Fang Bai returned home for lunch after taking care of the bank loan.
"Son, is it really necessary to borrow so much? The interest is too high," Liu Fengqing said, very worried about not being able to repay it. The annual interest rate for a two-year loan was over ten percent.
A one-million-yuan loan meant over one hundred thousand yuan in interest per year.
Oh my goodness, if they couldn't repay it, they would lose everything.
She had heard that bank loan interest was high, but it was just hearsay; now that her family had taken out a loan, she truly understood.
She had heard of some Bosses who couldn't repay bank loans and ended up having their assets liquidated and auctioned off by the court.
"For the company to develop rapidly, we definitely have to take out loans. The more we borrow, the faster we develop.
If the bank would lend me ten million, I'd dare to borrow it.
Mom, the one who borrows money is the Boss!" Fang Bai didn't take it seriously, but he also knew the bank wouldn't lend him that much.
Ten million in this era, compared to twenty years later, would be at least three hundred million.
For a first-time loan, they wouldn't lend him that much, even with connections, unless Fang Bai's family had a high net worth.
For this 2.5 million yuan loan, a branch bank could still manage it. The people of Wen City had money, and a lot of deposits in the bank, which would be difficult to find in banks in other cities.
Although the money in each branch was the state's money, the amount of disposable funds in each bank in each place was still different.
"Wife, our son's loan is for purchasing goods. Without two or three million yuan worth of goods, this shopping mall really can't be supported," Fang Shi agreed with his son's approach, but borrowing so much money was truly a lot of pressure.
Damn it, this brat really has no worries, he's playing bigger and bigger.
If he plays too big, our ancestral graves will be smoking.
"Then do as you please, I won't concern myself with this," Liu Fengqing waved her hand, knowing she was just nagging.
After lunch, Fang Bai and his father prepared to go on a long trip to purchase goods.
Time was tight, and they would be carrying a large amount of cash, so they needed to hire a van for their trip. Fang Shi went to find a van.
Fang Bai returned to the house to organize the cash. Banks in this era couldn't do inter-city withdrawals; inter-city remittances weren't a problem, but corporate payments were even more troublesome, and not as convenient as cash transactions.
If they had already done business with a manufacturer and earned their trust, they could directly remit money to the manufacturer instead of having to go there in person every time. They would just need to call and tell the manufacturer what and how much to buy.
However, for now, Fang Bai and his father had to go in person.
Fang Bai took his father along for two reasons: firstly, for safety when two people traveled, and secondly, to let his father become familiar with these procurement channels.
Before planning to purchase goods, the family had withdrawn the money from the bank, and the cash at home was also converted into hundred-yuan bills.
The father and son took four hundred thousand yuan in cash with them on this trip, totaling four bundles of hundred-yuan notes, ten stacks per bundle, one thousand yuan per stack, placed directly in their backpacks.
Time was limited, so they couldn't travel too far. This time, they would first look for electrical appliance manufacturers within the province. Fortunately, there were quite a few manufacturers of household appliances in their province.
If they sourced from outside the province, it would take many days to travel back and forth, and transportation would be very difficult, causing delays.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, a van parked in front of their house. Fang Shi got out of the passenger seat and went upstairs to find his son. Upon seeing him, he complained, "Oh, hiring a car was too difficult! The drivers weren't willing to go outside the city, even if I offered more. I asked several drivers, and none of them wanted to go. It took me a long time explaining to find one who was willing to go. Cars are hard to find too."
Fang Bai understood and said, "They're afraid of being robbed. It's rampant now."
It was so inconvenient not having his own car. Even if he had a car, Fang Bai couldn't show that he could drive for now. Besides, funds were tight, so buying a car was out of the question.
"Yes, I explained to the driver that we are a legitimate company, but he didn't believe me, so I had to bring him here to see for himself. You go down and talk to the driver. I'll pack the luggage. How long will we be out this time?"
"Three days at most. If we're quick, we'll be back the day after tomorrow," Fang Bai replied. This matter was decided at the last minute.
There was no way around it; everything had to wait until the shopping mall was renovated to determine if it could open before New Year's Eve.
