Rebirth of the Rich Second Generation's Growth Diary

Chapter 167 Win-win, and Series A financing!
The trend of smart cities has finally reached the Ministry of Education.

This is a major strategic policy, not just a slogan. It covers all aspects of life, and the education system must naturally respond.

Recently, everyone at Peking University and Tsinghua University can be said to be very proud of themselves in front of Huajing University.

Just because their school is ahead in the innovation of smart cities.

The Ministry of Education will soon visit Peking University and Tsinghua University, but Huajing University’s smart campus is still on the PPT screen.

So Li Xu became a little busy during this period.

Although he was just a student, he had to follow the dean to and from meeting places frequently.

As the designer and practitioner of the smart campus solution, he needs to introduce it to the leaders and make final preparations for this inspection.

Of course, such scenes are not uncommon at Peking University and Tsinghua University.

Excellent people are of all ages. What Li Xu has to do is simple, which is to participate in the work of designing an inspection plan for the leaders of the Ministry of Education.

Specific to the leader's itinerary, the content to be inspected, and the on-site explanation at that time.

Li Xu obediently said that he would follow the school's arrangements.

The happiest and most proud person is naturally Dean Chen of the School of Management.

After all, he was the one who recruited Li Xu personally. Now that this student has caused such a big fuss, it once again proves that his vision as the dean is still sharp.

Li Xu is a practical student. He may not be good at research projects, but for their major, what kind of project design can compare with this smart campus plan?
It is no exaggeration to say that the smart campus solution developed by Li Xu will be one of the best business cases of Peking University and Tsinghua University for at least 10 years, and it can be included in textbooks.

During this period, Li Xu accompanied him to meetings and also participated in the formulation of the leadership's inspection plan, allowing Dean Chen to further understand this student whom he had not personally taught.

During the meeting, Li Xu's behavior was indeed different from that of ordinary college students.

Even in Peking University and Tsinghua University, he has a maturity and stability that is not commensurate with his age, and he does not look unnatural because of this environment.

After coming down, Li Xu would humbly find Dean Chen to ask some questions, such as what to pay attention to when introducing to the leaders.

After this semester, Li Xu will be a junior.

In his spare time, Dean Chen asked Li Xu whether he had any plans to continue his studies since there would be fewer courses in the third year.

Li Xu said honestly that he didn't plan to continue studying.

Dean Chen expressed his understanding. After all, with Li Xu's current achievements, there is not much point in continuing his postgraduate studies.

But Dean Chen didn't originally want to ask that. He said, "Your class has three spots for outstanding graduates. Do you have any recommendations for the other two? Haha, I don't know you students very well, but your counselor did recommend a few people. I'd like to hear your opinion."

Li Xu's heart moved slightly, and he naturally understood the key point of this sentence.

The key point is not the recommendation, but Dean Chen’s words “the other two”, which means that one of the outstanding graduates has been decided.

Dean Chen asked this question in front of him, so naturally he was identified as the outstanding graduate.

Although the empty title of outstanding graduate is not important, Li Xu is still very happy. After all, this is Peking University and Tsinghua University, and he is the outstanding graduate among a group of top talents in the country.

Li Xu pondered for a moment and said, "I recommend An Duoduo and Shen Mobai."

Dean Chen immediately became happy.

With a half-smile and a hint of helplessness, he looked at Li Xu and said, "An Duoduo and Shen Mobai are both members of your team, right?"

Li Xu nodded and said, "Yes."

Dean Chen was silent for a moment before he said, "Isn't your recommendation a little..." He paused for a moment before looking at Li Xu unhappily and saying, "Not very fair."

Li Xu said seriously, "Dean, do you think...Is it fair for me to recommend someone else?"

Dean Chen was stunned for a moment. That makes sense...

The people Li Xu knows best are An Duoduo and Shen Mobai.

As for Ye Ruida and Xia Xiaohe, Li Xu also wanted to recommend them, but unfortunately they were not from the School of Management, so Li Xu could not help them.

After understanding what Li Xu meant, Dean Chen felt a little amused and helpless. It made sense when he thought about it.

