Director Jin summoned Feng Yiping at home. The decoration of the room was a bit old-fashioned, but it was very large, and the surrounding environment was quite good, and it was a place of tranquility in the hustle and bustle.
Feng Yiping handed the things he had brought to a woman who looked like a nanny. She didn't say anything, probably because Jin Ling had already given her instructions: 'Please follow me. The director is waiting for you in the study.'
Yes, Feng Yiping was not yet qualified to have Director Jin come out to greet him, but at this age, it was already pretty good to be able to enter the home of a department-level leader!
Director Jin is quite tall, on the thin side, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, and behind his desk, he is going through some documents. He has quite a lot of hair, although there are a few grey hairs at the temples. Feng Yiping can't help but think that he must have dyed it deliberately.
Director Jin looks up at the sound of his voice, and when he sees it's him, he seems to be a little pleased. He folds the documents closed, 'It's Yiping, right? I've heard a lot about you. Sister Sun, make some tea,'
There were two single sofas against the wall in the study, and he took the lead and sat down. 'Come, sit down, don't stand. Xiaoling tells me that you don't seem to be a formal person either,' Director Jin said with a smile.
This seemed like a good start, but Feng Yiping was still wearing that slightly shy mask. 'This isn't the first time I've met someone in such a high position as you, do you feel nervous?'
'Haha, from what you say, you don't seem nervous,'
Sister Sun really only made a cup of tea and came in, placing it in front of Feng Yiping, who moved over to let her through. 'No, you drink it, I'll drink tea again at night now, and my insomnia will be even worse.'
'Then how about playing tennis after work, or running, swimming?'
He always believes that if insomnia is a disease, it must also be a disease of the rich. Who in his hometown suffers from insomnia?
My mother always says, 'If you can't eat, it's because you're not hungry, and if you can't sleep, it's because you're not tired.' It's very simple, and sometimes it makes me feel bad to hear it, but it really makes sense. Even someone as busy as Director Jin, who also has to worry about things, is effective in treating insomnia.
This is also because he treats Feng Yiping, Jin Ling's father, much better than Zheng Jiayi's mother, so he says things like this.
When Mayor Fang met with him, he was obviously condescending. Director Jin is different. He seems like a serious person at first glance, but in fact, he is quite amiable when you get to know him.
This is a bit like Jin Ling. At first glance, she seems aloof, but after getting to know her, you will discover that she is actually a very warm-hearted person.
However, he is very skilled and easily dominated the entire conversation in a relaxed atmosphere.
'You're right, but I'm an old man, and I haven't exercised much for many years. I heard that you insist on morning jogs every day?'
'I insist when I'm at home, and after a while, I get used to it,' but Feng Yiping really wants to turn morning jogs into night jogs. The early morning hours are so wonderful, and it's hard to get up.
'It's still good to be young, you have the energy to do so many things at the same time,'
'It's mainly thanks to Jin Ling's help,' Feng Yiping said. This was not a compliment, but the truth. With Jin Ling, an executive with strong execution capabilities, he was able to be a hands-off boss.
'You've achieved so much at a young age, and you're still so humble, not bad!' Director Jin praised him, 'The magazine you personally oversee is very good, and the articles are insightful,'
'Director Jin is too kind. Although I have intervened more in the magazine, the results are still the credit of the team.' When talking to your leader, it's always a good idea to emphasise the importance of teamwork.
'Now some experts are warning that the Asian financial crisis could repeat itself. What do you think of this?'
This question was a bit of a test. In this day and age, he believed that if a young person could do something, then he could. But he still had some doubts about whether a young person could have such a precise perspective.
Through his daughter, Director Jin knew that the new issue of Frontier magazine did not have an article on this subject. He wanted to see what Feng Yiping was really capable of.
'The sensationalist arguments are not even worth refuting,' Feng Yiping said decisively without hesitation.
'Why?' Director Jin asked.
'First, learning from the lessons of the financial crisis, starting in 1998, some countries have stepped up macro-financial regulation and plugged their own loopholes.
