College students are not as sought after as they were in the 1990s. Undergraduates only earn a little over a thousand yuan a month when they enter the workforce, so many students want to continue their studies and finish their postgraduate degree before entering the workforce.
Of course, among these candidates were also people who were already working. Many of them were pot-bellied and looked like leaders. In China, academic qualifications and professional titles are directly related to one's income.
Government officials, in particular, feel embarrassed when filling out their resumes for promotion if they don't have a master's or doctoral degree.
After entering the classroom, Zhuang Rui breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Jia was not in the same examination room as him. To be honest, Zhuang Rui was a little afraid of this girl because he could see ambition and desire in her eyes.
Zhuang Rui didn't particularly like this type of woman because she believed that ambition, especially in beautiful women, could be the foundation of their success, but it was also their greatest weakness. These women often had loose morals and were willing to sacrifice a lot for their own ends.
After the exam papers were handed out, Zhuang Rui forcibly banished all distracting thoughts from his mind. The exam in the morning was in English, which was also his strong suit. Zhuang Rui quickly finished the paper. Since he couldn't leave early, he sat bored in his seat waiting for the exam to end.
When the bell rang, Zhuang Rui was the first to hand in his paper and rushed out like a shot. He regretted not taking off his suspenders; otherwise, the host Liu might not have bothered him. He couldn't let an expert with a broken hand face the national audience.
"drive……"
After Zhuang Rui got into the car outside the school, he shouted to Peng Fei that they had to make a quick getaway before Liu Jia came out. Although this woman wasn't cute, she was more attractive to men in certain ways. Zhuang Rui knew that his self-control wasn't that strong.
"Why……"
Peng Fei agreed and started the car.
"Stop, stop. I'll take a taxi. You have a date later..."
The car had only driven a few meters when Zhuang Rui suddenly remembered this. He quickly stopped Peng Fei, opened the car door, and said with a smile, "If you can't handle this, you'll lose your job..."
"It's time to buy another car..."
This car is indeed a bit inconvenient. My mother still often needs to go to Yuquan Mountain. Sitting in the taxi, Zhuang Rui thought about what kind of car to buy. Although there are still 200 million yuan of funds that have not been settled, he still has the money to buy a car. If all else fails, he can drive an Audi from Pengcheng to use first.
The afternoon exam really racked Zhuang Rui's brain cells. He just couldn't understand what archaeology and politics had to do with each other. And it was all just formalities; no wonder so many senior professors at universities couldn't recruit graduate students. If Zhuang Rui hadn't been cramming for months, he probably wouldn't have passed either.
After the exam in the afternoon, Zhuang Rui was picked up by Peng Fei. The girl, Peng Fei's girlfriend, was also in the car. The girl had been waiting for Peng Fei. The two talked things out and made up.
"Peng Fei, you're only a few months younger than me, when are you going to get married..."
After the two escorted Zhang Qian home, Zhuang Rui smiled and said to Peng Fei.
"Brother Zhuang, there's no rush..."
Peng Fei smiled sheepishly. He felt that he had nothing right now, and he was even staying at Zhuang Rui's house. He couldn't keep living at Zhuang Rui's place after marrying the girl, could he?
"Really not in a hurry? Come on, if you consider me your older brother, we'll get things done once the weather gets warmer. You don't need to move out. Ya Ya might not be used to it. My house has plenty of rooms; you can just choose one in the middle courtyard..."
Zhuang Rui's words made Peng Fei's lips twitch a few times, but in the end he only managed to utter five words: "Thank you, Brother Zhuang!"
From that moment on, Peng Fei truly regarded Zhuang Rui as his elder brother, and he also treated that courtyard house as his own home. The long-lost family affection returned, which made Peng Fei's eyes moist.
It's all about fate between people. Zhuang Rui didn't know why he was so good to Peng Fei. Perhaps it was when he first went to Peng Fei's rented, simple house that he was touched by Ya Ya's innocent "big brother" and the affection between the siblings.
