Liu Jun suddenly felt enlightened after hearing this. Credit officers he’d dealt with before had vaguely mentioned similar things, but he hadn’t taken it to heart and never explored deeply. Only when Cui Bingbing laid it out so directly did he truly understand how a company in the industrial zone, whose profits weren’t that great, had visibly expanded rapidly in scale over two years with startling development momentum. He had always been puzzled about where that company got so much money. “But with such tight cash flow, wouldn’t it be terrible if you couldn’t come up with money to repay the bank when fixed loan payments are due?” But as soon as Liu Jun asked this question, he had the answer himself. Underground money houses everywhere, extremely convenient and quick private financing – even with high interest rates, using them to adjust positions for a few days was still feasible. “Oh, I get it. This operating method only has two risks: first, land price fluctuations; second, relationships with banks. Am I right?”
“You are quite sharp. But the biggest prerequisite is that the enterprise has potential, otherwise, banks wouldn’t dare take risks.”
“It’s just… do you always speak so directly about banking secrets to business owners you’ve only met once? Aren’t you afraid your bank will give you a yellow card warning?”
“Since I started in this business, you’re the first one I’ve taught these secrets so unreservedly. Hehe, flattering enough?”
Liu Jun felt his hair stand on end, deeply doubting the authenticity of the business card in his pocket. These days, especially at the wealthy and powerful ICBC city branch, could they produce such an approachable credit officer who went to the level of flattery? Liu Jun quickly stole a glance and saw Cui Bingbing watching him with arms crossed and a mysterious smile. His suspicions grew stronger, and he tried to quickly escape, hatching a plan. “Very enlightening. I’m always buried in the workshop and haven’t thought about these things. Uh, hasn’t your car had its oil changed in many days? The sound seems off.”
“You can tell that, too?” Cui Bingbing was extremely curious.
“Of course, this is what I do every day. Imagine the sound of your palm rubbing a wooden board versus the sound after coating your palm with thick oil – big difference.”
“Right. I went to the 4S shop for maintenance once when I’d driven a thousand kilometers. They said everything was very good, so I never went back.”
Liu Jun was shocked, pointing at the odometer: “You’ve driven this far and still haven’t changed the oil?”
This time, Cui Bingbing lost her composure and said sheepishly: “I only drive in the city, and not fast either. I wash the car often too…”
“That’s like scratching an itch through your boot. Imagine your arm rubbing against cement – after a few rubs, it would break the skin. Machinery is the same – without oil protection, it wears out quickly. Since I’ve seen this, I can’t ignore it.” Liu Jun got Cui Bingbing’s agreement and drove to the 4S shop, but they were closed. He very enthusiastically contacted a car service he knew. When they opened the hood and saw the black transmission parts, he couldn’t help laughing out loud, immediately arranging with the owner for an oil change and internal mechanical cleaning. With everything arranged and Cui Bingbing supervising on site, he quickly slipped away to Shen Huadong’s house.
Cui Bingbing was still extremely grateful, feeling that Liu Jun had delayed his appointment to help arrange everything for her as a car novice before leaving. When Liu Jun arrived at Shen Huadong’s house, he immediately asked everyone present to help find out if ICBC had a woman named Cui Bingbing. Everyone with an ICBC account helped make phone calls to inquire. After a round of questioning, the answer surprised Liu Jun – Cui Bingbing hadn’t lied to him at all. Instead, he was ridiculed mercilessly by everyone. When the Big Four banks were cold to him, he complained, but when they were nice to him, he became suspicious. It made it hard for the Big Four banks to gauge the right approach.
Everyone present was a cutting-edge friend of Shen Huadong’s who had already checked domestic and foreign websites before coming. Regarding the plane crash into the New York buildings, no one had many fresh insights – they were consistent with what Song Yunhui had proposed. Getting together was basically for fun, and after dinner, they started a mahjong game. Unable to get to the mahjong table, Liu Jun suggested finding a place to eat crabs and admire osmanthus flowers before October 11th. Everyone enthusiastically agreed, quickly planning the best location and action plan. Someone immediately called to contact crab farmers for the best crabs, while others contacted restaurants in rural areas with dense osmanthus flowers. Shen Huadong immediately uploaded the plan to a car enthusiast forum.
