For Xia Xiaolan, Manager Wu hadn’t given a specific number.

From what he said, once he confirmed the Citroën was real, the car alone could secure a 200,000 yuan loan – exceeding Xia Xiaolan’s expectations. With the real estate and shops included, could she borrow over 600,000 yuan?

While Xia Xiaolan was lost in thought, Manager Wu had already turned to Liu Yong:

“Boss Liu, may I ask the purpose of your loan?”

“Need to advance funds for a project…”

“Mind sharing the project budget?”

“Well… about 4 million yuan.”

Manager Wu stroked his chin, “For a 4 million yuan project, that’s quite a funding gap. You’re not asking for a small amount.”

Liu Yong honestly explained his plans, and Manager Wu immediately grew anxious:

“Boss Liu, we go way back – why are you thinking of getting a loan in Pengcheng?”

Liu Yong looked completely confused, “Well, I didn’t want to trouble you, since the project is in Pengcheng-“

“But you’re signing the contract with a Beijing organization, aren’t I right?”

“Dongfeng Holdings does have a branch in Beijing…”

Manager Wu quickly interrupted, “I don’t care about branches – it’s a Beijing organization, a proper state-owned enterprise, correct? Even though the project is in Pengcheng, you’re doing business with a Beijing organization. If you want to use the project contract for a loan, why go all the way to Pengcheng’s banks? Bring your company’s qualifications and the contract – our branch can handle it all at once.”

While Liu Yong was slow to react, Xia Xiaolan had already caught on.

“Do you have loan quotas to meet?”

Manager Wu sighed, “There are plenty of organizations fighting for loans, but they take loans without repaying. I’d rather lend to you folks.”

It wasn’t that Manager Wu lacked sympathy.

He knew some factories needed loans just to pay wages.

Though Manager Wu was obsessed with selling government bonds and would provide advanced service to sell them, showing his flexible thinking, as a mid-level bank manager who thought flexibly, he sometimes considered issues beyond his scope – what about those barely surviving organizations, should they just keep dragging on?

They couldn’t repay a million yuan loan.

Little by little, they’d be even less able to repay 10 million.

Manager Wu felt afraid. Theoretically, state organizations, unlike capitalist companies, couldn’t “go bankrupt.”

But just from what he knew, there were multiple factories surviving on loans. His branch was just one of Industrial and Commercial Bank’s branches, not covering all such loans in Beijing.

So how many were there in Beijing?

And how many nationwide?

Would there come a day when the state couldn’t support these factories… Manager Wu’s thoughts only touched on this before he dared think no further. The state had its reasons for Reform and Opening Up.

Some people had to get rich first to help others get rich later. With limited loan quotas, Manager Wu preferred lending to people like Xia Xiaolan and Liu Yong.

Manager Wu gathered his spirits, “Brother Liu, I’ll be straight with you. If you can bring the contract with Dongfeng Holdings, I dare approve loans up to 1 million yuan. Above that, our branch doesn’t have the authority.”

Within 1 million!

Liu Yong was overjoyed.

If it could be solved in one go, who’d want to deal with two banks? Liu Yong preferred working with Manager Wu.

Manager Wu didn’t like flattery or gifts of cigarettes and alcohol – he just liked people buying more government bonds to support national construction. It was like a very low-interest deposit that couldn’t be touched for years – what did Liu Yong have to lose?

While Liu Yong was still considering how many government bonds to buy this time, Manager Wu turned to Xia Xiaolan:

“As for you, first get the car paperwork done, then bring it to the bank for inspection. You said you need the loan in July – why rush now?”

“There’s one more thing I need your help with. I haven’t found my third shop location yet…”

Manager Wu felt a toothache coming on.

The third shop – another task falling on him. It didn’t even exist yet, but Xia Xiaolan already wanted to use it for a loan.

“I know, after finding the shop, you’ll need to hire people. Student Xia, you’re not my client – you’re my young mistress!”

His banking work seemed fake.

His real job was being a broker!

Manager Wu waved her off impatiently, though Xia Xiaolan saw his mouth curling up.

Even Manager Wu was being tsundere.

The next day, Xia Xiaolan’s schedule was packed. She asked Kang Wei to handle picking up the new car at the train station. Since it needed to be registered through Kang Wei’s work unit anyway, Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to trouble two masters for one task.

“Sister-in-law, the photos and registration are done. Want me to drive it to school?”

Xia Xiaolan was suspicious, “You just want to come to school, to find chances to get close to Senior Sister Dan.”

From April until now, over a month ago, Xia Xiaolan’s attention had been pulled elsewhere, unable to investigate Kang Wei’s romance. She didn’t know how far he’d progressed.

Kang Wei was mysteriously tight-lipped, but how could Xia Xiaolan let him drive the car to school:

“Just tell me when it’s done. You can drive it anywhere except school!”

…

After their talk with Manager Wu, Xia Xiaolan and Liu Yong had the confidence to negotiate with Huo Chenzhou.

The first issue troubling her – modifying Ning Yanfan’s design – was solved.

The second issue troubling her and Liu Yong – leveraging the 4 million yuan project’s advance payment!

With both issues resolved, why shouldn’t they take on the Nanhai Hotel project? Both concerns were equally important. With Ning Yanfan’s involvement, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t worried about ruining reputations – not just Yuanhui’s reputation, but Tang Hongen’s too!

“Miss Xia, you’re quite cautious.”

Huo Chenzhou still couldn’t resist taking a jab at Xia Xiaolan. After returning to Beijing, she’d waited four or five days before seeking him out – was she so certain Dongfeng Holdings wouldn’t cooperate with other companies?

This feeling of being at someone’s mercy made Huo Chenzhou uncomfortable!

“Manager Huo, Dongfeng Holdings is wealthy – a 4 million yuan project is nothing to them. But for Yuanhui, a project with such a large budget naturally requires careful consideration. If we didn’t think we could handle it, we wouldn’t damage our reputation. Since we’ve agreed to cooperate, we’ll give it our all.”

Xia Xiaolan remained unperturbed.

Huo Chenzhou had become a manager at Dongfeng Holdings at such a young age.

How could he understand the concerns of those starting from scratch?

Dealing with investments of millions, even if Huo Chenzhou made mistakes, he might just face mild criticism.

If Xia Xiaolan and Liu Yong made one wrong decision and lost millions, it wouldn’t be as simple as starting over… Take this 4 million yuan budget project from Dongfeng Holdings – if they messed it up, they’d lose everything they owned and still owe one or two million in debt. How could they not be cautious?

Huo Chenzhou couldn’t help but look at Xia Xiaolan again. Her charming appearance was all fake. With just two sentences, Xia Xiaolan had delayed cooperation progress by several days. Huo Chenzhou didn’t want additional complications:

“The contract is here. You can review it carefully. If Yuanhui’s proposal is successfully adopted, our company promises to give Yuanhui at least 4 million yuan worth of project work…”