If they couldn't make it, they would have to open after the Lantern Festival. Not to mention there would be no place to store the goods if they purchased them in advance, the prices of goods were different before and after the New Year.
Fortunately, the renovation was relatively smooth, allowing them to open before the Spring Festival, though it was a bit rushed.
Today was February 1st, and they planned to open on February 10th, which was also when most factories would close for the holidays.
Fang Bai went downstairs and explained to the driver that his family lived there, and the nearby shopping mall belonged to his family. This time, they needed to go to the manufacturers to purchase goods, which was why they hired the van.
Fang Bai offered 350 yuan a day for the van, initially for two days. Fuel costs would be extra for distances over 200 kilometers, and overnight stays would include accommodation.
The driver calculated that he could earn about 300 yuan a day. Seeing the money and knowing that the other party was a local Big Boss who wasn't lying, he finally agreed. He didn't need to bring clothes; it was winter, so not changing clothes for two or three days was normal. He would just make a quick stop at home to tell his family.
Three men traveling together would also be safer.
After settling with the driver, Fang Bai returned to the house with his father, bringing their luggage and water for the road, as well as two sticks, hoping they wouldn't need them.
After two o'clock in the afternoon, Fang Bai and his father got into the van and set off. The factories they were going to purchase from were all channels Fang Bai had scouted out.
Time flew by,
Three days later,
Fang Bai and his father returned to Wen City at three in the afternoon, both looking utterly exhausted.
During these three days, they had gone to Ning City and visited six factories in total, most of which were located in Cixi.
They ended up placing orders with only three factories. The first was Ningcheng Zhede, established in 1980, specializing in household refrigerators and washing machines.
The second was Han D, established in 1983, specializing in refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, air conditioners, ovens, sockets, cables, and more.
The third was a state-owned enterprise that produced small household appliances.
There were many manufacturers of refrigerators and washing machines in Ning City, such as Han D, Okai, Aux Air Conditioner which was established in 1994, and Fangtai Kitchenware which was established in 1996.
Ning City also had many state-owned enterprises producing small household appliances, but most of them were acquired or restructured in later years.
In the future, Fang Bai would mainly purchase household appliances from Cixi, Ning City.
He found a state-owned enterprise that produced electric fans, but the factory manager hinted at wanting kickbacks, and the work efficiency was terribly slow. Fang Bai stayed for an hour and then left; he didn't have time to deal with the factory manager. He was there to purchase goods, and his family's shopping mall was waiting for products to be stocked.
Damn it, if he wasted any more time, it would be hard to say if he could even get the goods.
Besides, it was winter now, who would buy electric fans? So Fang Bai immediately got angry.
Screw it, I'm not buying electric fans for now!
And if I do buy them, I won't buy from this one.
He had planned to buy fans just to have some for display.
But that factory manager was very arrogant, saying that they sold well in summer and didn't worry about sales, and that producing now was just accumulating stock.
For the other two factories, Fang Bai used his Golden Finger to inspect them and found too many product issues, so he didn't plan to purchase from them.
This business trip was mainly for purchasing refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners. Fang Bai had originally planned to buy other appliances, but yesterday afternoon, Ye Fan CALLED him, saying that the loan had been approved and asking him to come over to sign when he had time, and they would discuss the details in person, as it was inconvenient to talk on the phone.
The speed of it greatly surprised Fang Bai.
Damn it, who said banks were slow? As long as the loan amount was large enough and the President personally handled it, the efficiency would be as fast as could be.
Therefore, Fang Bai invested all forty thousand yuan into the products from the three factories. He would go home first, get the money, and then go to Ning City to purchase other household appliances.
Fang Bai paid the van driver and asked him to come again tomorrow morning, as they might go out for a few more days, asking if he was willing.
"Little Fang Boss, no problem. I'll go back and rest first," the driver didn't hesitate. Of course, he would take such a good opportunity to earn money.
Driving for these three days was a bit tiring, but eating and drinking with the Boss was great.
While there was still time in the afternoon, Fang Bai and his father took their documents and went to Ye Fan's office.
Ye Fan showed Fang Bai and his father the prepared loan contract documents, explaining the loan amount, interest rate, repayment method, and repayment period. He reminded them to pay off the interest quarterly, otherwise, it would affect subsequent loans.
