Chapter 722: Guidance

"Oh my, Wang Laoshi is back. You bought so many things? You should have called when you were coming back; how good it would have been if I had gone to pick you up."

In the side room, Hu Youyu, who was slumped on the sofa, hurriedly got up and ran over, but the first thing he did wasn't to take the things, but to reach out and touch Wang Yan's right forearm.

A normal person carrying many things and having to hold an umbrella would definitely have both hands full, and then hold the umbrella with their neck. Wang Yan, of course, wasn't normal. He was holding a pile of things in his right hand, but he was still holding the umbrella handle in his hand in a normal posture—there was no doubt that this represented powerful upper limb strength.

Hu Youyu made a clicking sound while touching the muscle lines of his forearm: "Wang Laoshi is really awesome. You really can't see these muscles usually."

Xu Hongdou walked over and helped Wang Yan take the umbrella: "Hu Laoshi, that's enough. If you do this again, I'll suspect your sexual orientation."

Da Mai also put down her computer and hopped over to take the things: "No need to suspect."

Hu Youyu said "Hey": "I say you two female comrades, your thinking is really unhealthy. Men, worshiping muscles and strength, that is the ultimate romance bestowed by the Creator exclusively for men."

Wang Yan nodded seriously: "You should go discuss this issue with Ma Ye."

"Forget it. I don't know what kind of wind this old guy has caught; he's locked himself in his room messing with some jars and cans, and he's muttering to himself."

As soon as Hu Youyu said this, Wang Yan understood. It was Xu Hongdou and Da Mai who hadn't told Hu Youyu, so they didn't talk too much.

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He laughed: "Ma Ye is about to re-enter the world and make a comeback."

"He's already bankrupt; he still wants to toss around?"

Obviously, Hu Youyu also knew about Ma Qiushan's past; he probably Baidu-ed it too.

"Life is endless, struggle is endless. As a boss, how can you be willing to work for others and suffer grievances? 'A great man lives between heaven and earth; how can he be willing to live under others for a long time?' The front part is Ma Ye's original words, and the back part is what I matched for him. This is Lian Po who can still eat, and the old steed that can still gallop a thousand miles."

"Forget it. I say Wang Laoshi, I really couldn't tell on weekdays; you can talk even more than Ma Ye."

Wang Yan laughed out loud: "Just joking around. Come, let's tidy up the vegetables together and prepare some small ingredients. Da Mai, don't join in; you hurry up and type, just wait to eat. Go, go, what's there to be embarrassed about."

"Then I'll transfer the money to you, Wang Laoshi. You must accept it this time; otherwise, I won't eat." Da Mai said very seriously, and even stuck out her neck. She couldn't stand being polite and used this to express her firm attitude.

"Da Mai is pointing at me, but it's indeed time to pay. You have so many specialties, and you bought so many things back these past two days; it's not right to always eat yours. How about this: just send three hundred; that's it, more or less. If it's not enough, then consider me eating from your big household." Hu Youyu followed up. Pure relationship, not very deep friendship, is afraid of not being clear about money.

Wang Yan shook his head: "Then send it. You guys, you should learn from Ma Ye; he doesn't care about this little bit of money."

"That's true. Wang Laoshi, you won't really invest in him, right?" Da Mai blinked her eyes and asked curiously. Earlier, he had sent Wang Yan a long string of messages, just to persuade Wang Yan to consider it carefully, but Wang Yan only responded with a smile, and she didn't know what he was really thinking.

Hu Youyu was stunned and widened his eyes: "Ma Ye is asking for investment from you?"

He couldn't believe it. After all, from knowing each other until now, it had only been four or five days, and Ma Qiushan dared to ask Wang Yan for investment?

This was Hu Youyu's lack of level. He didn't know that for people like Ma Qiushan, the length of time they had known each other was the least important, because he was the same when fooling anyone. Moreover, he didn't hold high expectations for Wang Yan; he just had the attitude of 'if there are dates or not, hit the pole first.' He just needed to know Wang Yan had money, and that was enough.

