized that all four people in the dormitory were looking at him.

Shen Kang was still holding a pen in his hand, Feng Moquan's glasses had slipped down to the tip of his nose, Jin Chao's half-folded clothes were suspended in mid-air, and Wang Pan's crossed legs had been put down at some point.

"No," Wang Pan spoke first, "Jiang Yateng, where did you hear this from?"

"There are records in the student union archives; I looked through them myself," Jiang Yateng said without changing his expression.

Wang Pan wanted to ask again, "I'm also in the student council, how come I've never seen you before?" But then he thought about it and realized that he had been in the student council all semester, and every day he was either carrying tables or moving chairs.

So after thinking about it, Wang Pan decided to keep quiet and not ask any more questions.

Shen Kang remained silent for a moment, then nodded seriously: "Old Jiang, your information channel is excellent. If I want to hold a commercial event at the clock tower next semester, I'll talk to you again about the bell-ringing."

"No problem, I've got it covered!" Jiang Yateng patted his chest confidently, quite excited.

He comes to Shen Kang's dorm room whenever he has free time, and it's been going on for quite a while now. They have a pretty good relationship, but it's mostly just a casual, joking one.

Now Shen Kang is already "preparing to ask him for help," which is a good thing. It means that their relationship has progressed further and they have embarked on a new journey!

After the initial excitement, Jiang Yateng suddenly realized, "By the way, what bell do you want to ring?"

"Ringing the bell at the IPO."

"...Going public?"

Jiang Yateng tried to calm himself down. "President Shen, is your company going public?"

Shen Kang shook his head, "We're still a ways off, but let's set a small goal first."

Jiang Yateng finally breathed a sigh of relief—although he also hoped that Shen Kang would do well, the better, Shen Kang would do better, but if he was too fast-paced, he would have a hard time keeping up.

"By the way," seeing Jiang Yateng come over, Shen Kang, having nothing better to do, asked, "Old Jiang, how did your exam go?"

Jiang Yateng frankly said, "It's alright, most of them should be fine, but advanced mathematics might be a bit of a challenge."

Shen Kang said, "That's already very strong. You won't need these books anymore, so why don't you sell them?..."

Compared to the other experts in the dormitory, Jiang Yateng was much more normal. He neither boasted nor showed any weakness. After listening to Shen Kang's introduction, he thought about it and decided to sell all his books to Huanhuan.com, including advanced mathematics. Anyway, he could use delayed transactions. If he really failed, he could just take them back and review them.

The book sale had been agreed upon, but Jiang Yateng hadn't left yet—he had come specifically to chat with Shen Kang and strengthen their friendship.

"...Okay, that's settled then. By the way, Lao Shen,"

Jiang Yateng started a conversation, "Are you buying these books now so you can sell them to our younger schoolmates next summer after summer vacation?"

Shen Kang nodded, then shook his head. "If we have any, we'll sell them to them, but it would be best if we could sell them after the winter break."

Jiang Yateng thought for a moment and nodded, "Indeed. If we have to store them for another six months, all those books will cost a fortune in rent."

Shen Kang said, "Not only that, but acquiring books also costs money. The use of this capital is also a cost."

Jiang Yateng was initially taken aback, thinking, "You haven't lost any money; you've just turned it into books piled up there. When you resell them at a higher price, won't you still make a profit? What are the costs?"

But then I thought about some of the knowledge I had learned this semester and pondered it—indeed, money also has a time cost.

"Then it would be best to sell it during the winter break."

As Jiang Yateng spoke, he thought to himself, "But it doesn't seem like it'll sell well. Even next semester, we'll all be freshmen, while the books on the other side are for upperclassmen, and they won't want our books... I've got it!"

Jiang Yateng's eyes lit up as he came up with an idea. "We can try asking around at other schools. Each school has a different curriculum, so it's very possible that other schools will be teaching the same courses we've already taken this semester!"

Shen Kang glanced at him, smiled, and said, "Old Jiang, that's a good idea. Why don't you continue?"

Jiang Yateng didn't think about anything else; he just pondered to himself and then slowly shared his thoughts.