I don't know when I fell asleep, and when I woke up it was almost noon.
Zhang Cheng left Zhang Da Nao and Zhang Jian Hao at the guesthouse and went to the hospital himself.
The nurse on duty today is not Liu Yihan.
Zhang Cheng easily found his way to the purchasing department on the second floor. Outside the office, through the glass window, Zhou Qiyuan was smoking and reading a newspaper.
A knock came at the door.
Zhou Qiyuan put down the newspaper and turned his head: "Come in!"
"Xiao Zhang, you're finally back!"
When Zhou Qiyuan saw Zhang Cheng, his face immediately lit up with a smile, and he stood up to greet him.
"Xiao Zhang, we've struck it rich! We've really struck it rich!"
Zhang Cheng smiled and sat down: "Take your time, don't rush."
Zhou Qiyuan pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Zhang Cheng, grinning from ear to ear:
“Before the Lunar New Year, our herbal gift boxes sold like hotcakes. Later, I found out, and guess what? Every time the municipal party committee held a meeting, they put our gift boxes on the podium.”
"Now, leaders use our gift boxes when giving or receiving gifts."
"How much did you earn?"
Zhou Qiyuan chuckled and held up two fingers: "Twenty thousand, a full twenty thousand yuan!"
"Um?"
Zhang Cheng knew how to make money and sold well, but he never expected to earn 20,000 yuan in just over a month.
Zhou Qiyuan straightened his back and smiled:
“You told me not to sell the first-tier gift boxes before, but they’ve been selling too well. Some leaders have come to us directly and asked for them to sell them. How could I not sell them? However, I’ll sell all the Huangjing Tianqi gift boxes for a uniform price of one hundred.”
"Oh right, the money's all here!"
Zhou Qiyuan got up and went behind his desk, taking out stacks of 2,000 yuan notes from the cabinet, ten stacks in total.
“This money has been kept in the office. Xiao Zhang, I haven’t been home since the second year of junior high…”
Looking at the table full of money, Zhang Cheng's smile widened, and he took out two stacks of cash and gave them to Zhou Qiyuan.
"By the way, the quality of Polygonatum and Panax notoginseng at the supply and marketing cooperative is terrible..."
"We can't make herbal gift boxes for the time being."
"Why?" Zhou Qiyuan's smile froze, and he asked anxiously, "Why not do such a profitable business?"
"The province has its eye on herbal gift boxes."
"Huh?" Zhou Qiyuan was stunned, his eyes widening with tension and fear: "Is it because we're selling it for too high a price?"
"Don't overthink it, there are a lot of things involved. Besides, the gift boxes are only temporarily not being sold. The reason they sold so well recently was because of the Chinese New Year, and sales will definitely drop sharply afterward."
Zhang Cheng explained with a smile.
"You mean? We can continue selling in the second half of the year?" Zhou Qiyuan's eyes lit up.
"It should be possible."
"Then there's no problem!" Zhou Qiyuan rubbed his hands together and coughed lightly. "Xiao Zhang, how about we have a pleasant working relationship? Remember to include me when you sell gift boxes again."
"Don't worry, I'll never forget Director Zhou!"
"I'll get the sack and help you put the money in!"
"By the way, how are my fellow villagers doing now?" Zhang Cheng asked.
"He's recovering very well and can be discharged anytime. I forgot to tell you, the body was taken to the morgue for cremation, and it's all rotten," Zhou Qiyuan explained helplessly.
"Yes." Zhang Cheng nodded, understanding. He then asked, "Does your hospital have any quotas for subscribing to treasury bonds?"
"Yes!" Zhou Qiyuan took out a sack, put the money in, and said with a wry smile, "The hospital subsidizes 20%, and the amount you can buy varies depending on your promotion. I just bought 300 yuan worth of treasury bonds a couple of days ago."
Zhou Qiyuan chuckled and leaned closer, lowering his voice: "However, I have connections. I turned around and sold the three hundred yuan. I sold it for two hundred, losing forty yuan. You don't know, those who don't have connections can only sell a hundred yuan of treasury bonds for forty yuan at most."
Zhang Cheng looked at Zhou Qiyuan's smug expression, somewhat speechless, and raised an eyebrow. Someone had already started buying treasury bonds.
"Director Zhou, can you do me a favor?"
