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

Chapter 743 The real intention is not in the wine, but here.

At that moment, Zhang Dongwen was sitting at her desk in the office, intently reviewing documents, when her phone suddenly vibrated. She glanced down at it and saw that the caller ID showed Fang Qingye.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she pressed the answer button.

"Hello, Dongwen, this is Qingye." Fang Qingye's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hello," Zhang Dongwen replied softly.

Are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you to dinner.

"Sorry, Aoba, I have to work overtime tonight."

"And...what about tomorrow?"

"Qingye, if it's just a meal, there's really no need for us old classmates to be so polite. If you want to ask about 'Jinghai Anying-Intelligent Manufacturing Phase I,' I'm sorry, I've already reported everything that needs to be said to your President Chen and President Gao. I have no right to disclose any other information. This is my professional ethics and compliance bottom line, and I hope you can understand."

"Hmm...I understand. Okay, I won't bother you anymore."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Dongwen couldn't concentrate on her work and just stared blankly at the report in her hand.

She had a vague premonition—perhaps starting with this phone call today, the faint affection between her and her classmate Fang Qingye would also vanish.

On the other end, Fang Qingye also fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, he came to his senses and picked up his phone to dial another number—to Liu Shuai.

He got straight to the point: "Liu Shuai, are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together, and I can ask you some business-related questions."

"Oh? A high-ranking bank president is actually asking me for business advice?" Liu Shuai joked, but inwardly he was startled.

Fang Qingye rarely discussed the specific business of Jinghai Bank with him, so this sudden call was anything but ordinary.

"Okay, where is it?"

"It's the same 'Old Shanghai Cuisine' restaurant you treated us to a couple of days ago, the Lujiazui branch, at 6:30 pm."

"OK, I'm here on time."

Fang Qingye hung up the phone, hurriedly stuffed several documents into her briefcase, and called out to the outer room, "Hu Lingling, tell Yue Kai to prepare the car to go to Shanghai!"

At 6:30 p.m., Fang Qingye and Liu Shuai arrived on time in the private room of "Old Shanghai Cuisine". This time, it was just the two of them.

"Qingye, is something urgent?" Liu Shuai asked as soon as he entered the room, taking off his suit jacket.

"I have something to take care of, let's eat and talk," Fang Qingye said with a smile.

"Okay, then I won't drink today."

They casually ordered four dishes and chatted as they ate. Fang Qingye told Liu Shuai about the thorough investigation that Jinghai Bank was conducting into its off-balance-sheet business, her doubts about the wealth management products guaranteed by Goldman Sachs China, and the background of the investigation.

"You mean Zhang Dongwen was involved in designing this financial product? She should know everything, right? Didn't you ask her privately?" Liu Shuai asked.

"I asked. Before I could even get to the point, she stated directly that she had no right to disclose anything." Fang Qingye picked up her teacup, her tone calm.

“Oh…” A complicated look flashed across Liu Shuai’s face, then he smiled and said, “I can understand. After all, she works at Goldman Sachs, and her professional discipline is what it is.”

“Yes, that’s why I said I understand.” Fang Qingye smiled. “That’s why I wanted to ask you to help me analyze it. I’ve brought all the relevant information.”

He was about to take the document out of his briefcase when Liu Shuai stopped him. "No need to look. I trust your professional judgment. Besides, your suspicions aren't unfounded. One of the key focuses of the government's crackdown on off-balance-sheet business of commercial banks is the cooperation between domestic banks and foreign banks like Goldman Sachs—they're too shrewd."

As Liu Shuai spoke, he took out a pack of "Huazi" cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to Fang Qingye, and when Fang Qingye shook his head, Liu Shuai lit one for himself.

Amidst the rising smoke, he looked at Fang Qingye: "Actually, you came to me not to have me analyze the financial statements, but to put pressure on Goldman Sachs to issue a legally binding 'Representations and Warranties' letter, right?"

“Yes. Or, the part of the professional financial agreement they signed with the three companies that involves fund security and default clauses would also work; I don’t need the whole thing.” Fang Qingye paused and smiled.
"This investment involved $1.8 million flowing overseas, which falls under the scope of your CBRC's fund supervision, right?"

"Haha..." Liu Shuai laughed, "Look at you, you even thought of what I should say when I go to Goldman Sachs."

“Isn’t that right? You’re the deputy director of the Foreign Bank Supervision Department now, so this is exactly within your job responsibilities.” Fang Qingye leaned back, shifting to a more comfortable position.

Liu Shuai took a drag of his cigarette, pondered for a few seconds, and slowly said, "Qingye, you're setting a trap for me... Capital outflow doesn't mean it's illegal, and our CBRC's early warning system didn't alert us to any problems with this transaction. Besides, hundreds of billions of dollars are remitted overseas every day, so 1.8 million is really nothing. What reason do I have to investigate them?"

“You must have a way… otherwise you wouldn’t have been promoted from a regular employee to a deputy director in less than eight years.” Fang Qingye smiled as she looked at him.

"Haha... Thanks for the compliment!" Liu Shuai laughed. "Alright, old classmate, I'll help you with this."

"OK, I'll wait for your message."

……

Two days later, in Lujiazui, at Goldman Sachs' China headquarters.

In the bright office of the vice president, Lin Wei and Zhang Dongwen were looking at a complex financial planning design draft on the desk, exchanging professional opinions in hushed tones.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the office door, and Lin Wei's assistant walked in with slightly hurried steps, breaking the concentration.

“Mr. Lin,” the assistant said cautiously, “I just received a formal phone call from the Foreign Bank Supervision Department of the Municipal Banking Regulatory Bureau. Their Deputy Director Liu Shuai will be leading a team to our bank at 2:30 this afternoon to conduct a working survey on off-balance-sheet business.”

"Deputy Director Liu?" Lin Wei looked up from the document, her brows furrowing slightly as she quickly searched her memory for the somewhat familiar name. "Is he Liu Shuai from the China Banking Regulatory Commission... who was recently promoted?"

"Yes, Mr. Lin, it's him," the assistant confirmed.

“Hehe,” Lin Wei chuckled, leaning back in her chair. “A new broom sweeps clean, I understand. Since it’s a routine survey, let’s prepare according to the standard reception procedures. Compile a list of relevant, non-confidential off-balance-sheet business data from the recent period, making sure it’s standardized and complete.”

"Understood, I'll arrange it right away." The assistant acknowledged the order and turned to leave quickly.

Lin Wei was already used to these routine research visits from regulatory agencies. It was almost the norm in the domestic financial industry, and she didn't immediately notice anything unusual, simply regarding it as a routine reception task in her daily work.

She composed herself and refocused her attention on the plan in front of her. Just as she was about to continue the discussion with Zhang Dongwen that had been interrupted, her gaze swept across the other side and she keenly noticed something unusual—Zhang Dongwen's previously focused expression had disappeared, replaced by a bloodless pallor. Her fingers, gripping the pen, unconsciously tightened, and her knuckles even turned slightly white and trembled from the force.

"Dongwen?" Lin Wei's tone was concerned. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

“No, no, Mr. Lin…” Zhang Dongwen’s voice was lower than usual, with a hint of tension.

She raised her eyes, her gaze filled with complex and indescribable emotions. She paused slightly, as if organizing her thoughts.

"The deputy director Liu who came from the China Banking Regulatory Commission is also my classmate from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. And he has a very good personal relationship with Fang Qingye from Jinghai Bank."

Lin Wei was slightly taken aback at first, then her expression turned serious, and her gaze became sharp and deep.

It turned out to be the case.

The old drunkard's heart is not in the wine, but here.

(End of this chapter)