They chattered on and on, and Yao An understood what they meant.
It turned out that a friend of this female CEO was running a private equity firm. The startup team lacked a product analyst, so they asked Yao Qiuran, the intermediary, to contact a third-party vendor to create a digital model for a fund project.
"Their budget isn't large, but this fund project is extremely urgent, and it also needs to be data-rigorous and comprehensive, so it's very troublesome. Some of the teams I've contacted aren't willing to take on this hot potato," the female CEO's voice came through the speaker.
"May I ask what the budget actually is?"
"15."
This fifteen should be 15k, which is fifteen thousand. It does seem a bit low.
Since her phone was connected to the car's Bluetooth, Yao An naturally heard their conversation.
She certainly didn't mean to eavesdrop, but when topics related to finance and money came up, it was hard for someone who had already touched a corner of the financial industry not to be distracted and pay attention.
"One hundred and fifty thousand? That's indeed quite little."
"Hmm, that's why I thought of you."
No... is one hundred and fifty thousand considered a very small budget?
Yao An couldn't help but feel ashamed of her narrow perspective.
"So, Boss Shen, you came to me, this workhorse, right?"
"Speak properly. Can you take this job?"
"I can't guarantee it. I'll contact the team first and then give you a reply."
"Alright, they've only given two months for the deadline. You need to confirm as soon as possible if anyone can do it."
After hanging up, Yao Qiuran contacted several clients.
However, as soon as they heard it was a tight deadline and a heavy workload, everyone was unwilling to take on this low-profit project.
"What a rotten job," Yao Qiuran mumbled.
She was about to call and turn down this hot potato when Yao An spoke up from the side.
"Uncle, if you take this project, how much money can the third-party vendor get?"
Yao Qiuran initially didn't want to discuss this topic much with her, but then she remembered that her niece would also enter this industry in the future, so she offered a few pointers in the tone of an experienced person.
"The financial industry has very serious cronyism. Every party in a project wants a kickback, so the people actually doing the work will probably only get seventy or eighty thousand."
Seventy or eighty thousand... that doesn't seem like a small amount either.
Yao An searched her mind for memories related to mathematical modeling.
Mathematical modeling, simply put, is using mathematical formulas to calculate something and provide a professional report.
For example, weather forecasting, industrial management, medical biology, e-commerce – theoretically, any place where data can be used can utilize algorithms to calculate rationality and operability.
Fund mathematical modeling includes risk assessment, investment returns, fixed income, derivatives and hedging, and so on.
In short, it is very complex and requires consulting a large amount of data for assistance. Non-professionals generally cannot do a series of assessments well.
However, Yao An had read many books before, and with the "Mastery of Basic Financial Knowledge" she had exchanged, she happened to understand this area of knowledge.
"Uncle, can I take on this project?"
Yao Qiuran glanced back at her, initially thinking she was just joking.
But soon she remembered that her niece was a student at the University of Finance and Economics! With so many financial talents at the University of Finance and Economics, wouldn't a small data model be simple?
A budget of one hundred and fifty thousand was indeed not much for a team, but if an individual took on the job, it would still be quite profitable.
"Do you know any finance professors?"
Yao An was silent for a second, then nodded against her will.
"Then no problem, it's just that time is a bit tight. Why don't you contact the other party first? If there's an overrun after taking the job, I'll have to pay a penalty."
"No need, I can decide. There's enough time."
Yao Qiuran looked a little surprised. It seemed her niece had an unusual relationship with that professor.
However, she knew Yao An's personality; if she wasn't confident, she wouldn't casually agree to others' requests.
She immediately called the female CEO to communicate.
"A finance professor from the University of Finance and Economics? Sun Yunshan or Li Xiuming?"
Yao Qiuran looked at her beautiful niece inquiringly.
Yao An hesitated for a moment, then typed out three characters on her phone for her to see.
Yao Qiuran immediately replied to the other party.
"Yang Jiajia."
"Yang Jiajia? Never heard of her."
The latter sentence was the female CEO's monologue, but since the matter wasn't her own, she didn't care much who did it; she only cared about the result.
"Alright, then I'll send the information to your email. You send me your card number details and so on. The contract will be mailed to you the day after tomorrow."
As Yao Qiuran said, cronyism is very serious in the financial industry. For those with connections, taking on a project might just be a matter of a word or two.
