021 Treating a Dead Horse as if It Were Alive

After Xia He and the others left, Song Qingdong and Luo Yan boarded a Mercedes-Benz.

"Old Wang, take Manager Luo home first," Song Qingdong instructed the driver.

"Very well, boss."

The vehicle headed west.

On the way, Luo Yan remarked, "Boss, regarding Bank President Xia bringing Fang Qingye along today—I can't help but feel he was brought as a shield."

"I have the same feeling. Xiao Ye is a junior of mine, and there are some things I find difficult to say in his presence," Song Qingdong said with a smile.

"But it’s clear that Zhang Qunying doesn't know about the relationship between you and Fang Qingye. How could Xia He know? Does she know that Fang Qingye and Da Hai are very close? Could it be that Fang Qingye told Xia He? That seems incredible," Luo Yan mused.

"That’s not important. Xia He achieved her goal." Song Qingdong closed his eyes slightly and leaned back against the seat, looking somewhat exhausted.

Luo Yan remained silent.

She naturally understood the things Song Qingdong had left unsaid. For instance, when a loan of 24 million exceeded a branch manager's approval authority, they would often break it down, finding three account managers at the branch to issue 8 million each, thereby circumventing regulations. This was a tactic they had used many times before.

Then there were the loan kickbacks. These took many forms: using a portion of the loan as a deposit, purchasing wealth management products or insurance, which boosted bank performance and earned the handler a larger commission. Of course, there were also "disclosed" kickbacks within the books and hidden ones off the books. For example, agreeing to a loan but requiring a higher interest rate, with the excess going directly into their own pockets—there were endless variations.

No matter how they changed, these were all violations of regulations, and some even crossed into illegal territory. Song Qingdong did not want Fang Qingye to know about these gray-area dealings, or at the very least, he did not want them coming from his own lips.

After a moment of silence, Luo Yan suddenly said, "It’s not entirely a bad thing that President Xia brought Fang Qingye to dinner today. At the very least, it shows from another perspective that Fang Qingye and President Xia have a very close relationship, or that she highly trusts and appreciates him."

"As far as I know, the reason the Tenglong Industrial deposit loss case was cleared up so quickly was because Fang Qingye played a decisive role. He tipped Xia He off that it was actually a setup orchestrated by President Teng of Tenglong and Zhao Wenjun. That is the main reason why Xia He is so grateful to him, and why they are so close."

"Oh... so you mean we should capitalize on Xiao Ye? Have him advise Xia He and find a way to facilitate this matter?" Song Qingdong opened his eyes and looked at Luo Yan.

"Yes, that is exactly what I mean."

Song Qingdong closed his eyes to think for a while, then shook his head slightly. "I'm afraid it’s not that simple. Xia He may not necessarily listen to Xiao Ye. You may help me, and I may thank you and appreciate you, but that doesn't mean I will let you influence my decisions. After all, Xiao Ye is just a young man who has been working for less than a year."

"And yet, I always feel that Xia He treats Fang Qingye differently—it’s more than just simple appreciation between a superior and a subordinate," Luo Yan smiled. "I can't put my finger on the reason; perhaps it’s just a woman's sixth sense?"

Song Qingdong was slightly surprised. He opened his eyes and looked at her again before saying, "Very well, I will talk to Xiao Ye. We’ll treat it as a last resort."

"Understood, boss. There is one more thing," Luo Yan added.

"What is it?"

"I met with Director Wu of the Development and Reform Bureau yesterday. He said that the 'Several Measures to Promote the Healthy Development of Real Estate in Nanxin County,' which they are leading the drafting of, has been submitted to the county leaders. It can be released once it passes the final review at the meeting."

"The content includes incentives regarding land transfer fees and taxation. Among them, actively resolving the financial difficulties of real estate enterprises and encouraging bank lending is also one of the measures."

"That is good news!" Song Qingdong’s expression brightened.

"Although the major banks don't listen to the local government, as the saying goes: a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake! With this document, the banks will surely face pressure from the county... In that case, after the holidays, I would like to pay a visit to Secretary Zhang and County Magistrate Li to discuss our ideas and strive for the document's early release. Luo Yan... you go ahead and contact the secretaries of the two leaders to schedule an appointment."

"Understood, I will handle that tomorrow."

Meanwhile, after leaving Xia He, Fang Qingye took a taxi home. After a shower, he opened his computer to get down to business—finishing the mathematical modeling requested by the 'Dongguan Girl.' After all, there was thirty thousand involved.

Naturally, there was no need to pull an all-nighter. He finished around 11:00 PM, played a round of World of Warcraft, and went comfortably to sleep.

