78: Bringing his wife and children to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 155 Asking for help

When Ye Bingwen arrived at the factory, the clock hands pointed to 10 a.m.

In the office, Chen An was carefully checking the accounts.

Ye Bingwen walked into the office and gently placed the two thousand five hundred yuan in his hand on the table.

Chen An raised his head, a look of surprise on his face.

"Director Ye, where did you get this money from?" Chen An asked.

"I raised the money myself," Ye Bingwen replied.

Chen An glanced at the stack of money on the table but didn't ask any further questions.

"How much will the electricity cost?" Chen An then asked.

"It's three thousand two hundred dollars in total," Ye Bingwen said.

"So, we're still short 670 yuan," Chen An said after calculating.

"Hmm," Ye Bingwen responded softly.

Chen An remained silent for a while before speaking, "Director Ye, I still have a thousand yuan."

"Chen An, I told you before that you can't touch that money," Ye Bingwen said seriously.

"My dad gave me this money not so that I could save it all, but so that I could use it when I needed it," Chen An explained earnestly.

"Your father told you to keep the money for your wedding, not to use it to pay for the factory's expenses," Ye Bingwen retorted.

"I don't even have a boyfriend yet, why would I get married?" Chen An said nonchalantly.

Ye Bingwen stared at Chen An.

Chen An took an envelope out of the drawer.

"This was sent to me by my dad. There was 1,200 yuan in it," Chen An said.

"Chen An..." Ye Bingwen hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Director Ye, please stop talking. If the factory really goes bankrupt, there's no point in me keeping this money," Chen An said firmly.

Ye Bingwen remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he nodded.

"Then I'll give you an IOU," Ye Bingwen said.

"No need for an IOU," Chen An said.

"We have to fight," Ye Bingwen insisted.

Ye Bingwen took out a piece of paper, wrote an IOU, and then handed it to Chen An.

Chen An didn't read the contents of the IOU and simply stuffed it into the drawer.

At noon, Liu Xiaojun ran into the office.

"Uncle Ye, Master Li is calling for you in the workshop," Liu Xiaojun said.

Ye Bingwen followed Liu Xiaojun outside.

Master Li stood in front of the milling machine, holding a cloth bag in his hand.

"Xiao Ye, come here for a moment," Master Li called out.

Ye Bingwen walked over.

Master Li opened the cloth bag, inside were several bills.

"This totals 1,500 yuan," said Mr. Li.

"Master Li, what are you doing?" Ye Bingwen asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I still have more than 20,000 yuan left in my retirement savings. I'll take out 1,500 yuan to help the factory out of its emergency," Mr. Li explained.

"Master Li, I can't take your money anymore," Ye Bingwen quickly refused.

"Xiao Ye, listen to me," Master Li said firmly.

Master Li put out his cigarette and looked at Ye Bingwen.

"I joined the factory in 1964 and have worked there for 30 years. In these 30 years, what haven't I experienced?"

"Back in 1962, the factory couldn't pay wages, but I didn't leave," Master Li recalled.

"Now that something has happened at your factory, I really can't just stand by and do nothing," Master Li said sincerely.

"Master Li..." Ye Bingwen was so moved that he couldn't speak.

"Take this, pay me back in a couple of days when the loan comes through," Mr. Li said, handing the money to Ye Bingwen.

Ye Bingwen looked at the few bills, reached out his hand but then pulled it back, feeling very conflicted.

Mr. Li simply stuffed the money into his pocket.

"Alright, go back to work," Master Li said, then turned around and went to continue working on the milling machine.

Ye Bingwen stood still.

Ye Bingwen returned to his office and sat down, feeling the few bills in his pocket.

Add to Master Li's 1,500 yuan, and add Chen An's 1,200 yuan.

The money for electricity is enough.

But the wages are still owed, and the cost of materials is still owed.

Ye Bingwen took out the account book again and did some calculations.

My salary is about 2,500 yuan a month, and if I work for two consecutive months, it will be 5,000 yuan.

The materials cost 5,200 yuan.

The total comes to 10,000 yuan.

Ten thousand yuan.

Where will this 10,000 yuan come from?

Ye Bingwen sat in the chair, thinking about several people.

He thought of someone, then shook his head, feeling that it wasn't a good fit.

Finally, he thought of one person: Huang Baoshan.

Huang Baoshan was his high school classmate. After graduation, he did not get into university and went to work at Harbin Bearing Factory. Later, he went into business and opened a hardware store.

I heard he's doing quite well now.

But Ye Bingwen and he hadn't been in much contact for over a decade.

Moreover, there was an unpleasant experience in between.

Ye Bingwen did not attend Huang Baoshan's wedding.

That year, Ye Bingwen's family was also in dire straits. An'an had just been born, and they were struggling to even afford to buy milk powder.

Huang Baoshan invited him to his wedding, but he couldn't go.

Huang Baoshan said one sentence on the phone: "You're too stingy."

Ye Bingwen remembered those words for many years.

After that, the two had little contact.

They bumped into each other on the street during the Spring Festival last year. Huang Baoshan was driving a Santana. He got out of the car, shook hands with Ye Bingwen, and said that they should get together sometime.

But they never actually got together.

Ye Bingwen did not contact him proactively.

Now he needs to go to Huang Baoshan to borrow money.

Ye Bingwen sat in the chair for an entire afternoon.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, he finally stood up and walked out of the office.

He rode his bicycle to Daowai District.

Huang Baoshan's hardware store is located on Jingyu Street in Daowai District, and its name is Baoshan Hardware.

Ye Bingwen rode his bike to the store entrance and stopped.

