Chapter 4: Borrowing High-Interest Loans to Buy Treasury Bonds

(San Tang is a town in the southeast of Nan Hui County and is also known as the gambling city of Nan Hui. Because it is adjacent to Nan Ting County, which has abundant coal resources and numerous small-scale coal mines, many coal bosses and miners, who have money and time on their hands, often come to San Tang to gamble. The development of gambling has also led to the rise of high-interest loans. In that era, when people thought of high-interest loans, their first reaction was San Tang.)

Zhang Lei borrowed two bicycles from the factory and took a leave of absence. He and Zhou Ming rode the bicycles to San Tang. Given the chaos in San Tang and Su Han's unusual beauty, Zhou Ming decided not to bring her along.

Zhang Lei's brother-in-law is a factory leader, and Zhang Lei had previously accompanied him to handle matters in San Tang, including borrowing high-interest loans. Familiar with the process, he guided Zhou Ming to a four-story small building. At that time, this building was quite impressive, even better than the town government building.

After parking the bicycles, Zhang Lei asked with some concern, "Zhou Ming, are you really going to borrow high-interest loans? These loans are hard to get and even harder to repay, with frighteningly high interest rates. Even the factory has to prepare mentally for them."

"It must be done!" Zhou Ming said firmly. "As for repayment, don't you remember the treasury bonds we exchanged at the bank earlier? With that interest, are we still afraid we can't repay?"

"I understand, but I still think borrowing high-interest loans for this business is a bit too risky," Zhang Lei said, acknowledging Zhou Ming's point but feeling uneasy.

"Da Zhuang, relax. To do business, you need some risk-taking spirit. This business requires quick entry and exit. As long as we succeed, we'll become big bosses!" Zhou Ming said, patting Zhang Lei's shoulder. With more than twenty years of future memories, Zhou Ming knew that entering the market as early as possible is best. If the factory staff knew that treasury bonds could be exchanged for cash, where would we collect them? More importantly, Zhou Ming was worried about his father's worsening illness and needed to make as much money as possible in the shortest time.

With this belief, Zhou Ming and Zhang Lei entered the building. The place was different from what Zhou Ming had imagined. The building was clearly designed with a layout similar to a bank, including a counter and chairs, but without the iron bars. It looked very formal and orderly compared to other high-interest loan places, giving Zhou Ming some confidence about borrowing money today.

"This is Dog Master's place. Dog Master is the boss of Nan Hui and one of the wealthiest families in Nan Hui County," Zhang Lei introduced to Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming nodded and approached the counter. A young man behind it looked up at Zhou Ming and Zhang Lei and asked, "Where are you from? How much do you want to borrow?"

"Hello, we are from Factory 760 and want to borrow ten thousand yuan," Zhou Ming said.

The figure made the young man raise his head in surprise. He looked Zhou Ming and Zhang Lei up and down and then said with a disdainful expression, "Are you guys out of your minds? Asking to borrow ten thousand? Do you think this place is a joke? Stop messing around and leave."

Zhou Ming gave Zhang Lei a signal, and Zhang Lei said, "Brother, my brother-in-law is the director of Factory 760 and has connections with Dog Master. Could you call him down? He knows me."

The young man thought for a moment, then went upstairs to call down a middle-aged man. Zhou Ming knew this must be Dog Master.

Dog Master came downstairs, nodded at Zhang Lei, and said, "I remember you. You often come with the director. But borrowing ten thousand is still too much."

At this point, Zhou Ming stepped forward and said, "Dog Master, it's not about the amount of money. What matters is that with my brother-in-law here, we are certainly able to repay."

"Repay? It's easy to say. Do you think this is a small amount? Just because you say you can repay doesn't mean you can," Dog Master said. "But since you seem to be really in need of money, if you want to borrow it, the interest will be one cent per day. Can you accept that?"

"Yes," Zhou Ming answered without hesitation.

"I'm talking about one cent per day. For ten thousand yuan, the interest is one hundred yuan per day. The interest for a day is equivalent to a month's salary at the factory, and twelve days' interest equals a year's salary," Dog Master warned.

Zhang Lei gasped, but Zhou Ming remained calm. "I understand."

Zhou Ming's confidence surprised Dog Master. Originally, Dog Master wanted to use the high interest to tease the two young men, but he didn't expect Zhou Ming to actually agree. Did he not understand the terrifying nature of compound interest? However, Dog Master didn't consider these factors. He only knew that since someone agreed to such high interest, he had to agree.

"Since you're so sincere, I'll lend you ten thousand yuan with one cent per day interest. If you can't repay it, don't blame me for being rude," Dog Master said.

"No problem. I guarantee repayment within a week!" Zhou Ming said.

After getting the money from Dog Master, Zhou Ming and Zhang Lei rode back to the factory. As they reached the intersection, they saw Su Han anxiously waiting there.

When Su Han saw Zhou Ming and Zhang Lei return, she hurried over and asked, "How was it? Did you manage to borrow the money?"

