I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

In a quiet private room

After staring at Shen Kang for a while, Liang Siyuan suddenly remarked, "President Shen's spirited demeanor is about the same age as my son, who is just like that. It reminds me of my own youth."

"Oh?" Shen Kang chuckled. "Director Liang, you used to clean toilets when you were young?"

"no,"

Liang Siyuan shook his head. "Back then, I was running a small business. There was a period when panic buying swept through the market. People were grabbing everything as if it were free. I couldn't sit still, so I found a way to raise some money and stocked up on a batch of electric fans."

Shen Kang was very obliging and even asked, "An electric fan?"

Liang Siyuan nodded, "Yes. It wasn't even summer yet. I used my connections to get over a hundred units from the factory, thinking that once it got hot, the price would double and I could make a profit. But that summer, there was an unusually heavy rain, and it wasn't hot at all. All the goods were stuck in my hands and taking up warehouse space. In the end, it wasn't until autumn that I pushed them out one by one and sold them as secondhand. I didn't even get my costs back."

After saying that, Liang Siyuan sighed again, "Back then, I was young and thought I was invincible. But when it came to actually doing it, I realized I was nothing."

Shen Kang comforted him, saying, "Although you didn't know this when you were young, at least you know it now. This is progress, and this is a good thing."

Zhang Demin lowered his head, pretending to drink soup, to hide the smile that he couldn't suppress.

It's really interesting to listen to these two talk: Liang Siyuan first implied that Shen Kang was only good enough to be his son, to which Shen Kang retorted that Liang Siyuan was a toilet cleaner. Liang Siyuan then used an example, the veracity of which is unknown, of "failing to stockpile electric fans when he was young," to subtly insult Shen Kang, implying that he was nothing. Shen Kang, in turn, directly countered, saying that although Liang Siyuan didn't know he was nothing when he was young, at least now that Liang Siyuan knows he's nothing, it's a good thing.

Liang Siyuan had been a high-ranking executive at Philips for a long time, and usually everyone would fawn over him whenever he said something. But, hey, he'd run into this stubborn, headstrong young man who wouldn't listen to reason. Interesting, very interesting. Zhang Demin chuckled to himself.

Originally, Zhang Demin was quite keen to make this happen. After all, according to Philip's promise, if the An family joined in, the goods would also be shipped through him, increasing his income. Regardless of seeing this scene now, even if things didn't work out, it was still worth it.

Meanwhile, after talking for a while, Liang Siyuan changed the subject and looked at Lu Lan beside him, "Manager Lu, what time is it?"

Lu Lan glanced at her watch. "It's almost eight o'clock."

Liang Siyuan hummed in agreement, as if he had just remembered something, and said to Shen Kang, "Mr. Shen, tonight's chat was quite interesting. I see it's getting late, and your friends are almost done talking, so I won't bother you any longer."

Zhang Demin knew it was his turn, so he stopped secretly gloating and quickly stood up. "Yes, yes, it's getting late. Mr. Shen, let me see you off."

Shen Kang stood up, picked up the two books on the table again, and tucked them under his arm. "Alright. Thank you for your hospitality tonight, Director Liang. I'll be going now."

Qiao Na, who was accompanying him, also quickly got up and, together with Zhang Demin, saw Shen Kang off, her eyes full of reluctance.

If at first she was only interested in Xiao Bonian's son, like seeing a handsome guy she'd never met before on campus, then after witnessing Shen Kang's confident and assertive manner and his complete disregard for Liang Siyuan, she is now quite interested in him.

As Shen Kang reached the door, he paused, turned to Liang Siyuan, and said, "By the way, Director Liang, please reconsider. Regarding the promotional vehicle, if a Land Rover Range Rover isn't an option, a Mercedes will do; I'm not picky. Forget about the BMW; I drive my own."

After saying that, he went out.

Liang Siyuan watched Shen Kang's figure disappear outside the door, and he laughed in anger.

As the door closed, Lu Lan finally spoke up: "This kid...did something kick him in the head?"

:

Liang Siyuan did not respond, but instead looked at Gu Jinhua.

"Manager Gu, what's your opinion?"

Gu Jinhua glanced at Liang Siyuan, then at Lu Lan.

He has a crazy idea in his mind right now, but he doesn't know whether he should say it or not.

