Chapter 16: The Confidence of a King

At the exit of the seaside train station, a young couple walked out with the crowd. The woman was very beautiful and stylishly dressed, attracting many men's attention, even if just for a glance. But the man beside her was rather ordinary, which made others envy him—this man was quite fortunate. This couple visiting the seaside was Zhou Ming and Su Han.

Leaning against Zhou Ming, Su Han asked, "Zhou Ming, does your mother have a prejudice against me? Did you argue with her?"

Since boarding the train from Linyang, Su Han had asked herself this question more than once. Zhou Ming replied, "Don't worry, Xiaohan. My mom was influenced by the rumors at the factory. She is actually very open-minded."

"Zhou Ming, please don't argue with your mother because of me. It's not worth it. I know my reputation is not good…"

Before Su Han could finish, Zhou Ming took her hand and said, "What are you talking about? Your reputation is fine. You must not look down on yourself like this. I've told you, in my heart, you will always be the purest and most beautiful Xiaohan. I won't allow you to underestimate yourself. When we have money and power in the future, I'll help you get revenge, and my mom will definitely change her view of you!"

Su Han was touched. "Thank you, Zhou Ming."

Zhou Ming and Su Han came to the seaside to exchange treasury bonds. According to Zhou Ming's memory, at this time, the interest rate for seaside treasury bonds had reached a terrifying two cents. Due to this extremely high interest rate, after confirming that his father's health was completely recovered and his mother's health was fine, Zhou Ming brought the twenty thousand treasury bonds collected by Dog Ye to the seaside city.

The twenty thousand treasury bonds filled two large bags. For safety reasons, Zhou Ming and Su Han took a taxi directly to the hotel, specifically to the Peace Hotel.

The Peace Hotel, located by the Qingpu River, was a historic hotel. Zhou Ming chose to stay here not because of its legendary status in movies but because it was located on the famous Seaside Bund, the financial center of the seaside city, where all the bank branches were concentrated, making it convenient to exchange treasury bonds. Additionally, he was concerned that the amount of bonds he wanted to exchange was too large, and regular banks might not be able to handle it, so it was better to go to a branch on the Bund.

After checking into the Peace Hotel, Zhou Ming and Su Han immediately headed to the nearest bank. As soon as they entered the bank, Su Han excitedly pulled Zhou Ming's sleeve and said, "Zhou Ming, look! The interest rate here is two cents one! It's really high, three points higher than in Jiangxia City."

On the wall at the entrance of the bank, there was an LED display board showing the bank's treasury bond interest rate, which was 21%, or two cents one.

Such an interest rate is unimaginable in the future because, at this rate, a 100-yuan bond with a five-year term would accrue about 110 yuan in interest by maturity, exceeding the principal. This obviously doesn't conform to the basic rules of national bonds, but during this specific time, the country increased the interest rate to such an outrageous level to raise funds for the country's reform and opening-up policies and overall development planning. Additionally, domestic residents didn't have a clear understanding of government bonds, which led to a lack of demand, forcing the country to raise the interest rate to such an extreme.

Zhou Ming originally thought he was born in the wrong era, but now it seemed that this era was filled with gold!

Zhou Ming self-deprecated a bit in his mind and, with Su Han, approached the bank counter and said, "Hello, I'd like to exchange twenty thousand treasury bonds."

The bank clerk at the counter was stunned for a moment, her beautiful eyes wide open as she asked, "Did you… say you want to exchange how much in treasury bonds?"

Zhou Ming patted the bulging bag he was carrying and said, "Twenty thousand."

The clerk gasped, "My goodness, a big capitalist!"

Zhou Ming found this a bit amusing. Just twenty thousand treasury bonds and he was already considered a big capitalist? But considering that in this era, twenty thousand was indeed a considerable amount, if she could see a few decades later, where even a rich second-generation's car cost tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, she wouldn't know how to react.

However, the clerk, while surprised, was still competent in handling the business. Due to the large amount Zhou Ming needed to exchange, for safety reasons, Zhou Ming was taken to a reception room in the bank for waiting. After ten minutes of counting and calculation, it was determined that the total, including the principal and interest, was over 390,000 yuan.

"Sir, do you want to withdraw this amount in cash or handle it as a deposit? I suggest that you handle it as a deposit because keeping such a large amount of cash is too unsafe," the clerk said.

Zhou Ming smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, but no need. I'll withdraw ninety thousand yuan, and the remaining will be transferred to the account of Dai Zhenjiang, the head of the Agricultural Bank in Nanhui County, Linyang, Jinghu Province."

This was an arrangement Zhou Ming had made with Dai Zhenjiang before coming to the seaside, including the principal and the agreed additional interest, while the rest was covered by Dai Zhenjiang and Dog Ye.

The clerk agreed and proceeded to handle the paperwork. Soon, she returned with the transfer slip and the ninety thousand yuan in cash for Zhou Ming.

Receiving the transfer slip and the cash, Zhou Ming stood up and left the bank with Su Han.

Walking down the street, Zhou Ming sighed, "It's a pity that we still need to transfer back thirty thousand. If all thirty-nine thousand were mine, it would be great."

