Yuanqi General Number, Rong Yuan.

Yi Zhishu frowned in the study and carefully checked the accounts, more than a year, through his hands to spend out, whether it is his personal or Yuanqi, the amount is really not small, belonging to him personally, buying land, resettlement of displaced people, building a school, recruiting students, buying warships and fleets, expanding Tianbao Watch Factory, the weekday cost of seventy-seven eighty-eight has added up to more than 800,000 yuan, and now the rest of the book is not even less than 400,000.

He handled the larger expenses belonging to Yuanqi, such as the construction of the Changle Machinery Manufacturing Plant, the Changzhou Shipyard, the Guangdong Naval Division Ammunition Bureau, the Citi Resettlement Village, the Donghuang Silk Industry Co., Ltd., the donation of the Humen Fort, the recruitment of volunteers, the procurement of various machinery and equipment, and the procurement of high-quality iron in England, the Foguang Railway, the Changhua Iron Mine, and the arms procurement of the Merchant Group, etc., with a total expenditure of more than 5.8 million yuan.

Fortunately, Changle Machinery Factory and Donghuang have begun to make money, and Donghuang sold more than 2 million franchise fees, in general, the deficit is not too big, it is more than 2 million, if more than 30,000 tons of iron are thrown out, you can also make 2 million, however, the follow-up investment of Foguang Railway and Changhua Iron Mine is not small, and it is necessary to invest in the construction of steel mills and large forging plants, which require a large amount of silver.

Pushing open the ledger, he stretched his waist, got up and paced slowly in the room, the stall was spread too fast and too big, now Yuanqi's monthly expenses are not a small amount, just the Foguang Railway, Changhua Iron Mine, and the Merchant Guard, these three things add up to more than 100,000, and they are also facing a huge amount of war donations, the problem is that Yuanqi's life is not easy now.

The war is approaching, no one will deposit the silver into Yuanqi, just rely on Yuanqi's principal, it is not easy to barely maintain, without Changle Machinery Factory and Donghuang, Yuanqi is afraid that it will be difficult to survive this war. Gotta think to make money! The expansion of the merchant group requires money, and the war requires even more money! The question is, where do you go to make money now?

Li Wang came in and reported in a low voice: "Young Master, President Huang of the Tea Shop Guild asks to see you." ”

What did Huang Zichang come to do? Asking for news? Yi Zhishu glanced outside the door and said, "Please let him in." As he spoke, he walked out slowly, and when he met. Huang Zichang smiled and said: "As soon as the shopkeeper of Yida went to Qiongzhou for half a year, I heard that it was to survey the Changhua iron mine, but there was a harvest?" ”

"It's okay." Yi Zhizhi returned the salute, and the two sat down, and then he smiled and said, "President Huang came here again, is he worried about the tea trade or Yuan Qi?" ”

"I'm worried." Huang Zichang said with a smile: "Yuan Qi has suffered a run this time, if he can use the Tea Guild, the shopkeeper of Yi Da will command." ”

"It's enough for President Huang to have this kind of heart." Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "It's just a run, Yuan Qi hasn't put it in his eyes yet." Today's Yuanqi is not just a money bank. ”

He was full of confidence in what he said, and Huang Zichang couldn't help but sigh: "The loss is that Yuanqi dominates the Guangdong money industry, if there was such a large-scale run before, I don't know how much money the village has collapsed." After a slight pause, he continued: "The British merchants are the largest tea traders in Guangzhou, and the English consumption of tea is also the largest. Will the tea trade plummet? ”

Yi Zhishu took out a cigar and lit it, and then said slowly: "Since last year." A large-scale economic crisis broke out in England and the United States, with a large number of factories closing, workers losing their jobs, and an economic depression, and this year, the economic crisis will affect the whole of Europe one after another. The tea trade will certainly be greatly affected.

At this juncture, the imperial court cut off trade with England, and the two countries exchanged troops, which was inevitable, and the impact on the tea trade was certainly not small. A plummet, perhaps not an exaggeration. ”

"How long will contentment last?"

"It can be as short as two or three years, and as long as four or five years."

So long? Huang Zichang's expression was a little gloomy, and the four-to-five-year trade downturn was a fatal blow to the tea merchants in Guangzhou.

Slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke, Yi Zhizhi asked slowly, "What is the tea sales this year?" ”

"Two hundred and sixty thousand quintals." Huang Zichang said: "It's only half of an ordinary year. ”

"It is enough to prepare 200,000 quintals next year." Yi Zhixiang paused and said, "President Huang might as well add some green tea appropriately, of course, it is also mid-to-low-grade, maybe, green tea will bring surprises to tea merchants in the past two years." ”

Historically, in foreign trade, the proportion of green tea is very small, listening to what he said vaguely, Huang Zichang didn't want to ask much, and immediately said: "Since it is Yida's shopkeeper's proposal, the old man will let them enter more than 20%. ”

Yi Zhizhi to the United States, French maritime merchants to promote green tea, said that green tea can effectively imitate the prevention of scurvy, this matter after a year of testing, it is estimated that there will be a response next year, just the two countries' naval procurement is afraid that it is not a small amount, listening to Huang Zichang said that the increase is two percent, he smiled, and did not say much, after all, this matter is just speculation.

