Rebirth of the Rich Second Generation's Growth Diary

Chapter 151 We also have a future, but you don’t have a present!
At this moment, the bright spotlights, like the spotlights on the stage, all converged on Lei Lifeng opposite, outlining his figure clearly in front of everyone.

Li Xu remained silent in his seat, his eyes sweeping across the judges' seats below the stage.

The judges in the audience were all carefully looking through Lei Lifeng's materials, making marks on them from time to time with their pens.

After a while, the first judge in the center of the judges' booth finally moved the microphone in front of him. The metal microphone gleamed faintly under the light. The judge pointed it at himself and spoke slowly.

"Xiao Lei, your project is indeed very forward-looking. Technically, it is indeed highly innovative and the level of completion is also very good."

"By using the NFC function of mobile phones, it is indeed possible to achieve many functions that physical cards cannot achieve, such as online data management, online recharge, etc."

Hearing this, a playful smile appeared on Li Xu's lips.

Because anyone with a discerning eye knows that when asking a question, the content after the turn is the key point.

The first part will definitely be a vigorous project, and the latter part will definitely be very sharp.

As expected, the judge pushed up his glasses, their metal frames flashing in the light, and asked in a deep voice, "What is the current smartphone penetration rate among students? And how many smartphones have NFC functionality? Have you done any research?"

Li Xu stood aside, his mouth corners slightly raised.

It can be seen from this first question that at least this rematch is quite fair.

Don’t avoid it, just hit the pain points!

Everyone's eyes were focused on Lei Lifeng. The audience was silent, with only the sound of light breathing and the occasional movement of chairs being heard.

However, Lei Lifeng seemed to have anticipated that the jury would ask this question.

He gathered his thoughts briefly, straightened his back, and responded calmly, saying, "As the teacher said, the current popularity of smartphones and NFC functions among students is not high, but our project focuses on the future."

"According to our rough research, more than 30% of Huajing University students currently have NFC-enabled phones, and this number may be even higher next year. With each new class, this number will continue to rise."

"Our cloud-based campus card will gradually expand its market share as the proportion of NFC-enabled phones continues to increase."

The judge did not immediately agree with Lei Lifeng's answer.

He leaned back slightly in his chair, was silent for a moment, and then continued to ask: "How long is this time?"

Lei Lifeng was silent for a moment, then said, "Five years at most."

"These five years are not only the period of continuous expansion of our market, but also the countdown for us to replace physical cards!" Lei Lifeng said while glancing at Li Xu opposite him.

The judge continued, "So, your project is based entirely on your predictions about future trends, right?" The judge leaned forward, looked at Lei Lifeng, and spoke slowly, "What if I'm wrong?"

The atmosphere gradually became tense, and the air in the studio seemed to freeze.

Lei Lifeng obviously did not realize that the judge would ask such a sharp question.

Fortunately, he had seen a lot of things. After a brief pause, he replied with a smile, "But isn't all investment based on judging future trends?"

When the judge heard this, he suddenly smiled and said into the microphone, "I have finished my questions."

Next is the second judge.

The second judge sat on the left side of the panel. He flipped through the neatly bound business plan in front of him and said, "Hello, classmate. I work in risk management and safety. I don't have much say in other matters, but I have a question that I must raise."

"I've seen your project. You use WeChat's payment interface for top-ups, right?"

Lei Lifeng nodded, then said with some pride, "Yes, WeChat Pay was officially launched by Penguin in August of this year, but we've already reached an agreement with them. Using this feature, you can top up your account directly on our app using WeChat Pay, eliminating the need to queue offline."

The judge smiled and said, "How is the fund pool formed by recharges managed and controlled?"

Lei Lifeng was obviously stunned for a moment.

Li Xu keenly caught this detail and immediately laughed.

He had always been curious about how Lei Lifeng solved this problem.

Because according to current policies, this kind of recharge fund pool must undergo qualification review.

Li Xu and his team's idea was to directly use the qualifications of the School of Management. Although this would reduce some of the income from capital operations, it could avoid many risks and also receive strong support from the school.

But it is obvious that Lei Lifeng and his team did not use a similar method.

Lei Lifeng gathered his thoughts briefly before answering, "Teacher, this is the case. Currently, our recharge function is still under testing and has not been officially launched. The main reason is that we are still in the process of applying for funding qualifications."

"In the next step, we will have the dual control of our university's financial department and the China Banking Regulatory Commission to regulate the operation of the fund pool, so please rest assured, teachers, there will be no risks in this regard."

The teacher nodded and said, "Okay, I have no more questions."

Although it was only the second question, it was obvious that Lei Lifeng's expression was no longer as calm as before.

These expert judges in the audience are different from some experts on TV. They are real investors, and the questions they ask are very professional and sharp. It is indeed not an easy task to deal with them.

