Although two million gold coins is a huge number, there are quite a few families in the Assyrian territory that can afford it. The Gerard family is definitely one of them. However, that is the collective wealth of the family. It has to be pooled together, and it may not be the case if it is separated. Moreover, it is impossible for Wright to get so much money from the family.
Ibe thought for a moment and said, "Wulai, I can give you 10% of it."
One percent is naturally 200,000 gold coins. Although it is still a long way from two million, this is almost the limit for Ibe. You know, not all old nobles have mountains of gold hidden in their homes.
Ibe's sudden statement surprised Wu Lai very much. Of course, he knew that Ibe had a close relationship with Lini, and he also knew that Ibe was on Chief Connor's side, but this did not mean that Ibe had to generously give Wu Lai a large sum of gold coins when he needed a lot of gold coins.
“Vice President Yibe, you…I…” For the first time, Wu Lai felt he didn’t know what to say.
"It's nothing, I believe you, but I want to ask, the money will be returned someday, right?" Ibe asked with a smile.
"Of course, of course." Wu Lai nodded quickly. To be honest, he was not too worried about not being able to collect the money. The reason why he called it a difficulty when Wright asked about it was simply because he was not sure when he could collect it. After all, it was such a huge amount, and transportation would be a very troublesome thing, not to mention anything else.
Wright hesitated for a moment, then patted his chest and said, "I'll also raise 200,000 for you." In fact, this number was beyond his ability. Although the income from the project he was working on with Wu Lai and Guru was astonishing, the time was still short and he was far from saving so much money. However, Wright had already planned to go to Saint Lean - he was a man who had no shortage of money.
"Vice President Ibe, Wright." Wu Lai said as he poured wine into their glasses, "I am grateful for your trust in me from the bottom of my heart, but two hundred thousand is really too much. If I mess it up, I can't pay it back. Otherwise, fifty thousand each, this number is more appropriate, at least I won't be under so much pressure."
Light was startled, but Ibe laughed out loud, saying, "You are up to something again, kid. Don't we know what you are capable of? I have figured it out. I will give you the money, and you will make a profit. So don't be so petty. To tell you the truth, half of my 200,000 belongs to your teacher Lini. If you dare not accept it, be careful that he will punish you."
Wu Lai was startled, and then his heart warmed up again. He sighed softly and nodded: "Okay, I'll take it."
"Wu Lai, you can't be partial. Vice Dean Ibe's 200,000 miles includes half of General Lini's, and my 200,000 miles also includes half of the high priest's." Wright raised his eyebrows and said.
After both of them talked to this point, Wu Lai didn't know what to say anymore.
"Vice President Yibe, I wish you a safe journey back home." Wu Lai raised his glass again.
"Vice President Ibe, I wish you a safe journey too." Wright said with a smile.
Yibei smiled and nodded, then drank the cup...
The next day, when Wu Lai returned to the base after seeing Ibe off, it was almost noon. After resting for a while, Wu Lai called two Daishan boys and took a carriage to the East District.
The East District of Lovington is home to nearly a thousand workshops of all sizes, and is a veritable "light industrial zone". The Tongji Alliance's printing workshop had just opened half a month ago, and business was booming, but Wu Lai was not there to inspect.
Two days later, George was chatting with Hodge in the office. When the door rang, Job walked in quickly: "Wooleglindal is making trouble again."
"Making a fuss? Are you asking you for the money again?" Hotch asked with a laugh.
"No." Job waved his hand, walked to the desk, pulled a chair and sat down, "Since this morning, he has been selling something called 'registered bonds' at the headquarters of the Seneca Kiwanis League?"
"What? Say it again." Hodge was stunned. He had never heard of this name.
"Everyone is talking about this, this difficult-to-pronounce 'registered bond', which is actually just a piece of paper, but this paper has flowers and money printed on it. Oh, and there's also the seal of Woolleglindo, and..." Job said as he recalled, because he also heard the report from his subordinates and didn't see it at all.
After waiting patiently for Jobe to finish his nagging, George could not help but knock on the table: "Jobe, let's get to the point. What is the use of this registered bond?"
"I don't know." Job spread his hands. "It is said that you can make money. That Wright Gerard is also there to help sell. Many people have gone there. It is said that some people actually buy it..."
Even if Job had gone to inquire about things like registered bonds in person instead of listening to his subordinates' retelling, he would probably not be able to figure it out for a while.
The registered bonds that Wu Lai tinkered with were completely copied from the registered corporate bonds in the previous memory. In the previous memory, issuing registered corporate bonds was not an easy task. It was necessary to register with the issuing company, and the procedures were so cumbersome that it was a headache. However, it was a different matter in this era, as there was no one to supervise it anyway.
