I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

"Old Shen, I've thought about it again, and I feel that selling books across schools is actually quite feasible. First of all..."

Jiang Yateng had just started speaking when he was interrupted.

"Wait a moment!"

It is Wang Pan.

He had moved a chair over and sat down nearby without anyone noticing, and now he stood up.

Jiang Yateng stopped and looked at him.

Wang Pan walked to the dormitory door, peeked out and looked around, then closed the door—not just casually, but by pressing the latch, hearing a "click," and then pushing it to make sure it was closed tightly.

He turned around and walked back to the balcony door, where he closed the sliding door and pulled the curtains to cover the gap.

"alright."

Wang Pan returned, extended his hand to Jiang Yateng, and said, "You continue."

Jiang Yateng watched him finish his actions and asked, "Why did you close the door?"

"Soundproofing".

Wang Pan said, "You just started talking about a business plan. Walls can hear you. Old Zhao next door, last time he was on the bathroom balcony talking to his family about his living expenses arriving soon, and the next day the whole building knew that his family gave him 800 a month."

"Wasn't it you who spread that rumor about Lao Zhao?" Feng Mo didn't even look up.

"I was testing his information security awareness."

Wang Pan had his reasons: "Look, doesn't he now make phone calls from the balcony?"

"That's because you hung your socks out to dry on the balcony, and he thought they smelled bad, so he didn't go there."

"The effect is the same. He learned to protect his privacy."

Wang Pan remained unfazed. "Now we also need to protect Huanhuan.com's privacy. We are partners, and Lao Jiang is talking about company matters; we can't let others hear it."

Feng Moquan was taken aback.

This reminded him that he is now an angel investor in Huanhuan.com.

Feng Moquan quietly pulled over a chair, placed it to Jiang Yateng's right, and sat down.

Jiang Yateng opened his mouth, "I just wanted to share an idea..."

"Ideas are a company's intangible assets."

Feng Moquan looked at Jiang Yateng, quickly getting into character. "When you came in, you said, 'I thought about it again.' That 'again' shows that you've already put in a lot of mental effort on this idea. Mental effort is also an investment, so your idea was already an asset of Huanhuan.com even before you said it. Wang Pan did the right thing; we can't let the company's intangible assets be stolen."

"...No, it's Lao Shen's company, why are you two so excited about it?" Jiang Yateng asked, puzzled.

Then Wang Pan and Feng Moquan joined forces and started explaining things like user lifecycle management, platform ecosystem, and business nodes, leaving Jiang Yateng dizzy and confused.

By the end, Jiang Yateng still didn't understand what was going on, but he did understand one thing—Huanhuan.com no longer belonged to Lao Shen alone, but to all stakeholders.

Wang Pan and Feng Moquan are among the stakeholders, and they are now representing all stakeholders in protecting the company's interests.

Jiang Yateng thought to himself, "What kind of nonsense is this?"

Just as I was thinking this, I saw Jin Chao quietly pull over a chair.

Because Wang Pan and Feng Moquan were already seated on either side of Jiang Yateng, Jin Chao had no room to sit, so he could only place his chair behind Jiang Yateng, sit down silently, and stare at Jiang Yateng's back.

Like the spirit behind his mother.

"..."

Jiang Yateng turned around and looked at Jin Chao. "Old Jin, you're a partner too?"

Jin Chao shook his head.

"So you're an angel investor?"

Jin Chao shook his head again.

Jiang Yateng was even more puzzled, "Then what are you?"

"High-quality user".

"...Should premium users also care about the company's interests?"

Jiang Yateng couldn't help but complain, and then said, "Old Jin, if you want to sit, can you find somewhere else? It's creepy to have you sitting behind me."

Jin Chao was also in a dilemma: the seats around him were all full, so where else could he sit if he didn't sit behind Jiang Yateng? He didn't want to just stand there and listen in. It seemed like the only option was to stand next to Wang Pan and Feng Moquan. But everyone had "partnered" at the same time, and if they sat while he stood, wouldn't he be considered inferior to them?

Shen Kang watched his three roommates' behavior with amusement.

Seeing that Jin Chao seemed unsure what to say, he couldn't resist a wicked joke and chimed in, "Old Jiang, there's a deeper meaning behind Old Jin sitting behind you."

"When we talk about the future of these secondhand textbooks and selling books across schools, we're essentially talking about 'customers'."

"As platform providers, we don't know when customers will nod, when they will shake their heads, or when they feel you're wrong but are too lazy to speak up. Similarly, you can't see when Lao Jin nods, shakes his head, or feels you're wrong but is too lazy to speak up. This is the same as with real customers. Real customers are actually standing 'behind' you that you can't see."

