Can following the rules be called rebirth?

Chapter 322, Section 320: The Bustling Optics Valley Store
"It's nothing, nothing. I just wanted to ask Weiwei for some advice on investing."

As soon as Zhou Mingyuan finished speaking, Zhao Xue put down her iced latte and waved her hand with a smile.

“All of us classmates know that she was already trading stocks using her family’s account when she was in high school. Let’s learn from her.”

"No, no, no, it's not about studying."

Gu Caiwei pursed her cherry lips, blinked her watery peach blossom eyes, and immediately denied it.

"Your returns are so much higher than mine, who's going to learn from whom?"

Hearing Zhao Xue's words, she swallowed the pastry in her mouth, looked up at Zhou Mingyuan, and said.

"Zhao Xue said hers is even better, with an annualized rate of over 25%, and you don't have to worry about it much."

"."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingyuan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. His gaze lingered on Zhao Xue's exquisitely made-up face for a moment before settling on Gu Caiwei's pure and natural lips.

Are they here to attract customers?

"Precious metal investments with an annualized return of over 25%?"

The man remained expressionless and casually asked.

"Uh-huh."

Before Zhao Xue could speak, Gu Caiwei nodded first.

"Hey, I don't know which model you're using?"

"Is it standardized products like paper gold or gold ETFs that track international gold prices, or leveraged domestic spot deferred transactions, such as spot gold and silver?"

Zhou Mingyuan turned his head and fixed his gaze on Zhao Xue.

The terms he used precisely categorized the different risk levels of precious metal investments.

Paper gold and gold ETFs are relatively stable products that can be traded through banks or reputable brokerage platforms.

Leveraged spot trading, on the other hand, means high risk and high return, and is usually found on some local trading platforms with inadequate regulation.

"Uh"

Zhao Xue clearly hadn't expected Zhou Mingyuan to ask such specific and professional questions.

Her composure froze for a few seconds as she frantically tried to recall her lines.

The prepared explanations for dealing with surprise and follow-up questions seem to be largely unnecessary.

"I mainly do investment on a very professional online platform."

Zhao Xue gave a vague response, attempting to evade the specific questions.

"With professional instructors analyzing market trends and providing trading guidance, you basically don't need to worry too much. Just follow their instructions to buy and sell. The key is to trade based on trends and grasp the overall direction."

"A mentor?"

Zhou Mingyuan repeated it, a faint smile playing on his lips, took a sip of coffee, and then spoke slowly.

"To be honest, in the financial market, any model that promises high returns and claims to be easy to operate and that you can easily make money with the guidance of a teacher should be questioned."

The man spoke in a calm tone, without a hint of lecturing, more like sharing his experience.

"The first ironclad rule of the financial market is that risk and return are always directly proportional."

"If you want to achieve returns far exceeding the market average, you must take on risks that match or are even higher."

"Especially leveraged trading."

Zhou Mingyuan cleared his throat and glanced at Zhao Xue's new handbag.

"Leverage is a double-edged sword. It can amplify gains, but it can also accelerate losses. Be careful not to get your account wiped out and lose everything."

"."

The man's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Zhao Xue's burning vanity.

However, Zhao Xue did not immediately refute it.

"Zhou Mingyuan, you're right, there are risks, but we also have strict risk control measures in place."

"Look at my trading history, I really did make money!"

She forced a smile, pulled out her phone, and tried to prove herself with the established facts.

"Making money is definitely a good thing."

Zhou Mingyuan glanced at it symbolically, seemingly without any emotional fluctuation, and continued speaking.

"But personally, I think that making quick money in the financial market in a short period of time is not necessarily a good thing."

"It can blind people, amplify greed, ignore potential risks, and even make people lose themselves in a false prosperity, forgetting the most basic business logic and risk control."

"For example, I also have a similar stock, would you like to take a look?"

Zhou Mingyuan followed Zhao Xue's actions, took out his phone, tapped a few times, and then turned the screen towards Zhao Xue.

"Fuck."

Zhao Xue stared intently at the screen, her face filled with disbelief.

What did you see?
On October 9th, Zhou Mingyuan bought a stock called 603169 at a price of 1.68 yuan.

On December 31, not long ago, the closing price reached a shocking 18.03 yuan.

A 972% increase, nearly tenfold!
Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, she couldn't see exactly how many shares Zhou Mingyuan had bought.

