The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

The next day.

Xia Mianwan got up early and went to Manyue Workshop. The current Manyue Workshop is different from when it was first built.

After a period of development, Manyue Workshop has become somewhat like a modern commercial and residential complex.

It was the time when the academy was in class and the workshop was in operation. There were not many people in the commercial street in the workshop. Xia Mianwan took a quick look, asked about the merchants' situation, and then went to Manyue Academy.

After taking a quick look as usual, Xia Mianwan had some ideas in his mind.

After all, it is her own business. Xia Mianwan put a lot of effort into building the workshop, so she knows who are the people in the workshop and what they do.

The transaction volume of merchants in the workshop should have decreased, and there are more people wearing jewelry in the academy.

In the evening, Rumeng Ruzhu returned to Shaoguangyuan to reply.

"Madam, most people in the workshop have indeed put their money in the hands of one person, but it's not Chen Er, it's a man called Wang Ergou."

"Madam, the people in the academy have basically lent out their money to collect interest. It's not Chen Er, but a man named Zhang San."

"Have you asked about the situation of those who were not released?" Xia Mianwan asked.

Ruzhu nodded. "I've asked around. Some people either said they didn't have money or thought this was unreliable."

"Me too." Ru Meng also said so.

"Is there not a single suspicious one?" Xia Mianwan asked.

Rumeng and Ruzhu both shook their heads.

In this case, either the other party really has no problem, or he is hiding it too well.

"Rumeng, Ruzhu, you should make a list of those who have not lent out interest during this investigation. If there are no problems, you can give them the slightly more important tasks in the workshop." Xia Mianwan ordered.

"Yes." The two responded, closed the door and walked out.

After Pei Yanxu left the court, he hurried to Shaoguang Court. Xia Mianwan saw that Pei Yanxu was anxious, as if there was something urgent, and asked hurriedly: "What's wrong? Why are you so anxious?"

"There's news about Chen Er." Pei Yanxu said.

Xia Mianwan said: "What a coincidence, I also have some information, you tell me first."

Pei Yanxu said, "Chen Er is from Qingzhou. His parents were injured in the war, so he was picked up and adopted by a monk from the Buddhist temple. When Chen Er was 20 years old, the old monk passed away. There was no one left in the Buddhist temple, so Chen Er took his luggage and traveled several times to Yanzhou."

When Xia Mianwan heard this, she had a bad guess in her mind.

"After arriving in Yanzhou, he had no background and no money, so he was always bullied. Later, he was rescued by a subordinate of the Salt Gang. The subordinate of the Salt Gang saw that he was really pitiful, so he took him in as his younger brother, and from then on Chen Er followed that person from the Salt Gang. What a coincidence, the Salt Gang member who took in Chen Er, his wife's father used to be a member of the Haichen Gang." Pei Yanxu bent his fingers and tapped the table lightly.

Haichen Gang, Zhuang Mingming, Zheng Xiaoyun...

On a skewer!

"What happens next?" Xia Mianwan asked hurriedly.

Pei Yanxu shook his head. "No, the clues end here. The man from the Salt Gang died in the previous war, and there is no other information."

"Niang Yan also sent me a message. There are many wives and concubines of merchants in the capital, as well as some officials' families, who have put money outside. Niang Yan also collected some IOUs with others, but not all of them were signed by Chen Er." Xia Mianwan said.

"Let me see the promissory note." Pei Yanxu stretched out his hand.

Xia Mianwan got up and took out a stack of IOUs from the drawer. "Mother Yan collected IOUs by paying for them. They are similar to sample households. These people have different identities, backgrounds, and borrowed money on different dates."

Pei Yanxu looked at it carefully, raised his head and asked, "Mianwan, what do you think these IOUs mean?"

Xia Mianwan said softly: "Husband, if we put these IOUs together and classify them, can we calculate an approximate time through these IOUs? If we can calculate the approximate time when the money of all borrowers is due, does it mean that we can use this loophole to cause a run in advance?

Husband, I have an idea!"

Pei Yanxu was a little puzzled when he heard this, and asked doubtfully: "Do you mean you want Chen Er to explode?"

Xia Mianwan nodded, "Such a large sum of money, but Minglu and the others can't take it away, the money must still be in the capital."

Pei Yanxu nodded, "I asked someone to keep an eye on them. They have started to make some moves, but they have not yet started to transport the silver out of the capital."

"So, we have to withdraw money little by little like a kitten fishing, and then cause a small-scale run on the bank, so that they dare not transport the silver first. As long as the silver is not used, it is just some inventory. I predict that they will be aware of it after a few runs. At that time, we will find a few big investors to throw smoke bombs for them. Pretend to deposit a large amount of silver in their hands, drag it out first, and then spread a lot of news in Beijing to cause retail investors to run on the bank again. At that time, it will be their turn to make a choice, whether to pay or run away. If they run away, the big business they thought they would do will not be done."

"If it's paid, we can start."

Pei Yanxu stroked his chin and thought carefully about the plan Xia Mianwan mentioned. After a moment, Pei Yanxu raised his head and looked at Xia Mianwan and said, "You make sense, Mianwan, this is the best way at the moment. They can't take the money, so we have more time to prepare. If they want to rebel, they can't do it without money. But... there is still a problem."

Xia Mianwan thought that her plan was perfect, and she had Manyue Tower as her backing, so she had no worries about failure.

"How can we make people willing to withdraw money in a small area? Human nature is greedy. If we ask them to spit out the fat meat in their mouths, I think they will not be willing to do so." Pei Yanxu was talking about a very realistic problem, which was the biggest obstacle to the implementation of this plan.

Xia Mianwan smiled, her eyes full of stars, "Husband, why are you so stupid now? Have you forgotten what I do?"

Pei Yanxu's eyes lit up and he raised his eyebrows slightly, "You mean Manyue Tower?"

Xia Mianwan nodded, "Of course it's Manyue Tower. I've already thought about how to do it specifically. Human nature is greedy, so we'll lure them in with benefits. I'll have Sister Sang spread the word in a small area, using Manyue Tower as an endorsement, and offer better conditions. Who in Beijing doesn't know that Manyue Tower makes money? If there's a better choice, no one would choose Chen Er, who doesn't know the details, right?"

What Xia Mianwan said made a lot of sense. He only used Manyue Tower's endorsement, and didn't need to put out real money. He would return the money to everyone after this matter was settled. Besides, he explained the reason, and he didn't think his reputation would be damaged.

Thinking of this, Pei Yanxu felt that this was the best way.

"But I always feel that something is wrong." Xia Mianwan hesitated for a long time, but decided to speak out his doubts.

"What's wrong?"

"We all know that we have to use Manyue Tower for endorsement, otherwise others won't believe it. Are others just greedy and don't need Chen Er's endorsement? I've been searching for a long time, but I still can't find out what endorsement it uses." Xia Mianwan was also a little puzzled, and Qin Qinqing had never mentioned it.

Pei Yanxu thought for a moment and said, "It is true that we cannot find anything, but there must be a loophole. Let's find more people to try."

Xia Mianwan nodded, "Many of my men have tried it, let's wait and see."