The next morning, 9 AM, at the Longyuan Outlet.
Lin Qiang led an elderly man into the meeting room. The old man's hair was a mix of black and white, still quite thick. He wore a navy blue suit that fit him perfectly and walked without needing a cane, looking very spirited and energetic.
"Who's that?" Lin Xiaozhao asked, sidling up to Zheng Shuai as she watched the two enter the back office.
"Oh, one of Lin Qiang's old clients," Zheng Shuai replied. "When he was at the city center outlet, he had a group of loyal customers. But after Lin Qiang got promoted, he handed them over to other account managers there."
Lin Xiaozhao asked in surprise, "What? After all these years, he can still call them in?"
"You underestimate Lin Qiang," Zheng Shuai shook his head. "Clients these days aren't fools. The higher their status and the more money they have, the smarter and better at judging people they tend to be. It's their good fortune to follow an account manager like Lin Qiang. As long as he's willing to reach out, quite a few old clients will likely come here."
"As expected of my senior," Lin Xiaozhao clenched her small fist, cheering for Lin Qiang. Then a thought occurred to her and she suddenly asked, "By the way, won't this make the managers of the clients' original outlet angry?"
"That depends on Lin Qiang's skill," Zheng Shuai said calmly. "Xiaozhao, sometimes the more enemies a person has, the more friends they have too."
In the meeting room, Lin Qiang personally brewed a pot of red tea for the old man, brought it to the table, and poured it into the prepared teacups.
"Jin Junmei tea, Mr. Qiu. Your taste hasn't changed, has it?"
The old man threw his head back and laughed heartily, "Qiang my boy, you still have such a good memory. You always prepare this tea specially. Those other account managers later would just carelessly use some damp tea leaves to brush off an old man like me."
As he spoke, he picked up the teacup and sniffed it lightly, "It's still fresh tea!"
Qiu Zhizhang was something of an unlikely friend to Lin Qiang. Years ago, when Lin Qiang was still at the city center outlet, the two met and hit it off, chatting about all sorts of topics. Later, Mr. Qiu casually let Lin Qiang handle some of his investments, which yielded good returns, and their relationship continued from there. Like the saying goes, "The friendship of gentlemen is as pure as water." Each time, over a pot of tea, they would chat for half a day. For Mr. Qiu, coming to talk with his young friend was the main event; managing his finances was just incidental.
When Lin Qiang faced difficulties, he contacted Mr. Qiu first, knowing the old man would surely come.
The two raised their cups and drank. After a moment, Mr. Qiu sighed, "It's been two years. I thought you were on a smooth path upwards. How did you end up falling back down?"
This Mr. Qiu was quite blunt, bringing up the most embarrassing topic right off the bat.
But Lin Qiang wasn't one to fear being laughed at, nor was he a sore loser. He immediately replied, "This is actually thanks to something you said years ago, Mr. Qiu."
"Oh? Me?" Qiu Zhizhang asked, puzzled. "This old man has always been sending money to your bank. I should have been the benefactor lifting you up. How did I become the sinner pushing you down to earth?"
"You don't remember?" Lin Qiang looked around nostalgically. "At that time, the situation was almost the same as now. We had just finished discussing a leader's political arrangements. After hearing my thoughts, you old sir made a conclusion."
Qiu Zhizhang pondered for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead and burst into laughter, "Look at my memory! That's right, that's right! I did say it then! Qiang my boy, if you became a leader, within three years you'd surely fall back down!"
Qiu Zhizhang laughed harder and harder. It wasn't mocking laughter, but rather filled with a sense of wistfulness, which made Lin Qiang start laughing too.
After they had their fill of laughter, Mr. Qiu hurriedly took another sip of tea. Once he caught his breath, he said earnestly, "I remember now. When a person gets old, they forget what they ate yesterday in the blink of an eye, but events from years ago remain crystal clear."
Mr. Qiu cleared his throat and solemnly recounted the scene from back then.
"Those who are too rigid break easily; those who are flexible do not fail. Haven't you seen how Han Xin was demoted and Yue Fei died unjustly?"
Lin Qiang also felt the swift passage of time and recalled, "If Han Xin had been weak, how could he have been unmatched in the realm? If Yue Fei had yielded, how could he have shown utmost loyalty to his country?"
"Haha!" Mr. Qiu laughed again and asked slyly, "If I asked you today, would you still say the same thing?"
Lin Qiang thought for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Good!" Mr. Qiu slapped the table and immediately said, "Since you've even called this old man here, I'll give you another push this time. Consider it making up for past mistakes. If you fall down again after this, I'm afraid this old man will already be in the ground!"
"With your constitution, Mr. Qiu, you might live longer than me."
Qiu Zhizhang pointed at Lin Qiang and scolded with a laugh, "Are you cursing me to be an old man who won't die?"
"I wouldn't dare."
The two chatted casually for a while before gradually getting down to business. Like other old men, Mr. Qiu started to complain.
"Actually, at my age, money isn't that important anymore, but of course more is still better." Mr. Qiu frowned, clearly somewhat dissatisfied. "After you left, they introduced a new person to manage my finances. That account manager recommended a series of collective investment plans, stock market products, and other things I don't understand. Over the years, I've lost several hundred thousand."
