Money map

  In September, the new semester starts. With the development of the times and the relaxation of policies, school uniforms have also gradually opened up their measurements, transforming from sportswear to small suits paired with short skirts.

  Of course, this is just for girls, Lin Qiang has no interest in boys at all.

  In the afternoon, when school was just letting out, a group of chattering high school girls gathered together, as if sharing a summer secret. Lin Qiang, however, seemed more interested in their skirts and knee-high socks, taking comfort in memories of his bygone student days. Despite dragging a heavy suitcase, his mood suddenly lifted.

  "Hey! Lin Lao Da, you still have the mood for this!" Zheng Shuai scolded with a twisted face, "We're being sent away! We've been banished! Is this really the time to be checking out female middle school students?"

  Lin Qiang's answer fully demonstrated his literary and artistic sentiments.

  "No, no, I've been working too hard for the past two years, I need to stop and take in the view."

  "It's just a sight to behold." Zheng Shuai also took a glance at the not-so-distant beautiful female student, whose youthful and lovely face was indeed tantalizing. This made him involuntarily lick his dry lips. As he was entranced, his foot unfortunately tripped slightly, his body jerked forward, and he almost bit his own tongue.

  "Damn it, everything is going wrong! Even looking at a girl makes me trip!"

  Zheng Shuai has every reason to be angry.

  A few months ago, he was a hotshot in the industry. Being a hotshot means endless wealth and honor. Money, beauties, high society, those dreamy things were all beckoning to him!

  However, a transfer order crushed all of this. His office was relocated from the "Wall Street of China" in Beijing's financial district to a remote suburban county tens of kilometers away from the city center. What was once an opportunity to make a name for himself now only allowed him to sneak glances at girls. This blow would be difficult for anyone to withstand.

  This is also where Zheng Shuai didn't understand, why the difficult brother in front of him can still be so carefree.

  Three years ago, Lin Qiang and Zheng Shuai joined "United Bank" at the same time. Although they were in different positions, they both rose step by step, being transferred to more important departments, handling more funds and projects. As a young generation in this industry, it's already not easy to have come this far in three years.

  However, now they seem to have instantly returned to their starting point.

  Zheng Shuai shook his head and sighed, "Lin Lao Da, I just don't get it. Why did you refuse to sign that loan? The bank manager was standing in front of you begging you to pass it, how could you still dare to slam the table on him? In the end, he said... unless you leave, this loan will never be approved. And as a result... you really left!"

  Lin Qiang's deeds are quite famous in the industry. A month ago, when he was doing a loan review for an enterprise, he insisted that the asset valuation of this enterprise had a large water content and there was a risk of fraud, and he refused to pass this single, and finally the outcome was as he wished, the single did not pass, and he also did not pass.

  Facing repeated questioning, Lin Qiang forced a smile and said: "Hehe, being transferred here is just temporary, but if I pass that deal, I'll be permanent."

  "You mean that company really has problems?"

  "There's definitely a problem." Lin Qiang lowered his voice slightly, "On the surface, it's a local enterprise, but they're using antiques to... never mind, I'd better not say any more."

  "I've also heard some rumors, it seems that the people above are having a hard time too." Zheng Shuai shook his head again, "Actually, most of us think you did the right thing. If there's a problem in the future, the person responsible for reviewing your case will definitely be made a scapegoat. Although you've offended the leader now, it's considered a minor offense and you'll have a chance to clear your name later."

  Zheng Shuai said, and then asked inexplicably: "There's one thing I don't quite understand. You're not like me, I'm doing administrative work, but your ability and performance are all there, and you haven't made any mistakes, why are you still enduring in the Union Bank? Why not just jump ship?"

  Faced with this remark, Lin Qiang was so angry he wanted to cry but had no tears to shed. Mu Mu spat out two words:

  "Mortgage..."

  Zheng Shuai suddenly felt relieved: "I understand."

  As an employee of the United Bank, when buying a house loan, there is a big discount, and the tax rate is almost flat with three-month fixed deposit, only less than 2%. On the surface, this is a preferential treatment for employees. However, at the same time, it is also a lock that eliminates the possibility of employee turnover, otherwise, it may be necessary to spend nearly one million yuan more on housing expenses.

  Lin Qiang was unfortunately trapped, and in his heyday, he was full of confidence and bought a hotel-style apartment for his parents to retire. Now, however, he has to bear the burden of nearly 10,000 yuan in monthly mortgage payments. If he were to switch jobs, this number might increase by several thousand.

  Zheng Shuai saw Lin Qiang suddenly full of worry, patted him on the shoulder and smiled: "Lin Lao Da, it's okay, you have a chance, when the leader changes in the future, you can rise again... Look at me, I've been doing administrative work all along, now that I'm down here, I'm afraid it will be like this for the rest of my life."