Wang Yan was fiddling with the things he bought and nodded with a laugh: "He has this idea."

"How much money?"

"Haven't seen anything yet; it's not time to talk about money."

Hu Youyu suddenly leaned closer to Wang Yan and said with some embarrassment: "That... it might be a bit presumptuous, and it might be a bit excessive, but I really can't hold it in. If you can say it, say it; if you can't, don't hold it against me. That... is... how much money do you have?"

Da Mai curled her lips and ruthlessly complained: "Then you are indeed very presumptuous."

"It's fine, curiosity is normal. I'm also curious about how much net worth those big tycoons have. However, the specific number is indeed not easy to disclose; after all, this is absolute personal privacy." Wang Yan waved his hand, thought for a moment, looked at Hu Youyu, "Hu Laoshi, how much money do you think you need to achieve financial freedom?"

"According to my spending and living habits, and then counting some high consumption after having money, I think it should be at least twenty or thirty million?"

Wang Yan nodded and said: "That's about right."

Hu Youyu asked in a daze: "Is that a lot, or a little?"

"About right." Wang Yan repeated it again, meaning it stopped there, and turned to pick up the phone and collect the money they sent, saying, "The money is collected. Hurry up and work. It's raining outside, and we're eating hot pot in the room—tsk, it's beautiful. Hongdou, why are you sending money too? You've spent more than me these past few days, and I've become the one sponging off food and drink. I'll return it to you."

Facing a rich man, women who want money spend more money, and women who don't want money spend the same amount of money—they all do it to show they don't want money.

Xu Hongdou just didn't want Wang Yan to misunderstand, so she kept scanning the code to pay when going out to play. Of course, it wasn't actually much money; after all, it was mainly on eating and drinking, and they didn't eat anything luxurious, just normal expenses.

"Wow, I really couldn't tell, Hongdou is still a rich woman?" Hu Youyu followed the slope and started to boo.

"What rich woman? Didn't I say before? Just a lobby manager of a hotel, a wage earner; I can't compare to a rich man like Wang Laoshi. However, our pockets are poor, but our ambition cannot be short, and our momentum cannot be worse."

Xu Hongdou smiled and patted Wang Yan on the shoulder, looking like a big sister encouraging her subordinate.

"Atmospheric, Hongdou sister has to take care of her little brother in the future."

Seeing Wang Yan raising his eyebrows at her, Xu Hongdou felt a bit hot on her face for no reason. To relieve the embarrassment, she slapped him hard without a good temper and changed the subject: "Annoying, hurry up and tidy up. Oh right, not long after you went out, Auntie Agui came again and brought a big pile of vegetables, as well as a big piece of cured meat. They are all there; take a look."

Hu Youyu and Da Mai looked at each other. Hu Youyu had a look of 'there's an affair,' while Da Mai ignored him, rolled her eyes, apologized for not being able to help, and turned to sit by the window, continuing her creation.

Wang Yan and the other two started to get busy picking, washing, and cutting vegetables. The hot pot pot was already there, and Xie Zhiyao had prepared it quite completely, just considering that a group of people from all over the country who didn't know each other would gather to eat and drink.

The only three kinds of food most suitable for this kind of thing are barbecue, grilled meat, and hot pot. All these tools were prepared, and there were even two boxes of charcoal piled in the corner. Wang Yan had seen the appearance of that box before; it was at Yang Champion's barbecue stall.

"How is Douyin?"

Hu Youyu couldn't hide his grin: "I might be going viral."

Xu Hongdou was a bit surprised: "How do you say that?"

"Didn't Wang Laoshi edit three videos for me before? I released the second one yesterday, singing 'Meeting,' the one outside the car window at dusk. I captioned it 'I don't know if you have met that TA.' Then I saw the Douyin promotion, which is spending money to promote it, allowing more people to see it. I gritted my teeth and spent a thousand yuan, increasing the views by fifty thousand. As a result, this video exploded later. Up to now, the views are over eight hundred thousand, the likes are over ten thousand, and the comments are all about posting photos and telling stories..."

