"Then what exactly are your client qualification standards?"
"Well, at the very least, they need to be from a fifth-grade family," Cui Zhongye replied.
"So, are you implying that our Shendu Cheng family isn't a fifth-grade family?" Cheng Jinyang laid a trap directly.
"No, no." Cui Zhongye denied quickly, refusing to fall into the trap. "It's just that the standards are set by the headquarters, and our branch doesn't know the details."
"Can we have the headquarters explain?" Cheng Jinyang asked.
"Sure," Cui Zhongye said with a smile. "I can contact the risk control department at headquarters through a client line and request an explanation, but it might take some time."
"How long?"
"About 1-2 months."
"Making a phone call takes 1-2 months?"
"You're exaggerating. Our Cui family is a third-grade family, so our processes are naturally stricter than those of ordinary families," Cui Zhongye said smoothly, still smiling. "If I just call out of the blue, the risk control department can't give an answer casually, can they? That would break the rules."
His tone was flawless, but there was a certain mocking undertone that annoyed Cheng Jinyang, who frowned and asked:
"Two months is too long. Is there a quicker way to get the funds?"
"There is." Cui Zhongye's eyes widened. "Besides our bank, there are some private loan channels available on the market. If you really need the money urgently, you could look into those."
Market loan channels usually mean loan sharks, which ignited some anger in Cheng Jinyang. Seeing this, Cheng Yuexian quickly signaled to him:
Cousin, don't argue with him. Call your contact in the Cui family!
Cheng Jinyang signaled back:
Let me scare him a bit more. If it doesn't work, I'll call someone.
"Manager Cui, to be honest, I really need the money urgently." He suddenly stood up, placed his gun on the table, and said seriously, "I used to be just a nobody in the family... like you, the kind who wouldn't cause a stir even if killed outside."
Cui Zhongye: ???
"But one day, the old patriarch called me over and said I was to succeed him. I told him I couldn't do it and he should find someone else, but he told me it was decided. So, I recited a poem that went..."
Before he could start reciting, Cui Zhongye interrupted, "Patriarch Cheng, I actually have some matters to attend to. If you don't have any other questions..."
Bang!
Cheng Jinyang picked up the gun and slammed it on the table again, making Cui Zhongye shudder. He didn't believe Cheng Jinyang would shoot him, but the audacity of using a gun to bang on the table worried him—what if it accidentally discharged?
"How did I, a regular clan member, suddenly become the patriarch of the Cheng family?" Cheng Jinyang spread his hands, with the gun in his right hand pointing at Cui Zhongye's head.
However, the latter wasn't panicking, but rather stood up quickly to avoid the gun's direction, shouting sternly:
"Put the gun down! The security guards are right outside!"
Upon hearing "put the gun down," two security guards immediately rushed in with guns drawn. The next second, they were sucked into the air by a force, unable to stabilize themselves, let alone aim.
"Don't be hasty." Seeing that he hadn't scared Cui Zhongye, Cheng Jinyang felt annoyed and demonstrated the gun to everyone, "The safety is still on. Look, now it's off."
He pointed the gun at Cui Zhongye again, sneering:
"Sit."
Cui Zhongye, pale, sat down obediently. Human nature is so pitiful; when merely threatened, he felt insulted, but when faced with a real threat, he quickly cowered.
"Speak." Cheng Jinyang lost patience. "What will it take for you to release the funds?"
"I'll release them immediately! I'll go back and release them right away!" Cui Zhongye pleaded desperately, almost kneeling.
"Haha, cousin." Cheng Jinyang turned to Cheng Yuexian. "Do you believe that no matter how nicely he speaks now, as soon as he walks out the door, he'll call for backup?"
"Of course, he looks like a treacherous person." Cheng Yuexian said disdainfully. "I don't even know why our family used to associate with such people."
"Since Cui Zhongye can make the call, why can't we?" Cheng Jinyang took out his phone and dialed a number.
After a moment, Cui Jinqi picked up.
"Jinqi," Cheng Jinyang said with a smile, "I need to borrow someone from you."
"Who?" Cui Jinqi asked, puzzled.
"Cui Zhongye," Cheng Jinyang replied, "Do you know him?"
Sitting across from him, Cui Zhongye was sweating profusely, his mind racing.
Cui Jinqi? The name sounds familiar... someone from the family?
"Cui Zhongye? A nobody, never heard of him, bye." Cui Jinqi said impatiently.
"You're lying, you definitely know him," Cheng Jinyang insisted.
"Seems like he's one of my brother's men," Cui Jinqi said.
At these words, Cui Zhongye felt like he'd been struck by lightning, sinking into a despairing daze.
Cui Jinqi, Cui Jinqi... the youngest daughter of the second elder, a core family member!
"So, what do you think?" Cheng Jinyang asked, "I'm trying to get a loan approved, but this guy's blocking it. My family has thousands of people to feed, and it's tough. Should I kill him and trade his body for the money from your brother?"
"Sure, sure, my brother is terrified of death. Seeing a corpse, he'd definitely give you the money immediately," Cui Jinqi meant that it was a no-go; if Cheng Jinyang actually killed someone, her brother would definitely lose face.
"Really?" Cheng Jinyang laughed, "Then can you talk to him?"
"Fine." Cui Jinqi sighed.
Cheng Jinyang handed the phone over. Cui Zhongye took it with trembling hands, his initial aloofness and sarcasm completely gone. He listened carefully, his expression growing increasingly grim.
Finally, he placed the phone on the table, his face ashen. "The young miss has given instructions. I will approve the loan for you. Please wait here."
He walked out in a daze. About four or five minutes later, the sounds from the upstairs office ceased abruptly, as if the entire bank had fallen silent.
Another ten minutes passed before Cui Zhongye, looking as if he were mourning a death, knocked on the meeting room door again. He entered with several contracts and a pen. "Please sign here. The funds will be transferred to the designated account once approved."
"Let me see." Cheng Yuexian checked the contracts several times, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "This much? And at this interest rate... have you turned into a charity?"
"This is the maximum discount our bank can offer," Cui Zhongye replied with a blank expression, feeling like his heart was bleeding.
Earlier, when he returned to the second-floor office, the branch manager called him over and instructed him to personally guarantee the highest possible discount loan for the Shendu Cheng family-far exceeding what a fifth-grade family could qualify for.
This, of course, violated bank regulations. However, in a family of supernatural abilities, the words of a core member are the rules.
Even decisions about promotions or dismissals can be made in a single sentence.
Thus, Cui Zhongye had no choice but to sign the contracts, silently praying that the Cheng family wouldn't default on the loan.
He then nervously escorted the two out, his demeanor as humble as possible.
If the branch manager hadn't strictly ordered him not to do anything unnecessary beyond approving the loan, he would have knelt down to lick their shoes and beg for forgiveness.