Li Xu has a good relationship with them, so it is reasonable for him to recommend these two students. At the same time, Li Xu knows them best, so it is also reasonable for him to recommend them.

However, although he can directly decide on this outstanding graduate as the dean, if he really decides on both people in Li Xu's team, it will inevitably attract some criticism.

Dean Chen snorted and said, "I can only suggest one at most. Think about it carefully."

Li Xu sighed slightly, thought for a moment, and then said, "Then let's choose An Duoduo."

A few days later, as the Ministry of Education's inspection was approaching, Li Xu gathered his friends to once again check all the details of the smart campus.

If something goes wrong at this critical juncture, it will be more trouble than gain.

However, what you fear will come true. The situation still happened the day before the inspection.

In the computer room, the server was humming, and Liu Yunfei was concentrating on doing maintenance inspections. Fine beads of sweat emerged from his forehead, gleaming faintly under the light.

Li Xu and his colleagues were in the office outside. The computer screens emitted a cold light, reflecting their faces as they carefully checked the operational data.

Just then, "Knock, knock, knock", a knock on the door suddenly sounded.

This office was provided free of charge by the school. It was converted from two large classrooms. It is spacious but simply furnished. There is no access control system, so people knock on the door from time to time, such as water delivery workers or food deliverymen.

Xue Xue didn't think much about it. She had nothing to do at the moment and was the most idle, so she stood up and walked quickly to the door.

As the door opened, several noisy conversations came in.

When Li Xu heard the movement at the door, he subconsciously turned his head to look over there. His originally focused expression moved slightly, and he saw several adults in neat suits standing at the door. The sunlight outside shone on them, reflecting a dazzling light, making their figures appear a little blurry.

At this time, Li Xu also heard Xue Xue say unhappily: "How can I let you in if you don't tell me clearly what you want to do?"

Hearing this, Li Xu put down what he was doing, and with a sound of his chair sliding across the floor, he strode straight over.

Noticing Li Xu's actions, the other people also put down their work, looked towards the door, and then gathered around.

The man in the lead wasn't wearing a suit. He was tall and thin, his figure looking rather frail in the light and shadow of the doorway. He wore rimless glasses, his high cheekbones stood out prominently, and his skin was dark. Under the dim office light, he gave off an air of rigor and rigidity.

Li Xu walked over to Xue Xue and said to the man, "What's going on?"

The man looked Li Xu up and down with a scrutinizing look in his eyes. He then took out a business card and said in a somewhat cold tone, "Hello, I'm Chen Feng, the regional manager of Cainiao Station. I'd like to speak to Mr. Li Xu, the person in charge of your company."

Li Xu said expressionlessly: "I am Li Xu, what's the matter?"

The man seemed to have guessed that he was Li Xu. He smiled a professional smile that didn't reach his eyes. He said, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you." He then turned around and introduced the men in suits beside him. "This is our company's legal department."

Upon hearing the word "legal affairs," Xue Xue and the others' expressions tensed up, and the originally relaxed atmosphere instantly became tense. Li Xu, on the other hand, remained calm and not panicked at all. He smiled lightly and said, "How about this, come in and talk."

Chen Feng was not polite and walked into this makeshift company with a few people behind him with steady steps.

As soon as he came in, he looked around. There were a few simple tables and chairs in the office, and some business planning papers were stuck on the wall. It looked messy, which surprised him a little. After all, this place gave him the feeling that it was too simple.

Led by Li Xu, they went directly into the meeting room.

As soon as he sat down, An Duoduo handed him a cup of hot tea with steam rising. Chen Feng did not take it, but just put the tea on the table and looked at Li Xu calmly, secretly thinking in his heart that he must win with one strike.

About a week ago, Chen Feng discovered the abnormality.

It was a sweltering afternoon, the air conditioning in the office wasn't working well, and he was flipping through a report in frustration.

The initial anomaly was directly reflected in the operational data.

The data fluctuates. Occasional fluctuations cannot be considered abnormal, but if there are regular and characteristic fluctuations, there is definitely a problem.

Among them, the two high-end express delivery companies, JD.com and SF Express, saw the biggest fluctuations. In addition, other express delivery companies also reduced their delivery volumes to varying degrees.

