Chapter 421 A Wise Person
In the tenth year of Zhaowu, a strange scene appeared on Yinque Street, the capital of the Great Xia Empire.
A long queue formed in front of a shop late at night, just like the line of refugees waiting for a bowl of life-saving porridge at a porridge stall during a year of great disaster.
However, the people in the group were all dressed very cleanly, even quite decently. Judging from their accents as they greeted each other in hushed tones, they were clearly native residents of the capital city.
"It's dawn! Everyone, please don't make noise or crowd. If we upset the money shop manager, he'll close the shop for a day to do the same thing as the day before yesterday, and none of us will benefit from it."
"Alright, Wu San, it's not like it's the first day. Everyone knows the rules. But you came back pretty quickly this time. Didn't you say you were going to Shanxi? How come you're back so soon?"
"Hey! Young Master Zeng, I didn't see you in the dark. I just passed Yi County and ran into a bunch of nouveau riche from Shanxi who heard about this. They gave me this amount and I sold it. I'm hurrying back to see if I can catch another wave."
Wu San gestured a number, which drew admiration and envy from those around him. But all they could do was admire him; not everyone had the resources or the courage to travel so far to Shanxi. Most people just stayed around the capital, making a little profit by trading.
Since the opening of the Da Yuan Money Exchange, it almost couldn't close down on the first day because there were just too many people coming to exchange Da Yuan silver and copper coins.
Everyone originally thought that Prince Heng's bank only did big business, but unexpectedly, they didn't mind exchanging a hundred or eighty taels of silver. They treated him with courtesy and never shortchanged him by even half a copper coin.
Seeing the crowds of people scrambling to exchange their money, Mu Yuchun, the head manager of the money exchange, had no choice but to take out the "Emergency Handling Manual for Money Exchanges" given to him by the prince. He started issuing numbers according to the methods described in the manual. "Sorry if you didn't get a number, please come back early tomorrow to queue up! We'll be serving customers with numbers today!"
At first, I tried releasing 100 accounts a day, then I increased it to 200, and now I've increased it to 300. I can't add any more, because I'll be too busy to finish at night.
I don't know when it started, or who came up with the idea, but a group of small investors with some spare cash began to take the large banknotes they had exchanged in queues to the surrounding counties, towns, and villages to exchange for small change. They could make a 30% profit by reselling them.
The news spread like wildfire, and even some large merchants couldn't sit still any longer.
The wealthy in Daxia had a habit of burying silver underground in their homes. Now, faced with this situation, they dug up the silver that had been buried for many years and began large-scale purchases and exchanges.
The big merchants, however, were more subtle. They didn't openly exchange silver coins for silver, because those who suffered losses would eventually realize what was happening. They weren't like small-time traders who would make a quick buck and leave. If they were labeled as unscrupulous merchants, their reputation, built up over decades, could be ruined in an instant.
Wealthy merchants first exchanged their silver for Taiwanese currency, and then used the Taiwanese currency's strong purchasing power to buy up materials such as silk, porcelain, and tung oil that Taiwanese merchants needed. They then sold these goods to Taiwanese buyers at a fair price, while the Taiwanese buyers paid according to the exchange rate of the Taiwanese money shops.
In this way, weavers and artisans sold their goods and made money, and big merchants also made money. At least on the surface, it was a win-win situation.
"Numbers are being issued! Numbers are being issued! Everyone, line up properly, don't rush or fight, and have your money ready!"
When the door panel on the window of the Da Yuan Money Exchange was removed, everyone saw through the glass that the Western-style clock was pointing to the eight o'clock position. Without even listening to the money exchange clerk's shouts, everyone lined up to wait to get that thin metal plaque.
"Please take your token. If you need to make a money transfer, please go to the counter. If you need to exchange currency, please go to the side door to have the silver checked first..."
The clerk at the entrance was handing out metal number tags and guiding customers, but he knew that most of the people queuing up at this time were there to exchange currency. In the more than twenty days since the store opened, there weren't many merchants doing currency exchange, but people exchanging currency were crowding in like crazy, as if they were afraid of missing out if they arrived late.
What the man didn't know was that if the two large ships hadn't arrived at Tongxian Wharf a few days earlier under tight security, they would have been too late and there wouldn't have been any left. The first batch of three million large silver coins and ten million copper coins had almost been exchanged.
As individual investors who had received their tokens began to enter and exchange their money, the queue gradually began to move. The people who had been queuing for most of the night finally perked up, their eyes filled with a thirst for wealth.
Several horse-drawn carriages drove over from a distance, and the creaking of their axles indicated that they were loaded with heavy cargo.
When the carriage arrived, a man who looked like a steward stepped out. Without waiting in line, he arrogantly followed the queue to the clerk who was distributing numbers.
"I want to go to the VIP room!"
The newcomer wasn't overbearing or arrogant towards the waiter, but his tone of voice carried a domineering air, clearly indicating that he wasn't from a humble background.
Soon a manager came out of the hall and led the steward to the private rooms on both sides of the hall.
"Whose butler is this? Does anyone recognize him?"
"The Xu family of the Ministry of Revenue, those three silver carriages must be worth at least fifty thousand taels!"
"You're stating the obvious! You can't even get into the VIP room without 50,000 taels! But hasn't Vice Minister Xu only been in office for a few days? How come he's so rich?"
"Regardless of whether they're rich or poor, big shots have plenty of ways to make money. Let's think about where to exchange our silver next! I feel like there's no market for it around here."
"Hey guys, do you have the guts? Let's team up and head a bit further out and catch a good deal?"
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