Then it was the third judge's turn.

The judge sat on the right side of the judges' seat, but he didn't even flip through the business plan in front of him, and looked relaxed.

He smiled and said, "I work in finance, so based on my expertise, I only want to ask two questions. First, your cloud-based campus card isn't directly compatible with the mainstream card readers currently on the market. You need to upgrade the card reader to a dedicated NFC reader. Have you calculated the cost of this?"

Lei Lifeng hesitated for a moment and said, "We've already discussed this with the relevant manufacturers. Once NFC card readers are produced on a large scale, the cost can be reduced to less than 800 yuan per unit."

The judge, still smiling, interrupted Lei Lifeng and said, "We have a certain scale. What exactly is this certain scale? Is there a clear number?"

Lei Lifeng frowned slightly, then gritted his teeth and said, "One thousand units, if it's more than one thousand units, the cost can be reduced to less than eight hundred yuan."

The judge nodded and said, "In other words, if we want to promote NFC card readers throughout the school, the cost will reach 800,000."

Lei Lifeng took a deep breath and said, "We can collect deposits from merchants to share the cost."

The judge smiled and said, "That's a good idea. How many NFC card readers are currently deployed at Huajing University?"

Lei Lifeng hesitated for a moment and said, "Our project is still in its infancy. Currently, only a few cafeterias have installed the matching card readers, but this is just a pilot project. In the next step, we will have all merchants on campus use our card readers."

The judge's expression grew serious. He said earnestly, "You mentioned earlier that the current penetration rate of NFC phones in your school is less than 30%. This means that apart from this 30% of students, the remaining 70% still need to use traditional campus cards. So, what motivated the school merchants to upgrade to your card reader?"

Lei Lifeng's brain raced as he replied, "Of course there is. It's the quality of the customers! Since these students' phones already use NFC, it means their financial resources are above average. Their spending power is definitely higher. These 30% of students have greater spending power than the remaining 70%."

The judge interrupted Lei Lifeng again and asked, "Is there any evidence for this conclusion?"

Lei Lifeng was speechless for a moment.

The judge then smiled again and said, "Okay, I have finished my questions."

The subsequent judges did not ask more pointed questions.

His vigorous rhythm was disrupted at the beginning, but he gradually regained his confidence under the gentle questions from the judges later.

However, the audience in the audience also realized these problems under the guidance of the judges, and whispers were heard from the audience from time to time.

Then came the work display. Lei Lifeng took out his mobile phone, and the user interface of the Cloud Campus Card app appeared clearly on the large screen next to him.

There were no other accidents here.

Li Xu watched the scene silently from the side.

I have to say that if it weren't for the many restrictions of this era, Lei Lifeng and his team's project would have been doomed to fail. From the conception of this software to the design of the App, the product completion of Lei Lifeng's team is already very high!
When Lei Lifeng finished the product presentation, it was finally Li Xu's turn.

The spotlight instantly shone on Li Xu, enveloping him in brightness.

……

"Hello, classmate Li Xu."

The same judges asked questions in turn, but the order of the questions had changed slightly.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the studio is still tense and focused. The spotlights overhead are bright and soft, evenly shining on the judges' seats and the presentation area.

The first person to ask a question was the same judge who had asked the last question to Lei Lifeng.

He also had a smile on his face and said, "Student Li Xu, let me ask the first question. I have the same question about your project. Although the card reader of your new campus card is not as expensive as the NFC card reader, it still needs to be upgraded. The cost of this part..."

Before the judge finished speaking, Li Xu interrupted him, just like the judge had interrupted Lei Lifeng before.

Li Xu smiled and said, "From a value perspective, the cost is probably around 200,000 or 300,000 yuan, but from our team's perspective, the cost is..."

Li Xu paused, smiled slightly and uttered the word "zero".

The judge frowned immediately, and before he could ask, Li Xu continued, "In fact, our team and Lei Lifeng's team came up with the same idea, asking merchants to share the cost. But the difference is that we've already upgraded all the card readers in the school."

Upon hearing this, the judge showed a surprised expression and asked curiously, "How did you do it? Did the school give you any help?"

Li Xu shook his head, and the image of a young girl emerged in his mind. He smiled and said, "We negotiated it one family at a time." Hearing this, Tang Qiaoning's eyes flickered, and she secretly glanced at Xia Xiaohe next to her.

The judges nodded, looked at Li Xu with some approval, and then said bluntly to the judge next to him: "I like this young man. Facts really speak louder than words."

At this time, Lei Lifeng was sitting opposite with a gloomy face, because Li Xu's answer turned them into Zhao Kuo, who was only good at talking about war on paper.

