Everyone in the family looked at him, confused: "Why?"
The deeply lined face of Village Head Su spread into a smile: "I want to go back to Xianglu County. That's where our roots are."
Gefeng was fine, but Xianglu County was where he had lived his whole life. If he could, within his remaining years, he hoped to return.
And he believed that one day, their lord would surely take back Xianglu County. After all, if they had marched all the way to Lin County, there was no way they wouldn't attack Xianglu.
His eldest son was stunned: "Father, what did you say?"
Village Head Su waved his hand: "Listen to me. Once the bank opens, we'll put all our money in it. The interest isn't high, but it's money earned without any labor."
"Besides, it's the government holding it for safekeeping. That puts my mind at ease—much safer than hiding it ourselves in random places."
His wife frowned: "I've never heard of a bank before. And you're saying the government holds our money for us, doesn't charge a fee, and even pays interest? Is that reliable?"
Village Head Su laughed heartily: "Well, you've heard of it now, haven't you? Just look at everything our lord has done this past year—every single thing has been for the benefit of the people. What's there to worry about?"
"If you're truly concerned, then deposit only half. We'll keep some at home as a backup."
That was what he said, but several members of the family were already working and bringing in decent wages each month, with money left over after daily expenses.
The eldest son was reluctant: "Father, Gefeng is really nice here. We've gotten used to the house. Why not just buy it? The government can lend us the money anyway."
His wife nodded along: "Exactly. Who knows when Xianglu County will be retaken? Even if it is, could our old house still be livable after all this time?"
The youngest daughter chimed in: "That's right. And besides, all of us work here in Gefeng. If we go back to Xianglu County, how would we make a living?"
Village Head Su shook his head with a small smile: "You all lack vision. If Xianglu County is retaken, do you think our lord won't build new houses there?"
"Look at Shanguan County and Chunrong County that he's already taken. Aren't there all kinds of workshops there too? When the time comes, you won't have to worry about finding work."
"As for our old village—we'll see what policies our lord puts in place. If I can help farm the lord's land, I'd be happy to stay in the village."
He let out a long sigh: "Have you been to Heshui Village? I have. Those houses are truly well built—bigger than the ones here in Gefeng city, especially the courtyards. Much larger than ours."
"I've spent my whole life working the land. Only with fields to till do I feel grounded. If I can return to Xianglu in my lifetime and build a house like that, I'd die without regrets."
Time passed amid the murmurs of the people, and before long, the Gefeng People's Bank finally opened, and the houses entered the sales stage.
The bank was located not far from the county office. Inside, the main hall was packed with people, and Dong Si was run off his feet.
In the private room of the bank sat He Li, Mei Qian, and others—all the current "big names" of Gefeng.
They greeted each other with smiling faces: "Brother He, you've come to deposit money too?"
He Li didn't try to hide it: "Of course. The Times newspaper said withdrawals can be made from any branch in other cities. For us merchants, that's a huge convenience."
Whether it was cloth or bronze coins used for trade, every business trip required moving money and goods—a massive undertaking that needed large amounts of manpower and resources.
Not to mention the interest earned from depositing at the bank; even if they had to pay a safekeeping fee, they would still have been willing.
Besides, coming to deposit money at the bank now showed support and trust in the government, and left a good impression.
Of course, "any branch in other cities" only applied to Jiang Jin's cities for now.
But He Li had great confidence in Jiang Jin, believing it wouldn't be long before Jiang Jin had more and more cities under his control.
Mei Qian nodded: "Indeed. This bank of ours is a brilliant move by the government. Our lord is wise, doing everything for the people."
He Li cursed the sycophant inwardly but smiled and echoed: "Right. Being a subject of our lord is truly our honor."
Dong Si, having listened to enough of these flattering remarks about their lord, finally came out with a broad smile to greet them. After exchanging pleasantries, he called them in one by one to handle their deposits in the private room.
A little over two hours later, He Li came out. Looking at the "passbook" and banknotes in his hand, which bore not only the seal of the Gefeng People's Bank but also the personal seal of "Jin Yang," he smiled.
He trusted the lord's "Jin Yang" seal more than the bank's own stamp.
He also looked at the two property deeds in his hand. He finally had a house in Gefeng. His heart felt settled.
It was because he was a "VIP" customer of the bank that he was given special treatment, allowing him to get his property deeds processed so quickly.
After all, buying a house wasn't easy. They had to come in person to confirm the location, the unit number, the size, and so on. There were quite a number of procedures involved.
He ran his fingers over the thick property deeds and passbook, which had raised textures on them, said to be anti-counterfeiting measures.
He mused to himself: anti-counterfeiting? Nobody could even make this kind of paper. There was no need for any raised texture patterns at all.
The denomination on the banknotes was small—from one tael to fifty taels—but they could be used directly for transactions or exchanged at the bank for coins or silver. Very convenient.
Banknotes did not require identification to be used in transactions, so the anti-counterfeiting features on them were even more elaborate.
Sun Yi didn't receive his contract until two days later. He felt he hadn't been this excited in a long time, and the grin on his face kept growing wider.
His family gathered around him, chattering: "Is this the contract?"
Yang Sanniang wiped her hands before daring to touch it: "With this, the house is ours? Starting next month, we don't have to pay rent anymore?"
Sun Yi nodded: "Yes, but the monthly repayment is quite a bit more than the rent was."
Sun An nodded: "It's definitely more. But before, no matter how much rent we paid, the house was never ours. Now, as long as we pay off the loan, the house truly belongs to us."
Everyone laughed, the atmosphere warm and joyful.
Yang Sanniang asked: "Is the interest high?"
Sun Yi nodded, then shook his head: "It's manageable."
The interest paid each month didn't seem like much, but he had signed a ten-year contract. Adding it all up, it was actually substantial.
However, it was still a better deal than paying rent month after month and waiting until enough money was saved to buy a house outright.
Yang Sanniang remarked: "I heard Abu's family bought a small courtyard. Since he's a soldier, his interest is a lot lower."
Sun Yi nodded: "Yes, it's considerably lower."
He then turned to his children: "If you have time, go help her move. She has trouble with her legs as it is, and Abu is in the army—he probably can't get away."
But in the end, they didn't get to help with the move, because people from the street office came to help Sun Bu's mother with her move.
Sun Bu's mother was full of gratitude: "Thank you so much. I… I don't even know what to say."
Xiaohua, that is, Zhong Wuhua, waved it off: "Don't mention it. If you want to thank anyone, thank our lord. It's policy that we take extra care of the widowed and solitary. And besides, you've sent your only son into the army."
Babes, make sure to take care of yourselves! I've caught a cold again recently, and it triggered my chronic cough. I've been coughing for days and almost coughed my way to a six-pack. Today I went to get some traditional Chinese medicine. This is a stubborn condition I've had for years—I've tried almost every remedy out there, and once it flares up, it's really hard to shake. Basically, I spend most of the year on herbal medicine, and it's absolutely miserable.
Also, my recent chapter edits might not be as thorough as usual. If you spot any typos, just tag me and I'll fix them when I have the chance. Thanks, lovelies! And remember to click the "urge update" button and send some love via "power support" if you can. Love you all (づ￣3￣)づ╭❤～
