Chapter Fifteen: Undercurrents (II)

Teng Deming took a sip of tea and continued:

“By any ordinary standard—no, let us put it according to your own logic: after Wang Weixin is transferred, the Songyang branch’s leadership team could let you take the helm. Pay attention: I said ‘could,’ not ‘should.’ But Yin Sen, let us try reasoning backward. Suppose—suppose you were handed the baton now held by Wang Weixin. In what manner, and at what speed, would you run the remainder of the race and complete the course?

“You ought to have some sense by now of how deep the waters are in Songyang, and how difficult its road is to travel. I know that all these years you have cultivated and maneuvered on this soil in the way you believed appropriate. It must be said that you have indeed built up a network of contacts and accumulated certain resources. But those are merely necessary qualifications for serving as a deputy. If, at this point, you already feel capable of taking the top position, then I need only give you one answer: you have no idea of the depths, you overestimate yourself, and you do not know your own place!

“Let us set everything else aside. In the past three years alone, of all the internal violations involving more than one million yuan across the province’s financial system, your Songyang Xing Shang Bank accounted for sixty percent! Do you know that every time I attend the comprehensive case-management and analysis meetings held by the People’s Bank and the Provincial Audit Office, the leaders invariably use cases from our Xing Shang Bank as examples for discussion and dissection? As a member of Xing Shang Bank, and as a native of Songyang, I could wish to hide this old face of mine in my trousers!”

Teng Deming suddenly rose to his feet and paced angrily around the room with his hands clasped behind his back. Then he continued:

“Now look back at your years in charge of credit operations at the Songyang branch. The rise in bad loans has been faster than my blood pressure! What has most displeased the provincial branch is that many existing clients who once had excellent reputations have actually begun playing tricks on Xing Shang Bank—fabricating projects and financial data to obtain loans, opening multiple accounts at other banks to siphon off loans, transferring deposits through out-of-town financing, repeatedly changing their business licenses to evade repayment, and so on. These crude deceptions, no more than monkey tricks and cheap magic acts, have repeatedly succeeded against our Xing Shang Bank. They directly led to the creation of enormous bad loans. On that point alone, can you, as the branch manager in charge, claim to bear no responsibility?

“True, the provincial branch did participate in the decision-making on several major projects. In some respects, it even ran counter to the views of your municipal branch. Director Tan and I do not deny this. It was precisely because of that consideration that we did not pursue the responsibility of your leadership team too aggressively, especially your personal responsibility. But that does not mean that you and the people in your credit department are clean.

“What I often worry about is this: if the head office or the National Audit Office comes to inspect your credit operations in the future, how will you respond? If accountability is demanded, can the few of you who bear direct responsibility escape disciplinary action? All day long, your mind is occupied with the petty contest for advancement—who will seize whose position. But when the crucial moment comes, will your work performance and achievements speak on your behalf?

“Oh, there is another situation you may have overlooked. The employees of the Songyang branch generally harbor prejudice against you. That is something I have never been able to understand. Once, while chatting with Director Tan, I happened to mention you. Pay attention: I was not talking about your work performance, but about the fact that employees are constantly reporting you. According to statistics from the provincial branch’s supervision office, of all the letters of complaint originating from the Songyang branch, eighty percent concern you. How do you explain that? Must I continue analyzing it for you? The reason the provincial branch has not made an example of you, young man, is that we have taken great pains on your behalf. Can you understand that?!”

At that moment, Yin Sen wilted completely.

Teng Deming’s words were like a basin of boiling water suddenly poured over a blooming orchid. Within minutes, all the anger and resentment vanished from Yin Sen’s face, replaced by anxiety and timidity he could no longer conceal.

Teng Deming did not notice the change in Yin Sen’s expression. Instead, he seemed suddenly seized by another urge to speak, and his words grew still more fluent and cutting.

“Do you know what has caused the provincial branch the greatest difficulty? It is this upheaval surrounding Wen Lu. Everything happened too suddenly, so abruptly that no one had time to react! And especially the more than three million yuan in deposits Wen Lu left behind. As the vice president in charge of credit operations, surely you are not going to tell me you knew absolutely nothing about them?!”

“Wen—Wen Lu’s affair—didn’t the provincial branch already make its position clear? As for the origins of those several sums, to be honest, I can see only a blur of shadows. But there is one person who ought to know the whole story better than anyone!”

Yin Sen hurriedly defended himself.

“Who?” Teng Deming asked lazily.

“Liu Dong. Who doesn’t know that Wen Lu and the Kanghong Group had been inseparable these past few years? His personal relationship with Chairman Liu Dong was even closer. Perhaps in the eyes of the provincial branch’s leaders, Wen Lu was an outstanding reserve cadre—proficient in business and devoted to principles. But in fact, hmph! Only he himself knows what he really did. Aren’t those more than three million yuan of deposits excellent material evidence?”

Yin Sen replied in a strange, insinuating tone.

“You mean Wen Lu’s money was given to him by Liu Dong? Where is your evidence? The crow perched on the pig, black as pitch, calling the pig black! Wasn’t your relationship with Liu Dong just as close? While Wen Lu was alive, he defended you at every turn on countless occasions. Now that he is dead, stop making such irresponsible remarks. Besides—”

Teng Deming paused, then continued:

“Since you brought up Liu Dong, I might as well say a few more words. Liu Dong and I are both from Songyang, and we were even alumni at university. He was several years ahead of me, however, so we were not especially familiar with each other at first. Later, when he entered the molybdenum-iron refining and processing industry, he often needed substantial loan support, and we came into contact from time to time. But I have never allowed the sentiments of our shared hometown to interfere with my work.

“Truly, changing times make heroes. Among the businessmen who emerged from Songyang, Liu Dong can be called one of the pioneers who completed his initial accumulation of capital earliest. To be frank, I admire him. Today Liu Dong is a celebrated public figure—possessed of assets worth hundreds of millions and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Any one of his ‘titles,’ taken out on its own, gleams like gold and dazzles the eye!

“From what I know, Liu Dong’s social circle is not especially broad, but it is exceptionally solid and substantial. Those with whom he maintains genuinely meaningful relationships are, by and large, the real power brokers in charge of their respective industries. Among them are no shortage of decision-makers within the financial system. There is a reason I describe his habits in choosing friends this way.

“Take our Xing Shang Bank, for example. Everyone here who knows him shares a common impression: the way he values and practices interpersonal relations is not limited to eating, drinking, singing, and dancing. He constantly looks for opportunities to engage you in profound discussions of specific business matters, exchange management methods, and explore one another’s business policies and regulations. This man is intensely driven by self-interest. The objectives of all his marketing efforts have long exceeded ordinary people’s understanding. He is always probing, and sometimes even directly touching, the weak points in our credit-management chain. His intentions are perfectly obvious...”