I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 701 Li Le Wants to Study at Lakeside University
Initially, the organizing committee did intend to follow last year's approach and invite him to attend as the "Chairman of Ele.me Group" to discuss the topic of the internet platform economy.

However, at this time last year, Fang Qingye was in the United States, and Ele.me CEO Zhang Xuhao ultimately attended on her behalf.

But things are different now. The company he actually controls, Zhiyun Technology, has gained fame for its successful development of the domestic distributed ledger platform "Cloud Ledger," which makes him equally qualified to appear at the "Financial Technology Innovation" sub-forum.

However, the organizing committee's considerations were far from over. Under the theme of "Internet Culture and Communication," ByteDance, a company currently enjoying great success (whose products such as Toutiao have surpassed the influence of many traditional media outlets), was also invited, and the chairman of this company was none other than Fang Qingye.

Furthermore, if we consider his official position as the president of Jinghai Bank, the bank under his leadership has achieved remarkable results in big data risk control models. Its micro-loan model, which "uses user behavior data to replace traditional collateral and guarantees," is precisely the core topic of the "Inclusive Finance and Digital Technology" forum.

One person is affiliated with four major companies, and all four companies were invited to this summit! It's unrealistic to expect the same person to be involved in four different forums and give four speeches in a row, right? This situation is truly unbelievable.

After careful consideration, the organizing committee decided to extend an invitation to him in his most formal capacity as "President of Jinghai Bank," while the other three companies would be represented by their respective CEOs.

In fact, if Fang Qingye had known the organizing committee's predicament, he would have liked to tell them: There's no need to go to such lengths. The CEOs should have been involved long ago, because I myself didn't originally want to come...

It was a cloudy morning, the sky was dark and it looked like it was going to snow. By noon, snowflakes began to fall, and the snow got heavier and heavier, turning the world into a white expanse.

"An old man in a straw hat and raincoat, alone in a small boat, fishing in the cold river snow."

For a fisherman, a little snow is nothing, but Fang Qingye kept sneezing, and his nose and eyes were running.

It's probably a real cold.

Later, when Yue Kai saw him like this, he advised him to stop fishing and go home to rest. He had no choice but to give up and return to his elegant lakeside home.

Today is Saturday. Fang Qingye went back to Nanxin for the weekend with his wife and children. The main reason was that Bai Ou hadn't been back to Nanxin for a long time and wanted to come back and visit. After staying in the big city for so long, it felt good to be back in the county town.

Fang Qingye was naturally happy to agree, at least it would be more convenient to fish in the county town.

As a result, I didn't catch many fish today and even caught a cold, which made my wife complain. She said that I'm over thirty years old and have entered middle age, yet I still want to act like a young person and not take care of my health.

Despite her complaints, Fang Qingye personally cooked a bowl of ginger and brown sugar soup for her husband, and she immediately felt much better after drinking it.

It was snowing heavily outside, but the house was warm and cozy with underfloor heating. Fang Qingye changed into her warm pajamas, intending to hold and play with her son, but because she had a cold, even that right was denied. Her mother-in-law took her son upstairs, saying she was afraid he would catch something.

Fang Qingye could only drink tea and scroll through her phone out of boredom, while Bai Ou leisurely flipped through fashion magazines beside her.

Just then, the doorbell rang. The nanny hurriedly went out and came back in: "Brother Fang, Li Le, the boss of Shengtai Industry, is here."

Li Le?

"Invite him in."

Less than two minutes later, a man wearing a dark woolen overcoat walked in, with gold-rimmed glasses and his hair neatly combed.

Fang Qingye greeted him with a smile, "Li Le, what a rare guest."

"I just saw your car enter the community. I guessed you were back, so I came over to sit for a bit. I hope I didn't disturb you."

Li Le also bought a villa in Lakeside Residence, which is next to Fang Qingye's house, hence his statement.

"No, I just got back from fishing. Please have a seat." Li Le laughed and said, "You went fishing on such a cold day? You're something else."

"Hehe, it's just a hobby."

Fang Qingye warmly invited him to sit down and then asked the nanny to pour him some tea.

After drinking some hot tea and chatting for a while, Li Le said, "Qingye, I came to you this time to ask for a small favor."

"what's up?"

“Ma Yun’s Lakeside University is currently enrolling students for its second cohort, and I would like to apply. I saw in the admission brochure that this time the ‘sponsor system’ has been improved. Applicants must obtain written recommendations from one or more sponsors recognized by Lakeside University, who are generally well-known entrepreneurs, investors, or outstanding alumni, in order to be eligible to apply.”

Li Le smiled and said, "You are now a well-known entrepreneur and investor, which perfectly meets the requirements. You also have a good relationship with Ma Yun, so I would like to ask you to be my sponsor."

That's right
What Li Le said is indeed true.

Led by Ma Yun, this is an educational institution jointly founded by eight well-known entrepreneurs and scholars, including Feng Lun, Guo Guangchang, Shi Yuzhu, Shen Guojun, and Qian Yingyi. Its aim is to discover and cultivate entrepreneurs with entrepreneurial spirit.

The official statement also revised the "Four Sentences of Hengqu" by Zhang Zai, a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty, calling it "establishing a heart for the market, establishing a life for merchants, continuing the lost learning for reform and opening up, and opening up a new era of peace for commerce."

Although it is called a university, it is not a higher education institution in the traditional sense and does not offer degree programs.

It recruits "trainees" rather than "students". The program lasts three years, and trainees are required to attend classes once a month for 2-4 days each time.

Recruitment began last year (2014), and the qualification requirements are extremely strict:

The entrepreneur must be a "decision-maker" (founder, chairman, or CEO) of the company. The company's annual revenue must exceed 30 million RMB, and it needs to provide three years of tax payment certificates. Additionally, a sponsor system is required.

After written tests and interviews, the final stage is the principal's interview, which is personally overseen by Ma Yun.

It is said that the competition is very fierce. Last year, the first cohort only recruited 40 students, but more than 1800 people submitted applications.

However, in terms of qualifications, Li Le fully meets the eligibility requirements for registration.

His Shengtai Industrial Group owns cinemas, karaoke bars, and also holds shares in hotels and taxi companies.

After taking over the company from his father, Li Le, the group's chairman and CEO, gradually began to transform it, investing in the gaming and e-sports industry, opening e-sports arenas, and training game streamers.

The group's assets have reached billions, with annual revenue of over a billion. In Nanxin and even the entire Jinghai, Shengtai is a leading enterprise in the entertainment industry, and Li Le is considered a very successful second-generation rich heir.

Li Le is now going to apply to Lakeside University!

Fang Qingye asked, "Li Le, why did you sign up? You've been in business for almost ten years, you're very experienced, and Shengtai Industry is thriving under your management. There's no need for you to go and give lectures to those so-called entrepreneurs, is there?"

Li Leting smiled and said, "Qingye, let me tell you the truth. I don't really care about the content of the lectures, but rather about their circle."

(End of this chapter)