Chapter Fifteen: Rules and Regulations
On a winter night in the twenty-third year of the Zhenguan era, the study of the Cui family's villa in Yongchongfang was brightly lit with candles. On the heavy sandalwood desk, Liu Bao'er's hand-drawn architectural diagram of the "Datong Courier Shop" was spread out. The dense annotations and formulas on it were no less than a book of celestial knowledge in Cui Jiulang's eyes.
"Risk reserve...collateral ratio..." Cui Jiulang's slender fingers traced the two words circled in red ink on the mulberry paper, a hint of incomprehension and slight mockery flashing in his phoenix eyes. "Madam Dou, aren't you being overly cautious? The name 'Cui' in my Cui family is enough to borrow ten thousand strings of cash. With such a reputation as collateral, why lock up real gold and silver in the vault, unnecessarily increasing costs?"
He raised his eyes and looked at the girl sitting opposite him. She was dressed in a moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and her figure appeared slender in the large couch, but her back was straight, and her eyes were clear and firm, as if they contained an unquestionable law.
"Jiulang," Liu Bao'er's voice was calm and even, "Credit is like a dam; reputation is its height, and real money is its foundation. Without sufficient cash reserves, the higher the dam, the more fatal its collapse will be."
She pushed another sheet of paper covered in calculations over: "Look. Suppose Datong Pawnshop issues 10,000 strings of cash. If there are no reserves, and 20% of the people simultaneously demand redemption while we don't have enough cash, rumors will spread. At that time, panic will spread like wildfire, and the number of people holding cash will increase from 40%, 50%, to 100% to rush to redeem their cash."
Her fingertips traced a sharply rising curve on the paper: "The collapse of trust is exponential. We might face a demand for ten thousand strings of cash for a mere two thousand guan shortfall. At that point, the Cui family's reputation might allow us to die with some dignity, but it cannot prevent death itself."
Cui Jiulang frowned slightly. He was well-versed in interpersonal relationships and trade, but he had never examined "credit" from such a purely quantitative perspective. He instinctively resisted this way of thinking that treated everything as cold, hard data.
"That's alarmist," he said indifferently. "In Chang'an, and indeed throughout the entire Tang Dynasty, who doesn't know that our Five Clans and Seven Clans are deeply rooted? A little disturbance cannot shake our foundations."
"A large tree with deep roots is the first to bear the brunt of storms," Liu Bao'er said without backing down. "What if someone doesn't want to shake things up, but rather wants to cut down the tree? The market itself has its tides. If the money issued by Datong P&C far exceeds actual reserves, once the tide recedes, it will be clear who's been swimming naked."
She paused, then offered her final argument: "Has Jiulang ever considered why the imperial court, when issuing flying coins, requires each prefecture and county to retain corresponding silk and copper coins? It's not that they don't trust the imperial credit, but rather that they know that currency without an anchor is ultimately worthless. How is our establishment of the Datong Coin Shop any different from the imperial court's? Only on a smaller scale, but with more concentrated risks. Without rules, destruction is imminent."
"A coin without an anchor is ultimately worthless paper..." Cui Jiulang repeated the phrase softly, his pupils slightly contracting. This was the first time he had been so profoundly moved by a business concept. It transcended the realm of commerce, touching upon the very foundations of power and rule.
A long silence fell over the study. The occasional crackling of the candlelight seemed to measure the weight of this ideological debate.
Cui Jiulang's gaze returned to the complex architectural diagram. He seemed to see a blueprint for an unprecedented building, and Liu Bao'er's insistence on "risk reserves" and "mortgage ratio" were the deepest and most unshakable foundations of this building called "Datong Pharmacy." Rejecting them was tantamount to building the building on quicksand.
Reason prevailed over all arrogance based on experience and background.
After a long while, he slowly exhaled and tapped his knuckles lightly on the "Risk Reserve" item.
"Thirty percent." He raised his eyes, his usual calculating calm returning. "Of the initial capital of Datong POS, thirty percent will be retained as idle funds. That's the bottom line."
Liu Bao'er knew that this was the biggest concession this proud scion of a powerful family could make in the face of reason. She nodded: "Okay."
A debate over the cornerstones of a financial empire has quietly come to an end. There were no heated arguments, only repeated deductions based on logic and data, and cold compromises.
As Cui Jiulang looked at the girl in front of him who was once again lowering her eyes to examine the blueprints of Datong Store, the complex emotions in his heart became clearer—fear, admiration, and an unmistakable realization: cooperating with her was like riding a primordial beast driven entirely by reason. You could never tame it with emotions or power. The only thing that could guide its direction was the equally unbreakable reins of logic.
And this rein, at this moment, is firmly held in the hands of this girl who has not yet reached marriageable age.
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