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

Chapter 803 An Accidental Encounter at the Award Ceremony Hot Pot Restaurant

Fang Qingye carefully reviewed Chen Yu's award-winning materials.

"Since joining the company more than six months ago, this employee has focused on cultivating the traditionally challenging area of ​​the building materials market in the new district. Facing many 'tough nuts to crack' merchants who do not trust financial institutions, he persisted in visiting them and gradually won their trust with a pragmatic and sincere attitude."

"Despite numerous setbacks, he persevered and ultimately successfully secured first-time loan approvals for 12 merchants in the market, totaling 278 million yuan, and also facilitated the registration of 28 QR code payment accounts. All of the clients he acquired were new customers of the bank, and their current asset quality is excellent. More importantly, the on-the-ground promotion method he developed—'exchanging service for trust and breaking through barriers with patience'—provided valuable experience for the branch in developing similar markets."

Fang Qingye read the document but made no comment, only writing on the first page: "Reviewed, to be published and commended in a timely manner." He then signed his name.

The annual awards ceremony of Jinghai Bank was solemnly held in the magnificent conference room on the 16th floor of the new building. The venue was brightly lit, packed with people, and filled with a solemn yet enthusiastic atmosphere.

The four bank presidents sat on the stage and presented certificates and awards to the representatives of the winning organizations and individuals in turn.

The most prestigious annual collective award, the "Outstanding Contribution Award for Comprehensive Performance," has always been awarded to benchmark branches that have exceeded their targets in deposits, loans, and intermediary business income.

This honor once again went to the Pudong branch this year, marking the second consecutive year that the branch has received this accolade.

Among the 22 branches of Jinghai Bank located in the Yangtze River Delta region, the Pudong branch indeed ranks among the top in terms of the completion of these three core indicators.

The only branch that could rival it was the Huangpu branch, which almost got caught in a trap set by Goldman Sachs in June this year for a wealth management product it handled. Although the trap was eventually exposed by Fang Qingye and the crisis was averted, it still lost its eligibility for this selection.

Chen Danlu, who also serves as the head of the Pudong branch, did not accept the award in person; instead, the vice president, Zhou Zheng, accepted the award on his behalf.

The Suzhou branch, which was established less than two years ago, was awarded the title of "Advanced Unit in Deposit Business Organization"—the advantage of the wealthy and financially abundant population in southern Jiangsu is obvious. People are rich and have a lot of money.

The "Advanced Unit in Financial Services for Small and Micro Enterprises and Agriculture" award was given to Liulin Branch, the only branch of Jinghai Bank located in a town. It received this honor for its outstanding performance in serving agriculture, rural areas and farmers by being rooted in rural areas.

The "Digital Transformation Pioneer Group" award was won by the headquarters' directly affiliated business hall.

The "Pioneer Group for Expanding Intermediate Business" award went to Huijing Branch.

Next came the presentation of individual awards: "Advanced Worker" and "Deposit Marketing Pioneer". When the host announced the name of the "Pioneer in Micro and Small Business Development" and the winner "Chen Yu", Chen Yu, who was sitting in the back row of the venue, paused almost imperceptibly.

He took a deep breath, stood up, and amidst the encouraging and inquiring gazes of the crowd, walked steadily through the aisle between the seats toward the podium.

Dressed in a neatly pressed navy blue suit, his steps were fairly steady, but his slightly clenched knuckles betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

The spotlight shone on him, illuminating his young face, which had lost much of its youthful naiveté. He accepted the weighty, gold-embossed certificate of honor from the bank president, Fang Qingye, who was presenting the award.

"Congratulations." Fang Qingye smiled and shook hands with him.

"Thank you, Bank Manager." Chen Yu bowed slightly, his voice a little hoarse from nervousness.

"Come on!"

This was the only additional sentence Fang Qingye uttered while presenting certificates to all the winners.

Shortly after the awards ceremony, with the Spring Festival approaching, the bank was unusually busy.

At corporate banking counters, accountants lined up in long queues, rushing to complete year-end settlements and remittances; financial managers' phones rang incessantly as they had to deal with clients' year-end financial planning inquiries and also rush to meet their year-end targets.

