Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

Chapter 297 Shrinking Business

"Let's clear out all the money from ordinary people." Shen Chuning said solemnly.

Cui Shi, standing by, looked troubled and asked doubtfully, "All the silver and money are mixed together, how can we tell them apart?"

Shen Chuning thought for a moment and replied, "Raising the threshold will naturally screen out some people. Let's raise the minimum deposit amount to one hundred taels. Ordinary people probably wouldn't be able to accumulate that much silver in decades. There's no need to advertise this. We can just wait until their deposits mature and stop accepting them. That way, we should have some time to clean up most of the money by the time we close."

Cui Shi listened to Shen Chuning's words, his heart still full of confusion. He couldn't help but ask: "Miss, I really don't understand why you have to do this?"

Shen Chuning sighed softly and slowly explained, "The money that those poor people deposited in our bank is likely all they have accumulated through hard work for most of their lives. This is their hard-earned money, and we must always leave them a way out. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it, and our original intention was not to cause chaos in the world."

"But what if many people pool their money together and deposit it?" Cui Shi asked.

Shen Chuning responded indifferently, "As the saying goes, even gods can't save damned ghosts. We've already given them a chance. If they're still so greedy and unsatisfied, then we can't be blamed!"

Cui Shi frowned deeply and said worriedly, "If we really do what you say, will those wealthy people notice? What if they withdraw all their deposits? Honestly, what we're doing now is robbing Peter to pay Paul. The only reason it hasn't collapsed is because of the constant influx of new walls. If everyone comes to tear down the walls now, we'll be on the verge of collapse."

Shen Chuning shook her head slightly and responded confidently, "That depends on how we make up the story."

Shen Chuning initially thought of announcing to the public that she had switched careers to trade, which would require a large investment of money.

Then they promise to give investors generous dividends, treating it as a form of equity investment.

In this way, it will be possible to justify not accepting small amounts of silver.

At the same time, as long as the interest rate is slightly increased, as the saying goes, "there will always be brave men under great rewards", relying on the deep foundation and good reputation accumulated by Hengfu Money House over the years, there is no need to worry about no one being willing to come and invest money.

Upon hearing this, Cui Shi's face lit up with sudden enlightenment. He excitedly slapped his thigh and said, "Oh my, this is fantastic! Over the past two years, the pirates at sea have been mostly apprehended by the government. Maritime trade has begun to flourish, and more and more businesses are doing business here. If we claim we want to get involved in the maritime trade, it will be difficult for others to detect any flaws or clues."

Shen Chuning sat at the table, tapping the tabletop lightly and rhythmically with her right index finger, making a crisp and subtle sound.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of thought and determination, and she slowly spoke, "Relying solely on maritime trade is far from enough to meet our needs."

Cui Shi responded respectfully, "Please give me your instructions, young lady."

Shen Chuning spread out the map on the table, stretched out her slender jade finger and pointed lightly towards the northwest.

Cui Shi, who had been observing from the side, paused for a moment before cautiously saying, "Young lady, you may not be aware that this northwest region has always been governed by King Hao. King Hao has expressly prohibited large-scale trade with the Western Regions. Most of the Western Region goods circulating in the market today are obtained by ordinary people in exchange for their own food and other items. King Hao may choose to turn a blind eye to such sporadic private transactions. However, if we want to organize a large caravan to trade in the Western Regions, I'm afraid this lie will be difficult to get away with."

After hearing this, Shen Chuning did not say anything, but just smiled slightly. Her finger slowly moved along the map and finally stopped at Changye.

Then she turned her head to look at Cui Shi, a sly glint in her eyes, and said softly, "Others may not be able to do this, but think about it carefully, who else is in the northwest right now?"

Cui Shi frowned slightly, his face still filled with deep worry. He asked hesitantly, "Miss, are you talking about the Third Prince? But even if this is true, how could the Third Prince easily admit it?"

Shen Chuning's lips curled up slightly, and she chuckled softly as she replied, "This is all fiction. Why force him to admit it? Besides, even if it's true, it's openly against King Hao. How can he openly admit it? But people's imaginations are free. Let's just boldly tell others that trade with the Western Regions has increased. As for how others will speculate about who is cooperating with this business, that doesn't matter. After all, sometimes, the more bizarre and absurd the story is, the easier it is for people to believe it."

According to Shen Chuning's analysis, there were indeed people on Xiao Yuanlang's side who were secretly colluding with King Hao to jointly run the business in the Western Regions.

During the Changye epidemic, Xiao Yuanlang's actions caused the local population to be reduced by more than half.

But in order to avoid being reprimanded by Emperor Jing, Xiao Yuanlang turned over to the national treasury more than double the amount of silver compared with previous years!

Feng Yucai specially sent people to investigate the matter and found that no new industries had emerged in Changye. According to common sense, it was impossible for such a huge change in tax revenue to occur.

Then the only reasonable explanation is that Xiao Yuanlang used his own money to fill this gap.

You should know that in her previous life, Shen Jingwan married into the Third Prince's Mansion with a dowry of over one million taels.

Not only that, she gave all the silver to Xiao Yuanlang without reservation.

It was precisely with the help of this huge amount of silver that Shen Jingwan was able to gain a firm foothold in the Third Prince's Mansion.

So it is not difficult to see from this point that Xiao Yuanlang himself did not actually have much savings. Logically speaking, he should not have enough financial resources to support himself to take out so much money to fill the deficit.

In this case, he would have to find another way to raise the required money.

In addition, what the fifth brother said was very likely that Xiao Yuanlang and King Hao were secretly colluding.

At first, Shen Chuning only thought that Xiao Yuanlang's goal was the military power in King Hao's hands.

But Concubine Qin sent Shen Jingwan to Changye.

People like Shen Jingwan would certainly not miss the special relationship between Xiao Yuanlang and King Hao, and would not get involved in the trade in the Western Regions.

In recent times, the number of spices, glass and other items from the Western Regions on the market has increased significantly compared to the past.

Then it wouldn't be unfair to Xiao Yuanlang if Shen Chuning threw the dirty water of the Western Regions business on him.

"Last time I told you to keep an eye on the money houses in Changye. Has there been any change since Shen Jingwan left?" Shen Chuning asked.