The lack of supervision does not mean Wu Lai will act recklessly. Honest business operation is his purpose, and inflated prices are his business nature. There is no conflict between the two at Wu Lai. You pay a high price, and I guarantee the quality and quantity for you. It is truly good if everyone is happy.
Printing bonds was a very simple matter for Wu Lai. The printing workshops set up by Tongji Alliance in the city of Lunvington were all experts, and their engraving skills were at the master level. Wu Lai only spent some time drawing a pattern, marking the size, and the rest was to wait for delivery.
The printing workshop naturally worked very hard to fulfill the order placed by the president. The engraving was produced that night and printing started at midnight. The first batch of 10,000 sheets were delivered to the base yesterday evening. Wright happened to come to Wu Lai for a drink, so he was fortunate enough to become the first aristocrat in the world to see what a registered bond looked like.
The moment he saw the bond, Wright felt amazed. In his opinion, this half-elbow-long and four-finger-wide bond was simply a work of art.
The base color of the bond is a light pink. After leaving a border on the front, eight groups of fig branches are woven in bright light green, and the branches and leaves are decorated with red to create beautiful figs. In the Assyrian territory, figs are a symbol of abundance.
Eight groups of fig branches form a square frame, and the main pattern in the frame is two winged bulls with their heads bowed and their hooves raised, which are majestic and powerful. Under the feet of the two bulls is a row of abstract relief patterns, which look like rubbings, depicting scenes of ancient Assyrians' wars, hunting, feasting, and construction work, and the shapes are also vivid.
The back of the bond is much simpler. The two light ochre pillars on the left and right and the two ribbons above and below also form a square frame. However, this square frame does not contain a pattern. Instead, it is divided into two parts. The left side occupies one-third of the coupon surface and is printed with two paragraphs of text in slightly smaller handwriting. The right side occupies two-thirds of the coupon surface and is printed with several neat rows of text, with blank spaces between some words.
"Why leave a blank?" Wright asked, raising the bonds in his hand.
"Won't you understand if you look carefully?" Wu Lai asked back.
"I looked carefully." Wright blinked his eyes, "but I don't know all the words."
Wu Lai was stunned and thought to himself that you can't even string together a few words. It seems that your cultural level needs to be improved.
"Okay, I'll tell you." Woolley had to stop what he was doing. "These blank spaces are all used. The blank space on the first line is for the name and address of the bondholder. This line is for the date the bondholder obtained the bond and the bond number. The end of this last line is for the issue date."
"Oh, so that's how it is." Wright nodded and pointed at the two small words on the left. "What about these?"
Well, now I know why you asked George to make the announcement that day. It turned out that you didn't want to disgust him, but you didn't know how to read at all. Wu Lai sighed in his heart and patiently explained: "This part is to mark the amount, interest rate, term and method of repayment of the bond. You can think of this bond as a special contract."
Wright nodded as if he understood, and then asked, "Oh, can you be more specific?"
"No, I'm busy." Wu Lai waved his hand. "If you really want to know what's going on, come and help me tomorrow. If the sales are good, we can go back to Salt Marsh Town earlier. If not, I'll go back first and you'll be in charge of selling. When the sales are enough for what I want, you can come to Salt Marsh Town again."
"No, I don't want to stay here. You know, I don't like those guys." Wright shook his head quickly, referring to George, Job, Hodge and others.
"Then you have to get moving. By the way, I'm short of manpower here. Go and find me some helpers." Wu Lai said casually. Anyway, it was better to get this guy out of the way at the moment to prevent him from asking questions and disturbing them.
"Okay, I'll go find someone first." Wright tilted his head, threw his sleeves and went out.
…
"You've been talking for a long time but you still haven't made it clear. If you really want to know what's going on, why don't you just go there?" Hodge couldn't help but say.
George hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Let's go and take a look."
"You guys go ahead." Hodge said as he stood up, "I have to go to the South District for inspection later, and I have an appointment after the inspection."
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"We don't need so many people to go together, do we? There's no need to join in the fun," said Job.
"Then you should go." George waved his hand, "I don't think the people below can see anything. Watch carefully. If Wu Lai has any problems, I will deal with him immediately."
"I think there is a problem." Job stood up. "Who would be willing to exchange real gold for a few pieces of paper?"
"You never know. That guy Woolleglindo is very cunning. Maybe someone will be fooled." Hodge said as he walked out.
After a while, Job led two attendants into the headquarters of the Tongji Alliance. When the gatekeeper saw them coming, he gestured for them to come in without even asking, with a smile on his face, and was quite enthusiastic.
When Jobe and the other two walked into the yard, there were already about twenty or thirty people standing there. However, no one noticed Jobe. Instead, they listened attentively to Wu Lai's explanation.
