frightfiction Chapter 131 A Rare Smile at the Postal Savings Bank Counter
Chapter 131 A Rare Smile at the Postal Savings Bank Counter
When Li Ju'an arrived at the Postal Savings Bank, he went inside and transferred money to Lu Zhiqiang for share allocation. Coincidentally, Song Desheng was also coming in the afternoon; they had agreed to meet at the entrance of the Postal Savings Bank last time.
He sold a total of 805 yuan worth of leather. As the leader, he brought a dog, livestock, and hunting rifles, and took a total of 5 shares. Song Desheng brought a gun and took a total of 2 shares. Lu Zhiqiang's spear could not be called a gun; it was at most a cold weapon, and he took a total of 1 share.
If it were according to his personality in his previous life, he would have simply divided the spoils among his brothers equally. But now he knows that even close brothers keep clear accounts; the amount of effort put in is the amount received, and it must be done according to the rules of the mountain ancestor. Otherwise, the further he goes, the more thankless his efforts will be, and he'll be gossiped about behind his back, making himself miserable.
"Ten large bills, 70 cents extra. Next time, prepare a gun so you can take more shares." Li Ju'an gave Lu Zhiqiang 100 yuan and 70 cents, adding 8 cents to round it up.
Lu Zhiqiang knew in his heart that the tiger cubs were found by the dogs sniffing them out, and the badgers were caught by Li Ju'an through traps. Even the pelts were made by Lao Tao, which was done by Li Ju'an. The process was very complicated, and he didn't contribute any effort. He only contributed gunpowder to make landmines and helped with gutting and skinning the animals, so he was convinced of Li Ju'an's success.
"Alright, I'll switch to a Big 54 right now. I can add another one later."
Lu Zhiqiang took the money and left, not lingering at the Postal Savings Bank. He was used to hearing his grandfather's opinions about banks; even if he had extra money, he would only keep it in a tin can under his bed or in a drawer. He wouldn't trust banks, even if rats gnawed on it.
Li Ju'an went with him, and Song Desheng would arrive shortly. He took out Song Desheng's share of 201.3 yuan and counted the 503 yuan he kept for himself.
After he finished counting, he stepped up the stairs, lifted the cotton curtain, and entered the Postal Savings Bank's business office. Inside was a row of brick-built, cement-plastered counters, about half a person's height, painted light green, and only about a meter wide. On the counters were white signs with red lettering indicating services such as "Accounting," "Interbank," "Cashier," and "Savings."
They say practice makes perfect, and Li Ju'an is quite familiar with the bank now, unlike last month. He used to have no money to deposit, but now with his hunting income, he has to come often. There weren't many people there; he turned his head and saw only two or three people waiting in the aisle outside. Next to them were three wooden tables joined together, with seals, inkpads, inkwells, pens, and other supplies on them.
He stood in front of the counter with the "Savings" sign and saw the woman inside flipping through a stack of ledgers, her hands moving rapidly across the abacus.
"Hello comrade, I'd like to make a deposit."
The female bank employee didn't even look up until he spoke, at which point she frowned impatiently, put down the ledger she was working on, and seemed to be complaining that he had interrupted the accounting.
Li Ju'an was used to it. Whether in the 80s or in his previous life or the years that followed, bank tellers always had the same attitude: incredibly arrogant, take it or leave it. If an elderly person didn't understand these intricacies, they might be so intimidated by the teller's dissatisfaction that they wouldn't dare utter a sound. He, however, was used to this attitude.
He heard a man behind him, who was also waiting in line, complaining to his companion: "The bank is so arrogant. We can only listen to them fiddling with their abacuses and wait. There's nothing we can do. We'll never see them with a smile on their face."
The man's companion, amused, laughed and said, "Smiling? The woman at the counter always has a long face, it's nothing unusual. Anyway, she's not my wife."
The woman at the counter looked up, glared at them fiercely, then pulled over the abacus, fiddled with it for a few moments, filled out an interest statement, and tossed it on the counter for Li Ju'an to sign. She then got up, handed over the savings book, and went back to the fireplace in the inner office to warm herself.
Song Desheng had just entered the bank when he saw this scene. He smiled and said to Li Ju'an, "What's wrong? Enjoying being looked down upon? You just love depositing your money in the bank."
Li Ju'an took the stamped savings account book, not annoyed at all, patted him on the shoulder and laughed: "What do you know? You're not carrying a large sum of money, so why would the ladies laugh at you? If you were carrying a bag full of large sums of money, maybe the ladies would even smile at you."
After he finished speaking, he got up and walked out of the counter with Song Desheng. At this moment, the female colleague who was warming herself by the fire with her colleagues looked up and glanced at him.
The female bank employee warming herself by the fire was named Chen Chen. She had short, neat hair that reached her ears, and a rather plump figure, even in her bank uniform. As soon as she glanced at Li Ju'an's back, her female colleague teased her, "That guy has come to deposit money several times, and you've been the one to serve him every time. Do you know this young man?"
Chen Chen rubbed his palms together, not even looking up, and said, "So many people come to the bank, who would recognize him? But you, how do you know he's been here so many times? Do you have a crush on him? And you're even keeping track of his fortune?"
Yang Shengsheng, a female colleague, covered her mouth and chuckled, saying, "Didn't you hear what that young man just said? You're not a 'big unity' (a term used to describe people who save money for the whole country), so how could you expect women to laugh at you? He always carries the most money in his pocket. If you ask me, in this county town, no young person has saved more money than him, and he saves it more diligently. The people who have saved more than him are all old men."
Several female colleagues who were married with children nearby sensed something was up and joked, "Oh, you've got your eye on him? Next time this young man comes, we'll greet him and ask about his family situation. If he's not married yet, we'll try to set you up."
Yang Shengsheng pleaded pitifully, "Sister Li, please forgive me. It was clearly Chen Chen who took a liking to it first. If the leaders assign deposit targets, we'll have to rely on Sister Chen Chen to put in a lot of effort at this time."
"I think so too. Chen Chen, you'd better maintain good customer relationships and not let customers withdraw their money to deposit in other banks."
The women chattered amongst themselves, making Chen Chen lower his head and remain silent, only glancing at the door. The young man indeed left with his friends.
Chen Chen opened the deposit record document from earlier and took a look at the signature of Li Ju'an.
There are many depositors coming and going, and most of them are villagers from the town or from a neighboring village. The signatures are mostly the same, neat and legible.
But the handwriting on the receipt in her hand was anything but ordinary. The flowing, powerful strokes seemed to penetrate the paper, exuding a resolute and unyielding spirit. To her, this handwriting didn't seem like that of a man from a remote mountain village; it was more like the signature of a merchant from the south.
Chen Chen stared blankly at Li Ju'an's retreating figure, a sense of curiosity rising within him.