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

In the small conference room, the three judges exchanged opinions.

"I think 'Flying Bird Logistics' and 'Smart Learning AI' are the best projects," said an e-commerce entrepreneur judge. "The ideas are novel, the teams are professional, and the business models are clear."

"I agree." The education and training judge nodded. "The other programs are either too ordinary or have obvious shortcomings. These two are truly promising."

As the chief judge, Yang Fan summarized: "Then we'll designate these two as first-prize candidates, and select three second-prize candidates to enter the final round. The final round will involve a detailed review to determine the final rankings."

"it is good."

"agree."

The review process concluded, and the results were submitted to the organizing committee.

Ten minutes later, the host went on stage to announce the results of the semi-finals.

"Five projects—'Flying Bird Logistics,' 'Smart Learning AI,' 'Campus Food Map,' 'Green Plant Rental and Sales Platform,' and 'Used Electronic Equipment Inspection'—have advanced to the finals!"

applause.

The shortlisted teams hugged each other excitedly, while those who didn't make it, though disappointed, applauded their opponents.

Lin Qingyue sat in the audience, watching this scene, a gratified smile on her lips.

She looked at Yang Fan on the judges' panel, and Yang Fan happened to be looking over at her too.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

……

After the competition, Yang Fan walked out of the auditorium and was surrounded by members of several shortlisted teams.

"Mr. Yang, may we have a talk with you?"

"Mr. Yang, do you have any suggestions for our project?"

"Mr. Yang..."

Yang Fan patiently responded to each question.

At this moment, Lin Qingyue walked over:

"Dear students, Mr. Yang must be tired today too."

"If you have any questions, you can schedule a consultation with the organizing committee before the finals."

The students then dispersed.

"Thank you for getting me out of that situation," Yang Fan said with a smile.

"Of course," Lin Qingyue said. "How was it? Did you have any success today?"

"Yes," Yang Fan nodded. "There are a few projects that are indeed quite good. In particular, 'Flying Bird Logistics' and 'Smart Learning AI' have a very bright future if they can be done well."

"So, are you planning to vote?"

"We'll see in the finals," Yang Fan said. "The roadshow is just the first step; we also need to assess the team's execution and resilience. Investing isn't about looking at PowerPoint presentations; it's about looking at the people."

"That's right," Lin Qingyue agreed. "Then what do you do now...?"

"Let's go back to the store," Yang Fan said. "It's the weekend today, we'll definitely be busy tonight."

"I send you?"

"No need, I'm driving."

The two walked side by side to the parking lot.

As the sun sets, the sky is tinged with orange-red.

"See you in the finals next week," Lin Qingyue said.

See you in the finals.

"..."

On the third Tuesday of June, at two o'clock in the afternoon, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the plane tree leaves in the university town.

Yang Fan parked his car in front of the "Star Glory Billiards Club" which was under renovation.

The floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor have been installed, and you can see the busy construction workers inside through the glass.

Zhou Yao was standing at the door gesturing to a worker. Today she was wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, her hair was tied in a neat bun, and fine beads of sweat were on her forehead.

"Here! Move the light a little to the left, so it shines on the center of the table!" she said, pointing to the ceiling with a serious tone.

The worker nodded, climbed the ladder, and began making adjustments.

As Yang Fan approached, Zhou Yao happened to turn around, her eyes lighting up when she saw him: "Big brother! What brings you here?"

"Let's check on the progress." Yang Fan looked up and surveyed the store. "It's more spacious than it looks in the photos."

"Right!" Zhou Yao proudly pushed open the glass door. "Come in and take a look. The main structure is finished; now all that's left are the details."

Upon entering the store, Yang Fan was captivated by the scene before him.

The space of over 300 square meters was rationally divided into several areas:

The entrance has a bar and rest area, and further in is a public area consisting of twelve regular billiard tables. At the very back, there are eight VIP tables separated by a semi-partition.

