Chapter 168: The Foundation (Part 4)

Long queues had also formed outside the Qinglin Town Foundation. A staff member wearing an armband stood by, staring blankly with a look of utter helplessness.

From behind the window of his office, Hou Weidong watched the dragon-like line stretching out from the Foundation’s entrance. He thought to himself, I wonder how much money the Foundation has left. Can it withstand this wave of bank runs?

After a while, the crowd began to stir. Men and women started shouting and cursing. Most of the insults were typical of Qinglin Town—vivid, exaggerated, and imaginative descriptions involving male and female genitalia. After a bout of cursing, the crowd began moving toward the government compound. Soon, they were upstairs. Some surrounded Zhao Yongsheng’s office, others surrounded Su Ming’s, and a few even found their way to Hou Weidong.

“The Foundation is run by the government. If it’s going to collapse, I want my money. This is the blood and sweat of my entire family.” An auntie arrived at Hou Weidong’s office, recounting her grievances with tears in her eyes.

Hou Weidong did not oversee the Foundation; he rarely had any contact with it. However, to maintain the government’s image, he explained patiently, “Who said the Foundation is collapsing? I sit in this office every day and haven’t heard anything about it.” He took out his own deposit slip from the Foundation and said, “I have money in the Foundation too. If it were really going to collapse, I would have withdrawn it long ago.”

The auntie took the slip and examined it carefully. “You’re an official; you have plenty of money. It doesn’t matter if you can’t withdraw it. But this is our family’s savings, deposited for the high interest. Look.” Hou Weidong took her slip back. It showed a balance of five thousand yuan. He advised, “Your deposit is fixed-term. Withdrawing it now is not cost-effective; you’ll lose a significant amount of interest. There’s no need to rush. You’ll be able to withdraw your money in a few days.”

Seeing Hou Weidong’s gentle demeanor and good attitude, and realizing they were both victims, the auntie’s mood improved. After a few more words, she left the office.

As soon as the auntie left, Hou Weidong called Li Jing. “Chairman Li, this is Hou Weidong. How is the situation with the Shazhou Foundation?”

Li Jing had already signed a loan contract with the fat man from the Industrial and Commercial Bank, so the Foundation’s turmoil no longer concerned her. Her tone was relaxed. “There are long queues everywhere. I estimate the Foundation has run out of money.”

“Why hasn’t there been any official news yet?”

Li Jing’s sources were reliable, and she was surprised by the speed of the rumors. “You government officials always claim it’s a secret, yet you have no discipline. Now the whole city is in turmoil, and I don’t know how this will end.” Hou Weidong had passed the news to his second sister, Hou Xiaoying. Although she had already known about it, he still suspected he might have leaked information. Hearing Li Jing’s complaint, he felt a bit embarrassed. “Officials are human too. They have friends and relatives, so leaks are inevitable.”

Li Jing wasn’t actually blaming Hou Weidong. Hearing his explanation, she laughed, “So, you’re one of the leakers too.” Hou Weidong said sheepishly, “I gave my second sister a heads-up, but by the time I told her, she already knew.” Li Jing feigned anger. “A leak is a leak. You must be punished. Treat me to dinner on Saturday.”

There had been many chaotic matters recently, and he hadn’t spent much time with Xiaojia. He had promised to spend quality time with her this week, so Hou Weidong made an excuse. “Saturday won’t work. I have other matters. I’ll apologize to Chairman Li another day.”

Li Jing was perceptive. Hearing his hesitation, she laughed, “I know you want to spend time with your girlfriend. Forget it, just a joke.” But her heart felt a little sour.

After hanging up with Li Jing, Hou Weidong recalled her playful words from that day and felt a sense of lightness. He then thought of Xiaojia, waiting for him in Shazhou, and criticized himself inwardly, Why am I so susceptible to the temptation of beautiful women? My willpower is truly weak.

He called Xiaojia.

Xiaojia was delighted to hear Hou Weidong’s voice, but her tone was calm. “You’re really busy. You don’t even have time to make a phone call.” Hou Weidong’s attitude was unusually good. He smiled as he spoke, “Xiaojia, I will definitely come back this week. Let’s invite Su Mingjun and his wife to dinner again. We need to build up our relationship first, so things will be easier to handle later.”

Xiaojia remained unenthusiastic. After Hou Weidong talked for a while, she finally said, “How could you forget our main business?”

“What main business?” Hou Weidong paused, then suddenly realized. “I’ll come back on Friday. On Saturday, I’ll propose to your parents.” Xiaojia was finally happy. “On Friday, I’ll buy some cocktail shrimp and cook something delicious for you.”

Hou Weidong laughed, “If only the top is satisfied, what about the bottom?” Xiaojia’s face turned slightly red. “This is an office. You’re annoying.”

After joking with Xiaojia, Hou Weidong was in high spirits.