"When Lao Jin sits behind you, he's actually simulating a 'customer profile'."

Jin Chao immediately chimed in, "Yes, that's exactly what I meant."

"...Alright then."

Jiang Yateng stopped arguing with Jin Chao and turned back around—not because he thought Shen Kang's words made sense or convinced him, but simply because these words came from Shen Kang's mouth.

"Then let me continue with what I just said..."

Shen Kang was watching this scene unfold: Wang Pan and Feng Moquan, each with a chair, sandwiched Jiang Yateng between them like two door gods. The most striking figure was Jin Chao—he sat silently behind Jiang Yateng, like a mournful ghost haunting him.

Hmm, that's right.

Shen Kang listened to Jiang Yateng's story with amusement.

"...these teaching materials were collected from Huanhuan.com..."

Jiang Yateng was interrupted again before he could say two words.

"Wait a minute!" Wang Pan raised his hand again.

"What is it now?" Jiang Yateng asked helplessly.

"window."

Wang Pan pointed to the window behind Feng Moquan, "The ventilation window up there isn't closed."

Feng Moquan glanced back, stood up, and closed the small window. The window frame was slightly warped, and it got stuck when he closed it. He pushed hard, and there was a loud "bang."

Then I sat back down.

"It's ready now," Wang Pan said.

Jiang Yateng took a deep breath and spoke again: "After collecting the textbooks, we're just waiting to sell them to the younger students next semester..."

"Keep your voice down."

A sinister voice suddenly came from behind, startling Jiang Yateng. He then realized it was Jin Chao sitting behind him.

Everyone looked at Jin Chao.

"Someone just walked past outside."

Jin Chao said, "Judging from the footsteps, it's Old Zhao from next door. He walks with his left foot heavier than his right, so he must have just come back from a shower. His dorm room is two rooms away from ours, so he can't hear us at normal volume, but if he stops for a moment when he passes by, we can hear him."

Feng Moquan asked, "How do you know that his left foot is heavier than his right?"

"He stepped on my network cable last time and broke the RJ45 connector. I watched him for several days and found that he didn't do it on purpose; he just doesn't put weight on his two feet."

The dormitory was quiet for a moment.

"continue."

Wang Panjue Lao Jin is really clueless. When discussing trade secrets, he keeps talking about Lao Zhao and Crystal Head. Can Crystal Head be even one ten-thousandth as important as the company's trade secrets? He's been a college student for too long and is not used to his current role as a partner at Yang University of Science and Technology.

"Old Jiang, you continue. Old Jin will be keeping an eye on things outside."

Jiang Yateng sat there and looked at Wang Pan—Wang Pan sat to his left, his arms crossed and resting on his knees, staring intently at him with a dignified expression, just like Shen Tu.

He then turned to look at Feng Moquan—Feng Moquan was sitting to his right, arms crossed, looking relatively relaxed, like Yu Lei.

There really are two gatekeepers, and they're from an ancient version.

As for Jin Chao behind him, there was no need to look back—just sitting there, Jiang Yateng could feel a chilling aura emanating from behind him.

"...Old Shen, let's talk in the living room."

Jiang Yateng stood up.

Before he could even speak, Wang Pan objected, "Why?"

"I can't say anything with you all gathered around here. It's like my thoughts are being torn apart. Right now, all I can think about is Old Zhao's left and right feet."

Feng Moquan was also dissatisfied, "What do you want Old Zhao's left and right feet to do?"

Jin Chao then suddenly blurted out, "Old Jiang, you have a foot fetish?"

"..."

Jiang Yateng is about to break down.

His roommates secretly accused him of being a bootlicker and looked down on him. They should really come and see for themselves how difficult it is to be a bootlicker! What a bunch of amazing people in Mr. Shen's dorm!

Jiang Yateng remained silent and walked straight outside.

Shen Kang laughed as he got up and followed Jiang Yateng out.

She only stopped briefly as she passed by Jin Chao.

Is it true or made up that Old Zhao's left foot is heavier than his right?

"Really," Jin Chao said. "He was wearing slippers the day he stepped on my crystal hair clip. When his left foot landed, the splash of water was higher than his right foot. I measured it."

Shen Kang nodded and went out the door.

Many people will be going home tomorrow, and the living room isn't as lively as it used to be. Only Zhao Debiao—who is also known as Old Zhao by Jin Chao—is watching TV, making it seem a bit empty.

The doors to the other two dorm rooms were open, and people could be seen packing their things inside and talking from time to time.