At eight the next morning, Fang Qingye got up, grabbed breakfast at a small eatery, and pondered his plans for the day. Since he wasn't going out for a trip, he decided to find a spot to go fishing.

Before his rebirth, he had loved fishing in Shanghai, but he had been too busy with work and only occasionally satisfied the urge at the Daqian Ecological Manor. In this life, he had plenty of free time to enjoy it properly.

He didn't have a car, so he couldn't go too far. Fang Qingye decided to go fishing at the Daming Longyou River.

Should he go buy gear now?

Action followed thought. Fang Qingye rode his small scooter home, then headed to a fishing supply store on Friendship Road. There were spinning rods, sea rods, lure rods, stream rods, along with a vast array of hooks, lines, and baits from numerous brands. Having fished in his previous life, Fang Qingye wasn't exactly a novice, so he chose a TAIGEK lure rod and a Guangwei hand rod, both made of carbon fiber.

With everything prepared, he stopped at a supermarket to buy some bread and water for lunch, then rode his scooter out of the county and headed straight for the Daming Longyou River.

The river was just south of the city. In the future, this area would be turned into an ecological park, but for now, it was a paradise for anglers. Fang Qingye arrived at the riverbank, where quite a few people were already fishing. He found a calm eddy, set down his rod, pulled up a small folding stool, and began.

It was a cloudy day, perfect for fishing. Before long, he reeled in a crucian carp about half a foot long.

"Hm, not bad... A good start."

This was a great spot, though a bit crowded; both sides of the river were lined with anglers. He had heard that the main channel of the Jiao River near Wujiazhuang had more fish, and some had even caught soft-shelled turtles there. However, Wujiazhuang was nearly 50 miles away from the county seat, making it impractical to get there on a small scooter.

Looks like I need to buy a car... I'll wait until I make my first pot of gold in the stock market.

Fang Qingye caught four fish throughout the morning—a decent harvest. He spent his lunch break walking along the bank, eating bread and drinking water, before continuing to fish.

Luck wasn't as good in the afternoon; nearly an hour passed without a single bite. But he wasn't anxious—fishing was all about patience. Fang Qingye stared at the water, watching his float suddenly dip.

A fish was biting!

Fang Qingye immediately perked up, but right then, his phone rang in his pocket, startling him.

Damn it!

The fish got away!

Which blind fool was calling at a time like this?!

Fang Qingye pulled out his phone and saw it was Song Da Hai. He pressed the answer button, and the voice on the other end said, "Yezi, what are you busy with?"

"Fishing!"

"Since when did you get hooked on fishing? I didn't know that," Song Da Hai’s voice sounded surprised.

"There's a lot you don't know. What do you want? Spit it out!"

"Holy crap! You're in a bad mood? What's wrong? Can't catch anything? Did the fish tease you?"

"Nonsense... the fish was about to bite, and your call made it run away. Can I be in a good mood? What do you want, quickly!" Fang Qingye replied irritably.

"It's like this, my dad wants to invite you to our place for tea this afternoon."

"Your dad wants to invite me for tea?" Fang Qingye was surprised. "That’s never happened before. Why now?"

"I don't know. He just told me to call you and invite you over for tea this afternoon. I asked him what it was about, but he wouldn't say," Song Da Hai replied honestly.

Oh...

Fang Qingye suddenly understood why Song Qingdong wanted to invite him for tea at this time; it definitely had to do with last night's dinner.

He wants to use me to influence Xia He's decision?

Fang Qingye decided to help, given his relationship with Song Da Hai and the fact that the man had lent him 200,000. However, he didn't want to leave right now; he was enjoying himself too much.

"Da Hai, I'm right in the middle of fishing. Could we move it to tomorrow afternoon?" Fang Qingye asked.

"This...?" On the other end, Song Da Hai sounded a bit troubled.

"Da Hai, tell your dad that whether we have tea or not doesn't really matter. Whatever he wants me to do, I will do my best," Fang Qingye added.

"Huh? You know what it's about?"

"Yes."

"Then wait a second, let me tell my dad."

On the other end, Song Da Hai hung up and turned to Song Qingdong. "Dad, Yezi is fishing right now. I don't think he has time today. If you want to have tea, let's make it tomorrow afternoon. He also said that whatever you want him to do, he'll do his best, and that the tea doesn't matter."

"This kid is smart; he knows why I'm looking for him," Song Qingdong praised. "But since we're asking for a favor, we must show proper sincerity. Tell him we'll do as he says: tomorrow afternoon at three."

"Got it..."