My loan bred eight stores
BAYAN, CHINA- After a sumptuous lunch at our loan officer’s family-owned restaurant, we took a three minutes walk to Mrs. Sun’s home. Mrs. Sun was one of the five happy female clients we interviewed in the morning, who was so enthusiastic to introduce to us how the loans she received from Rongxin Village and Township Bank (VTB) had enabled her to build eight stores outside her home and gradually helped her family to get better.
Mrs. Sun in front of her stores
At the turn of a major corner, a row of stores with colorful name boards and clear white paint were eye-catchy on this dusty country road. A fruit and vegetable “supermarket”, a Sichuan hotpot store, an Anhui noodle shop, a makeup and beauty shop, and even a veterinary clinic. “These are the stores that Mrs. Sun leased out” as our loan officer introduced to us, “it is at great location, all the traffic entering the town need to pass here.”
Interview with Mrs. Sun, her granddaughter playing on the Kang Bed-stove.
Walking to the back of the stores, we arrived at Mrs. Sun’s home. She warmly welcomed us inside, where her granddaughter was playing on the Kang Bed-stove. On the wall were a certificate of merit her granddaughter won from school and a couple of posters that help the kid to learn Chinese words. “I didn’t know a single word when I was at her age.” I said to Mrs. Sun, and she smiled at her granddaughter.
“I have waited for so long to say thank you!” Once again Mrs. Sun showed her appreciation to us, “It is impossible for us to build the stores without the loans.”
Mrs. Sun in front of her new tractor
Nine years ago her family bought this home with a big vacant yard with 24,000 yuan (about 3,000 USD). She had ever since the idea to build stores at the yard so that she can lease them out to make money. But no bank was willing to provide her the large amount of loans. Until our Rongxin VTB was estabilised in 2008, our loan officer, Shuang Sun, a distant relative of Mrs. Sun, encouraged her to apply for loans and helped her to project revenue from the leases to repay the loans. Eventually, Mrs. Sun took out 130,000 yuan (about 20,120 USD) loans on several terms from the VTB. She collected an annual lease of 4,500 yuan on each of the eight stores. “There are 80,000 yuan left on the loan.” Mrs. Sun told us with smile, “We hope to pay off the loan in this autumn harvest. We have just bought a new tractor.”
As we asked about her plans ahead, Mrs. Sun said the future is all for her two sons. Her older son wanted to stay at home and to open an Internet bar. Her younger son was working as chef in another city. He was dating a girl and they planed to get married. “But it depends on the girl if she wanted to come back to this small town with my son.” said Mrs. Sun, “If they don’t want to come back, I plan to sell two of the stores for them to open a restaurant in the city. Someone already give a bid for 200,000 yuan for the two stores.”
“Any plans for your husband and you?” I asked.
“We want to continue farming. We love farming.” Mrs. Sun again smiled.