The store is quite large, about 70 or 80 square meters, and it is filled with all kinds of hardware.

A plump woman was sitting behind the counter; she was Huang Baoshan's wife.

"Sister-in-law," Ye Bingwen greeted her.

The fat woman looked up at him but didn't recognize him.

"Who are you looking for?" the fat woman asked.

"Sister-in-law, I am Ye Bingwen, Huang Baoshan's high school classmate," Ye Bingwen explained.

The fat woman thought for a moment.

"Oh, it's you," the fat woman said.

Her tone was polite, but not enthusiastic.

"Is Baoshan in the store?" Ye Bingwen asked.

"In the warehouse at the back," the fat woman replied.

The fat woman shouted behind her.

"Baoshan, someone is looking for you."

Huang Baoshan came out from inside.

He had gained a little weight since the last time we met, and he was wearing an overcoat and holding what looked like an early, counterfeit mobile phone.

Upon seeing Ye Bingwen, a slightly surprised expression appeared on his face.

"Hey, Bingwen, what brings you here?" Huang Baoshan asked.

"Baoshan, I have something I'd like to discuss with you," Ye Bingwen said.

"Alright, alright, come in and sit down," Huang Baoshan said warmly.

Huang Baoshan led Ye Bingwen to the small office at the back.

Inside the room was a large boss's table, a swivel chair, and a sign that read "Get Rich" hanging on the wall.

Huang Baoshan poured a cup of tea and handed it to Ye Bingwen.

"Bingwen, what's the matter?" Huang Baoshan asked.

Ye Bingwen held his teacup, not speaking immediately.

"Baoshan, let me tell you first, I'm here today because I have a favor to ask of you," Ye Bingwen said frankly.

"Go ahead and speak," Huang Baoshan gestured for him to continue.

"You know my factory, Hongqi Machinery Factory, right?" Ye Bingwen asked.

"I know, I heard it's doing quite well, and they've taken on a lot of military-related work," Huang Baoshan replied.

"We have taken on some military-related work, but the factory is currently experiencing cash flow problems," Ye Bingwen said helplessly.

"Oh?" Huang Baoshan was somewhat surprised.

"I'd like to borrow some money from you to tide me over," Ye Bingwen said, explaining his purpose.

Huang Baoshan looked at Ye Bingwen and smiled; the smile was complex.

"How much do you want to borrow?" Huang Baoshan asked.

"Ten thousand dollars," Ye Bingwen replied.

Huang Baoshan remained silent.

He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then put it down again.

"Bingwen, let me tell you the truth," Huang Baoshan said.

"Tell me," Ye Bingwen said, looking at him.

"I do have 10,000 yuan, but I can't lend it to you," Huang Baoshan said directly.

Ye Bingwen hummed in response, showing no surprise.

"Why can't I lend it? Let me tell you, it's not that I'm stingy," Huang Baoshan explained.

"In the past few years of doing business, most of the money I've earned has been tied up in inventory, and I don't have much cash on hand," Huang Baoshan continued.

"Furthermore, to be honest, it's uncertain whether the loan will be approved in your situation. If it is approved, you'll still have to pay it back; if it's not approved, how will you pay it back?" Huang Baoshan expressed his concerns.

"I know," Ye Bingwen said in a low voice.

"I'm not saying I don't trust you. We were high school classmates, and I know you, Ye Bingwen, are a man of integrity. But that's not how business is done," Huang Baoshan said earnestly.

"Yes," Ye Bingwen said, indicating his understanding.

"If you need to borrow three or five hundred yuan urgently, I'll give it to you without hesitation. I can give it to you tomorrow. But ten thousand yuan is too much. I need to think about my own family's livelihood," Huang Baoshan said frankly.

Ye Bingwen nodded.

"Baoshan, I understand how you feel," Ye Bingwen said.

He picked up the teacup and drank the tea inside.

"Then I'll be going now," Ye Bingwen said, getting up to leave.

"Hey, have a meal before you go," Huang Baoshan said, trying to persuade him to stay.

"No, I have things to do at the factory," Ye Bingwen refused.

Huang Baoshan stood up and saw Ye Bingwen to the door.

Huang Baoshan paused when he reached the door.

"Bingwen," Huang Baoshan called out to him.

"Hmm?" Ye Bingwen turned to look at him.

"Although I can't lend you 10,000, I can lend you 2,000," Huang Baoshan said.

Ye Bingwen turned around and looked at him.

"What you just did..." Ye Bingwen asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I can still come up with two thousand yuan," Huang Baoshan said.

"Baoshan, thank you very much," Ye Bingwen said gratefully.

"No need to thank me. If you can't pay it back later, just don't bother. Consider it the red envelope you gave me when I got married that year," Huang Baoshan joked.

Ye Bingwen laughed after hearing this.

"Then I definitely have to pay it back, and with interest as well," Ye Bingwen said earnestly.

"Okay, okay, whatever you say goes," Huang Baoshan said.

Huang Baoshan took out two stacks of money from under the counter, each stack appearing to contain a thousand yuan.

Then Huang Baoshan looked at Ye Bingwen and said, "Take these two thousand yuan and use them for now."

Huang Baoshan handed the money to Ye Bingwen.

Ye Bingwen took the money, wrote an IOU, handed it to Huang Baoshan, and then said, "I will pay you back this two thousand yuan within a month."

, 7

"Okay, it's fine, I trust you."

Huang Baoshan immediately accepted the IOU, and Ye Bingwen didn't stay any longer, thanking him and leaving.

Ye Bingwen left the shop and immediately rode his bicycle back to the factory.