Over the next few days, Zhuang Rui was extremely busy. Three consecutive days of intense exams kept him on edge, and he studied late into the night every day. This displeased Ouyang Jun, who had visited Zhuang Rui several times.
However, Zhuang Rui's return made the house much more lively. In the past few days, Peng Fei and Hao Long have been taking their two children to put up couplets and happy characters, and they have also put up electrified colored lights on the artificial hill in the middle courtyard. After the lights are turned on at night, it becomes very beautiful.
"Fourth Brother, you didn't just invite me here for drinks, did you?"
Zhuang Rui looked at Ouyang Jun sitting in his room and asked in an annoyed tone, "Today is the first day after the exams. Originally, Zhuang Rui wanted to visit Professor Meng tonight, but Ouyang Jun dragged him back to the backyard, set out some braised dishes, and insisted that he drink with him."
Since Xu Qing was already there, chatting with Mrs. Zhuang in the front yard, Ouyang Jun said with a smile, "What's wrong with drinking? It's just that it's cold. Hmm, I'll stay here tonight..."
"Alright, you can stay as long as you like. I happen to need to talk to you about something..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head helplessly. His house was becoming the Ouyang family's guesthouse when they came to Beijing. Not only did Ouyang Lei and Ouyang Jun, who were in Beijing, come to stay for a few days whenever they had nothing to do, but even the Ouyang brothers, Ouyang Lu and Ouyang Jun, who worked in other places, would always come here to report whenever they returned to Beijing, saying that the food cooked by their aunt was delicious.
However, this suited Zhuang Rui's wishes perfectly; the house was too big, and it would be more lively with more people.
"I also need to talk to you about something. Never mind, you can go first..."
Ouyang Jun didn't expect that Zhuang Rui would also need to talk to him.
"Fourth Brother, how much money do you have on hand right now? I mean, money that you can access immediately..."
These past few days, Zhuang Rui has been busy with exams and hasn't had time to raise funds. Now that he's met Ouyang Jun, he might as well ask him. Anyway, investing in mining veins is a sure-fire way to make money, and maybe he can get back the 200 million yuan at the next Myanmar mining auction.
Unexpectedly, Ouyang Jun's eyes widened suddenly after hearing Zhuang Rui's words. He looked at Zhuang Rui and said, "Hey kid, you knew that Fourth Brother was here to borrow money today, didn't you?"
"You're asking me to lend you money? I'm dirt broke right now, I still have a shortfall of 200 million, and I was thinking of asking you for a bit more..."
Zhuang Rui was also dumbfounded when he heard Ouyang Jun's words. This brother actually came to borrow money. The two brothers had the same idea today.
Chapter 511 Raising Funds (Part 2)
"Two hundred million? Zhuang Rui, you went to Myanmar last month, not Macau. What did you do to create a two hundred million funding gap?"
Ouyang Jun was startled by Zhuang Rui's words. He brought the wine glass to his lips but didn't put it in his mouth. When Zhuang Rui went to Myanmar, he had asked Ouyang Jun to help him exchange the euros. Ouyang Jun knew Zhuang Rui's wealth better than anyone else.
Zhuang Rui was somewhat amused and exasperated by Ouyang Jun's words. He waved his hand and said, "Fourth Brother, it's not what you think. It's nothing like that. I'm thinking of investing in a jade mine in Myanmar. You know, all the funds I brought this time went into buying rough stones. Sigh, you wouldn't understand these things anyway. By the way, Fourth Brother, how much money do you need to borrow? Did your wife confiscate all your pocket money? I still have a few hundred thousand left, don't come looking for more..."
"A million or two? That's like giving money to a beggar. I wouldn't even look at that kind of money. Hey bro, I know a little about this jade gambling stuff you're talking about. You can't eat or drink that stuff. You've spent all your money on it?"
Ouyang Jun rolled his eyes. He had come to Zhuang Rui this time to borrow 100 million yuan to start a real estate business.
