Rebirth in 2011: Starting as an Advertising Genius

On the third day after returning from Hongcun, Chen Jianghe met with Teacher Luo.

"Give me your bank account number, and I'll transfer 20 to you!"

Luo Xing looked at the student in front of her with a complicated expression. It wasn't because she was reluctant to spend the money, but mainly because she still found it hard to believe that a proposal made by a freshman could help her secure a business deal with an annual monthly fee of over one million.

Chen Jianghe gave his account number, and a few minutes later he opened his mobile banking app and checked his balance.

Two hundred thousand yuan, received.

"Did you receive it? Thank you, Teacher Luo!"

"No need to thank me, I should be thanking you, Chen Jianghe. Would you be interested in becoming a planning consultant at my company?"

Chen Jianghe thought for a moment and did not agree immediately:

"Professor Luo, I might not be able to schedule it, but if you have any projects that require consulting, I can help, but the fee will be the same!"

Luo Xing: ...

Fine, I was originally planning to hire you with a monthly salary of tens of thousands of yuan, but now you still want to earn consulting fees.

"That works too!"

After saying goodbye to Teacher Luo, Chen Jianghe sent a message to Yuan Meng and the others.

[Chen Jianghe: If everyone has time, please come to the small private room on the third floor of the second canteen. Everyone must be there; it's important.]

Wang Lei replied instantly: 【What's up? Are you going to film another video?】

Chen Jianghe: You'll know when you get here.

Yu Ying sent a question mark emoji.

Yuan Meng didn't say anything, but sent an "okay" cat emoji.

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Half an hour later, in a small private room on the third floor of the second canteen.

This small restaurant is a popular spot for students to treat themselves, and their pickled fish is especially good.

Wang Lei arrived first, having already poured himself a glass of water and was playing on his phone while leaning on the table. Yu Ying arrived second, carrying a notebook, seemingly having just rushed over from the previous class.

Yuan Meng was the last to push open the door and come in. She had changed into a clean white sweatshirt, and her hair still smelled damp from being washed.

"Jiang He, what's going on? You're being so mysterious." Yu Ying put her notebook on the table and looked at him curiously.

Chen Jianghe didn't rush to speak, but first asked the boss to serve the dishes.

Sauerkraut fish, sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried potatoes, green peppers, and eggplant, and tomato and egg soup—four dishes and a soup—filled the table.

"Eat first, then we'll talk."

"If you keep eating like this, I'll have even less to eat..." Yu Ying muttered, but still picked up a piece of pork rib.

Halfway through the meal, Chen Jianghe put down his chopsticks, took out his phone from his pocket, scrolled to the bank transfer notification, and turned the screen around to face the three of them.

"It's in Zhen Niu's project. Teacher Luo just transferred 200,000 yuan over."

The private room was silent for a full second.

"Two...two hundred thousand?" Wang Lei's chopsticks froze in mid-air, and a piece of pickled fish fell back into his bowl. "Old Chen, you said two hundred thousand, not two thousand?"

Two hundred thousand.

Yu Ying's mouth was slightly open, and the ribs almost slipped out of the corner of her mouth.

She quickly bit her lip, mumbling, "It's...it's that milk-related homework? The teacher gave it 200,000?"

"It wasn't given by the teacher," Chen Jianghe corrected. "It was Teacher Luo's company that took on the Zhenniu brand project, and according to the previously agreed-upon profit sharing, she gave me 200,000 yuan. This 200,000 yuan was earned by our group together."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the three people's faces.

"So, we'll split this 200,000 among ourselves."

There was a two-second silence in the private room, then Wang Lei slammed his hand on the table: "Holy crap!"

Yu Ying was startled and finally dropped the ribs in her hand.

Yuan Meng lowered her head and didn't speak, but the fingers holding the chopsticks turned slightly white.

"Old Chen, you're not kidding, are you?" Wang Lei's voice trembled slightly. "We...we just did some homework, and you're telling me we can get a share of the money?"

"It wasn't 'doing homework'," Chen Jianghe said, leaning back in his chair, his tone flat.

"Yuan Meng spent a whole week researching, went to the library three times, and did competitive analysis and market research. Yu Ying stayed up all night to create two versions of the visual design. You, Wang Lei—" He looked at Wang Lei, "Although you spend more time playing games than working, you've also come up with many highlights in some communication strategies."

Wang Lei had intended to be playful, but upon hearing the last sentence, his smile vanished.

"So, this money didn't fall from the sky," Chen Jianghe said. "We earned it together."

He took out four pieces of paper from his backpack, each with a number written on it, turned them face down on the table, and pushed them in front of the three people.

"Turn it over and look at it."

Wang Lei was the first to flip it.

Twenty thousand.

He stared at those two words for three seconds, and his eyes suddenly reddened.

Yu Ying flipped it over; it was also 20,000. She didn't speak, but her lips began to tremble.

Yuan Meng flipped the paper over; on the three sheets of paper was written: 40,000.

She was stunned: "Why do I have more?"

"Because you did the most work," Chen Jianghe said. "You were the one who researched the data, you were the one who finalized the plans, and you added the concept of a 'milk source thermometer' to the brand visuals—I didn't teach you that, you came up with it yourself."

Yuan Meng opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

"I'll take the remaining 120,000." Chen Jianghe folded the piece of paper and stuffed it into his pocket. "Any objections?"

No one speaks.

Wang Lei was the first to break the silence. He picked up his teacup, stood up, and said, "Old Chen, I'm not good with words, and I don't know how to say nice things. This cup of tea is for you."

He tilted his head back and drank it.

Yu Ying also stood up, picked up her glass, and her eyes reddened: "Jiang He, I... I really didn't expect this. I'm just a nobody, and you gave me 20,000, I..."

"You're not just slacking off," Chen Jianghe interrupted her. "You're the life of the party in our group."

Yu Ying stopped crying and laughed, then drank it all.

Yuan Meng finally stood up.

She didn't speak, but just looked at Chen Jianghe, her eyes filled with something unreadable. Then she picked up her cup and gently touched Chen Jianghe's cup, making a crisp sound.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Chen Jianghe looked at her and nodded: "You're welcome."

The four of them sat down and continued eating. But the atmosphere was clearly different. Wang Lei spoke less, Yu Ying's smile deepened, and Yuan Meng's fingers were no longer white.

The steam from the pickled fish blurred everyone's faces, but Chen Jianghe could see clearly.

Some things quietly changed in this small private room.

After finishing their meal, the four of them walked out of the cafeteria. A night breeze blew in from the playground, carrying the warmth of early summer.

Wang Lei and Yu Ying walked ahead, laughing loudly while talking about something.

Yuan Meng and Chen Jianghe walked side by side behind, falling a few steps behind.

"Chen Jianghe".

"Um?"

"I will make good use of that 40,000 yuan."

"You don't need to tell me."

"That's what I wanted to tell you." Yuan Meng paused, her voice lowering, "Because... no one has ever thought that what I did was worth 40,000 yuan."

Chen Jianghe also stopped and turned to look at her.

The light from the streetlamp fell on her face, making her eyes shine brightly.

"That's because the people you've met before weren't smart enough."

Yuan Meng paused for a moment, then smiled.

It wasn't a polite smile; it was a genuine smile that welled up from the bottom of my heart and couldn't be suppressed.

"You're here again." She turned around and quickened her pace. "Let's go, Wang Lei and the others are all far away."

Chen Jianghe watched her retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips, and followed her.