Zhou Jian'an acted mysteriously, not giving a direct answer. Instead, he took out a notebook, checked the amounts recorded in it, and repaid all his colleague's money, including interest.
Based on his interest rate, each person could get 30%. His colleague who lent him 500 yuan received a million yuan in just a few days.
That's equivalent to more than half a year's salary, and my colleague couldn't stop smiling.
"Jian'an, you're so thoughtful. I thought you really ran away with the money, but I didn't expect you to not only pay back the money, but also so much of it."
"Jian'an, thank you so much, but where did you get so much money?"
"Jian'an, your investment is really reliable. You get 130 back for every 100 you invest. If you invest 10,000, you'll get 13,000 back."
Zhou Jian'an refused to answer his colleagues' questions directly, so Jiang Shengping and several other old colleagues cornered him and pressed him repeatedly, even resorting to emotional appeals.
"Jian'an, we're good brothers. You can hide it from others, but don't hide it from me."
“That’s right, Jian’an. When you joined the company, Lao Zhao and I took good care of you. Now that you’ve made a fortune and have new ways to make money, you can’t leave us behind! Is the story about your wife false? Is she really the Dai family’s daughter?” Lao Ding asked.
Zhou Jian'an did not give a direct answer, but under the urging of his colleagues, he finally told them about his investment in the association.
"I invested 11,600 yuan and received 9,000 yuan back each month. At first, I couldn't believe it because I thought the profit was too high. Later, I invested the money I borrowed from the bank and made 10,000 to 20,000 yuan. That's when I believed it."
In the 1980s, apart from the news broadcast, people had hardly watched any TV dramas.
In the early days of China's reform and opening up, when money was scarce and people were struggling to feed themselves, scamming people out of money was out of the question. Most people were encountering this for the first time, and in their minds, the profit margin was too high and too attractive; they believed that as long as they invested money, they could make money.
"Xiao Zhou, is this a scam? Is it safe?" Old Zhao asked.
Zhou Jian'an said in a low voice, "I was scared at first, but as you all saw, I got all my money back, and the profit was much higher than putting it in the bank. Our association was very large, with many officials and big bosses depositing money there. They deposited a lot, not just ten or twenty thousand, but hundreds of thousands at a time. One male boss deposited 100,000, and guess what? He made 30,000 in less than two months!"
Thirty thousand yuan? Two months?
Old Ding's eyes widened. He felt that at his age, he had finally found the ladder to success and the path to overnight riches.
Old Ding's son is getting married, but his house is too small, so the bride's family isn't very happy. Old Ding is thinking that if he can make some money, he can have enough for his son's wedding, and he and his wife can rent a place to live.
Old Ding grabbed Zhou Jian'an and said urgently, "Jian'an, you can't forget me about such a good thing. Help me out. I have 2,000 yuan here. Can you put it in for me?"
Zhou Jian'an waved his hand, no matter how much Lao Ding pleaded, his words remained the same: "Your amount is small, they may not accept it. Besides, the leader doesn't allow me to bring people in casually, for fear of safety. If the police find out, he won't let me tell my family."
Several colleagues got anxious, feeling that he wasn't being loyal enough, that he had become rich and didn't bring his old colleagues along. Their angry faces were almost distorted, and they were about to start arguing. They surrounded Zhou Jian'an and demanded that he bring them into the association.
With no other choice, Zhou Jian'an reluctantly agreed: "Alright, I'll go back and ask the association leader. There are too many rich people in our association. The leader said she doesn't want to accept amounts under ten thousand. But since you're begging me like this, I'll go back and ask first, and if it's suitable, I'll let you know."
After Zhou Jian'an returned, Zhou Fangchun hurriedly came to greet him.
"How about it?"
Zhou Jian'an smiled as he washed his hands in the basin, rubbed them with soap a few times, and then said, "It's not a big problem."
Zhou Fangchun was quite happy. Zhou Jian'an was a college graduate, his company had good benefits, it was located in Beijing, and his colleagues were all locals. His income was much higher than that of ordinary people in Deyang.
Zhou Fangchun's meeting in Beijing will definitely be bigger than the one in Deyang. Only those who have done it know how fast it snowballs. A few days ago, you might only earn a few thousand or tens of thousands, but later it can be hundreds of thousands or even millions.
Zhou Fangchun was a cadre in her unit. She had more experience than the average person, was somewhat educated, and had the ability to handle problems.
She had conducted meetings in Deyang before, and was now simply reciting from the script in Beijing. Zhou Fangchun was very experienced and confident that she could do a good job at this meeting.
"People are greedy. The more you refuse them, the more they trust you and they'll even help you bring in more members. The initial amount won't be large, but once the first batch of people successfully receive their money, the later ones will be completely convinced. Once they're in, they can't escape. We'll use three months to make a killing in Beijing."
Zhou Jian'an had no doubt about her words. When Dai Qinxue lied to him, she didn't even use much persuasion, and he believed her without hesitation.
Ultimately, this model has never existed in the market before.
With the country's doors just opened and the public lacking access to information, who could possibly know that this was a scam?
The next morning, Zhou Jian'an's colleagues blocked his door. Zhou Jian'an seemed quite embarrassed, but his colleagues became even more enthusiastic, insisting that he let them join in.
"But what if we lose money..."
“How could we possibly lose money? It’s a 27% interest rate, Lao Zhou, don’t try to fool us. Even if we lose money, it’ll be on our side,” Lao Zhao said.
Old Ding nodded: "Yes, Jian'an, what's our relationship? If we make a profit this time, I'll help you bring in more people, and then he'll give you a kickback."
Having tasted success, Jiang Shengping felt he had a keen eye and good luck in getting close to Zhou Jian'an.
"Jian'an, given our relationship, you can't abandon me."
After much deliberation, Zhou Jian'an finally nodded "helplessly," accepting the five thousand yuan they had scraped together, his spirits completely broken.
After returning to school from Shu Hui's place, Chu Yu thought that Jiang Meifeng would definitely come to see her. She had come up with a plan, but after waiting for several days, she still didn't see Jiang Meifeng.
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