Chapter 316: Encountering a Bank Run
Ji Wuyin reported to Xue Xu the news that all the major city gates in the south were blocked, Ji's mansion was under surveillance, and someone at the dock was inquiring whether there would be any bulk cargo transportation in the near future.
Xue Xu hummed in agreement and continued discussing the renovation of the new store with Wu Ren, "We need to hurry up and move fast."
They bought four stores, which were either next to or opposite Lujia Bookstore.
The situation in the South was not going well, and some small merchants were worried. The people near Chen and Lu's shops felt it most clearly.
Wu Ren and his team went to talk to them and offered a very good price. Those who were afraid sold their shops to them.
Wu Ren nodded, "Then let's temporarily choose the original wood book style, which is simple and fast."
After deciding on the decoration styles of the four stores, Wu Ren prepared to gather people and get it done as soon as possible.
Ji Wuyin beside him couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you worried at all? Aren't you afraid?"
What's wrong with these people in Liaodong County? Xie Zhan clearly wants to shut down the door and beat the dog. Even in this situation, they are still thinking about making money. They really value money over their lives.
Xue Xu took a sip of tea to moisten his throat before asking, "Is there any use in being anxious?"
If they do nothing, they will fall into Xie Zhan's trap.
He was just closing the door now, clearly trying to shut the door and beat the dog. Ugh, huh, huh, catching the turtle in the jar. Wait, that doesn't seem right either? Never mind, that's what he meant anyway.
However, the situation in the Southland had reached a critical juncture and was about to enter the harvest period. No matter how powerful Xie Zhan was, he was not a supernatural being. He would have to wait until he was done with his work before he would have time to deal with them.
Besides, if Xie Zhan wants to deal with them, he has to find them first.
Xue Xu looked at his friend, "You don't have to worry about us, worry more about yourself! Now in the entire South, only the Gu family and your Ji family are relatively restrained and not involved." Some of the Gu family's relatives were involved, but the Gu family was restrained by Gu Huaisheng and did not rush into it.
Upon hearing this, Ji Wuyin's expression changed.
Sure enough, not long after Xue Xu said this, trouble arose in Ji's Bank.
First, when Zuo Anmin and the governor of Nandi County searched the Zhu family's house, they took the silver they had confiscated from the Zhu family and came to Jiyin Money House to withdraw the silver.
The Zhu family had a total of about 300,000 taels of silver deposited in Ji's Money House.
Young Master Ji opened the warehouse, took out 300,000 taels, and had them carry it away.
Next is the Chen family. Currently, the Chen family and the Lu family are already angry with each other, and both families are in a stalemate where neither can do anything to the other.
At this time, the Chen family came directly to the bank to withdraw the 300,000 taels that had been deposited there, and continued to invest in the battle against the Lu family.
Immediately afterwards, the Lu family seemed unwilling to be outdone and came to take away 500,000 taels.
After the three families withdrew the silver, rumors began to spread in the south, saying that Ji's business had failed in its overseas investments and that someone had withdrawn 1.5 million taels of silver in a short period of time, and that Ji's bank had no money left.
When this data was disclosed, the public was shocked. The people who deposited money in Ji's bank were all small and medium-sized wealthy families and small and medium-sized merchants. They began to worry about the silver they had deposited in the bank.
The eldest son of Ji's Money House, Ji Dashao, came out personally to refute the rumors, saying that there was no fact that Ji's business had failed in its overseas investments. In addition, the money house had sufficient silver and money, so everyone did not have to worry about the money house's financial problems.
The people were skeptical, but some timid people still planned to withdraw the money they had deposited in Ji's Bank.
At this time, the Liu and Zhang families came in a hurry to withdraw a total of 500,000 taels of silver that they had deposited in the two banks.
Only the Gu family did not move.
Gu Huaisheng has always been wary of Xie Zhan.
He is one of those who does not want chaos in the South.
As a vested interest, his Gu family is now in a state of reshuffling the forces in the South. If they get involved, they may not be able to maintain their position as the most powerful force when they emerge.
The Gu family did not interfere with Ji's Money House, but under the influence of public opinion, the panic among the people was aroused, which in turn triggered a run on Ji's Money House.
After all, five of the six major families withdrew the silver they had deposited in Ji's Money House. No matter what their reasons for withdrawing the silver were, it can be understood as a lack of trust in Ji's Money House.
Therefore, even though Mr. Ji came out to refute the rumors, the effect was not good.
Just when Ji Wuyin was thinking about whether he should come out in person to calm the situation.
The busy Wu Ren stopped him. "Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken? You are the face and the backbone of your Ji family business. If you come forward, you can certainly calm the situation, but it will also be easy for people to misunderstand and cause another panic, making the uninformed people think that the problems of Ji's bank are serious."
If he needs to come forward, it will prove that the Ji family is indeed facing a major crisis.
When Ji Wuyin heard this, his face changed. It was true that those who are involved are confused and worried.
To resolve the public's panic, Wu Ren suggested, "Why don't you just have someone carry a dozen boxes of copper coins and silver and place them in the lobby of the bank? That would be more effective than anything else."
Xue Xu nodded. "That's a good idea. It's simple and crude, but it also best demonstrates the strength of your Ji Bank."
After saying this, he glanced at Ji Wuyin with disdain, "When did you become so aloof as a scholar? You weren't like this when you first started doing business."
Ji Wuyin slapped his head. That's right. He'd been in this business for a long time, his position had risen, and his thinking had become rigid. This method was most effective for ordinary people. He had thought of it long ago.
"Your name is Wu Ren? You have a very smart brain." Ji Wuyin's eyes fell on Wu Ren.
Xue Xu knew what he was thinking at a glance, "Don't try to hit him. But it's useless, he's Madam Qin Liu's apprentice."
Wu Ren smiled foolishly.
Lu Songli's apprentice? Ji Wuyin's face was filled with regret.
"Having said that, public opinion in your southern region is completely controlled by others. You are too passive." Xue Xu said with disdain.
Ji Wuyin: ...
He felt so wronged and complained in his heart that those of you who play politics have dirty hearts. He is just a businessman and there is nothing he can do about it.
The next day, Ji's Money House actually did what Wu Ren said.
As countless people lined up to withdraw their money, the middle of the hall was immediately cleared. Then, twenty or thirty men, all wearing the uniforms of the Ji's Bank, entered with great fanfare, carrying heavy boxes.
These boxes were piled up in the middle of the lobby, and then opened one by one. The boxes were full of gold, silver and copper coins, which was shocking to see.
This move alleviated the bank run on Ji's Bank.
This situation was reported to Xie Zhan immediately.
Xie Zhan sighed in his heart, Ji Wuyin was indeed the richest man in the South, he was really difficult to deal with.
He estimated that the Ji family bank had less than three million taels of silver in cash. The silver currently piled in the middle of the Ji family bank's lobby was probably the cash they could currently use.
It's a shame that even with the chaos in the South, the Gu family still remains unmoved. Otherwise, the Gu family could have taken all the cash from the Ji family bank with one move.
"Ji's Bank is just a spent force. Let's continue with the subsequent plans."
The game between the two sides has reached this point, and they can only give it one more try.
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