Chapter 193: Huge Loan
While Deng Shirong's family was busy preparing for the arrival of the third generation, two significant events took place in Bobai County that are worth mentioning.
First, in the education reform that began in September, not only did all the middle schools in the county restore the "three-three system," but ordinary middle schools were also significantly consolidated. The county's 23 high schools were reduced to 11, and 282 junior high schools were cut down to 121. More than half of the middle schools disappeared into the annals of history.
Among the junior high schools that were closed was Thatchfield Junior High School. By the end of this semester, Thatchfield would only have an elementary school, with no more junior high classes.
This meant that starting next semester, Deng Yunzhu and Deng Yunsong, brother and sister, would have to attend junior high school in Double Prosperity.
Second, the county party committee convened a meeting of cadres at the county, commune, and brigade levels to implement the production responsibility system, which included "contracting output to groups," "contracting output to households," and "contracting work to households." This marked the end of the production team era.
The Thatchfield Production Team also carried out its final land distribution, allocating all the remaining paddy fields and sloping lands to its members.
Xiao Dong'er's birth coincided with this final distribution, and she was allocated a small, dispensable piece of sloping land. This brought great joy to the entire family.
Although places like Thatchfield Village, nestled in the mountains, have no chance of being developed now or in the future, and the land isn't particularly valuable, the saying still holds true: land has always been the lifeblood of rural people. Even in later generations, there are countless examples of rural families fighting over a piece of land, sometimes even sacrificing lives for it.
…
Double Prosperity Credit Union.
Director Bu Wanhui was in an excellent mood. At the beginning of the year, to stabilize and adjust the national economy and concentrate financial resources for socialist construction, the state decided to issue 4 billion yuan in treasury bonds. The higher authorities assigned Bobai County a task of selling 215,000 yuan worth of treasury bonds.
Thanks to Bu Wanhui's outstanding performance as the director of a small supply and marketing cooperative, he was held up as a model by his superiors. This inspired other groups to follow suit, allowing the county to complete its assigned sales tasks ahead of schedule. The county leaders were extremely pleased.
As a role model, Bu Wanhui naturally reaped considerable benefits. His transfer to the county seat had been finalized, and he would assume his new position in early spring of the following year.
For a middle-aged man, career advancement was certainly a cause for celebration.
Just then, a customer walked into the credit union.
Bu Wanhui looked up and recognized the visitor immediately. He greeted him with a warm smile, "Uncle Jiu!"
Deng Shirong smiled in return. "Director, I could see from a distance that you're glowing with happiness. It seems you've encountered some great news!"
Bu Wanhui chuckled. "It's all thanks to you that my work has been going so smoothly lately. I see that Uncle Jiu is also in high spirits. It seems you're the one with the big happy news."
Deng Shirong didn't deny it. Instead, he smiled and said, "I did have a happy event. I became a grandfather half a month ago. This time, I came to invite you to my eldest granddaughter's full moon banquet on November 17th. I also wanted to consult you about a loan."
Upon hearing this, Bu Wanhui immediately offered his congratulations. Knowing that Deng Shirong wanted to discuss a loan, he invited him into his office for a more detailed conversation.
After sitting down and exchanging some pleasantries, they got down to business.
Deng Shirong got straight to the point. "Director, here's the situation. I plan to start a business in the county town next year and need to borrow a significant amount of money—possibly as much as several hundred thousand yuan. I'm wondering if that's something you can handle here."
Bu Wanhui was taken aback. In this era, loans of several hundred thousand yuan were typically reserved for state-owned or collective enterprises. Personal loans of that magnitude were unheard of, not just in Double Prosperity Credit Union, but across the entire county, city, or even the province.
Despite his surprise, Bu Wanhui couldn't help but feel excited. If he could secure this loan, the benefits to him would be undeniable.
To understand why, we need to look at the differences between credit systems in this era and those in later generations.
In later generations, due to increasingly strict banking regulations, all loans had to follow stringent procedures. Loans that didn't meet the requirements would never be approved, even if they were for just a few thousand yuan.
In this era, however, credit management was astonishingly lax. Loans didn't require collateral or interest payments, and there were numerous loopholes in the approval process. It's no exaggeration to say that borrowing money from the bank felt almost like getting it for free.
In fact, many bold individuals had already taken advantage of this system. Without going into too much detail, those who know, know.
In short, if anyone in the future had the chance to be reborn, they wouldn't need to worry about start-up capital for a business. Loans in this era were incredibly easy to obtain.
This was also why Deng Shirong hadn't been in a rush to accumulate start-up capital after his rebirth. In his previous life, he had witnessed the height of the loan frenzy, where bank credit officers practically begged people to borrow money just to meet their quotas.
As long as you dared to apply for a loan, the bank would approve it. That's how straightforward loans were in this era.
Although Deng Shirong's loan request was enormous, Bu Wanhui was confident he could make it happen. He asked eagerly, "Uncle Jiu, with such a large loan, what kind of business are you planning to start in the county?"
Deng Shirong smiled. "I'm planning to open a restaurant."
Bu Wanhui nodded. "Uncle Jiu, based on my understanding, it shouldn't be difficult for you to secure this loan. If you apply now, I can help you with the paperwork. If you wait until next year, I might already be working in the county by then."
When Deng Shirong heard this, he realized the other man was about to be promoted and quickly offered his congratulations.
Then he said, "Alright, since it's convenient for you, Director, let's do it now!" After all, there was no interest, so there was no harm in applying early.
Bu Wanhui nodded and asked, "How much do you want to borrow, Uncle Jiu?"
Deng Shirong thought for a moment and said, "Let's go with 800,000 yuan."
Hearing this amount, even Bu Wanhui, who dealt with money daily, couldn't help but admire Deng Shirong's boldness. He gave a thumbs-up and said, "Uncle Jiu, you've got real courage. 800,000 it is. I'll do everything I can to help you secure this loan."
Deng Shirong smiled. "Thank you for your help, Director!"
Bu Wanhui waved his hand. "Uncle Jiu, you're too kind. I'm not just helping you—you're helping me!"
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they began filling out the necessary loan documents.
It's worth noting that loan procedures in this era were incredibly simple compared to later generations. In less than half an hour, Deng Shirong had completed all the required paperwork.
(End of this chapter)