He quickly responded to the unusual data. After some investigation, he was shocked to discover that JD.com's cold chain and local delivery of fresh fruit were all being delivered to smart express lockers.

In addition, a large number of couriers collectively deliver packages to smart express lockers at 4:00 in the morning, which not only avoids commission but also generates express delivery orders.

In the long run, the short-term shrinkage of cash flow is a small matter, but the purpose of cultivating habits that he carefully created will be in vain.

After talking to some couriers, I found out that when these couriers deliver packages to smart express lockers, not only are there no management fees due to the quota, but they can also receive a subsidy of 20 cents for each order.

Back in the conference room of Rising Sun, sunlight streamed through the stained glass onto the conference table, casting shadows. Chen Feng didn't waste any time, speaking directly, "I'm pretty sure you have a clear understanding of your strategy. First, we'll find a way to address this loophole in early morning deliveries."

Besides, Chen Feng stared at Li Xu fiercely and said, "You should also know that Alibaba is behind us. If we compare funding and subsidies, can you afford it?"

Everyone else looked at Li Xu, but Li Xu was not panicked at all. He smiled and said, "Manager Chen, you are joking. When it comes to financial resources, how can we possibly compete with your company?"

However, Li Xu changed the subject and asked, "But Mr. Chen, do you really think that our subsidies are just to compete with Cainiao Station?"

What Chen Feng said was right. In order to subsidize the delivery fees of couriers during this period, the revenue of the smart express box business has dropped a lot, but Li Xu had other considerations.

He leaned back gently in his chair, which creaked slightly. He looked at Chen Feng calmly and said, "Manager Chen, you don't really think the couriers really want to use Cainiao Station to handle the final delivery of the packages, do you?"

Chen Feng narrowed his eyes, and the atmosphere in the conference room instantly became solemn. He immediately realized that the young man in front of him was not as immature as his age. Just from this rhetorical question, it could be seen that this guy was extremely experienced.

Chen Feng picked up the cup of tea on the table. The tea was already a little cold. He took a sip while his brain was working rapidly.

Li Xu was not polite and even leaned forward, saying aggressively: "Mr. Chen, you think the post station has a backlog of 800 packages every day. How do you solve the problem of students complaining about slow delivery?"

Without waiting for Chen Feng to reply, Li Xu continued, "Mr. Chen has focused all his attention on the consumer side, but has he noticed the pain points on the business side? When a courier delivers at a Cainiao Express Station, the procedures are cumbersome, but with a smart express locker, it takes less than a third of the time."

"More importantly, high-end express delivery service providers like JD.com and SF Express have long been dissatisfied with your company's management fees. Their deliveries are often time-sensitive. Therefore, even if they have signed a cooperation agreement with you, you cannot compete with our smart express lockers in this area."

Chen Feng didn't say anything, took another sip of water, and just looked at Li Xu silently.

It was already June, and the weather was scorching hot. The air conditioner in the conference room was already on full blast, but it still couldn't dispel the oppressive heat; the air seemed to have become thick and sticky. He gently loosened his collar.

Li Xu leaned back in his chair again, crossed his arms, and said slowly, "Originally, our idea was not to take over all the business. After all, smart express lockers are sometimes full, or some large packages cannot be loaded into smart express lockers. We provide subsidies to couriers to cultivate their habits. As long as we can capture this part of the market, we don't ask for more."

"But since Mr. Chen is visiting in person today," Li Xu said with a smile, "I have an idea."

Chen Feng folded his arms across his chest and said indifferently, "The only thing that surprised me today is that you are so eloquent."

Li Xu chuckled, then his expression turned serious. He said earnestly, "Manager Chen, how about we discuss cooperation? We can undertake all fresh food deliveries and nighttime deliveries. The post station will serve as an outpost, setting up a collection point in the campus supermarket. Manual collection will be done during the day, and after 21 PM, smart express lockers will be used for self-service pickup."

"Besides that, we can also set up tiered parcel management, with valuable items stored at the manual counter and common items in lockers." After a pause, Li Xu said seriously, "In short, the goal is to leverage the strengths of smart lockers and Cainiao Express Stations, complementing each other to form a more intelligent and user-friendly whole."

