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, seeing 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 familiar to everyone, immediately smiled and said: "Director Qin brought me down mainly so I could run around more, understand grassroots work, and also to meet all you seniors."

Everyone shook hands in turn.

Qin Zhiqing clearly knew all four of Xia He's group; after shaking hands with each, he finally reached Fang Qingye: "Is this our new alumnus?"

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

"I know his second uncle," Chen Meimei interjected. "He's the finance bureau chief of their county."

"Really? Director Chen, then tonight you have to drink more with young Fang." Qin Zhiqing also smiled.

"Haha, Director Qin, they've already made plans."

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

At this point, Xia He said beside him: "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"Xia He, your information is outdated—Yu Yang is now Director-Level Officer," Lei Ming interjected from beside him.

"Really? So he's been promoted just like Director Yang? Tonight you two have to drink two extra rounds." Xia He said.

Fang Qingye listened, secretly startled.

This 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 is now Director-Level Officer, 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 wanted to learn well from his seniors and asked for their guidance; then he looked at Fang Qingye and smiled as he shook his hand: "Young Fang, I used to be the youngest here, but now that you've come, I'm finally not the youngest anymore."

"Senior, hello."

Fang Qingye greeted him, but felt uneasy inside.

Young Fang?

How much older are you than me?

Others call me 'Little Fang'—that's fine.

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

On what grounds?! Because you're in the province and I'm at the grassroots level?!

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 Chen Meimei, 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... Essentially all 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 less restraint—some 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 accept 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 start drinking. Though they claimed to be chatting casually, the topics were finance, economics, and work-related matters.

"Xia He, your branch recently had that case of a depositor losing 20 million—everyone was talking about it, but it was resolved satisfactorily. What actually happened? Can you tell us?" Chen Meimei asked while eating; he seemed very 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: "Nowadays, private business owners have such audacity—they're framing state-owned banks!"

"Director Qin, I've heard about this too, but the situation is more complicated. Their former deputy manager, surnamed Zhao, conspired with the business owner and secretly pushed things further, aiming to drive Xia He out and take over as head," Yang Kehua explained. "But it failed—he resigned in the end."

"People like that have corrupt hearts—they should be fired!" Qin Zhiqing said.

"Senior, you're still amazing, one step ahead—you spotted their scheme in time," Yu Yang picked up the thread.

"To be honest, I'm ashamed—the one who uncovered their scheme wasn't me, it was young Fang. His words woke us up; otherwise, I'd have slunk back to Huijing long ago."

Recalling the dramatic events months ago, Xia He still felt deeply moved.

"Really? Young Fang, how did you figure it out?" Chen Meimei asked, curious.

"I just gave a simple example," Fang Qingye said, repeating the example he'd given Chen Meimei earlier—he was very modest.

"At the time, I was just guessing—I didn't expect it was exactly as I thought."

"Hmm... to think of these key points so quickly—impressive," Chen Meimei said.

Those around him nodded in agreement.

"Actually, young Fang helped with more than just that—one case was two months ago, when 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 know about it?" Xia He added.

"We know," Lei Ming said. "But we heard your branch chief suppressed it and didn't report it to the municipal banking regulator. Others turned a blind eye. The main reason was 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 municipal central bank and banking regulator, so he had better information.

"That's correct," Yang Kehua also said. "I've heard about it too—and employee fidelity insurance is now being rolled out across our Construction Bank system."

"This employee fidelity insurance was young Fang's idea."

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

"Young Fang, you're impressive... no wonder Xia He admires you so much," Chen Meimei chuckled.

"That's why Xia He recommended him as her assistant," Lei Ming added from the side.

"Young Fang, I'd like to toast you," Chen Meimei said, standing up; Fang Qingye stood up immediately, holding his cup.

After drinking Chen Meimei'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, of course, dared not be arrogant; he quickly drained his glass, and this round left him slightly dizzy.

The topic was discussed for a while before changing to something else, and then they heard Mei Shuwei say: "Director Qin, I heard the state is preparing to change the current tight monetary policy and loosen the money supply?"