Bai Wenxuan's purchase of the population reminded Wang Xinyu.

After taking Zheng Xi and Zheng Jing back to his mansion in Bamo, Wang Xinyu talked about it: "Fifth uncle, eldest brother, you don't have to worry about the shortage of manpower in the past in the future!" We can buy people too! ”

Zheng Xi thought for a moment, and slowly said, "When we get over there to see the situation, if we need a large number of people, we will buy people with silver." ”

"I think the fifth uncle has a point, we just passed, and we haven't made any money yet, so we can't spend money indiscriminately." Zheng Jing also expressed his agreement with Zheng Xi's view.

But Wang Xinyu is a little anxious, he knows that it has not yet entered the "sweet potato boom" period, potatoes and sweet potatoes and other high-yield crops, currently only planted in some parts of the south, there is no improved varieties that can be planted in large quantities in the north, and during this period, inland places, especially in the north, because of the political stability, there is no war, the population is increasing dramatically. In a disaster year, people die of starvation. If the population purchase plan was delayed, and when the north began to grow high-yield crops such as potatoes and sweet potatoes on a large scale, the Qing court would have entered a period of "prosperity" that was advocated by later generations. Because these high-yielding crops are grown on a large scale, few people starve to death, and the rapid increase in population does not lead to unsufficiency. And at that time, in order to promote his political achievements, Kang Mazi will definitely find a way to prevent the local population from being sold.

"Fifth uncle, eldest brother, do you know why King Gongchang can buy people from the Tartar government? It's because the population is growing fast, but food production can't keep up. Tartar officials for the sake of political performance. During his tenure, there were few famines, and he simply sold the surplus population. But you also know sweet potatoes, right? Wang Xinyu asked.

"Of course you know, we all grow this kind of thing in Kinmen. The yield is high. Zheng Jing replied.

"Yes, at present, sweet potatoes have not been promoted in the north, even in the Yangtze River basin, and this crop has not been promoted on a large scale. Once this kind of thing is widely promoted, the Tartars will implement even more harsh escape laws! That's what even a high-ranking official like the governor is afraid of! Once the fugitive law is strictly enforced, Qing officials will find ways to prevent us from buying people. Wang Xinyu said.

Zheng Xi asked, "When does the virtuous nephew estimate that this crop will be popularized everywhere?" ”

"The little nephew estimates that sweet potatoes will be fully promoted soon! We have to buy the population before the crop is fully rolled out. Bought less of the population of the place occupied by the Tartars. Especially in the north, they don't think of promoting sweet potatoes, but find ways to sell the surplus population. to reduce the likelihood of famine. As for the problems that the fifth uncle and the eldest brother are worried about, I can help you buy the population with silver first! If you can earn it, pay me back the money. If I lose money, then I lose money. You don't have to pay it back. Wang Xinyu said.

Since there is someone who helps him to advance the money. And they are willing to take risks, so Zheng Xi and Zheng Jing have nothing to say. After all, they have to cross the ocean to expand their territory, and it is always better to have a larger population.

"That's fine! If we earn money, we can pay the interest! Zheng said.

"Well, this money, I will go to Nanyang Bank for a loan, and if you make money, you will repay the loan. If it's a loss. I'll pay back the loan. Wang Xinyu immediately thought of helping his Nanyang Bank pull a business. He believed that by buying the population, the silver would definitely be earned! When the time comes, it will be Zheng Xi and Zheng Jing to repay the money.

"Nanyang Bank?" Zheng Xi and Zheng Jing were stunned.

"Based in Borneo. There are branches in Qiongzhou, Luzon, Bhamo, Hindu and Singapore. When the time comes, I will take you to the Borneo head office to apply for a loan. The interest is one cent, that is, ten taels of silver is paid a year for the interest of one tael of silver. This interest rate is low, right? Wang Xinyu said with a smile.

"The interest rate is not high. But what's going on with Nanyang Bank? Zheng Xi asked.

Wang Xinyu said: "The bank is equivalent to the money bank, but it is much larger than the money bank!" The bank is to take the surplus silver from the hands of the people, let them deposit the silver and copper plates into our bank, and we pay them interest. After we have this money, we can lend it to others, so that we can make the difference in the middle. In addition, banks can also handle business such as withdrawing silver from other places. For example, if a person goes from Borneo to buy goods in Bamo, he needs to bring 100,000 taels of silver. It was very inconvenient to carry the silver with him, so he deposited the silver in Borneo, and we gave him the silver ticket, and he could go to Ba Mo to withdraw the silver, and we charged a fee. Our silver tickets are different from those of the previous banks, and their silver tickets can only be withdrawn from their banks and can only be used in one place. And our silver tickets can be withdrawn from other places. ”

At that time, the money bank, for example, the silver tickets of the Jin merchant bank, could only be exchanged for silver in Shanxi, and the business of cashing in other places did not arise until later.

