“As long as the silver deposited in the Jinchuan Money House exceeds ten thousand taels, the handling fee is only ten percent!” Jin Feng replied.
“What if it does not exceed ten thousand taels?” the fat man continued to ask.
“Below one thousand taels, we charge forty percent. Between one thousand and five thousand taels, thirty percent. Between five thousand and ten thousand taels, twenty percent.”
Jin Feng explained, “The more you deposit, the greater the discount. For deposits over thirty thousand taels, you become a VIP client of our money house. We will assign a dedicated deputy manager for one-to-one service to negotiate handling fees and other preferential activities.”
“Master Jin, your money house has only just opened. Who would dare deposit thirty thousand taels?” the fat man asked with a smile.
After speaking, he winked at Jin Feng.
Seeing this, Jin Feng narrowed his eyes slightly.
At first glance, the fat man’s question sounded like an attempt to disrupt the event, but Jin Feng understood the meaning behind the wink.
This fellow was clearly a shill sent to give him a perfect opening.
Jin Feng instinctively thought it was arranged by Ruan Tongjie and turned to glance at her.
But Ruan Tongjie shook her head, indicating she had not arranged it.
As Jin Feng puzzledly withdrew his gaze, he caught sight of the Ninth Princess sitting quietly in the background, smiling at him.
If Jin Feng still did not understand at this point, he would be a fool.
He returned a smile to the Ninth Princess, then turned back and said, “How could there be none? Her Highness the Ninth Princess has deposited over thirty thousand taels in the Jinchuan Money House. Moreover, she has signed an agreement with the money house that all future tax revenues from her fief will be deposited into the Jinchuan Money House.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire crowd fell silent for a moment.
Then it grew lively again.
“Her Highness the Princess has deposited money in the Jinchuan Money House?”
“Who does not know that Her Highness the Ninth Princess has an extraordinary relationship with Master Jin of the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau? What is so surprising about her depositing money here?”
“That is true.”
The merchants whispered among themselves.
Once their discussion had mostly died down, Jin Feng spoke again, “In addition to Her Highness the Ninth Princess, Governor Qing has also deposited one hundred thousand taels of court-allocated funds into our Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce. From now on, the salaries of officials in Xichuan city and surrounding areas will be issued on behalf of the authorities by our Jinchuan Money House.”
Dakang had no precedent of a money house issuing officials’ salaries on behalf of the government. By doing this, Qing Xinyao was essentially providing a guarantee for Jin Feng.
If the Jinchuan Money House collapsed, the first person who would not let Jin Feng off would be Qing Xinyao.
“Then may I ask, Master Jin, if I deposit money in Xichuan but need to use money in the capital, is that possible?” the fat man continued.
“At present, the Jinchuan Money House has only one branch in Xichuan. In the future, we will open branches in the capital and major prefectural cities in Jiangnan. At that time, withdrawals will be possible in the capital and Jiangnan.”
Jin Feng replied, “Moreover, the handling fees will be the same as in Xichuan. For over ten thousand taels, only ten percent!”
These words caused an uproar throughout the crowd.
One should know that for other money houses, the fees for exchanging banknotes in a different location were much higher than local transactions.
Jin Feng’s policy of uniform fees for remote and local transactions instantly captured the attention of many merchants with cross-regional deposit and withdrawal needs.
“Master Jin, do you also issue banknotes?” the fat man asked again.
Upon hearing this, Jin Feng almost wanted to jump down and kiss the Ninth Princess twice.
The shill she had arranged was too professional.
Every question hit exactly the right spot.
Composing himself, he shook his head and said, “I will not issue banknotes. I will issue remittance bills that are even safer than banknotes.”
“What is a remittance bill? How is it safer?” the fat man continued to ask.
“For example, if you deposit ten thousand taels in Xichuan, I will give you a special remittance bill and also tell you a secret passphrase. You can send an escort with the bill on the road, but without telling him the passphrase.”
Jin Feng said, “In this way, even if the bill is seized by bandits or your escort absconds, they will not know the passphrase and cannot withdraw the silver.”
“What if I lose the remittance bill but still know the passphrase? Can I still withdraw the money?” the fat man asked.
“Yes,” Jin Feng nodded. “However, it will be more troublesome. You will need to report the loss to us first, then wait two months. After we verify the accounts, you can retrieve your money.”
“Why?”
“Very simple. Suppose you tell me your bill is lost and I immediately give you the money. But if the bill was not actually lost and you send someone with it to withdraw again at the capital branch, would that not mean I have paid you twice?” Jin Feng explained.
“Two months is too long,” the fat man said with a dissatisfied expression.
“Brother, if your banknote is lost, would your money come back even if you waited two years?” Jin Feng countered with a smile.
“Master Jin makes a valid point,” the fat man nodded.
The other merchants who had initially felt dissatisfied also showed expressions of sudden understanding.
They were very satisfied with the method Jin Feng proposed.
The so-called secret passphrase was simply a password.
Other Dakang money houses used issued banknotes as the withdrawal credential. Anyone holding the banknote could withdraw the money.
This gave bandits an opportunity to exploit.
Jin Feng’s method completely solved this problem.
Since only the owner knew the passphrase, even if the remittance bill was seized, it did not matter.
At worst, one could return and apply for a replacement.
Although it required waiting two months, it was still better than losing everything.
Many merchants showed signs of being tempted.
However, the Jinchuan Money House was, after all, a newly opened establishment. They still did not fully trust Jin Feng’s strength.
In the next moment, the fat man helped voice the doubt in their hearts.
“Master Jin, your method is indeed excellent. We are all very tempted. But you are a newly opened money house. If we suddenly entrust our entire fortunes to you and you abscond with the funds, what then?”
The fat man asked with a serious expression.
“How can you say such a thing about Master Jin?”
Before Jin Feng could respond, the surrounding common folk who had come to watch grew unhappy first. “If not for Master Jin helping us drive away the cavalry, no matter how much money you had, it would have been seized by them. You might not even have kept your lives!”
“Exactly. Ungrateful!”
“You are ungrateful yourselves, so you think Master Jin is like you? Master Jin fulfilled all the silver he promised to the common folk outside the city!”
Other common folk chimed in agreement.
However, most merchants remained impassive, looking up at Jin Feng.
They knew better than the common folk what Jin Feng had done outside the city.
But merchants generally prioritised interests above all. This could not serve as a reason for them to trust Jin Feng.
Although Jin Feng had honoured his promises to the common folk, the total amounted to only a few tens of thousands of taels.
If they truly deposited money, the combined amount would far exceed that.
If Jin Feng then absconded with the funds, where could they go to cry for justice?
Would they dare approach the Ninth Princess or Qing Xinyao?
Even with three times the courage, they would not.
Seeing the common folk becoming overly agitated, Jin Feng quickly signalled Da Liu to strike the gong.
Once the scene quietened, Jin Feng hurriedly raised the tin loudhailer and shouted, “Everyone, calm down. In business, we speak of business. This brother’s question is entirely reasonable. It is normal for them to have such concerns. Put yourselves in their shoes. If you deposited so much silver with me, you would be even more worried than they are.”
Hearing this, the common folk finally relented.
Many merchants also nodded, their gazes towards Jin Feng changing somewhat.
After years in commerce, this was the first time they had heard a noble stand on the merchants’ side and speak in favour of merchants.
