Chapter Thirty-Four

The next morning, Zuo Xutong made a special trip to the bookstore, spent half a day browsing, and finally bought a semi-autobiographical inspirational book about an entrepreneur who went bankrupt, lay low for several years, and then made a comeback.

She brought her book to Changchun Nursing Home. The first floor of the nursing home is a common activity area, with a medical room, rehabilitation room, movie screening room, and restaurant; the second floor is the living area, mostly double rooms, furnished somewhat like standard hotel rooms. The south-facing rooms are full, while the north-facing rooms are almost all empty. The third floor also has a living area on the south side, with an occupancy rate of less than 30%, while the north side is the functional area, with a reading room, gym, and tea room.

Peng Kun's room was on the third floor, also a two-person room, but he lived alone. The elderly people here owned nothing, and their doors were never locked; Peng Kun followed suit. When Zuo Xutong went upstairs, he wasn't in his room. She put her book on the table and sat in the only chair in the room, waiting for him.

At this moment, an old man walked to the door, slowly stopped, and craned his neck to look inside. He looked to be in his seventies, with deep wrinkles on his face, and smiled at Zuo Xutong.

She smiled politely at him. Perhaps that smile gave him the courage to speak; he took two hesitant steps into the house and asked, "Miss, are you waiting for Xiao Peng?"

Zuo Xutong nodded.

"He's eating downstairs," the old man said.

"Oh, then I'll wait for him here."

"Are you his girlfriend?" the old man asked with a smile.

"No, I was his former colleague."

"I saw you coming to see him all the time, so I thought you were his girlfriend."

"I keep coming to him... because I owe him money, and he doesn't want interest."

"Oh," the old man said with a disappointed look, "Xiao Peng is such a good man. If it weren't for him building this nursing home..."

"He built this nursing home?" Zuo Xutong asked in shock.

“Yes, it’s him…” The old man had only finished speaking when Peng Kun returned.

"Uncle Liu, have you eaten?" he greeted the old man naturally.

"I've eaten, I've eaten," Grandpa Liu replied with a broad smile. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he turned and left.

Zuo Xutong finally understood why the elderly people were so attentive to Peng Kun. It turned out he was an investor in the nursing home! She had thought he was a person with a passion for technology who wouldn't easily give up on new energy, but she didn't expect him to be like Luan Mingfeng, jumping on the bandwagon and investing in whichever industry he sensed was profitable.

This is understandable, though, as pursuing profit is a capitalist's instinct. As Henry Miller said, if excrement could be sold for money, the poor would lose their anuses. With the accelerating aging of the population, the elderly care industry is a huge blue ocean market, projected to exceed ten trillion yuan in the future.

But for some reason, she felt uneasy. Peng Kun had been working in the new energy field for over ten years. It was said that his family used to own a car repair shop, and he had been immersed in the industry since childhood, becoming familiar with various car parts and mechanical principles. He chose energy engineering as his major in university. To support his son's entrepreneurial endeavors, his father sold the repair shop for several million yuan the year he graduated, using it as seed money for his company.

She naively believed that he, like her, dedicated himself to the new energy industry because of his ideal of improving the Earth's environment and benefiting humanity. Now it seems she was just being delusional; he has already switched to the elderly care industry.

"You've arrived." Peng Kun greeted her warmly and asked, "What are your plans for today?"

"There are no arrangements at all." Zuo Xutong's attitude was cold. Because of him, she had delayed reporting to the company in another city, even though they had been urging her several times. She looked at him with disappointment, determined to confront him completely: "I resigned."

Upon hearing this, Peng Kun's eyes lit up instantly, as if he had heard some good news. He smiled and said, "That's great! Why don't you just come work for me!"

Zuo Xutong paused for a moment, then said slowly after a brief silence, "This place may suit you, but it's not suitable for me."

"What?" Peng Kun frowned, and the smile on his face disappeared. "You look down on my little place?"

"No, no, you misunderstood. That's not what I meant. There's no such thing as a job being noble or lowly. What's wrong with serving others? As long as you earn money with your own hands, there's nothing shameful about it..."

"What are you talking about?" Peng Kun looked at her blankly.

“What I mean is, I can’t be a caregiver,” Zuo Xutong said directly, without beating around the bush.

"Who told you to be a caregiver?" Peng Kun laughed, looking at her as if she were an idiot.

“Come with me,” he said.

