Chapter 69: 068 This Young Alumnus Is Capable

The middle-aged man wore glasses and a silk T-shirt, looking very spirited.

“Director Qin, hello.”

“Hello, Director Qin.”

Everyone quickly greeted him.

“Oh, Yu Yang is here too?” Lei Ming said, noticing the young man following behind.

“Wherever Director Qin goes, Yu Yang comes along,” Yang Kehua said. “I told you so, didn’t I?”

The young man, Yu Yang, clearly knew everyone and immediately smiled: “Director Qin brought me down mainly to let me get more field experience and understand grassroots work, but also to meet all you senior alumni.”

Everyone shook hands in turn.

Qin Zhiqing clearly knew all four of Xia He’s group; after shaking hands with each, he finally turned to Fang Qingye: “Is this our new alumnus?”

“Yes, Fang Qingye. He graduated last year, also in finance.” Xia He said.

“I know his uncle,” Mei Shuwei interjected. “He’s the director of the finance bureau in their county.”

“Really? Director Mei, then tonight you owe Xiao Fang a drink.” Qin Zhiqing smiled.

“Haha, Director Qin, they’ve already made plans.”

Next came Yu Yang, who also shook hands with everyone in turn, ending again with Fang Qingye.

At this point, Xia He said beside him: “Xiao Fang, let me introduce you first—Yu Yang, deputy director-level officer at the Financial Office, also a graduate of the Finance College, four grades above you, class of ’03.”

“Xia He, your information is outdated—Yu Yang is now a director-level officer,” Lei Ming chimed in.

“Really? So he’s been promoted just like Director Yang? Tonight you two owe each other two rounds.” Xia He said.

Fang Qingye listened, secretly startled.

Yu Yang’s rise has been fast indeed!

In provincial-level departments, the only internal division is the division level—there’s no section level. Yu Yang as a director-level officer is equivalent to a section chief at the grassroots level; his next step is deputy division chief.

He’s only about twenty-six or twenty-seven.

Yu Yang, however, was very humble, saying he needed to learn from his senior alumni and asked for their guidance; then he looked at Fang Qingye and smiled as he shook his hand: “Xiao Fang, I used to be the youngest here, but now that you’re here, I’m finally not the youngest anymore.”

“Senior, hello.”

Fang Qingye greeted him, but felt uneasy inside.

Xiao Fang?

You’re only a few years older than me.

Others call me Xiao Fang—that’s fine.

Xia He is only eight years older than me, but she’s my superior; I can accept her calling me Xiao Fang. But you?

Why?! Because you're in the province and I'm at the grassroots?!

Of course, these grievances were hidden inside; outwardly, everything remained harmonious.

After a few more exchanges, everyone sat down. Qin Zhiqing naturally took the seat of honor; on one side sat Yang Kehua and Mei Shuwei, followed by Xia He and Lei Ming on either side, while Yu Yang and Fang Qingye sat at the lower end.

The dishes were exquisite: crab meat lion’s head in clear broth, Wenshi tofu, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, stir-fried shrimp... mostly Huaiyang cuisine.

The liquor was Tanggou Daqu; later, Fang Qingye learned Qin Zhiqing was from Huai’an and preferred Tanggou Daqu.

Since they were all alumni, there was no stiffness—someone poured wine, others chatted. Fang Qingye had said he’d drive back that night, so he only poured but didn’t drink, but how could these people allow that?

Leave the car! Take a taxi back.

Or just stay overnight and go back tomorrow morning.

Xia He agreed too, so Fang Qingye had no choice but to drink. Though they claimed to be chatting casually, the topics still revolved around finance, economics, and work.

“Xia He, your branch recently had that case of a depositor losing 20 million—there was a huge uproar, but it was resolved satisfactorily. What actually happened? Can you tell us?” Mei Shuwei asked while eating, clearly interested in the topic.

“It was the depositor stealing his own money and framing the bank—no connection to the bank at all,” Xia He smiled and briefly recounted the whole story.

“Really?!” Qin Zhiqing put down his chopsticks, his thick eyebrows rising. “These private business owners these days have balls—daring to frame our state-owned banks!”

“Director Qin, I’ve heard about this too,” Yang Kehua explained. “Actually, it’s more complicated. One of their former vice directors, surnamed Zhao, conspired with the business owner and secretly pushed things further, aiming to drive Xia He out and take over as head. But it failed—he resigned in the end.”

“Someone like that, with such ill intentions, should be fired!” Qin Zhiqing said.

“Senior, you’re truly impressive—outstanding, you saw through their scheme in time,” Yu Yang picked up the thread.

“To be honest, I’m ashamed—the one who saw through their scheme wasn’t me, it was Xiao Fang. His words woke us up; otherwise, I’d have slunk back to Huijing long ago.”

Thinking back to the dramatic events months ago, Xia He still felt deeply moved.

“Really? Xiao Fang, how did you figure it out?” Mei Shuwei asked, curious.

“I just gave a simple example,” Fang Qingye said, repeating the example he’d used for Chen Meimei—he was humble.

“I was just guessing back then—I didn’t expect it was exactly as I thought.”

“Hmm... to grasp these key points so quickly—impressive,” Mei Shuwei said.

Those around him nodded in agreement.

“Actually, Xiao Fang helped with more than just that. Two months ago, one of our branch employees embezzled depositor funds meant for fund purchases to gamble in stocks, got trapped, and jumped to his death—I assume some of you here have heard?” Xia He added.

“We’ve heard,” Lei Ming said. “But I heard your branch manager suppressed the case and didn’t report it to the municipal banking regulator. Others pretended not to notice. The main reason? Your bank had already purchased an employee fidelity insurance policy and recovered the losses.”

Lei Ming spoke—he worked in the same building as the city’s People’s Bank and banking regulator, so he had good information.

“That’s correct,” Yang Kehua added. “I’ve heard about it too. Employee fidelity insurance is now being rolled out across our Construction Bank system.”

“That employee fidelity insurance? It was Xiao Fang’s idea.”

Hearing Xia He say this, everyone’s attention turned again to Fang Qingye.

“Xiao Fang, you’re impressive... no wonder Xia He admires you so much,” Mei Shuwei chuckled.

“That’s why Xia He recommended him as her assistant,” Lei Ming added.

“Xiao Fang, I’ll toast you,” Mei Shuwei said, standing up. Fang Qingye stood up too, holding his cup.

After finishing Mei Shuwei’s toast, Lei Ming raised his glass next, and then everyone took turns toasting Fang Qingye—even Qin Zhiqing finally raised his cup. Fang Qingye dared not refuse and drained each one; this round left him slightly dizzy.

After this topic faded, another came up, and Mei Shuwei said: “Director Qin, I heard the state plans to change its tight monetary policy and loosen credit?”