Chapter 65

Du Peng hurriedly walked into the teahouse, sat down in front of Zhou Ming, and without a word, started to eat the fruit on the table voraciously, leaving Zhou Ming and Tang Ran stunned. Tang Ran asked in confusion, "Did you just escape from somewhere? How long has it been since you last ate?"

Zhou Ming also asked, "As a son of a powerful family, can't you pay attention to your image? I called you here to discuss something, not to watch you devour food like a wolf."

Du Peng threw a piece of watermelon into his mouth, took a breath, and then said, "You don't know what I've been through today. I ran around trying to find the Nanjiang Development Bank you mentioned, and I discovered a major secret. Guess what? Today, I managed to contact the first vice president of the Nanjiang Development Bank, Luo Han, through the city government. He told me that selling the bank's stocks is extremely difficult; they're not even wanted if left on the street."

"Did you tell them that we are interested in their stocks and want to acquire a large amount?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Of course not, I'm not a fool!" Du Peng said. He then seemed to think of something and stared at Zhou Ming and Tang Ran for a while before asking, "Why aren't you surprised at all by this news?"

Tang Ran sneered and said, "What's there to be surprised about? We already knew. Brother Ming called you here to discuss this."

Du Peng was immediately astonished, "No way! You guys already knew? This is so unfair! How did you manage to find out without doing anything, while I ran around all day trying to get this information? Is there no justice in this world?"

"That just means you were doing useless work," Tang Ran giggled.

"Heaven and earth, is there no justice for someone who works hard like me?" Du Peng wailed.

Zhou Ming said to Du Peng, "Stop your whining. I just got lucky. Today, a manager from Nanjiang Development happened to be at my workplace selling stocks. I asked him a few questions and found out."

In fact, Zhou Ming didn't say the rest: he was also worried that Du Peng might reveal too much to Nanjiang Development too early, which would put them at a disadvantage. But now, it seemed his concerns were unfounded. Du Peng clearly wasn't a naive young man; he quickly adjusted his approach when he sensed the situation wasn't right. With such adaptability, he would likely become a billionaire in the future.

"So, what do we do now?" Du Peng asked.

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and then asked, "The first vice president of Nanjiang Development is still waiting for your response, right?"

Du Peng nodded, and Zhou Ming said, "Then let's meet him tomorrow. We might even get to play the role of angels saving the financial industry."

...

The next day, Zhou Ming and Du Peng arrived at the Dongmen Hotel. They saw a middle-aged man with a shiny forehead anxiously waiting at the entrance. According to Du Peng's introduction, Zhou Ming knew this was Luo Han, the first vice president of Nanjiang Development Bank. This financial pioneer, who had founded the Nanjiang Development Bank and the Nanjiang Stock Exchange, now looked extremely worried, like a person trapped in a room, aware of the outside world but unable to find the key to escape.

What Zhou Ming didn't expect was that Luo Han was accompanied by two girls. One was dressed in a professional bank uniform, looking mature and dignified, while the other wore a pink dress, looking innocent and cute.

Seeing these two girls, Zhou Ming smiled and said to Du Peng, "It seems Vice President Luo has put a lot of effort into today's meeting!"

Du Peng, clearly noticing them, said somewhat embarrassedly, "What is Vice President Luo up to?"

When Luo Han saw Du Peng get out of the car, his face lit up with surprise. He hurriedly led the two girls forward to greet Du Peng. Du Peng introduced Zhou Ming, and Luo Han introduced the two girls: the mature one was named Jiaojiao, and the cute one was named Xiaoya.

"Vice President Luo, what are you doing? I learned from Uncle Chen that your bank has just been established and urgently needs development funds. I came here to support the financial industry's reform and development and to help you through this difficult time. What do you mean by this? What do you take us for?" Du Peng asked bluntly.

Faced with Du Peng's questioning, Luo Han hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, Mr. Du. I just wanted to show how much I value you and feared the atmosphere might be tense, so I invited these two ladies to lighten the mood. I had no other intentions. If you don't like it, I'll have them leave immediately."

Zhou Ming waved his hand indifferently, "Forget it, they're already here. Let's just have them join us for lunch."

Luo Han was very grateful for Zhou Ming's understanding, "Thank you, Mr. Zhou, for your generosity!"

Led by Luo Han, Zhou Ming and Du Peng entered the Dongmen Hotel and went to a private room. After everyone sat down, they first had a toast. Then Luo Han poured himself another glass of wine and said, "What I did today was thoughtless. Although Mr. Zhou and Mr. Du are magnanimous and don't hold it against me, I still need to drink this to show my apology."

