When they arrived at the hotel, You Juan was waiting downstairs. In front of her father-in-law, this beautiful young woman still showed her fierce nature. If Wen Liang hadn't raised his hand with a smile to block her, she would have grabbed his arm and leaned against him.
"How's it going? You're not upset, are you?"
You Juan was straightforward and enthusiastic, and the way she expressed her concern was so shameless that even Wen Liang couldn't handle it, so she looked at Qu Donghai for help. Qu Donghai coughed, and before he could speak, You Juan said in a delicate voice, "Dad, it's all because of me tonight. That Liu Jiang deliberately came to cause trouble. If it weren't for President Wen's help, my wife would have been bullied to death!"
Qu Donghai obviously had no way to deal with this daughter-in-law, so he could only smile and said, "Then let's toast to Mr. Wen with a few glasses of wine to express our gratitude!"
"Yes, that's for sure! Mr. Wen, please come this way. I asked the kitchen to carefully prepare a large table of food and wine..."
The four of them moved to a more private room, where they chatted and had a good time. After three rounds of drinking, Wen Liang asked in a low voice, "Mr. Qu, have you got the money back?"
Qu Donghai nodded and said, "You said the maximum loan period is three months. To be on the safe side, I finalized the contract with a limit of two months. Five days ago, the principal plus interest has been fully received!"
Qu Rong was confused, but he also knew that this was a private business between Wen Liang and his father, and he had no right to ask. However, You Juan was not as sensible as him. While pouring wine for Wen Liang, she asked curiously: "What money, and interest, are you loaning money at high interest rates?"
Since Wen Liang had mentioned it in front of them, he naturally had no intention of hiding it. He smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, what you said is too harsh. Even if private enterprises have connections in banks, they have to talk for several months to get loans. When they encounter emergencies or problems with capital turnover, they will be stumped by money and even want to hang themselves. Therefore, short-term borrowing from companies with sufficient funds is different from usury."
You Juan works at the Merchants Bureau, dealing with all kinds of companies. She stopped drinking and frowned, "Isn't this illegal?"
This topic involves a very interesting paradox. In 1996, the central bank issued the "General Principles of Loans", Article 61 of which clearly stipulates that enterprises shall not conduct lending or disguised lending and financing business in violation of national regulations. Generally, short-term lending contracts between enterprises are deemed invalid based on this. However, domestic laws have always been full of loopholes. This is also because there is no experience in implementing a market economy, and commercial laws are complicated and need to be gradually improved in practice. Therefore, when the "Contract Law" was issued and the Supreme People's Court interpreted several issues on the application of the "Contract Law", this interesting paradox emerged:
The Contract Law and its judicial interpretation clearly state that the court cannot find a contract invalid unless it violates state restrictions on business, franchise, or business prohibited by laws and administrative regulations. The General Principles of Loans are administrative regulations, not administrative regulations, so only one of the Contract Law and the General Principles of Loans can be selected as the applicable commercial rule.
So, which one is the legal one
This depends on the Supreme Court's several regulations on judicial interpretation, Article 12 of which states: Judicial interpretations shall no longer have legal effect after a new law is promulgated, or the original law is amended or repealed, or a new judicial interpretation is formulated.
In other words, whoever is born earlier is unlucky. The Contract Law was implemented in 1999, and the General Rules for Loans were implemented in 1996. So in a sense, after 1999, corporate lending is not illegal. Later, provincial high courts also made such judgments, but the pitfall is that some places still insist on determining that such behavior is illegal. It's crazy to think about it.
But now it is 1997, and there are still two years before the promulgation of the Contract Law that created the paradox, so You Juan is right, this is illegal!
But there is a saying that the law does not hold everyone responsible. In 1997, the private economy had developed to a full-scale stage, and private lending had long been popular, and even formed a unique set of behavioral norms. This was fundamentally different from the later behavior of purely raising funds and making profits by lending at high interest rates. It was a benign mutual assistance and mutual benefit between enterprises, and played a positive role in promoting the development of the private economy.
Qu Donghai said unhappily: "I'm just helping a friend. How can I break any law? You, a woman, don't understand business matters!"
You Juan raised her eyebrows and said, "Dad, I do know a little bit. If you just lend me money without charging interest, that's called helping. If you charge interest, it's called lending. Tell me, did you charge interest?"
Qu Donghai snorted and said, "A whole 100 million, can't we just give it to others for free?"
"Ah?" You Juan's charming, narrow eyes suddenly became round, and her tone unconsciously rose. She asked, "One hundred million?"
She was not an ignorant person, and the Qu family was certainly not a poor family, but when she suddenly heard about 100 million in cash, she couldn't help but feel her heart beating violently.
"What are you shouting for!" Qu Rong scolded You Juan and looked at Wen Liang with even more admiration. He had known that his business was so huge. Qinghe, Xinxing, Chuangtu, Fenghuangniao, Bencao Ruolan, etc. were all star companies that made a lot of money. But he never expected that he could spare 100 million in cash to lend to others.
