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

Chapter 646, 645: "Because you are the peach and he is the leaf, you are a perfect match."

“Ha, Yezi, you’ve come to the right place. Lily’s family is in Iowa. Her father is a rancher with 80 hectares of land. They grow corn or soybeans on a small farm and often have to take out loans,” Huang Tao said from the side.

"Lily, tell us quickly." Fang Qingye immediately became interested.

“Okay, in the United States, microloans are primarily provided not by traditional commercial banks, but by a system supported by the government, cooperatives, and specialized agencies, such as the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Farm Credit System, which is equivalent to your country’s Agricultural Bank,” Lily said.

"It should be equivalent to our country's rural credit cooperatives," Huang Tao corrected from the side.

"Of course, there are also some community banks, local commercial banks, non-profit organizations, and foundations. Regardless of which institution you apply to, farmers usually need to prepare the following materials."

"What materials?" Fang Qingye asked.

"A business plan is the most important document. It should detail your production plans, marketing and sales strategies, and include detailed financial projections (revenue, expenses, cash flow). It should also include your experience in managing your team."

"In addition, a good credit history is fundamental. Even new farmers need to provide personal tax records and proof of assets and liabilities, and of course, collateral or guarantees such as equipment, livestock or future harvests."

After listening to Lily's long-winded explanation, Fang Qingye smiled wryly and said, "If we follow the American standard, more than 90% of our farmers simply cannot obtain loans from institutions."

"Why?" Lily looked at Fang Qingye in confusion.

"Many farmers here, especially the elderly, may have never dealt with banks before and are 'credit novices.' They also lack properties or land that banks would accept as collateral, and they can't find suitable guarantors," Huang Tao chimed in from the side.

"Finally, just like in the United States, banks require business licenses, bank statements, and reports. However, small farmers and family farms may not have complete documentation, and some may not even have proper accounts, making it impossible to meet these stringent requirements."

"Oh, so it must be difficult for you to get loans at your bank," Lily said with a smile.

"No matter how difficult it is, we have to do it. The task assigned by the higher-ups must be completed!" Fang Qingye said.

"Stop chattering, it's getting dark," Grandma called out as she came out of the house. "Come in and eat."

Tonight's dinner was a plate of noodles, Fang Qingye's favorite dish. It was made with pickled mustard greens and shredded pork, along with eel bone broth. Fang Qingye and Huang Tao ate it with great relish, but poor Lili wasn't very good at using chopsticks and ate the noodles with a spoon.

After dinner, Fang Qingye accompanied the two girls for a stroll in the street.

After several years of rapid development, Nanxin County has seen rapid urban construction. Walking along the wide streets, one is greeted by flashing neon lights, giving it the feel of a metropolis.

However, Fang Qingye still prefers the old street, with its numerous ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, featuring blue bricks and gray tiles, flying eaves and upturned corners, exuding a simple and elegant charm.

The two girls stayed at the Yangtze River Hotel that night, and after breakfast the next morning, they drove back to Shanghai.

The Mercedes was driving on the highway. Huang Tao was driving, and Lily was sitting in the passenger seat watching Huang Tao.

"peach."

"Ok?"

"Now I finally understand why you like Fang Qingye?"

"why?"

"Because you are the peach and he is the leaf, you are a perfect match."

"Pfft." Huang Tao was amused by this remark.

"Just kidding. I think he's a very charming man, not just because he's rich. In Chinese Confucian terms, he has a strong sense of national and familial responsibility. Of course, his garden is also very beautiful." "Okay, stop talking nonsense. He already has a wife."

"His wife, Ms. Bai Ou, is also a very beautiful woman. Peach, I suddenly realized something."

"what is the problem?"

“Look at your names: Leaf, Peach, White Lotus—they’re all plants. It seems like you all have a connection,” Lily suddenly exclaimed, making a big fuss.

"According to you, there is a classic Chinese mythological novel called 'Investiture of the Gods,' which contains the line: 'Red lotus, white lotus root, green lotus leaf, the three religions are originally one family.' It should be a woman named Lian or Hehua who is entangled with me, not me, Peach."

Huang Tao said self-deprecatingly.

"There's this novel too? I want to see it. Is there an English translation?" Lily suddenly became interested.

"I think so, but let's not talk about that. After we get back to Shanghai, I'll take you to Hangzhou again, so you can feel the feeling that there's heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below!"

The next morning, Fang Qingye convened a meeting of bank presidents early to convey the spirit of Friday's city meeting and some of Mayor Hu's thoughts.

The meeting's content didn't cause much concern among the participants, given that Jinghai Bank had done a fairly good job. However, when they heard some of Mayor Hu's ideas, they began to discuss them amongst themselves.

"As far as I know, County Chief Miao of Wuyang County next door is personally leading this work. It is said that Wuyang County Agricultural Cooperative is preparing to launch a 'familiar risk control' system aimed at solving the last mile of the credit process: the pain points of 'farmers lacking collateral and not understanding finance.'" Zhao Wenjun was speaking.

"Risk control based on acquaintances?" Deng Hui looked at him.

"Yes, this is what their county credit union is implementing. It adopts the 'offline familiar community' model, establishing a localized team of loan officers in townships. The loan officers are often locals who are familiar with the local situation and personal networks. Through visits and casual conversations, the loan officers learn about the farmers' character, reputation, family situation, business capabilities, and other 'soft information' as an important way of risk control."

“Isn’t this just an enhanced version of our traditional microcredit methods?” Deng Hui said.

"yes.

“But I don’t think this is the future direction of credit risk control,” Deng Hui said, expressing her opposition: “In modern society, with the increasing mobility of the population, this approach will become less and less effective.”

“But it fits the characteristics of the credit union itself very well.” Fang Qingye smiled. “I also talked to County Chief Miao. This fully utilizes the advantages of the credit union. After all, they used to have loan officers in many villages. Of course, we can’t follow this path.”

As Fang Qingye spoke, she glanced at Chen Danlu, who was somewhat silent.

“Yesterday, I hosted another female PhD from the United States. Her family owns a small farm in Iowa, and she told me about the characteristics of microcredit in the United States.”

Fang Qingye repeated what Lily had told him yesterday, and then asked Chen Danlu, "You were the vice president of Southern Bank in the United States, is that right?"

“This female PhD’s summary is very comprehensive.” Chen Danlu nodded: “After I returned to China, I also thought carefully about the differences between China and the United States in agricultural microcredit. I think the biggest differences between the two are two points.”

"First: The United States has a relatively developed credit system, including personal tax records and proof of assets and liabilities, which banks can use to determine a person's ability to repay debts."

"Secondly, although there are many small and medium-sized farmers in the United States, they are not on the same scale as Chinese farmers," Chen Danlu said with a smile. "We are dealing with a larger number of farmers with smaller economic units than the United States."

"President Chen's analysis is absolutely correct. I think there's a solution to these two major challenges facing domestic microcredit," Fang Qingye said slowly.

"Big data".

(End of this chapter)