  "Hmph..." Lin Qiang suddenly burst out laughing.

  If Lin Qiang's demotion was a matter of not yielding, then Zheng Shuai's demotion is a sacrifice for integrity. Zheng Shuai lives up to his name, tall and handsome, with a sunny and heroic image, and he's also a good person, naturally gifted, which allowed him to stand out from administrative work, but unfortunately, he was targeted by a female leader...

  The female leader is nearly fifty years old, with a temperament and appearance that are both heroic among women and demonic among people. At one of her birthday parties, she accidentally drank two more cups and recklessly stretched out her devilish claws towards Zheng Shuai's thigh, which became a big laughing point in the industry gossip.

  However, Zheng Shuai finally kept his dignity and made an excuse to hurry away. Afterwards, his work became increasingly unlucky, and he was eventually transferred. It's really "Shuai" whether he wins or loses.

  "Damn it, still laughing!!!" Zheng Shuai scolded Lin Qiang and then laughed along with him, "Hey! This is a bank, you have to be able to take the rules, and withstand the cat-and-mouse game! I'm still afraid, my mom was right, I've never suffered since childhood, can't do this kind of thing."

  Before they knew it, the two of them were already standing in front of the entrance to a residential unit.

  As this side belongs to the area where Ji Jing is intensifying its construction and development, the residential density is generally low, so there are very few people living here. At the same time, because it's too far from the city center, only those who come to work here can enjoy "accommodation" treatment.

  "The environment of the community is okay, just wait a bit, I'll contact the people here." Zheng Shuai put down his luggage, wiped the sweat, and took out his phone.

  A few minutes later, a chubby man with a shiny face and a buzz cut walked out of the unit. He looked to be in his 40s. With a big smile on his face, he stretched out his right hand: "Hello, I'm Zhang Jiaming. I arrived two months before you guys. Sorry that nobody else is here to welcome you today since they're all at work."

  "Haha, it's okay, thanks for your hard work." Zheng Shuai and Lin Qiang shook hands with him one after another. As he walked into the unit, to be exact, walked "down" into the unit.

  The two of them walked down the stairs step by step, looking at the dark passageway that was devoid of light, and couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.

  "This... Does the new residential area have a basement now? Shouldn't it be a garage?" Zheng Shuai coughed and asked.

  "Hey, it's just a garage, there's an empty warehouse inside, actually it was never meant for people to live in." Zhang Jiaming said, pulling out a flashlight he had prepared earlier to illuminate the dark passageway.

  Lin Qiang furrowed his brow upon hearing this.

  It doesn't matter where you live, but this is too much, is this fat guy really stupid or pretending to be stupid?

  Zhang Jiaming quickly made an exaggerated gesture of covering his mouth: "Slip of the tongue! Slip of the tongue! In fact, this place is originally a warehouse for storing spare electrical components. However, the branch's budget is limited, and all the other rooms they rented are fully occupied, leaving only this one. We have no choice. Unless you write a report to propose renting another room?"

  This sentence is even more choking. Who doesn't know that Lin Qiang and Zheng Shuai were demoted before being transferred here? Now, if you submit a report, will anyone care?

  Zheng Shuai's face turned bright red with anger, thinking back to when he was doing administrative work at the branch office, even the business hall directors would come over and smile obsequiously. Now, however, he had been reduced to being bullied by this kind of person! How could he not be angry? But considering that he was new here and there were leaders on this side, it was better not to make enemies right from the start.

  Zheng Shuai was furious, and Lin Qiang was even more furious. He couldn't bear the thought of being surpassed by this kind of inferior person.

  "Is it tough working here?" Lin Qiang asked in a low voice.

  "Haha, don't look at it as a newly developed area with few people, but this side now only has our business hall, and all the merchants and residents have to come to us. It's very promising, you two keep up the good work."

  Lin Qiang turned and asked: "How many years have you been in the industry? You should be a senior."

  "Longer than you, 10 years, I'm now a customer manager." Zhang Jiaming still smiled very happily and took out the demeanor of a senior.

  "You really love grassroots work!" Lin Qiang said to Zheng Shuai, "I remember I was promoted within less than a year when I was at the bottom, how long have you been doing it?"

  "Three months!" Zheng Shuai immediately understood the meaning of this sentence, and laughed loudly, "I really admire those who work on the front line for a lifetime!!"

  As soon as this was said, it instantly touched Zhang Jiaming's sore spot.

  "You...!" Zhang Jiaming was cut off mid-sentence, wanting to speak but stopping himself, and continued walking along the underground passage in silence, seething with anger in his heart, two ignorant fools, no wonder they were transferred here, let me teach you how to be human from now on!

