Chapter 155 - 151: Hai City Bank (2)
The third condition was to possess a local ID or residence permit and a business license. No problem there!
The fourth...
As he checked off more and more conditions, a factory began to materialize in Xu An’s mind. One by one, the pieces of automated kitchen equipment he’d seen in brochures appeared inside it.
Countless fruits and vegetables were picked from his greenhouses and transported to the factory. There, employees would feed them into machines, turning them into ingredients ready for the kitchen. In the cooking area, Liu Daxi’s team would operate the automated woks, turning the ingredients into delicious meals. Then, Nanny He and her staff would pack them into exquisite bento boxes. Finally, Uncle Guosheng would drive the insulated food trucks to deliver these meals to every corner of Hai City...
The seventh condition: The business must possess a license and have been in operation for at least one full year...
SNAP—
That was the sound of his fantasy shattering.
From the day it received its business license until now, Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant had been open for just over a month, all told. It was nowhere near the requirement.
"I’m sorry, but I don’t think our restaurant meets the conditions for a loan," Xu An said regretfully, turning him down.
"I can help you evaluate whether your restaurant is eligible," Zhou Yaodong explained. "If you’re outstanding in some areas, the requirements for other areas can be lowered accordingly."
Zhou Yaodong’s words were practically a blatant admission that the conditions had a lot of wiggle room.
’Are banks in 2012 really this accommodating?’ he thought. ’Not only does he make a house call to pitch his services, but he’s also willing to help me see if the restaurant even qualifies...’
Faced with such a proactive and friendly loan officer, Xu An naturally wasn’t going to turn down his offer.
"When did the restaurant get its business license and open for business?"
"July?"
"Of what year?"
"2012."
The pen had barely written a ’2’ before it stopped. Zhou Yaodong turned to look at Xu An. ’This kid can’t be messing with me, can he?’
’Even if he opened at the very beginning of July, that’s still only a month and a half. We’d have to lower the bar to the floor for him to qualify!’
He knew Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was new, but he never expected it to be *this* new!
But he had already made the offer, and it would be awkward to back out now. Zhou Yaodong could only brace himself and continue with the evaluation.
’Might as well finish. I’m already here, I’ve already made the trip. What’s a little more paperwork?’
After finishing his note, Zhou Yaodong continued, "What’s the restaurant’s average daily revenue?"
"Gross revenue or net profit?"
"Let’s go with net profit."
"Around seventy-five hundred."
The pen tip gliding across the paper froze again. Zhou Yaodong turned to look at Xu An, his small eyes filled with immense confusion.
"Our business is mainly delivery-focused, centered around the Hai City Library and Red Brick Creative Park. About four or five hundred companies and shops order from us. Some of those companies have partnership agreements with us to provide daily lunches for their employees. On top of that, we just signed a deal with the Hai City Machinery Equipment Exhibition. Xu’s Fast Food will be supplying all the boxed lunches for the duration of the event..."
As Xu An spoke, the confusion in Zhou Yaodong’s eyes morphed into utter bewilderment. ’This isn’t how the script is supposed to go!’ he thought.
He had learned about Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant from a local Hai City documentary called *Visiting Fast Food Restaurant*. The program had shown that the restaurant was doing well, had a broad customer base, was gaining momentum, and showed signs of wanting to expand.
Most importantly, the owner of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, Xu An, had started from scratch. That meant if he wanted to grow, he’d need money! What a perfect opportunity to pitch a loan!
And so he, Zhou Yaodong, had shown up at their door, documents in hand.
’But now, things didn’t seem to be adding up.’
’The show said it was a new business, but it didn’t say it was *less than two months* new!’
’The show said it was doing well, but it didn’t say its daily net profit was seventy-five hundred!’
’The show said they had a wide reach, and I even saw them delivering to the Silver Star Office Building myself, but it never mentioned they’d landed a contract for the exhibition!’
...
’Sure, it was unexpected, but these surprises were all good things!’
’High revenue, a wide customer base, partnerships with numerous companies and even government-related events... It all meant Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant wasn’t a flight risk and had enormous potential for growth!’
’Aside from its short history, this was an exceptionally prime candidate for a loan!’
After scribbling down some calculations, he determined that based on Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’s current operations, it could qualify for a maximum loan of 1.2 million.
If Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant had been open for six months and maintained its current sales figures, the maximum loan amount could have been three to five times higher.
Still, Xu An was more than satisfied with this figure. He carefully set the scrap of paper aside with Zhou Yaodong’s business card.
’Since I can get a loan for this much, I can go ahead and buy the insulated food truck outright without any worries.’
’When I need money for the kitchen equipment or the greenhouses, I can just apply for a loan!’
’1.2 million!’
Seeing that Xu An was tempted, Zhou Yaodong grew excited himself and asked with great anticipation.
"Boss Xu, how much are you looking to borrow? I’d recommend taking the full amount right away. It’s much harder to get a second loan before the first one is paid off. As for the paperwork, I can handle everything for you. You can leave it all to me, and I guarantee I’ll get it done perfectly for you!"
’1.2 million!’
’This wouldn’t just meet my quota for this month, but for next month, the month after, and the month after that, all at once!’
"Actually, I don’t need a loan just yet. When the time comes, I’ll give you a call!" Xu An said, picking up Zhou Yaodong’s business card and giving it a little wave. "I’ll be sure to keep this safe!"
Heaven one moment, hell the next—that was probably the best way to describe the current scene.
’A 1.2 million commission, gone!’
But Xu An wouldn’t budge, and there was nothing Zhou Yaodong could do. After trying to persuade him for a while and being rejected for the Nth time, Zhou Yaodong had no choice but to give up.
"Boss Xu, when you do need a loan, you absolutely have to contact me!"
"If I need a loan, your bank and you will be my first call."
Although Xu An’s tone was sincere, Zhou Yaodong didn’t believe a single word of it.
’How many clients had made him the same promise, only to run off to one of the Big Four banks when they actually needed the money?’
’All that commission that should have been his, gone!’
’Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant! It *has* to take a loan from my bank!’
’Would checking in once a day be too frequent? Maybe once every three days would be better.’
’The bank just got a bunch of gifts for maintaining client relationships. The peanut oil seems nice, and that Wuchang rice is good, too. I think there was flour...’
’If I bring a little something with me on each visit, the boss probably won’t get annoyed with me showing up.’
’No one ever complains about receiving too many gifts, right?’