Zheng Shuai and Lin Xiaozhao didn't disappoint. By the time lunch time arrived, each had successfully completed a sale. Although the amounts weren't large, it was still encouraging.
It's worth noting that before, the Longyuan Banking Outlet only managed to process seven or eight such transactions in a month.
As for Zhang Jiaming, he still hadn't secured any deals. Compared to the two newcomers, he seemed quite outclassed. Perhaps feeling embarrassed, he made an excuse about having outside duties and left.
Hao Wei was also absent, leaving Lin Qiang feeling as if he were the master of the place.
He instructed Zheng Shuai and Lin Xiaozhao to go for lunch first, then tapped on the counter glass, signaling that one of the tellers could also take a lunch break.
Just then, a large group of schoolgirls flooded in!
An endless stream of short skirts entered, causing Lin Qiang to feel disoriented, while the security guard was even more bewildered.
Lin Qiang quickly walked over, and a quick glance revealed at least twenty girls, with even more coming from outside the bank.
"What kind of business are you here for?" Lin Qiang asked, scratching his head.
"To get bank cards!" said a cheerful girl with double braids as she walked up. "We need to get a card to pay our tuition fees."
Lin Qiang felt a headache coming on. It was lunchtime, the staff was short, and suddenly dealing with such a large group was daunting.
The real trouble was yet to come. This batch of students would take up many queue spots, and opening a bank account was a relatively complex process. For the next hour, or even several hours, the counters would likely be monopolized by this large group of schoolgirls, leading to complaints from other customers. Customers waiting to conduct business only cared about their own wait times, not considering the bank's challenges.
"Why are you spacing out, uncle?" The girl with double braids blinked her big eyes at Lin Qiang.
"Uncle?!" Lin Qiang was close to tears. He was barely 25, but to them, he already seemed like a creepy old man?
"Uncle, help us out~~~" The schoolgirl didn't seem to mind, shamelessly grabbing Lin Qiang's arm and shaking it. "We finally have no classes this afternoon. Let's quickly get our cards done and leave."
The other girls started chirping in agreement, their gazes making Lin Qiang feel their scrutiny. Comments like "He looks so weird" and "He looks so old" made his scalp tingle.
Despite his confidence crumbling, Lin Qiang maintained his professional composure. After hesitating for a moment, he decided an extra counter needed to be opened to handle this special situation.
"Alright, we'll open a dedicated counter just for issuing cards. You'll get a number for foreign exchange transactions and queue up there," Lin Qiang instructed, leading the girls to the ticket machine and calling over the security guard. "Xiao Li, help them get the foreign exchange numbers. Any student coming for a card will take this number."
"Got it, Brother Qiang," the security guard responded, though his eyes were glued to the schoolgirls, his expression dreamy and unfocused.
"A dedicated counter? Thank you, uncle," the girl with double braids said happily, smiling sweetly.
To avoid disrupting regular business, the dedicated counter couldn't use existing staff. Rolling up his sleeves, Lin Qiang decided to handle it himself.
After the girls received their numbers, they lined up in an orderly queue, and the card-opening process began smoothly.
Lin Qiang knew his lunch was doomed, but this was the only way to ensure the afternoon went smoothly. It seemed the nearby private girls' school had no classes in the afternoon, and there would likely be more students coming.
He settled in firmly, took a deep breath, and found himself back at the counter after many years.
"Wow, Brother Qiang, such a strong sense of responsibility," Xiao Xiao, at the adjacent counter, gave him a rare look of admiration and a thumbs up. "In all my years here, you're the first supervisor to jump in and handle a crisis personally."
"If I don't handle it, the number of people outside will explode in the afternoon. I'd rather work than get scolded." Lin Qiang laughed bitterly before pressing the call button to summon the first student needing a card.
"Save some energy for tonight's card game," Xiao Xiao teased with a wicked grin.
"..."
Soon enough, Lin Qiang was face-to-face with the braided girl again.
"Uncle, it's me again." The girl slid her ID through the slot in the glass.
Lin Qiang opened his computer to verify the ID information, smiling as he spoke. "Stop calling me uncle. I'm only a few years older than you."
"Huh? You must be over 30, right?"
"Hey!" Lin Qiang snapped. "Are you kidding? I just turned 25."
He glanced at the ID on his screen and said, "You're 16 already, so just call me brother."
"Oh, sorry, uncle." The girl stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Sigh…" Lin Qiang handed her a stack of forms. "You're applying for a savings account, right? Pass these forms to your classmates and have them fill them out in advance."
"Okay, uncle." The girl handed out the forms and began filling hers out.
Lin Qiang, bored while waiting, struck up a conversation. "You're all from the girls' school next door?"
"Yeah, Longyuan Private Girls' High School. We're first-year students."
"Do you live on campus?" Lin Qiang remembered the charming view from his arrival yesterday. Having a girls' high school next to the bank was definitely a perk.
"Some do, some don't," the girl replied, filling out her form. Suddenly, she looked up with a mischievous smile. "Uncle, I know what you're thinking."
"Huh?"
"You want to get a young girlfriend, don't you?"
"...Don't say that."
"Hehe." The girl continued filling out her form. "I don't have a boyfriend yet."
Lin Qiang held his head in his hands. "Girls these days… so forward."
But the girl shook her head. "Uncle, you're not my type."
Just then, Zheng Shuai walked into the back to get some materials. The girl handed in her form and immediately, her eyes lit up.
"Uncle… is that guy also working at the bank?"
Lin Qiang turned back. He had to admit, Zheng Shuai, in his sharp suit, with his perfect build, handsome face, and neatly styled hair, did make the bank look good.
"Having a boyfriend who works at a bank would be amazing," the girl sighed dreamily.
Lin Qiang could only shake his head in resignation. It seemed he was just not cut out for that.
One brief conversation after another revealed to Lin Qiang how open today's girls were. At just 16, they knew a lot. Some even tried to get Zheng Shuai's contact information through Lin Qiang. Of course, he wasn't about to give it out—if he did, it would be his own.
Lin Xiaozhao came over several times to try and relieve Lin Qiang, but he declined each time, as there were still many other tasks to handle outside.
Before he knew it, he had been processing cards for an hour. His hands were a bit numb, and the number of schoolgirls outside hadn't decreased but rather increased. This girls' school seemed to have a strong enrollment. The mental toll was even heavier than the physical one; if Zheng Shuai wasn't around, he might still stand a chance, but now, comparisons were driving him mad.