Chapter 97

Whew!

Zhou Ming let out a long breath and sat down. After listening to his passionate speech, the presidents of the major banks had now returned to their offices. They were determined to recover as much of the loans as possible before they turned into bad debts. To them, now brainwashed by Zhou Ming, any benefits or kickbacks were trivial compared to their future prospects!

Zhou Ming still vividly remembered the way they shook his hand and thanked him sincerely as they left. They said to him:

"Consultant Zhou, we are truly grateful to you. You are truly a great benefactor to all the bank officials in Nanjiang! We never imagined that the land speculation would cause such significant harm. If it weren't for Consultant Zhou's suggestion to Mayor Chen to monitor bank bad debts and your personal guidance, we would have had no chance to turn things around."

"Yes! We even misunderstood Consultant Zhou before, which was really wrong! Consultant Zhou is a truly good person who genuinely cares for us and the entire market!"

"Please rest assured, Consultant Zhou, we will do our best to recover our loans! Those despicable speculators, who make money and run, leaving us with a mess, can only dream!"

It had to be said, these bank presidents were truly adorable. As long as they held this belief, they would definitely be able to recover the loans from the market, and the land speculation crisis would be resolved.

Zhou Ming came back to his senses and saw Du Peng and the hotel manager Kong Xiaolin still looking at him in surprise. Zhou Ming smiled and said, "What? You two aren't brainwashed by me, are you?"

Du Peng, after Zhou Ming's words, finally reacted. He said excitedly, "Zhou Ming, you are really something! I know these bank presidents, they are all like big shots outside, but here they act like little kids. Are you some reincarnation of Sun Wukong, with some kind of mind-controlling magic?"

Kong Xiaolin was also very excited, but compared to Du Peng's blunt words, she was much more reserved: "Consultant Zhou, you are truly incredible. When those bank presidents came in, they were all so arrogant, but in the end, they all listened to you. It's like they became completely different people! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. How did you do it, Consultant Zhou?"

Zhou Ming smiled and waved his hand, "Actually, it's not as mysterious as you think. It's just the most basic brainwashing technique used in pyramid schemes."

"Pyramid schemes? Brainwashing?" Du Peng and Kong Xiaolin were stunned; they clearly hadn't heard of this before.

Du Peng, who came from a good family and understood some things, asked tentatively, "Is this brainwashing the same as hypnosis? Isn't that a technique used to deal with spies?"

"It's not that mysterious. It's just a way of changing your perspective, making you stop thinking, and making your thoughts follow mine. You believe in the ideas I instill in you. That's brainwashing," Zhou Ming explained. "This technique was originally used by spies for missions, but later it evolved into a form of financial fraud, which is pyramid schemes. In simple terms, pyramid schemes involve continuously recruiting new members, brainwashing them, making them give you money, and then having them recruit more members. This way, the number of people and the amount of money grow exponentially."

As Zhou Ming explained pyramid schemes, Du Peng and Kong Xiaolin were stunned. Du Peng said in disbelief, "Is that possible? Don't those people realize they are being used as tools to make money for the upper levels?"

"That's why brainwashing is necessary!" Zhou Ming said. "What I did just now was a form of brainwashing. Otherwise, these people would have never respected me or been willing to recover the loans. After the meeting, they became willing to do so. That's the result of brainwashing."

"But Zhou Ming, didn't you say it was for their future prospects? Of course, they would do it," Du Peng said matter-of-factly.

"That's just a form of guidance. I'm not a god; how could I make them give up their interests and help me recover the loans for nothing?"

Zhou Ming's words made Kong Xiaolin realize, "No wonder you said not to let them think. You mean to guide them to think about their future prospects, not the benefits they gained from the land speculation, and make them follow your ideas. In the end, they naturally act according to the ideas you instilled in them, without weighing the pros and cons repeatedly."

"Exactly, that's the idea," Zhou Ming said.

Kong Xiaolin took a deep breath, her beautiful eyes full of admiration for Zhou Ming, "Consultant Zhou, you are truly amazing. I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it today. It's almost like a miracle!"

Being praised and admired by such an elegant hotel manager, even Zhou Ming felt a bit embarrassed: "Actually, it's not that impressive. These bank presidents have never experienced brainwashing before, so they had no defenses. If the person I met on the train to Nanjiang did this, he would be much better at it."

