Chapter 296 Borrowing Silver
Not long after Zhu Congwen left, Xie Zhan also got up and left. The time was neither long nor short, and would not arouse any speculation.
Unexpectedly, when he went out, he was recognized by someone, "Are you Xie Zhan?"
Gu Huaisheng called out to Xie Zhan.
Xie Zhan paused. It was Zhu Congwen who decided to hold the meeting at Tianxiang Tower. He thought that since people who could be easily manipulated by him could not be trusted to be meticulous and thorough in their work.
"Young Master Gu, I am Xie Zhan." Xie Zhan said neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Gu Huaisheng's eyes were sharp. "Are you here to meet a friend?"
Xie Zhan smiled, appearing particularly relaxed and casual, with a frank attitude, "There was a small matter, but it has been taken care of. Is Master Gu meeting his friends here?"
Gu Huaisheng nodded.
"Then I won't disturb Young Master Gu's leisure time. Goodbye."
Gu Huaisheng nodded and watched him leave.
His confidant stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Young Master, do you want to check it out?"
"Yeah." Gu Huaisheng had just seen Zhu Congwen leave, and Xie Zhan came out shortly after. He felt something was amiss. He thought he'd investigate, but Tianxianglou was very secretive, so he might not find anything.
As soon as Zhu Congwen entered Ji's Money House, the shop manager immediately came forward to greet him, "Mr. Zhu, you are truly an honored guest. Come in."
After the steward welcomed the man in, he personally served him tea and then asked, "I wonder what brings Master Zhu to visit us today?"
Zhu Congwen said, "You can't handle my matter, so ask your Young Master Ji to come out."
"This..." The manager hesitated. Their young master Ji was not here today, but the old master was in the bank.
"Hmm? Why don't you go and hire someone?"
"Mr. Zhu, could you please reveal a few things so I can consult with my superiors?"
"Just tell Master Ji that this is a big deal."
At this time, Ji Wuyin was on the second floor of the money shop.
He had just returned to the Southland not long ago.
Although he returned by land, he rode back at full speed and it took him several days.
Firstly, the situation in the south was unstable due to the floods, so he had to come back and take charge.
Secondly, before leaving, Lu Songli reminded him to be careful of Xie Zhan.
As the saying goes, listening to advice is the key to a good meal. Lu Songli was such a capable person, so he still trusted her judgment. For this reason alone, he had to work hard to get back.
In such a situation, with powerful enemies surrounding him, if his house was robbed, he would have no place to cry.
He had just returned yesterday, and today he received a letter sent by water from the old immortal, which detailed their prediction that the southern families would be in chaos in the future.
Ji Wuyin knew that such a prediction was already a core secret for the forces in Liaodong County.
The old friend took it out to share it with him, which was not only a token of his old friend's kindness, but also must have been approved by Lu Songli.
Thinking of this, Ji Wuyin felt deeply comforted. As one of the wealthiest men in the South, he naturally understood the value of this letter. Business opportunities are about making money first, and sometimes being a step ahead can make a huge difference.
This letter not only allowed him to avoid unnecessary risks, but also allowed him to plan ahead. They were really thoughtful.
But Ji Wuyin was quite confused as to why Lu Songli had not mentioned to him that there would be chaos in the south when he was in Liaodong County.
The reason why Lu Songli concluded that Xie Zhan would take action was mainly because she had been paying attention to the situation in the South.
When Ji Wuyin was in Liaodong County, she hadn't been so sure. It wasn't until he had been gone for seven or eight days and the court still hadn't come up with an effective disaster relief plan that she was certain the court didn't have the ability to quickly clean up the mess of the flood in the south.
When the new emperor ascended the throne, the treasury was already stretched to the limit. The new emperor relied on confiscating several families such as Qin, Xie, and Zhao to replenish his wealth.
Lu Songli roughly estimated that the total value of the cash and properties seized from these families should be around 10 million taels, with the Xie family accounting for the largest share.
