Chapter 419 Money is a Fierce Thing (Part 1)
Qin Mo finally understood why Lin Ruoxi didn't know how much money her family had: the gold and silver treasures in the Hengwang Mansion's treasury were simply too numerous to be represented by specific figures.
Lin Ruoxi was not illiterate; on the contrary, she understood the new accounting method passed down by Qin Mo very well, remembering it clearly in triplicate and categorized form. However, she simply did not know how much money the Prince Heng's mansion had.
Can you price a sapphire the size of a baby's fist? Can you price a basin of pearls the size of those from Longyan? And that doesn't even include the vast quantities of gold nuggets and silver of varying purity, not to mention the wealth of the ocean-going fleet, which can only be accurately assessed every six months. How can you possibly say how much money is in the Prince's mansion in total?
"The account books for this house are here, Your Highness... please check if they are correct?"
Although Lin Ruoxi was already a mother, she was still the timid girl next door in front of Qin Mo. Qin Mo said she was "uncultured," which kept her up all night. She spent the whole night with Qin Mo, and the next day, dragging her tired body, she dragged Qin Mo to the Wangfu warehouse to look at the account books.
"Sigh! Ruoxi, you're making things difficult for me. I've realized I'm quite uncultured myself!"
"Your Highness is talking nonsense. If you are uncultured, then wouldn't the entire Grand Council be full of fools?"
Lin Ruoxi scolded Qin Mo, and the worry in her heart disappeared. She was in charge of the entire palace's finances and accounts, so she naturally knew how coveted this wealth was. Qin Mo's decision to put her in charge was a sign of trust and an affirmation of her position. She absolutely could not let this job be taken away by someone else.
"We have too much loose gold and silver. Now that we don't need to be at the mercy of others, let's just mint it all into standard Taiwanese coins!"
"Your Highness, I have also considered minting them into gold and silver coins, but I'm wondering if we could... change the design on the coins?"
Qin Mo looked at the hundreds of warehouses filled with various gold and silver from Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. After thinking about it, she decided to mint them all into Da Yuan coins for accounting purposes. However, Lin Ruoxi suggested changing the design of the coins.
The reverse side of the official's coin features a family portrait of the late Prince Heng, Qin Lan, Saint Luna, and a young Qin Mo. Now that Qin Mo's prestige is growing, Lin Ruoxi feels it's inappropriate for him to appear as a child on the coin again.
"Ruoxi, do you know the essence of money?"
"Well... I don't know about other things, but our Dayuan coins are beautiful, easy to use, and they also let the whole world know about the contributions that the Hengwang lineage of Dayuan has made to the Great Xia Dynasty."
As the coins of the Da Yuan circulated into Da Xia, the meaning of the patterns on the back of the coins gradually became known to people. People learned about Qin Lan, who died in battle in Xizhou, and the little boy Qin Mo.
With the rise of the powerful official, Lin Ruoxi and others wanted to elevate Qin Mo's image from that of a little boy, so that the entire Great Xia would know that the little boy from back then had become the powerful Prince Heng.
"No need, Ruoxi, the current design is perfect, I love it!"
"Oh! I understand, Your Highness. I will do my best!"
Lin Ruoxi was not upset that her suggestion was rejected. Over the years, every decision Qin Mo made had proven to be correct in the end, and she had developed a blind trust in Qin Mo.
Qin Mo is right. If you think she's wrong, then you're wrong.
“Select reliable people and have them open money shops in the capital, Hangzhou, and Nanjing, and then release the newly made coins there.”
"Your Highness, rest assured, I will send someone to take care of it immediately!"
"Ruoxi, actually, coins... are a terrifying thing. If you use them well, they can be more ferocious than swords and spears!"
Qin Mo's last words left Lin Ruoxi somewhat bewildered. She couldn't understand why the exquisite coins would turn into something fierce and terrifying. Having never encountered the concept of "currency," she had no idea what kind of behemoth she would be cultivating in her hands.
In the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, on Yinque Street, the house next to "Huang Family Shop" has begun renovations, seemingly to open a new shop.
Just like the opening of the "Huang Family Shop" back then, this shop opened very quietly. There were not many guests, and there was no grand opening. A few strings of lanterns were hung up and two couplets were posted. That was all it took to prepare for the opening.
But this time, no one underestimated the shop like they had before.
The once incredibly low-key "Huang Family Shop" is now known to everyone as the Empress's business. It's a place that ordinary people simply can't enter. You wouldn't dare to do business with them unless you had tens of thousands of taels of silver in your pocket.
Although the staff inside might treat you rudely, if you want large quantities of high-quality, inexpensive spices in Daxia, you have to go inside.
But nowadays, can anyone be an ordinary person to be neighbors with "Huang Family Shops"?
A lively scene unfolded in front of the "Dayuan Money Shop," where a large group of merchants waited for the shop to open. They gathered outside the door, whispering and speculating about just how high the threshold was inside.
Everyone understands the word "money shop," which means depositing and lending money. But money shops come in all sizes. If a money shop is associated with the royal family, like the "Huang Family Shops," would you dare to go in and discuss a few hundred or a thousand taels of silver?
As more and more people gathered outside, the people inside the money exchange finally came out, and the first two looked familiar to everyone.
"Isn't that the heir of the Prince of Hejian who sells mirrors? This business belongs to his family. I knew it! Who would dare to open a money exchange here without some family wealth!"
Since Qin Yuanze became Qin Mo's agent for the mirror business, he has become quite famous in the capital. People grit their teeth and complain about the high prices, but they still have to send large sums of money to his shop to exchange for those tiny glass mirrors.
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