41: Chapter 41 Handling Business!

"If I said I won it in a lottery, would you believe me, Boss?"

"Let's go quickly, otherwise, our friend at the bank will be waiting anxiously."

Shen Zhou didn't answer Lin Lan's question directly, instead brushing it off with a joke.

He managed to gloss over the matter.

He knew that his boss didn't have the time or energy right now to get to the bottom of these things.

She still needed to hustle for the very survival of her company.

Sure enough, seeing that Shen Zhou hadn't answered her question directly, Lin Lan didn't ask any further. She just looked at Shen Zhou thoughtfully for a moment before heading straight to the passenger seat of the BMW, opening the door, and sitting inside.

The distance from the Oriental Building to Longfa Bank wasn't far; after passing four or five traffic lights, the two had already parked the car in the parking lot in front of Longfa Bank.

When they got out of the car, Mu Shanshan was already waiting at the entrance.

After the three of them exchanged brief introductions, Mu Shanshan led Lin Lan directly to her office.

"Why is her office so out of the way? And so small?"

"Is she actually competent? This is a loan of over ten million, can she really get it approved?"

Just after entering the office, Lin Lan took advantage of the moment Mu Shanshan was retrieving materials to tug on Shen Zhou's arm.

Indeed, Lin Lan's concern at this moment was justified.

Because Mu Shanshan's office was truly a bit too shabby.

The entire office was estimated to be less than five square meters. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that no matter what, a bank employee working in such a place couldn't possibly have much decision-making authority.

And right now, what Lin Lan needed most was someone reliable who possessed a certain amount of authority to get her loan approved.

Now, seeing the scene in Mu Shanshan's office, Lin Lan immediately began to feel uneasy.

"Hmm, this office is indeed a bit small. Longfa Bank is quite wealthy; why would they arrange such a small office?"

At this moment, Shen Zhou wasn't entirely aware that Mu Shanshan was suffering under the suppression of their branch's Credit Department Director.

This office had actually been specially prepared for her by the branch's Credit Department Director in order to force Mu Shanshan out and clear a spot for his nephew.

The goal was to ensure that any reliable loan client would immediately get a feeling of unreliability upon entering this office.

The office wasn't even as big as a counter; what kind of authority could this loan officer possibly have?

Which company wouldn't look for a reliable relationship manager when applying for a loan? They needed someone with high lending authority!

Upon seeing Mu Shanshan's office environment, those loan clients who originally met the criteria would naturally avoid choosing Mu Shanshan and instead try to find other credit managers.

In this way, Mu Shanshan wouldn't be able to secure clients, her performance would naturally lag behind, and once her performance lagged, the Director could use the excuse of eliminating the bottom-ranked employee to get rid of her and replace her with his own nephew.

Workplace competition is sometimes just this insidious.

Many people watch too many palace intrigue dramas on TV and naively think that workplace competition is just like what's on TV, constantly using high-level strategies from The Art of War.

Things like "Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors" or the "Grace-Extending Edict" sound so flashy!

However, in real life, actual workplace struggles are often incredibly tacky!

Sneaking around reporting others, deliberately pushing responsibility onto others, and constantly nitpicking attendance.

These kinds of workplace struggles are the more common type of conflict in the real world.

There aren't that many high-and-mighty conspiracies or overt schemes; being able to master the art of making someone's life difficult is already considered being an expert.

Faced with Lin Lan's worries, Shen Zhou didn't know the reason at this moment.

So he casually explained with a couple of sentences:

"It's fine, General Manager Lin. A mountain doesn't need to be high to be famous if there is a celestial being, and water doesn't need to be deep to be magical if there is a dragon!"

"Whether the office is small or not is none of our business; you just need to trust me!"

He intended to put Lin Lan at ease, letting her know that with him there, nothing would go wrong.

"I'm sorry, the place is a bit humble."

"However, since General Manager Shen has already made arrangements, your conditions are sufficient for the loan to be approved, so please rest assured."

Having found the loan documents, Mu Shanshan also noticed Lin Lan's worry.

Thus, she briefly explained a couple of things and handed the documents containing all the necessary information for the loan to Lin Lan.

"General Manager Shen? She called you General Manager Shen! Shen Zhou, could you actually be a wealthy tycoon in disguise?"

Upon taking the documents, Lin Lan couldn't help but be stunned.

"No way, Boss. Out in the world, who doesn't like to talk themselves up a bit?"

Shen Zhou gave a sheepish smile and explained.

"Hmm, I suppose so! But your recent behavior has been really suspicious."

As Lin Lan spoke, she began to flip through the documents in her hand.

Soon, Lin Lan discovered something even stranger in the loan collateral section of the documents.

"Manager Mu, you must have made a mistake. Where would I have collateral valued at thirty million?"

"Didn't Shen Zhou tell you about my situation?"

Truth be told, although Lin Lan really hoped that the loan she applied for would be approved at this very moment.

At the same time, she was worried that there might be some tricks involved that she wasn't aware of.

As a businessperson, Lin Lan had seen too many tricks over the years.

And these tricks didn't just appear frequently in corporate settings; in reality, they were also encountered in some banks.

For example, money meant for a savings account being turned into an investment product; Lin Lan had come across such things more than once on short video platforms.

This made her unable to help but feel surprised when she saw that her loan documents clearly marked that the client possessed collateral valued at thirty million.

"Oh, it's like this, General Manager Lin. It's almost the end of the year, and our Longfa Bank is pushing to meet our loan performance quotas."

"The head office will appropriately lower the threshold and provide some necessary assistance for some reputable clients."

"I believe General Manager Lin should be aware of such things."

"Don't other banks also rush to issue loans at the end of the year?"

"You don't need to worry about this point."

Faced with Lin Lan's skepticism, Mu Shanshan was quite straightforward, directly using the script she had previously rehearsed with Shen Zhou.

Upon hearing that some banks would rush to issue loans at the end of the year, Lin Lan nodded in apparent realization, accepting the other party's explanation.

This kind of thing wasn't just something Shen Zhou had heard of; Lin Lan had heard of it a long time ago.

It was just that different industries are like different mountains, so she didn't know the specific details.

"Alright then, since that's the case, I'll trouble you, Manager Mu."

...

Mu Shanshan was quite familiar with the loan processing procedure.

In just over ten minutes, the basic document signing process was completed. However, just as Mu Shanshan was holding the loan application materials that Lin Lan had already signed and was preparing to leave the office...

Her office door was suddenly knocked open.

"Manager Mu, is this a loan you just secured? When did you find such a reliable client?"