50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 477 Issuance of the First Set of Treasury Bonds
Alright, that's it. There's no need to look anymore. Only the National Museum is left. Those paintings and calligraphy must have been sold off cheaply by the museum.

Seeing that it was getting late, he decided to go to the National Museum the next day to find out more.

The next morning, he checked in at the Diplomatic Building as usual. Just as he was about to leave for the museum, a news item in the newspaper caught his attention.

The Treasury Bonds Ordinance was passed, which stipulates that treasury bonds will be issued starting this year to make up for the fiscal deficit.

This is the first time the state has issued treasury bonds, with a total amount of 40 billion yuan. Urban and rural residents are required to purchase 20 billion yuan, and state-owned and collective units are required to purchase a total of 20 billion yuan.

The treasury bonds issued this time have a repayment period of 5 years, an annual interest rate of 0.4%, and a face value ranging from 10 yuan to 100,000 yuan. They cannot be used as currency and cannot be freely bought and sold.

Treasury bonds cannot be bought or sold now, and their issuance is mainly targeted at local government entities, making them somewhat mandatory.

To be honest, the interest rate on treasury bonds was relatively low at that time, only 0.4% per year. Meanwhile, the interest rate on five-year fixed deposits at banks has reached 5%.

Therefore, those who voluntarily purchase treasury bonds at this time are truly patriotic.

However, one good thing is that although its interest income is not high, it is very stable. It will not be invalid if it is not redeemed after the expiration date, and it can also appreciate in value as a collectible in the future.

Sun Zhiwei thought it was not worth it to keep so many US dollars and let them depreciate, so he might as well exchange them for treasury bonds and contribute to the country's development.

As for whether US dollars can be used to buy treasury bonds, he felt that this was not a problem, as the country was in dire need of foreign exchange.

So he used his office phone to call the branch manager's office at Cathay Bank's Shenhe branch.

Long-distance calls were not easy to make at this time; they required multiple transfers. Fortunately, his line was with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and had a high priority.

Even so, the transfers at each stop made him wait for nearly an hour.

When Cheng Damin answered the phone and said, "Hello," Sun Zhiwei almost burst into tears; the waiting was unbearable.

“Damian, this is James.”

"James? Are you in mainland China now? When did you arrive?" Sun Zhiwei didn't answer his question, but went straight to the point.

"Damin, there's something I'd like to ask you for a favor."

"You said."

“The mainland is currently issuing five-year government bonds. I would like to ask you to help me purchase some, and the money will be deducted from my savings account.”

"Is that so? I haven't received any news about it yet, but it's alright. As long as it's true, it won't be a problem."

"By the way, please don't mention my name, just buy it in the name of Cathay."

"Understood. How many do you want to buy?"

“There are five different denominations of physical treasury bonds being issued this time. Please buy 100 sets for me, based on the five denominations.”

这次的五种面值一样一张，一整套就是11万1110元，100套总价按当前官方汇率1：1.55计算，总额已经超过了700万美元。

With so much money involved, he dared not buy it in his own name. If some people in China found out, they would probably cause a huge uproar.

However, there is no problem if the purchase is made in the name of Cathay Bank. It is a normal financial operation for foreign banks to invest in bonds of other countries, which also shows that Cathay is full of confidence in the economic take-off of mainland China.

Cheng Damin was unaware that the treasury bonds issued this time included large denominations of 1 yuan and 10 yuan, and expressed his confusion as to why Sun Zhiwei only purchased 100 sets.

"James, are you sure you want to take this small amount from me?" "Haha, this is quite a lot. You won't think that way once you understand the details."

Cheng Damin understood from Sun Zhiwei's words that things weren't so simple, so he didn't ask any more questions. He figured he would find out as he went along with it.

"Okay, I'll take care of this for you."

"Also, once the physical bonds are bought back, do you need me to bring them back to Los Angeles for you?"

"Yes, please take it back with you when you go back. I'll pick it up when I have time. Thank you."

"Why are you being so polite with me? Let's just leave it at that."

After hanging up the phone, Sun Zhiwei ignored the matter and turned to leave the diplomatic building. He was going to the National Museum to inquire about information that day.

The main building of the National Museum is a magnificent auditorium-style building, which was one of the ten major projects presented to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1959.

It is located on the east side of the square, facing the Great Hall across the monument.

When it was first built, it was called the "Central Revolutionary Museum", but now it is called the "Museum of Chinese Revolutionary History".

He collects not only ancient artifacts, but also modern and contemporary artifacts and works of art.

Upon arriving at the museum, Sun Zhiwei did not immediately inquire about the calligraphy and paintings, but instead began his tour, as he had never been here before.

During his visit, he discovered a misconception he had. He realized that 'modern' doesn't refer to the present time, and 'contemporary' doesn't refer to the present era.

He learned from the guide's explanation that the terms "modern," "modern," and "contemporary" refer to different periods of time in different contexts.

For example, in the field of calligraphy and painting, 'modern' refers to works of calligraphy and painting from 1840 to 1949; 'contemporary' refers to works after 1949.

'Contemporary' is a movable time period, generally referring to the last ten years.

No wonder some of the collections here are called modern and contemporary art.

He discovered that there was a foreign visitor service department in the museum, and according to regulations, there was a special standard for receiving foreign visitors, which was 3 yuan per person.

However, in actual reception, this old rule cannot be rigidly implemented at all, because the 3 yuan reception standard is simply impossible to operate. If guests are offended, they will have to bear the responsibility.

As a result, they could only entertain guests at a loss, which led to their long-term predicament of exceeding their hospitality expenses.

To subsidize its expenses, the museum had to consider selling off the paintings and calligraphy that had accumulated in its warehouse.

So, starting last year, they cleaned up the warehouse and set prices for each painting and calligraphy piece.

Wu Zuoren's paintings were sold for 5 yuan each, Liu Bingsen's paintings for only 6 to 8 cents each, Li Keran's and Lu Yanshao's paintings for 8 yuan each, Huang Binhong's paintings were sold for as low as 1 yuan each, and Wang Xuetao's paintings were priced at 12 yuan per foot.

Even with such low prices, the foreign guests service department failed to sell many paintings.

This year, the Foreign Guests Service Department finally became unsustainable, and the more than 9000 modern and contemporary Chinese paintings and calligraphy works piled up in the warehouse became a hot potato, urgently needing to be disposed of cheaply.

However, the news is currently only circulating among the museum's leadership and has not yet reached the ears of ordinary employees.

(End of this chapter)