Second, starting in 1998, Asian countries, including China, have strengthened regional cooperation, improved their comprehensive strength, and strengthened their ability to withstand financial storms.
Third, on the whole, although oil prices have been rising, judging from the data for the first quarter, the world economy is growing strongly this year. East Asian countries and Russia have seen their currencies depreciate sharply during the financial crisis, but exports have grown strongly thanks to strong external demand.
In fact, the first three points are not important. Those international predators and hot money have just rolled away a large sum of wealth from Asia, leaving a mess behind. If they do it again, not only will there be no profit, they will also face strong resistance. They will definitely not do something that is futile.
Moreover, these predators and hot money are a group of people with the best judgment, and they will never do anything that will dry up the source of wealth.
Therefore, although there will still be fluctuations in the stock and foreign exchange markets of some East Asian countries this year, this is definitely not the sign of a new storm.
Feng Yiping spoke very slowly, not because he was looking for things to say, but because he was trying to keep his long speech as concise as possible. The longer the conversation, the less interested the listener becomes.
The reason why he had to mention the first three points was because he understood that this topic had an element of testing, and he wanted Director Jin to understand that he had thought about it carefully.
Sure enough, his words made Director Jin nod repeatedly, and Feng Yiping's words coincided somewhat with the opinions of the relevant experts in the province in the general direction.
And yes, the previous reasons are unimportant, as long as there is this last one.
For those financial predators, morality and other things are all just clouds. As long as there is money to be made, people will scramble to do even the most dangerous business. But who would bother with business that is clearly not profitable?
He then asked, 'What do you think of money?'
Feng Yiping was taken aback. He asked so directly? Fortunately, this is not an era where people are ashamed to talk about money. 'Of course I love it!'
'When I was young, everything that had to be bought with money was a luxury for my family, such as a pencil, an exercise book, an eraser, and so on. They were all precious, and so was the hen that laid eggs to be exchanged for these things.
I remember that throughout my primary school years, apart from school fees, my parents only gave me money once, and it wasn't actually for me. It was in the fifth grade in 1991, which coincided with the floods in the Jianghuai River Basin. They told me to take it to school to donate.'
Director Jin nodded. At that time, he was still a deputy county head, and he had also mobilised everyone to donate, and of course he had donated as well.
'Every Chinese New Year, most families are happy and cheerful, but not my family. This is such a sad holiday for us, with endless people coming to the door to collect debts.
So actually from a young age, I was thinking about how to make money and what kind of business to start. And if someone else followed suit, how could I maintain an advantage?
So I especially like to hear people talk about doing business, even if it's selling iron sand or cattle. Whenever I get the chance, I pay special attention to business reports and articles. After thinking about it for more than ten years, and combining what I've seen with my own personal experiences, I finally came up with the concept of the blue ocean.'
Feng Yiping moved on very smoothly to how he came up with such a book. After all, for someone his age, writing a best-selling novel is understandable, but coming up with such a groundbreaking theory is a bit abrupt.
'So what do you think of money now?' Director Jin asked next.
'Of course I still love it very much! But it's a bit different from before. Before, when I wanted to make money, I just wanted to make life better for my family. Now, I want to make life better for everyone in the village together.
So most of the projects I'm working on try to take both into account. Of course, I don't have the ambition to change the world, I'm content to be able to bring some change to my hometown.'
'Xiao Ling has told me some of your words and things. I've heard that in the past two years, as your career has developed, your hometown has also changed a lot. Sometimes I'm quite curious and want to see it for myself,' as someone who once ruled a region, how to make the people under his command rich was also a big headache for him.
'A warm welcome to my hometown, Uncle Jin,'
'Oh, I'll definitely go if I get the chance,' Director Jin smiled. 'There's one thing I don't quite understand. Why do you keep encouraging everyone to buy a house now? What's your reasoning? In your opinion, will housing prices really become so high that many people can't afford them in the future?'
Having acknowledged Feng Yiping's level, Director Jin finally asked him for his views on the domestic economy, which was the main event of this meeting.