Chapter 72: Borrowed One Billion – Third Update

Huang He spent the entire morning in the bank manager’s office. At noon, he hosted a meal at the finest restaurant in Wenzhou, and the two sides continued their negotiations in a private room, talking from lunch straight through to dinnertime. Only then did they finally reach an agreement.

The terms were that Jiangnan Group would first settle all of its outstanding debts for the initial phase. The remaining loans would then be restructured and consolidated into a single new loan of one billion yuan, to be repaid over five years. The first installment would fall due in October 2002, at which point they would need to repay over two hundred million yuan.

Ordinarily, such negotiations wouldn’t have taken so long, but Huang He insisted on a one-billion loan—take it or leave it. Deputy Manager Wang tried every which way to lower the amount, as the figure was daunting even for him. But Huang He’s stance was unyielding, and in the end, Wang had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.

The very next day, Jiangnan Group’s finance staff began processing all the necessary paperwork with GS Bank. With that, the arrangement was set in stone. Within two weeks at most, the ten-digit sum of one billion yuan would be deposited into Huang He’s bank account.

“With this loan agreement signed, the branch manager’s seat is practically mine!” As the ink dried, Deputy Manager Wang looked at the manager’s office plaque, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.

From the neighboring office, belonging to Deputy Manager Liu, some agitated voices could be heard. This only made Wang feel more triumphant.

The higher-ups, in their relentless drive for performance, had set the rules clearly: whoever brings in more deposits and loans rises higher. The branch manager was set to retire in half a month, and until now, Wang had always lagged behind Liu by a cumulative fifty million in performance. He’d racked his brains but could find no way to make up that gap; after all, fifty million was no trifling sum. Even in Wenzhou in 2001, there were precious few bold enough to borrow that much at once, and most of those had already been cajoled or coerced by the bank into taking on hefty loans.

So, even if Huang He hadn’t come looking, Wang would have sought him out to offer a loan.

While reviewing the bank’s client portfolio, Wang had noticed a dramatic shift in Jiangnan Group’s cash flow. The previous year, they’d had no income at all, with funds only going out. Now, that had completely reversed: a steady stream of money was flowing in, almost daily, albeit in smaller sums. What did this mean? It meant Jiangnan Group had established a stable sales network and could reliably sell its products. The company’s biggest crisis was over—now was the dawn of unprecedented growth.

Based on Wang’s experience, when a company enters such a phase, it typically enjoys at least three years of golden prosperity, becoming a top-tier client for the bank, with no concerns about repayment risk. Naturally, that made Jiangnan Group the prime candidate for a large loan. In all of Wenzhou, only Huang He could help Wang fulfill his fifty-million performance deficit.

That was why Wang had so eagerly courted Huang He into taking a loan. Of course, the leap from five hundred million to one billion was never part of Wang’s plan. It was only after much inner turmoil that he reluctantly agreed.

“But Manager, isn’t a one-billion loan a bit excessive? It’s well above the bank’s upper limit. If there’s an audit...” Wang’s secretary voiced his worries.

“It won’t be a problem. Since the bank is urging us to bring in more loans, they won’t nitpick over these details. Besides, I’m hardly alone—everyone up and down the branch is doing the same. Headquarters won’t target just me. At least until something happens to Jiangnan, we won’t be in any danger; on the contrary, we’ll be showered with commendations and awards!” Wang replied, full of confidence. “What’s more, with this billion-yuan loan on the books, the branch manager’s post is as good as mine. No one else will dare take on such a massive risk—so I’ll have to stay in charge until Jiangnan Group pays it all back.”

“Then aren’t we tying our fates to Jiangnan Group’s, for better or worse?” the secretary asked.

“That’s right. But look at Huang He—just three months ago, he resurrected Jiangnan Leather Factory and turned it into Jiangnan Group. If anyone’s worth betting on, it’s him!” Wang clenched his fist.

He was already fifty. In banking, city-level managers and deputy managers typically retire at fifty-eight. Considering term lengths, if he didn’t make provincial branch manager by fifty-five, he’d never get another promotion. Wang still had dreams. He wanted one more shot—if he could step up to branch manager at this age, he’d have five years to make his mark and climb to the provincial level, reaching the peak of his career.

As for becoming a head office manager, Wang never even entertained the thought. That was utterly unattainable.

For these reasons, Wang finally agreed to push the loan limit from five hundred million to a full billion—staking his future on this gamble.

But what Wang couldn’t have imagined was that after his secretary clocked out that evening, instead of heading home, he slipped into a waiting luxury car and was driven to the most extravagant nightclub in Wenzhou. Surrounded by a bevy of alluring women in the plushest private suite, he soon found himself face-to-face with none other than Boss Huang, whom he’d just seen that day in the office.

“Boss Xu, you’ve worked hard this time!” Huang raised his glass in gratitude.

“Not at all. In truth, I admire your boldness even more, Boss Huang. I only passed along a few bits of information,” Xu replied with a sigh.

“Haha, but your information is worth a billion yuan!” Huang laughed heartily, while the women’s excitement visibly soared at the mention of such sums.

To think these two men were discussing billions! That meant Huang must be a billionaire! The thought made the women even more eager to cozy up to both Huang and Xu.

“You ladies don’t need to keep me company tonight—take care of Boss Xu instead.” Huang deliberately called him ‘Boss’ rather than ‘Secretary’, so none of the women would let anything slip.

“Bring them in!” Huang clapped his hands, and another twenty or so stunning beauties filed in, bringing the total to thirty, each one a vision of charm and grace.

“Old Xu, I’ve paid for all of them—enjoy yourself as you like!” Huang laughed. “And by the way, I hid a Swiss bank card in the cleavage of one of these ladies. You’ll have to search for it yourself!”

“Boss Huang, this is too much—I don’t think I can handle it!” Xu’s legs nearly buckled at the sight.

“Don’t worry, just have a go. The space here is big enough, and the girls are lively—there’s nothing to worry about!” Huang laughed, then stood up. “But I won’t keep you company—I need to head home.”

“With all these beauties, you’re not staying?” Xu asked, puzzled.

“No, someone’s waiting for me at home. I can’t let her down, can I?” Huang replied with a mischievous grin.

“Ah, but no matter how good a wife is, she can’t compare to wildflowers like these,” Xu sighed.

“No, it’s not my wife waiting for me—it’s my sister-in-law,” Huang said.

Xu was stunned, then broke into an envious smile. “I see! Wildflowers may be alluring, but nothing compares to a sister-in-law!”

Huang left, his laughter echoing behind him. Little did anyone know, he had not one, but five sisters-in-law.