However, those small companies without connections might struggle intensely and still not earn these "hot potatoes" that others dismiss.
After hanging up the phone, Yao Qiuran patted her obedient niece's head with satisfaction.
"Tomorrow, Uncle will take you to buy clothes. I'll dress you up like a little princess to charm all those Xiao Chunans at your school."
After this deal was made, as an intermediary, she could also get a portion of the rebate.
Her niece helped her solve this hot potato, which was equivalent to making money effortlessly, so of course she was happy.
"No need, you're getting married soon. Save some money."
Yao Qiuran waved her hand indifferently.
"Your Uncle has plenty of money in his private stash, and buying a few clothes doesn't cost much. Which brand do you like? Chanel, LV, or Balenciaga? Hermes is out of the question for now, Uncle hasn't reached that consumption level yet."
Seeing her determined to buy clothes for her, Yao An was silent for a moment, then started browsing on her phone, finally opening a product detail image.
"If you insist on buying me something, just buy this."
Yao Qiuran spared a glance and was immediately surprised.
"You, Xiao Bingkuai, actually want to wear Hanfu? Are you attending some event?"
"Yes, I'm attending the school's Mid-Autumn Festival gala."
The detail page showed "Pei Yu Chun Feng" from Shisanyu's brand.
After confirming the program content with Chen Tian, she had put this dress in her shopping cart, but later most of her money was invested in the stock market, so the plan to buy Hanfu had been shelved until now.
After all, this set of Hanfu was not cheap; the whole set would cost almost a thousand yuan.
"Okay," Yao Qiuran readily agreed.
"Are you singing or dancing at the Mid-Autumn Festival gala? You never learned any talents in that area before, don't embarrass our Old Yao family on stage."
Yao An didn't pay attention to the teasing in her words and advertised her cover songs.
"I'm singing. I've released cover songs on several platforms, and the response has been quite good. I won't embarrass anyone."
Yao Qiuran didn't take it seriously, after all, isn't uploading a song simple nowadays?
"What are the song titles? I'll go support you."
"bishangguan, Tan Yun Xi, Melatonin."
Yao Qiuran immediately fiddled with her phone to search, and Yao An's unique voice also came from the speaker.
"I seem to have some kind of illness, always, trapped in nightmares"
"The more I try to forget, the more I want to see you."
"How to explain, how to wake up, how to lose memory~"
The melody of "Melatonin" is soft and perfectly suited for Yao An's voice, making it the song she performed best in the recording studio.
Even Yao An herself felt a slight tingle on her scalp after hearing her own voice through a top-tier sound system like Burmester.
No words are needed to describe how good it sounded.
"This... is this you singing?"
Yao Qiuran was surprised, her expression as if she was meeting her niece for the first time.
Yao An raised her chin with a hint of pride.
"Can't you tell?"
Yao Qiuran was speechless for a long time, unconsciously turning up the volume.
"Past or not past, in the dark night, I miss you so much."
"Couldn't quit you, and lost myself too~"
"Melatonin is so much like you, soothing my nerves."
"Just got addicted, won't accept losing~"
..."Yao Yuanping, that misleading person, your singing is so good, why did he make you study finance! Wouldn't Shanghai Theatre Academy be better?"
Yao Qiuran gave the highest praise to the song by criticizing Yao Yuanping.
She liked, collected, and shared it three times, and also tipped the singer 200 yuan.
Yao An tried to stop her but couldn't, feeling a bit helpless.
"Uncle, just listen and support me, why spend money?"
Yao Qiuran waved her hand.
"Your Uncle has money. When I run out, I'll ask him for more."
Yao An was helpless, feeling that Uncle was quite the pushover.
"When is your Mid-Autumn Festival gala? I'll definitely be there to support you."
That must be fake. Yao An just listened to that.
"The 30th of this month."
"Speaking of which, with your looks and your singing voice, you must be a campus belle at your school, right? Are many boys chasing you? Have you dated any handsome young men?"
"No."
"The boys at the University of Finance and Economics are of high quality. Haven't you taken a liking to anyone?"
"Oh~ Could it be that you're a lesbian?"
"Hmm, you guessed right."
"What a coincidence, me too. Tonight, Uncle will help you check your little garden."
"Uncle! That's enough!"