Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire

Chapter 96: Chapter 90: Looking Down on Others

The driver chuckled when Lu Jiaxin said she wanted to become a Rice Weevil, finding it amusing. He asked her, “Miss, how much do you think is enough to last a lifetime?”

Lu Jiaxin did a quick mental calculation. She thought one million should be enough. With that money, she could buy houses and land and become a landlady once the demolition came. Of course, she wouldn’t share such plans with the driver, so she casually mentioned one hundred thousand.

The driver said with a laugh, “The price of things is rising every year. Being a ten-thousand-yuan household probably won’t be impressive in a couple of years, and one hundred thousand won’t last long.”

Lu Jiaxin felt that the driver was quite perceptive. She deliberately sighed and said, “That’s just a dream, a beautiful dream. When I get home, I have to study.”

The driver nodded and said, “You must study. Education leads to a bright future.”

Lu Jiaxin asked the driver to take them to the Bank of China. Among the existing banks, Bank of China, specializing in national foreign exchange and foreign trade, centrally managed the country’s foreign exchange and carried out international trade settlements and other services.

Seeing Gu Wenfeng’s clothes patched all over, the bank teller didn’t even glance at his household registration or work permit when he heard he wanted to open an account—dismissing him immediately, “You do not meet the criteria; you cannot open an account.”

Lu Jiaxin was angered by his attitude and demanded, “What criteria are required to open an account?”

The teller drawled, “Only locals can open accounts.”

From their accents, he knew they weren’t locals, so he made up an excuse to brush them off.

That only locals could open accounts was clearly a deliberate obstruction. Lu Jiaxin got very angry, “What kind of customer service is this? I want to file a complaint.”

The teller gave her an indifferent glance and said, “Complain? Go right ahead.”

Gu Wenfeng wasn’t mad; such incidents were not new to him, “No worries, if this one doesn’t work, we’ll try another. There’s always a place to keep money when you have it.”

The male teller let out a scornful laugh.

Lu Jiaxin glared at him and spat out two words, “Trash.”

The male teller stood up angrily and said, “What did you say?”

Lu Jiaxin wanted to continue berating him but was dragged out of the bank by Gu Wenfeng. Once outside, he said, “It’s not worth getting upset over these people. Let’s go, we’ll try another bank.”

Many people, emboldened by their iron rice bowls, had terrible customer service attitudes; he had seen plenty of it during his years of travels. At first, he also got really upset, but later came to terms with it.

Lu Jiaxin didn’t respond, her face darkened as she followed him to another bank that also handled foreign currency exchange. The staff at the new bank were amiable, taking Gu Wenfeng’s household registration and work permit, and after reviewing, proceeded with the account creation.

The staff member handed Gu Wenfeng the completed passbook and cheerfully instructed him to keep it safe.

Gu Wenfeng didn’t take the passbook. Instead, he bent down, picked up his luggage bag by his feet, placed it on the counter, and said, “We’re here to deposit money.”

The staff member, somewhat surprised, still maintained a smiling face and asked, “May I know how much you wish to deposit?”

Gu Wenfeng unzipped the bag and revealed a stash of greenbacks, “Seventy thousand greenbacks, please count them.”

The employee was stunned for three seconds, then excitedly said, “Comrade, comrade, please seal the bag and come with me to discuss this inside.”

It was a bank, and Gu Wenfeng and Lu Jiaxin were not afraid; they followed the employee into a small private room.

This employee poured them each a glass of hot water, “Please wait a moment, the manager will soon be here.”

Lu Jiaxin was puzzled about why a manager was needed for a simple deposit and wondered if they suspected the money was ill-gotten. But seeing the employee’s broad smile, she thought that unlikely.

Soon, a thin middle-aged man arrived. With the employee’s introduction, Lu Jiaxin learned that his surname was He, and he was the manager of this bank’s business department.

Manager He warmly greeted them to sit down, “Comrade Gu, may I know what plans you have for this money?”

Gu Wenfeng instinctively turned to Lu Jiaxin. He knew she intended to start a business but was unclear about the specifics.

Manager He was taken aback by his gesture, not expecting that the little girl would be the one in charge; he had misjudged her at first.

Lu Jiaxin said, “I want to make a batch of leather shoes. This money is for buying materials and paying for the processing fees.”

The original plan was to make a profit from the leather shoes first and then open a clothing factory in Peng City. However, her current medical condition didn’t allow for high-intensity work, so she only planned to make and sell a batch of shoes. She would have to postpone the subsequent plan until she recovered.

Manager He helpfully offered, “I have a customer who owns a leather factory. If you need to buy leather and cotton, I can introduce you.”

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and Lu Jiaxin inquired, “What’s the condition?”

Seeing Gu Wenfeng staying silent, Manager He weighed his options and decided to be straightforward, “As long as you exchange your money into Hua currency at our bank. Miss, I won’t lie to you; we have a foreign exchange quota to meet. You help me fulfill the quota, and I’ll get you the best price from the customer.”

Lu Jiaxin knew about the country’s foreign exchange shortage. Knowing it and experiencing it were two different things, “We don’t need the money for now, we’ll exchange it when we need it!”

If banks were so desperate, it must be more favorable outside. Besides, exchange rates fluctuate, and they might get more money if they exchanged later.

Manager He wasn’t disappointed; the money wouldn’t go anywhere once it was in their bank, “You are quite straightforward, Miss. Let me know when you’re available. I’ll get in touch with him later and take you to his factory tomorrow.”

Lu Jiaxin replied, “Manager He, you have to work. We can’t afford to keep you from your job. How about this? You give us an address, and we’ll go there first to have a look, then we can have dinner together.”

If the factory he recommended was reliable, they would have a meal together and he could help get a favorable price. But if it didn’t meet her standards, she didn’t want to waste the favor.

Manager He could surely read between the lines, wondering who raised such a shrewd young girl, “Of course, that’s no problem. I’ll make the restaurant reservation.”

During the process, Manager He inquired where they’d obtained so much foreign currency. When he learned it was earned from Nie Zhan, he couldn’t help but be envious.

The exchange rate for greenbacks that day was 1:2.1, so Lu Jiaxin’s seventy thousand greenbacks would convert to one hundred forty-seven thousand Hua currency.

Seeing the numbers on the passbook, Lu Jiaxin felt the relief of finally having her startup capital—it hadn’t been easy. Taking the passbook, she smiled and said, “Manager He, we first went to the Bank of China, but their teller looked down on us. Otherwise, that money would’ve been deposited with them.”

By saying this deliberately, she intended to let the leadership at the Bank of China know that their teller caused them to miss out on a foreign exchange deposit.

Manager He silently rejoiced, grateful for the incompetent teller. Otherwise, he might have missed his quota for the month, “Comrade Gu, where are you staying? I can have someone drop you off.”

Gu Wenfeng graciously declined.