Having the bank come to him was a good thing.
After leaving the villa, Xia Lei suddenly said, “Fan Fan, wait a moment, I need to relieve myself.”
“All right, I’ll wait for you,” said Fan Fan.
Xia Lei went to the villa's bathroom and fished out his phone to call Qin Xiang. “Wait ten minutes and then call my office pretending to be someone from the bank, understand?”
Qin Xiang’s voice came from the phone, “What am I pretending to be somebody from the bank for?”
“You don’t have to bother about that, just keep calling pretending to be whatever executive from ICBC, or the Agriculture Bank or whatever.”
“Then what should I say?”
“You can say whatever, just speak quietly.”
“Alright then, I’ll call in ten minutes.” Qin Xiang hung up.
Xia Lei put away the phone and left the bathroom after waiting two minutes. He left the villa and went to the office with Fan Fan.
The guy Fan Fan had brought wasn’t the company boss, of course, but just a boss of one of the branches. His name was Chen Zhang and he was around fifty years old. He was plump and white, and his luxurious living style apparent.
Chen Zhang was very polite to Xia Lei, standing up to greet him as soon as he arrived and taking the initiative to shake hands with him. A smile filled his face. “Director Xia, I hope my unsolicited visit isn’t a great disturbance to you.”
Xia Lei chuckled, “Chief Chen is being polite. A few days ago, my people went to your bank but got the door slammed in their face. For you to come unsolicited now makes me very happy, how could you possibly be disturbing me?”
Chen Zhang glanced awkwardly at Fan Fan.
But Fan Fan spoke up for Xia Lei. “That’s right, your bank was in the wrong for not giving Thunder Horse Military Factory the loan. How could you be afraid of not getting back your money with such an excellent company like the Thunder Horse Military Factory? You guys are just sometimes far too careful to avoid offending a certain somebody. Is it useful if they pay you a visit? Is it more useful than the market economy? Seriously.”
What she said not only made Chen Zhang frozen with shock, but Xia Lei as well. Wasn’t she also involved in the visiting of the banks which led to the non-issuance of loans?
Switching from a bandit to a hero without a single change in expression was really something only Fan Fan could do.
“Ahem.” Xia Lei coughed dryly and didn’t expose Fan Fan. “Chief Chen, may I ask what you came to see me for?”
Chief Chen laughed. “Director Xia, what else could it be? I know Thunder Horse Military Factory urgently needs a 20,000,000,000 yuan loan. I’ll prepare it right away. Look, I even brought a loan contract with me. Just sign your name and the money will be in your bank account by the afternoon.”
He really did bring the contract in his work bag. He took it out and two copies of the contract were placed neatly on Xia Lei’s desk.
Xia Lei glanced at the loan contract. He didn’t say if he would sign or not. He peeked at the time on his watch out of the corner of his eye.
Chief Chen smiled and spoke again, “Director Xia, take a look. If there’s no problem, we can sign.”
Xia Lei said, “There’s no problems, but…”
Ring ring ring!
The private phone in the office rang suddenly.
“I’m sorry, let me take this call first.” Xia Lei picked up the phone and said, “Xia Lei speaking, who is this?”
Qin Xiang’s voice sounded from the telephone, his voice as quiet as a mosquito. “How many times did you and Long Bing do it last night in the office rest lounge?”
Xia Lei was flabbergasted on the inside but on the surface, he still looked deadly serious. “Oh, so you’re from ICBC… You want to give me a loan? Right, I do need a loan, but… Okay, I won’t mention what happened before. I know you guys have your own problems too. Then let’s be straightforward. I want a loan of 20,000,000,000, how much interest do you want to charge?”
Qin Xiang replied, “I don’t know, but those moans of Section Chief Long almost turned me straight.”
Chief Chen had no idea of who was actually talking to Xia Lei, and what he was saying. He looked at Fan Fan for help, but the latter acted like it had nothing to do with her.
“An annual rate of 4.2%?” Xia Lei frowned. “Isn’t that a bit high? I know it’s already a good rate, but… 4.2%... Can’t you make it a bit lower? I’ll think about it then.”
The annual interest rate for a loan was usually 4.6%. ICBC gave him a rate of 4.2%, which really was quite very favourable.
Xia Lei had just hung up when the phone rang again.
“Agricultural Bank? I say, what’s wrong with you guys? A few days ago, my people asked you for a loan and you didn’t even want to meet with us… All right, all right, let bygones be bygones. I know you guys have your own difficulties. Why did you call? … An annual rate of 4.1? How much for five years? Five years… 4.8%? Let me think about it. Wait for my call.”
Chen Zhang wiped furtively at the sweat on his forehead.
Xia Lei had just put the phone down when it rang yet again.
Xia Lei was just about to reach for the phone with Chen Zhang reached his own hand out to press his hand down. “Direction Xia, don’t answer the phone. How about this — we’ll do five years with an annual interest rate of 4.5%.”