No matter how much he bought, even if it was only 10,000 yuan, his assets increased tenfold.

Isn't this too exaggerated?
Is Zhou Mingyuan also an investment expert?
Strange, it has increased so many times, how come he hasn't sold? How dare he hold on until now?

Before Zhao Xue could voice her questions, Zhou Mingyuan changed the subject, asking seemingly casually.

"By the way, Zhao Xue, is the fund on your platform held in escrow by a third-party bank?"

"this."

"Are the inflow and outflow of cash smooth?"

"."

"Have you carefully read the platform's user agreement, such as the sections on risk disclosure and disclaimers? Do you even know what the platform's underlying assets are?"

These questions, like a series of arrows, directly target the most critical and easily overlooked weaknesses of such high-risk platforms.

Fund security, liquidity risk, and legal protection.

Especially the issue of underlying assets.

Many platforms that claim to offer precious metals investment services raise serious questions about whether their transactions are actually connected to the real international market, or whether they are merely gambling games between the platform and investors.

Zhao Xue was speechless when asked the question.

"I"

She stammered, her eyes darting around.

As a female live streamer, as long as I can make money, that's all that matters.

How could she have thought about these issues in depth?

She only saw the ever-increasing numbers in her account and enjoyed the thrill of spending. She didn't care about fund custody, user agreements, or underlying assets.
"This... I'll take a closer look when I get back."

Seeing that Zhao Xue was speechless, Zhou Mingyuan did not press her further.

Some things should be said only briefly, as going too far is as bad as not saying them at all.

No matter what, they've made quite a bit of money.

"So those risks you mentioned really do exist?"

"nonsense."

After exchanging pleasantries and seeing Zhao Xue and Cai Zhipeng off, the Joyful Coffee Shop remained noisy.

"That's a casino." "Okay. I was almost tempted by what you said, but thankfully you came over and asked a bunch of questions, and I found that she couldn't answer them either."

Gu Caiwei breathed a soft sigh of relief.

"This shows that she made money by luck! There was no clear investment logic behind it."

"That's it."

Zhou Mingyuan smiled and nodded.

The man leaned leisurely against the bar, gazing at every corner of the store.

Today was really lively.

The satisfied expressions on the faces of the young men and women, the orderly movements of the staff, and the rhythmic hum of the coffee machine.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and every speck of dust seemed to be deconstructed, dancing freely in the beams of light.

"How should I put it, Mr. Gu?"

Zhou Mingyuan turned to the side and patted Gu Caiwei on the shoulder.

"Having personally overseen the situation these past few days, how does it compare to the Beiyuan store?"

"Um"

Gu Caiwei was calculating accounts with her eyes lowered, her long, smooth brown hair falling to her neck, and her snow-white earlobes seemed to be glowing.

"There are so many people!"

"You didn't see the scene on the first day of opening; it almost scared me."

"We almost didn't have enough spare coffee beans, and we couldn't keep up with washing all the cups. The staff were all newly hired and not yet proficient in their duties, so we made several mistakes in the rush."

As soon as the acquaintances left, Zhou Mingyuan arrived.

The little princess seemed relieved and more confident, and began to recount the battle situation of the past few days in a long, rambling manner.

People were waiting at the door before the store opened in the morning, the cashier system briefly malfunctioned during peak hours, and customers complained about the long wait.
Her descriptions were vivid and detailed, and she even imitated the customers' tone of voice perfectly.

Zhou Mingyuan became a smiling listener, nodding occasionally while resting his chin on his hand, without interrupting her.

Gu Caiwei appeared to be complaining.

But her raised eyebrows and eyes revealed a smug look.

Take a look!

I think I've done a pretty good job managing all of this!

"But overall, it went pretty smoothly."

Gu Caiwei concluded by raising her chin slightly, like a proud little peacock.

"Our sales revenue is almost 50% higher than that of the Beiyuan store during the same period!"

"And you see."

She pointed to the young girls inside the store who were taking photos and checking in at various corners with their phones.

"The core business district is just different."

"Not only is the table turnover rate high, but many new customers come for the ambiance, saying that our store is a great place for taking photos."

"It's all thanks to our boss, Mr. Gu, for your excellent taste."

Zhou Mingyuan immediately chimed in, playing the straight man.

"It's alright."

Gu Caiwei was very pleased with the compliment, and her eyes crinkled into a smile.