  To know, in the competition within the bank, no one is willing to stay forever in the business hall. The work intensity here is high and it's a bit mechanical work, having to deal with all kinds of weird characters, it's really exhausting and not worth it. Generally, people like Zhang Jiaming who have been working at the grassroots level for 10 years and still haven't made a breakthrough, basically have little chance of being promoted in this lifetime.

  For a woman, it's easy to say that as long as she doesn't pursue wealth and status, having a stable job in the first tier is also a good settlement. But for men, this reflects his ability to some extent, and there's a slight feeling of not being able to hold their head up high.

  In the dimly lit corridor, Zhang Jiaming exerted a lot of effort and finally opened a small, inconspicuous door on the wall. A pungent smell mixed with dust instantly wafted out.

  "Ugh......" Zheng Shuai immediately covered his nose and started waving his hand, "What a strong musty smell..."

  Zhang Jiaming found the light switch and pressed it down. After the room was bright, he turned to the two of them and began to appreciate their expressions.

  The cement floor, up and down, was covered with moss, and the tea table and desk were crawling with mold. There was also a broken old sofa that had been brought from who-knows-where. Because it was damp and humid here, and there was no ventilation, the whole room was stifling with the smell of paint and mildewy furniture.

  "Is this where people live? Brother, you've got it wrong?" Zheng Shuai frowned and backed out.

  "Two of you, bear with it, the duty electrician used to live here, no problem." Zhang Jiaming put the flashlight on the old desk, grinning strangely and said with concern, "You may have to stay downstairs for a long time, I'll leave the flashlight for you, be careful not to fall when going up and down stairs."

  After Zhang Jiaming swaggered away with a smile, Zheng Shuai cursed loudly: "What kind of thing is this?! A tiger fallen into a plain being bullied by a dog! Old Lin, let's just rent a house ourselves!"

  "I can still bear this little hardship." Lin Qiang was also very displeased. Zhang Jiaming's attitude as a single person was just a small matter, and after a few words, it could be judged that he was just a minor character. But such a minor character dared to do so, it seems that the staff in this business hall are quite hostile to his arrival.

  After all, I have no fault in my work, and my position has not been demoted. Coming here is to take on the role of deputy manager of the business hall.

  To put it bluntly, for the people below, my presence is an obstacle to their promotion, and for those above, they will feel pressure. I'm afraid everyone here wants me and Zheng Shuai to leave as soon as possible.

  "You've been doing administrative work for so long, shouldn't you have some connections?" Lin Qiang also didn't want to hold back his anger and asked immediately.

  "That's for sure, nothing else works, I'm just left with connections."

  "In this case, you should look for the administrative person in charge of the higher-level branch and ask about the rental situation to see if there is any opportunity to fight for it."

  "Right! Right!!" Zheng Shuai hastily took out his phone and scolded, "I investigated earlier, there are 8 people in this business hall now, see how many households they rented."

  Damn it, there's no signal in the basement!

  Then Zheng Shuai picked up the flashlight and rushed upstairs.

  Lin Qiang began to pack his luggage, generously throwing his quilt onto the upper bunk. Zheng Shuai was half a year younger than him and had been his roommate in school, who would have thought that after all these years, he would once again experience dorm life with such relish.

  Just as he was about to throw away the quilt that was originally covered with green mold, a thin little book fell out of it. The dark yellow booklet caught Lin's attention, and he threw away the quilt and squatted on the ground to examine this thing.

  The cover of the booklet is old and yellowed, wrinkled and worn out, but the two ancient characters on the cover are still visible.

  "Money Chart"

  Lin Qiang thought it was interesting, so he picked up the booklet. He had always been dealing with money, but he rarely saw real gold and silver. Most of the time, he was playing a game of numbers. In his opinion, this should be an ancient coin appreciation album.

  Unexpectedly, the old electrician still has a strong desire for something.

  Accompanied by the thick and pleasant rustling of old paper, he turned to the first page.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, on the first page of the book was a big copper coin. This copper coin was very strange, it wasn't round but eight-sided, just like the Eight Trigrams.

  The bronze coins are entirely ancient copper-colored, yet they have hardly been corroded at all. Their color is vivid and lifelike, to the point where it even seems as if a golden light has emanated from the paper itself.

  Normally, the upper and lower sides of the central hole of a copper coin should be marked with the emperor's name, such as "Yongzheng Tongbao". However, this eight-trigram copper coin has the four characters "Qian - Tu - Ying - Kui", which is very unusual.

  Looking at the whole thing, this big copper coin jumps out of the paper, vivid and lifelike, making people feel that it is simply real. I'm afraid only a cubist painter can achieve this effect?

  Although Lin Qiang knew it was foolish, he was still drawn to the copper coin, as if he had been bewitched by a spell that made him infatuated. At this moment, he only felt that the coin contained a deep and bottomless whirlpool that lured his soul.

  He couldn't help but move his right hand over, slowly reaching out to touch her eyes, wanting to try and make contact.

