Chapter 58 Running Around

Chapter 58 On the Move

Leaving the Zhao family home, Huo Zongzhuo found himself in no mood for anything else.

He had originally planned to have lunch there and then head to his new company in Haicheng to deal with some business.

But now, his mind was consumed by thoughts of Jiang Luo and the switched children. He pulled out his mobile phone and called Jiang Luo, asking for his whereabouts.

"I'm a bit tied up. What's wrong?" Jiang Luo replied from the other end.

Huo Zongzhuo, one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding his phone, said, "I'm coming to find you. Let's have lunch together."

Jiang Luo chuckled. "Busy man, big boss, what brings you free time today?"

He readily agreed, "Alright, lunch it is."

Coincidentally, Jiang Luo had just exited the bank, bidding farewell to Qian Heng.

Since Huo Zongzhuo wanted to meet, he checked his watch, got into his car, and drove to their agreed-upon restaurant.

By the time Huo Zongzhuo arrived, Jiang Luo was already seated in a small private room, ordering.

The moment he pushed open the door and saw Jiang Luo, Huo Zongzhuo felt an indescribable mix of complexity and heartache.

He had always assumed Jiang Luo's unspoken struggles were merely family discord, striking out on his own without parental support. He never imagined Jiang Luo had such a complicated past.

Huo Zongzhuo also knew there must have been significant friction and unpleasantness with Jiang Luo's adoptive parents; otherwise, Jiang Luo wouldn't have left home, ignored by his biological parents and unwanted by his adoptive ones.

But it didn't matter.

Huo Zongzhuo sat down, thinking to himself: At least he still has me.

"What's on your mind? You're so lost in thought you've gone expressionless."

Seeing Huo Zongzhuo enter without a word, Jiang Luo assumed something was troubling him.

Huo Zongzhuo finally looked over, his expression softening. "Just wondering what you've been up to today. You didn't tell me."

Huo Zongzhuo then regained his composure, turning the lazy Susan to bring the teapot closer and pouring himself some water.

Jiang Luo continued to flip through the menu. "I'll tell you later, once things are more concrete."

As Huo Zongzhuo poured the tea, his mind worked quickly—or rather, his experience kicked in—and almost without thinking, he said, "You've opened several counters in Haicheng and Jinling, and business is so good that someone's getting jealous?"

"Or did you turn down Pacific Department Store, and they're causing trouble?"

Jiang Luo let out a drawn-out chuckle. "Daaad, you really are my dad, always worrying about everything I do."

"Don't worry."

Huo Zongzhuo replied, "Don't be a hero. If there's something, just say it."

Jiang Luo, in a casual tone, said, "Got it, Boss Huo."

Huo Zongzhuo didn't bring up Zhao Guangyuan, and Jiang Luo didn't mention he was seeking a bank loan.

The two ate normally, chatting casually, enjoying a relaxed meal.

Meanwhile, because of these two, significant developments were quietly unfolding at both the Zhao family and the Bank of China in Minhang:

Su Lan learned that Zhao Guangyuan wanted Zhao Mingshi to change rooms. The couple disagreed and had an argument.

Without waiting for Zhao Shuo to go to Fudan University, Zhao Guangyuan personally called Zhao Mingshi's dormitory that afternoon.

When Zhao Mingshi answered the phone, before even hanging up, he was trembling with anger.

He thought, Jiang Luo is coming home.

Is he finally returning?

No.

He had to do something.

He absolutely had to do something.

At the bank, upon learning someone was seeking a loan of ten million yuan, the credit department held a special meeting. Along with branch manager Zhou Qian, they assessed the situation, eager to see what kind of capital would dare ask the bank for such a sum.

After evaluation, they found that Shengfei Trade indeed had some foundation—though recently established, its revenue stream was quite strong.

Especially the company's brand "Vilanido," whose clothes sold well, with several retail locations already set up.

The bank was divided into two factions: one felt ten million yuan was definitely impossible, but the company was solid enough to grant a smaller loan, though not as much as ten million yuan.

The other faction suspected the owner of Shengfei Trade might be trying to use the newly established company and brand to secure bank funds, then flee abroad to live lavishly while becoming a deadbeat at home.

This person needed to be guarded against; under no circumstances should a loan be granted.

Qian Heng, however, fought hard for it, as it was a deal he was working on.

He felt Jiang Luo's situation was acceptable. While ten million yuan was out of the question, a loan of one million yuan should be feasible.

If not one million yuan, then five hundred or eight hundred thousand yuan would also work.

That afternoon, Qian Heng visited a shopping mall to observe the sales situation at the counters...

Over the next few days, Jiang Luo approached several other banks.

These banks were shocked at Jiang Luo's request for a ten-million yuan loan, with some outright rejecting him on the spot without courtesy.

Jiang Luo remained undeterred, making the rounds of banks he had contacted, meeting their account managers, dining with them, discussing investments in clothing factories, and persuading them along the way.

In the following days, a few more people rejected Jiang Luo, refusing to meet with him again, or have meals or contact.

Only Qian Heng from Bank of China stayed in touch with Jiang Luo, advising him to seek a smaller loan.

Jiang Luo could tell Qian Heng was working hard to secure the loan for him at the bank.

Qian Heng was genuinely eager to close this deal. Not only did he visit the counters and the company, but he also made a special trip to the counter in Jinling.