The more he talked, the happier Hu Youyu laughed, his mouth wide open. It was clear he had been holding it in for a long time, just waiting for someone to ask. Others wouldn't do; it had to be Wang Yan asking, so he would have a greater sense of achievement.

Wang Yan raised his left hand, used his elbow as the cause, made a clockwise movement, and slowly lowered it to his chest, laughing: "Hu Laoshi, you must have a normal heart. Going viral has no rules. Besides gender opposition, high bride price, difficult work, and foreigners speaking Chinese to praise China, etc., which can bring huge traffic, the rest depends on fate. This video of yours doesn't represent anything. If you release a video tomorrow and it only has a few hundred or a thousand likes, won't you collapse your mentality and ruin your Dao heart? Wait until one day you can just post a video, like you are picking vegetables now, without editing, without music, and just post it directly, and it can have two or three thousand likes—that is really going viral. In the current situation, it's hard to say whether your livestream can even reach a hundred people. Your road is still long."

"National first-class cold water athlete." Seeing Hu Youyu wilt, Xu Hongdou gave a thumbs up.

Hu Youyu let out a long sigh: "I was floating. Wang Laoshi is right; temporary popularity doesn't represent anything. Look at Wang Laoshi; he went viral all over the country two days ago, and the videos of Wang Laoshi taking down the thief were everywhere. Isn't it cold now?"

"You must have a clear understanding of this kind of thing." Wang Yan nodded with a smile, "Otherwise, even if you really go viral this time, it won't last long. You don't know when you'll say a sentence, be taken out of context and magnified, and in the blink of an eye, you'll become a street rat that everyone shouts to beat. Keep your mentality flat, and be careful. Otherwise, it's hard to last long. No matter how popular it is, it will eventually end up in a vast expanse of white."

"Alright, alright, I'll pick vegetables. Wang Laoshi, don't talk anymore; if you keep talking, I'm afraid not even ashes will be left."

It was still raining outside. Da Mai was typing by the window, occasionally touching the little cat that was lying on the table squinting at the rain. Wang Yan and the other two were chatting off and on, preparing all kinds of dishes.

Before long, it was eleven-thirty. The soup base in the mandarin duck pot was already rolling and boiling. On one side was the mushroom soup here, and on the other side was the spicy soup. The steaming heat was permeating, and the kitchen glass was covered with mist.

Ma Qiushan leaned closer and took a long breath, nodding with satisfaction: "Mm, this is the taste. Wang Laoshi, Hu Laoshi, with food, meat, and friends, how can there be no wine? Shall we have a small drink, the three of us?"

Hu Youyu shook his head: "I won't drink; I still have to go to the bar to work in the afternoon. I'm already relying on coffee to continue my life; it won't do if I get drunk. Wang Laoshi, you come."

"Wang Laoshi?" Ma Qiushan also looked at Wang Yan. Seeing him nod, he happily clapped his hands, ran to the cabinet on the side, and took out a bottle of white wine, "This is the Yulinquan white wine Xie Zong gave me; it's not expensive, but it's delicious. We won't drink much, just this bottle."

Wang Yan nodded with a laugh: "Sure."

Xu Hongdou asked curiously: "Ma Ye, what is the relationship between you and Xie Zong? Why is he sending tea and wine?"

"He's also an old friend I've known for many years." Ma Qiushan explained with a smile, "He worked in investment banking before. When I first started group buying, I talked to them about investment. He was the representative at the time, but this kid didn't invest in me every time. However, this friendship was formed. My business failed, and I didn't want to add to the trouble for my old parents at home. It just so happened that he had already resigned and returned home to start a business, and he was promoting how good this place was in his circle of friends every day. I had nowhere to go, so I came here."

While talking, he had already opened the wine, poured two cups, raised them, and said: "Come, Wang Laoshi, let's have a drink first. Whether it succeeds or not, we are all happy."