The usual loan interest rate for five years was 5.15%, so Chen Zhang’s 4.5% annual interest deal was already a huge discount. They would make at least 1,300,000,000 from the 20,000,000,000 over five years.
Xia Lei was tempted, but he still pretended he was hesitant.
At this moment, Fan Fan spoke, “How about this, Chief Chen, why don’t you give Xia Lei another 0.2% discount on my behalf?”
This offer made Chen Zhang waver. 5 years for 4.5% was already a huge discount. If he added on another 0.2%, it would be 4.3%, almost an entire 1 percent from the original price. This one percentage of this 20,000,000,000 yuan deal meant a loss of 200,000,000 in profit!
Ring, ring, ring...
This time, Xia Lei didn’t let Chen Zhang block him and picked up the phone.
“What are you doing? Why didn’t you answer my call just now? Weren’t you the one that asked me to call? I was just talking about you and Long Bing. Are you mad already? You’re a big man already, how could you be so petty with a woman…” came Qin Xiang’s voice.
“Sino Bank? Really, you guys… Fine, fine, I won’t hold what happened against you… You’re good friends with my wife? Ay, it’s my ex-wife, okay? … If you need something just say it. I need a loan of 20,000,000,000. You’ll give me a five-year deal with an interest rate of… 4.15%? That’s a great deal!”
Chen Zhang suddenly pressed the end key on the phone’s keypad.
“Chief Zong, what’s the meaning of this?” Xia Lei looked at Chen Zhang.
“F, F, Four point one percent!” Chen Zhang spoke through clenched jaw. “I’ll lend you 20,000,000,000 for five years at an interest rate of 4.1%. However, we must sign a long term contract. The next time you need a loan, you should consider us first.”
Xia Lei shrugged. “All right, then let’s sign now.”
Half an hour later, Chen Zhang left Xia Lei’s office.
Fan Fan gave Xia lei a thumbs up. “You’re really ruthless. I sold my pride to get you a rate of 4.3%, but you actually managed to slash it down to 4.1%.”
Xia Lei said. “He had no choice, that’s the market. If he didn’t lend me the money, other people will.”
Fan Fan smiled. “Were those calls earlier really from the ICBC, Agriculture Bank and so on?”
It was easy to trick people like Chen Zhang with those calls earlier, but tricking a woman like Fan Fan would be very difficult.
“What do you think?” Xia Lei looked at her.
“I trust you.”
“Then I’ll also thank you,” said Xia Lei. Fan Fan had been a big help earlier. If she had not used her own reputation to bring Chen Zhang over and give him a chance to act, then sold her pride to Chen Zhang, then he wouldn’t have been able to get such a good deal.
“So how are you going to thank me?” Fan Fan crossed her legs.
Her long, snow white legs kicked up in the air, revealing a glimpse of the white, lacy landscape underneath the skirt. That mysterious landscape was fertile and very ripe. Even though it was just a flash, it was very alluring, seducing people into a captivating fantasy.
A faint smile appeared on Xia Lei’s lips. “What do you want?”
“My laboratory was destroyed, so I want…” Fan Fan played with her hair, and intentionally or unknowingly pulled down slightly on her collar.
Xia Lei stared at her, but his words weren’t at all ambiguous. “You won’t get a new laboratory, or at least not at my villa.”
Fan Fan smirked. “Is there no negotiation for this?”
Xia Lei’s voice was indifferent. “You deceived me. You think I’ll jump into your trap again?”
“All right then, I don’t want my laboratory rebuilt. However, the Alloy X Project is still in progress. My grandfather and I have always been members of the Alloy X Project, and now I want to know your plan. You said that you wanted to help me get the seat of Bureau ZN’s chief, but right now I only have the Alloy X Project,” said Fan Fan.
Xia Lei thought for a bit. “Give me another two month’s time and Thunder Horse Military Factory should be done upgrading by then. My second generation Thunder Dragon Intelligence Lathe should also be created by then and I can give you an answer after that.”
“Two months?” Fan Fan frowned.
“That’s the shortest possible time, no negotiation.”
“All right then, I’ll come back later,” said Fan Fan.
Xia Lei’s voice was calm. “What are you coming back for?”
“Don’t forget that apart from the Alloy X Project, I also need to research your sperm. I’ll be able to create an antidote very quickly. Don’t you want to test it?”
Test it? Xia Lei felt a flame of passion ignite in his lower half.
“Furthermore, although you blew up my laboratory and destroyed all my data and samples, I know your body’s secrets. There’s a huge risk for me to keep your secrets. Did you think that just because you said you’d help me become the Bureau Chief of Bureau ZN, that I’d feeble-mindedly help you? You should also have to pay an equal price.”
Xia Lei frowned. “What do you want?”
“I’m an expert in genetic engineering and I’m very curious about your descendants would be like. I think that he would also be a marvel.”
“You want a child?”
“Isn’t my request actually a very delightful one for you? Don’t you have a lot of women you sleep with? I’m just going to be one more.”
Xia Lei was speechless.