I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Chapter 505 It's like you're not a liar.

"Thank you?"

Zhou Man sat down next to Shen Kang, picked up a bottle of electrolyte water from the coffee table in front of her, took a couple of sips, put it down, and asked curiously, "What's going on? Tell me."

Shen Kang, currently contemplating the "Celebrating the New Year Together" plan priced at "one million," casually remarked, "Too lazy to talk about it."

Zhou Man urged, "Tell me, tell me." She seemed very interested in what had happened to him.

Pressed by her, Shen Kang had no choice but to recount the whole story from beginning to end.

After listening, Zhou Man stared at him for a long time.

Previously, she only knew that Shen Kang had started a housekeeping company, a technology company, and ran a website, among other things. She only knew the general outline of Shen Kang's business dealings and didn't know the specifics.

There were only two relatively specific instances of understanding: one was when the rice cooker was handed over to Anjia, and the other was when a food supply agreement was forcibly signed with Anjia.

In those two encounters, Shen Kang was undoubtedly a very kind and honest person, even to the point that Zhou Man was worried about him—this kid is so honest in business, what will happen to him in the future?

Shen Kang's business is doing well now, probably because it's still small. At this stage, as long as his ideas are good and his execution is strong, it's relatively easy to achieve success. However, as the business grows larger, he'll encounter all sorts of people, and various traps and pitfalls will become more likely.

It's impossible to guard against; Shen Kang is too honest, and he might suffer the consequences.

That's right; Shen Kang is indeed smart and mature; but there are many traps and snares that you can't avoid just because you're smart; his honest and kind nature means that no matter how smart you are, you can't get around them.

Zhou Man knew some methods that targeted honest people; the more honest and clever the person was, the easier it was for them to fall for the trick.

That's why there's a saying that character determines destiny, and there's some truth to that.

Zhou Man even envisioned the possible outcome—perhaps one day in the future, someone else would reap the rewards of what Shen Kangxin had worked so hard to create.

This kind of thing is not uncommon; it often happens to people like Shen Kang, who are creatively talented and highly professional, but are too honest.

But now, Zhou Man is no longer worried.

From what Shen Kang said today, she saw a glimpse of the hidden side of this kid. She felt she didn't need to worry about him anymore; she was just thankful he wasn't harming anyone.

Instead, she worried that if He Qiuzhu got together with this guy, she might be sold out and still be helping him count the money.

Probably.

Zhou Man was filled with worry.

Thinking of this, she suddenly turned her head and said to He Qiuzhu, who was still diligently practicing Pilates, "Qiuzhu, be careful about what this kid says in the future. Believe at most 30%—no, at most 10%."

Shen Kang was very dissatisfied: "President Zhou, what do you mean? You're making it sound like I'm some kind of big liar."

Zhou Man turned around, rolled her eyes, and said, "You talk as if you're not the same way."

After bickering for a while, Zhou Man stopped arguing with him about this uncontroversial topic and smoothly switched from being "He Qiuzhu's mother" to being "Shen Kang's mother," thinking of him.

"By doing this, you have indeed successfully brought your Anjia electric toothbrush to Philips' booth. I reckon sales will definitely increase again, but it may also bring a problem."

She explained the pros and cons of the situation to Shen Kang in detail.

"Following your strategy, your Anjia brand will essentially be positioned as offering unbeatable value for money," while Philips will be positioned as a "high-end product."

"First impressions are crucial. If you leave this kind of first impression on your clients, I'm afraid that while it will be easier to offer cost-effective products in the future, it will be difficult to push for higher-end products later. The 'cost-effective' label will be hard to shake off."

Shen Kang looked at Zhou Man in surprise.

Zhou Man asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Shen Kang said, "I thought, Mr. Zhou, you were just relying on your connections," and that you'd be sitting in your office signing documents all day, no different than having a gorilla sitting there. I didn't expect you to have such foresight, Mr. Zhou!"

Zhou Man rolled her eyes again.

Shen Kang's words both insulted and praised her, leaving her unsure whether to be angry or amused.

