651 Chapter 651 - Going Back and Forth (1/2)
Eternal Dominion actually conscientiously did his calculations for his daily expenses, even including the potential cost he would incur when visiting relatives and friends during holidays and festivals. Five Nights was starting to get a little annoyed at this, feeling as if the two were trying to make a fool out of him, but when he saw the earnest look on Eternal Dominion's face, he slowly began to mutter to himself, No way. Is this kid really taking this so seriously?
That was when Eternal Dominion lifted his head to ask Gu Fei, ”What's the interest rate in banks right now?”
”How would I know…” Gu Fei rolled his eyes.
Five Nights could not help but offer. ”Current saving accounts offer a 0.36% interest rate per annum.”
”That's really low…” Eternal Dominion mumbled.
”Fixed deposit is a little higher,” Five Nights said.
”Oh? How much?”
”That depends on which sort. Lump sum is much higher, and something like a five-year fixed deposit is around 3.6%. A fixed deposit by installment is slightly lesser, and a five-year period is probably around 2.52%, but it's substantially more than a current savings account,” Five Nights explained.
”Must it really be five years long?”
”The duration isn't fixed, but the longer the period, the more interest you can expect of it. The shortest for fixed deposit is about three months, and the interest for that should be at 1.71%.” Five Nights was rather knowledgeable when it came to banks, seemingly very familiar with the accounts they offered, and garnered quite a lot of admiration from Eternal Dominion. Gu Fei could not help but interject. ”In these times, why are there still people who place their money on banks and earn interest? Everyone's either investing into stocks or hedge funds.
”Isn't that risky?
”At the speed inflation is rising, putting money in bank is no longer the way to let money grow, since it will only devalue over time,” Gu Fei said. Anyone could tell, just from how the two men viewed money, that there were good reasons why Gu Fei's family was still rich while Eternal Dominion's family had fallen into destitute.
”I still think it's a lot safer to just leave the money in the bank,” Eternal Dominion said.
”Look.” Gu Fei had no choice but to patiently help his fellow martial artist analyze the situation. ”Right now, you spend about 10,000 RMB a month, but what about ten years later? Will 10,000 RMB a month still be enough to keep you afloat? Remember ten years back, or even twenty years back, just how little your family's income was!”
”Ten years ago… seems to be about the same, but twenty years…” Eternal Dominion's expression changed. The comparison for ten years felt that there was a natural progression, but a twenty-year period was far more shocking.
”You're right! I can't calculate it like that!” Eternal Dominion said.
”That's what I've been telling you!”
”I should calculate it as 50,000 RMB a month; I need to consider 20 years later!” Eternal Dominion began to furiously write down on that piece of paper before him, doing his calculations all over again.
”D*MN!” Gu Fei did not expect the man to still stick to his idea of accruing the bank's interest, so he had no choice but to grimace at Five Nights helplessly.
At this point, Five Nights truly believed that Eternal Dominion was seriously intent on getting a passive income by collecting the bank's interest off that 50,000-RMB monthly calculation. He had no idea which interest rate would Eternal Dominion choose, so Five Nights took a peek and discovered that the man was actually using the pitiful 0.36% rate for the current savings account. Five Nights felt as if his vision had gone dark for a bit. A monthly 50,000-RMB income came up to about 600,000 RMB a year, and with a 0.36% interest rate, that would come up to be—
”Hmm… I'll need 166,666,666 RMB, repeating…” Eternal Dominion happened to have finished his long division on that paper at this point of time.
Pride Sovereign and Overgrown Foliage's account had been stolen by their superior, and their expressions made it apparent that they were not passionate about the matter anymore, so the moment they heard that large sum Eternal Dominion quoted, the two were already secretly sniggering in a corner, wondering just how Five Nights would attempt to negotiate with this person.
”Uh… That's if I'm using the current savings account. I should do the math for the fixed deposit,” Eternal Dominion said.
”Is there even a need to calculate? A fixed deposit of five years nets you a 3.6%-interest rate; move a zero and that means all you need is 16,666,666,” Gu Fei said.
”But I'll still need money for my day to day; I can't just throw it all into fixed deposit. Hmm… I'll need to recalculate.”
”What's there to recalculate? Setting 16 million as the fixed deposit and using the leftover 666,666 for your daily expenses until the interest comes in will do,” Gu Fei said.
Using hundreds of thousands for your daily expenses… what a statement! Five Nights was somewhat at a loss for words at this point. He had not said a word when that man was calculating his daily expenses, but for monthly expenses only needing 10,000 RMB, just what sort of daily lifestyle would that be? Are they really trying to fool me so nakedly? Five Nights was quite angry just thinking about this, but what he did not realize was that Eternal Dominion was actually being very honest. The daily expenses of martial artists were really that spartan, and this 10,000 RMB was actually the number someone as poor as Eternal Dominion had wished for. Were this Gu Fei, adding the cost of private physicians, masseuse, dietitian, and other such expenses, even ten times that amount would not be enough for him.
”Well, in that case, I feel that 20 million should be enough,” Eternal Dominion said.
That was when Gu Fei demonstrated his wealthy upbringing by commenting, ”10,000 is for a very austere daily living. If you want to improve yourself, you simply can't do without having a solid money-backing.”
Finally, Five Nights could not bear this any longer as he feebly contributed, ”Bro, what he said isn't 10,000 per month; it's 50,000 RMB.”
”What's 50,000 now is just 10,000 in ten or twenty years' time. With our physique, the cost of maintaining our constitution will increase the older we get. Just look at my dad; do you really think that that's the result of eating the barest dietary requirements? We're talking about recommended nutrient intake here, so if you do pay attention to it while young, the condition of your body will be severely affected after a few years of unhealthy diet. Even the daily expenses my dad incurs these days well surpasses mine.”
”Aren't you a school teacher? How are you able to be particular with what you eat?” Eternal Dominion asked.
”I have a diet prescribed by a dietitian, so of course I'll keep to the recipes I'm given; do you really think I'll casually eat off street stalls?” Gu Fei asked.
Eternal Dominion felt extremely ashamed when he heard this. When he logged off before, he indeed ate a bowl of random, knife-sliced noodles off the street, so he immediately asked, ”Mind if you let me take a peek at the recipes you've got?”
”It's fine having a look, but don't just eat whatever is listed on it. What I've been given is tailored for my consumption, and it's not just recipes. It'll change in accordance to physical needs through my regular physical checkups,” Gu Fei added.
Five Nights was stunned when he heard this, completely unable to tell just what sort of background Gu Fei came from. It even made him feel that this man was someone very important; an endangered animal of sorts that was under the country's protection, like a panda or something.
Eternal Dominion was rather despondent when he heard all this; he was a martial arts practitioner as well, yet their disparity was huge. I can't even compete in terms of my innate endowment against Gu Fei. Adding that he has a dietitian's aid on his end while I'm just eating knife-sliced noodles from roadside stalls. Only adding a bit of meat when I'm in the mood, how can I even compete? It's perfectly justified why I can't beat him.
However, Eternal Dominion felt a little discouraged when Gu Fei had set such high expectations for himself. Looking over that page of paper before him, he sighed. ”So based on what you've just said, that bit of money I calculated is no better than a drop in a bucket.”