Chapter 23: 022 But It Depends on the Opportunity

Fang Qingye fished until the sun set, catching eight fish in total: three half-foot-long silver carp, two crucian carp, and two topmouth culter.

He was most satisfied with catching a mandarin fish weighing one jin—this kind of fish is considered relatively hard to catch, so he returned with a full catch.

Take it home and have Mom steam it!

Fang Qingye whistled as he rode his small scooter home cheerfully.

That evening, Fang Qingye did not go out; he stayed home continuing to read and build mathematical models. The next day at noon, he played some single-player Warcraft, saw that the time was about right, then went downstairs, rode his small scooter, and headed straight for Song Dahai's house.

Song Dahai's villa is on the east side of the county town, a three-story building in pseudo-European style, with a stone lion squatting on each side of the main gate, claws bared and teeth bared.

Song Dahai has an older brother named Song Dahua, who is already over thirty this year; he is the deputy general manager of the Kerry Real Estate Head Office and the future successor to the company, but he and his wife and family do not live here; instead, they live in a duplex in the city.

They also keep a German Shepherd at home, which is very fierce, but since Fang Qingye comes often, he is a familiar face; the German Shepherd stuck its tongue out and wagged its tail at him.

"Dahai, where are your parents?" Fang Qingye asked Song Dahai, who had come to open the door for him.

Song Dahai grinned: "Mom went to play mahjong, and Dad hasn't come back yet. How about we play a couple of rounds of CS first?"

CS (Counter-Strike) was wildly popular in internet cafes in the first few years of the millennium; back then, Fang Qingye was still in high school and often slipped out with Song Dahai and Liu Dong during evening self-study to go to the internet cafe near the school for online matches.

Back then, almost all the boys in the internet cafe played this; a dozen or so people would split into two rows facing each other and play online matches, quite a lively scene.

The internet cafe was full of various "GOGO," "Fire in the hole!" and intense gunfire and explosion sounds, but later it gradually declined as Warcraft began to rise.

But Song Dahai always liked playing this, perhaps also because he had served in the army. Now that no one plays online matches in internet cafes, they open rooms on the Haofang platform to find people to play with.

Now, seeing Fang Qingye arrive, he immediately pulled him into an online match; the two each took a sniper rifle and played a one-on-one on the Dust 2 map.

Fang Qingye refused.

"Dahai, I'm no match for you; this would just be pure self-torture."

"Torture me then, let me torture you once. Come on, let's go upstairs..."

Not long after, gun and cannon sounds came from upstairs.

Fortunately, they only played two rounds before someone outside called Song Dahai; it was his father returning, so Fang Qingye took the opportunity to log out.

Song Qingdong's tea room was on the third floor; Fang Qingye followed him over. Inside were all Chinese-style rosewood furniture, with a very large rosewood tea table in the middle, on which were placed Gongfu tea utensils.

"Xiao Ye, sit," Song Qingdong said with a smile.

Fang Qingye smelled alcohol on him; obviously, he had just finished a social engagement. He sat on a rosewood chair, and Song Dahai sat beside him.

"A friend of mine brought some Big Red Robe from Fujian Province; it is said to be purebred Big Red Robe from Niulan Keng in Wuyi Mountain. Although it cannot compare to the mother-tree Big Red Robe, it is almost the same. Today, let's taste it."

Having finished speaking, Song Qingdong took a small jar of tea leaves from the tea cabinet and began to boil water and brew tea.

Song Qingdong did it himself, warming the cups, placing the tea, rinsing the tea... with meticulous care, while Fang Qingye and Song Dahai watched from the side.

After quite a while, the tea was finally brewed, and Song Qingdong poured a cup for each of the three of them.

"Taste it; how does it taste?"

Fang Qingye lifted the teacup and took a light sip: "Uncle Song, the taste is indeed good; there seems to be a hint of orchid fragrance inside?"

"Correct, this is the characteristic of Da Hong Pao; the aroma is rich with orchid fragrance... It seems you know tea well?" Song Qingdong said with a smile.

"Not really; my grandfather ran a nursery, where he raised various flowers, especially many orchids, so I am quite sensitive to this scent," Fang Qingye replied.

Song Dahai, sitting beside him, also lifted his teacup and took a sip, but he did not taste any orchid flavor.

He did not like drinking tea; he preferred beer or cola.

After tasting tea for a while, Song Qingdong shifted the conversation to the main topic: "Xiao Ye, you are very smart; you have already guessed the purpose of my inviting you for tea today."

