Chapter 24

Watching Pan Wei flee in disarray, Tang Ran couldn't be happier. She whispered to Lin Muqing, "I bet this guy wouldn't even dream of why the revered Director Yang would be so afraid of Brother Ming! He must think he's gotten himself into some big trouble with a powerful figure. Now he'll be living in constant fear, afraid that Brother Ming will come back to seek revenge one day."

Tang Ran's face was full of delight, and Lin Muqing said helplessly, "Not all bosses are like Pan Wei. If it were a truly powerful person, they wouldn't bother with him. Besides, we have important things to do now, so just ignore him."

"But Brother Ming is really amazing!" Tang Ran pouted, clearly still basking in the joy of the moment.

For Tang Ran's childlike behavior, Zhou Ming could only smile helplessly. Then, Zhou Ming invited Director Yang to sit down. When Director Yang saw Lin Muqing and Tang Ran sitting there, his eyes flashed with surprise. With his rich life experience, he immediately guessed what had happened. At the same time, he cast an envious glance at Zhou Ming, thinking that rich bosses were indeed different. To bring two such beautiful women together was truly a sign of good fortune.

Zhou Ming held the menu and ordered dishes. Since it was a Western restaurant and there were three women present, he only ordered a bottle of red wine.

First, they all clinked glasses. Zhou Ming then proactively toasted Director Yang, "Director Yang is a leader at the Bank of China. I have always respected leaders, and I am truly delighted to be sitting at the same table with a leader today."

Director Yang replied, "Not at all, Mr. Zhou, you are young and accomplished. I heard you are a college graduate from Jingchu Province, an intellectual. It is an honor for me to be dining with Mr. Zhou!"

Zhou Ming waved his hand, "Director Yang, your words make me blush. I was just lucky in the college entrance exam. How can I compare to you, who holds the financial power of the Bank of China? Many units in Nanjiang City are eagerly waiting for your loans. Just a glance from you, and someone like Mr. Pan would have to obey like a grandson!"

Director Yang laughed heartily and said to Zhou Ming, "I think Mr. Pan, no matter how powerful, is no match for you, Mr. Zhou!"

Listening to the mutual flattery between Zhou Ming and Director Yang, Lin Muqing was very surprised. She understood the basic principles of business negotiations, knowing that whoever mentioned business first would be at a disadvantage. But understanding is one thing, and being able to do it is another. Especially since Zhou Ming seemed to be planning to leave for Hongcheng and didn't want to linger in Nanjiang. Despite this, Zhou Ming could still calmly chat and flatter Director Yang, gradually leading into the topic. This calmness was truly astonishing!

Lin Muqing looked at Zhou Ming's chiseled, resolute face and sighed inwardly: This man's future is boundless!

Zhou Ming was indeed deliberately joking around with Director Yang. As a reborn person, he understood the simple principle of taking detours in business negotiations.

However, Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing knew that Zheng Dajie, with a leader present, didn't dare to speak first, but Tang Ran couldn't hold back.

Zhou Ming and Director Yang's mutual flattery bored her, so she said to Director Yang, "Director Yang, I heard from Sister Zheng that you came to talk to Brother Ming about exchanging Hong Kong dollars, right?"

Everyone was taken aback, no one expecting this innocent girl to suddenly blurt out such a question.

Looking at Tang Ran's innocent expression, Zhou Ming really wanted to hug her and kiss her. This girl's natural bluntness was perfect, almost a divine assist! If he had to keep flattering Director Yang, he would be annoyed, and he didn't know how long it would go on. But now, with Tang Ran's words, Director Yang couldn't avoid the topic and had to take the initiative to discuss the exchange of Hong Kong dollars, putting himself at a disadvantage and giving Zhou Ming the upper hand.

Sure enough, after Tang Ran spoke, Director Yang could only clear his throat and say, "Mr. Zhou, I heard from Xiao Zheng that you have 400,000 RMB that needs to be exchanged into Hong Kong dollars, is that correct?"

Zhou Ming nodded, "Yes, for business needs. I know that as a window of China's reform and opening up, the Bank of China can handle foreign currency exchanges, so I came to Director Yang."

Director Yang's heart skipped a beat. Although Zhou Ming's words seemed fine, he understood that Zhou Ming was deliberately saying this. He knew that each branch of the Bank of China had been given exchange quotas, and by mentioning the branches, Zhou Ming was implying that if he didn't get a good deal here, he could go to another branch.

Thinking about this, Director Yang looked at Zhou Ming with a complex expression: This young man is truly formidable, his grasp of the situation is perfect!

Given the circumstances, Director Yang had no choice but to bow to Zhou Ming, "I thank Mr. Zhou for your support of our bank's work. Since you support our bank so much, I can offer you some discounts."

