Chapter 119: Treasury Bonds

Chapter 119: Treasury Bonds

Double Prosperity Credit Union.

Director Bu Wanhui sat in his chair, rubbing his temples with both hands. He was in trouble.

A week ago, in order to stabilize the development of the national economy and concentrate financial resources for socialist construction, the state decided to issue 4 billion yuan in treasury bonds. State-owned enterprises, collective units, institutions, groups, military units, and wealthy rural teams were required to actively subscribe, and individuals were also encouraged to participate.

The task assigned to Bobai County was to sell 215,000 yuan worth of treasury bonds. Double Prosperity Credit Union, due to its successful agricultural loan assistance the previous year, was given a sales target of 3,000 yuan.

Although this wasn't a strict requirement, and his superiors wouldn't punish him even if he failed to sell a single yuan, Bu Wanhui wasn't a novice. He understood that promoting treasury bonds was essentially a political task. If he did nothing, it would leave a bad impression on his superiors.

However, this wasn't 300 yuan—it was a full 3,000 yuan!

Although the government offered interest on the treasury bonds, with repayments spread over five years in five installments (20% each year) and an annual interest rate of 4%, Bu Wanhui still had no idea how to sell the entire 3,000 yuan target.

But for the sake of his future, he had to complete the task, no matter how difficult it was.

After rubbing his temples for a while, Bu Wanhui stood up and prepared to visit White Duckweed Farm first to promote the bonds. Then, he planned to visit various production teams to see if he could persuade some of the more financially stable teams to support the country's construction by subscribing to some treasury bonds.

...

Noon.

After eating two bowls of sweet potato noodles (known as "fan shu" by the Hakka people in Bobai, made by washing and cutting sweet potatoes into strips, drying them, and then cooking them into a sweet soup), Deng Shirong, with nothing else to do, began discussing education with his eldest daughter and daughter-in-law.

"Ah Zhen, Ah Ping, the country is starting to place more importance on education. The future world will undoubtedly be a world of scholars. Both of you have relatively low levels of education, and there's not much to do at home right now. Do you want to continue studying?"

Zhang Xiuping was stunned for a moment and asked in surprise, "Dad, I'm married now. Can I still go to school?"

Zhang Xiuping had good looks and a good figure, but due to her family's financial difficulties, she had only attended primary school for a few years. Her lack of education was her biggest shortcoming, especially after marrying into the Deng family, where education was highly valued. She felt somewhat inferior in this regard and had long given up the idea of continuing her studies.

After all, she was married and expected to have children soon. How could she possibly have the chance to study?

So, she was genuinely surprised when her father-in-law asked if she wanted to continue studying.

Deng Yunzhen also looked at her father in surprise.

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "You don't have to go to school to study. You can study at home. The purpose of letting you study isn't to get a degree but to improve your cultural level.

The more books you read, the more you'll understand.

Our country is changing rapidly now. I believe the changes that will come are beyond your imagination. You're still young. Do you really want to stay in the village as a village girl for the rest of your life and not go out to see the outside world?

If you want to achieve something big outside, your current level of education won't be enough."

Deng Yunzhen asked in confusion, "Dad, I don't quite understand. What big business can my sister-in-law and I do?"

She truly didn't understand. In this era, the biggest dream for rural people was to study hard, get into university or technical school, and then wait for the state to assign them a job, allowing them to eat "commercial grain" and become the most promising people in the village.

Beyond that, what other great careers could one pursue?

Zhang Xiuping also didn't understand. Due to the constraints of their environment, even rural men in this era didn't have the idea of venturing out and pursuing great careers, let alone women. The concept simply didn't exist in their minds.

Deng Shirong, having lived through that era, naturally understood their thoughts and replied, "When I say 'do something big,' I mean going out and starting a business. The country has already relaxed some restrictions on business, and I estimate that more business-friendly policies will be introduced in the future.

I've already thought of what business you could start, but the current situation isn't clear yet, so I want to wait a couple more years before letting you begin. You can use this time to read more books so that when you start your business in the future, you won't be easily deceived."

Zhang Xiuping asked, "Dad, do you want us to open a shop and do business like my elder brother and second brother did?"

Deng Shirong said, "That's about it. But what I want you to do isn't just opening a small shop. I won't go into detail now. When the situation becomes clearer in a few years, I'll explain everything in detail."

Although Deng Shirong only revealed a few words, it opened the door to a new world for Deng Yunzhen and Zhang Xiuping.

Zhang Xiuping was different from her sister-in-law. Her sister-in-law hadn't continued her studies because she failed to get into high school, but Zhang Xiuping had to drop out due to her family's poverty.

Now that she had the opportunity to continue studying, she was naturally happy and nodded, "Okay, Dad. Then I'll study hard at home from now on."

Deng Yunzhen didn't have much talent for studying, but since she was only studying at home and didn't have to take exams, plus she had her sister-in-law with her, she didn't feel embarrassed. She nodded and said, "Then I'll study with my sister-in-law!"

Deng Shirong smiled with satisfaction and said, "We have textbooks from elementary school to high school at home. You two should study hard. If you don't understand something, ask Ah Zhen. If she doesn't know, ask your elder brother. Work hard for two years, and you'll definitely thank your hardworking selves in the future."

Zhang Xiuping and Deng Yunzhen nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Just as Deng Shirong was encouraging his eldest daughter and daughter-in-law to study, Bu Wanhui arrived at the entrance of Thatchfield Village on his bicycle.

He had visited White Duckweed Farm earlier. As expected of a state-owned enterprise, White Duckweed Farm was very supportive of national construction. Although the farm itself wasn't wealthy, it readily subscribed to 1,000 yuan worth of treasury bonds.

This good start boosted Bu Wanhui's spirits, and he felt there was hope of completing the task.

However, when he visited several production teams afterward, the results were disappointing. Although the team leaders were willing to support the country's construction, they simply didn't have the funds to do so.

Bu Wanhui understood this. As a local, he knew there wasn't a single production team in the entire Double Prosperity area that could be considered wealthy. He planned to visit a few more teams to ask. If there was still no progress, he would try a different approach!

(End of Chapter)