Chapter 45
In order to invest scattered funds in society into socialist production and construction, the People's Bank of China has long implemented "rewarded savings".
Ye Manzhi used the little savings she had to buy government bonds, 30 yuan for a fixed-term savings account with a prize, and 15 yuan for a current savings account with a prize.
The reason why the work of selling government bonds is difficult is actually largely due to the influence of the bank's regular prize-winning savings.
The interest rate for a one-year bank deposit is 7.2%, while the annual interest rate for government bonds is only 4%.
Moreover, you can participate in a lottery with your bank savings, with the first prize being 500 yuan and the last prize being one yuan.
Chang Yue'e once won the last prize.
"Comrade Xiao He, your bank shouldn't have any problems with deposits, right? People seem to prefer saving in banks rather than buying government bonds."
He Shan smiled wryly. "Why wouldn't we worry about savings? We're all buzzing about our prize-winning savings program, but only a tiny fraction of people actually have the money to deposit with the bank. And recently, government bonds have taken away some of the residents' savings. Life is really tough for our bank."
Ye Manzhi covered her withdrawal slip with one hand and pulled him under the sheltered eaves with the other.
"Comrade Xiao He, I'm going to tell you the truth, and you might not like it."
"Well, we are so familiar with each other, just tell me directly." He Shan was still thinking about her large deposit.
"People don't save at the bank, mainly because they don't have any spare money. Who would go to the bank just to save a few dollars?" Ye Manzhi said frankly. "If we want to increase savings, we have to increase people's income. As a bank as big as yours, stop focusing on a few individuals and find ways to achieve shared prosperity. As long as people have money in their pockets, they'll naturally save in the bank."
He Shan laughed: "Comrade Xiaoye, I'm just a salesperson. It's not my turn to worry about such a great job for now!"
"What's wrong with a salesperson? I'm still a junior cadre, and I'm still acting as the factory director!" Ye Manzhi said solemnly, "Comrade Xiao He, I'm not saying this just to ask you for a loan. I think your branch should contact more factories and production teams on the street and take the initiative to help them solve their production difficulties, whether it's funding or means of production."
He Shan: "..."
You want us to provide door-to-door service?
"Think about it, if the street industry develops, won't the workers' incomes also increase?" Ye Manzhi counted on her fingers, calculating for him. "Take our coal stove factory, for example. With a small initial investment, we can expand production and help us sell more honeycomb coal stoves during peak season. Our factory pays on a piecework basis, so the more work a worker does, the more they earn, and naturally, they can deposit money into your bank account."
"Cadre Xiaoye, I understand all this, but you also know that some people have old-fashioned ideas and would rather keep their money in the bottom of a box than save it in a bank."
He worked hard for a long time, helping people set up the factory and increase their income. However, the workers had no saving habit and did not deposit money in the bank. So all his efforts were in vain!
Ye Manzhi said disapprovingly, "What's the big deal, Comrade Xiao He? We've always had a pleasant cooperation. You've helped our coal furnace factory, so I certainly won't let you suffer any loss. As long as the branch is willing to lend us a loan, I will help you convince all the workers to open bank accounts. At most, the financial staff will have to work hard and go to the bank once a month to transfer the wages to the employees' accounts. As long as this money is in your bank, you can always find a way to persuade everyone to save, right?"
"How many workers are there in the coal furnace factory now?" He Shan asked.
"We're relatively small right now, but after we expand production, we expect to have around a dozen people." Ye Manzhi painted the picture as big as possible. "Based on a salary of 15 yuan per person, we can save over 200 yuan. That's 2,000 yuan a year, right? This is mutually beneficial for both of us, how wonderful!"
He Shan pondered for a moment and asked, "How much loan does your factory need?"
The factory hadn't even started operations yet, and Ye Manzhi didn't know how much it would cost. She boldly gave a figure: "200 yuan."
