When Zhao Hao sent Prefect Cai back to the government office and went to Lengxiang Garden again, it was already three o'clock in the morning.

He asked for the door to be opened and was planning to quietly go back to the room to sleep. However, when he walked to the edge of the pool, he saw that the lights were still on in the Shuiyun Pavilion.

Just when he was hesitating whether to go and say hello, Jiang Xueying had already heard the report and hurried out of the pavilion wearing a beige cloak.

"Brother, you have worked hard along the way." Seeing Zhao Hao, the worry on Jiang Xueying's little face turned into a relieved smile.

"Sister, have you been waiting for me?" Young Master Zhao couldn't help but feel warm in his heart.

"I thought that my brother might come back tomorrow when the bank opens." Jiang Xueying smiled shyly, "I just have a lot of things to do and I can't sleep early."

"Brother, let's go inside and talk." As she said that, she asked Xiao Yun'er to call the kitchen and quickly bring over the prepared midnight snack.

~~

In Shuiyun Pavilion, Zhao Hao took off his brocade robe, changed into his homely Songjiang cloth padded jacket and warm thin cotton trousers, and sat down at the dining table.

At this time, the midnight snack also arrived. There were small wontons with skin as thin as gauze and a little pink meat filling in the middle; there were fish-flavored spring rolls that were yellow on the outside and tender on the inside, fresh, fragrant and juicy; there were also red bean dumplings and chicken head rice...all prepared according to his preferences.

Young Master Zhao scooped a spoonful of delicate wontons and ate them with the delicious soup. He ate them happily while admiring Jiang Xueying... and the banknote she gave him.

The half liang is aquamarine, the one liang is indigo, the two liang is crimson, the five liang is purple, and the ten liang is amber.

Five denominations, five colors, with a strong luster, just like five pieces of art, so beautiful!

The patterns on each piece are so delicate, with intricate lines, three to four different secondary colors, and a watermark of the word "Jiangnan", which is enough to make counterfeiters cry in the toilet.

"It's amazing that they can print such high-quality banknotes in such a short time." Young Master Zhao praised sincerely.

"How can it be that fast?" Jiang Xueying couldn't help but smile bitterly: "This is a sample banknote made by Wu Ji's master, purely by hand."

She smiled and said, "We have to ask the big boss to approve it before we can publish it, right?"

"No problem, go print it quickly." Zhao Hao said with some worry, "Can we make it in time for the opening?"

"It will take at least ten days or half a month to print it out." Jiang Xueying said, "But don't worry, if it can be completed before the end of the month, there will be no delay."

When it comes to business management, Zhao Hao can't even begin to catch up with Sister Jiang. Hearing her say this, he felt relieved and stopped asking any more questions.

~~

The next day was the eighth day, an auspicious day.

In the center of Suzhou city, on Leqiao Wolong Street at the junction of the two counties, there were loud gongs and drums, blasting firecrackers, lion and dragon dancing, and huge crowds of people.

Today is the opening ceremony of Jiangnan Bank, and many distinguished guests have come.

The Hua family of Wuxi, the two Wang families of Taicang, the Xu family of Nanjing, the Lu, Gu, Shen, and Zhu families of Suzhou, the Pan family of Pinghu, the Xiang family of Jiaxing, as well as the Dongting Chamber of Commerce, the Yangzhou salt merchants, and the leading figures among the Huizhou merchants, almost all of them came.

In addition, Suzhou prefect Cai Guoxi, the two magistrates of Wuxian Changshu, and the Susong Grain Commissioner also came with their assistants and subordinates to show their support.

Such a lively scene is rare even in Suzhou, especially after the riots last month.

The common people who came to watch the excitement blocked the entire Wolong Street, and the yamen runners who were maintaining order were squeezed so hard that they fell all over the place and lost their human form.

However, in such a glorious occasion, not only did Mr. Zhao not come, even Jiang Xueying was unwilling to show up.

Therefore, Jiangnan Group's designated mascot, Chairman Hua Cha, once again took to the field and together with Suzhou prefect Cai Guoxi, pulled down the red silk cloth on the plaque.

When the applause and cheers stopped, Cai Guoxi gave an enthusiastic speech. First, he thanked Jiangnan Group for its long-term support for Suzhou Prefecture. He also announced that as part of the reform after last month's riots, Suzhou Prefecture and its subordinate prefectures and seven counties will no longer collect any cash from the beginning of next month!

All tax silver, compulsory silver, etc. owed by the common people and merchants must first be deposited in the Jiangnan Bank, and the silver bills must be handed over to the government.

This will put an end to corrupt officials who use the low quality of small change handed in by the people as an excuse to extort money.

When the citizens heard this, they immediately felt that it made sense. Almost all of them had been subjected to similar extortion, often requiring them to pay an extra three or four coins as fire consumption in addition to the one or two ounces of silver in tax, which was extremely troubling to the people.

Although this new method was a little troublesome, corrupt officials would not be able to blackmail them by using the fire consumption as an excuse.

Citizens then loudly asked: "How much does Jiangnan Bank charge for fire consumption?"

Prefect Cai looked at the mascot... Oh, Chairman Hua, and heard Hua Cha tremblingly say, "No more than half."

"Wow!" The citizens were immediately excited. "Really?"

"Seriously." Hua Cha nodded with a smile and secretly praised that young people are courageous.

The citizens cheered immediately, and suddenly felt that Governor Cai was not so hateful after all, and that the Jiangnan Bank was even more of a living Bodhisattva who saved people from suffering.

~~

In fact, the loss of broken silver in melting is about 1 to 2 percent. Jiangnan Bank charges 5 points, which is 3 or 4 points higher than the average silver shop and silver merchant.

In fact, according to Zhao Hao's original intention, it would be enough to charge only one or two points to ensure that he would not lose money.

But after much thought, he took the initiative to tell Cai Guoxi that the bank would charge a five-point fire consumption fee and pay three points to the government as a "monopoly fee".

Cai Guoxi was of course happy. The salaries of Ming Dynasty officials were meager and they had to rely on the old rules and regulations to make a living.

As a prefect, he certainly looked down on that little bit of silver, but his subordinates still depended on it for their livelihood.

However, if Prefect Cai knew that Jiangnan would soon implement the Single Whip System, his attitude towards the monopoly fee would certainly not be so frivolous.

~~

It was not a good idea to keep the street blocked. After the ceremony outside, Hua Cha and his son and a group of Jiangnan Group executives invited the guests to visit the business hall on the first floor of the bank.

The space is limited, so people can only come back another day to enjoy the view.

In fact, there was nothing interesting inside. The tall counter and iron fence were almost the same as the original Wu Kee's layout, except that there were many more long benches for people to sit on when doing business.

But when the guests went up to the VIP floor on the second floor, they could not help but be dazzled by the much more luxurious decoration and furnishings on this floor.

As soon as you enter, you will see a spacious and bright lounge with a blue jacquard carpet on the floor. There are a row of armchairs on the carpet, and exquisite snacks and fruits are placed on the tables next to the chairs for the VIPs waiting to do business.

Outside the lounge was a long corridor with six single-person business rooms on each side, separated by thick mahogany. Once the doors were closed, no one outside could tell what kind of business the customers were doing.

The VIPs were full of praise. The lounge was nothing special, other banks also had areas specially prepared for VIPs, and the conditions were much better than those of Jiangnan Bank. But this single-person business room gave people a great sense of security.

Several distinguished guests on the spot expressed their desire to transfer their deposits to Jiangnan Bank.

ps. Second update.