Seeing them finish drinking, Hu Youyu clicked his tongue: "I say Old Ma, now there's not a bit of fairy spirit on you."

"Hey, Old Hu, just call me Old Ma." Ma Qiushan dipped meat in the pot and swished it, laughing, "Doing business, how can you not be worldly."

"You really want to start a business again? If you lose again, you'll have to spend the rest of your life in it."

"Don't say such unlucky words. I haven't even done it yet, and you're saying I'll lose? Besides, the investor is sitting right here. Look at what you're saying; it's not like words." Although Ma Qiushan said so, the smile on his face didn't diminish. He sighed, "I've figured it out. Starting a business again might fail, but if I don't start a business, I've already failed now, and I'll fail forever. What's the difference from being dead? I don't want to die with regret. If I don't fight for it, I can't swallow the breath in my heart."

"Wang Laoshi, I already have some preliminary ideas about the recipe. I bought quite a few ingredients online, and they will all arrive within a week. Within half a month, I can initially let you see the finished product. As for the project report, I've been organizing it recently. In addition, I also contacted a consulting company and asked them to investigate the real tea drink market nationwide. They will reply to me within half a month. You just wait for my good news..."

"Ma Ye's execution is really high. It's only been two hours, right? The initial preparation is already completed? Finding a consulting company to do the investigation isn't cheap either. If it doesn't succeed, your expenses will be thrown into the water."

"Actually, this idea has been there for a long time, but it only became clear recently. As for the expenses, as the saying goes, 'A dead camel is bigger than a horse.' I still have a little living expenses. Since I've decided to do it, I must have the courage to burn the boats, move forward bravely, and die without turning back."

"Then I'll wait for your good news." Wang Yan raised his wine glass with a laugh and drank another one with him.

A group of people ate around the pot like this. Da Mai really wanted to eat mutton. She was quiet, her little chopsticks moving fast. She ate mushroom soup for a while and spicy soup for a while. Perhaps she was bitten by the millet pepper in the oil dish, 'si-ha si-ha,' which was very interesting.

"If every day were like this, how lively it would be." Hu Youyu suddenly sighed.

Xu Hongdou shook her head: "Hu Laoshi, we still have to go to work..."

"Wang Laoshi is going to invest here, so when you guys..."

This was a good brother assisting, but he couldn't say any more. If he said too much, it would easily have the opposite effect. Wang Yan interrupted his words: "Hurry up and eat, Hu Laoshi. The investment isn't certain yet; I just have this idea, and it's hard to say specifically."

Xu Hongdou swept a glance at Wang Yan and silently lowered her head to eat. She had only known Wang Yan for four days, but it felt like she had experienced a long time and was very familiar with him. Everything was so natural and harmonious, which made her heart chaotic.

Actually, the reason is very simple; it's just that the two of them have basically been together every day except for sleeping. To a certain extent, they already have some small dependence.

Wang Yan is like a whirlpool—it's fine to watch from afar, but the closer you get, the deeper you sink, and the harder it is to escape...

After eating, they worked together to clean up the aftermath. Ma Qiushan swayed back to continue his retreat and brew his plan for a comeback. Hu Youyu was laughing foolishly at his phone, Da Mai was typing, Xu Hongdou was bored teasing the little cat, and Wang Yan was drinking tea while looking at his phone, reading Da Mai's novel.

He basically belonged to quantum reading—that is, flipping pages one after another. Although Da Mai wrote suspense, which had conspiracies and brain-burning unsolved cases, for him, these were all small matters.

Very quickly, he read it through once. When he reached the latest chapter, Wang Yan confirmed that Da Mai's writing level was indeed quite good and was at a level that could earn a living; it was enough. He also looked at her previous works and had a count of Da Mai's problems.

He used the computer to create a new text file and started typing away, writing down the shortcomings of Da Mai's novel and the direction of improvement, in a large article that was quite long.

He was also a founder of a sect and had written before, and he wrote it himself, instead of copying the reality world's once-popular works in the film and television world. In addition, he had been a director and a screenwriter, which is actually a feedback to writing.

