Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

The door to dormitory 206 was locked from the inside with a soft "click," shutting out the noise from the corridor.

"Sixth brother, this is like a secret meeting between underground party members." Fifth brother Liu Jing was still savoring the braised pork slices he had just eaten, picking his teeth and looking around for toothpicks.

Bai Yuhang didn't reply, but slammed the remaining start-up capital of 1,620 yuan onto the center of the desk.

This includes the 800 yuan investment from Su Muqing, the 1500 yuan software thank-you fee from Zhao Jianjun, minus the 280 yuan for buying the domain name and hosting, and the 400 yuan that Zhang Jian received. It's all here.

A stack of bright red paper, in an era when the average student's living expenses were only three or four hundred yuan, was visually striking.

The dormitory fell silent instantly, with only the occasional sound of water flowing from the heating pipes.

"I'm not showing off." Bai Yuhang's gaze swept over everyone. "I earned the money in the last couple of days. Lao San knows the way; he worked with me for a few days and got four hundred yuan. Simply put, I created a navigation website and used an internet cafe management system to bundle it, forcibly taking over the desktops of the internet cafe computers. As long as the internet cafe is open, this traffic is mine."

The third brother, Zhang Jian, took the lead, slamming his teacup on the table: "Let me tell you this, the code that the sixth brother wrote is even wilder than what our professor talked about. In two days, he took over three internet cafes and more than two hundred machines."

Bai Yuhang pulled up a chair and sat back in the middle, offering everyone a cigarette. Except for Lao Ba (Jiang Shuo), who waved his hand to refuse, the others accepted them.

Smoke billowed up, and the atmosphere in the dormitory shifted from playful banter to a subtle somberness.

"There are some things I want to talk about in detail." Bai Yuhang lit the fire and got straight to the point. "Everyone has seen what's happened these past two days. We've paved the way and made money. But that's far from enough. I can't do everything by myself. If I want to make this a big business, I need help. My goal is the whole of Harbin, the whole of Northeast China, and even the whole country. But I can't do this all by myself, not even with Lao San."

He flicked his cigarette ash, his gaze sweeping over the young faces. "We're all brothers here, I don't play games. I want to build a team, we can work together. Not working for me, but partners."

The eldest brother, Jiao Liwei, took a deep drag on his cigarette, his brow furrowing slightly. "Sixth brother, are you serious? Or are you joking?"

"Boss, do I look like I'm joking?" Bai Yuhang pointed to the more than 1,000 yuan on the table. "This is just what I earned in three days. In the future, it could be a thousand times, ten thousand times."

The dormitory was quiet for a few seconds.

The third brother, Zhang Jian, was the first to speak up. He was still reeling from the shock of that wad of cash, and he propped his legs up on the table: "I'll go with you. Anyway, I'm just playing games when I'm bored. I can learn some skills by following the sixth brother, and most importantly, I'll get to eat meat."

"Me too," said Liu Jing, the fifth brother, chuckling as he fiddled with his lighter. "I can't sit still. I'd suffocate if I had to sit around studying all day. Sixth brother, if you need any errands or communications, just leave it to me."

Bai Yuhang nodded and looked at the fourth brother, Wan Lianghao: "Fourth brother, you have a solid foundation. Could you work with the third brother to take charge of the technology? This job is quite tedious; it's just coding."

"No problem, as long as it's not priced by weight, it's fine." Wan Lianghao said in his thick Northeastern accent, "Coding is better than carrying bricks."

Bai Yuhang smiled, his gaze shifting to Zhang Qingheng, the seventh brother, sitting in the corner. Zhang Qingheng was fiddling with his fingers, and feeling the gaze, he looked up somewhat awkwardly: "Sixth brother, I... I didn't know anything about mice and keyboards before I started school, I'm not very good at programming, but my English is alright. I'm only good at exams, and I'm afraid I'll hold everyone back..."

"You don't need to know programming," Bai Yuhang interrupted him. "Seventh Brother, can you handle hardship?"

"Yes!" Zhang Qingheng answered decisively, a point on which he was better than anyone else.

"That's fine. In the early stages, you'll need to do market research, put up posters in various internet cafes, negotiate with them to sign up, help install machines, and communicate with people. This is the most tiring job, but it's also the best for developing your skills. Follow Lao Wu, and you'll get a base salary plus commission, so you won't have to worry about your monthly living expenses. Also, don't neglect your English; you need to practice your spoken English more."

Zhang Qingheng's eyes suddenly lit up, and he nodded emphatically: "Okay, I'll do it!"

Finally, Bai Yuhang looked at the second brother Yang Bo and the eighth brother Jiang Shuo.

Yang Bo adjusted his glasses and pondered for a moment: "Sixth Brother, since we're partners, there have to be rules. Right now, it's just a makeshift operation, but as we grow bigger, we'll have to consider profit distribution and legal risks. I've been studying legal provisions at the school's legal aid association lately, so I can keep an eye on this for you."

"I couldn't be happier." Bai Yuhang thought to himself, praising his second son for being a natural lawyer.

All eyes were on the eighth brother, Jiang Shuo.