Zheng Xi asked: "If someone makes a fake silver ticket and goes to a different place to exchange silver, can this be distinguished?" There are records stored in the local area, but how to check the records when you go to other places? ”

"Yes! There are also records in different places! This is one of the purposes of a catamaran clipper. For example, if someone deposits a large amount of money in a Singapore branch, the deposit record will be transcribed in several copies and sent to each branch. If it is a small amount of silver, it is relying on the anti-counterfeiting means of the silver ticket, and there is a special mark in the inconspicuous place on the silver ticket. At the moment we are only issuing silver tickets. In the future, banks will also issue paper money to replace cash circulation, which also requires high anti-counterfeiting measures. Wang Xinyu patiently explained.

"Banknotes have been issued before!" Zheng Jing said, "Father said that the banknotes that Daming had also issued before, called Daming treasure banknotes, eventually became waste paper, and no one wanted to use that thing at all!" Later, wasn't it possible to use only silver and copper coins? ”

"That's because the issuance of Daming treasure banknotes was issued at will, only issued but not received, and there was no real silver and copper coins as the base, so it finally became waste paper. And our banks issue banknotes, not only to collect them at any time, but also to issue the corresponding amount of banknotes according to how much gold and silver the bank has, so as to ensure that the banknotes will not become waste paper. Wang Xinyu said.

These financial aspects are the financial knowledge of later generations. Although Wang Xinyu only knows a little bit about finance, when it comes to this era, Zheng Xi and them have been dumbfounded.

Next. Wang Xinyu took Zheng Xi and Zheng Jing to visit the Nanyang Bank Bamo Branch in Bamo.

It is a three-storey building, plus the fence and garden, covering an area of about one and a half acres. The main body of the building is made of stone and cement, with a perimeter wall and a grand gate in front. Walking inside the gate, there were two able-bodied men. He wore a short slapstick around his waist, a sword hanging from it, and his temples bulging. At first glance, it is a master who is standing guard.

Seeing Wang Xinyu walk in, two doormen knelt down on one knee and bowed: "Hello boss!" ”

Walking into the first floor, there is a large business hall, and there are two masters of martial arts standing at the door. There are long wooden chairs in the business hall. There are a lot of people sitting inside waiting to deposit and withdraw money. These customers are all of different identities. People of different statuses, from all walks of life. Those who came to deposit and withdraw money first took the number from a guy at the door, and then sat on the bench and waited for the number.

There are 10 counter windows for money deposits and withdrawals, and the people who have received the numbers are sitting on benches and waiting. What surprised Zheng Zheng and them the most was that there was still a woman in the counter who was handling deposits and withdrawals!

Wang Xinyu solved Zheng Xi's doubts: "Whether it's in Bamo or Singapore." Borneo, Luzon or Qiongzhou. Women can work in the same way as men, which also increases the income of the family. Isn't there a women's barracks in Qiongzhou? This time the Tartars attacked Qiongzhou, and the women's battalion was not small! And there were no casualties of their own! ”

Hiding in a safe fortress against the outside will certainly not be dangerous. The opponent is not those fierce Eight Banners outside the gate, and they can shoot feather arrows through the shooting hole. Even those fierce Eight Banners, when they later encountered the Russians hiding in the castle and firing their guns outside, they were not severely killed.

"Does everyone, no matter what status they have, have to honestly take the number and line up?" Zheng Jing asked.

"Of course not!" Wang Xinyu replied, "As long as your one-time deposit and withdrawal value exceeds 1,000 taels of silver, or the cumulative deposit and withdrawal value exceeds 10,000 taels of silver, we will issue a bronze medal for senior customers, and with the bronze medal, you can go to the senior customer hall inside." Think for yourselves, how many people are there for more than a thousand taels of silver? ”

Zheng Jing nodded, customers who have more than 1,000 taels of silver are generally either rich or expensive. For ordinary people, ten taels of silver is an astronomical amount to them. Although the purchasing power of silver at this time was not as good as that of the middle of the Ming Dynasty, one tael of silver was at least equivalent to the purchasing power of seven or eight hundred yuan in later generations. Zheng Jing took a look at the ordinary people wearing ordinary clothes, most of them came to deposit copper plates, and some came to deposit silver, that is, broken silver of one or two taels. Moreover, there is an exchange business in the bank, where silver can be exchanged for copper plates.