Whether it's literary theory or practice, he's not bad. And his own experience is very rich, and he is well-informed. Guiding Da Mai's writing is easy.

Not only that, after sending the article, he also gave Da Mai's serialized work a reward of ten thousand yuan. This thing also has recommendations, which can help her attract some traffic...

Receiving the file sent by Wang Yan, Da Mai subconsciously turned her head and glanced at Wang Yan who was looking at the computer. Seeing that he had no reaction, she turned back, operated to open the file, and looked at the statistical numbers below, her mouth opening in surprise.

Before, she heard Wang Yan clattering away on the computer and thought he was doing something, but now she knew it was giving her suggestions. However, the time was only about two hours, but this file was more than thirty thousand words. This terrifying typing speed made her a bit numb. Perhaps he had read it before, she thought...

Calming down, she slowly read the article above. The more she read, the more she felt it made sense.

How could it not make sense? This article by Wang Yan is roughly equivalent to a peerless secret book in the martial arts world. As long as you practice it, although it's hard to say whether you can become a peerless master due to your own qualifications, as long as you are diligent, it's no problem to keep it small and popular.

After reading it once, she took out her phone and habitually opened the author's background. This look was incredible. She widened her eyes and subconsciously made a sound, and then wiped it in disbelief, counting the zeros one by one. Then, she thought of something and turned to look at Wang Yan.

But she saw Wang Yan looking at her strangely as if nothing had happened.

Hu Youyu had already set off for the bar because the rain hadn't stopped, and he went to the village entrance to take the bus. Xu Hongdou, who was drinking tea opposite Wang Yan, asked: "Da Mai? What's wrong?"

"Ah, nothing. Just got stuck, went crazy, don't worry about me." Da Mai shook her head and looked at Wang Yan again. Seeing that he was already fiddling with the computer to retouch photos, she looked at the string of zeros on her phone in a daze.

After a long while, she came back to her senses, sent a WeChat message to Wang Yan to thank him for such serious suggestions, and asked if there was a reward. After getting a negative answer, she returned to reading the suggestions Wang Yan sent her...

Wang Yan didn't admit it, just didn't want to be dawdling, and didn't want Da Mai to have any feeling of owing him. A man and woman who are half-familiar and half-stranger giving such a reward, and giving ten thousand yuan at once, always makes people unable to figure it out.

He fiddled for a while and said: "Hongdou, the photos from these few days are all done; take a look." While talking, he turned the computer over.

Xu Hongdou was clear about Wang Yan's retouching speed, but she was still surprised: "All the photos are done?"

"All done." Wang Yan nodded with a laugh, "However, the 'many' you said shouldn't be as many as I retouched. When I take photos of you, I always take a dozen or so in a row, but only one or two of these dozen can be used, so it's not as much work as you imagine. My retouching speed is fast, so it's not a big workload. Take a look; if there's no problem, I'll send them to you, so you can show them off in your Moments."

"I won't know how to look; I thought the original photos you didn't retouch were good before, and now that they're retouched, they must be even more perfect. You can just send them over." While talking, Xu Hongdou turned the computer back, took her phone and handed it to Wang Yan, watching his operation.

The storage unit of these pictures is very large, so it's better to use a phone cable to transfer them.

After doing this, Xu Hongdou sat there picking photos, occasionally asking Wang Yan for advice, and at the same time recalling things when taking photos, and also calling Da Mai to help think of peerless captions for Moments, and the afternoon passed just like that.

The vegetables needed for dinner had already been tidied up in the morning. In the afternoon, after asking about the time Nana got off work, Wang Yan started clattering with the big ladle after five o'clock and started cooking.

After Nana came back, the five of them were together again for a lively and sumptuous dinner. Of course, they didn't forget to thank the Master Wang who was cooking, and everyone seemed very happy... ===== CHAPTER 723 =====

Once Nana returned, the five of them had another lively and sumptuous dinner together. Of course, they didn't forget to thank Master Wang for doing the cooking; everyone seemed very happy...