Luo Han finished his drink. At this point, he should have signaled the two girls to drink with Zhou Ming and Du Peng, but Du Peng had already made it clear he didn't like this routine. Zhou Ming, though he didn't say anything, clearly showed his dissatisfaction. Luo Han didn't dare to act on his own, and the two girls naturally didn't dare to speak up.

"Vice President Luo, you should know that I am a businessman from Hongcheng, and I don't like beating around the bush. I'll be straightforward," Zhou Ming said. "I know you are raising capital for the Nanjiang Development Bank, but let me be frank. According to my information, Nanjiang Development is not the first company to implement a shareholding system. Some companies have used the shareholding system as a pretext to defraud investors. How can you convince me otherwise?"

"Mr. Zhou's straightforwardness is very refreshing and simplifies complex issues," Luo Han said. "Indeed, some companies have used the shareholding system to defraud investors, but those were private operations. Our Nanjiang Development is supported by the government and is a joint effort of several rural credit cooperatives. There is no doubt about its credibility. Additionally, I am also involved in the establishment of the Nanjiang Stock Exchange. As a big boss from Hongcheng, you must understand this. I can assure you that the stocks of the Nanjiang Development Bank will be the first to be listed on the Nanjiang Stock Exchange after its establishment. With the reform and opening up, these stocks will surely yield excellent returns!"

Zhou Ming smiled. For him, these questions were unnecessary because he had personally witnessed the explosive growth of Nanjiang Development, which created countless millionaires in just one year, even in 1990. However, to put some pressure on Luo Han and to ensure he could buy more stocks and make more money, he had to play a role.

Seeing Zhou Ming's smile, Luo Han's heart skipped a beat. He quickly said, "Mr. Zhou, please believe me. The financial market in mainland China is a blank slate. Once Nanjiang Development is listed, it will be a surefire way to make money!"

Zhou Ming leaned back in his chair and looked at Luo Han, "To be honest, it doesn't matter much to me. You might have heard that Du Peng and I held a land auction at this Dongmen Hotel, which netted us 8.5 million yuan. So, buying a few million yuan worth of your stocks isn't a big deal."

Hearing this, Luo Han's eyes lit up, and the two girls looked at Zhou Ming in disbelief, their beautiful eyes full of shock.

They couldn't help but be shocked. For them, who earned only a few hundred yuan a month, it was hard to imagine what a few million yuan meant. They couldn't understand why Zhou Ming, who was about their age, could talk about a few million yuan as casually as a few hundred yuan. Was this the demeanor of a big boss from Hongcheng? It was truly awe-inspiring!

However, before Luo Han could speak, Zhou Ming said, "Vice President Luo, don't get too excited yet. I haven't finished speaking."

"Mr. Zhou, please speak. Whatever your conditions, I will do my best to meet them, even if it means going through fire and water!" Luo Han said, thumping his chest.

"That's not necessary. Why would I make you go through fire and water?" Zhou Ming laughed. "I am a capitalist, and I have a strong capitalist mindset. I have a strong desire to own. If I want to acquire stocks in the Nanjiang Development Bank, I want to acquire as many as possible. If it's only 20% to 30%, I won't be interested at all."

Luo Han didn't expect Zhou Ming to bring up this issue. He asked cautiously, "How much do you want to acquire, Mr. Zhou?"

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and said, "Your bank is raising 10 million yuan in capital. Can you give me 7 to 8 million?"

"Absolutely not!" Luo Han shook his head. "Mr. Zhou, you may not know, but banks in mainland China are very important institutions and cannot be privately controlled to such an extent."

Zhou Ming thought to himself, of course, he knew that banks were economic lifelines and could not be privately controlled. Even with reform and opening up, some fundamental principles couldn't change. Moreover, leaving banks entirely to private and market management, without government regulation, might not be a good thing, as numerous financial crises abroad had shown.

"Is that so? Then it's a pity," Zhou Ming sighed deliberately.

Seeing Zhou Ming's reaction, Luo Han gritted his teeth, "Mr. Zhou, according to regulations, the private shareholding in Nanjiang Development cannot exceed 30%. However, since you and Mr. Du are two individuals, each can hold 30% of the shares, totaling 60%. How does that sound?"

Zhou Ming had been waiting for this. He immediately nodded, "Agreed!"