Shenzhen, High-tech Zone

On the rooftop of a seemingly lifeless office building, a young man dressed in casual clothes stood at the edge, gazing into the distance.

He was very familiar with this building.

Once, this entire building housed his employees.

The building wasn’t tall—just a dozen or so floors, and somewhat old—but having an office space in the high-tech zone was already a level many of his competitors could only dream of.

At its peak, he had nearly a thousand employees working there.

Now, all those employees had left.

He had sold off all his assets, paid every employee’s wages in full, and sold whatever he could to repay his partners’ losses.

In just a few short months, from having everything to losing it all, the change had been so fast.

The young man smiled lightly, withdrew his gaze from the distance, and looked down at his feet.

He closed his eyes for a moment, took out his phone from his pocket, and placed it on the ground. Just as he was about to straighten up, the dark screen suddenly lit up.

After a few moments of staring at the caller’s name, he decided to answer the call.

On the other end of the line was his business partner, his right-hand man, a friend who had also sold off everything to help him pay off debts. His voice came through: “Jiang Bai, where are you? Are you at the office? I need to talk to you!”

The young man sighed lightly: “We can talk on the phone.”

His friend responded: “There’s a headhunter trying to get in touch with you through me. Wait a moment, I’ll be at the office soon, we’ll talk then.”

He wasn’t particularly interested, but hearing that his friend had already arrived at the office, the young man stayed silent for a while before stepping back from the edge. “Alright then.”

After stepping back, he put away his phone. Looking down again, he realized the spot he had been standing on wasn’t ideal.

Not far away, there was a patch of soft soil that blended with the ground. The building wasn’t tall, and if he fell, it might not be an easy death.

He pulled a slight smile.

He could wait for his friend to leave and find a better spot.

---

Mingde

Jin Yaotiao received an invitation from the former president of the Shenzhen Association.

At a teahouse, Jin Yaotiao looked at the president, feeling somewhat puzzled.

Since the last time Mrs. Xia had brought her to mediate, she hadn’t had any contact with the old president.

Mingde, after all, was a new member, and her work with the catering association hadn’t been significant. She asked, “Uncle Lü, is there something you need from me?”

The old president personally poured her a cup of tea, smiling as he spoke: “I want to apologize to you and Mingde for the previous incident. When Mrs. Xia came to me for help, I didn’t look into things properly and simply went with her to your house. I ended up helping her in a way that was quite wrong.”

Jin Yaotiao took a sip of tea, smiling: “It’s nothing.”

The old president studied her for a moment before also smiling: “Actually, I called you for another reason.”

Jin Yaotiao gestured for him to continue.

The old president slowly began: “Recently, someone from Shenzhen Television contacted the association, saying they wanted to create a program promoting Chinese cuisine. It’s a collaboration with Beijing TV and has special significance. The municipal government here wants the association to help find a suitable restaurant to represent Shenzhen. Many people in the association are interested, but I’ve been keeping an eye on things for a while, and no suitable candidates have been confirmed.”

Jin Yaotiao paused for a moment, wondering about the program. Could it be…?

After a brief moment of thought, she asked, “Uncle Lu, what’s the name of the program?”

The old president replied: “‘Food for Heaven’.”

Jin Yaotiao thought to herself, as expected.

She had an inkling of what was coming and asked, “So, you want to tell me about this…”

The old president nodded: “I’m thinking of recommending you and Mingde.”

---

Jin Yaotiao took the program introduction from the old president and returned to Mingde, looking at the names on the paper and falling into deep thought.

The Shenzhen branch was about to open, and soon, plans for branches in other cities would be put on the agenda.

At the same time, she was preparing to launch a restaurant brand under the name Mingde.

There was so much work to be done, and making the name Mingde known to a broader audience had become an important task.

“Food for Heaven” was a special program.

Firstly, it was a collaboration between the Beijing and Shenzhen TV stations, representing both cities and carrying a certain political significance.

Secondly, she had heard of it before, meaning it had once been quite popular.

However, she had never watched it before.

It was known that the representative selected by Linjiang for this program in the past was from Cheng Chen’s company.

Jin Yaotiao closed the introduction book and, after thinking for a moment, felt that this was indeed a great opportunity.

She called the old president and expressed her willingness to accept the offer.

