Chapter 88 (Bonus Chapter)

But then again...

Wen Zhongnan glanced over with mixed feelings, his expression hesitant: "..."

slow? ?

Wuyou actually said, "There's a reason why I'm so slow"?

Which money exchange could issue a new coin in a week? Did Wuyou bring in a group of painters from the Bai family and have them working day and night for a week to paint these coin certificates?

That speed was almost frightening!

Wen Zhongnan began to examine the small, thin piece of paper over and over, bringing it to his nose to smell it and constantly touching the texture on it—then he took out another one, comparing it suspiciously, and then took out yet another one, putting the three together side by side to look at them.

"Wait, I feel like..."

Wen Zhongnan slowly examined them: "It seems that the black parts of every single one are exactly the same?"

“It’s exactly the same.” Qi Chengming blinked and said, “If you look closely at the intricate patterns of flowers, birds, insects, and fish, can you vaguely piece together the words ‘Wang’s Money Shop’ among the pebbles?”

“…It really is!” Wen Zhongnan leaned closer and squinted to look. Amidst the dense, somewhat dizzying array of characters, he saw a terrifyingly intricate pattern and couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement. However, he wasn’t amazed by the complexity of the pattern.

This craftsmanship is the most basic anti-counterfeiting method, using only the most skilled and steady craftsmen, requiring extremely fine precision to produce. But that's still within reason; the most terrifying thing is... the level of indistinguishability—every single voucher is drawn exactly the same! Even the crookedness of the silver amount in the middle, which is clearly handwritten by someone, is identical.

One or two tickets are fine, but it's terrifying when every single ticket is like this.

To imitate a banknote, one must first look at the differences in materials, and then at the differences in details. How exactly was this achieved?

Wen Zhongnan was incredibly curious, yet he held back from asking.

"This isn't a secret. It was developed by the craftsmen under my command. You know what a seal is, right? This technology is similar..." Qi Chengming knew he would have to reveal it sooner or later; his ticket anti-counterfeiting system relied on integrated technology.

During this week, Qi Chengming mainly spent his time working on anti-counterfeiting measures.

First, I made baking soda using a homemade method, and then compared the effects of apple juice and milk as invisible ink. However, I remembered that this kind of invisible ink doesn't last long—but that's okay, I'll use it for now.

Then they worked on woodblock printing, printing "Wang's Money Shop" in tiny patterns, piling them up to resemble pebbles. This part required hiring experienced money shop masters; the former masters of the money shop that was being transferred were all brought in as laborers.

Then, forcefully press the words "Wang's Money Shop" into the blank space on the ticket. When viewed against the light, a white mark will appear. This is a method of making watermark paper that Qi Chengming had heard about before.

Finally, they worked on the colors. Don't be fooled by how similar this voucher is to official banknotes… the combination of perfectly rendered red, blue, and black pigments was extremely rare in this era. Emperor Hongren could mobilize the entire nation to do this, so it's quite remarkable that Qi Chengming, with the resources of a prince, could produce a nearly identical substitute.

These steps are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly. Unless Qi Chengming's original woodblock prints are leaked, it would be very difficult for ordinary people to replicate them.

"...You've thought of everything so thoroughly." Wen Zhongnan sighed in amazement as he put away the three vouchers and shrugged with relief.

The young man's expression instantly became relaxed and carefree, as if the heaviness that had been lingering over him had vanished: "Wuyou! I'm going to join the army!"

"So sudden?" Qi Chengming turned his head abruptly, "Weren't you still thinking about the case last time..."

“I was worried about the new prefect at that time,” Wen Zhongnan made up a reason without blinking, “but he didn’t seem like he would do anything reckless.”

He exhaled, a subtle smile on his face that Qi Chengming couldn't decipher: "So—I should go."

"Okay." Qi Chengming had a thousand thoughts in his mind, but only this one word came out. He thought for a few seconds quickly, "I'll give you a farewell gift."

"No Bai Family Restaurant!" Young Master Wen reacted quickly, taking a step back and bargaining. He said, half complaining and half expectantly, "I haven't tried many of your other recipes yet. Wouldn't it be perfect if we went to that street and bought some dry rations we could carry?"

“Let’s go!” Qi Chengming readily agreed, pulled him down the mountain, and headed straight for that street.

It's strange, really.

Perhaps because Wen Zhongnan was an exceptionally carefree and playful person, and Qi Chengming knew early on that he was someone who would make friends everywhere and never stop. When Wen Zhongnan said he was going to join the army, Qi Chengming didn't feel the slightest bit of sadness at parting, nor did he experience the sense of loss that comes with losing a close friend.

He was clearly going to join the army a thousand miles away.

But given his mischievous nature, it's like he could pop up at any moment and take you out to play. He's always appearing and disappearing unpredictably, running around everywhere, and people have gotten used to it.

As Qi Chengming walked down the street, he pondered this for a moment, then lowered his head and chuckled to himself.

He turned to look at Xiao Chengzi: "Use my voucher to buy Wen Er two strips of cured meat, a bag of dried fruit, and a small jar of dried pickled vegetables..." Qi Chengming's gaze swept over wherever he spoke, and finally he saw the pastry shop, "We'll choose this one ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chengzi cleverly handed several small-denomination vouchers to his prince for his use.