Jiang Yateng walked over and sat down directly next to Zhao Debiao, leaving the single wooden sofa on the right for Shen Kang.

When Shen Kang sat down, he glanced at the television, which was showing "Bright Sword." Li Yunlong stood on the position, binoculars held to his chest, black smoke billowing from the opposite mountain. The cavalry company had been decimated; the communications officer, his face covered in dust, rolled down the hillside, his voice coming from the television.

That's what I think.

Without the disturbance of others, Jiang Yateng's thoughts finally cleared up. "Selling books at other schools is convenient in terms of transportation. There are only so many universities in the university town, so I can just ride a bike there, and the cost is low."

"I know Old Zhou who drives a van near the school gate. He charges twenty yuan a trip and can carry several boxes of books. I can have him take it to the university; I have a high school classmate there who can help pick me up."

"How do you know someone will buy it?" Shen Kang asked.

"Of course people will buy it. They're all university students, and they all need textbooks."

"What if the versions are different? For the same advanced mathematics course, Yangko University of Science and Technology uses the Tongji University version, while the University of Technology of China might use the Higher Education Press version. If you bring the Tongji version over, they won't even bother to look at it."

Jiang Yateng paused for a moment. He hadn't actually thought about the version. But he quickly continued, "Then let's find out which version they're using first. I'll have my classmate ask. Doesn't the academic affairs office post a list of textbooks? Just take a picture and send it over. I have several classmates at the university; they can handle this."

Shen Kang nodded, then asked, "Why would your classmate run this errand for you?"

"I'll just treat them to a meal. They're all from the same high school class, so they're willing to help with something like this."

Shen Kang didn't press the issue of the edition, but changed the subject: "How much will the books cost once we get to the university?"

Seeing that Shen Kang was no longer fixated on the version, Jiang Yateng felt there was potential and became even more enthusiastic: "Set up a stall. The cafeteria entrance, the place with the highest foot traffic. I'll have my classmate reserve a spot for you beforehand, lay the books on the ground, clearly mark the prices, and students passing by can flip through a couple of pages and pay on the spot if they think it's a good deal. I've seen used book vendors at the night market near the school gate, and that's how it's done."

"Setting up a stall at the cafeteria entrance?"

"Yes, that's where the foot traffic is the highest."

"What does that have to do with Huanhuan.com?"

Jiang Yateng was taken aback.

"What's the difference between a student squatting at the cafeteria entrance selling used books and those street vendors at the school gate? I'm not just selling books, I'm also promoting Huanhuan.com."

Zhao Debiao muttered to himself, "They can't get through." It was unclear whether he was referring to the cavalry company or something else.

Jiang Yateng thought for a moment, then spoke again, this time more slowly: "Then we won't set up a stall. I'll bring the books to the university and put them in my classmates' dorms. They can post on the Yangbei Forum and the Beiming Community, clearly stating what books they have and how much they cost. If someone wants them, they can come and pick them up, cash on delivery."

"Then you still haven't changed your internet connection."

Shen Kang seemed to be deliberately making things difficult for Jiang Yateng.

"The books were placed in your classmate's dorm room, using your classmate's space. From beginning to end, you simply moved Huanhuan.com's inventory to another school. The transaction took place on Yangbei Forum and possibly Beiming Community, but the transaction itself had nothing to do with Huanhuan.com. The person who bought the books wouldn't know about the Huanhuan.com platform through this action."

Jiang Yateng remained silent for a while.

The cavalry company had charged into the enemy lines, and the gunfire grew increasingly intense.

"Yes. I really haven't figured this out," Jiang Yateng said, as if speaking to Shen Kang, yet also as if organizing his own thoughts: "I'm just thinking about how to get the books over there, how to sell them, but what happens after they're sold out? People will only remember that there was a stall outside the university cafeteria..."

Jiang Yateng thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up and said, "Posts can guide people. I can post a message that clearly states, 'These books are the first batch of books distributed across schools through Huanhuan.com,' and then leave a link to Huanhuan.com. If people who want to buy books click on it, they'll find that there are even more textbooks on the platform. After registering, they can sell their old books to us. Then this order won't just be an order; it will also bring in a new user."

Jiang Yateng talked on and on, trying to organize his thoughts.

"Since posting online can sell books—no, it's not that posting online can sell books, it's that someone at the university has the books..."

As Jiang Yateng sorted things out, things gradually became clearer, and finally his eyes lit up as if he had figured everything out.

"We'll set up stalls outside the cafeteria too! Offline counterattack against online!"