Next came the second judge, the one who had asked about risk-related topics earlier. He was now sitting on the left side of the judges' table.

He had already prepared a question, and when it was his turn, he spoke directly: "My question is similar to the previous one. I noticed that your physical card also has a function similar to online payment..."

He paused and said, "How?"

Li Xu smiled slightly. "This function is very simple to implement. We bypassed WeChat Pay and connected directly with the bank. By directly connecting to the bank's core system, we can achieve online recharge."

The judge frowned and said, "Is this legal?"

Li Xu was well prepared. He immediately read out the names of several documents and said, "According to the contents of these documents, transactions can be conducted directly using public utility accounts."

For a moment, several judges were a little surprised. In terms of technical difficulty, Li Xu's pseudo-online payment did not have much higher technical content than the online payment of Lei Lifeng's team.

But in terms of effectiveness, it not only achieves a similar effect, but also cleverly avoids handling fees, which is undoubtedly more attractive to students.

The judge showed an interested expression: "How many banks do you currently support?"

Li Xu said frankly: "The only local bank is the Capital Rural Commercial Bank, while all the large state-owned banks in the capital support it."

The judge asked curiously, "Did you also go to each family to talk?"

Li Xu nodded.

Tang Qiaoning, who was sitting in the audience, showed a satisfied smile.

But the questions didn't end there. The judge paused for a moment before asking, "It's still about risk compliance. Is it legal for you to have the bank transfer funds in the name of public utility fees? I mean, can your capital pool be defined as public utility fees?"

Li Xu immediately became serious and said without hesitation, "My fellow judges, please don't know that our fund pool is currently managed and operated entirely by the School of Management to which I belong. It is supervised jointly by our school and the regulatory authorities, and all profits from the fund pool are used for our school's public welfare."

Upon hearing this, the faces of several judges changed and they shifted slightly in their seats.

Even Lei Lifeng on the opposite side showed a look of surprise and leaned forward unconsciously.

The second judge was silent for a moment, then said, "If that's the case, then there really isn't any risk. I've finished my questions."

But just after this question was finished, another investor sitting in the middle of the judging panel spoke up.

He said seriously, "The capital pool is a major source of profit for your project. If you proactively cut off this profit, it will greatly affect investors' judgment."

Li Xu smiled and said, "I understand what you mean. A stable pool of funds can bring many possibilities, but..."

Li Xu paused and said seriously, "These possibilities outweigh the risks for our classmates. We are proactively using this portion of the proceeds for public welfare. It does seem like we've given up some benefits, but these benefits are definitely short-term."

Li Xu's eyes grew sharp. He looked at the judge and said, "For example, a university wants to upgrade its campus card system. One option is to hand over the funding pool to the operator, while the other option is for the university to fully control it. Which option do you think the university will choose?"

Lei Lifeng, who was standing opposite him, took a deep breath after hearing these words. The investor was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're right. As a solution provider, your solution will indeed be favored by more schools."

Next was the last judge, who was also the first judge to ask Lei Lifeng a question.

The judge sat in the center of the judging panel, carefully looking through the materials of Li Xu's team.

The surroundings were so quiet that the only sound was the rustling of papers turning. This time, he spent even longer flipping through the pages than when he was facing Lei Lifeng.

Li Xu was not in a hurry at all. He waited patiently for the judges to speak. The light shone on his face, outlining a firm outline.

After a while, the judges slowly put down their materials and, still looking serious, asked, "From a market perspective, what do you think of what Lei Lifeng just said, that NFC technology will replace physical cards in the future?"

Li Xu thought for a moment before speaking slowly, "My conclusion is that no matter how NFC technology develops, physical cards will not be replaced, at least not within the next ten years. Because even after another ten years, there is no guarantee that all students will have an NFC-enabled phone. As long as even a few students still use ordinary phones, physical cards should not be replaced."

The judge leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and said, "Am I to understand this? You're placing your bets on the present?"

Li Xu shook his head: "In fact, I don't think this is a choice between the future and the present."

Li Xu paused and said, "Can I answer this question during the product demonstration?"

Several judges were stunned for a moment, and then discussed with each other. The whispers were particularly clear in the quiet studio.

The judge who asked the question said: "Okay, this is my last question, you can start your product presentation directly."

Li Xu nodded, then winked at Lei Yinbing and Liu Yunfei outside the camera, and they both immediately came up with a full set of equipment.

At this time, the lights in the studio were focused on Li Xu and the equipment. The large screen in the background clearly displayed the relevant content, and the equipment was shining with a metallic luster under the light.

Li Xu began to introduce all the functions of this special campus card. From the functional point of view, there is almost no big difference between the current campus card and Leilifeng's cloud campus card.

After Li Xu demonstrated the basic functions such as book borrowing and access control, he began to demonstrate the consumption function and online recharge function, and the background management system interface appeared on the screen.

