Chapter Eighteen: The Demon's Tongue (I)

Midnight.

The incandescent bulb on the living room ceiling peered timidly through the window, like the eyes of a beggar in a dark alley, watching the silver glow of the snow outside.

Zhang Maolin leaned sideways into the corner of the sofa, the tea in his cup long since gone cold. His slightly failing eyesight seemed entirely absorbed by the yellowish notebook left behind by Wen Lu—

Friday, Sunny

...Everyone’s life experiences countless first times: the first time seeing mother’s smiling face, the first time seeing the flowers and plants outside, the first time wearing a bright red scarf, the first time writing or receiving a love letter, the first time touching a woman's body. All of this is so thrilling and makes my blood boil!!!

But today, today I encountered a very special first in my life—when the boss handed me fifty thousand yuan, I felt as if the entire Earth was pressing down upon me!

I wanted desperately to refuse. But my hand felt as though it were being dragged fiercely by God, dragged and dragged and dragged, all the way onto the five bundles of heart-pounding cash the boss was offering me. I could distinctly feel the warmth and magic emanating from the bills; it was exhilarating, deeply warm, and made my heart race wildly! It felt just like the first time I fondled A-Ye's snowy-white, tender breasts!!! It had that exact feeling.

I have no idea what kind of expression I wore at that moment. Surely I didn't look like I was drooling with greed, did I?! If so, that would be utterly disgraceful, though I trust I couldn't be that superficial!

In front of those ruffian-style, so-called entrepreneurs, I must have appeared very reserved. After there all, they were the ones asking things of me, not the other way around. There is plenty of time ahead; I must never let them easily see through my true appetite!

Seeing the boss acting so subsequious, even bowing and scraping, it looked as if I were the one giving him money. Yes, my demeanor at that time must have been struck with great nobility, reaching out a hand with such elegance—or perhaps, even before I could reach out, he had already taken the initiative to place the money right into my palm! Yes, yes, it must have been like that!

It is truly strange. I hadn't actively helped with anything; why would he go to such lengths to curry favor with me? Fifty thousand yuan—this amounts to over a year of my salary! Why? As the saying goes, unearned rewards are not to be accepted lightly. Could it be that I have rendered him some meritorious service?! Surely not. We have barely had any dealings with one another; how could a lowly deputy section chief like me possibly have such standing? Besides, I haven't even been promoted for half a year yet!

Ah, let me think. Could it be that Vice President Yin’s words played a part? It really wasn't much—wasn't it just that their company's financial statements had a few inconsistencies, which merely manifested as data discrepancies in sales revenue and accounts receivable at two specific points in time? I had simply made a few minor adjustments and accommodations regarding that.

According to my wife, nowadays there isn't a single enterprise whose financial statements are free of loopholes. In the drawers of those financial executives, they are required to keep at least four sets of statements depicting entirely different financial realities: the first is used for tax declarations to the tax bureau; the second is used for public relations and loan acquisition with banks; the third is used for reporting investment attraction projects to the government; and the fourth is exclusively for the boss’s own eyes! Of course, that one serves a special purpose.

The statements given to the tax bureau must be the "beggar" version. In the boss's words, that is the "hollow-bellied" version, where the severity of the financial distress can have no lower limit. Expenses and costs are infinite, while operating revenue is infinitely small—the more expenditures exceed income, the better! By relying on this, the tax assessment base is lowered, minimizing or completely eliminating tax obligations.

The statements given to the bank must be the "glad tidings" version. In the boss's words, that is the "puffed-out chest" version. The financial outlook must be optimistic to the point of having no upper limit. Debt-to-asset ratios, current ratios, quick ratios, and capital turnover rates—a whole series of indicators can be optimized to the absolute maximum! Ultimately, this is meant to make those financial deities feel comfortable. The moment their feet step through the company gates, a comprehensive VIP service protocol is immediately set into motion! As the saying goes, the real work is done offstage.

The statements given to the government must be the "three-point bikini" version. In the boss's words, that is the "flesh-revealing" version. Attention must be paid to reflecting primary project data such as total corporate assets, local investment scale, and group financing capabilities. Official business at the yamen gates cares about nothing more than formality, grand presence, and displaying prestige. Whichever enterprise wishes to have its image gilded must first demonstrate a grand gesture! Attracting investment cannot be done with a single palm; it takes two palms clapping together to make a sound! How to make that sound resonate? That requires a whole set of sophisticated maneuvers behind the scenes. I once heard the boss recount the history of how their company was founded; the profound stories within are certainly not things someone at my level can comprehend or fathom.

The statements kept for the boss himself, strictly speaking, can no longer be called statements. They are merely a few true figures: first, the bank account balance; second, the amount of cash in the safe; and third, the inventory of stockpiled materials. Only these few figures constitute the true capital upon which the boss navigates the world and conquers his domain!

...

The boss shoved this fifty thousand yuan into my hands, and it felt like a stepping stone! To me, outwardly it may be an unearned reward, but this is also his strategic futures contract! It counts as an emotional investment on his part. As the old saying goes, if you take someone's money, you help them avert disaster. I naturally took note of it; with a long future ahead, there will always be a time for repayment!

I remember last month when Vice President Yin brought me along for a post-loan follow-up visit. The company's chief financial officer brought over a stack of reports, but Vice President Yin didn't even look at them, simply asking me to review them. As soon as he finished speaking, he and the boss walked arm-in-arm into the inner suite. After a long while, the two of them emerged with their arms around each other's shoulders, and at that moment I noticed each of them was carrying several huge leather bags. Lunch was served in the boss's private executive canteen; though called a canteen, the dishes were more sumptuous and luxurious than those in a hotel.

Who would have thought that at the dining table, Vice President Yin would ask me to share my business evaluation of this post-loan review? Knowing full well I couldn't evade it, I said that overall things looked quite good, except that the company's volume of accounts receivable was rather large, which significantly affected the recovery rate of sales proceeds. I emphasized that I had made a rough calculation: counting forward from the company's last loan date, there were a total of six transactions involving a combined sales amount of 9.3 million yuan, yet the actual sales proceeds recovered amounted to less than 3 million yuan, leaving nearly seventy percent of the remaining funds tied up in accounts receivable. Such an excessively low capital turnover rate would inevitably affect future loan access criteria, especially since more than ten million yuan in loans were maturing before the end of the current quarter...

Before I could finish expressing my thoughts, Vice President Yin gave a fake cough. I knew immediately that I had said the wrong thing. Sure enough, Vice President Yin promptly corrected me, stating that the loan recovery rate was not a primary reference indicator and would not affect our loan access demonstration. It left me in such an awkward position! Fortunately, President Liu always maintained a beaming smile and didn't hold it against me in the least. When we were leaving, he handed a large leather bag to both me and the driver.

This time, I truly understood the relationship between Vice President Yin and the boss! It reached all the way down to the underworld and all the way up to the heavens!

Since Vice President Yin had dropped those hints behind the scenes, I might as well just play deaf and dumb. How hard could that be? During loan review meetings, I'll just close my eyes to rest my mind and go through the motions.