Chapter 50

On the second day after taking office, President Chen opened the door of the Bank of China service branch.

The two shabby storefronts were quite inconspicuous. When Chen Lanjun, dressed in a suit and wearing sunglasses, stepped into the door, several bank employees present raised their heads.

The aura of this man is such that it is obvious that he is not an ordinary person.

Chen Lanjun stood still, slowly took off his sunglasses, and said calmly, "Is your president here?"

*** ***

Cai Shuyun walked out quickly through the dark and damp corridor.

Cai Shuyun is over 40 years old this year. She used to work in the provincial capital. She has the ability and skills, but she just doesn't have a backing. The bank had personnel changes and the original president was transferred. As the vice president, she was the most qualified to take over, but she was no match for another male vice president with strong connections and still didn't get promoted.

Angry and disappointed, Cai Shuyun heard the news that the Southern Special Zone decided to build a new branch. He signed up and volunteered to transfer from the prosperous provincial capital to this unknown border port town.

Before leaving, the male president acted as if he was doing good for you and advised: "Comrade Shu Yun, why do you have to be so stubborn? You are a woman of this age, and you are also the vice president. What else can you not be satisfied with? You have to go to the south to suffer. Hey, if you spend more time on your family, your children would be in their teens or twenties now."

Cai Shuyun glanced at him with contempt: "Your brain can only think of these things, apart from flattery."

Then he turned around and got on the train.

Even in middle age, Cai Shuyun is still willing to have the courage to risk everything and the ambition to rise to the top. This shows her character.

Perhaps people always prefer people who are similar to themselves, so when Cai Shuyun saw Chen Lanjun for the first time, she felt that she was pleasing to the eye.

This young man is very pleasing to the eye.

Chen Lanjun handed over a bilingual Chinese and English business card:

【Vivian Chen Chen Lanjun】

There is a small letter below: [CEO of ZM Group Executive President of ZM Group]

Cai Shuyun read it carefully and raised his head: "Mr. Chen? Are you here for business this time?"

Chen Lanjun smiled slightly and said, "I would like to ask if your bank can help us with a loan."

Providing loans to Hong Kong-funded enterprises? Cai Shuyun raised her eyebrows. This was something new. At least, she had never heard of such a thing before.

Cai Shuyun asked: "Oh, this idea is very creative."

"It's really creative," Chen Lanjun said. "I applied for the loan this time because I wanted to set up a factory locally. Considering that it's not convenient to transfer funds from Hong Kong, I wondered if I could get a loan, which would be more convenient."

"Excuse me, what is your company's main business?"

"Our main business at present is the catering industry, and Wutong Restaurant is one of our new businesses that we recently opened."

Cai Shuyun had heard of the name Wutong Restaurant. She let down her guard a little and said with a smile, "Oh, so that restaurant is owned by you. I've been there once. The food there is very Hong Kong-style."

"Yes, because my sister also has a restaurant in Hong Kong, so I selected some simple varieties from there." Chen Lanjun said calmly.

"Can I see the relevant license?"

"Here, some of the documents are in English."

Chen Lanjun handed the document over. It looked like President Cai didn't know much English, at least not fluently. Chen Lanjun thought she would just check it as a matter of routine, but surprisingly, she actually looked at it very carefully.

"I'm sorry, don't you suggest that I get an English dictionary? My English is not very good." Cai Shuyun said.

"random."

Cai Shuyun actually took out an English dictionary and looked up the contract while doing so.

Chen Lanjun was thankful that she had really spent money to buy a company, and that all the documents were official and not forged. Otherwise, she would probably not have escaped the scrutiny of President Cai.

After carefully reading the documents one by one, Cai Shuyun put down the dictionary and said with a smile: "No problem. So, how much loan does Mr. Chen want?"

Chen Lanjun leaned forward slightly: "30,000 Hong Kong dollars."

She had once heard this figure from a senior in the banking industry, and it was within the foreign exchange loan limit that early bank presidents could decide.

"The early loan policy of the special zone was actually very loose," the senior mentioned, "because many people and many companies had no such awareness at all and felt that borrowing money was a bad idea. Later, they gradually changed their minds."

Chen Lanjun always remembered this. She didn't have any money, so if she could get a loan based on her ability, she would have money, and money can make money. In such a fast-paced era, the interest on the loan can be completely ignored.

Therefore, she first persuaded her sister to open a low-investment restaurant that could be used as collateral, and then bought a shell company. After having a legitimate company identity, she could try to get a loan.

Everything went smoothly, except that the bank president she met seemed a little serious.

Cai Shuyun touched his chin and asked, "What kind of factory does Mr. Chen want to start?"

“Instant noodle factory.”

"instant noodles?"

"It's a fast food product," Chen Lanjun explained patiently. "If President Cai had visited Wutong Restaurant and ordered instant noodles, he would have a better impression of it. It's a light yellow instant noodle, which is easy to carry and cook. Just rinse it with hot water and it's ready to eat."

This type of instant noodles originated in the 1960s. It was popular in Japan and other countries and is also common in Hong Kong, but it is still a rare commodity in mainland China.

When counting the sales of Wutong Restaurant, Chen Lanjun found that many people ordered instant noodles, including locals in white vests and gray shorts, and children who bought them with the red envelope money they had saved for a long time.

This is not surprising, as instant noodles are indeed very fragrant, and are even more attractive in this era of lack of oil, grain, and seasoning. In addition, in this era of rapid development, people have little time to eat, and hope to quickly eat food that is both filling and delicious. Instant noodles have this characteristic, so they have a broad market prospect.

From a practical point of view, if Chen Lanjun could have her own production line to produce instant noodles, then Wutong Restaurant could use its own instant noodles instead of purchasing them from outside, which would in turn reduce costs.

So after comprehensive consideration, Chen Lanjun wanted to open an instant noodle factory.

Worried that Director Cai might not understand, Chen Lanjun specifically exaggerated the market prospects of instant noodles and the company's own advantages.

Cai Shuyun nodded as he listened, but he still refused to easily agree to the loan. He just smiled and said, "It does sound good. We also want to support it, but according to the procedure, we still need to investigate. How about this, let's meet here again at this time in three days, and I will give you a definite answer then."

After hitting a not-so-small rejection, Chen Lanjun left the bank and put on her sunglasses to completely cover her slightly wrinkled eyebrows.

If the deal fails... she started to list alternative options in her mind, thinking about other banks that could lend money to her.

She was thinking all the way, and when she reached the intersection in front of Wutong Restaurant, she calmed herself down, put on a smile, and walked into the restaurant calmly.

She can be said to be the backbone of everyone, and she must not panic.

When she entered the restaurant, she found the atmosphere was a little different. But before she could observe carefully, Jing saw her.

"Hey, Sister Lan is back." Ah Jing came forward and asked, "How is it?"

"It's going pretty smoothly." Chen Lanjun said, "Next, you and I will go back to your aunt's village to see if there is a suitable location and workers for setting up a factory."

She saw from the corner of her eye that both the guests from Hong Kong and the locals were excited, and the originally diligent waiters gathered together during business hours and whispered. Chen Lanjun asked in confusion, "What happened?"

Ah Jing followed her gaze and saw the waiters, who looked a little strange, and said, "There is one thing."

"I heard that this morning, the British governor of Hong Kong announced that any mainlander who entered Hong Kong before October 1980, even if illegally, can obtain a Hong Kong identity card. But after October, they will be immediately arrested and repatriated."

Ah Jing's voice suddenly became very soft: "Everyone says... if you want to become a Hong Kong citizen, you must sneak over this month! This is the last chance to change your destiny!"