He knew that Zhou Man's concerns were justified. There was a good example in later generations: Lei Jiaozhu's coarse grains were all about cost-effectiveness, but when he tried to push the price up later on, he couldn't manage it no matter how many times he tried.

However, there are other examples, such as Huawei, which initially entered the consumer mobile phone market by targeting the low-end market, but later successfully moved upmarket.

There are many factors that lead to the differences between the two, and Shen Kang did not intend to explain them in detail to Zhou Man. He simply said, "However, when entering a field, we can only start from the bottom and work our way up."

As he spoke, he gave a few examples: "For instance, when Germany first started industrializing, it also focused on low-end products; when island nations re-industrialized, they also started by offering low-priced and high-quality products."

After giving several examples, Shen Kang continued, "—This is what I think: a new entity wanting to enter a new field, why should others accept you? History tells us that only by offering high-quality products at low prices can you succeed." First, we need to squeeze in...

Only by getting in, surviving, and establishing a foothold can one be qualified to talk about what comes next.

"Just like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you have to survive first and satisfy the lowest level of survival needs before you can pursue higher things."

"Aiming higher is definitely something to consider in the future, but not right now. Otherwise, it's like talking about aiming higher before the foundation is even laid—it's unstable and doesn't fit my cautious style. As for whether we can succeed in aiming higher in the future—"

Shen Kang paused, then chuckled, "Then we'll have to wait and see how wise future generations are."

"If all else fails, focusing on the 'value for money' segment will be enough to make a good living. I'm not greedy."

After listening to Shen Kang's words, Zhou Man didn't say anything more, but seemed to be deep in thought.

Clearly, this kid has already thought of these things.

"Alright. Since you've thought it through yourself, there's no need for me to remind you."

Zhou Man smiled self-deprecatingly, a mixture of disappointment and pride.

The disappointment stemmed from the feeling that he hadn't been able to help, while the pride came from the fact that this kid had seemingly managed to get everything sorted out.

The two chatted for a while longer, and somehow the conversation drifted to the topic of the Chinese New Year.

"—Mr. Zhou, where are you going for the Chinese New Year?" Shen Kang asked casually.

Zhou Man instinctively asked in return, "And you?"

"I?"

Shen Kang thought for a moment, "In previous years I spent it in the welfare home, but it's hard to say this year. I have several companies now, so I could go anywhere."

The words were vague and completely meaningless.

Zhou Man was much more honest: "Then you're not much better off than me. As for me, I might be at the company, or I might be working at the grassroots level."

Upon hearing this, Shen Kang became interested: "I understand what 'going down to the grassroots' means in the company, but what does it mean?"

Zhou Man explained, "It's a rule set by Chairman Zhou. Every year, all directors and above in the company need to take some time to go to the grassroots level. Some go for two weeks, some for a month. The places they go are also different. Some go to branch offices, some to stores, some to warehouses. Basically, it's about getting you out of the office and spending some time on the front line."

Shen Kang thought to himself, "Good heavens, Old Man Zhou is afraid that these senior executives will become arrogant after sitting in the headquarters and branch buildings all day looking at reports, holding meetings and signing documents. They will not understand the actual situation below and will make decisions like 'Why don't they eat meat porridge'?"

It seems like a good method; I could steal it and study it later. If it's suitable, I could use it in my own system. But for now, I'll pass. My current system is already at the "grassroots" level, so there's no need to build anything further.

"Will Jay Chou play it himself?" Shen Kang asked curiously.

Zhou Man nodded, "Also."

"Does everyone download it during the Lunar New Year?"

"No, the timing is quite flexible, it depends on your work schedule. I happen to have no work scheduled during the Chinese New Year period, but I might be busy at other times, so it's better to do this during the Chinese New Year."

Zhou Man spoke casually, but Shen Kang understood her true thoughts.

I reckon it's because Mr. Zhou staged this "sudden family drama" this year that he's afraid he'll be in trouble when he goes back for the Lunar New Year, so he's just using this as an excuse to stay here and not go back.

While chatting casually with Zhou Man, Shen Kang was lost in thought.

Now, there's a bit more information, but I still have no clue how to get the million-dollar reward.