  Buzz... buzz...

  Just as he thought he was going to touch nothing, a cold metallic sensation transmitted from his fingertips made him suddenly startled, the deep hole of Qian Yan's eyes suddenly brightened, and a golden light swirled out, rushing straight towards Lin Qiang's left eye.

  Lin Qiang didn't have time to dodge, and was hit by this golden light. His left eye suddenly felt sour and itchy, followed by a sudden wave of comfort. At the same time, his mind rang with a buzzing noise, like the vibration sound after flicking a coin with his finger.

  Looking down again, a few lines of small characters slowly appeared on the blank paper surface of the booklet.

  Accumulate virtues and morals, acquire wealth through righteousness, and draw a grand blueprint.

  Short-sighted and greedy, plotting for personal gain, but ultimately leading to a dead end.

  Having money in sight, one must not fall into the trap of being overly greedy for wealth; otherwise, he will not come to a good end.

  Don't reverse good and evil when managing money, or you will be plagued by bad luck.

  A few lines of words quietly appear and then quietly disappear, like a ghost book!

  Lin Qiang was so frightened that he let out a loud cry, instinctively jumping up and subconsciously throwing away the album, retreating two steps. What he didn't know was that in his left eye pupil, the copper coin still flickered, with the black hole-like money eye seemingly containing countless universes.

  In shock, Zheng Shuai pushed Lin Qiang awake:

  "What's wrong with Lao Lin? Didn't you just say he could adapt here?"

  "Is this place haunted?" Lin Qiang blurted out a ridiculous sentence with a tone of uncertainty.

  "Ghost? I think there is! A fake ghost!!" Zheng Shuai slammed his fist on the door, causing a dull thud. He was usually gentle, but this time he was furious. "I asked the branch's administration, they said we rented three rooms in total. The basement is for storage. Each room upstairs can accommodate four people, and there are only eight of us! It's obvious that we should be living upstairs!"

  Zheng Shuai said angrily: "Then I called and asked that fat guy named Zhang, he actually said it was because two more girls were coming, and the empty space had to be left for them! He even told me that male comrades should show their spirit, but what about him?!"

  Lin Qiang listened to Zheng Shuai's scolding, finally coming out of his stunned state, walked a few steps forward, slowly picked up the booklet on the ground, opened it again, and found that the copper coins were gone. He flipped through two more pages, all of which had blurry and unclear writing.

  "Hey, hey! Are you crazy?! Zheng Shuai patted Lin Qiang, "Why don't we rent a place ourselves? I reckon the two of us can find a shared place for under 1,000 yuan per month."

  Lin Qiang turned his head to look at Zheng Shuai, just about to speak, when the buzzing sound started again in his mind, and he felt a strange sensation in his left eye, as if something was moving. His thoughts followed his subconscious, and his left eyelid opened and closed once.

  Money can't buy happiness, but it did this time!

  A bill appears quietly.

  Zheng Shuai: Current assets 130,000 yuan.

  Family is well-off, has two properties, long-term prospects are promising!

  Career advancement is not smooth, mood is anxious, short-term outlook is bearish!

  ……

  There was more information below, but it was all blurry and no matter how hard Lin Qiang tried, his eyes were sore from staring and he still couldn't make out what it said.

  A sharp pain shot through him, Lin Qiang's eyes stung and tears flowed out, he couldn't help but rub his eyes.

  In an instant, Qian Tu had passed away.

  "What's wrong? Didn't you just say that this little bit of bitterness could be eaten? Have you collapsed already?" Zheng Shuai hurriedly supported Lin Qiang.

  "You little rascal, you've hidden two houses at home!" Lin Qiang said with a sly smile, rubbing his eyes.

  "What?! How did you know?! Zheng Shuai's face twitched in shock, and he exclaimed, "Pfft! I've never talked about family matters before. What are you blindly guessing?!"

  No matter what Zheng Shuai said, his expression had already given him away. If it were false, ordinary people would have laughed it off, but because it was true, Zheng Shuai became flustered.

  It's actually normal for Zheng Shuai to be like this. If he randomly reveals his family background, it's easy for people to become jealous of him, so that's why he has always been low-key and doesn't talk about these things.

  "Let's not joke around, let's find a house to rent instead?" Zheng Shuai hastily changed the subject.

  "Not for rent." Lin Qiang bluntly refused, "Why should they live in comfortable free houses while we have to spend our own money?"

  "That's better than eating thin porridge here, right?"

  "You little guy is with me now, give me some time." Lin Qiang smiled and said, "I want to let them know that a person's strength will not be discounted because of where he is."

  Zheng Shuai hesitated and said: "But... 1,000 yuan... we're not short of that little bit..."

  Lin Qiang immediately cursed: "Zheng Gongzi, I owe several million in mortgage!!"

  "My god...the pressure is huge..."