Watching Shen Huadong upload, Liu Jun said with a grin: “That Cui Bingbing I just mentioned is A’San who threw cake all over us at Haoyuan’s entrance and called us creamy.”
“What, that crazy woman? How is she normally? No wonder you were suspicious.”
“Go see for yourself – her car will probably need repairs until midnight.” When Liu Jun described Cui Bingbing’s car situation, several people nearby burst into laughter. Thinking that Cui Bingbing wasn’t actually nonsensical but had genuinely come to discuss serious business, which was already quite rare for a Big Four bank middle manager, Liu Jun abandoned his initial idea of keeping his distance and asked Shen Huadong’s housekeeper for a box of steamed dumplings to take to the garage.
Sure enough, he found Cui Bingbing sitting bored in the garage, swatting mosquitoes and watching TV. Seeing Liu Jun return, Cui Bingbing was overjoyed, jumping up to take the food box and thanking him repeatedly. “Mr. Liu, I thought of another reason for you – your car is too shabby. Get something with a better appearance.”
The garage owner called out loudly: “Mr. Liu’s car isn’t cheaper than yours. His horsepower roars out like a cannon – only insiders buy his kind of car.”
Cui Bingbing was surprised: “Mr. Liu, I’m increasingly curious about you. Let me find time to visit your company again – you must tell me your business philosophy.”
“No loan, no entry, hehe.”
“I’ve poured out all the central points and two basic principles of lending. What more do you want? Have you ever seen anyone as straightforward as me?”
“Never. Your attitude is abnormally good.” Liu Jun had Cui Bingbing eat the dumplings while he helped the garage owner fix the car. When the car was repaired, Liu Jun was about to pull out his wallet when Cui Bingbing was quick to press down his hand and pull out her wallet to pay the repair bill. This again surprised Liu Jun – such a good opportunity to let him pay, but Cui Bingbing was quite honest. It seemed Cui Bingbing did make a friend with each loan, and not just drinking buddies. What made Liu Jun even more uncomfortable was that Cui Bingbing insisted on driving him home, ignoring the nonsense about gentlemen being obligated to escort ladies home. But halfway through, Cui Bingbing asked Liu Jun to be her practice partner, having him accompany her driving circles around the city to improve her terrible driving skills. If Liu Jun hadn’t seen Cui Bingbing rattle off numbers like treasures, he would have wanted to unscrew her head and use it as a wooden fish drum. Fortunately, Cui Bingbing had a good temper, smilingly calling herself stupid while being incorrigible, making Liu Jun’s face turn iron-blue before she finally dumped him at the residential complex entrance and drove away laughing. As if she had come just to provoke Liu Jun’s anger.
Liu Jun was already doubtful about Cui Bingbing. Although out of politeness he called her cell phone ten minutes later to ask if she’d gotten home safely and was praised by Cui Bingbing until he blushed, he still shared his doubts with his father on the phone, wanting to know what that woman was really up to. Liu Shitang’s words nearly made Liu Jun jump up.
“Didn’t I mention that when I was home recently, I asked a friend to speak about Li XX’s daughter? That Li is now retired to the municipal political consultative conference, but this family has many siblings all holding official positions in the city – you can imagine their influence. Yesterday, my friend finally replied that Li XX quite likes your conditions and plans to arrange a time for you to meet first…”
“What’s this about, a blind date? How old-fashioned. I won’t do it.”
“I knew you’d think blind dates were old-fashioned and didn’t dare tell you. That Li XX’s daughter works at the ICBC city branch. Li XX is female, but I forgot to ask her daughter’s surname.”
“Right, some people are called so-and-so’s daughter at home, then after marriage the title changes to someone’s wife… What, city branch? Cui Bingbing was teasing me?”
“I suspect so, too. Otherwise, think about it – at a place like the city branch, ordinary people would find it hard enough to get into credit work, having to start from teller positions for several years. Not to mention becoming middle management at such a young age – impossible without some background. I’ll ask my friend to find out tomorrow.”
Liu Jun finally understood why Cui Bingbing had been smiling all evening with an attitude too good for a Big Four bank credit officer. She was secretly watching his show, and naturally, her mood was as happy as could be. Understanding this, Liu Jun was so frustrated he clawed at the wall, angry that his father had been hiding this from him.