The walls are painted in a dark gray industrial style, and the staggered track lights on the ceiling cast soft light. The floor is covered with professional billiard hall flooring, on which you can hardly hear your footsteps.

"I specifically chose a lighting system with adjustable color temperature," Zhou Yao explained as she led the way.

"Use cool white light during the day to make the space look bright; at night, you can switch to warm yellow light to create ambiance."

She walked to a billiard table that had already been installed and reached out to touch the smooth surface:

"The tables are all from top-tier domestic brands, the slate is 4.5 centimeters thick, and the edge elasticity has been tested; they are very standard."

Yang Fan nodded: "You've thought this through very carefully."

"Of course!" Zhou Yao's eyes sparkled. "This is my first shop, I have to make it a success!"

She led Yang Fan to the VIP area, where the tables were spaced further apart, and there were also high chairs and small round tables nearby.

"The VIP area costs 20 yuan more per hour than the regular area, but offers free drinks and snacks."

"I've done the calculations. This pricing is acceptable to students and can filter out customers who are truly willing to spend money."

"When will it be completed?" Yang Fan asked.

"This weekend!" Zhou Yao glanced at her phone calendar:

「6月25号全部搞定，然后花三天时间做保洁和设备调试，计划7月1号试营业，7月8号正式开业。」

"Are all your documents complete?"

"All done!" Zhou Yao took a folder out of her backpack:

Business license, health permit, fire safety inspection certificate...

"It's all here. Do you want to check, brother?"

Yang Fan took the folder and flipped through it; it contained all sorts of official seals and signatures. He was somewhat surprised:

"So fast?"

"I run around a lot!" Zhou Yao chuckled.

"I go to the Industry and Commerce Bureau, the Health Bureau, and the Fire Department three times a day. They're all fed up with me."

"However, none of the required procedures were omitted, and all the necessary inspections were passed on the first try."

Seeing her proud expression, Yang Fan felt a little touched.

Three months ago, Zhou Yao was a college student who only knew how to play games and participate in club activities.

Now, she can independently complete the entire process of a physical store, from site selection to decoration and permit processing.

This rate of growth is astonishing.

"What about employee training?" Yang Fan handed the folder back to her.

"Starting next Monday," Zhou Yao said.

"I invited referees from the city's billiards association to provide training, teaching them the rules of ball placement, scoring methods, and service etiquette."

"They even invited a professor from our school's tourism management program to give a lecture on customer service psychology."

She paused, then her tone became serious: "Brother, I know that a billiards hall looks simple; it's just setting up tables and collecting money."

"But I want to do it differently—to be professional, to be clean, and to make guests want to come back."

Looking into her earnest eyes, Yang Fan nodded: "If you have the will, you've already succeeded halfway."

After leaving the billiards hall, Yang Fan walked for five minutes to reach the "Xinghai Esports Hotel".

Three o'clock in the afternoon is the time for check-out and check-in handover.

In the lobby, two female receptionists were skillfully processing guests' check-in procedures, a cleaner was quietly pushing a cleaning cart through the corridor, and several newly arrived students were excitedly discussing their evening's games.

Zhou Jin came out of the office and was somewhat surprised to see Yang Fan:

"Fan-ge? What brings you here?"

"I just stopped by to take a look." Yang Fan looked around. "Business is good."

"We're fully booked on weekends, and over 70% occupancy even on weekdays." Zhou Jin led Yang Fan towards the office.

"Brother Fan, I was just about to have a chat with you."

The office wasn't large, but it was clean and organized. A group photo from the opening day hung on the wall, several potted plants sat on the table, and a real-time room status map was displayed on the computer screen—37 out of 50 rooms were marked "occupied."

Zhou Jin poured Yang Fan a glass of water, then opened an Excel spreadsheet:

"These are the operating data since the opening, which I have analyzed in detail."

Yang Fan took the laptop and examined it carefully.

The data is clear: May revenue was 42.7, and net profit was 24.2.

With half of June gone, the data trend continues to improve, and the net profit for the whole month is expected to reach around 40.