Zuo Xutong was momentarily stunned, standing frozen at the doorway. Looking at the people sitting in the cubicles, staring at their computer screens and typing, she increasingly felt these faces were familiar. She looked at them one by one and immediately recognized Dong Jue. His long, black, curly hair was so distinctive. If his face beneath the curls were more delicate, it would be fine, but the opposite was true. Dong Jue's facial features were exceptionally rugged, his skin dark, his nose broad and straight, his lips full. His strong features carried a wild masculinity, creating a stark contrast with his flowing hair. He was, as usual, wearing a white, traditional-style jacket from the Republican era. Zuo Xutong suddenly remembered something and involuntarily shifted her gaze to under the table. Sure enough, on his bulging veins, were a pair of flip-flops.

Seeing her puzzled expression, Peng Kun explained, "This used to be a reading room. It was a great idea at the time, thinking that the elderly could come and read books when they had nothing to do. But in reality, they preferred to squeeze into the courtyard to sunbathe, so the reading room gradually became just for show. The gym next door was also deserted. Occasionally, one or two elderly people would stay in the tea room to chat and play cards. Later, we set up a new tea room downstairs, and the north side of the third floor was completely empty. Now the reading room has become an office, and in a while, the gym will also be converted into a laboratory."

Zuo Xutong was speechless with astonishment. In just a few months, he had quietly established a new company. Only then did she realize why he had sold the villa and was still staying at the nursing home.

As Peng Kun spoke, he led her into the reading room and introduced her to the people inside one by one: Yuan Liang, Zheng Xiaohai, Qu Hui, Dong Jue, Fang Zeduan, and Luo Qiang.

"He, they... aren't these the legendary..." Zuo Xutong was so excited that she couldn't speak coherently.

“Yes, except for Engineer Jiang, who is too old and has retired, all six engineers from the recycling department are here.” Peng Kun stared at her face and said sincerely, “Why don’t you come too?”

Upon hearing this, Zuo Xutong's first thought was: Are we going to form the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan?

Luan Mingfeng could never have imagined that upon taking office, he would personally lay off one of Polar Blue Sky's best teams, creating an atmosphere of fear throughout the company. Apart from Peng Kun, no one dared to speak up for the recycling department. Even if someone did speak out, how could Luan Mingfeng possibly believe them? He even suspected that these people were all people Peng Kun had placed there through connections; he couldn't be bothered to investigate their actual abilities. A clean sweep was the easiest approach.

"Of course, the nursing home is just a transitional phase. Once we secure our first round of financing, we'll head to the hydrogen energy industrial park to look for factory space," Peng Kun said.

It turns out he hadn't given up on new energy; he had sold the villa to start anew. While Zuo Xutong was pleased, she also felt conflicted, unsure whether she should accept the offer he was making.

"You don't need to rush to answer me. Go back and think about it first." Peng Kun noticed her hesitation but didn't press her to make a decision immediately.

Zuo Xutong forced a smile at him, but couldn't hide the struggle in her heart.

Peng Kun seemed to understand her expression, his gaze dimmed, and he forced himself to continue, "As for salary and benefits, let me explain first that the company is currently in its initial stage, so... the salary will be about 30% less than before."

Zuo Xutong returned to Nanshan Manor. As soon as she entered, her phone rang, and Wu Li's name flashed on the screen.

She answered the phone, and all she heard was, "Congratulations, the project is a success."

How did you know?

"I've recently been recruiting new people for the company's R&D department and I saw your resume."

Zuo Xutong then remembered that when she published her resume, she only blocked two companies related to Luan Mingfeng: Polar Blue Sky and Chaoma New Energy.

"How about it? Would you like to consider joining our company?" Wu Li asked with a smile.

Zuo Xutong instinctively gripped her phone tighter. Of course she remembered that when she first returned to Longjin and was struggling to find a job, this old classmate never mentioned recommending her to his company.

“Our CEO, Mr. Guo, is very interested in your membrane electrode technology.” Wu Li paused, then asked in a businesslike tone, “Have you applied for a patent?”

"The application is in progress, and the patent documents will be submitted next week," Zuo Xutong replied.

"If we can successfully obtain the patent, Mr. Guo said we can consider making an offer to acquire it."

She had long heard that Guo Fei made his fortune in the fast-moving consumer goods business and knew nothing about the technology industry. His technology company had been purchasing key materials and components from abroad for the past three years and then assembling them in China.

This company invests less than 3% of its revenue in R&D annually. They're willing to spend huge sums on marketing and importing production lines, but reluctant to invest in R&D. The R&D department has been focused on product introduction and performance testing, never independently developing a new product. Guo Fei has been applying his past success in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, believing that as long as the advertising is effective, sales will be guaranteed, and brand effect is more important than technological innovation. His beautiful and charming female assistant can't even distinguish between product development and technological R&D.

Zuo Xutong knew very well that even if such a company bought her technology, it wouldn't be able to produce anything worthwhile, so she politely declined Wu Li's invitation.