Zhou Ming patted his bag and said, "Of course, the ten thousand yuan is all here."

Su Han exclaimed in surprise, "You really borrowed ten thousand yuan? I was worried that the high-interest lenders wouldn't agree to lend it to us!"

"With Da Zhuang's brother-in-law's connections, it was easy to borrow the money," Zhou Ming said. "Now that everything is prepared, let's get to work."

With that, Zhou Ming took Su Han and Zhang Lei to the worker dormitory. Looking at the dormitory, Zhou Ming thought about starting to collect treasury bonds for profit. Zhang Lei asked excitedly, "Which house should we start with?"

"Any house will do, but just don't get too excited and accidentally reveal anything," Zhou Ming advised.

Zhang Lei nodded vigorously. "No problem. I'll just stand by and watch while you handle the talking."

Su Han also seemed a bit nervous, as she had never heard of buying treasury bonds before. She was only doing it based on her trust in Zhou Ming.

"Relax."

Zhou Ming patted Zhang Lei's shoulder and said to both Zhang Lei and Su Han. Then, Zhou Ming went to knock on the door of the first apartment. They were lucky; someone was at home.

A thirty-year-old woman answered the door and looked Zhou Ming up and down. "Who are you looking for? What's the matter?"

"Hello, I'm from the factory. Sorry to disturb you for a moment. I'd like to ask if you have any treasury bonds at home. Here's an example," Zhou Ming said, showing her a treasury bond.

The woman looked at the bond and nodded. "I have some. What's up?"

"Could you show them to me? I'd like to buy them," Zhou Ming asked.

"Oh, wait a moment."

The woman went back inside and brought out a tin box with several treasury bonds. Most were ten-yuan denominations, with a few fifty-yuan and two hundred-yuan bonds, indicating the family's decent financial condition. Zhou Ming carefully selected the maturing bonds, returned the tin box to the woman, and said, "I'll buy these bonds. The total is 415 yuan. Since some of them are quite old, I'll give you 400 yuan. Is that alright?"

"That's fine. These things are useless at home," the woman said cheerfully. "But how about the rest? Won't you take those as well?"

"Please keep the rest for now. I'll come back to collect them later," Zhou Ming said.

Zhou Ming handed the woman 400 yuan and said, "Please count it."

The woman took the money and smiled, "Just four bills, 400 yuan, how could I make a mistake? Just make sure you count the bonds clearly. Don't lose out."

"Thank you, I've already counted several times. The face value is 415 yuan. I only negotiated the price because some of them are too old."

Zhou Ming handed the bonds to Su Han to put in her bag and then asked the woman, "By the way, do you know all the neighbors in this building?"

"I've lived here for almost ten years since I got married, so I know all the neighbors well," the woman said.

"That's great," Zhou Ming said. "Could I ask you to help me collect the treasury bonds from the other residents in this building? I'll come back to collect them later."

The woman hesitated for a moment and then added, "I won't let you work for free. I'll give you ten yuan as a thank you."

The woman's face brightened. "You're too polite. Neighbors help each other. Most people here don't use those treasury bonds, and they've been waiting for someone like you to collect them. They're all on night shifts today, so they're all at home. I'll help you knock on doors. When will you come back?"

"Could you be back in about half an hour?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Sure thing," The woman replied enthusiastically. 

"Thank you very much. I don't know your name yet," Zhou Ming said politely.

"My surname is Wei."

After leaving Wei's home, Zhou Ming, Su Han, and Zhang Lei each went to knock on other doors in the building. However, since it was still working hours, only a few households were home. Zhou Ming knocked on several doors without finding anyone at home.

"Zhou Ming."

As Zhou Ming was about to knock on another door, he heard someone call his name. Turning around, he saw a girl in a floral dress standing not far away. It was Zhang Qian, his ex-girlfriend, who was now with Ma Lin.

If it had been the old Zhou Ming, he would have been furious, but after more than twenty years, he had moved on. He merely asked calmly, "What do you want?"

Zhang Qian was taken aback by Zhou Ming's indifferent attitude. After a moment, she looked at Zhou Ming with a complex expression and said, "Zhou Ming, you should apologize to Ma Lin. That way, you can return to the factory, and you'll get the same treatment you're entitled to. You're a college graduate; your future is still long. There's no need to ruin your prospects out of spite."

"Apologize to Ma Lin and go back to the factory where he would belittle me every day?" Zhou Ming replied with a cold smile. "Sorry, I'm not as lowly as you think."

"Why not just humble yourself once? Do you think staying at home all day is great?" Zhang Qian said, glancing at the treasury bonds Zhou Ming was holding. "And what are you doing now? Collecting treasury bonds? Can't you do something more respectable? Don't let me look down on you!"

"Is Ma Lin the one who sent you to find me?" Zhou Ming asked coldly. "Don't worry about what I'm doing. Just tell him that, although he has a good father, I'm going to make a lot of money—more than anyone else!"