Huang Zichang's coming here today is nothing more than to show his attitude, the Tea Guild is now close to the Thirteen Lines and Yuan Qi, Yuan Qi has a run, he can't pretend not to know, he knows that Yi Zhi is busy, and after a little chat, he got up and said goodbye.

Yi Zhishu got up and sent him to the door, and said with a smile: "Everything has pros and cons, the tea trade has been sluggish in the past two years, which is conducive to the monopoly of the Tea Guild, once a war breaks out, the pattern of foreign trade may change greatly, there is not much time, President Huang needs to hurry." ”

Will the pattern of foreign trade change dramatically? Huang Zichang was about to ask carefully, and at a glance he saw Wu Changqing and Pan Shiming coming together, so he nodded and said: "Yida shopkeeper rest assured, the Tea Association has been sparing no effort to integrate tea merchants, and a monopoly pattern has been initially formed. ”

"Okay." Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "When I have time, President Huang will introduce me to a few tea merchants from Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. ”

Huang Zichang was confused and out of Rongyuan, why would Yi Zhishu be interested in tea merchants in Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang? Could it be that you are interested in tea production? Machine-made tea? I'll have to ask carefully another day.

In the living room, Yi Zhixiang casually handed Wu Changqing and Pan Shiming a cigar, and opened all the windows, and then said: "Now the two of you are busy people, how can you get together?" ”

Pan Shiming is also addicted to smoking cigars now, so he skillfully lit it and took a puff before saying, "Coincidentally, I met it at the door." As he spoke, he said straightforwardly: "There is a run on Yuanqi, I came here to ask, can I find a place for the newspaper?" ”

"No, you don't." Yi Zhizu waved his hand and said, "This run." For Yuanqi, it's a good thing. ”

"A good thing?" Pan Shiming and Wu Changqing are all the same.

Yi Zhixiang smiled, and then said: "Don't look at the squeeze, in fact, it is today and tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, it will ease down." There was a pause. He continued: "A war with England is inevitable, and a run on Yuanqi is a matter of time, and the pressure of a run at this time is much smaller than that of a run in May or June next year." ”

"Only contentment thinks so." Pan Shiming smiled and groaned slightly, before he said: "It's not yet the end of the year, and a large amount of loan funds have not yet been recovered." Where did Yuan Qi get the money to deal with this run? ”

"Shunde and Foshan." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "I solved three million from Shunde, more than one million is Donghuang's profit share this year, and the rest is the deposit of silk merchants, Foshan, I sold 10,000 tons of English high-quality iron, and got 1.3 million yuan, in addition, Changle has 3 million yuan Qilongyang." More than enough to deal with this run. ”

"Foshan iron merchants are so rich?" Pan Shiming said in surprise: "Can you take out 1.3 million in one hand? ”

"Brother Cheng, don't underestimate the Foshan iron merchants." Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "Foshan iron merchants - Li, Chen, Huo, Liang, Xian. The five families, all of whom are wealthy, will divide 10,000 tons on the spot after inspecting the goods in the warehouse. ”

"I've heard about it." Wu Changqing said with a smile: "They were afraid that Yuanqi would hit Foshan Iron City, so they pinched their noses and swallowed it." ”

"Changqing is familiar with the Foshan iron merchants?"

Pan Shiming said with a smile: "Changqing has a cousin who is married to a woman from the Huo family in Foshan. ”

"Changqing's sister-in-law is from the Huo family in Foshan?" Yi Zhisan said happily: "Don't say it early, accompany me to Foshan in a few days." ”

"Brother Contentment, isn't he really interested in Foshan Iron City? The size of Foshan's market is not small. But it can't stand the toss of Yuanqi. ”

"Look at what Changqing said." Yi Zhizhi said dissatisfiedly: "What kind of people are we who toss wherever we go?" In Haikou in Xu Wen, aren't we very honest and responsible? ”

Wu Changqing laughed and said, "You have found out the bottom, and it is not time to toss yet." ”

"It's really not a toss." Yi Zhizhi smiled: "I have to ask them for people, the steel factory, the foundry and the ammunition factory all need a large number of craftsmen. ”

"If it's just craftsmen, it's not a big problem."