During this time, a funny misunderstanding occurred:

Qian Heng had visited counters at Sincere, Daxin, and Wing On, and when he went to Pacific Department Store, he assumed the "Vilanido" counter there also belonged to Jiang Luo. In his evaluation documents, he wrote that "Vilanido" had four counters in Haicheng.

Jiang Luo saw this and smiled without correcting him.

Whatever—an extra store meant extra assets. He considered it a helping hand from Young Master Li.

It was precisely because Jiang Luo saw Qian Heng's efforts and Bank of China's willingness to consider that he said to Qian Heng during one of their meals, "If there's something advanced available abroad but not domestically, we must either bring it in or find a way to make it ourselves."

"Someone has to be the first to try something new."

"If no one does it, if no one pursues industrialization, how will the local areas have money? If the local areas have no money, how can the country develop?"

"The same goes for the garment industry. With industrial development, not only can it solve local tax revenue and employment issues, but it can also foster excellence through competition. When others see me making money from this, they’ll also try to buy equipment and set up factories."

"Buying equipment requires money. When banks lend out money, they benefit."

"When the industry achieves industrial development, production efficiency improves, and the cost of goods leaving the factory decreases."

"With lower costs and higher efficiency, ordinary people can access more and cheaper products."

Qian Heng, a Tongji grad, understood this clearly and understood it deeply.

He immediately relayed Jiang Luo’s words to their branch manager, Zhou Qian, who also understood and felt moved by them.

Alright.

We’ll give it a shot, just try.

It was only then that Zhou Qian didn’t flat-out reject Jiang Luo’s loan application and instead reported it to upper management.

Good news—the higher-ups responded not long after.

Bad news—it was rejected. The district branch leader even called Zhou Qian and scolded him harshly: "Ten million?! Why not just rob a bank?!"

"Is he your relative? Are you expecting a kickback? How dare you even report this?"

"You dare report it, but would I dare?!"

"You’re not afraid I’ll get reamed out by the leadership, are you?!"

"No, no, no, please calm down, calm down."

Zhou Qian quickly put on a smiling face: "He’s not my relative, of course not."

But it didn’t end there—

Whether Zhou Qian was genuinely moved by Jiang Luo’s words, inherently stubborn, or Jiang Luo was just lucky to meet a good person, Zhou Qian actually, after hanging up from the scolding call, took Qian Heng and the materials and personally went to the Bank of China headquarters in Haicheng.

Jiang Luo had no idea about any of this at first.

So before long, everyone at the Haicheng Bank of China headquarters and its branches knew that a manager from a small branch was running around, pulling strings, trying to secure a loan of ten million.

No one knew that after getting turned down and leaving the headquarters, while chewing on baozi from a street vendor for lunch with Qian Heng, this branch manager said between bites: "Someone has to put in the effort for things like this."

"Water droplets moving forward form waves; waves moving forward eventually merge into the sea."

Qian Heng naively asked beside him: "Will it work? We’ve already tried so many times."

Zhou Qian: "Keep trying. Why not? Isn’t this your first major deal? Don’t you want it?"

Qian Heng nodded, without questioning it.

It was just a bit cold. In winter, the wind had chilled the baozi, and the meat filling inside lost its savor.

What was Jiang Luo doing at this time?

Kicking back in his office with air conditioning, living it up in a hotel?

Of course not.

These days, he was making constant trips to the post office.

The post office hadn’t yet separated postal and telecom services. Jiang Luo went there to use their phone to make an international long-distance call to the German company selling the equipment he had his eye on.

A small table, a wooden chair, and a landline phone on the table that could make long-distance calls.

Just like that, Jiang Luo sat in a small corner of the post office, using fluent English to communicate continuously with the German company on the other end...

"If you come again, I’ll give you an internal demerit!"

At the Bank of China headquarters in Haicheng, the branch leader ushered Zhou Qian and Qian Heng out, scolding them harshly again: "Do you two have any sense?"

"Right now, because of Pudong, the headquarters and branches are swamped, scrambling to secure funds all over! And you two come here to add to the chaos?!"

"Is your ten million such a big deal that you keep coming back again and again?!"

"You might not mind the hassle, but I’m about to be driven crazy by the nuisance!"

Zhou Qian put on a smiling face, while Qian Heng lingered a couple steps behind, head down, sniffling quietly.

Back at the branch, Zhou Qian looked exhausted. He first made some tea and took a few sips before calling Qian Heng over and saying to him: "Go find that Jiang Luo and tell him the money he wants, that ten million, our bank can’t approve it."

"Ask him if one million would work. I can approve one million directly here."

"For anything more, he’ll have to look elsewhere."

"A loan?"

In the general manager’s office upstairs at Pacific Department Store, upon hearing what Guo Ronghai came in to report, Li Fengrui’s eyes shifted, and he snorted: "He’s got quite the appetite, asking for ten million right off the bat."

Then he added: "Did you find out clearly? Is it really Jiang Luo trying to borrow ten million?"

"Really, even the Bank of China headquarters is talking about that ten million, saying the branch below is making a nuisance of themselves, having gone who knows how many times, and the leaders are furious."

Guo Ronghai put on an obsequious smile.

Li Fengrui snorted dismissively: "And I thought he actually had some skill."

At the post office, Jiang Luo was still on the phone...