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Chapter 157 - Chapter 157: You Have Money, You Are Willful

Just one day later, the news of Class 3 of Mechanics' 300,000 yuan startup spread among the students of the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.

When students from other classes first heard it, they thought it was bragging. Forget 300,000 yuan, it was impossible for students to even come up with 30,000 yuan!

Even parents from generally wealthy families wouldn't let their children be so impulsive.

But hearing that it was Fang Bai, the Class Committee of Class 3, investing—this guy was arguably the only student in the entire Jiao Tong University who owned a 'big brother' mobile phone—the credibility increased. It was just that investing 300,000 yuan seemed a bit exaggerated, and it involved the entire class.

Students from Class 4 of Mechanics were discussing the Class 3 of Mechanics' startup in their dorms. Students from both classes attended lectures in the same large classroom.

After classes finished in the afternoon, students from Class 3 of Mechanics rushed out of school, while students from their class dispersed in various directions across campus, mostly heading back to their dorms.

"It seems they're serious. After school this afternoon, students from Class 3 divided into several small groups and went out of school for market research."

"Fang Bai is rich. If only he were in our class."

"I'm so damn envious. If they really make money, the students of Class 3 are going to get rich."

"Starting a business isn't that easy, especially for a group of students. They'll most likely lose money."

"That's hard to say. Fang Bai isn't an ordinary student; his family is also in business, so he definitely has some skills."

"He was the top scorer in the college entrance exam, but maybe he's just from a rich family, and his practical skills aren't necessarily good."

There was a lot of discussion, with a hint of sourness in their tones.

By Wednesday morning, Teacher Qin only found out that her students from Class 3 of Mechanics were making big moves. She asked her own students, but they didn't tell her honestly, so she had to go to Fang Bai, the source.

After two classes finished, Teacher Qin asked Fang Bai to talk outside the classroom.

"Fang Bai, I heard you invested 300,000 yuan for the entire class to start a business together?"

Fang Bai seemed unconcerned and quipped, "Yes, that's about right. Teacher Qin, would you like to join in?"

"You're really joking." Teacher Qin rolled her eyes in exasperation, almost laughing out of anger, and earnestly advised, "Fang Bai, you're only in your first year. Your main goal is to study. What if the startup fails? That's 300,000 yuan! You could buy two or three houses with that."

"If it fails, it fails. Investment always carries risks. I'm not worried, so why are you worried, Teacher Qin?" Fang Bai said with a laugh, not taking it seriously. "Half of the students in the class don't come from very good family backgrounds; they're even reluctant to spend money on a meat dish. As long as it doesn't affect their studies, doing some practical activities and being able to earn money to support their families, I think it's pretty good.

I've already emphasized to them that if they fail a course, their dividends will be deducted."

"Alright, you have money, you're willful!" Teacher Qin knew some things about Fang Bai and had nothing to retort. "I don't object to students starting businesses, as long as these students don't skip classes."

"Don't worry, Teacher Qin, they wouldn't dare to skip classes. Who knows, their grades might even be better than those of other classes."

"Nonsense, what's your guarantee?"

"For the sake of dividends, they won't dare to fail courses. Just for that, it's enough to make them study desperately. They won't even dare to talk much nonsense normally.

By the way, Teacher Qin, are you really not going to join the fun? If you're willing, I can give you 1% of the dividends. You might get a few thousand yuan a year, and you won't have to be stingy when buying cosmetics." Fang Bai teased her.

"Hmph, Fang Bai, don't even think about bribing me. As the Class Committee, don't lead these students astray. They are all future elite talents in the mechanical industry."

Fang Bai smirked, "Teacher Qin, many students nowadays can't even afford enough food. Where would they get the funds for scientific research? Economy drives technological development and accelerates the transformation of scientific achievements into real productivity."

He now only saw Teacher Qin as a young girl; it was quite difficult to command him now.

She had helped him get on board, and now that he was on board, he didn't want to get off.

And actually, being the Class Committee was quite interesting; he could command so many students to help him make money.

After they graduate, he would recruit them into his own mechanical company.

Now, he treated them as his own employees.

"Alright, you can go back to the classroom. That's all."

After Teacher Qin finished talking with Fang Bai, she felt like she had directly lost control of Class 3 of Mechanics; these students only listened to Fang Bai now.

But she had to admit, this guy directly bought off the entire class. She had just heard about a few thousand yuan in dividends a year and was almost tempted to participate.

When she was in college, she never had such a good opportunity to start a business.

