Chapter 9

Nanhui County had no train station, so one had to go to Linyang City to take the train. Dai Zhenjiang made a phone call, and just a few minutes later, someone at the Linyang station had already bought the tickets. Zhou Ming and Su Han took a car to the Linyang station.

In the waiting room, Zhou Ming and Su Han waited for the train to Jiangxia City. Su Han asked Zhou Ming, "Zhou Ming, can your classmate in Jiangxia really help you raise the interest rate on the treasury bonds to 15%?"

Zhou Ming smiled. He knew Su Han had been eager to ask this question, but the bumpy ride and her motion sickness had prevented her from doing so. Now, after resting in the waiting room, she naturally asked about her doubts. However, Zhou Ming did not answer her directly but instead asked, "Do you know the differences between treasury bonds in different regions?"

Su Han looked at Zhou Ming in confusion and said, "Differences? Aren't treasury bonds issued by the state? How can there be differences?"

"Of course, the state issues treasury bonds to support national construction. However, due to the varying levels of economic development in different regions, the interest rates they can offer also differ," Zhou Ming explained. "Jiangxia is the center of development in the central and western regions and receives the most support from the state."

Su Han suddenly realized something. "Zhou Ming, do you mean the interest rate on treasury bonds in Jiangxia is higher than in Nanhui County? Did your classmate tell you this?"

"Yes, the interest rate in Jiangxia can reach around 17%," Zhou Ming said. In fact, Zhou Ming had no classmate in Jiangxia; his judgment was based on his memories from his previous life. If it weren't for his father's potential health issues, he would have gone to the coastal city with the highest interest rate, where the rate was reportedly close to 20%. It was precisely because of the interest rate differences in different regions that someone had become a millionaire by constantly trading treasury bonds between regions with different rates.

"But... since they are all issued by the state, how can the interest rates differ so much?" Su Han couldn't understand.

"This is the market economy," Zhou Ming said. "When more people buy something, its price naturally goes up. Conversely, if something is ignored, it won't have much value."

There was one crucial point Zhou Ming didn't tell Su Han: the banks in different regions were not yet connected, and the central government couldn't regulate them. This was why the interest rates on treasury bonds varied by region. Once the banks were connected, this situation would no longer exist. Considering Su Han's limited understanding of the era, Zhou Ming didn't want to confuse her with technical terms. He just needed her to believe that he could make money.

At noon, Zhou Ming and Su Han boarded the train to Jiangxia. After a ten-hour journey, they finally arrived at the Jiangxia station.

"Damn, this train is so slow, wasting a whole day!" Zhou Ming grumbled as he got off the train. At this moment, he missed the high-speed trains of the future, which would have taken only two hours. Now, it took ten hours, and if it weren't for the sleeper car, Zhou Ming felt he would have been shaken apart. Most importantly, they arrived in Jiangxia in the evening.

Taking the travel expenses from Dai Zhenjiang, Zhou Ming, adhering to the principle that public funds should be used, took Su Han to a good hotel in Jiangxia.

However, "good" was relative to the era. In Zhou Ming's eyes, the hotel's environment was similar to an ordinary hotel in the future. Even so, it still made Su Han feel very uneasy. She followed Zhou Ming into the room and didn't dare touch the white bed sheets, afraid that her dirt would soil them.

Seeing Su Han's hesitation, Zhou Ming explained, "Don't worry, we paid for it, so there's no need to worry. The hotel staff will clean the sheets every day. You can even use the sheets to wipe your shoes if you want."

This explanation confused Su Han, but Zhou Ming didn't elaborate much. Changing old mindsets wasn't something that could be done overnight.

After the ten-hour journey, Zhou Ming and Su Han were very tired. They quickly fell asleep in their respective rooms. The next morning, Su Han, who was used to waking up early, came to knock on Zhou Ming's door at seven, waking him up.

At 7:30, Zhou Ming, after washing up, went downstairs with Su Han for breakfast. After breakfast, Zhou Ming took Su Han for a walk along the Yangtze River. By around nine, Zhou Ming took Su Han to the bank.

"Ha! Looks like our luck is good. The interest rate on treasury bonds in Jiangxia was just raised yesterday," Zhou Ming said happily. In front of him, a sign at the bank clearly stated that the interest rate on treasury bonds had been raised to 18%.

Su Han's eyes widened. Even though Zhou Ming had explained the interest rate issue and she had mentally prepared herself, she still couldn't understand why the interest rate in Jiangxia was six to seven percentage points higher than in Nanhui. However, this wasn't something Su Han needed to consider. She just thought Zhou Ming was really amazing, living up to his reputation as a college student.