"I'm in charge of savings, not loans, but I can talk to your boss about it. It would be best if you could write a loan application in advance, outlining the purpose of the loan in detail. That way it would be easier to get the loan."
He Shan didn't know that they only had 5 yuan in capital to build the factory. Although he thought she reported too much, he was not too surprised. Loans are not given in full. In the end, there will definitely be some pressure.
"Officer Xiaoye, can your remittance be deposited in our branch? Give me a definite answer!"
"I really can't give you a definite answer on this matter," Ye Manzhi leaned close to him and whispered, "Let me tell you the truth. This remittance is my royalties from the publishing house. If I hadn't come to work for the street, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to publish a book. Now our street's public debt task hasn't been completed yet, and I will definitely use this money to fill the hole. Whatever is left at the end, I will deposit it in your bank. Is that considerate enough?"
He Shan thought what she said was quite true, and told her that the interest rate for fixed deposits was high, so she should deposit as much as possible in the bank. He finally left with satisfaction.
*
The next morning, Ye Manzhi came to the post office accompanied by her mother.
There were two long lines in front of the high counter, iron railings, and the exchange window. The clacking of the abacus beads by the salesperson sounded like heavenly music to her ears.
When handing the remittance notice and household registration booklet into the small window, Ye Manzhi could even hear the pounding of his heart in his chest.
There were quite a few people lining up to withdraw money. The salesperson glanced into the crowd, paused, and drew a circle around the remittance amount with a pencil. He reminded them, "This is the total amount. Please count it a few more times."
Chang Yue'e was much more efficient than her daughter. She counted the amount twice and confirmed that it was 780 yuan. Then she stuffed the envelope into her cotton-padded jacket pocket and quickly left with her daughter.
"How do you plan to spend this money?"
Chang Yue'e had seen more money than this, and although she was happy for her daughter, she was not very excited.
"I want to buy a bicycle! I also want to buy a radio! Oh, and I also need to buy a sewing machine!"
Ye Manzhi has never been a frugal person. She seemed frugal before, but that was because she had no money.
Now that I have money, of course I can buy whatever I want!
Chang Yue'e patted her on the butt through her cotton-padded jacket and said, "You're trying to get all four major items! These things will cost at least 500 yuan. I think you have money to burn!"
Ye Manzhi said proudly, "Director Zhou said that the publishing house has given me a quota of 10,000 copies. If I can sell 20,000 copies, I can earn another 780 yuan!"
"That book of yours isn't a textbook for students, nor is it a literary novel. Furthermore, it's specifically targeted at lesbians. Aside from some city lesbians who love to dress up, who would spend money on a book like that? Selling 10,000 copies would be a blessing. Stop dreaming!"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Why are you so realistic? Can't you let her be beautiful for a few more days?
"You're not allowed to spend this money carelessly. You work right outside your home, so what's the point of buying a bicycle? You're not allowed to buy a sewing machine either. Your eldest sister said that when you get married, she and her husband will give you a sewing machine as a dowry."
Ye Manzhi asked in surprise, "Will my brother-in-law be happy with this?"
"Hehe, it was said that Hu Jiannan brought it up first. He must have heard about you and Xiao Wu," Chang Yue'e said, pulling her aside. "Just remember your eldest sister's kindness. Don't worry about Hu Jiannan."
Ye Manzhi muttered, "If they don't allow me to buy a bicycle or a sewing machine, then I can buy a radio, right?"
Chang Yue'e continued to pour cold water on her: "You are not allowed to buy it. Now that you have bought a radio, is it yours or ours? Do you want to take it with you when you get married?"
"Then I'll leave the radio at home. You can listen to opera and news at home."
"If I wanted a chatterbox, I would have found a way to buy one long ago. Your fourth brother spends all day at home tinkering with flowers, birds, fish and insects. If he had a chatterbox, he would be even less likely to want to go to work."
Ye Manzhi was speechless and said, "I finally got a huge sum of money, but I'm not allowed to buy this or that. I can't use it all to buy government bonds, right?"