Li Xu explained: "After this terminal records the transaction flow on the card, it will generate an unbreakable key, which prevents the possibility of fraudulent use."

Upon hearing this, the judge whose major was risk control leaned forward slightly, and his eyes lit up.

At this time, Lei Lifeng on the opposite side had a terrible look on his face. They were not adapted to this function.

However, at this moment, Li Xu did something that shocked everyone. He suddenly disconnected the network cable on the device, and the judges in the audience were stunned.

Li Xu smiled and said, "To ensure that our campus cards can be used normally in any environment, in addition to online data transmission, we can also enable offline use. We have designed an algorithm for this purpose. A garbled checksum is generated for each transaction. Tampering with the record will trigger an alarm. Merchants can freely choose to synchronize data for settlement at regular intervals."

These are the two functions that Liu Yunfei has been working hard to develop a while ago.

Hearing this, even the audience in the audience looked at Lei Lifeng with complicated expressions, and there was a slight commotion in the audience.

Because when Lei Lifeng was demonstrating just now, there were frequent freezes due to network problems and the demonstration was not smooth. I didn’t expect that although Li Xu and his team’s physical cards seemed to be technologically backward, they frequently used technology to fill in the gaps in the details.

Later, Li Xu noticed that the judge who asked the question had his hands folded on his chest and said nothing. It was obvious that the judge had not yet received the answer he wanted, which was a question about the future and the present.

Li Xu smiled slightly: "The next thing is the key point to be demonstrated."

Li Xu suddenly took out a mobile phone from his pocket and raised his voice: "This is a high-end mobile phone with NFC function."

Then, through technical means, the screen on the mobile phone was projected onto the large screen behind him. Li Xu clicked on an app called "Tsinghua and Peking University Campus Card Beta Version". In an inconspicuous corner, there was a function option that said "It has no useful functions for the time being."

Under everyone's curious gaze, Li Xu clicked on that function.

After clicking on it, Li Xu held up his phone and said, "Now is the moment to witness a miracle."

Li Xu placed the NFC sensor of his mobile phone on the electromagnetic lock used in the access control demonstration. With a "click", the lock was opened.

Seeing this scene, Lei Lifeng's eyes widened and his body trembled violently, as if he had been hit hard by a hammer.

Several judges present at the scene could no longer sit still. Some stood up slightly, while others began to discuss among themselves.

Then Li Xu said slowly: "In fact, the communication protocol we are using now, although it is one-way read-only, is fully compatible with NFC."

Li Xu had actually considered NFC a long time ago, but this kind of card with complex functions would not be possible to copy directly with a mobile phone even ten years later.

The reason is simple. The key and dynamic data of the payment card cannot be directly read by the mobile phone. This not only involves technology, but also industry regulations. Therefore, even in the future, physical cards with payment functions cannot be directly copied by mobile phones.

Therefore, virtual cards and physical cards do seem to be in an opposing and replaceable relationship, which is also the basic logic behind Lei Lifeng's project.

It has to be said that Li Xu admires Lei Lifeng a little. Although Lei Lifeng's direction is wrong, he is not a reborn person. It is rare for him to make a judgment about the future based on the existing conditions.

But, that’s where it ends.

Li Xu took a deep look at Lei Lifeng opposite him.

He then slowly put away his phone. "But the NFC technology in mobile phones isn't perfect yet. To use a mobile phone as a campus card, you have to import the data into the phone through an app. But there are several problems in this process. First, there's the adaptation issue. The NFC function isn't stable enough yet, and compatibility is very poor. And the maintenance cost is too high. Not to mention the dedicated NFC card reader, the server fee alone is a considerable expense. And then there's the data security issue..."

After a pause, Li Xu's eyes brightened. "But we believe that NFC will have a place in the future, so we've left a loophole in our app. Although students use physical cards now, they can already download the corresponding app. When the time is right, such as when policies are relaxed, the NFC ecosystem gradually matures, and NFC opens up all its functions, we can further launch the corresponding virtual card function directly in our app."

Li Xu then looked at the judge and said seriously, "Now to answer your question, in our team's view, physical cards and NFC cloud cards are not completely opposing products. Instead, they are different manifestations of the same product at different times. Or to be more precise, we believe that virtual cards can only serve as a supplement to physical cards, and at the moment, this supplement is dispensable."

"When the time comes and we need virtual cards as a supplement, our algorithms and compatible devices are readily available!"

“Therefore, our products have a future!”

"Our technology can not only catch up with the warmth of human nature, but also catch up with time!"

"However, virtual online cards that are not based on physical cards may have a future, but they don't have a present."

After Li Xu finished speaking, the whole audience fell silent.

(End of this chapter)