"Why are so many people coming to deposit and withdraw money?" Zheng Xi asked curiously.

"Because it's not only safe to keep your money here, but you also have interest to take it, everyone is happy to save it." Wang Xinyu replied.

The second floor of the bank is the office area, where the financial staff who settle the accounts, the business personnel who make the loans, and various office personnel work. On the third floor is the president's office and the captain's office, with a total of twenty guards, equipped with flintlock pistols, crossbows and melee weapons, each guard is a master, and on the third floor, you can have a condescending bird's-eye view of the entire compound. The bank also has a heavily guarded basement with vaults. Inside the vault, there are other security guards who are responsible for guarding the vault.

The Bamo branch is the branch with the least deposits in Nanyang Company, but it also has 120,000 taels of silver, more than 6,000 taels of gold, and 160,000 taels of copper. Not only the local people came here to deposit, but even Bai Wenxuan and his soldiers, as well as the local officials of Bamo, also liked to keep the silver here. In addition, Wu Sangui's office personnel stationed in Bamo, such as Wang Shirong and others, also deposited silver here.

"We first have to find a way to open a branch in Kunming through Wu Sangui's connections. After that, the banks will slowly penetrate into the mainland. As for the money banks of the Jin merchants and Hui merchants who are fighting for the tiger, we will let them all close their doors! Wang Xinyu said with a smile, "Let their money bank close down first, and then let them go bankrupt!" ”

Needless to say, the Jin merchants had dealings with the Later Jin Jiannu since the end of the Ming Dynasty, and they betrayed the interests of the country and smuggled out the iron tools and other materials that the Jiannu urgently needed in exchange for the gold and silver treasures looted by the Jiannu. The various evil deeds of Jin Shang were already clear to Wang Xinyu in his previous life. It was because of their contribution to the Manchu Qing that the Jin merchants were the imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty.

After the Qing army arrived in Jiangnan, the Hui merchants were also officials and businessmen who worked for the Qing court, and they did business in salt, grain, etc., providing a lot of wealth for the Qing court.

Whether it is a Jin merchant or a Hui merchant, I believe that if it encounters a financial war from hundreds of years later, it will be a complete defeat!

Leaving the bank, Wang Xinyu took Zheng Jing and Zheng Xi to visit the Bamo Tobacco Factory and the Bamo Baqi Special Supplies Factory. Although Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan have shares in these two factories, the largest shareholder is still Nanyang Company, so these two factories are still the industry of Nanyang Company.

The geographical environment in the vicinity of Bamo is very similar to that of Yunnan, and the tobacco grown is of good quality and suitable for the production of high-end cigarettes. Compared to last year, the cigarette factory has tripled. Local tobacco farmers pre-process the tobacco leaves, roast them and send them to the tobacco factory. The tobacco factory then carries out deep processing, further roasting, adding spices when roasting, then cutting into shreds, and finally rolling into cigarettes with a cigarette machine, and then packaging and selling to Yunnan.

Walking into the cigarette factory, facing the gate are two factories and a warehouse, where more than 1,000 workers are busy, and more than 200 boxes of different grades of cigarettes can be produced every day, worth more than 4,000 taels of silver.

Behind the factory and warehouse are the dormitories of the workers of the tobacco factory. Due to the high profits of the cigarette factory, the living conditions of the workers were quite good, and each worker had his own single dormitory, a room of about six square meters, with good air circulation, in which a bed was placed, as well as a bedside table and a table. Workers have a unified canteen for meals, providing three meals for free, brown rice with mixed grains at noon, sweet potato rice porridge with mixed grains steamed buns in the morning and evening, and white rice, white noodles and meat can also be eaten every three or five days. The wages of workers are paid according to the technical level, and generally new workers are paid one tael of silver per month, and they can get two taels of silver after they are more proficient. As for some of the veterans or technicians who know how to repair machinery, the salary is even higher, and some people's monthly salary can reach fifteen taels of silver.

However, the profit of the cigarette factory is still not as high as the profit of the Eight Flags Special Offerings, if the Tobacco Factory is a silver mine that produces silver, then the Eight Flags Special Offerings Factory is simply a gold mine! Moreover, the Eight Flags special offerings are not like cigarettes, which need to be cut and rolled into the packaging box, and they are produced in a cauldron, so they do not require many people. It's just that it takes more farmers to grow raw materials for the Eight Banners than to grow tobacco. There are more than 100 workers in this factory, and they can produce hundreds to thousands of catties of special offerings of Baqi every day. (To be continued.) )