Hearing Zhou Ming's words, Du Peng suddenly remembered, "Zhou Ming, you mean that Yang Yong?"

Zhou Ming nodded, "Yes, he is the master of pyramid schemes. You should have seen it; during the train ride, everyone in the entire carriage became his followers."

Kong Xiaolin shook her head, "No matter how good Yang Yong is, if he had come to this meeting, he might not have done as well as you, Consultant Zhou."

Kong Xiaolin paused, then thought for a moment and continued, "And if this method were used to train employees, it might also have a significant effect."

Hearing Kong Xiaolin's words, Zhou Ming raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Faced with Zhou Ming's question, Kong Xiaolin quickly lowered her head, "I'm sorry, Consultant Zhou, I spoke out of turn. How could such a good method be used to train employees? I shouldn't have said that!"

Zhou Ming waved his hands, "I'm not blaming you. I'm just curious why you thought of using this method to train employees. Have you heard of this method before, or seen something similar?"

"No," Kong Xiaolin replied, "I just thought that if your brainwashing method could be used to train employees, it could effectively inspire a positive and upward mindset in them, which would better motivate and manage them."

Kong Xiaolin then said with some trepidation, "I'm sorry, Consultant Zhou, I was being too fanciful!"

"No, what you said is very good, very impressive!" Zhou Ming praised.

Zhou Ming couldn't help but praise her because, in the future, the method Kong Xiaolin mentioned was already being used, though it had a different name: "success motivation" or "potential stimulation." Though the name had changed, it was still essentially brainwashing, using psychological suggestion to achieve the goal of making people more successful and positive. This method was even integrated into the corporate culture of many companies, especially service-oriented companies, where employees would gather in the morning to shout and play games, which was actually a form of brainwashing.

However, this was the result of decades of experience and exploration. It was surprising that Kong Xiaolin, who had just heard about it for the first time, could connect brainwashing with corporate management. It was clear that her position as the manager of Nanhuhu Hotel was well-deserved!

Thinking about this, Zhou Ming quickly asked her, "Do you have a pager? Can you give me your pager number?"

Hearing Zhou Ming's question, Kong Xiaolin was first stunned, then said in disbelief, "Consultant Zhou, you... you want my pager number?"

Zhou Ming said, "Yes, is it too abrupt for me to ask a lady for her pager number?"

Kong Xiaolin shook her head quickly, "No, I was just thinking about how to get your contact information. I never expected you to ask for my pager number. I'm so excited!"

Zhou Ming joked, "But if I call you, it might not be for something good. I might even be calling to poach you."

"Consultant Zhou, it doesn't matter at all!" Kong Xiaolin said, "After seeing your speech today, I admire you so much. You are my idol!"

Zhou Ming smiled, "Is that so? Then you need to perform well in front of me. As you suggested, use my brainwashing method to train employees or manage the company and build corporate culture. Don't just stay at the idea stage; you need to come up with a concrete plan."

Kong Xiaolin nodded vigorously, "Please rest assured, Consultant Zhou, I will work hard to improve this management plan!"

"That's good. I hope the next time I contact you, you can surprise me," Zhou Ming patted Kong Xiaolin's shoulder, "Keep it up, work hard, and believe that you will be the most capable and beautiful female CEO in the country!"

Kong Xiaolin was so excited she could hardly contain herself, "Yes! Thank you, Consultant Zhou, I will work hard!"

After that, Zhou Ming got Kong Xiaolin's pager number and left Nanhuhu Hotel with Du Peng. Getting into the car, Du Peng looked at Zhou Ming and said, "You really killed two birds with one stone, didn't you?"

"What do you mean by 'killing two birds with one stone'?" Zhou Ming asked, puzzled.

"The female manager! Zhou Ming, you not only brainwashed those bank presidents today but also brainwashed her. From the way she was acting, I bet she would even be willing to book a room and wait for you in the hotel tonight," Du Peng said admiringly, "Zhou Ming, you are really something! That female manager is really attractive, with her looks and demeanor, just thinking about it makes me want more!"

Zhou Ming gave him a slap, "What are you thinking about? Get in the car and drive. We still need to report to Mayor Chen!"

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