She originally planned to use the remaining money to buy government bonds after she collected the four major items.
She couldn't hide the fact that she earned a large sum of money from royalties, and it was foreseeable that someone would definitely covet her money.
Rather than offending people, it is better to buy government bonds and save yourself the trouble.
The redemption of government bonds requires a lottery, and as long as she doesn't say it, no one will know whether she won the lottery or not.
Chang Yue'e pulled her to the intersection and turned, "Come with me to call your third aunt."
"What do you want to see my third aunt for?"
"Last month she told me there was a house next door for sale. I called her to ask if it had been sold yet," Chang Yue'e whispered. "It would be better to buy you a property than the four major appliances."
Ye Manzhi asked in surprise: "The company provides housing, so why should we spend money to buy one?"
"Listen to me, don't spend the money recklessly. I'll help you buy a house."
Ye Manzhi comes from a good working-class family, and her consistent understanding is that housing is allocated by the unit.
Although Chang Yue'e was born into a working-class family, her father was the deputy director of a foreign-funded factory before liberation. Because they were brought to Binjiang from Vladivostok by their Soviet boss, their group of master chefs were called the "Vladivostok Gang."
After arriving in Binjiang, where they were unfamiliar with the area, the first thing the Waizi Gang did was to buy a house and settle down.
Her ex-husband's family ran a silk shop, and buying a house and opening a branch was commonplace for them.
Chang Yue'e had seen this a lot and subconsciously felt that she should buy a decent property for her daughter.
Ye Manzhi clutched the pocket of her cotton-padded jacket and asked, "My third aunt's house is quite expensive, right? How much does it cost?"
"She said last time she wanted 1,100 yuan."
"So much? Here, a private yard only costs four or five hundred yuan."
"That's the city center, and we're already in the suburbs."
Ye Manzhi was certainly tempted to buy a house, "But I don't have enough money! They can't possibly lower the price that much, right?"
"Your father and I plan to give you a dowry of 300 yuan when you get married. This should be enough," Chang Yue'e whispered. "Regardless of whether we buy the house or not, you are not allowed to go home and tell anyone about it. Do you understand?"
"I know!"
*
After receiving the call, the third aunt went to help inquire about the price. Ye Manzhi agreed very well and did not go home to tell others.
But when she turned around, she couldn't help but tell Wu Zhengrong.
"My mom doesn't let me talk about the house, but with all that money spent, it has to go somewhere, right?"
Wu Zhengrong looked up from behind his desk and asked, "How did you originally plan to spend this royalty?"
"Buy a bicycle, a radio, a sewing machine, and then use the remaining three hundred or so to buy government bonds."
Wu Zhengrong glanced at the teacup in front of him, then looked at the kettle on the coal stove and gave her a look that showed he understood.
Ye Manzhi understood and immediately picked up the kettle to add tea for him.
Then he looked at him expectantly, ready to hear his opinions.
Wu Zhengrong took a sip of hot tea and took out a current savings passbook with prizes from the desk drawer.
"Here are three hundred. Take it out and go to your workplace to buy government bonds."
Ye Manzhi was too embarrassed to ask for his money, so she pushed it back and said, "Forget it. We still have a hole of nearly 500 yuan. This method won't work."
"You can't buy a sewing machine, a bicycle, or a radio whenever you want. When people ask about it, just use this excuse to get by. Besides, I have both the radio and the bicycle, so you can use them to answer relatives who ask about them. If they really want to get to the bottom of it, just say you bought the watch too."
Only the director and Aunt Feng in the street office had watches. Ye Manzhi was afraid that it would be too conspicuous, so she always hid her new watch in her sleeve and checked the time secretly. Outsiders didn't know that she already had a watch.
Ye Manzhi added some more water to his teacup, but adding water was not enough to express her excitement. She even went over to help him blow away the hot steam.
