After Fang Bai and the four Class Committee members finished eating, they returned to school and walked around again.
The conclusion they reached was that there really weren't any shops large enough on campus, and other building renovations wouldn't work; it would be better to build new ones than to renovate.
For Fang Bai, the absence of shops over a hundred square meters was good news.
Land outside the campus belonged to prime commercial areas, and every hundred square meters of land would cost at least 100,000 yuan. The plots of land at the school gate were estimated to cost over 2,000 yuan per square meter, and they were still unavailable for purchase.
Each plot of land had three or four stories built on it. The first floor served as a shop, and the rent was not cheap. The upper floors were rented out as apartments, and landlords preferred a steady stream of income, unless Fang Bai offered a price so high that the landlord couldn't refuse.
These were all houses of original residents. If he didn't buy all several houses and then tear down walls to connect them, he simply wouldn't be able to get a shop several hundred square meters in size.
Investing in a building occupying three hundred square meters, Fang Bai's 300,000 yuan was far from enough.
If he were to buy land outside the school to build, it would be better to build a new supermarket within the school, as he wouldn't need to spend money on land.
Fang Bai thought it was feasible if he could build a large supermarket for the school and get the first year's rent waived, paying rent thereafter.
It didn't need to be built too well; the construction cost per hundred square meters, plus simple decoration, would only be a little over 20,000 yuan.
Building five hundred square meters would cost about 100,000 yuan.
This meant that the cost of building the supermarket would offset the first year's rent.
For shops on campus, even those only a few tens of square meters, the annual rent was tens of thousands of yuan, and you couldn't even get one without connections.
Regarding profit, Fang Bai had roughly calculated the figures.
Currently, there are over 20,000 students on campus, and their market demand for fast-moving consumer goods, daily necessities, and stationery is approximately 3.5 million yuan.
Terminal merchants can obtain a gross profit of 1.1 million to 1.8 million yuan. If they can capture one-third of the market share, after deducting costs such as rent and labor, the net profit after tax would be 250,000 to 500,000 yuan.
As people's incomes increase and prices rise, students' consumption power will also significantly increase.
It is estimated that by 2010, the annual sales volume of the above goods may exceed 15 million yuan, and the gross profit for terminal merchants may reach over 4.5 million yuan.
If the large supermarket on campus can capture one-third of the market share, the gross profit will exceed 1.5 million yuan, so an annual rent of several hundred thousand yuan is also reasonable.
Fang Bai estimated that if he could open a large supermarket at the school, there would be no strong competitors currently, and he could capture more than half of the market share, predicting a gross profit of over 550,000 yuan in the first year.
If the annual rent were 100,000 yuan, the profit would still be over 400,000 yuan, and he could recoup his investment in half a year.
If he opened a large supermarket off-campus, business would certainly be much worse.
Building a five-hundred-square-meter supermarket would require 100,000 yuan, stocking goods 70,000 yuan, and equipment such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and shelves 10,000 to 20,000 yuan.
Investing in such a supermarket would cost approximately 200,000 yuan.
His 300,000 yuan investment could be used to build two supermarkets at two schools, and suppliers would be willing to consign goods to larger supermarkets.
"Class Leader, there are no suitable shops, this will be difficult," Zhang Li said.
Fang Bai said, "If we can't find a suitable one, then we will build a large supermarket with a footprint of five hundred square meters for the school for free, requesting the first year's rent to be waived.
After normal operation, the rent for the second year will be 100,000 yuan, with a 5% increase each year, and we require the school to have only one such large supermarket. You should negotiate with Jiao Tong University on these terms. We will currently invest in two universities, and the second university must have over fifteen thousand enrolled students."
He could also go to negotiate, but it was better to leave such matters to them. If the supermarket did well, he would certainly invest in other universities as well.
This student supermarket would primarily be their responsibility. Fang Bai would not spend too much time on it; his main energy was currently focused on Xinghai Mechanical Company.
As soon as Fang Bai finished speaking, everyone was shocked again. There was such an operation possible.
"Class Leader, this is playing a bit big."
"It seems feasible, but we never thought of building it ourselves. If we build it ourselves, how long would it take?"
Fang Bai saw everyone asking and replied, "I'll handle finding the construction company. One can be completed in three months, and it can open for business by the start of next semester."
It was just a five-hundred-square-meter shop with few walls. Fang Bai could get a small team from Xinghai Construction Company to handle it, as they were experienced and wouldn't delay the project.
The main structure of Xinghai Shopping Mall had already been completed and was entering the decoration phase.
Next, Fang Bai clearly explained some matters to the four Class Committee members.
The next day, Li Kai and the other four Class Committee members went directly to the dean, presenting the plan to build a supermarket for the school, hoping the dean would help them push it to the school authorities.
Lu Yang did not expect a big "surprise" from a freshman.
He said gleefully, "Fang Bai didn't come himself, he just dumped this matter on you?"
Zhang Li, in charge of communication, respectfully said, "Dean, our Class Leader said that if we can't handle this, we can't handle other schools either. At the same time, this is a rare opportunity for us to gain experience.
Dean, we are creating benefits for the school and making shopping convenient for students. It's killing two birds with one stone."
Lu Yang observed this female student more closely, smiling gently, "You've counted too little; it should be killing three birds with one stone.
