I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 645 "Is this the difference between public ownership and private ownership?"

"Wow, so beautiful!" Lily was immediately drawn to the large expanse of blooming roses as soon as she entered the nursery.

The nursery was truly beautiful in spring. Besides roses, tulips bloomed in red, yellow, and purple. Pansies were purple and white, hibiscus were blue and white, cosmos were a pale pink, and of course, there were cymbidiums with yellow-green or emerald green flowers and a rich fragrance.

"Yezi, your garden is so big! It's even bigger than mine!" Lily couldn't help but exclaim.

Beautiful lady, this isn't a garden, it's a nursery.

However, nowadays, besides planting indoor bonsai and green plants, half of the land in the Four Seasons Nursery is used for various flowers. Apart from supplying some to flower shops in the county town, most of the flowers are for their own enjoyment.

If you say it's a garden, then it's a garden.

Huang Tao, who was standing next to her, also said, "Ye Zi, your nursery is much prettier than the videos you sent me."

"The main thing is to plant more flowers. Feel free to look at them if you like, and pick them if you want. Don't be shy," Fang Qingye said with a smile.

Lunch was at the nursery. Fang Qingye's grandmother cooked for her: braised three-yellow chicken, crab roe fish balls, stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork slices, and stir-fried celery with dried tofu. Knowing that Lily was a foreign girl and couldn't use chopsticks, her grandmother thoughtfully prepared a soup spoon for her.

I don't know how Lily felt about the food, but Fang Qingye certainly enjoyed it.

After dinner, Fang Qingye personally drove the two girls out for a trip, visiting Nanxin Lake Park, Dinghui Temple, and Baipu Ancient Town.
Around 5 p.m., we drove back to the nursery.

The car drove directly into the nursery courtyard, where Fang Qingye discovered a strange middle-aged man sitting and chatting with her grandfather.

Seeing Fang Qingye get out of the car, the man quickly stood up and greeted her, "President Fang, hello."

"Who are you?" Fang Qingye looked at the somewhat unassuming middle-aged man.

"President Fang, have you forgotten? I am Lu Hongbing from Eping Village, Jiangping Town. You helped us solve the problem of selling peanuts a couple of years ago."

"Oh, it's you! No wonder you looked familiar," Fang Qingye said with a smile.

Two years ago, when Qingye had just taken over Jinghai Bank, Lu Hongbing was unable to repay his loan on time due to unsold peanuts.

Later, Fang Qingye contacted COFCO's China Grain and Oil Group through Qiao Yongfeng. The group not only purchased a large quantity of peanuts but also signed contract farming agreements with local farmers, completely solving the problem of selling peanuts in the area. This incident was also reported in the newspaper as a typical example of Jinghai Bank's assistance to farmers.

Now that Lu Hongbing has suddenly come to my house, I wonder what he wants this time?

Fang Qingye sat down, and the two girls sat down beside her, watching curiously. Huang Tao even acted as a translator in a low voice.

"How was the peanut harvest last year?" Fang Qingye asked with concern.

"Last year was relatively good. In the past two years, we have signed contract farming agreements with Zhonggu Grain and Oil, which has given farmers peace of mind, so everyone's enthusiasm is relatively high."

"Oh"

"President Fang, I also brought you some peanuts, please have a taste."

Sure enough, Fang Qingye saw a snakeskin bag of peanuts placed by the side of the yard.

"This is our improved new variety. The kernels are plump, and experts say it's rich in resveratrol, which can reduce oxidative stress." "Thank you," Fang Qingye said with a smile.

"President Fang, I'm here today to ask you for a favor," Lu Hongbing said.

"you say?"

"It's still about the loan. I borrowed 25 yuan from your Liulin branch. I hope you can approve my loan as soon as possible. I urgently need to buy equipment."

"Have you submitted all your application materials?" Fang Qingye asked.

“All the materials were submitted a long time ago, but the approval has been delayed. The national subsidy for agricultural machinery has a deadline, and I was worried that I would miss it, so I had no choice but to swallow my pride and come to you,” Lu Hongbing explained.

"Didn't you go to the bank to check the situation?"

“I went to ask yesterday, and the bank staff said that there are a lot of loan applications right now, and they can’t handle them all. They have to process them in the order they come in, and they told me to wait patiently.”

Fang Qingye nodded: "Recently, there have indeed been many farmers applying for small loans, and the bank is a bit short-staffed, please understand. How about this, you go back first, and I'll call and ask about the situation. As long as your materials are compliant and the procedures are completed, I guarantee that things won't be delayed for you, okay?"

"Thank you so much, thank you so much!" Lu Hongbing said repeatedly.

After Lu Hongbing left, Fang Qingye washed the peanuts he had given her and handed a plate to the two girls: "Try them, these are our Nanxin specialty small-pod peanuts, they're also good to eat raw."

Lily peeled a peach, put it in her mouth and chewed it slowly. She looked at Fang Qingye and said, "Yezi, Taozi and I are good friends. I heard about you from him in America, and today I saw your most authentic side. I have a question for you."

"what is the problem?"

"You're guiding your company to develop China's Corda, trying to compete with international investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for the right to speak in digital finance, but today you're talking to an ordinary Chinese farmer about a loan of less than $3. I find this incredible and contradictory. It's like a Wall Street tycoon suddenly going to the Appalachian Mountains in the United States to talk to small farmers about the funds needed to grow tobacco. It's unimaginable in the United States."

Fang Qingye chuckled and said, "What's so incredible about that? Whether it's developing China's Corda or talking to that farmer about a loan, it's all about trying to solve the problems facing the country, just on different scales."

Lily seemed even more confused upon hearing this.

"I understand that you're developing China's Corda to solve the country's problems, but loans? Isn't that an internal banking business? Whether to lend or not is the bank's decision. What does it have to do with the country?"

“In our country, that’s not necessarily just a matter for the banks,” Fang Qingye replied, then added, “I attended a meeting in the city this morning.”

Fang Qingye briefly summarized the meeting's content: "You see, providing small loans to farmers is not just a simple banking business in our country; it rises to a political level!"

“But it’s unfair to the banks if we force them to comply, because it will reduce their efficiency and increase their costs!” Lily said.

"Yes, in our country, enterprises, especially larger ones, whether private or state-owned, have their own social responsibilities. Sometimes, for the sake of social responsibility, they have to sacrifice some of their economic interests. For example, banks are generally unwilling to do microloans, but the government will force them to! Otherwise, banks will only lend to those profitable enterprises, and these farmers may not get a penny!"

"Oh, Yezi, I finally understand a little bit now. This is the difference between public ownership and private ownership, isn't it?"

Fang Qingye chuckled and said, "I guess so, but let's not talk about these grand topics. I want to ask you, Lily, you also studied finance, are you familiar with the situation of microloans for farmers in the United States?"

(End of this chapter)