Going home for the Chinese New Year with a year-end bonus of 100 million

As we entered mid-March, the university town had completely returned to its former bustling state.

Students returning to school filled the streets, and businesses of all kinds of shops were booming.

"Qianweifang" business has been soaring, with daily turnover steadily increasing from just over a thousand yuan to around two thousand five hundred yuan.

The situation is even more extreme on weekends.

By 11 a.m. on Saturday, all eight tables in the store were full.

Xiaoya had no choice but to put up a sign that read "Fully booked, please take a number and wait in line" and place six plastic stools at the entrance.

"Excuse me, there are three tables ahead of you, it will take about twenty minutes. Is that alright?"

"Okay, okay! We'll wait!"

"This is your number. We'll call you when your number is called. You can take a look at the menu first."

Lin Xiaoyu skillfully distributed paper cards with numbers printed on them, and then handed out menus.

She wore a pale yellow sweater today, which made her skin look exceptionally fair. Her ponytail was tied neatly, and she looked refreshing and capable.

In the kitchen, Lin's mother had already started simmering the fifth pot of soup base.

Inside the huge stainless steel barrel, the milky white broth simmered gently, the aroma of beans mingling with the rich flavor of the bone broth, permeating the entire kitchen.

Fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead, but her hands moved steadily and quickly—scooping soup, preparing the pot, adding dipping sauce, all in one smooth motion.

"Xiaoyu's mom, your cooking skills are truly amazing!" Wang Xiuying exclaimed as she served the dishes.

"We've only been open for half a month, and we already have so many repeat customers!"

Lin's mother smiled shyly, "It's all thanks to everyone's support."

Li Cuihua was so busy in the washing area that she barely had time to breathe. The vegetables in front of her seemed endless to be washed. Just when she finished processing one batch, a new order came in from the front of the house.

"Add two more servings of lettuce to table number three!"

"The bean sprouts at table number five are gone!"

"Here it comes!"

Although the three middle-aged women were tired, their teamwork became increasingly seamless, and their efficiency improved.

Yang Fan wasn't helping out at the store today; he had other things to take care of.

At 10 a.m., he drove up to the four-story building.

The building, which originally bore the sign "Billiards Club," is now covered with scaffolding, and green protective netting covers most of the exterior walls, with workers busily going in and out.

Zhou Jin, wearing a yellow hard hat and dusty work clothes, was standing at the entrance on the first floor, arguing heatedly with a middle-aged man who looked like a contractor.

"Engineer Wang, the routing of this fire hydrant cannot be changed!" Zhou Jin pointed to the blueprints, his voice urgent.

"The design drawings clearly indicate that sufficient maintenance space must be reserved here."

"If you move it 30 centimeters this way, and there are any problems later, repairmen won't be able to get in!"

"Mr. Zhou, it's not that I want to change it, it's just that the beam is right here!"

Foreman Lao Wang pointed to a thick horizontal beam on the ceiling:

"If we follow the original design, the pipes would have to go under the beams, leaving only 2.3 meters of ceiling height—it would feel so cramped!"

"The guests don't feel comfortable coming in!"

"But we can't sacrifice fire safety standards!" Zhou Jin retorted firmly.

"If the fire safety inspection fails, everything else is for nothing! Think of a way to get around the beam from the side?"

"Go around it?" Old Wang smiled wryly.

"That would require adding three bends, which would not only cause a significant water pressure loss, but also increase material and labor costs!"

"Add more if necessary!" Zhou Jin said decisively. "Safety comes first! As for the money, I'll apply to Brother Fan!"

Yang Fan stood not far away, listening to the conversation between the two, and nodded slightly.

Zhou Jin is really taking this to heart.

Moreover, they have a good grasp of principles on key issues.

He walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Brother Fan!" Zhou Jin turned his head, his eyes lighting up, then a troubled expression appeared on his face.

"The fire protection pipes are in conflict with the structural beams. Engineer Wang wants to change the pipe routing, but I'm worried it will affect the fire safety inspection."

Yang Fan took the blueprints and looked at them, then looked up at the crossbeam.

"Engineer Wang, if we follow the original design, the floor height will indeed be affected. But the fire protection pipes really can't be changed arbitrarily."

He pondered for a moment:

"Here's what you do: find a professional fire safety designer to take a look and see if there's a solution that can guarantee the floor height without violating regulations. I'll cover the cost."