"But"

Zhou Mingyuan turned his head to look at the still long queue outside the door, his expression serious.

"When there are a lot of people, there are actually some problems with our procedures."

"For example, as you just mentioned, the speed of serving cups, staff scheduling during peak hours, and customer experience can all be slightly optimized."

The man took a few steps forward, walked to the inside of the bar, and then leaned close to Gu Caiwei's ear and whispered something.

"You see, we now operate on a single-order basis, making each cup individually."

"During peak periods, orders pile up, and even the fastest baristas can easily become overwhelmed."

“We can process in batches, combining orders for the same type of beverage, such as extracting three to five Americanos together, and then packaging them, which can increase efficiency by at least 30%.”

Then, Zhou Mingyuan pointed to the crowd in line.

"The average waiting time is over fifteen minutes. Such long waiting times can easily wear down customers' patience and goodwill."

“This place is different from the Beiyuan store. Students have more time, so they can wait a while, but white-collar workers can’t.”

"In the fast-paced Optics Valley, if you wait even a little longer, they'll move on to another place."

"In addition to providing free lemonade and cookies, we can also set up a simple interactive device in the queuing area, or use the Relief Coffee App to send mini-games and coupons to customers at the back of the queue to divert their attention and improve their waiting experience."

Zhou Mingyuan spoke fluently and without quoting any profound management theories.

He simply used the most plain and unadorned language to point out a few details that are most urgent and easiest to improve at present.

These suggestions hit the nail on the head, and Gu Caiwei's eyes lit up as she listened, nodding repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, yes! How come I didn't think of that!"

She clapped her hands, her face beaming with an excited sense of sudden enlightenment.

"Customers can also place their orders in advance through the app and pick them up directly at the fast lane next door, which will alleviate the pressure of queuing!"

"clever!"

Zhou Mingyuan gave him an approving look.

"As expected of Boss Gu, he can apply what he's learned to other situations and understand things very quickly."

As he spoke, the man pointed to the somewhat crowded seating area.

"The placement of tables and chairs can be further optimized. Currently, our food delivery routes intersect with customers' walking routes, which affects efficiency and also poses safety hazards."

As Gu Caiwei listened to him point out the problems clearly and logically, her initial slight pride was gradually replaced by seriousness.

She knew Zhou Mingyuan had a sharp eye.

But to her surprise, he noticed so many issues she had vaguely sensed over the past few days but hadn't had time to systematically sort out after only a few minutes of his return.

"I know there's a problem."

Gu Caiwei sighed, "But we only have so many people, and orders are overflowing. We're lucky if we can just stay afloat."

"Maintaining the status quo is the bottom line; optimization is the key."

Zhou Mingyuan shook his head.

"Problems cannot be left unresolved, especially in the early stages of opening, when many consumer habits and brand impressions are formed."

Instead of condescendingly criticizing, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his well-defined forearms, and said to Gu Caiwei and the shop assistant who had a moment to spare:

"Come on, let's make a minor adjustment now."

He first walked to the inside of the bar and said to the two baristas, “From now on, try to subdivide the roles. Zhang, you focus on extracting and making basic drinks like Americano and cold brew; Li, you are responsible for all espresso that requires frothing milk. When orders come in, the cashier will do a simple sorting and send them to your work areas simultaneously. Try it and see how much focus can improve speed and consistency.”

Then, he told the staff responsible for maintaining order in the queue, "Add a small sign in the queuing area that says 'Estimated waiting time is about 15 minutes' and includes a QR code for our Relief Coffee App. This will remind customers that they can scan the code to browse the menu in advance or order online and pick it up in-store, reducing the time spent hesitating on-site. In addition, give a small cup of our iced drip coffee to customers who wait in line for more than ten minutes as a way of expressing our apologies and gratitude."

Then, he personally went to the guest seating area, adjusted the angle of several tables and chairs to create a clearer passage, and told the delivery staff: "From now on, when delivering food, always come out from the opening on the right side of the bar, go around the outer passage, and avoid passing through the core guest seating area."

Zhou Mingyuan's instructions were all perfectly worded.

As he spoke, he personally helped adjust the tables and chairs, his movements swift and efficient, showing no airs of a boss whatsoever.

The initially somewhat chaotic shop assistants, under his guidance, seemed to have found their anchor, and the anxiety in their eyes gradually gave way to focus, as they began to try out the new work mode.

(End of this chapter)