102

The wealthy families in Dongning County were originally worried that the Red Flag Gang would use a trick to wipe out their entire family, but they didn't expect that the county magistrate would show his power again.

The families that caused the trouble before were being investigated again. Criminal records are plentiful, and which family doesn't have a few murders? This is really going to cause a rift!

I am the fish on the chopping board, can I just sit there and wait for death without thinking of a solution? Unexpectedly, just as the wealthy were about to take action, a new store hung up its sign and opened its doors to welcome customers.

"Minsheng Bank? This name is really weird..." In the mansion, several people sat opposite each other. There was fragrant tea on the table, but no one was in the mood to taste it.

"You've got quite a plan, 'Bank'. You want to be the top bank in Dongning!"

"No matter what his intentions are, this Qingmiao loan is really a headache. Once it is rolled out in Dongning, who can we lend our money to?"

As soon as these words were spoken, they were met with a barrage of criticism. The term "Qingmiao Loan" was indeed hateful.

The period between harvest and harvest is always the most difficult time for poor families, and everyone takes this opportunity to make a fortune.

As a result, the Red Flag Gang directly lent money to small farmers, and the interest rate in March was only 5%!

Is this a joke?! The common practice in the market these days is "nine out, thirteen back." That is, if you lend ten taels of silver, you only give nine, and three months later you have to pay back thirteen. This way, you can earn nearly five percent interest.

Of course, there are also some cruel ones who like to use the "donkey roll" method, charging three or five percent interest a month. If the money is not repaid on time, the interest will be counted as the principal, and the interest will be compounded. That is a means of forcing women into prostitution and destroying families.

Now the Red Flag Gang is so cool, they're directly charging 5% interest. How can they do business like that?!

"I heard that the Qingmiao loan only allows you to borrow ten taels. Maybe that's what they're planning?"

"Don't even mention it. Even if it wasn't a seedling loan, the interest wouldn't be high if the loan was for a long time! 1% for half a year, 1.5% for over a year. How can that be justified? They're all scoundrels. If they wanted to win people over, they could just open a porridge shop and collect tenants. How could they possibly be so rebellious?!"

"That's all, I'm afraid it won't last long. Isn't lending money just for the money? If you keep going through all this, I'm afraid you won't even be able to afford an accountant. Why bother?"

"Alas, we are the ones who suffer the most. People who come from the mud just can't figure it out!"

However, after cursing for a while, his voice gradually became lower. It was not because he didn't hate her, but because he was really a little scared.

From the county magistrate's frequent attacks, to the extermination of the Ling family, to the garrison commander turning a blind eye.

The Red Flag Gang has already taken control of Dongning and Dongmen. If they dare to show up again, they will be killed without a burial place. No one wants to get into trouble because of a few complaints!

A young man suddenly spoke up: "Let's not talk about the seedling loan for now. What do you think about paying interest on deposits?"

Someone snorted, "Depositing money and paying interest? I'm afraid the Red Flag Gang doesn't have enough capital and is trying to use other people's money to buy a favor?"

It's no wonder some people think this way. Safekeeping and transporting silver and money takes a lot of effort, so how could you deposit it in a bank and earn interest without paying anything? Furthermore, the interest rate on this money was odd: you had to deposit at least 200 taels, and you could only withdraw it after a year, at a 5% interest rate.

Didn't the Qingmiao Loan also have a 5% interest rate? To put it bluntly, they were asking wealthy families to pay, and the Red Flag Gang used it to lend money to win people's hearts and minds, while also suppressing the wealthy. Their tactics were extremely ruthless.

The young man said, "But if you deposit three thousand taels, you'll get 1.5 percent interest."

This attracted many people's attention, and someone sneered, "If you have three thousand taels, and you can't make money doing anything, you still have to give it to a gangster for safekeeping. Isn't that a joke?"

Three thousand taels with an interest of 1.5% is only four hundred and fifty taels.

If you really have that much money, you can buy three or four hundred acres of the best paddy fields. As long as there is no wind disaster, you can make at least five or six hundred taels a year, and you can pass it down to your descendants. Isn't it more cost-effective than giving money to others to make a living?

After this person finished speaking, he immediately attracted a lot of agreement, and the young man shut his mouth and said no more.

After much discussion, they finally decided that each family would contribute 200 taels to get rid of the killer first.

The Red Flag Gang was now so powerful that anyone who disobeyed would be killed. Why bother fighting them? They'd given the money and settled the account. Whether they could get it back or not didn't matter. No one cared about the ten taels of interest. As long as the Red Flag Gang didn't cause them any more trouble, that was enough.

As for their own money shops and banks, they can only be left idle for a year or two.

Wait until those thieves have tasted the sweetness of lending money and start raising the interest, and then you can just eat the meat and drink the soup.

However, even so, every family was losing money, and no one was in the mood to hold a banquet or drink anymore. A group of people said goodbye one after another and got on their own carriages.

Sitting in the car, Tang Yansheng shook his head slightly. If it was really as simple as they thought, the Red Flag Gang would not be the big ship gang that could rise within a year and control two counties.

This "bank" must have a deep meaning!

Those people only cared about lending money. In fact, in a small place like Dongning, how much money could they lend? Ordinary families had long been exploited to the point of having no money left. At most, they could only steal a few acres of thin land and add a few pretty maids.

If you really have a few thousand taels of spare money, it would definitely be safer to go on business.