Old Wang breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good enough, Mr. Yang! I'll contact him this afternoon!"

"As soon as possible," Yang Fan said. "The construction schedule cannot be delayed."

"clear!"

After Lao Wang left, Zhou Jin took off his helmet, wiped his sweat, and said with a wry smile:

"Brother Fan, doing engineering is really... full of pitfalls. We've only just started and we've already run into problems."

"That's normal." Yang Fan patted him on the shoulder.

"Encountering problems and solving them is part of the growth process. You handled it well just now; you maintained the bottom line of safety."

Zhou Jin was a little embarrassed by the praise: "I just felt... I couldn't let you down."

"Let's go up and take a look," Yang Fan said.

The two men put on safety helmets and went up to the third floor through the side construction passage.

The originally spacious 2,000-square-meter area has now been divided into basic sections by partition walls – a reception area, a public rest area, a corridor, and the framework of individual rooms.

Workers are laying electrical wiring, and the sounds of electric drills and hammering are constant.

Zhou Jin introduced as he walked:

"This is the reception area, and behind it are the server room and offices. This main corridor is 2.2 meters wide, with standard rooms on both sides, each 20 square meters. I plan to turn the innermost area into themed rooms, with a few for science fiction, a few for e-sports, and a few for anime."

He pointed to the renderings posted on the wall:

"The interior design style is modern and minimalist, with dark gray, light gray and blue as the main colors, complemented by RGB light strips, to create a full e-sports atmosphere."

"What about the internet?" Yang Fan asked.

"Don't worry about that!" Zhou Jin's eyes lit up.

"I hired a professional web development company to design an enterprise-level solution."

"The main fiber optic cable provides gigabit speed access, high-performance access points are deployed on each floor, and network cable interfaces are reserved in each room."

"Ensure complete coverage and minimize latency."

"What about surveillance cameras and access control systems?"

"I've considered everything." Zhou Jin took out his tablet and pulled up the proposed solutions:

"The entire building is covered by high-definition cameras, with centralized monitoring at the front desk."

"The access control system uses card swipes and passwords, and each room is controlled independently."

"There's also an intelligent power control system that automatically shuts off the power after guests check out, saving energy."

Yang Fan listened and nodded.

Zhou Jin had indeed done a lot of research and considered all aspects.

"How's the equipment procurement going?"

"It's settled!" Zhou Jin said excitedly.

"Two hundred mainframes, with the configurations we discussed earlier, will cost 6,300 yuan each through the distribution channel, which is 1,200 yuan cheaper than the market price."

"I chose a 27-inch 2K 144Hz gaming monitor, the wholesale price is 1,100."

"The keyboard, mouse, and headset are from a domestic brand that offers good value for money; a set costs 200 yuan."

He quickly did the mental calculations: "Including servers, network equipment, desks, chairs, and beds, the total hardware investment is approximately..."

"Around 1.8 million. That's 200,000 less than the budget."

"The money saved will be used for renovations and interior design," Yang Fan said.

"The environment and service are very important. The mattress should be comfortable, the sound insulation should be good, and the hot water in the shower should be consistent."

"Understood!" Zhou Jin wrote it down carefully.

The two walked around the construction site and then went up to the fourth floor to take a look.

The fourth floor is planned to house high-end themed rooms and suites for multiplayer gaming, and is currently still in the demolition and renovation phase.

"Brother Fan," Zhou Jin hesitated for a moment before speaking as he came downstairs.

"There's something... I don't know if I should say it."

"explain."

"Through my connections at school, I got in touch with the head of the city's e-sports association."

Zhou Jin lowered his voice:

"They are planning to hold a college esports league in May and are looking for a partner venue."

"I... I'd like to try and get the competition venue located at our hotel."

Yang Fan paused, turned to look at him: "Are you confident?"

"The association said that as long as our venue meets the standards and our equipment is good enough, they can consider it."

Zhou Jin's eyes lit up. "If this works out, it'll be the best publicity!"

"Esports teams from all the universities in the city will be here, and the media will be covering it!"

What conditions are required?

"The main thing is the venue—there needs to be a viewing area that can accommodate hundreds of people, dedicated equipment for the competition, stable network, and conditions for live streaming."

Zhou Jin said, "I've looked at the design drawings. If we temporarily convert part of the public area on the third floor into a competition venue, it shouldn't be a problem."

"We can purchase a batch of higher-end equipment separately, specifically for the competition."