In recent years, the real estate market across the country has been very hot. Although Ouyang Jun had the opportunity to enter the market a few years ago, his father kept a close eye on him and did not allow him to do so. Now that he is married, his father no longer cares about such things, so Ouyang Jun has rekindled the idea.
The main problem is that the money comes too easily. Putting aside everything else, just look at the courtyard house that Ouyang Jun recently bought. He can easily make 30 to 40 million RMB just by reselling it now.
Despite Ouyang Jun's usual airs, when it comes to real wealth, he can only produce about 50 to 60 million RMB in cash, which is far less than what Song Jun and others have.
Moreover, although Ouyang Zhenwu agreed to let his son get involved in real estate, he made one point: he couldn't resell land. This meant that Ouyang Jun, who had used his connections to acquire several plots of land in the early stages, dared not sell them and could only try to develop them himself.
When it comes to real estate, to put it bluntly, it's about using government money to build houses for oneself. Haven't you seen those big real estate companies? They're the biggest debtors of banks, borrowing money from banks to develop projects, and then paying the banks back once the houses are sold.
Even if the house can't be sold, that's not my problem. What about the money I owe the bank? Easy, the house is the mortgage anyway. The bank can just take the house back and that's it. If I make money, it's mine; if I lose money, it's the bank's.
Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that real estate is the hottest industry in the 21st century.
Although this business is about getting something for nothing, it still requires some start-up capital. Ouyang Zhenwu is very strict and doesn't want the same thing that happened to Chen in the last century to happen to him, giving certain political opponents an opportunity. Therefore, Ouyang Jun's idea of acquiring land and cooperating with other real estate companies was also rejected.
Want to get into real estate? Sure, Minister Ouyang has said so. Go ahead and do it yourself, but don't leave any ammunition for anyone to use against you.
For the past month or so, Ouyang Jun has been busy with these things. He bought a construction company with construction qualifications and spent almost all of his money. Although his wife has some savings, Ouyang Jun couldn't bring himself to do it, so he thought of Zhuang Rui.
Ouyang Jun never expected that the nearly 20 million euros that Zhuang Rui had asked him to exchange would be completely spent, and all of it was on stones. What a spendthrift!
"Fourth Brother, your real estate business is profitable, but it's too troublesome. Why don't you sell that company and invest in a jade mine with me instead..."
After Zhuang Rui understood the ins and outs of the matter, he smiled and said that although he was also optimistic about the prospects of real estate, relatively speaking, the profit from investing in jade was several times greater than that from investing in real estate.
"You make it sound so easy. I've already invested nearly a hundred million yuan. If I sell it, how am I supposed to survive? Forget it, I'll think of another way..."
Ouyang Jun knew in his heart that with the few plots of land he owned, he would make money no matter what if he developed them. He was not about to give up this lucrative opportunity and get involved in Zhuang Rui's mess.
"Okay, just don't regret it later..."
Zhuang Rui looked at this future Beijing real estate tycoon and laughed, then said, "Fourth Brother, how about you help me get a loan of 200 million RMB from the bank using this house?"
Zhuang Rui had this idea all along; he knew before that Ouyang Jun didn't have much money.
"loan?"
Ouyang Jun lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "A loan isn't out of the question. Your yard should be worth over 200 million now. Tell me, brother, are you really determined to invest in that jade mine?"
To be honest, Ouyang Jun was somewhat envious of Zhuang Rui's jade mine in Xinjiang. However, he didn't know much about jadeite, and since it was an investment overseas, he couldn't control the flow of his funds. Therefore, Ouyang Jun wasn't very optimistic about Zhuang Rui's decision.
"Fourth Brother, you're in the real economy, I'm in resources. Let's each do our own thing. You just need to help me get this 200 million loan..."
Seeing that the problem that was currently troubling him would soon be resolved, Zhuang Rui was in a great mood.
"Okay, but banks are tightening credit at the end of the year and won't be lending large sums of money anymore. You'll have to do this after the New Year, and you should be able to get the money around March or April..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui's firm attitude, Ouyang Jun nodded in agreement. As long as the procedures were in order, it was not a big deal and no one could find any fault with it.