The old president chuckled and said, “Good, I’ll submit Ming De’s name in a few days.”

In Shenzhen, the news that Ming De would be selected by the old president to participate in “Food for the People” spread quickly.

---

Jin Yaotiao soon received another piece of good news.

Her HR subordinate informed her that the headhunter had found a suitable candidate for her company.

She had already met with several candidates introduced by the headhunter, so she didn’t think much of it. She just asked her subordinate to invite the person to the company.

Today, she didn’t have time to go anywhere else, so she decided to meet the person at the company.

The branch was preparing for its first team-building event.

They were about to face a very important challenge, and the branch’s employees had delivered impressive results last year.

Since things hadn’t gotten busy yet, it seemed like a good time to organize an outing.

The employees were clearly excited.

Even before entering the company, anyone she bumped into had a bright expression, smiling and greeting her.

“Director Jin, you’re here?”

“We’re all ready, the bus will be here soon.”

Jin Yaotiao smiled back at them. “Okay, I’ll meet with someone and then join you all.”

However, as soon as she entered the company, she was surprised to see an unexpected face.

A man in a wheelchair?

---

Jiang Bai, with a calm expression, was being pulled along by a friend.

He hadn’t wanted to come, but his friend was very insistent, and refused to leave.

He kept persuading Jiang Bai, saying that his company had been bankrupt for months, and rather than being stuck in the past, he should get back to work and change his environment.

His friend wouldn’t leave, and Jiang Bai didn’t feel comfortable refusing, so he reluctantly agreed to come along.

But he had no interest in Ming De or anything about the company.

His education, work experience, and achievements were undoubtedly of a high level, which is why he had been on track to build his own business empire in the future.

Jin Yaotiao had reviewed his profile a few times, but she didn’t expect much from such a person.

Still, she couldn’t help but glance at his legs.

At that moment, he clearly still seemed like a healthy person.

So why was he in a wheelchair?

As she was pondering, her HR subordinate and his friend left, and the man in the wheelchair spoke up in a cold tone. “Director Jin, to be honest, I have no interest in working for your company. I only came because my friend insisted. I apologize for wasting your time.”

Jin Yaotiao nodded, not too surprised. “It’s fine.”

He was clearly someone with a strong ego, and after his entrepreneurial venture had failed, it was unlikely that such a person would settle for being an employee again.

Jiang Bai noticed her attitude and fell silent for a moment. “Alright.”

This person seemed so lifeless.

Jin Yaotiao studied him carefully, thinking he looked as though he was preparing to become a monk.

She furrowed her brows.

But it was clear that he wasn’t going to stay at Ming De.

The two of them had a conversation and both left.

Outside, Ming De’s employees were still full of energy, eagerly anticipating the team-building event.

Jin Yaotiao couldn’t help but smile, then turned back to shake hands with the man in the wheelchair. “Mr. Jiang, although we can’t collaborate, I wish you all the best for your future.”

Jiang Bai looked at her and, after a brief pause, extended his hand. His gaze lingered on Ming De’s lively employees, and he slowly responded, “I’m no longer Mr. Jiang.”

“It will be,” Jin Yaotiao said.

Jiang Bai tugged at the corner of his mouth.

His friend, who had likely guessed that the two of them hadn’t reached an agreement, looked a bit disappointed. “So, did you two not see eye to eye?”

Jin Yaotiao smiled and answered, “It’s fine. We can still work together in the future.”

His friend, clearly much more lively than Jiang Bai, smiled at him. “What a pity. I just spoke with Director Jin’s employees outside. If you had joined, you could’ve gone on the team-building trip with them. I heard they’re going to have a barbecue in the wilderness. That sounds perfect to me.”

Jiang Bai didn’t respond.

Jin Yaotiao politely said, “Well, there are plenty of people and cars. If you two want to join, you’re welcome to come along.”

Ming De wasn’t the type of company that could keep such a high-profile person, but in the future, they might cross paths in the business world.

She wasn’t too stingy to offer a bit of barbecue.

But what exactly had caused this man in the wheelchair to be paralyzed?

Jin Yaotiao actually wanted to help, regardless of whether there was any return.

After all, helping someone avoid spending their life in a wheelchair, when they were once healthy, was a good deed.