Okay, I'll go see Xiao Bonian tomorrow and get more information—Xiao Bonian has some work to do these past few days and has temporarily moved back to his own home, which is why I haven't seen him yet.

next day

Shen Kang strolled downstairs, intending to find Xiao Bonian, with He Qiuzhu following beside him.

Logically speaking, a university teacher like Xiao Bonian should take the winter vacation with his students. However, Xiao Bonian's status is somewhat special; he is not an ordinary teacher and has projects to work on, so he did not take the vacation and still had to work every day.

As for why He Qiuzhu wasn't brought along by Zhou Man today, but instead given to Shen Kang—

"This phenomenon is very common."

Sitting in the passenger seat, Shen Kang said, "Just like Yin Mingyang, his family did the same thing. For the first two days after he came back, they treated him like a treasure, but by the third day they completely ignored him and let him go—"

The car drove out of the underground parking garage.

He Qiuzhu sat in the driver's seat and drove the car away.

Since returning from his vacation a while ago and letting He Qiuzhu drive once, Shen Kang tries to avoid driving whenever he goes out with He Qiuzhu, because driving is so tiring.

There's just one downside.

As Shen Kang was speaking, his eyelids drooped, and he glanced at his thigh again, where a small, fair hand had "misplaced" itself and was touching it.

"Alas, it's all my fault for being too devastatingly beautiful," Shen Kang sighed inwardly, feeling utterly helpless.

What else can we do?

If your child likes to touch things, then let her touch them as much as she wants.

After being touched for a while, Shen Kang took the opportunity to ask about the New Year: "—Where are you going to spend the New Year?"

"have no idea."

"I thought you'd be living with your uncle?"

"That was true before."

As He Qiuzhu drove, she said, "But my uncle said he's very busy this year and probably won't be able to spend the New Year with me."

Shen Kang then asked, "So this year, you're spending the New Year alone here at Shenlan Waterfront?"

He Qiuzhu didn't say anything, she just kept driving.

Shen Kang glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw her profile as she calmly and lonely looked at the road ahead.

Well, another problem child.

Shen Kang remained silent.

The question caused a silence to fall over the car, and then the silence continued until they arrived at Xiao Bonian's building. Neither of them said a word, and no one knew what they were thinking. He Qiuzhu's hand remained on Shen Kang's thigh.

When they arrived at Xiao Bonian's building and the car stopped, He Qiuzhu finally pulled her hand away from Shen Kang's thigh.

The two of them walked upstairs in silence.

Shen Kang had already contacted Xiao Bonian before, saying that he wanted to come and see him, so he knew that Xiao Bonian was at home.

Upon reaching the door, Shen Kang knocked, and soon hurried footsteps could be heard as the door opened.

The person who appeared behind the door was not Xiao Bonian, but a boy who looked to be in his early twenties, a bit older than Shen Kang and the others.

The boy was wearing a dark sweater and glasses. He was somewhat thin and looked rather refined.

Upon seeing Shen Kang, the boy smiled and took the initiative to speak: "You must be Shen Kang, right? Professor Xiao said you would come—"

The boy suddenly stopped talking halfway through his sentence.

His gaze passed over Shen Kang and stopped on He Qiuzhu, who was standing to the side and behind Shen Kang. His eyes widened in surprise, clearly stunned by the girl's beauty and momentarily lost in thought.

However, he quickly regained his composure and continued, "—Professor Xiao said you would come, welcome, welcome!"

A warm welcome!

Shen Kang reached out his hand, and the boy paused for a moment before quickly extending his own hand to shake Shen Kang's.

Shen Kang looked at him again, and the boy paused for a moment before realizing what he meant and quickly said, "By the way, my name is Chu Wei, I'm a graduate student at Yang University, and I'm currently helping Professor Xiao." After saying that, he "naturally" looked at He Qiuzhu again, "And this is?"

"He Qiuzhu is also here for a visit," Shen Kang introduced her.

"Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome!" Chu Wei greeted him with the same words, but this time with even greater enthusiasm and a broad smile. He quickly moved aside.

"Please come in."

Shen Kang and He Qiuzhu then walked in.

Upon arriving in the living room, Shen Kang saw what Xiao Bonian had been busy with these past two days.