At that moment, Yang Feng called. “Town Mayor Hou, please come to the small conference room for a meeting at eleven.” She added, “The Foundation can’t pay out the money. The people are shouting fiercely. The meeting is definitely about this. Town Mayor Zhong must have a headache today.”

In the division of labor at the township government, the Town Mayor presided over all government work. However, by convention, he directly managed the Finance Office. Most top leaders held tightly to this power.

The Agricultural Economy Station was generally managed by the Vice Town Mayor in charge of agriculture. Previously, it was under Su Ming’s supervision, but now it was under Zhong Ruihua’s. However, because the Foundation involved significant interests, the divisional leader often found themselves caught between various forces. Those with strong abilities could cut through the tofu cleanly, pleasing both sides. Those with weak abilities were like mice in a bellows, getting squeezed from both ends.

Zhong Ruihua was originally a member of the Party Committee and the Head of the Armed Forces Department. He had a good relationship with Zhao Yongsheng, and now their relationship was even better. Zhong Ruihua was clearly aligning himself with Zhao Yongsheng.

At eleven o’clock, all the local leaders of Qinglin Town had gathered.

After Zhong Ruihua and Bai Chuncheng had finished speaking, Zhao Yongsheng took over with a serious expression. “I made some calls. The Foundations in the county seat are also facing long queues. This is a county-wide issue, perhaps even city-wide. Therefore, the leadership will definitely find a solution. We don’t need to panic.”

He swept his gaze over everyone with authority. “Although we don’t need to panic, we must attach great importance to this. The most important thing right now is stability. Stability is the paramount concern.” Subconsciously, he raised his right hand and pressed down in the air. “Town Mayor Zhong is the divisional leader. You must handle the explanation work. The specific plan should be discussed and researched by Town Mayor Zhong and Secretary Liu. Bai Chuncheng, you come with me to the county seat.”

With this arrangement, Zhao Yongsheng excluded Su Ming. Su Ming said nothing more, only writing in his notebook.

Hou Weidong thought to himself, Although the rumor of abolishing the Foundation spread quickly, there is no official government document. I wonder if Li Jing’s information is accurate. After the meeting, Hou Weidong called Li Jing again. “Chairman Li, is your intelligence source accurate? Why hasn’t the official document come out yet?”

“Weidong, rest assured. Abolishing the Foundation is only a matter of time. This matter is absolutely reliable. I wouldn’t joke with Jinggong Group. However, you really must keep this confidential.” Over the past few years, Li Jing had helped manage Hanhu for Shazhou, using its resources to make many friends. As the saying goes, connections are also productivity. This was also an important reason why she wanted to establish her own independent entity.

Knowing that Li Jing’s network was wide and deep, Hou Weidong believed her ninety percent. “Looking at the scene of people withdrawing money today, I feel we can utilize this situation.”

“How can we utilize it?”

“Our country’s economy has grown rapidly in recent years. For sustained economic development, resource-based enterprises are the foundation. Although the coal industry has been sluggish in recent years, I estimate it will recover in the near future.” Since arriving in Qinglin Town, Hou Weidong had made a lot of money from stone resources, giving him a natural sensitivity to resource-based enterprises. A few days ago, the Party-Government Joint Meeting had discussed the Hufo Coal Mine multiple times, which had made him pay attention to coal mining enterprises.

Li Jing said, “You mean acquiring coal mines at a low price? Acquiring coal mines requires a large sum of money. Moreover, the Xinhe Road project is about to start. Jinggong Group’s funds are already insufficient. This matter is somewhat difficult.”

“If the abolition of the Foundation is a fact, we have a good opportunity. The government will need to pay cash to the people, which means it will inevitably pursue repayment from borrowers. Many enterprises’ capital chains will face problems. We can take this opportunity to acquire them at low prices. This not only allows us to pick up fallen peaches but also helps the government out of trouble. It’s a win-win situation.” Hou Weidong emphasized, “Opportunity knocks but once.”

“Weidong, let me think about this. I’ll invite the other shareholders to discuss it together before making a decision. How does that sound?”

Hou Weidong stressed, “Make a decision early and prepare early, so we aren’t caught off guard.”

Under government intervention, the bank run at the Foundation was quickly calmed. County Mayor Ma Youcai made a special television speech, and a documentary featuring speeches from officials at various levels of government was broadcast continuously on the Yiyang Television Station.

A large television was placed at the entrance of the Qinglin Foundation, broadcasting the speech and the documentary. The people who came to withdraw money were driven by fear. Now, seeing County Mayor Ma’s speech and noticing that withdrawals were returning to normal, many began to worry about losing the interest on their fixed-term deposits. They withdrew from the queue, and the bank run passed.

The Foundation had passed its first hurdle without serious incident.

Hou Weidong trusted Li Jing’s ability, so he withdrew his deposit from the Foundation early. Although he lost some interest, the principal was at least safe. Under Zhao Yongsheng’s strong insistence, the Hufo Coal Mine also borrowed two hundred thousand yuan from the Foundation.

Life in Qinglin continued.