Teacher Qin sat in her office for a while, then reported to the dean about Fang Bai leading the students in a startup.

Lu Yang was slightly surprised when he heard this, not expecting Fang Bai to start making big moves. It seemed he hadn't deliberately concealed his identity from his classmates.

After some thought, he said, "As long as it doesn't affect their studies, the school also encourages students to start businesses and provides them with assistance. I am curious to see what they can come up with."

"Dean, I don't have high hopes for these students. They don't have much social experience, and enthusiasm alone isn't enough. I just feel sorry for Fang Bai's 300,000 yuan," Teacher Qin said worriedly.

"He doesn't care, so why are you worrying? Losing money isn't your fault, and you won't get a share if they make money, so don't worry unnecessarily about this. Perhaps 300,000 yuan seems like a lot to us, but in his eyes, it's nothing. You need to think from his perspective," the dean criticized.

"Dean, I understand. I was worrying too much. I should give the students more autonomy."

Lu Yang commented objectively, "Hmm, let's leave it at that. We'll wait and see and let nature take its course. Fang Bai has a talent for business; perhaps he can come up with something new. I've also heard of an open-plan supermarket for the first time, but I don't understand these commercial matters, so I can't really comment."

After Teacher Qin finished her report, she returned to her office.

The next day, Thursday.

Li Kai reported to Fang Bai that he had found a suitable property and asked him to review it to see if it was suitable for a shop.

After school in the afternoon, Li Kai and the four Class Committee members took Fang Bai to inspect three locations.

The first location was inside the school, opposite the cafeteria. Two shops had a total area of sixty square meters, and their contract would expire in two months. The rent was not cheap.

Fang Bai felt the rent wasn't an issue, but the space was too small. It would be fine for a small convenience store, but he wasn't interested.

The second location was opposite Gate 3, where students usually exited to go shopping or eat snacks.

There was a shop for sublease, 70 square meters in size. The owner thought the rent was too high, but the main problem was the product positioning.

Fang Bai thought this location was good, but he still felt the area was too small, far from his initial requirement of 300 square meters.

The third location was just across a street, but it had two shops connected, with a total area of about 160 square meters.

Being across a street, the popularity was much lower; students were too lazy to walk an extra few dozen meters.

After seeing them, Fang Bai felt unsatisfied with all of them.

There were many small general stores outside the school, and their business was good. If Fang Bai opened a supermarket, small business owners would quickly imitate them.

Currently, universities had not yet put out bids for large supermarkets. For a university like this, with over 20,000 students, there would usually only be one or two large supermarkets, around 500 square meters. If it were twenty years later, the annual bidding and leasing fees would be at least several hundred thousand yuan, and it would be difficult to rent without connections.

"Class Committee, what do you think?" Li Kai couldn't help but ask.

"Let's find a place to eat first." Fang Bai didn't answer directly. His considerations were quite complex.

Everyone ordered a few small dishes at a small restaurant, with Fang Bai treating.

During the meal, Fang Bai finally talked about the shop: "The best shop would definitely be inside the school, but the area is too small and doesn't meet my requirements.

The situation inside the school is very complicated, with many unstable factors."

If business was good, the school might not allow them to rent anymore. Such things were common; signing a contract was useless. If it wasn't their own property, there were too many unstable factors.

However, renting inside the school meant not fearing troublemakers, and it was safe and convenient for students to shop.

Renting outside meant some landlords might want to go solo once business picked up.

Whether on campus or off campus, there was a risk of being driven out by the landlord.

But there was no way around it. If they invested in land to build a property, the investment would be too large.

Land outside the school gate was prime commercial land. A hundred square meters of land would cost at least 100,000 yuan, and the better the location, the more expensive it would be. Moreover, original residents were not very willing to sell, and building a house was much cheaper.

Of course, Fang Bai currently wasn't willing to invest too much money in these land plots; it wasn't worth it.

"Class Committee, we can't help it. All the good locations are already rented by businesses. There are no shops of two or three hundred square meters near the school gate, or they are too remote," Li Kai expressed his helplessness, not expecting that just finding a shop would be so difficult for them.

"It's not your fault. I'll think of other ways," Fang Bai waved his hand. "Let's go back to school and take another look after dinner."

"Class Committee, there aren't any large shops in the school. They are all dozens of square meters, and they are all rented out."

Fang Bai smiled, "It's fine, I have a way."

The four Class Committee members were somewhat puzzled and confused, seeing the Class Committee lower his head and continue eating without saying anything.

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