"You're really greedy, Zhou Ming," Su Han advised him. "We didn't have so much capital originally. We were supposed to borrow high-interest loans and collect treasury bonds from house to house. Now, we don't have to do anything but wait for Director Dai to deliver the bonds to us, and we've made so much money just by coming to the seaside for one day on official business. Even the round-trip fare, accommodation, and meal expenses were all covered. It's already quite impressive!"

Indeed, if Su Han put it that way, it was true. Zhou Ming was on an official trip to the seaside, making several tens of thousands in profit, which would make anyone envious. However, for Zhou Ming, who had been reborn and was only making this small amount of money, it was far from enough. To make big money, he had to wait for opportunities, and there was no rushing it.

Thinking this way, Zhou Ming said to Su Han, "Since we've come to the seaside, let's take a good tour of this beautiful Bund!"

"Is this a date?" Su Han's sudden question startled Zhou Ming, but then she said, "Sure!"

Afterward, Su Han held Zhou Ming's hand and headed to the Bund's streets. At this time, the Bund wasn't as developed as in the future, and the seaside city didn't have so many high-rise buildings. The traffic on the streets was also much lighter, with more bicycles and even some cargo tricycles. Additionally, there was no smog that plagued the future.

"Zhou Ming, look over there! There's a photo studio!"

Just as Zhou Ming was lost in thought, Su Han waved at him excitedly. Zhou Ming looked in the direction Su Han pointed and saw a roadside photo studio. Seeing Su Han so happy reminded Zhou Ming of the countless selfies with phones twenty years later. It seemed that women, whether now or twenty years later, loved taking photos!

"That's the Peace Hotel over there, a landmark of the Bund, a legendary hotel from the past. Only the rich and powerful could stay there. You should use that as a backdrop," suggested the photographer.

"Master, that's not right. This is an era where the people are the masters of the country. The Peace Hotel is just an ordinary hotel that anyone can stay in, not just the privilege of some rich or powerful people. We're staying there too," Su Han said with a smile.

The photographer was surprised and said, "Really? I heard it costs over a hundred yuan a night! Even many locals can't afford it."

Zhou Ming and Su Han didn't explain much. Zhou Ming glanced at the Peace Hotel and then at the Pudong area across the Qingpu River and said to the photographer, "Take a photo with this as the backdrop, and take another one with the Pudong side over there."

"Pudong?" The photographer looked across the river at the scattered dilapidated houses and said, "What's so special about that? It's all rundown buildings."

"Right now, there are a lot of rundown buildings, but maybe in a few years, it won't be like this. In ten years, that area will be worth a fortune. There's a saying, 'Rather have a bed in Pudong than a house in Puxi,'" Zhou Ming said.

"The locals say, 'Rather have a bed in Puxi than a house in Pudong,'" the photographer corrected.

"Master, you're referring to the present. I'm talking about the future."

Zhou Ming was confident, and Su Han posed for the photos. Zhou Ming, a bit regretful, said to Su Han, "It

's a pity that we don't have enough money now. Otherwise, we could buy a piece of land in Pudong and become rich in ten years."

The photographer silently finished taking the photos and then bowed deeply to Zhou Ming and said, "Young man, can you tell me why you're so confident that Pudong will develop well? My name is Wang Qiangguo, and I'm currently working on a municipal project."

Wang Qiangguo?

The name made Zhou Ming's heart skip a beat. He looked at the photographer carefully and realized this person was actually Wang Qiangguo, the future China's richest man and founder of the largest real estate group. Zhou Ming often saw his photos on the internet, so he was quite familiar with him. He remembered that this person was traveling across the country for projects at this time. He hadn't expected to meet him here.

Surprised, Zhou Ming felt the magic of fate. If he could really point out the future real estate tycoon, it was like he was guiding a future Chinese billionaire!

Thinking of this, Zhou Ming said to Wang Qiangguo, "If others asked me, I wouldn't answer. But since you've asked, I'll tell you. The reason I'm confident is simple: First, while Puxi is so prosperous, Pudong just across the river is a slum. Is that normal? Second, Puxi's space is limited. If development reaches its limit, what then? Isn't there a need to expand to other areas? Lastly, the country is implementing a grand reform and opening-up strategy, meaning we will eventually open up to the sea, and Pudong is the closest to the sea with the best natural port. Why not develop it?"

Wang Qiangguo bowed deeply again and said with deep emotion, "Listening to your words is more enlightening than reading ten years of books! Young man, you truly have insight that has made me understand so much more."

Su Han proudly said, "Of course, Zhou Ming is a college student!"

"Yes, the young man is indeed more visionary than I am," Wang Qiangguo said. "May I ask your surname?"

"My name is Zhou Ming. One day, you will see me on TV and in newspapers and magazines," Zhou Ming said.

Wang Qiangguo was stunned. If it were someone else saying this, he would dismiss it as youthful arrogance, believing that those who appeared on TV or in newspapers were extraordinary people. However, hearing it from Zhou Ming, Wang Qiangguo believed that Zhou Ming would certainly achieve his words.

Zhou Ming's confidence reminded Wang Qiangguo of a story he had heard: when Emperor Qin Shi Huang went out, everyone bowed to him, except Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, who commented on him. This was the confidence of a king.