"Hey, then I'll buy you three hundred dollars worth of government bonds and send them to you later!"
"Um."
"By the way, the publishing house has sent me sample books. I'll give you a few first." Ye Manzhi offered the new book in a servile manner. "You are the first person to receive my new book! Although you can't use it yourself, you can pass it on to the female comrades at home."
Wu Zhengrong smiled, put the book away, glanced at his watch, and asked, "Isn't it time for you to go to the Party School?"
"Oh, I forgot something important. I'm leaving now!"
…
Wu Zhengrong sent cadre Xiao Ye, who was about to be late, to the Party School, and then turned around and drove back to the vicinity of the Provincial University.
The Wu family has a two-story house here, where his grandparents and aunt's family live.
I put away the key and pushed the door open, and was greeted by the warm fragrance of plum blossoms.
Grandmother was arranging flowers in a vase. When she saw him come in, she immediately asked in surprise, "Why did you come back so suddenly? Can you have dinner at home today?"
"Representative Wu is so busy with official duties, how could he have time to eat at home?" Grandpa Wu put down the newspaper, his eyes behind the round glasses seeming to see through everything. "Representative Wu never comes to visit unless it's important."
"Not as busy as Dean Wu." Wu Zhengrong replied casually, sat on the other side of the sofa and said with a smile, "Grandma, I'll have dinner at home."
Grandma Wu happily agreed, pushed the vase aside, and pulled her grandson aside to ask, "I heard from your aunt that you're dating a girl recently. How old is she? What's her family like? What's her personality like? Is she pretty?"
Wu Zhengrong smiled: "I think my aunt has introduced me to you almost everything."
"Answer whatever the elders ask," Grandpa Wu said, taking off his glasses. "We want to hear your honest thoughts."
"You asked the Party organization to introduce this girl to me. What do you have to worry about? She comes from a well-established working-class family and is currently a grassroots cadre. She's beautiful and has a good personality and temper."
Grandpa Wu hummed indifferently and asked with concern, "What's her education level? I heard your aunt said she only went to high school and then stopped studying."
"Well, I didn't study after graduation, but now I've published a book." Wu Zhengrong opened the brown paper bag he brought with him and took out the books that Ye Manzhi had given him. "She recently published a book. I'll bring a few copies back for you to see."
Wu Xiaogu came out of the kitchen and asked curiously, "Who published a book?"
"The object of great importance, that Miss Xiaoye."
"How old is Xiaoye? He's already publishing a book?" Aunt Wu put down the casserole and walked over quickly, saying, "Hand me a book and show me what it is."
Grandpa Wu did not expect that the person introduced by the organization would have cultural attainments enough to publish a book.
He picked up a book from the coffee table and squinted at the title on the cover.
Collection of Clothing Style Illustrations: 100 Examples of Women's Clothing.
Um?
What book is this?
He put on his reading glasses again, then opened the book and flipped through the pages one by one.
Um?
Why is it either a skirt or pants?
"What kind of book is this? What's the point of publishing a book like this?"
Wu Zhengrong nodded at the word "women's clothing" on the cover and said, "This kind of book really doesn't mean anything to you."
"You should read the Party Constitution. This book teaches us women how to dress," Grandma Wu said softly, handing a red booklet to her husband. She then placed a peeled orange in her grandson's palm, saying, "Your grandfather was accepted into the Party a while ago and has been striving for progress recently! You two will be comrades from now on!"
Grandpa Wu took off his glasses, his eyes stern. "Who is gay with him? Are there any rules in this house?"
"Calling each other comrades within the Party is to embody democracy and equality," Wu Zhengrong scoffed, leaning back on the sofa. "There's never been equality in our family. President Wu really needs to read and study the Party Constitution more."
Grandpa Wu slammed the armrest and shouted, "How dare you! Just because you're a military representative, you've forgotten the hierarchy of seniority? You came back today just to piss me off, didn't you?"