Seemingly sensing Gu Jinhua's hesitation, Liang Siyuan encouraged her, "Just say what you think, tell me."

Gu Jinhua thought for a moment, then finally spoke up: "I think... perhaps we can really consider it. I don't mean to accept it entirely, but we can try our best to move towards cooperation."

Lu Lan was very surprised and looked at Gu Jinhua abruptly, blurting out without thinking, "Manager Gu, what's gotten into your brain?...

Liang Siyuan pressed down with his right hand, stopping Lu Lan from continuing. "Manager Lu, please don't speak yet. Manager Gu must have his reasons for saying this. Let's hear what Manager Gu has to say first."

Encouraged by Liang Siyuan's words, Gu Jinhua expressed her own thoughts.

"When I first heard Shen Kang say those things, I thought he was talking nonsense. But for some reason, I thought of someone—Boss Ma."

"I once met Boss Ma at a drinking party. Back then, Boss Ma was still trying to attract investment. When he was talking about his ideas, his demeanor was, if not exactly the same as Shen Kang's, but remarkably similar. The people at the drinking party back then thought Boss Ma was crazy, just like we think Shen Kang is now."

Lu Lan was speechless: "So, Manager Gu, you think he can succeed just because he looks a bit like that Boss Ma? I've seen plenty of people like that; they all look pretty much the same. Does that mean everyone can become like Boss Ma?"

Gu Jinhua shook her head. "It's not just that. There's also the reason I've been working in Yangcheng. I've personally witnessed and heard how the An family rose to prominence step by step."

"Six months ago, in Yangcheng, you could run all over the city and no one knew what the An family was. It was around one day six months ago that I started seeing a few people in uniform riding electric scooters on the streets of Yangcheng."

"At first, I didn't take it seriously, but after only a month or two, I saw those people on the streets every day. It would be strange if they disappeared one day; many people's lives have been changed. Take me for example. Ever since I used Anjia's housekeeping services, I've never used any other housekeeping services. Standardized and worry-free—that's how Anjia feels to me. Compared to them, other housekeeping services are like makeshift operations..."

Gu Jinhua shared a lot of his personal experiences and thoughts as a frontline employee at the prefecture level, and finally gave a summary.

"I think this Mr. Shen is indeed a bit different from ordinary businessmen. Maybe he really can expand beyond Yangcheng and Qianlin. Let's not talk about being number one in the country, but I think it's quite possible for him to be number one in several provinces. If that's the case, if he lowers his conditions a little, I think this trip will be worthwhile."

Liang Siyuan did not interrupt him.

After Gu Jinhua finished speaking, Liang Siyuan paused for a moment before saying, "As a frontline staff member, Manager Gu can certainly see things that we can't. But similarly, there are some things that only we can see, things that you may not be able to see yet, Manager Gu."

"We've seen many companies that are doing well in a city, and quite a few of them are even more sensational than Anjia, which you mentioned, Manager Gu. But the vast majority, or even all of them, are just operating in one or a few cities."

"Business operations across provinces are far more difficult than you think, Manager Gu. It's not something you can just take for granted. Although these provinces in China are all part of the same country, sometimes the difficulty of crossing provincial borders is comparable to crossing national borders in Europe."

"Let alone these local small businesses, even when we at Philips wanted to expand across the country, we encountered one difficulty after another. It was thanks to the unity and hard work of all our colleagues, along with the strong support from headquarters, that we were able to overcome one tough nut after another and finally get to where we are today."

After saying all this, Liang Siyuan made his final judgment.

"So, that's the end of it."

Then, without looking at Gu Jinhua, Liang Siyuan turned to Lu Lan and asked, "Manager Lu, are you going home for the Chinese New Year again this year?"

:

Lu Lan said with a smile, "I have to go back, no matter how busy I am. The elders at home say I haven't had a New Year's Eve dinner in two years."

"I should go back and visit. I'm not sure I'll be able to leave this year; there's a lot to do during the Spring Festival. I'll probably spend the holiday in Xiahai. Luckily, I already went back for Christmas..."

Seeing this, Gu Jinhua understood what it meant. She sighed inwardly and said nothing more. She simply asked the girl next to her to pour her a cup of tea and drank it silently.