As he spoke, he laughed again, "Fortunately, I'm old now and have become more cautious. Most of my money is still in fixed-term deposits, so I didn't lose even more in the stock market crash."
"Don't worry, Mr. Qiu. This time I'm recommending low-risk foreign exchange products and a few mutual funds that I personally favor," Lin Qiang handed over several documents he had prepared in advance. "For the foreign exchange products, I can guarantee 4-8% annual returns. As for these few funds, there is still a possibility of losing money, but considering the overall market, the chances of earning are greater. It's up to you to decide."
Mr. Qiu didn't even look at the materials, just said, "I don't understand these things. Let's do as you say. I remember before you got promoted, I had 7 million with you, and you helped me earn a total of 550,000. This time I've brought 8 million. You arrange it."
Lin Qiang felt relieved. Old relationships were indeed solid. Mr. Qiu was still so generous, bringing 8 million in one go.
"You should still take a look at these products," Lin Qiang advised. "After all, I'm only providing consultation and recommendations. You need to make the decision yourself."
"No need. You understand better than I do. I'll follow your lead. Just don't lose my money!" Qiu Zhizhang had already taken out his pen and asked hurriedly, "Where's the contract? I'll sign it right away."
Three years ago, Lin Qiang's marketing approach had been mocked, and his supervisor even talked to him, telling him not to market products that brought lower profits for the bank. Since he had the ability, he should create greater value. But Lin Qiang didn't listen. He insisted on not selling equity-based financial products, focusing on quantity instead. He maintained a large group of clients through capital-guaranteed investments, ultimately reaching the top spot in sales.
Three years later, when he needed it, clients like Qiu Zhizhang came back.
He knew his detour hadn't been in vain. If he had solely focused on making money back then, he might have been promoted earlier, but now, he probably wouldn't receive such help.
In the time that followed, Lin Qiang allocated 5 million to foreign exchange investments based on Mr. Qiu's situation, and divided the remaining 3 million among several mutual funds he favored to hedge risks. True to his word, Qiu Zhizhang didn't even look at the contracts before signing his name.
This made Zheng Shuai and Lin Xiaozhao, watching from the side, secretly shocked. Such a large amount of money and such a high level of trust were not something normal people could achieve.
After seeing Mr. Qiu off, it was already past 10:30. They had to wait for the old man to finish saying all he had held back for years.
"8 million... just like that, 8 million..." Lin Xiaozhao asked in amazement, "Manager, are you some kind of monster? In the blink of an eye, you conjured up another multi-millionaire old man."
Lin Qiang smiled and looked at his watch, "It's not bad. It took less time than I expected. I have another appointment at 11."
"What? There's more?"
"Yes, I've scheduled meetings with all my old clients that I could reach," Lin Qiang stretched, preparing for battle. "This week's schedule is already full."
"In that case... even 100 million might be possible," Lin Xiaozhao's joy was evident. "Manager, I've learned something again!"
"What did you learn this time?"
"If you work diligently, there will always be a time to harvest!" Lin Xiaozhao said happily. "Zhou Ren is my first client. I'll definitely plan well and not let him lose money. This way, if I ever face a situation like yours in the future, someone will come to help."
"Haha, make sure he profits from this investment first before you say that," Lin Qiang patted Lin Xiaozhao's shoulder. "Go to the back and help me freeze some ice cubes. This next client likes to drink iced orange juice."
"Okay!"
As they turned around, they ran into Chen Liang, who had just arrived.
"Congratulations, Manager Lin, on landing a big deal in the morning!" Chen Liang's face was full of congratulatory expressions. "With this, plus the recent performance of the branch, we've basically broken through 10 million, easily completing one-tenth of the target. It's cause for celebration!"
"Thank you," Lin Qiang just felt this guy was too strange, his acting too exaggerated.
"However... it seems things aren't going so smoothly," Chen Liang spread his hands. "The main branch just called, saying they're cracking down on the practice of mutually gifting performance numbers. Everything will be based on the name of the business representative who signed the contract. Unfortunately, the previous deals from the outlet can't be counted under your name, Manager Lin."
"What?" Lin Xiaozhao was the first to get upset when she heard this. "My deal was clearly brought in by the manager. How can they do this?"
"Rules are rules, and leaders are leaders," Chen Liang put on a regretful look and said sadly to Lin Xiaozhao, "If the leaders aren't happy, they have a thousand ways to deal with you."
Lin Qiang finally realized what Chen Liang's demeanor reminded him of — a grand eunuch.
It seemed this wasn't acting, but rather an innate quality. The bank truly had many oddballs.
"That part wasn't in my calculations anyway," Lin Qiang smiled casually, pushing past Chen Liang towards the back office. "My deals will all be personally handled and signed by me. Please assure the leaders that I, Lin Qiang, will be the first to forbid any violations."
"Then I wish you the best of luck," Chen Liang bowed slightly again, ever polite.
Lin Xiaozhao found Chen Liang's manner extremely nauseating and quickly caught up with Lin Qiang: "This person... is he some kind of pervert? Why does he talk even more sickeningly than a girl?"
"Well, there are all sorts of weirdos out there," Lin Qiang glanced towards Xiao Xiao, who was desperately trying to market to customers at the counter. "Some women can be even more masculine than men..."