This is the money Qi Chengming prepared for his own use in the royal palace's private treasury—

Before a silver mine was found, all the silver in his private treasury was a scarce form of proof and was no longer to be used. Qi Chengming set an example by adopting a system of vouchers plus copper coins throughout the entire palace. Of course, he couldn't issue or abuse vouchers indiscriminately, so he carefully obtained vouchers for himself based on Bi Shu's daily accounting records, and every expense was meticulously recorded.

"That's enough... I'm going to join the army, why bring so much stuff?" Young Master Wen waved his hands repeatedly. Even though he had a military experience in his memory, the overwhelming concern from his brother was still a bit overwhelming.

"These are nothing compared to what's to come," Qi Chengming retorted, seemingly puzzled.

He thought of all the preparations his younger cousin had made before he left the capital, which had indeed come in handy many times along the way. He realized that even the hasty arrangements he had made for Wen Er were barely enough; he didn't know if they would last until he reached the prefecture where he was to join the army.

This pastry shop has a very nice name, "Daomixiang" (meaning "fragrant rice"). There are three or four other pastry shops next to it, but unlike the popularity of Daomixiang, the other shops are deserted, with a few shop assistants peeking and looking around enviously at the door.

"Does this count as you stealing their business?" Wen Zhongnan breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. He didn't want to squeeze into the long queue; it was so uncivilized. He quickly left the long queue at Daomixiang's entrance and found an empty pastry shop instead.

"..." Qi Chengming was speechless and could only instinctively turn around to look at Xiao Chengzi.

"That's impossible." Xiao Chengzi actually knew about this. He lowered his voice, "Although Steward Song did find someone to open a shop to sell these things, he also sold the recipes. These shops should all sell about the same things, except that Daomixiang's pastries have the most complete selection. The recipes are the same..."

Otherwise, if the entire city of Liuzhou relied solely on Baijia Restaurant selling stir-fries, it wouldn't be able to bring prosperity to all its residents.

The vegetables grown by the people can't be consumed...

It can only be said that Baijia Restaurant is the most popular restaurant because it was the first to open, has the most complete range of dishes, and makes the most authentic recipes. It is a golden brand.

Qi Chengming nodded in agreement and followed Wen Er. Wen Zhongnan took out his loose silver coins from his pocket: "Keep the ration coupons for when I get back; I probably won't need them today—"

This remark was overheard by the shop's employee.

The waiter, looking dejected, came over to greet the customer while complaining, "Sir, we'd like to accept receipts too!"

He gazed longingly at Qi Chengming's hand, staring at the thin piece of paper in his hand. His gaze was probably more affectionate than when he was looking at his wages.

Qi Chengming: "Huh???"

His first instinct was to glance behind the counter. There sat a man with a cloth tied around his head, looking listless and as if he had a headache. He was obviously the shop owner.

Hearing this, the shop owner not only didn't blame his employee, but also weakly echoed, "His Highness is so generous, selling us all those recipes. Everyone's making more money is a good thing... But ever since the ration coupons were introduced, only shops related to His Highness can use them to buy things..."

"Sigh!" The boss sighed deeply.

He both envied those who had ration coupons and were able to buy things, and envied the many people who came to buy pastries and entered the ration coupon shops.

"I wonder if depositing money at a money exchange could also connect us with our shop..." The owner had been pondering this question for a long time. He stood up absentmindedly and asked, "What would you like to order?"

"No rush, let's take a look first." Wen Zhongnan gave Qi Chengming a teasing yet happy look.

Qi Chengming demurely put his hands behind his back, but he was especially happy inside.

This was the first time in his life that he had presided over the issuance of currency—doing something so significant, it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous. But the fact that ordinary people's shops, unrelated to his business, were so eager to join the rationing system so quickly surprised and pleased him.

"Boss, don't worry, His Highness will definitely find a way in the future." Qi Chengming pretended to be just a passerby and comforted his boss in this way.

He wouldn't rush to get everyone else to join the system, lest the transition be too abrupt and cause trouble. Besides, many people are just following the trend and are only interested in the hype; in reality, the "prosperity" of Liuzhou is just a superficial phenomenon.

This is just the beginning of the hype generated by the mutual conversion.

The real impact will come when people outside Liuzhou City start to question the ration coupons, such as the merchants who bring their wealth and their opinions as they travel between cities to trade goods. After these opinions settle down... it will take about a few days before Qi Chengming can discuss with a group of people how to safely release the next phase of the coupons to benefit other people.

If development continues on a positive trajectory, before prices become chaotic in the future... perhaps the people of Liuzhou will indeed experience a "prosperous carnival".

If we can take this opportunity to make a fortune, have enough money to pay this year's taxes and military pay, and even better if we can keep some extra money.

Qi Chengming felt like he was having a beautiful dream, but he decided to keep hoping for it for now.

The next day, the merchants who had been observing all day went to ask their counterparts who had boldly bought the vouchers the day before: "How was it?" "Won't it be another batch of silver notes?"

They whispered among themselves, asking each other questions with unease.

"Yes, yes!" the beaming merchant echoed loudly, his face full of disapproval. "Don't buy it! I'm worried something bad might happen if you buy that!"

The hesitant businessmen: "...?"

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Author's note: This is the second update today!