You're Zhang Li, right? Your communication skills are good.
How about this, this type of matter is not within my jurisdiction. I'll ask for the school's opinion first.
Overall, student entrepreneurship is good, and I support you."
Receiving the dean's praise, Zhang Li was very happy inside. She bowed slightly and said, "Okay, thank you, Dean. We also plan to do this at other universities, not just Jiao Tong University."
"You're playing quite big. I wish you success."
Lu Yang didn't expect Fang Bai to go big right away. If Jiao Tong University disagreed and these student entrepreneurs eventually succeeded, then Jiao Tong University would become a laughingstock.
Zhang Li and the three Class Committee members left the dean's office. After walking a few steps, the four of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"Communicating with the dean is so stressful, I almost couldn't breathe," Zhang Li said, patting her chest.
"There's a first time for everything, and this is also an opportunity for us to gain experience. The dean just praised you."
Receiving recognition from her classmates, Zhang Li was very happy and humbly said, "Those are just polite words. You could do it too if you went."
This time, Zhang Li was in charge of communication, while the other three were there for support.
For the next school, they planned to go to Textile University.
On Lu Yang's side, after the students left, he stood up and paced, sipping tea and pondering. For him, if this matter was handled well, it would be a good thing. If not, the impact would not be significant.
After some thought, he called the school leaders.
At three o'clock on Friday afternoon, just after class, Qin Xue came to find Fang Bai again.
"The dean wants you to go to his office. Have you finished writing your speech?"
If she didn't remind him, Fang Bai wouldn't submit it, seeming not to be in a hurry at all.
"I've finished writing it, but I still have class," Fang Bai said, seeing her plump face, wanting to tease her.
He was also a bit curious about how much his interactions with the dean and other leaders could increase his connections.
"Go on, I'll ask for leave for you. There are other matters."
Fang Bai nodded, returned to the classroom, put his books into his backpack, and told his roommates.
A moment later, he arrived outside the dean's office.
The door was open. Fang Bai saw two middle-aged men of similar age sitting at a tea table, drinking tea and chatting. He hadn't met the dean before and didn't know which one he was, assuming both were likely school leaders.
He knocked on the door and said, neither humble nor arrogant, "Hello, Dean, I am Fang Bai."
He just called out casually; whoever responded was likely the dean.
The refined-looking middle-aged man saw Fang Bai, gave a refined smile, stood up, and waved to him, "Student Fang Bai, come in quickly. I've heard much about you."
Fang Bai maintained his smile, walked over to shake his hand, and at the same time, gave him a scan, finally confirming that the middle-aged man in front of him was indeed the dean.
Unexpectedly, the dean already knew about his family's affairs but pretended not to.
Moreover, most of the school leaders also knew, which was why he was chosen as the freshman representative.
However, he could understand; if it were him, he would also make such a choice. It was merely a matter of not getting up early without profit.
"Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you. Dean, you flatter me."
After shaking hands, he extended his hand to the bald man next to him, "Hello, Secretary, pleased to meet you."
Every department had a secretary responsible for Party committee work.
In universities, the president is responsible for the overall administration, and in departments, it's the dean who is responsible. Therefore, most of the actual power in a department still lies with the dean.
"Fang Bai, you're too polite. I've heard your name since just a few days after school started."
"It's all just messing around; I've made the two leaders laugh."
Fang Bai's social demeanor was mature, his conduct composed, and his temperament unique, which greatly impressed the two department leaders. Indeed, geniuses were different.
"Fang Bai, you are too modest. Professor Wang told me about you and praised you constantly, saying that even though you just started learning mechanical drawing, your design level is comparable to a designer who has worked for several years.
I asked you to come here because I wanted to meet the talent in our department.
Firstly, to ask about the preparation of the speech for Sunday's freshman orientation ceremony, and secondly, about your supermarket investment.
I have already communicated with the school leaders, and they want to talk to you personally to hear your thoughts. After all, the investment amount is not small. There are also students from our school who start businesses, but I've never seen anyone play it like you."
The dean spoke slowly. He personally helped this group of students, and Fang Bai didn't even show up. It was useless for those four students to owe him a favor; the principal person had to appear.
Regarding the dean's praise, Fang Bai just smiled awkwardly: he had a cheat, so it was different.
After a few polite exchanges, he took out two drafts from his backpack and handed them over.
After working in society, when submitting proposals to superiors, it's best to prepare two to three copies. Fang Bai was doing the same now.
The dean and the secretary each looked at one copy, then looked at the other after finishing the first.
"Both are good, both are well-written. The first draft is more stable," the dean commented first.
"Indeed, it's very well written. I also suggest using the first one for more stability," the secretary had no objections to the drafts; these were minor matters.
Upon hearing this, Fang Bai understood that their words actually meant the second one was not good; it was just polite talk.
The three chatted for a while, then the dean and the secretary took Fang Bai to the school leaders' office.
The school authorities probably knew some of Fang Bai's background, so they paid more attention to him as a student.
If he were only a good student or just a typical entrepreneurial student, the school leaders would not have met him.
The principal of Jiao Tong University held a high rank. If comparing only administrative levels, he was actually on the same level as a Vice Mayor of Shanghai or a Vice-level leader in other provinces.
Of course, in terms of power, the principal was certainly far behind, as the scale of personnel managed differed by many times.