A hint of surprise flashed across Chen Feng's eyes. He had to admit that the idea proposed by Li Xu had made him somewhat excited.

But he hesitated for a moment. After all, he was a regional manager, and Li Xu only had such business in the express lockers of Peking University and Tsinghua University. If they were to cooperate, the input-output ratio seemed too low.

At this moment, Li Xu seemed to see Chen Feng's concerns and smiled, saying, "Mr. Chen, I forgot to tell you that the smart express locker is just a small module in our smart campus project. Our smart express locker is now more than just a smart locker. It also serves as a lost and found office and a temporary locker. These functions can be realized through our campus card and supporting application software."

"And this smart campus solution has already entered the finals of the National Entrepreneurship Competition. With the endorsement of Peking University and Tsinghua University, it will soon be rolled out in universities across the country." When Li Xu said this, his eyes revealed absolute confidence, and this momentum actually made Chen Feng's heart tremble slightly.

At this moment, Li Xu gave An Duoduo a look, and An Duoduo immediately stood up and left. Not long after, he returned with a contract. The contract paper was brand new, and it shone white on the conference table.

Li Xu said, "There's one more thing. Tomorrow, the Ministry of Education will come to our school to inspect the smart campus plan. Please take a look at this contract first. We can discuss the details. If Manager Chen agrees, tomorrow's news headlines will most likely be "Smart Campus, School-Enterprise Collaborative Innovation of New Logistics Model."

Chen Feng looked at the contract on the table, blinked, and said, "You just said that the idea of cooperation just came up. When was this contract drafted?"

Li Xu said nonchalantly, "Don't worry about these details. In short, Manager Chen, go back and think about it carefully."

After a pause, Li Xu stood up and continued, "Also, since Manager Chen is in charge of this area, he must be extremely capable. If our smart campus solution can reach a strategic cooperation agreement with Cainiao Station, I'm afraid I'll have to call him Mr. Chen from now on."

Chen Feng looked at Li Xu deeply. At this moment, he was recalling what Li Xu had said since he entered the door, and suddenly realized that Li Xu had guessed from the beginning that he would come to him.

Not only that, he even deliberately targeted the business of Cainiao Station. And from the very beginning, he had even considered this move of cooperation. Is this young man's vision so far-sighted?
Not only that… Chen Feng asked again, “When were the expanded functions of the smart express lockers you mentioned launched?”

Li Xu smiled and said, "When you started giving subsidies to couriers."

Chen Feng took a deep breath, which meant that Li Xu had already thought of a way out from that time on.

In short, it is difficult for Cainiao Express Station to shake the foundation of smart express lockers, but when the smart express lockers are in operation and take away some business, this method of subsidizing the C-end will increase the cost of Cainiao Express Station a lot. Although it cannot shake the foundation, it will make Cainiao Express Station very disgusting.

It can be said that every move hit the weak spot of Cainiao Station, and they were all open conspiracies.

At this time, Li Xu actually extended his hand to shake hands and said, "Manager Chen, I'll be waiting for your good news."

Chen Feng watched this scene with a sense of absurdity. He had come here today to scare Li Xu into abandoning his subsidy strategy, but he hadn't expected it to end this way.

He sighed slowly and said, "Okay." He shook hands with Li Xu.

Li Xu walked Chen Feng to the door and said, "I won't see you off any further. Goodbye, Manager Chen."

After Chen Feng left, cheers suddenly broke out in the office. Everyone excitedly surrounded Li Xu with joyful smiles on their faces.

……

Half a month later, students found that the smart express lockers had been upgraded again. Urgent items appeared in the smart lockers flashing blue light, large packages were under the supervision of dedicated personnel at the stations, and the pickup code appeared on both the Cainiao APP and the Campus Pass.

A piece of financial news was broadcast continuously on the city’s financial channel. Alibaba announced a strategic investment in the campus intelligent logistics system, and Li Xu’s company officially ushered in its Series A financing.

This semester has officially come to an end, and the campus is filled with a tense atmosphere of exam preparation.

And the six-month operation period...is gradually coming to an end!
(End of this chapter)