Chapter 3

A sharp slap stunned Su Han, Zhang Lei, and Huang Zheng. Huang Zheng, covering his face, glared at Zhou Ming and said, "You actually dared to hit me?"

Zhou Ming, scratching his ear, chuckled and said, "Really? Who knows? But now we three have all seen you just hit my hand with your face. What should we do about that?"

Hit my hand with your face?

Zhou Ming's logic didn't make Huang Zheng faint, but he deeply regretted dismissing the security guards. He never thought anyone would dare to lay a hand on him in the factory.

Huang Zheng, trembling with anger, pointed at Zhou Ming and said, "Fine, you're really something. Don't let me find out who you are, or I'll definitely kill you!"

Zhou Ming raised an eyebrow: "Really? My arm seems to be out of control again. It looks like your face is going to hit my hand again. What should we do?"

Seeing Zhou Ming raise his hand, Huang Zheng hastily fled with a yelp.

After Huang Zheng left, Su Han thanked Zhou Ming. Zhou Ming waved his hand and said, "It's nothing. But, Xiao Han, you didn't come to us when something this big happened. Are you not considering us as friends?"

Su Han lowered her head and said nothing. Zhou Ming continued, "Xiao Han, we are now powerless and have no good way to deal with Huang Zheng. But it's not good that he keeps getting the factory security to cause you trouble. Why don't you just close the restaurant? We can think of ways to make money first. Once we have money and power, we can find a way to deal with Huang Zheng."

Su Han looked at Zhou Ming in a daze and said, "Zhou Ming, you... want to deal with Huang Zheng?"

"Of course," Zhou Ming said matter-of-factly, "Xiao Han, you've been bullied, so I naturally want to help you get revenge."

"Zhou Ming, thank you," Su Han said, deeply moved, "But if I close the restaurant, what can I do? Start another business? That won't work. Huang Zheng said he would cause trouble no matter what I do. Besides, I borrowed a lot of money from my relatives to open the restaurant. My brother needs money for school. Now, even though he always causes trouble, I can still save some money if I'm careful. If I close the restaurant..."

Although Su Han didn't finish her sentence, Zhou Ming understood her meaning. Zhou Ming said, "That's not necessarily the case. I have a business that will guarantee you the most money in the shortest time, and no one can cause trouble."

Su Han, with her beautiful big eyes, asked in confusion, "Zhou Ming, what business do you want to do?"

"I want to trade treasury bonds," Zhou Ming said.

"Trade treasury bonds? Can that be traded?" Su Han and Zhang Lei immediately widened their eyes in disbelief, as if they had seen a god descend.

It's not surprising that Su Han and Zhang Lei had such expressions. After all, in this era, few people recognized the value of treasury bonds or knew what they were, let alone trade them. Su Han and Zhang Lei's families had treasury bonds, but they didn't know what they were for.

In fact, treasury bonds are a type of government bond, issued by the state to borrow money from society and the public to balance the national treasury. They were first invented by the British in 1877. Since the debtor is the state and the guarantee is the state's fiscal revenue, there is almost no risk of default, making them the most stable investment channel in the financial market.

However, as a person who has been reborn, Zhou Ming knew that treasury bonds were extremely profitable, especially in the late 1980s. At that time, the interest rate on treasury bonds was much higher than in the future, usually exceeding ten percent, and sometimes even reaching fifteen percent. In simpler terms, a 100-yuan treasury bond, if redeemed at a bank upon maturity, would yield 110 to 115 yuan, including principal and interest. For three-year and five-year bonds, the returns would be even higher.

In fact, the business of trading treasury bonds was most prosperous at this time. In Zhou Ming's memory, someone in Jiangnan became a millionaire by trading treasury bonds. In this era, in a relatively remote place like Factory 760, even a ten-thousand-yuan household could receive commendation. The status of a millionaire would be comparable to a group CEO dining with provincial leaders in the future.

Moreover, calculating the time, the millionaire's path to wealth should have already begun. However, it would take at least one to two years for the trend to spread here. By then, when people suddenly realize that treasury bonds can be traded for profit, the business would likely have been taken over by Zhou Ming.

"Of course," Zhou Ming explained to Su Han and Zhang Lei, "If we have 10,000 yuan in treasury bonds and redeem them at the bank, we can at least get 1,000 yuan in interest. Isn't that a business with no capital and huge profits?"

"But... can the bank really exchange them? The factory assigns these every year, but I've never seen anyone go to the bank to exchange them for money," Zhang Lei said, worried.

Zhou Ming smiled, "It's because they don't know, so we can make money! If they all knew, how could we make money?"

At this point, Su Han understood Zhou Ming's idea: "Zhou Ming, you mean we can buy back treasury bonds at their face value or even lower, and then redeem them at the bank. Not only can we get the face value of the treasury bonds, but we can also get at least ten percent interest, right?"

