Yongcheng University, School of Foreign Languages.
Zhou Siqi stared at the "University Student Entrepreneurship Application Form" on her desk, silent for a long time.
She truly hadn't expected such a character to emerge from the class she supervised.
She was just a rookie counselor, freshly graduated, who chose to stay at the university and was assigned to this role.
In recent years, with economic development, the state gradually began to advocate for university student entrepreneurship, encouraging students to engage with society as early as possible and realize their ideals and ambitions, provided it didn't affect their studies.
However, at Yongcheng University, especially within the School of Foreign Languages, university student entrepreneurship was truly a novelty.
In all the years Zhou Siqi had been a counselor, today's submission was the only one she had ever received.
Professionally speaking, the School of Foreign Languages didn't possess any entrepreneurial "genes."
But she had indeed received one.
She knew the student, Gu Qingqing, who had good academic performance and almost a full course load in previous semesters.
Such students had an advantage when competing for scholarships.
However, since the start of this semester, Gu Qingqing's absences had noticeably increased.
Zhou Siqi had originally wanted to find an opportunity to talk to her, thinking that it was fine to be in a relationship, but it shouldn't affect her studies.
Who would have thought that she had actually started a company outside, and an internet company at that! This didn't even align with her major.
How did she end up starting such a company?
Earlier, there were rumors that Gu Qingqing often audited classes at the School of Engineering on the North Campus, but no one would have associated that with her starting a business; they just assumed it was a hobby.
This internet company, named Chengzhi Technology, had Gu Qingqing as its legal representative.
Its equity structure was also simple: Chengyue Co., Ltd. held 70% of the shares, and Jinqing Holding Co., Ltd. held 30%. Chengyue Co., Ltd. was likely the investor, registered overseas, and no information could be found about it.
It was unknown where Gu Qingqing managed to get their investment.
Jinqing Holding, on the other hand, was 100% owned by Gu Qingqing.
Gu Qingqing held 30% of Chengzhi Technology, served as its legal representative and CEO, and its registered address was in Yongcheng.
In all respects, it complied with the university's student entrepreneurship policy.
"You, an English major, started an internet company. How should I put this? Is this considered a credit to the School of Foreign Languages, or the School of Engineering?"
Zhou Siqi muttered to herself.
Nevertheless, having the first entrepreneurial student in her class was a good thing for her.
She would submit it to the faculty and let them review it.
As for whose credit it was, let the faculty worry about that; her own credit wouldn't escape her, in any case.
"Game development, software applications, big data model development."
Zhou Siqi knew the first two, but what in the world was big data model development?
She was, after all, an internet surfer; how had she never heard the term 'big data'?
Never mind, as long as she understood the first two.
She would just use those two to explain it to the faculty leaders.
It was really interesting that a quiet girl studying foreign languages would think of developing games.
However, games were indeed very profitable, and starting an internet business with games was not a bad move.
Knock, knock, knock.
Zhou Siqi knocked on the office door of the head of the School of Foreign Languages.
"Come in."
"Director, are you busy?"
"Oh, it's Xiao Zhou. What's up?"
the director asked, looking up.
Zhou Siqi was a permanent staff member, and she had some connections within the university, making her more assertive than typical counselors.
She didn't care whether the director was busy or not.
"I have something, and it's good news,"
Zhou Siqi said with a smile.
"Oh? What good news?"
"Look, one of our students from the faculty is making achievements."
With that, she handed over the entrepreneurship application form.
"University Student Entrepreneurship Project?"
The director was also startled.
Such good fortune rarely fell upon the School of Foreign Languages; there were many students from the School of Foreign Languages who pursued postgraduate studies or went abroad, but very few started businesses, especially while still enrolled.
But, just like Zhou Siqi, the director also wondered, what exactly was this, establishing an internet company?
"Haha, isn't it interesting? But no matter what the School of Engineering thinks, this is at least a breakthrough for our School of Foreign Languages, don't you agree, Director?"
"Indeed. Who cares what the School of Engineering thinks? Or rather, our School of Foreign Languages is doing even better than them at their own game. This company is quite good, with a registered capital of 10 million yuan, and this student named Gu Qingqing even holds a 30% stake, tsk tsk."
"Gu Qingqing comes from a good family background; this 30% stake was likely funded by her family. However, how the investment was secured is unknown, and the company's office address is actually in Beicang, a place in the middle of nowhere. Why would they choose to set up an office there?"
Every city has its own pecking order: big cities look down on smaller cities, smaller cities look down on the countryside, and even between cities, there are mutual disdain hierarchies.
Beicang District is said to belong to Yongcheng, but it's an hour and a half drive from Beicang to the urban area of Yongcheng.
In other underdeveloped cities, that would indeed be a remote place.
"Since it complies with the policy, go ahead and submit it. I will personally keep an eye on it. As this student's counselor, you will be responsible for tracking the company's progress."
"Understood."