Jiang Shuo sat at his desk, twirling a pen in his hand. On the desk lay an English vocabulary book for the CET-6 (College English Test Band 6).

He smiled, his tone polite but distant: "Sixth brother, I'll pass. My goal this semester is to get a first-class scholarship, and I also need to prepare for the student union president election next semester. I simply don't have the energy to manage it all. I won't go drinking either; I have to go to the library for a while. You guys go ahead, I'll give you my moral support."

There was a moment of silence in the dormitory. Everyone could tell that Jiang Shuo looked down on this small business of "repairing computers and installing systems," feeling it wasn't as prestigious as being a student council member.

"Everyone has their own ambitions, I won't force you. If you want to join in the future, you're welcome anytime." Bai Yuhang's expression remained unchanged, and he even seemed relaxed.

His past life experience told him that the purity of the team in its early stages was very important.

Jiang Shuo, with his high aspirations and calculating nature, is a promising talent within the system, but joining a startup team would be a potential problem.

Jiang Shuo smiled politely and reopened his vocabulary book.

"Boss," Bai Yuhang looked at Jiao Liwei, "you are our pillar of strength. I'm afraid I can't control these rascals. With you here, everyone is united. In the future, once we're on the right track in terms of public relations, we'll have to deal with the industry and commerce bureau and the tax bureau, and that will require your involvement."

Jiao Liwei stubbed out his cigarette and sighed, "Fine, you're on this boat now. Leave everything, including logistics, to me. But let me make this clear: if you miss your final exams, I'll be the first to punish you."

"That's the second thing I want to talk about."

Bai Yu stood up, walked past the crowd, went to the window, pushed it open, and a cold wind rushed in, dispersing the smoke that filled the room.

"If the project goes well, I may have to take a leave of absence next semester."

These words were like a thunderclap, shattering the previously lively atmosphere.

"Are you crazy?!" Jiao Liwei stood up abruptly, his voice rising eight octaves. "This is a university! It's a 985 and 211 university, do you think it's a vocational school? So many people fight tooth and nail to get in, and you just say you're going to drop out?"

"Sixth brother, this joke has gone too far, hasn't it?" Second brother Yang Bo frowned as well. "A degree is a stepping stone. Without this certificate, how will you find a job in the future?"

"Exactly, we can start a business in our spare time. Skipping a couple of classes is no problem, but dropping out of school is too much," Liu Jing, the fifth student, said with a frown.

Even the usually composed Jiang Shuo stopped twirling his pen and looked at Bai Yuhang with surprise, as if he were looking at a fool.

Bai Yuhang stood with his back to the crowd, looking out the window at Harbin in 2000. White smoke billowed from distant chimneys; this heavy industrial base was struggling through the growing pains of the times, while the wave of the internet was about to sweep across the south.

"I know this sounds ridiculous." Bai Yuhang turned around, his eyes eerily calm. "But some opportunities, once missed, are gone forever. The internet today is like a high-speed train that has just started moving; the doors are only open for a short while. By the time I get my diploma, four years later, it'll be too late."

"A stepping stone?" Bai Yuhang chuckled and pointed to his head. "If what I want to do succeeds, I'll be the one handing out stepping stones to others."

The dormitory was deathly silent once again.

These words are too arrogant, not something a freshman should say. But given the methods and skills Bai Yuhang has demonstrated in the past few days, they are undeniable.

It was a certainty beyond his years, as if what he held in his hand wasn't even a script, but a history book.

Jiao Liwei stared at Bai Yuhang for a long time before finally slumping down and waving his hand, "Forget it, I can't control you. What's in your head is different from ours. We'll talk about taking a leave of absence later; we'll help you get things sorted out first."

The third brother, Zhang Jian, swallowed hard and muttered under his breath, "Damn, even though I think you're crazy, it sounds... fucking awesome. Sixth brother, I'll stick with you, even if I fail my exams!"

"No, no, no, you should be in class." Bai Yuhang stubbed out his cigarette, breaking the heavy atmosphere. "It's my business if I take a leave of absence. I can come back to school whenever I want. But if you fail any courses, I can't guarantee you a job."

Everyone burst into laughter, and the atmosphere eased.

"Alright, dropping out of school is a matter for later." Bai Yuhang glanced at his watch. "Our current task is to go out for a stroll and grab a bite to eat. Brother Zhao is still waiting at the restaurant; it'll take us a while to walk there. He's treating us, so we can't be late. He's our first big client, and our first stepping stone. Boss, let's get the team together and go!"

"Let's go!" Boss Jiao Liwei waved his hand. "We'll eat him out of house and home tonight!"

The group shoved and jostled their way out the door, their youthful, unrestrained laughter echoing down the corridor.

Jiang Shuo, the eighth oldest, lagged behind. Watching Bai Yuhang being surrounded by the crowd, he pushed up his glasses with a complicated expression, but finally picked up his books, followed them out, and went to the study room.

Different road non-phase plan.

Little did he know that with each opening and closing of the door to room 206, the gears of some people's destinies had quietly meshed, turning onto entirely different tracks.