Chapter 11: The Loan
Page (1/3)
The following day, at Wing Lung Bank’s Kowloon branch, Chen Bingwen had already been waiting in the lobby for nearly thirty minutes.
After briefly registering the purpose of his visit, the young clerk who had first received him led him to the waiting area, whereupon he was left entirely unattended.
Chen Bingwen was in no hurry. He simply sat there in silence, his gaze calm and steady.
It was already January 11, only nine days before the auction for stalls at the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair.
Taking into account the time required for loan approval and disbursement, Chen Bingwen dared not waste even a single day.
Another ten minutes passed before a middle-aged man finally emerged from one of the offices.
He was dressed in a sharply tailored suit, with a nameplate reading “Credit Department Manager” pinned to his chest.
“Mr. Chen?”
Chen Bingwen rose and inclined his head slightly.
“I’m terribly sorry to have kept you waiting.”
The man wore a professional smile, though a hint of scrutiny showed in his eyes. “I’m Zhou Mingzhe from the Credit Department. Please come with me.”
Chen Bingwen followed him into a small conference room, and the door closed softly behind them.
After taking his seat, Zhou Mingzhe did not immediately look through the documents. Instead, he poured Chen Bingwen a glass of water before speaking.
“Mr. Chen, you wish to apply for a loan?”
Chen Bingwen nodded and pushed over the kraft-paper envelope.
“Yes. Fifty thousand Hong Kong dollars, to bid for and operate a stall at the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair.”
Zhou Mingzhe opened the envelope, removed the documents, and began reading them carefully.
After a long while, he set the papers down. His fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop, and his brow furrowed.
“Mr. Chen, the turnover at your dessert shop has indeed risen significantly over the past two weeks.”
Zhou Mingzhe adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. “But as you know, when banks extend loans, they look for stable, long-term cash flow—not a short-term surge.”
Chen Bingwen had anticipated that the bank would have such concerns. Before this, business at Chen’s Dessert Shop had been so poor that its daily takings amounted to only around one hundred dollars.
Page (1/3)
Page (2/3)
The improvement in turnover had only begun recently, so Manager Zhou’s doubts were entirely understandable.
Thus, after Zhou Mingzhe finished speaking, Chen Bingwen calmly produced another document and slid it across the table.
“Manager Zhou, what you’ve said is perfectly reasonable. This contains our dessert shop’s detailed operating figures, along with a three-month cash-flow forecast.”
Chen Bingwen paused, then added, “The latter section is a complete business plan prepared specifically for the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair.”
Zhou Mingzhe opened the file and discovered that it was, in effect, a full business plan—from selecting locations in industrial districts and attracting workers as customers to responding to competition from rival vendors.
It covered everything from cost accounting and profit projections to risk management. Even the strengths and weaknesses of competing businesses had been analyzed, together with corresponding strategies for dealing with them.
The more Zhou Mingzhe read, the more astonished he became. The scrutiny in his eyes gradually gave way to surprise.
In his experience, this business plan was practically a textbook example of commercial planning.
Zhou Mingzhe removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose before saying solemnly, “Mr. Chen, this business plan of yours… is frankly better than what many professional consulting firms could produce.”
Chen Bingwen smiled faintly. “You’re too kind, Manager Zhou. I merely systematized the experience I gained from working in the factory districts.
“Besides, we’ve already tested the mobile-stall business model in the Sham Shui Po industrial area, where the profit margin has remained stable at around fifty percent…”
Zhou Mingzhe nodded, his attitude clearly softening. “Mr. Chen, your business plan is certainly impressive. However, the competitive environment at the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair is entirely different from that of the factory districts. How do you intend to deal with it?”
Chen Bingwen turned to the latter half of the plan and explained, “For the Lunar New Year Fair, I intend to focus our offerings on semi-prepared items that are convenient and quick to make. That will reduce preparation time on-site and increase our rate of sales…”
As Chen Bingwen explained, there were only four cooked-food stalls at the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair. Anyone hoping to increase sales certainly could not choose dishes that took a long time to prepare.
As his explanation continued, the doubts in Zhou Mingzhe’s mind gradually faded, replaced by keen interest.
Suddenly, he closed the file and looked Chen Bingwen straight in the eye.
“One last question. What will you do if you lose the auction and fail to secure a stall?”
“If I lose the bidding, I’ll contact the successful vendors and try to reach an agreement with them to use our Chen’s Dessert Shop products.”
To be honest, Chen Bingwen had never seriously considered the possibility of losing.
The special nature of the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair meant that the vendors bidding for stalls could not afford to invest too much money in them.
As long as one bidder made a determined offer, intent on securing a stall at any cost, the others would naturally recognize the situation and withdraw.
And Chen Bingwen had made thorough preparations. He was determined to win the cooked-food stalls at this year’s fair.
Page (2/3)
Page (3/3)
Zhou Mingzhe pondered for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject.
“Mr. Chen, how old are you this year?”
“I’ve just turned eighteen,” Chen Bingwen replied frankly. Seeing the surprise on the other man’s face, he added, “But I grew up in a dessert shop and have a special understanding of this business.
“On top of that, selling desserts in the factory districts recently has given me a much deeper grasp of market demand.”
Zhou Mingzhe nodded and smiled. “Mr. Chen, your loan application has been approved. Fifty thousand Hong Kong dollars at an annual interest rate of eleven percent. The funds will be released the day after tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Manager Zhou.” Chen Bingwen rose to his feet, then added, “However, would it be possible to raise the amount to eighty thousand? That way, we could bid for all four stalls at the same time.”
Zhou Mingzhe raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Economies of scale,” Chen Bingwen replied at once. “Operating all four stalls simultaneously would reduce our raw-material and labor costs by thirty percent.”
To Zhou Mingzhe, Chen Bingwen’s business plan had already proven the value of the investment. Whether the loan amounted to fifty thousand or eighty thousand Hong Kong dollars made little difference to Wing Lung Bank.
Moreover, the more money the bank lent, the greater its eventual return.
After hearing Chen Bingwen’s explanation, Zhou Mingzhe threw back his head and laughed before readily agreeing.
“Very well! Eighty thousand Hong Kong dollars. It’s settled!”
Chen Bingwen shook his hand solemnly. “A pleasure doing business with you, Manager Zhou. You’ll see that this investment will bring Wing Lung Bank substantial returns.”
After leaving the bank, Chen Bingwen stood on the steps and drew a deep breath.
Eighty thousand Hong Kong dollars was no small sum in this era. It was enough for him to bid for all four cooked-food stalls at the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair, while still leaving him enough to purchase equipment and ingredients for Chen’s Dessert Shop.
By the time he returned to Chen’s Dessert Shop, it was nearly noon. Gao Zhenhai’s modified three-wheeled vehicle was parked outside, which meant he had already returned from the Lai Chi Kok industrial area.
The moment Chen Bingwen stepped into the shop, he realized that something was wrong. He had not even had the chance to tell his mother that the loan had been approved.
Neither his mother nor Gao Zhenhai wore the cheerful expressions they usually had.
“What happened? Is something wrong?”
Chen Bingwen looked at Gao Zhenhai and asked.
“Brother Wen, another dessert stall showed up in the Lai Chi Kok industrial area today!”
Page (3/3)