"You said it, if I can do it, I definitely won't hesitate!" Zhou Qiyuan patted his chest.
"I want all of your hospital's treasury bonds!"
"What the heck?"
Zhou Qiyuan suspected he had misheard; treasury bonds couldn't be spent, so they were completely useless.
But Zhou Qiyuan wasn't stupid, nor did he think Zhang Cheng was stupid. He asked curiously, "Little Zhang, is there any secret behind treasury bonds?"
"There's nothing secret about it. I just figured that since the government has issued treasury bonds, it certainly won't let us lose out; it'll take them back sooner or later. So I decided to stockpile some first. Maybe I can even earn some interest when the government buys them back," Zhang Cheng explained with a smile.
“Xiao Zhang, you’re thinking wrong. Money in your hands is real money. How can you be sure the government will recall treasury bonds?” Zhou Qiyuan felt he had to remind Zhang Cheng, who had made him money.
Zhang Cheng smiled, not intending to explain further, and asked, "Director Zhou, will you help me with this?"
Seeing that Zhang Cheng was determined, Zhou Qiyuan didn't bother to persuade him. Young people these days are prone to blind confidence after making money.
"How many do you want to acquire?"
"Use all 16,000 to buy treasury bonds!"
"Hiss!" Zhou Qiyuan gasped. They really don't treat money like money. Sixteen thousand Great Unity dollars could get you at least thirty-two thousand treasury bonds, and if you're ruthless, you could even get forty thousand.
"Ahem, Xiao Zhang, the hospital doesn't have that many treasury bonds right now. How about this, I'll go ask the cannery for you later; they should still have quite a few that no one has subscribed to."
"Alright, I'll leave this to Director Zhou!"
“I’m older than you, call me Brother Zhou from now on.” Zhou Qiyuan said sternly, “Calling me Director Zhou sounds too formal.”
"Brother Zhou, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now!"
"Sure! In three or four days at most, I guarantee I'll get you at least 35,000 treasury bonds!" Zhou Qiyuan patted his chest and promised.
Zhang Cheng clasped his hands in thanks.
After leaving the purchasing department office on the second floor, Zhang Cheng went to the inpatient department on the third floor and asked Xiao Tao and Shengzi to pack up and prepare to go home.
After leaving the hospital, Zhang Cheng went to the rural credit cooperative.
Rural credit cooperatives now offer interest-free loans. Zhang Cheng used his property as collateral to borrow three thousand yuan.
Besides the property mortgage, there were also guarantors. Zhang Cheng was thinking that after spending the three thousand, he would ask Zhao Daming and Zhou Qiyuan to act as guarantors and take out another loan.
These days, it's easy to make money if you're bold. No need to worry about capital. Just go to the countryside and bring anyone over; the credit union will lend you 500 yuan interest-free.
But Chinese people don't really believe in interest-free loans, and they're even more afraid of not being able to repay them.
After leaving the rural credit cooperative, Zhang Cheng, carrying three thousand yuan, ate a bowl of noodles before returning to the guesthouse. He then sent Zhang Danao and Zhang Jianhao to the hospital and arranged for Uncle Cang and the others to return to the village.
After doing all this, Zhang Cheng approached Li Yuanyuan.
Li Yuanyuan was wearing a loose-fitting military cotton-padded coat and ill-fitting cotton shoes, making her look a bit simple-minded.
Zhang Cheng smiled, said nothing, and took her to the supply and marketing cooperative, where he bought her new cotton shoes and a new cotton-padded coat.
Saleswoman Mo Qijing kept praising Li Yuanyuan for her beauty and saying she was a perfect match for Zhang Cheng, and Li Yuanyuan's smile never stopped.
Zhang Cheng helplessly explained to Mo Qijing that Li Yuanyuan was not his wife.
After thinking it over, Zhang Cheng bought a women's bicycle for a total of 182 yuan.
Riding a women's bicycle, with Li Yuanyuan on the back, they headed to the shop on South Street.
The herbal gift box business has temporarily fallen through, and Zhang Cheng is considering having Li Yuanyuan acquire treasury bonds.
Whether Li Yuanyuan would actually do it or not was beyond Zhang Cheng's consideration. Everyone wanted to sell treasury bonds these days; even a pig could do it.
“Let’s go to South Street,” Zhang Cheng said to Li Yuanyuan as he mounted his bicycle.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