He was also wondering if he was overthinking things. Perhaps, as Liang Siyuan said, his perspective was too limited, and he had underestimated the complexity of crossing provincial borders.

……

Outside the private room

After Zhang Demin saw Shen Kang out, he did not go back immediately, but instead told "Little Zhang" to go back first.

"Xiao Zhang" Qiao Na glanced at Shen Kang one last time with reluctance before returning to the private room.

Zhang Demin then said to Shen Kang, "Mr. Shen, let me see you off a bit more."

Shen Kang nodded, "Okay."

Go to Must Search

The two then strolled leisurely down the corridor.

Zhang Demin was quite talkative and found some topics to chat about with Shen Kang, who was able to keep up.

As they chatted, they walked a distance together. When they were almost at the lobby, Zhang Demin stopped, took out a business card, and handed it over with both hands.

"...I'm very happy to have met President Shen today. If you ever feel bored or want to have some fun in the future, just let me know, and I'll make sure everything is arranged."

Shen Kang took the business card, glanced at it, and smiled. "I don't really have any business cards. Mr. Zhang, why don't you just save my number here?"

As he spoke, he took out his phone and dialed the number on the business card.

Zhang Demin also took out his phone, saved Shen Kang's number, glanced at Shen Kang's phone, and laughed, "Mr. Shen, this phone of yours is quite tasteful, a classic model. How would you young people say it? Cool."

Shen Kang put away his phone and sighed, "Sigh, what's so cool about it? In the end, it's just a small business like mine, and all the money I make goes into the company. Forget about fancy phones, I can't even afford a big shot like General Manager Zhang."

Zhang Demin was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and waved his hand, "President Shen is joking with me again. What else can a rough guy like me do besides selling goods and drinking?"

Shen Kang laughed, "Mr. Zhang is too modest. Someone who can manage to control Yangcheng and several surrounding counties under Philips is in high demand everywhere. If my business were a little bigger, I would definitely call you first. Don't ignore me then."

Zhang Demin smiled, but his mind raced.

Shen Kang's words were half-true and half-false, like the polite "there will be opportunities to cooperate in the future" at a dinner table, but also like he was hiding something. He didn't dare to go too far, and just laughed and said, "Mr. Shen, are you trying to poach me, Lao Zhang? I'm a timid person, and I'm used to staying at Philips. I don't want to cause you any trouble."

Shen Kang said, "That won't do. Someone like President Zhang is a pillar of strength wherever he is. If I were to actually speak up, it wouldn't be to let you cause trouble, but to let you reap the rewards."

Zhang Demin smiled so broadly his eyes narrowed, waving his hands repeatedly: "You flatter me, you flatter me. President Shen is young and promising. If there's ever anything I, Old Zhang, can do for you in the future, just let me know."

:

The two exchanged a smile, neither making any definitive statements.

Just then, a waiter carrying dishes walked by, and the two of them moved aside to make way for him.

Shen Kang then said, "Alright, Mr. Zhang, that's enough for now. Director Liang is still waiting for you. I don't have a business card, but you have my number. If Philip ever gives you a hard time, feel free to call me at midnight."

Zhang Demin exclaimed, "Oh dear! Mr. Shen, please don't curse me!"

Shen Kang patted him on the shoulder, as if saying goodbye to an old friend: "Go back."

Then, he turned and left.

Zhang Demin didn't immediately return to the private room. Instead, he stared at Shen Kang's back for a while, then smiled and shook his head.

This Mr. Shen is quite interesting. He's clearly an eighteen or nineteen-year-old kid, but from what I've seen of him today, he gives off the feeling of being a thirty-four-year-old peer. Yet, in some ways, he really is a clueless, naive young man.

This sense of fusion is amazing; he has never seen it anywhere else.

As for Shen Kang's earlier revelation of his intention to recruit...

Zhang Demin recalled the arrogant and domineering manner that President Shen had displayed at the banquet.

Let's take a look first.

As it happened, Zhang Demin knew something, something he had never mentioned before and seemed to know nothing about—Anjia Technology was about to launch an electric toothbrush.

For the Spring Festival promotion, Philips also has a key model of electric toothbrush that they are promoting.

Take a look first.

It's always good to see more and get more involved.

Zhang Demin felt that the atmosphere in the general environment had been somewhat delicate lately.

: