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

Chapter 767 Understanding how to balance human relationships and risks, knowing when to advance and when to retreat
"President Fang, I'd like to report the results of the loan application for the building materials market." Chen Yu's voice was more composed than usual, carrying a hint of confidence that he had accomplished his task.

report?

Fang Qingye certainly didn't need to listen to a junior employee report to her, but she understood Chen Yu's little scheme. In the end, she nodded and looked at the ginkgo tree in the yard.

"Go ahead."

"Following your previous advice, I focused on following up with Mr. Li. After reassessing his son's business loan project, we approved a small amount of start-up capital."

Today, Chen Yu spoke at a steady pace and with much more confidence. "Mr. Li was very grateful and signed our bank's QR code on the spot. In addition, he acted as guarantor. Three other merchants in the market who had good relationships with him also applied for joint guarantee loans. The amounts were not large and the process has just been completed."

Ok?
Fang Qingye turned her gaze from the tree to Chen Yu.

The result was better than he had expected. Chen Yu had used that message to break the deadlock and also knew how to leverage the trust of core merchants to influence a small circle. This is a very practical and effective working method in county-level finance.

This was somewhat unexpected. The kid not only understood his hints, but also knew how to leverage key moments to manipulate the entire network of relationships, which meant he had grasped a bit of the tricks of doing business.

"Hmm." Fang Qingye nodded slightly in agreement. "You need to be aware of the risks of joint guarantees and follow up properly."

"I understand, Bank Manager." Chen Yu nodded, then hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice and continuing.

"But... I went to the biggest building materials store in the market, 'Yongfeng Building Materials,' four times, and in the end, Mr. Zhang still chose the Rural Commercial Bank. He said... the interest rate there is lower and the approval is faster."

When Chen Yu said this, he subconsciously straightened his back as if preparing to accept criticism.

Fang Qingye showed no surprise after hearing this, and her tone remained calm: "Understood. Take what you should take and let go of what you should let go. You did well."

Chen Yu was visibly taken aback. Instead of being criticized, he received praise, which immediately put him at ease.

"Thank you, bank manager. I plan to go to the building materials market again later. There's another place that's a bit more willing to cooperate, I'll try to get their offer again."

"Go ahead," Fang Qingye said, turning and going upstairs.

After resting in his office for a while, Fang Qingye prepared to go to the county government for a meeting. The county financial office was holding a work report meeting on the implementation of the "Guidelines for Risk Management of Off-Balance Sheet Business of Commercial Banks (Revised Draft for Comments)" recently issued by the People's Bank of China, and the top leader and bank president were required to attend.

When he had Yue Kai drive to the bank building, he immediately saw Chen Yu pushing an electric scooter, seemingly preparing to go out on business again.

Looking at the blazing sun in the sky, Fang Qingye rolled down the car window and called out, "Chen Yu."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu immediately jogged over: "Bank manager?"

"I'm going to a meeting at the county government. I'll drop you off at the entrance of the building materials market on my way."

Chen Yu was stunned for a moment, then quickly thanked him, pushed the electric bike back to the parking shed, and then somewhat awkwardly opened the passenger door and got in.

The car was silent, save for the soft hum of the air conditioning. Fang Qingye skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point, her tone like a student asking a question:

"Yongfeng Building Materials chose the Rural Commercial Bank. Besides the interest rate, what do you think is the core reason?" Chen Yu obviously didn't expect Fang Qingye to continue the previous topic in the car. After thinking for a few seconds, he said, "I think... it's not entirely about the interest rate. The loan officer at the Rural Commercial Bank seems to be from the same village as Boss Zhang. He's probably more trustworthy and feels easier to talk to if there are any problems later."

"Hmm." Fang Qingye remained noncommittal. "If he runs out of cash next week and comes back to you for a loan, will you still refuse?"

Chen Yu's silence lasted longer this time. "...We will postpone it, but the conditions will be stricter." He carefully chose his words, "because the reason he is coming to us now is most likely an emergency, which means the risk is higher."

Fang Qingye nodded slightly and stopped talking, turning her gaze to the window.

The car quickly arrived at the market entrance. Chen Yu got out of the car and thanked them again.

"Go ahead and do your thing," Fang Qingye said to Yue Kai as she closed the car window. "Let's go."

The car merged into the traffic.

Fang Qingye closed her eyes slightly. It seemed that her distant cousin had performed quite well: he knew how to balance relationships and risks, and knew when to advance and when to retreat. This tough nut hadn't been hard to crack; she should give him more opportunities—of course, that depended on whether he could seize them.

As for Chen Yu, he watched the departing vehicles until they disappeared from sight. Then he turned his gaze back to the entrance of the building materials market, took a deep breath, and felt the air filled with the smells of cement, metal, and paint.

Instead of heading to the merchant whose tone had softened somewhat, he first turned into a nearby shop that had already installed Jinghai Bank's QR code for selling floor tiles.

"Boss Wang, how's the code working? How's the turnover these past two days?" Chen Yu smiled and took out a pack of Su cigarettes from the left pocket of his suit, then handed one to the other man with a smile.

Mr. Wang took a look and saw that it was made of soft gold dust, so he accepted it.

"Hey, not bad, not bad!" Boss Wang took the cigarette and watched Chen Yu light it for him: "Manager Chen, it's just that the network is sometimes not very good, a little slow."

"I've noted this down. I'll have the tech team check if it's a signal problem later." Chen Yu took out his phone and carefully wrote it down. After chatting for a few more minutes, he casually inquired about the "Hongfa Stone" shop next door.

After obtaining some updated information from Boss Wang, Chen Yu leisurely walked towards "Hongfa Stone".

The owner of Hongfa Stone is surnamed Zhao. He is a lean middle-aged man who is bending over to count a batch of stones. He turns around and greets Chen Yu, "Manager Chen, you're here again." His gaze then returns to the batch of stones.

"Mr. Zhao, you go ahead with your work, I'll be fine later." Chen Yu stood aside, not rushing to get to the point, but watching attentively from the side.

After Mr. Zhao finished his work, Chen Yu stepped forward and handed him a piece of "soft gold sand," pointing to the stones the boss was counting and saying, "Mr. Zhao, is this batch of Fujian green? It seems like more projects are using this lately."

Boss Zhao looked at him with some surprise: "Oh, you know about this?"

"I've been running around the market a lot, just observing and learning blindly." Chen Yu smiled modestly, then continued, "What about the issue of working capital for purchasing goods that we talked about last time? How have you thought about it? Our bank has recently optimized the approval speed for this type of cash flow loan."

Mr. Zhao wiped his sweat and sighed, "Little Chen, to be honest, the Rural Commercial Bank also contacted me. They offered a good loan amount and a lower interest rate. I'm also familiar with their loan officer, Old Liu..."

(End of this chapter)