"March or April? No way, Fourth Brother, by then it'll be too late. Ten days, within ten days you can help me get a loan of 20 million euros, or 200 million RMB, either will do..."
Upon hearing Ouyang Jun's words, Zhuang Rui was so anxious he almost jumped up. He was worried that Hu Rong wouldn't be able to hold on and would have to give up the jade mine if the money wasn't in place. So, he needed to have the money to keep Hu Rong's mind at ease and gradually guide him to dig out the vein.
"Do you think I'm the governor of the central bank? You think I can just throw 200 million at you like that? Forget ten days, I couldn't even get this done in a month unless I went through some other channels. And if your uncle found out, things would get really messed up..."
Ouyang Jun was also getting anxious and almost slammed his fist on the table. If he could get a loan from the bank through irregular channels, his problem would have been solved long ago. Why would he need to beg Zhuang Rui?
Although Ouyang Jun is not in politics, many people are still watching him because of his status. The more this is the case, the more important it is to follow the bank's procedures when doing certain things. Otherwise, if any mistakes happen in the future, these small things will be magnified infinitely.
Loans are a minor matter, and Ouyang Jun can be exempted from some of the shady dealings, but it must be done according to the rules. Otherwise, how could Ouyang Jun, after so many years in the business, only have such a small fortune?
Zhuang Rui thought about it for a moment and understood the crux of the matter. He waved his hand and said, "Never mind then, I'll think of another way. I need the money urgently, it has to be in place after the New Year, I can't wait for the bank..."
The two brothers drank some more. Xu Qing came to find her husband. After taking Ouyang Jun away, Zhuang Rui made a phone call to Uncle Tian in Xinjiang.
The news from the Jade King wasn't good either. Because a large batch of Hetian jade that was sold in December had seen a slight drop in market prices, it wasn't the best time to sell raw materials. The next dividend distribution would have to wait until after spring.
As for the repair shops in Pengcheng and Qin Ruilin's shop in Beijing, Zhuang Rui knew that these two places could only allocate a maximum of ten or twenty million yuan, which was just a drop in the bucket compared to two hundred million yuan and would have little effect.
Fatty Ma and Song Jun might have this money, but it's only a possibility. These two have also invested hundreds of millions in the Myanmar jade auction and stockpiled a lot of materials. If I were to ask them for it and they refused, it would be awkward if we met again in the future.
There's a saying going around these days: "If you want to lose a friend, borrow money from them." So Zhuang Rui won't ask others for money unless absolutely necessary, since his relationship with Song Jun and Fatty Ma isn't as close as Liu Chuan's.
"Peng Fei, come with me..."
After thinking for a while, Zhuang Rui got dressed and went to the front yard to call out to Peng Fei. ...
"Xiao Rui, what's the rush? Why did you only call me when you got to the door?"
With the Chinese New Year approaching, Ouyang Lei had a lot on his plate. He had a less important meeting to attend that evening, but after receiving a call from Zhuang Rui, he rushed home because it was his little cousin's first time visiting.
"Thank you, sister-in-law, Brother Lei, it's very important..."
After Zhuang Rui took the tea poured by Jiang Ying, he looked at Ouyang Lei.
He has made up his mind to reveal the truth about this batch of gold. In any case, he has no way to retrieve the gold on his own, so it's better for the country to benefit from it than for it to remain in Myanmar.
Moreover, Zhuang Rui also had some selfish motives. The country takes the lion's share, so surely he should get a little something too, right?
"Let's talk in the study then..."
Ouyang Lei's study is where he handles his work at home; it's a forbidden place for his son and wife.
After arriving at the study, Zhuang Rui recounted the whole story, omitting only the part about how the treasure map was discovered. As he spoke, Ouyang Lei's expression grew serious.
Ouyang Lei paced back and forth in the room a few times, pondered for a moment, and said, "Ten tons of gold, and a large amount of jewelry, Xiao Rui, if we use the power of the state, you might not get any of this..."
Chapter 512 Arrangement