"I can only get you 2 million yuan, for a term of two years, and I managed to get you an annual interest rate of 15.8%. The amount is too large, otherwise, it could have been a bit lower," Ye Fan said.
After discussing with Fang Bai that day, Ye Fan had people conduct a background check on Fang Bai's family.
Yesterday morning, after receiving the background check information, he was even more surprised to find that Fang Bai was still repeating a grade and had excellent academic performance.
His good academic performance only surprised him and had little to do with the loan.
In the afternoon, Ye Fan and his team visited Xinghai Shopping Mall. The novel renovation style was eye-catching, and various promotional banners were already hung up, attracting many passersby to watch the excitement.
Yesterday, they also happened to set up a stall selling televisions in the open space in front of the mall, and sales were booming, no wonder they made money so quickly.
With fresh promotional advertisements and flyers, Ye Fan and others felt that Xinghai Shopping Mall would become popular.
Therefore, he agreed to Fang Bai's application for a credit loan.
Fang Shi took a deep breath when he heard the loan amount, feeling a lot of pressure.
A few days ago, he didn't think much of it, but when it actually materialized and he knew he had to repay over three hundred thousand in interest each year, the feeling was different.
Fang Bai nodded, "Okay, thank you very much, President Ye."
"Haha, I hope your business flourishes. I'm under quite a bit of pressure here too.
Once the contract and other procedures are completed, the loan can be disbursed. When do you plan to withdraw the cash?
If you're withdrawing a large amount, the bank needs to prepare in advance," Ye Fan said with a loud laugh.
Fang Bai asked, "Can I withdraw the entire amount at once? Can I get the money tomorrow?"
"Yes, you can. I'll expedite it. Come over at ten o'clock tomorrow," Ye Fan said. Usually, it takes several business days from loan disbursement to actual cash withdrawal.
There was even a possibility of changes leading to the cancellation of the loan disbursement.
Ye Fan agreed, handling it as a special case and personally completing the procedures, so there was no need to wait for several business days.
Now, Fang Bai urgently needed funds for development. Since he had agreed, the disbursement should be straightforward and not hinder his procurement.
If it were delayed for a few more days, he might not be willing to take out the loan anymore, which was one of the reasons he tried to help Fang Bai get the loan disbursed quickly.
If it were a regular loan, it would take as many days as it normally would.
Next, Fang Shi signed the contract and handled various procedures.
Fang Bai invited Ye Fan to dinner, but Ye Fan said perhaps another time.
In the afternoon, the van driver came to find Fang Bai.
Fang Bai said they would depart tomorrow morning and asked him to come at nine o'clock tomorrow, as they needed to go to the bank to withdraw cash first.
The next day, a little after nine in the morning.
Fang Bai and his father prepared two backpacks and went again to the G Bank branch on Nanxi Road to wait for the money, also fearing any unforeseen changes.
Even though the loan was approved, Fang Bai's heart wouldn't settle until he actually had the money.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
Around eleven o'clock, Fang Bai and his father left the bank, each with a backpack. Each backpack contained one million yuan in cash, all in hundred-yuan bills, each weighing about 23 pounds.
They got into the van, went home to pick up their prepared luggage, and set off again for Ning City.
If the goods arrived at home, Fang Bai's mother would receive them, and Xiang Tianhai and Chen Yang would help with the inspection. Fang Bai had already left the purchase receipts at home.
If the goods were not received, Fang Bai could use the purchase receipts to verify with the manufacturer.
By this day, the date was February 5th.
Starting February 6th, Fang Bai and his father began purchasing goods from various manufacturers, requesting same-day shipment.
All day on February 7th, Fang Bai and his father were still purchasing goods, completing their bulk purchases that day.
On the morning of February 8th, they departed from Ning City to return to the city.
At nine in the evening, the father and son returned to Wen City, utterly exhausted again.
His mother said that the first batch of purchased goods had already arrived, and one truck of the second batch had also arrived and was already displayed in the showcases.
These past few days, they no longer set up stalls; everyone was making a final push for the shopping mall's opening.