What is the concept
Qu Donghai worked hard for decades and built the Jinlong Group, which has developed to its current size. Although he has a large fortune, he cannot say that he can easily raise 100 million in cash. This is not real estate, not securities stocks, not corporate valuations, but cash collected from old bills.
One hundred million!
Under You Juan's gaze that seemed to want to strip him naked, Wen Liang said a little shyly: "Actually, it's not my money..."
Of course, this money was not Wen Liang's. If Lei Fang were here, he would definitely remember that he had snatched 100 million hedge fund shares from Wen Liang. In order to prevent him from regretting, he borrowed 100 million in cash from Gu Shitong and Fo Ye. After the 100 million was in Wen Liang's account, he handed the money to Qu Donghai, who lent the money out in batches through the Jinlong Group, which has a wide range of business. According to the short-term interest rate standards of the underground lending market in the provinces and cities surrounding Jiangdong, the interest earned in two months was as high as more than 5 million, and this was a friendly price, which was enough to cover the income of many people for a lifetime.
Wen Liang gave Qu Donghai ten new accounts and asked him to deposit the money into different accounts in different amounts tomorrow. Then he apologized to Qu Rong and You Juan, "Brother Qu, Xixi is home alone. You and sister-in-law should go back earlier. I will stay in Guanshan for a few more days. Let's get together again when we have time."
Qu Rong knew that it was inconvenient for him to participate in what was going to happen next, so he pulled You Juan, who was still reluctant to leave, to say goodbye. When the door was closed again, Qu Donghai's face became heavy and he said, "Boss Wen, this matter tonight..."
He was an old hand in this world. Just by listening to You Juan's retelling, he understood that Wen Liang was deliberately making a big deal out of it. Although he didn't know his intentions and purposes, given their relationship, he would have to fully cooperate. Otherwise, with just Liu Jiang and Gao Tianfang, it wouldn't be worth it for him to ask Jiang Lei for a favor and borrow Hua Qichao to save the situation.
"Mr. Qu, we have been working together for such a long time and we trust each other. I will not hide anything and ask you a question. If Jiang Lei retires next year and Chen Zongzhi takes over, will Jinlong have an easier time?"
Qu Donghai was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "I am too close to Secretary Jiang. Although I have never offended Mayor Chen, there is inevitably a thorn in his heart. As for how long this thorn is, how long it will take and how much Jinlong will have to pay to remove it, I have no idea!"
These were words from the heart. Wen Liang agreed with Qu Donghai's prediction of Jin Long's future and said, "Mr. Qu can ask me the same question. If Jiang goes to Chenliu, will my life be easy? I can give you a clear answer. It will definitely not be easy!"
Not to mention Bencao and Xinxing, which are located in Guanshan and are currently under the control of others, even other industries far away in Qingzhou and Lingyang may not be able to escape. Because once he became a senior official in Guanshan City, Chen Zongzhi's position in public reports ranked first as a member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangdong Provincial Party Committee!
This is a vote held in the Standing Committee meeting, and it is also a qualitative leap from mayor to secretary. Wen Liang may not take Guanshan Mayor seriously, but he cannot ignore the existence of such a heavyweight as Guanshan City's senior official.
Qu Donghai understood what Wen Liang meant. When the conflict between Wen and Chen could not be reconciled, if he wanted to eliminate the thorn in Chen Zongzhi's heart, in addition to time and cost, he must also completely draw a line between himself and Wen Liang. He might even be forced to become Chen Zongzhi's vanguard and cannon fodder to deal with Wen Liang!
If it were another person, when his interests conflicted with those of the group, he would have to choose the latter without hesitation. But Wen Liang is different. He represents not only himself, but also the network of relationships behind him that spans the entire province of Jiangdong, from Yu Peidong to Yin Qingquan, from He Xihua to Zuo Jing, from Xu Fuyan to the promising Wen Huaiming, plus the several hundred million yuan contract at Lingyang Port. More importantly, Wen Liang himself represents many incredible and infinite possibilities.
Qu Donghai has a long-term vision. He not only considers the present of the group, but also the future of his descendants. The opportunity to work with Chen Zongzhi would last at most five or six years, and he might not even be recognized by the other party. But if he cooperates with Wen Liang, he can have a future of several decades.
When you reach Qu Donghai’s age, you will understand that youth is often the sharpest weapon!
"In this case, Mayor Chen's temple is more important, so I won't join in the fun. I just want to say one thing, no matter what, the Jinlong Group will stand with President Wen!"
Qu Donghai did not think for too long. Sometimes one cannot make a decision too quickly, as it is easy to make mistakes, but sometimes one cannot make a decision too slowly, as it will result in losing opportunities.
Wen Liang was waiting for Qu Donghai to say this, and smiled and said: "Mr. Qu is a little wrong. Up to now, Chen Zongzhi's temple has only been large in theory..." (To be continued)