"I came back specifically to remind you," Wu Zhengrong broke off half an orange and stuffed it into his hand. "I heard you've been discussing politics with people a lot lately."
"That's my business."
Wu Zhengrong would deliberately restrain himself at the factory, but he always spoke freely when facing his grandfather.
"At your age, you should have retired long ago to give younger people more opportunities. If you still want to stay in school, then focus on your studies. If you want to get involved in politics, it would be best if you leave school. If you try to pursue both academic studies and politics, you might end up ruining your reputation in your later years."
Wu Zhengrong glanced at the newspaper on the coffee table and continued, "Director Shen of 656 has always wanted to hire you as a consultant. Retirement won't hinder your research. I think you should consider retirement!"
Seeing the old man's face gloomier than the snow outside, Aunt Wu tried to smooth things over, saying, "If it weren't for Principal Pan's repeated requests to stay, your grandfather would have retired long ago. He's in good health and produces academic output every year, so he can't find a suitable reason to retire. Once you get married and have children, he'll have an excuse to retire."
Aunt Wu sighed in her heart. Every time the grandfather and grandson met, she felt a headache.
Her three older brothers left home early to join the revolution.
After the eldest brother unfortunately died, in order to leave a descendant for the Wu family and to reassure his parents, the second brother sent his youngest son back to his hometown.
Wu Zhengrong was the only one among all his children and grandchildren who was brought up and raised personally by his grandfather.
The old man has a Western education, but he is extremely old-fashioned and stubborn, and has a strong desire for control.
From big things like life planning to small things like eating, drinking, defecating and urinating, even his grandchildren's behavior and food tastes, everything must be carried out according to his plan.
However, her nephew is only obedient when he wears open-crotch pants, and sometimes behaves disrespectfully after he grows up.
Fortunately, he had a great talent for studying and never disappointed anyone in his studies, which was regarded by the old man as the most successful work of his life.
However, there seems to be no docile and obedient cells in the blood of the men of the Wu family.
When everyone thought that Wu Zhengrong would inherit his grandfather's academic legacy and even surpass him, he quietly interrupted his studies and joined the army!
This move was so unexpected that it caused a huge uproar among the family members. The old man almost published an advertisement in the newspaper to sever ties with his grandson!
Because of this incident, he never had a good face when facing his grandson.
However, Aunt Wu glanced at the orange in her father's hand. After experiencing the smoke of war and attending military school, Wu Zhengrong had made some progress. At least he knew how to coax his grandfather.
Grandpa Wu squinted his eyes because of the sourness of the two orange slices. The words to refute his grandson were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say a word.
He took several gulps of strong tea before he recovered.
He stood up from the sofa and scolded with a stern face: "Come upstairs with me!"
"Okay, I'll chat about politics with you, and we can also discuss the hydraulic boom issue," Wu Zhengrong put the uneaten orange on the coffee table and said to his grandmother with a smile, "This orange is a bit sour. Let my aunt boil it for you and add some sugar before eating it."
After watching the two of them go upstairs one after the other, Grandma Wu asked worriedly, "Are they going to start arguing again?"
"It's okay. My dad gets more excited the more he argues. Besides, Zhengrong knows his limits. We don't need to worry about him." Aunt Wu consoled her. "Once he gets married, we won't have to worry about him anymore."
Grandma Wu picked up the fashion book on the coffee table again and muttered, "I don't know when we can bring her back. It's been several months, and I haven't even seen a hair of hers."
"That guy is a lazy donkey. We can't rush him. I guess he hasn't even visited the girl's house yet." Wu Xiaogu whispered, "The Municipal Federation of Trade Unions, the Municipal Women's Federation, and the Soviet Consulate are going to hold a fashion evening party at the Friendship Palace. Xiaoye has just published a fashion book, so she will definitely be interested in the fashion evening party. I will use my connections to get two invitations and ask Zhengrong to invite Xiaoye to the party. You can just take a look at it when the time comes." [1]
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