Zhou Ming didn't rush to speak, and Director Yang continued, "Since the RMB is not directly linked to the Hong Kong dollar, to exchange Hong Kong dollars, one must first convert RMB to US dollars, and then from US dollars to Hong Kong dollars. This involves many procedures and higher fees. However, I can arrange an internal route for you, which will allow you to exchange more Hong Kong dollars than the market rate."

Director Yang's convoluted explanation left Lin Muqing and Tang Ran confused. Lin Muqing asked on Zhou Ming's behalf, "So, how many Hong Kong dollars can be exchanged?"

"Under normal circumstances, 400,000 RMB can be exchanged for about 360,000 Hong Kong dollars. But through the internal route, I can help you exchange for 370,000 Hong Kong dollars," Director Yang calculated and answered.

"That's great!" Tang Ran said happily. She didn't understand financial exchange rates, but she knew that Hong Kong dollars were more valuable than RMB. Now, Director Yang helping Zhou Ming exchange an extra 10,000 Hong Kong dollars was like earning an extra 10,000 RMB, which was equivalent to her four to five years' salary. Of course, this was a good thing.

Zhou Ming nodded inwardly. Although he knew that the extra 10,000 Hong Kong dollars Director Yang offered had a lot of water, he had also checked the current exchange rates before coming. The exchange rate for Hong Kong dollars to US dollars was 7.8, and for RMB to US dollars was 8.2. After deducting some fees, the final exchange should be around 360,000 Hong Kong dollars. So, Director Yang had only given him an extra 3,000 to 4,000 RMB, far from 10,000.

Although this was the case, Zhou Ming understood that Director Yang had done his best. After all, the reform and opening up had just begun, and the economic ties between China and the world were not yet strong. Hong Kong was still a foreign territory, so exchanging Hong Kong dollars was still somewhat troublesome.

However, Zhou Ming's thoughts made Director Yang nervous. Director Yang said anxiously, "Mr. Zhou, 370,000 Hong Kong dollars is already a lot. I have already saved you all the possible fees. Even other branches can't offer more."

Zhou Ming smiled at Director Yang, "Director Yang, don't misunderstand me. I was just thinking, if I add another 100,000 RMB to the 400,000, how many Hong Kong dollars can be exchanged?"

Director Yang exclaimed, looking at Zhou Ming in disbelief. As a bank director, he knew that having 400,000 assets and being able to take out 400,000 RMB were two different things. Assets were fixed, but funds could be moved freely. Many so-called millionaires might not even have a few thousand RMB available.

This was why Director Yang was already shocked that Zhou Ming, at his age, could take out 400,000 RMB, and now he was adding another 100,000. Was his family running a printing press?

Director Yang quickly dismissed this thought. Even if they were running a printing press, it would be impossible to have so much money. The reform and opening up had only been going on for less than ten years, and the Chinese people were still exploring ways to get rich. At this time, anyone who could easily take out so much money was either powerful or wealthy.

With this thought, Director Yang looked at Zhou Ming with fear and said respectfully, "Mr. Zhou, if you add another 100,000 RMB, I can try to help you exchange for an additional 92,000 Hong Kong dollars."

This number was close to what Zhou Ming had calculated, and he smiled at Director Yang and thanked him.

Director Yang waved his hand, "Mr. Zhou, you are too kind. It is my honor to serve you!"

Then, Director Yang asked cautiously, "I wonder if your funds have already arrived in Nanjiang?"

Zhou Ming nodded, "They have, they are in my Agricultural Bank account. Director Yang, are you worried and want to verify?"

Director Yang shook his head quickly, "Of course not, I completely trust you, Mr. Zhou. I just asked out of habit. Please don't take it to heart."

"Of course not, I will entrust the exchange of Hong Kong dollars to you, Director Yang."

Zhou Ming raised his glass to Director Yang, and Director Yang immediately raised his glass to clink with Zhou Ming.

Lin Muqing looked at Zhou Ming with her beautiful big eyes. She had been wondering why Zhou Ming and her combined had over 500,000 RMB, but Zhou Ming only reported 400,000. Now she understood the hidden meaning.

Lin Muqing understood Zhou Ming's strategy. Whether Zhou Ming reported 400,000 or 500,000 at the beginning, the impact on Director Yang would be the same. But if Zhou Ming started with 400,000 and then added 100,000 during the negotiation, the situation would be different. Director Yang would only think that Zhou Ming was unfathomable, not knowing how much power Zhou Ming had, and would try his best to do a good job for Zhou Ming. Didn't you notice that Director Yang's way of addressing Zhou Ming changed from 'you' to 'you' (formal)?

Just by breaking a number into two parts, Zhou Ming achieved the best result. Zhou Ming was really a man of great ideas!

Lin Muqing thought about this, propping her chin with her hand and looking at Zhou Ming's profile, suddenly finding this man very charming.

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