Soon, Zhou Ming came out, excitedly telling Su Han, "Xiaohan, great news! We exchanged a total of over 41,000 yuan. After deducting the principal and the interest we need to pay to Director Dai, we still made over 6,000 yuan."

Su Han's mouth formed an "O" in surprise. Zhou Ming couldn't help but want to hug her and kiss her. Su Han couldn't imagine how Zhou Ming had just made over 6,000 yuan by traveling from Linyang to Jiangxia.

6,000 yuan! That was 6,000 yuan! If she worked in the factory, it would take her several years to earn that much. This money was earned too easily!

Zhou Ming saw the thoughts in Su Han's mind and said to her, "Making money isn't hard. As long as you have complete information and dare to act, you can make money. For example, when you ran a restaurant in the factory, it was just a different name, but your business was better than others."

Su Han nodded vigorously, her eyes full of admiration. She understood that although Zhou Ming made it sound easy, only he could see the business opportunities in the information, believe in his judgment, and dare to borrow high-interest loans to do business.

With the business done, they no longer needed to stay in Jiangxia. They bought tickets back to Linyang, but the earliest train back to Linyang was in the afternoon. With nothing to do in Jiangxia, Zhou Ming took Su Han shopping.

"Wow! So bustling!" Su Han exclaimed as she looked at the various shops on the commercial street in Jiangxia.

It had to be said that as the most economically developed city in the central region, Jiangxia's commercial development started early. When Nanhui County was still in a semi-planned economy, Jiangxia had already introduced shopping malls popular in the coastal areas.

For Zhou Ming, such shopping malls were nothing special. In the future, they were everywhere, even in small counties. However, in the present, they were still a novelty, especially for people accustomed to looking at goods through counters. The experience of being surrounded by products was quite impactful for customers.

Su Han looked at the clothes in the shops like a child, exclaiming, "Such beautiful clothes!"

Su Han's happiness made Zhou Ming very happy. It seemed that no matter the era, women loved shopping and beautiful clothes. In his previous life, Su Han had not had a good life. She had married a small official in the factory, living a life of poverty. Even so, she had still found ways to help him when he was in trouble. Now that he had come back to life, he was determined to make her life better. He couldn't guarantee other things, but he could at least ensure she wouldn't worry about money, just like him.

The treasury bond business was just the beginning. Zhou Ming had come back to life not just to become a "Zhou Millionaire" but to earn much more money!

"Hey! Don't touch!" A sudden shout interrupted Zhou Ming's thoughts.

Zhou Ming looked over and saw Su Han standing timidly in front of a mannequin, with a young woman glaring at her.

Zhou Ming frowned and walked over, asking, "What's wrong, Xiaohan?"

"I... I thought this dress was beautiful and wanted to touch it, but she wouldn't let me," Su Han said timidly.

Zhou Ming nodded and said to the young woman, "My friend likes this dress and wants to take a look. What's the problem?"

The young woman snorted and said disdainfully, "Look at what? What's there to look at? If you're not buying, don't just wander around here, wasting our time."

Zhou Ming sighed, remembering that it was the 1980s, not the market economy of twenty years later. If a salesperson had treated a customer like this in the future, they would have been fired on the spot. However, it was the early stages of reform and opening up, and many systems in the mall hadn't caught up. These salespeople still had their "iron rice bowls" and hadn't shifted their mindset to true service, retaining the arrogance of the planned economy era.

In this transitional period from a planned economy to a market economy, the clash of various ideas made this era produce all sorts of extreme cases, and this young woman was one of them.

Of course, if Zhou Ming and Su Han had come in with designer clothes, she wouldn't have dared to be so rude. Unfortunately, Zhou Ming and Su Han had just come from a rural area like Nanhui, and their clothing was very rustic. The young woman clearly didn't think they were customers capable of spending money here, so she treated them poorly.

Su Han gently tugged at Zhou Ming's sleeve. "Zhou Ming, let's go to another place, shall we?"

Zhou Ming was about to speak when the young woman said again, "I hate people like you the most. If you can't afford to buy anything, don't come here and waste our time. You have no self-awareness, country bumpkin."

Hearing the young woman's insults, Su Han lowered her head, biting her lip. She felt wronged but had no way to respond.

"Is that so?"

Zhou Ming had already planned to leave the shop with Su Han and look at other shops, but now, hearing her insult him and Su Han, he couldn't help but decide to teach her a lesson.