Then the director smiled wryly,
"Internet companies are a high-risk industry. It's fine if they don't succeed, but if they do, there will be good returns. However, in the end, it seems we won't gain much benefit; in terms of personnel recruitment, the School of Engineering will still have the advantage."
"Hehe, but the boss is from our faculty too. By that logic, Director, you're Director Wang's boss,"
Zhou Siqi teased.
"Can you count it like that? Haha, you young people really have flexible minds. Alright, go handle your business; I'm going to Old Wang's for a cup of tea."
He didn't admit it verbally, but his body was honest; the director was going to gloat.
Zhou Siqi thought to herself.
Applying for the university student entrepreneurship project was Tan Jincheng's idea, and using Gu Qingqing as the company's legal representative was also for this purpose.
Tan Jincheng didn't care about the small entrepreneurship subsidy for university students, but he did care about the reputation of the university.
With Tan Jincheng's capital and the university's reputation, and given that Pony Ma was not yet the 'Nanshan Conqueror', Tan Jincheng truly wasn't afraid of him.
I don't lack money, I have people, and I have connections.
If you dare to shamelessly copy, then I dare to confront you head-on!
At this time, Tan Jincheng, far away in Gusu, didn't know that Gu Qingqing had already submitted the application.
After setting the direction for Chengzhi Technology's affairs, Tan Jincheng truly let go.
Both Kaixin001 and Happy Farm were considered small projects, but they were excellent opportunities for people to develop.
Tan Jincheng would eventually sell the PC version of Happy Farm.
In the era of mobile internet and apps, this thing didn't actually have much value.
As long as Pony Ma didn't maliciously copy it, Tan Jincheng would ultimately sell it to him.
To earn a batch of user data, and then cash out a sum, that was Happy Farm's mission.
---
May 27th, Saturday.
After staying in Gusu for 20 days, Tan Jincheng was officially preparing to head north.
"Mr. Tan, why not stay for two more days? It's already the weekend, and we haven't properly hosted you for these past two weeks,"
Wang Qinghua said reluctantly.
There was actually a large component of sincerity in his words.
Wang Qinghua was a technical talent; to found a company and manage it so well, he certainly had his tactful side, but deep down, he still retained a certain innocence typical of a tech professional.
At least for now, that was the case.
For these 20 days, Wang Qinghua had been cooperating with Tan Jincheng to understand the company.
Neither of them rested, and Wang Qinghua also learned a lot from this young boss.
Firstly, he was full of energy, truly capable of not resting, and his learning ability was very strong; he could grasp many unfamiliar things quickly.
Secondly, regarding employees, he had a benevolent heart but also ruthless methods.
When he first took over, he gave everyone a 15% salary increase.
But people are always unsatisfied.
Some employees tried to use the excuse that the new boss didn't understand the situation, threatening to resign to demand another salary increase when Mr. Tan was inspecting the factory.
He processed their resignations on the spot, without mercy.
The employee claimed to work very hard and wanted another salary increase on top of the 15%.
Mr. Tan stated that this was not possible this time; it was a company-wide bonus, not an increase based on outstanding work.
If they wanted a salary adjustment, they could wait until later, when it would be based on work performance.
And when the employee said, "If there's no salary increase, then I can only resign," no sooner had the words fallen than Mr. Tan immediately called the HR manager to process his resignation on the spot.
The speed of it stunned everyone present, including himself, and also extinguished the intentions of others who had thought the new boss was young and easy to talk to.
It seemed rather cold-hearted, but for a young boss, using drastic measures to suppress those who dared to challenge him was indeed the best method.
It also provided convenience for his future management.
The boss took on the role of the 'bad guy' himself, and then he could step in to appease the employees' emotions, allowing him to be the 'good guy'.
This was also proposed by the boss himself.
It had to be said that following such a boss was worry-free.
"No, it's already been 20 days. I've pretty much sorted things out here. The rest I'll leave to you, Mr. Wang."
Tianjin had already extended several invitations, and multiple calls had been made.
It was important to quickly finalize the cooperation, especially now that his reputation was on the rise and the other party also showed sincerity.
Additionally, a response was needed for Boneng.
For a long time to come, the electric vehicle market would still primarily use lead-acid batteries, and even after more than a decade of widespread lithium battery use, electric vehicles with lead-acid batteries would still be numerous.
Taking a stake? It wasn't impossible, but he hadn't actually considered investing in Boneng Environmental previously.
FlashRide Technology had no specific plans for lead-acid batteries, so investing wasn't very necessary.
However, Tan Jincheng was willing to cooperate if Chaowei extended an olive branch.
But clearly, a seasoned battery supplier like Chaowei would not allow Tan Jincheng to take a stake; no electric vehicle manufacturer had that capability.
"Alright then, I wish Mr. Tan a smooth trip to Tianjin. Please rest assured about Bafang here; I will continue to manage it diligently as if it were my own company."
Seeing Wang Qinghua's earnest expression, Tan Jincheng smiled,
"Mr. Wang, you're joking. This is inherently your company."
(End of chapter)