Ten million taels may seem like a lot, but after the spring, the court has many other places to spend money. Ten million is not enough to spend.
At this time, the steward came up to the second floor and told Ji Wuyin about Zhu Congwen's affairs. Ji Wuyin's heart moved. So, he decided to go downstairs to listen to what Zhu Congwen had to say.
Zhu Congwen was very surprised when he saw that it was Ji Wuyin instead of Ji Dashao who came down.
But as a junior, he quickly stood up and asked, "Uncle Ji, why are you here at the bank? Where is Young Master Ji?"
"He's busy, and I'm an old man with a lot of free time, so I came to the bank to take a look." Ji Wuyin sat down and gestured for him to sit down. "Do you have something to do today? If so, just tell me."
"Uncle Ji, I'll be frank. I want to borrow two hundred thousand taels of silver from the Ji family bank."
"Is the number so large?"
For Ji's Money House, it is almost impossible for an individual to borrow 200,000 taels of silver unless the heads of the six major families come in person.
Moreover, there are implicit regulations for individual borrowing. For a favored son of one of the six great families like Zhu Congwen, the limit given by Ji's Money House is 20,000 taels. Within this amount, they can withdraw the money at any time after they come and sign the loan.
Anyway, the families behind these people are all in the south, so the monk can run away but the temple cannot.
Furthermore, these family heads would not default on the 20,000 taels borrowed for their children, because the six major families could not afford to lose face.
However, if the amount exceeds 20,000 taels, one must be cautious, not to mention that Zhu Congwen now asked for 200,000 taels.
"My dear nephew, you are borrowing such a large sum of money, but what big business are you going to do? If you have a good business, please bring me along." Ji Wuyin said with a smile. He said this firstly to get some information, and secondly, he had other intentions. The Zhu family's main business is grain, and the Zhu family has a lot of grain.
Zhu Congwen was alert in his heart, but smiled. "What big deal is there? My father has sent me to Zhuya Island. I was thinking that my old man's birthday will be coming soon. I have to prepare a birthday gift for him."
Ji Wuyin was speechless, "Didn't your father just celebrate his birthday last month?"
"Yes, there are only eleven months left until his next birthday. Time is very tight."
Okay, even making a specious argument is still reasonable. Ji Wuyin gestured for him to continue.
"I'm thinking that the land our Zhu family owns on Zhuya Island is still a little small. I want to expand it a little, grow some crops, and produce some fruits. I'll give it to my father as a birthday gift. He'll definitely be happy."
Zhu Congwen is not stupid. Even if he keeps his mouth shut, the Chen family may not be willing to keep it a secret for him, so he has to have an excuse.
Ji Wuyin: "Someone wants to sell land on Zhuya Island?" And this land is very likely to be next to the Zhu family's area.
Zhu Congwen smiled but said nothing. This was a confidential matter and he definitely couldn't tell anyone.
Ji Wuyin tactfully stopped asking, but his mind raced. Whose properties were adjacent to the Zhu family's land on Zhuya Island? To the south was the sea, to the east lay the Chen family's Xiaozhuya Island, to the west lay the Gu family's property, and to the north lay the Liu and Zhang families'.
First of all, the Gu family was ruled out because the Gu family’s business could not be sold easily, otherwise people would have bad associations about its business conditions.
The Liu and Zhang families could also be ruled out. Last year, they had made a significant investment in the land and property they owned on Zhuya Island. As far as he knew, the investment, combined with the existing property, was worth over 250,000 taels. It was impossible for them to quietly sell it to Zhu Congwen for a discounted price of 200,000 taels.
So, it was the Chen family that was doing business with Zhu Congwen. Zhu Congwen used two hundred thousand taels of silver or even more to buy the Chen family's Xiao Zhuya Island?
Oh my god, he had just finished reading the letter when he saw the conspiracy unfolding before his eyes.
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