"And. Tomorrow morning, accompany me to meet Zhang Weiyun in Fuyin Garden. ”

As soon as he heard this, Pan Shiming hurriedly said: "What kind of whimsical article does contentment have to be driven by Lao Nanshangong?" ”

Yi Zhizu said lightly: "I want to ask Nanshan Gong to write an article about the nation and the country." ”

Articles about nations and states? Pan Shiming frowned, and said with a slight sigh: "This is a topic that violates the ban, the Manchus control more with less, and they have always been very sensitive to this topic, and they must be cautious. ”

"Then Brother Cheng doesn't need to worry?" Yi Zhishu knocked down the ashes and said, "How can Nanshan Gong not know the severity?" Moreover, there is also the audit of the Governor's Palace. ”

Li Wang walked quickly to the door and glanced at the house, and when he saw the three chatters and laughter, he hurriedly bowed and said: "Young master, the big shopkeeper of the Guangzhou branch of the Rishengchang ticket number, Wang Dechang, is asking to see you outside." ”

Yi Zhizu glanced at the two of them and said, "Another one who came to inquire about the truth." ”

There is a saying that the emperor is not in a hurry, the eunuch is in a hurry, Yuan Qi is in a run, Yi Zhizhi this Yuan Qi shopkeeper did not take it seriously, but the people who are closely related to Yuan Qi are very nervous, the shopkeeper of Shanxi ticket number, the officials of various yamen in Guangzhou, the American consul of the Thirteen Merchant Houses, the railway company and many American businessmen, the foreign businessmen of various guilds in Guangzhou, and the presidents of various industry clubs are all nervously concerned.

Tea houses and restaurants, inns and docks, streets and alleys inside and outside Guangzhou, everyone is talking about whether Yuan Qi can survive this hurdle, gloating, caring, worried, and having nothing to do with themselves, all kinds of mentalities.

Just when everyone was talking, a topic was thrown out very abruptly, what would happen if Yuanqi went out of business? As soon as this topic appeared, it immediately attracted everyone's attention and interest, and quickly sparked a wide range of discussions.

If Yuanqi fails, there will be no chance for small deposits, no chance for low-interest loans, and no chance for general deposit and exchange.

If Yuanqi goes bankrupt, it will definitely cause a chain reaction, Changle Machinery Factory, Donghuang Silk Industry Co., Ltd., Tianbao Watch Factory, etc., even if they do not go bankrupt, they will be greatly affected, Changzhou Shipyard and Foguang Railway will definitely stop work, and the various construction sites and wharves under construction by Yuanqi Investment will also be suspended, which means that tens of thousands of people or even more than 100,000 people are unemployed.

If Yuanqi goes bankrupt, it will definitely cause the economic collapse of Guangzhou and even the whole of Guangdong, the recession of commerce, the depression of the market, and the loss of control of the price comparison of silver and money.

With the deepening of the discussion of this topic, many people suddenly realized that Yuanqi had a close relationship with them, but they didn't feel it on weekdays, in just three years, Yuanqi has quietly infiltrated into their lives, which is enough to affect all levels of Shinong industry and commerce, enough to affect the prosperity and decline of the entire Guangzhou, and has a pivotal position in Guangzhou and even the whole of Guangdong!

Early the next morning, Yuan Qi's general number Kong Jian'an, Xie Xiuyuan, and Guangzhou Branch Liang Jiemin and Tang Jingyuan rushed to wait outside Rongyuan early in the morning, and Yi Zhizhi also arrived half an hour earlier than usual, this is the rule he set, in case of major events, a meeting will be held an hour in advance in the morning.

Everyone entered the study and sat down, and Kong Jian'an reported directly: "After last night's summary, Guangzhou, Nanhai, Panyu and other nearby semicolons, a total of more than 1,326,400 yuan of silver was spent yesterday.

Strictly speaking, this is only a half-day run, and it is expected that today's run may be more serious, possibly as high as more than 2.5 million. ”

Hearing this, Xie Xiuyuan and Liang Jiemin's faces were a little ugly, what they were most afraid of when opening a money bank was a run, even if it was a strong one, they were also afraid of a run, in order to chase the interest rate difference, the money village would normally lend out the silver, and put the silver in the silver cellar of the money village to sleep, then it would definitely lose money.

Once there is a run, the money bank has no silver to pay, the consequences will be disastrous - the credibility of the bank, for the money bank, no reputation, can not survive at all, although Yuan Qi is a monopoly on the money industry in Guangdong Province, but if it loses its reputation, it is also difficult to escape the fate of bankruptcy.

Several people here knew in their hearts that in order to deal with this run, Yi Zhishu mobilized more than 7 million yuan, but at this rate, it could support four days at most, Xie Xiuyuan glanced at a few people, and said slowly: "I roughly counted, the largest amount of cash is not deposits, but various bills account for about seventy percent." As he spoke, he looked at Yi Zhishu and said, "Big shopkeeper, whether you can suspend the exchange of bills has now entered the month of Layue, at most two months, Yuan Qi will have the ability to exchange all kinds of bills." (To be continued.) )