Wu Lai was standing at a table, so he naturally saw Jobe coming in covertly, but he didn't think much of it. Selling registered bonds was an open business. Besides, it would be strange if George's people didn't come to investigate after seeing such a big commotion.
Coincidentally, Jobe arrived at the start of the third wave.
"...If you leave the gold coins at home, they will not only not increase in value, but will also depreciate." Wu Lai said, "You can compare what you could buy with 100 gold coins ten years ago. Can you still buy it now?"
Everyone shook their heads. What Wu Lai said was true. One hundred gold coins were enough for a middle-class noble family to eat comfortably for a year. Now it would probably have to be doubled to be enough. Apart from anything else, just buying the "God-given seasoning" sold from Assyrian City would be a considerable expense.
"It seems that everyone's answers are consistent, so let me continue. I believe that none of you here would just leave your money at home. You would always think of ways to make money from your money, such as opening shops, taverns, workshops, lending money out to collect interest, and engaging in city-state trade. But are you sure that you can make a profit?" Wu Lai asked again.
Everyone shook their heads again. Of course, no one was sure. Those who opened shops might encounter a backlog of goods, those who opened taverns might encounter spoiled wine and sales on credit, those who collected interest on loans might default on their debts, and those who traded between city-states might encounter bandits and robberies... No industry or business could guarantee that they would not lose money.
"So, as far as I know, many citizen families would rather be conservative and cut down on spending than rashly spend money to do something, even though they know that this will only lead to a dead end. Of course, some citizens think that using the money to buy land and grow crops is a good choice. Although the income is very meager, at least there is no risk." Wu Lai paused and asked -
"But is this the life that a citizen family should live? Is it a wise choice to pin your hopes on the land? If the weather is good, it's fine. But if the harvest is bad, with drought or flood, it would be a huge expense just to feed a large number of slaves who work the land. Moreover, you have to spend a lot of money to buy them. If they get sick and die, wouldn't your money be wasted?"
Everyone nodded, they had to admit that Wu Lai was absolutely right.
"I don't know what you think, but my bottom line for making money is that the money I earn this year must be enough for my family's expenses. In this way, even if I spend all the money I earn on family expenses and have nothing left, my wealth will not decrease, because what I spend and what my family spends are all earned, and my capital is still there." Wu Lai said loudly.
"Then what should we do?" someone in the crowd asked loudly. Job frowned and saw that it was a new noble he knew. He had just qualified to attend the meeting two years ago and had talked with Wu Lai for a long time at the banquet of the city-state meeting.
Humph, you two have agreed on an excuse, right? Job couldn't help but snorted coldly, thinking.
What's more, he guessed it right. The young noble who asked the question was Wu Lai's "shill".
"That's a good question. I have a method that can help you do this. If you have a small family, you can use this method to earn enough money to support your family. I guarantee that there will be some left over so that you can buy some cloth and please a beautiful widow..."
"If you have a large family and a large number of slaves and maids to support, this method can also help you very well, because the more you buy, the more you earn..."
"The method is to buy registered bonds." Wu Lai held up a bond and said while showing it, "The face value of each bond is 100 gold coins, which means that you can spend 100 gold coins to buy a bond that is exactly the same as the one I have..."
"What's the use of it? It costs a hundred gold coins?! Are you kidding me?" someone suddenly interrupted and asked. Job was delighted and was about to praise that person, but when he glanced at him, he frowned - the person who interrupted and asked the question was the "shill" from before.
There must be something wrong with being so active, Job couldn't help but think so.
"Tricking people? What a joke!" Wu Lai patted his chest with a smile and raised his voice, "So you don't know who I am? I am Seneca, the God-favored One, a special attendee of the Assyrian Supreme Noble Council... The current governor of Salt Marsh Town, Wu Lailindo, has just been commended and rewarded by the Supreme Noble Council. I have the five special powers of Salt Marsh Town, and have just received rewards from the temple. I have also been ordered to build a temple in Salt Marsh Town to house the sacred object "Round Shield Warrior."
"All the money you use to buy bonds will be used for the construction of Salt Marsh Town, and your future income will also come from Salt Marsh Town. I won't talk about the Supreme Council and the Temple in Assyria. Here in Lunvington, the Temple is the credit guarantor of this registered bond. If you still think I'm deceiving you, you can go to the Temple and ask first."
The temple was also dragged over by this guy? Job was startled. His first thought was of course doubt, but he believed it after a second thought. Wright was still in the city of Lovington, and the high priest of the temple, Torre, was a die-hard fan of Saint Lean.
Seeing everyone nodding, Job’s brows furrowed even more.
No, no matter what tricks this kid plays, I have to find a way to stop him. This thought suddenly occurred to Job.