Not to mention, even if you buy land, there are not hundreds of acres of good paddy fields to buy.

If you are a traveling merchant, you can make a guaranteed profit of one and a half cents out of three thousand taels, which is not a small amount.

There are certainly huge profits to be made by sailing, but there are also natural and man-made disasters. If you encounter pirates or hurricanes, both the ship and the people will be destroyed.

Merchants traveling overland have to deal with the government, be on guard against their peers plotting against them, and may also encounter incompetent managers or poor management. It is common sense that there will be gains and losses.

Nowadays, some people act as "bank money" and promise to get a stable interest rate of 1.5% after one year. As long as it can be fulfilled, it is a good deal.

The only question is: are the Red Flag Gang truly profitable by offering such high interest rates, or are they simply trying to scam people out of money? They're not a major merchant firm, but rather a ruthless banditry with troops and ships, colluding with the government and even holding sway over the garrisons. If they try to renege on their debts, who will demand justice? Even if they do use the money to run their business, what if a conflict breaks out? What if the government sends troops to suppress the bandits? What if the ship carrying the goods sinks at sea? Can the promised principal and interest still be paid?

Three thousand taels is not a small amount, even he would hesitate.

But if you pay two hundred taels like everyone else, people probably won’t take you seriously.

Whether to give and how much to give is indeed a question worth pondering.

Although they all said and did well when they got together, when it came time to deposit money, they each had their own concerns.

So when Wang Cai saw the account book, he couldn't help but marvel: "These people are really thoughtful. They can save money in so many ways."

Basically, all the wealthy families in Dongning County have deposited money in Minsheng Bank, but the deposit amounts are really varied. Some have exactly 200 taels, some have 220 taels, some have 250 taels to secretly add a little bit, and there are also some who deposit 400 taels openly. Apart from anything else, their intentions are really enough, and they are also willing to spend money.

How could Wang Cai not know that this group of people regarded the money as an offering. As long as the Red Flag Gang did not cause trouble for them, giving them two or three hundred taels would be considered as spending money to ward off disaster, and no one would take it seriously.

However, when he turned to the next page, Wang Cai was stunned: "The Tang family has saved 1,200 taels?"

This is not a small amount of money, and the interest rate will change if it exceeds one thousand taels. It can be one percent, and if it exceeds three thousand taels, it will be one and a half percent.

These one thousand two hundred taels are one thousand taels added to the two hundred taels. This attitude is worth pondering.

Wang Cai quickly said, "Mr. Tian, ​​the Tang family is the largest tea merchant in Dongning County. I heard they have some connections in Fujian. Are they trying to curry favor with us and do some sea trade?"

Tea and salt are both very profitable businesses. Even in a small place like Dongning, being able to manage one of these businesses would definitely bring in a lot of profits. Could it be that they wanted to join the Red Flag Gang and get into the tea trade?

Tian Yu snorted coldly: "He's just a speculator. He has some courage but not enough vision. If you really want to join the Red Flag Gang, you should save three thousand taels."

Wang Cai was filled with black lines on his face. Three thousand taels can be deposited just because you want to? Not to mention other people, even he, the big manager who managed the grain route of the Red Flag Gang, would not dare to just throw three thousand taels into the bank!

However, Mr. Tian's words were always harsh, so if he had given him a second look, he must have some connections. Besides, if the tea could be shipped to Hepu, the profit would be considerable, so it couldn't be missed easily. After thinking it through, Wang Cai said, "We should report this matter to the gang leader and let him make the decision."

Tian Yu glanced at Wang Cai and said, "Go ahead and do your thing. The leader has gone to the East Gate and there's no telling when he'll be back."

Huh? Heading to the East Gate so soon? Looks like they're planning to restructure the salt fields and start selling salt! Thinking of the huge profits from smuggling salt, Wang Cai couldn't help but grin. The Red Flag Gang is getting more and more prosperous!

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"Is this where salt is boiled?" Looking at the endless mudflats and the countless iron boilers and stoves, Cheng Xi also felt very curious.

Li Niu puffed out his chest and said loudly, "That's right! We have over a hundred acres of salt fields. If we set up the pots, we can burn hundreds of kilograms of firewood in a day!"

Cheng Xi was not interested in these figures and asked, "How many salt farmers are there now?"

Li Niu immediately said, "We captured a total of 527 people, 93 of whom defected and helped us kill many enemies."

"Those who killed the enemy will all be transferred to auxiliary troops. They will be rewarded if they have made contributions. These brave men will also be good seedlings." Cheng Xi said.

Li Niu hesitated for a moment after hearing this and whispered, "That means there won't be many people left in the salt fields. Before, there were over a hundred salt farmers who followed Ling Yue onto the boat, and only a few returned intact. Now if there are a hundred less, there won't be enough people to boil the salt."

Boiling salt was a tough job, and they had already promised to feed and clothe the salt farmers, which was another significant expense. If they reduced the number of salt farmers, how would they make up for the shortfall?

Cheng Xi said, "The method of boiling salt will be changed in the future. We may not need so many people."

"Ah?" Li Niu was confused and had no idea why. Hadn't it been cooked this way for thousands of years? How could it be changed?

Zhao Pu, standing aside, was startled. What did this mean? Was he trying to seize power? But the output of the salt fields was the key. If things went wrong, what would happen if there was less salt?

Just as he was thinking about it, he saw the young man turn his head and suddenly asked, "What are you going to do with the Zhao family's salt fields?"