Zhou Ming gave Su Han a thumbs up, "Xiao Han, you're really smart, worthy of being the owner of Xiao Han's Restaurant."

Su Han drew a deep breath, her eyes full of shock. If what Zhou Ming said was true, 100 yuan could earn 10 yuan, 1,000 yuan could earn 100 yuan, and 10,000 yuan could earn 1,000 yuan. And the most important thing is that it wouldn't take much time, just a trip to the bank. If... this really works.

Zhou Ming looked at Su Han and Zhang Lei, understanding their doubts: "I know you still have doubts, which is normal. After all, this business is too easy to make money."

Zhang Lei nodded vigorously. In his view, factory workers worked hard for less than 100 yuan a month, and even factory leaders, unless in particularly lucrative departments, wouldn't earn more than 600 yuan a month. Now, Zhou Ming could earn more than a factory leader's salary with just a trip to the bank if he had enough capital. How could this be possible!

Zhou Ming found it normal for Su Han and Zhang Lei to have doubts. After all, the factory was still in the planned economy era, and no one had a market economy or financial concept.

So Zhou Ming said, "It's okay if you don't believe me. Seeing is believing. Your families work in the factory, so you should have treasury bonds, right?"

Su Han immediately understood Zhou Ming's plan: "Zhou Ming, you want us to take the treasury bonds to the bank to exchange them?"

"Yes, the county bank is only a half-hour walk from the factory," Zhou Ming said.

"Okay, I remember my brother-in-law has a lot. My sister complains every day about the factory issuing these things that can't be used. I'll go get them all," Zhang Lei said.

Zhou Ming nodded, "Good, but remember, don't tell anyone about this. If others find out, we won't be able to make money. Understand?"

"Understood," Zhang Lei said.

...

In this era, banks were not as widespread as in the future, so there was no bank in Factory 760. They had to go to the county town, but fortunately, it was not far. Zhou Ming and the others walked for half an hour and arrived.

Zhou Ming, Su Han, and Zhang Lei brought their families' treasury bonds to the entrance of the Agricultural Bank of China in Nanhui County. Su Han, seeing the police station nearby, couldn't help but worry, "Zhou Ming, are you sure these treasury bonds can be exchanged for money? If not, will the bank report us to the police?"

"How could they? Treasury bonds are money the state borrowed from us. We are the state's creditors. It's only right to ask the state to pay us back."

Zhou Ming walked into the bank first, leaving Su Han and Zhang Lei stunned. Zhou Ming's words had completely exceeded their understanding. To them, the state was supreme and all-powerful, and all the money they used was issued by the state. How could the state be short of money? If it needed more, it could just print more. Why would it borrow money from the people?

Zhou Ming queued up and approached the counter, handing over the three people's treasury bonds and said, "Hello, I want to exchange treasury bonds."

When the lady at the counter took Zhou Ming's treasury bonds, Su Han and Zhang Lei's hearts raced, nervously watching, afraid that the lady would throw the treasury bonds back and scold them for causing trouble. However, the next scene left them speechless. The lady carefully counted the treasury bonds and then used a calculator to calculate before saying to Zhou Ming, "Your treasury bonds total 300 yuan, with 100 yuan for three years and 200 yuan for five years. The principal and interest total 468.2 yuan."

Zhou Ming nodded at the amount the lady reported, which was close to his mental calculation. He took the money the lady handed him and left the bank with Su Han and Zhang Lei.

"How about that? Now you believe that treasury bonds can be exchanged for money, right?" Zhou Ming said, waving the new money in his hand.

Zhang Lei, staring at the money in Zhou Ming's hand, said in a daze, "My God, this thing can really be exchanged for money? And so much, wow, it's almost two months' salary for me."

Su Han, on the other hand, jumped up in excitement and said to Zhou Ming, "Zhou Ming, you're amazing! How did you know that treasury bonds could be exchanged for money?"

"Xiao Han, have you forgotten that I majored in economics in college?" Zhou Ming said.

"Of course, Zhou Ming, you're different as a college student. You're so smart, we can't compare to you," Su Han said. "Let's go back and collect treasury bonds right away? I know many people in the factory have treasury bonds at home that they don't use."

Zhou Ming said, "Not yet. We don't have money now, so we can't collect much. And if others find out, we won't be able to make money."

Su Han thought about it and agreed, "That makes sense. What should we do? We don't have money!"

"We don't have money, but someone does. That's why I need to call Dazhuang. Because of his brother-in-law's connections, he knows where to borrow high-interest loans," Zhou Ming said.

"Zhou Ming, you want to borrow high-interest loans to collect treasury bonds!" Su Han and Zhang Lei were shocked speechless.