Jiang Jin was confused: "What's wrong?"
Dong Si shook his head: "It's nothing. She comes from an aristocratic family, and I'm a bit worried."
Having followed Jiang Jin for over a year, he had seen many things clearly.
Jiang Jin's interests and those of the aristocratic families were completely at odds. Her territory had no place for them.
And Wei Qingran, as a woman raised by the aristocracy, might not do so intentionally, but she could inadvertently reveal aristocratic viewpoints.
And the Jinyang Times, how important it was!
Jiang Jin smiled and shook her head: "Isn't there a probation period? Besides, Chen Xi and Luo Qingci are keeping an eye on things."
She leaned back in her chair: "If you employ someone, trust them; if you doubt them, don't employ them."
"She has shown sincerity and ability, so I will believe in her and give her the space to realize her value and herself."
"If she betrays that trust, we can deal with it then."
She looked up at Dong Si: "No one is perfect. I'm willing to give everyone who strives a chance."
Dong Si's nose tingled slightly. Perhaps this was why everyone followed their lord so devotedly.
"Do we have enough money?" Jiang Jin changed the subject.
Dong Si shrugged helplessly: "Copper coins are certainly not enough, but I've had the silver ingots cut into smaller pieces. For now, it should suffice."
With the population growing, there were even more workers in every trade, and the monthly wages were a huge sum.
Fortunately, most of the necessities of life — clothing, food, shelter — were in Jiang Jin's hands, so the money circulated back.
But as some people worked longer, money began to accumulate in their hands, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Consumption drives economic growth.
And people of this era liked to bury their money in the ground.
Jiang Jin lowered her head in thought. Perhaps she could consider opening a bank, and then let the common people take out loans to buy houses?
She could collect rent on rented properties.
But there were two drawbacks.
First, for the common people, a house that wasn't their own gave them little sense of security and belonging.
She hadn't sold houses initially because most of the people at that time couldn't afford to buy one.
Since they had no money, if they wanted to buy, she would have to "lend" it to them. But back then she didn't have the time or the manpower, and the timing wasn't ripe, so she simply let them rent first.
The second drawback was what she had just mentioned — after over a year of hard work, the common people had acquired all their household needs, and some families had surplus savings.
Money that doesn't circulate is dead.
Clothing, food, shelter — the most important and fundamental needs of clothing and food were met. It was time to consider housing.
Now she had the people, the people had money, and the time was ripe.
However, this era had no banks and no concept of banks. It might be difficult to establish one.
The introduction of mortgage loans might, to some extent, boost the bank's credibility and give it a grand opening.
To get, you must first give.
She would lend out the money first, and people would repay in installments from their wages. This model of getting first and paying later would likely be accepted by many.
With this model, the bank's reputation would be affirmed, inevitably drawing people in to deposit their savings.
And with money in hand, she could lend it out again to those who wanted to do business but lacked capital — using money to generate more money, driving the entire economy forward, diversifying the market, and further improving the people's quality of life.
Jiang Jin shared her thoughts.
Dong Si was taken aback: "A bank?"
Jiang Jin nodded: "Exactly. Most of our people are impoverished. Not many can afford to pay a lump sum for a house."
"So, why not establish a bank? Lend them the money first, let them buy their houses, and we can earn a bit of interest."
Of course, she wouldn't set interest rates as exorbitantly high as later eras, making people lifelong slaves to the bank.
Her demands weren't high — earning a little was enough. And don't underestimate a little; when the volume is large, it adds up.
It would also create more jobs.
Jiang Jin sighed in resignation. Infrastructure was something she absolutely had to pursue. She couldn't bear to see the land under her jurisdiction in shambles.
Roads and bridges, city planning, schools and factories — all of it required money.
Her armies were growing, and pay, provisions, and daily expenses all cost money.
And there was research and development in every field — money, money, money!
She rubbed her forehead. She couldn't afford to think about it; it gave her a headache.
Her current funds came entirely from what she had "found" earlier, plus revenue from her clothing, food, and housing businesses.
Although there was a small amount of tax income, at present the main businesses in the three counties were run by herself.
There weren't many other merchants, and she even had policies to support small businesses, so her tax revenue was pitifully small — practically negligible.
As her territory grew larger and more things needed to be done, relying on these alone was far from sufficient.
"Once our bank earns the people's trust, we can consider issuing silver notes. In a few years, if the time is right, we might even consider paper currency," she continued.
Shopping nowadays was truly inconvenient. Cloth and copper coins were what circulated in the market.
If you wanted to buy things in a more distant place, you had to transport your money by cart — wasting tremendous manpower and resources, and it wasn't safe either.
If they had silver notes, it would be different. They could be used directly for purchases or exchanged at the bank, greatly improving transaction efficiency.
"Hiss." Dong Si drew in a sharp breath. He stood up and paced around the room twice, and the more he thought about it, the more brilliant it seemed.
"Our lord is truly gifted," he marveled.
He had long realized that the world their lord wanted to build was completely different from the former Yan Kingdom. One could glimpse it even from Gofeng.
He felt even more anticipation, and at the same time, he was deeply grateful to have the honor of being a part of it.
After supper, the two continued discussing the finer details of the bank.
Mostly it was Dong Si asking and Jiang Jin answering.
She was very patient. As her finance minister, she had always intended to hand the bank project over to him.
Now was the perfect time for him to understand it all and then draft a plan, ready for implementation after the new year.
Just as they were talking, there was a sudden loud thud.
They turned to look, and there was Yun Chengxuan, his head slamming onto the table. It bounced twice, and he still slept soundly.
Jiang Jin: "..."
She had to admit, being able to fall asleep in any posture, at any time, was indeed a remarkable skill.
Dong Si said helplessly: "My lord, I'll take my leave then."
Jiang Jin nodded. Remembering something, she said: "Ze'a Commandery still owes us two large ships. When it warms up next year, remember to find time to go collect."
"It doesn't have to be ships. Converting them to gold, silver, or copper coins works too," she added.
Dong Si's eyes lit up. He had only just remembered this: "No need to wait until next year. I'll set out tomorrow. I'll make sure they compensate us."
Jiang Jin smiled: "The weather is cold, the journey is long. Better to wait until next year."
Dong Si insisted: "By the time spring comes next year, fighting will probably break out. We need to get our money back sooner. Besides, the long winter is the perfect time — there's nothing else to do."
How could something as thrilling as collecting a debt be delayed?
Besides, who cares about the cold when there's money to be collected?
Even if it snowed knives, he'd still go get the money.
Early the next morning, Dong Si led his entourage in full force toward Ze'a Commandery.
Light snow began to fall from the sky, but it couldn't dampen Dong Si's burning enthusiasm for debt collection.