The credit department was brightly lit, with account managers busy organizing annual credit files and processing backlogged loan applications to complete approvals and disbursements before the end of the year.

Fang Qingye was no exception—forget about leisure time for fishing; he went to work on time every day, but his off-get off work time was often delayed.

That morning, he had just chaired the branch's year-end settlement deployment meeting, and in the afternoon he was to listen to the performance reports from the heads of various business departments. In between, he also approved three large credit lines—all important client projects that were urgently needed to be completed before the end of the year.

Just before the end of the workday, Deng Rong, the vice president in charge of business, came in again to discuss the "opening red" business competition after the Spring Festival. By the time she finished, it was already 7 p.m. Her secretary, Hu Lingling, had already been instructed by her to leave work early. Fang Qingye tidied up the documents, left the office, and took the elevator directly to the underground parking lot—her driver, Yue Kai, was already waiting in the car as previously notified.

As Fang Qingye drove out of the bank building, she rubbed her temples and glanced at her watch. At this hour, her grandparents should have already eaten dinner, so it wouldn't be convenient to trouble them to prepare anything else.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Yue Kai, let's find a place to eat."

"How about going to Xue's Lamb Restaurant? It's cold, a lamb hot pot would be perfect," Yue Kai suggested.

"Okay, you decide." Fang Qingye closed her eyes slightly.

Xuejia Lamb Restaurant is located in Chengnan Street. People in Nanxin have a tradition of eating lamb in winter, so when Fang Qingye and her companion arrived, the restaurant was packed with customers.

The two went up to the second floor and asked for a private room that had just been cleaned.

Yue Kai skillfully picked up the menu and ordered the food—he had been following Fang Qingye for more than three years, and whenever the two dined together, he was always in charge of ordering the food, so he was already very familiar with Fang Qingye's tastes.

A plate of cold sliced ​​lamb, enoki mushrooms, winter melon slices, and tofu skin
Knowing that Fang Qingye couldn't hold her liquor and that he had to drive, Yue Kai ordered a bottle of Coke, and the two ate their meal in silence.

Just then, a commotion came from the next private room.

"Brother Yu, we have to celebrate this 'Pioneer in Small and Micro Business Development' award! Come on, let's have another drink!" A male voice with a hoarse voice said with genuine excitement.

Brother Yu? A pioneer in developing micro and small businesses?
Fang Qingye put down her drink and listened attentively.

"Hehe. A small award, nothing to mention. Come on, let's do it!" A drunken young man's voice came from behind.

This time, Fang Qingye recognized the voice; it was Chen Yu.

"Chen Yu, I heard that your cousin personally presented you with the award?" another girl's voice asked.

"He's my cousin. But don't call him that in public, call him Director Fang. My cousin hates it when people try to claim kinship!"

"Aren't we all family here? I wish I had a cousin like that, he'd have such a bright future." The girl's voice revealed envy.

"That's right, Brother Yu. If you follow your cousin, you'll easily get promoted to section chief in the future. Maybe you can even become the deputy branch manager or the branch manager."

"Hey, hey, you can't just say things like that. My cousin said that to work in a bank, you have to be able to endure hardship, you can't just coast along. Besides, I'm just a junior business manager now, I'm far from being qualified."

"With your cousin around, it's only a matter of time."

Chen Yu chuckled twice but did not refute.

"Brother Yu, if any of us brothers need to get a loan or anything in the future, we'll be counting on your help!"

"No problem!" Chen Yu's voice was seven parts drunk and three parts bold. "We're all brothers, so just ask if you need anything in the future! I'll do my best to help!"

A chorus of cheers and clinking glasses erupted in the private room.

Sitting opposite, Yue Kai noticed the subtle change in Fang Qingye's expression. After listening carefully, he recognized Chen Yu's voice.

After a moment's hesitation, he tentatively asked, "Boss, should I go over and remind Chen Yu to drink less?"

Fang Qingye picked up a piece of tender mutton and slowly placed it into the boiling pot, saying calmly, "Let's eat ours, there's no need."

(End of this chapter)