"Is it about the loan?" Fang Qingye said with a smile.

"Yes. At dinner the night before last, you saw President Xia's attitude. Although she said she would go back and study it, it was actually an excuse. President Xia taking you to dinner shows she trusts you and regards you as her confidant," Song Qingdong said.

A confidant?

Not necessarily; perhaps a scapegoat?

However, Xia He currently appreciates him; he was clear about this in his heart.

"Help me out; no matter what method you use, as long as you can persuade President Xia to grant me a loan of ten million, that will do. Of course, the more the better. Once the matter is done, I will certainly reward you," Song Qingdong finally stated his request.

Fang Qingye pondered for a moment, put down his teacup, and then said: "I will do my best, but I dare not guarantee whether it will succeed. Also, there is no need to mention a reward; you also said that I and Dahai are good brothers."

"Very well, thank you."

Seeing that Fang Qingye agreed so readily, Song Qingdong was naturally happy but also somewhat suspicious: Could he really do it?

After finishing the serious matter, Song Qingdong said he wanted to go back to his room to sleep for a while, and then left, telling them to do as they pleased.

Only then did Song Dahai ask: "Hey, Ye Zi, how can you manage to get your senior sister, the bank president, to agree?"

"The matter isn't too difficult, but it depends on the opportunity," Fang Qingye said casually.

"What opportunity?"

Fang Qingye smiled slightly and did not answer.

"Fine, fine, I won't ask; as long as you get it done," Song Dahai said, then pushed Fang Qingye out.

"What for?"

"To fight... but this time I won't torture you; let's go to the Haofang platform."

"Alright."

Fang Qingye spent the afternoon amidst the sounds of guns and cannons, and in the evening, he ate sour soup rice made by the housekeeper at Song Dahai's house before leaving.

On the last day of the holiday, Fang Qingye did not go out either; he just read books at home all day.

After the May Day short holiday, Fang Qingye went to work on time, found an opportunity to review the loan application materials submitted by Kerry Real Estate Company again, and pondered in his heart what Song Qingdong had said.

Of course, he could go directly to Xia He, explain his intentions, and ask Xia He to approve the loan, but Fang Qingye understood clearly in his heart:

Based on his more than ten years of experience in the workplace before his rebirth, the chance of success by doing so was almost zero.

Xia He was indeed very grateful to him and appreciated him, but this did not mean you could make your own suggestions, especially since such suggestions would cause the other party to bear a certain risk.

More importantly, Xia He was internally opposed to it!

An opportunity was needed.

He hadn't expected the chance to come so quickly.

That afternoon, just before the end of the workday, Fang Qingye went to the bike shed to get his little scooter when he heard Office Director Wu Shengli standing in the yard shouting: "Old Zhang! Old Zhang!"

No one answered.

"Where the hell did this Old Zhang go?? His phone isn't even being answered. President Xia's meeting is already over, and he's waiting to be picked up. If he doesn't want to work, he can get lost!" Wu Shengli was losing his temper.

"Where did President Xia go for the meeting?" Fang Qingye casually asked a female coworker riding a bicycle beside him.

"I heard she went to the county government for a meeting. The county notified all branch presidents to attend — something about supporting the real estate work." The female coworker answered.

Supporting the real estate work?

Fang Qingye immediately realized something — this was a good chance to speak up!

He didn't take his scooter but instead walked toward Wu Shengli: "Director Wu, Master Zhang probably has some urgent matter. How about I go pick up President Xia?"

"You can drive?" Wu Shengli was a bit doubtful.

"Yes, I got my driver's license back when I was in school and often drove my friends' cars. I just don't have the unit's car key." Fang Qingye answered with a smile.

"Alright then, I'll give you the spare key."

After saying that, Wu Shengli went back to his office, and within two minutes he hurried back holding a key.

"Drive the Passat. Pay attention — drive slowly and watch out for safety on the road." Wu Shengli instructed.

"Don't worry, my driving skills are great."

Fang Qingye took the car key, went to the garage and drove the Passat out, left the bank's main gate, and headed toward the government building.

The government building of Nanxin County was in the newly developed urban area, about six kilometers from the old city district — supposedly moved there to boost the new district's real estate industry.

Fang Qingye drove for ten minutes and arrived at the entrance of the government building, where he saw Xia He, dressed in an OL outfit, waiting at the entrance of the lobby.