Chapter 2744: The Capital (Part 100)

"He's that bold?" Wu Kaidi said, shock evident in his voice. "Manager Qiao belongs to the Pingyao Qiao family! Even if he's only from a branch line, the Qiaos won't let this pass."

"Which is precisely why the forces behind the kidnapping likely aren't Shanxi House. First, the Xia family had no reason to play the villain. Second, Manager Shen simply doesn't possess that kind of courage."

"So it must be the hidden forces behind everything, just as you said."

"Correct. Most likely Manager Shen received some promise or benefit from them." Leng Ningyun tapped his temple. "The situation is extraordinarily complicated. Let the Foreign Intelligence people puzzle over it. We should focus on the reopening."

The hundred thousand taels Eunuch Yang had originally deposited were now prepared. By custom, when major depositors made large withdrawals, they needed only to notify the bank, which would then deliver the silver directly to their residence—no special representatives required. Yet Eunuch Yang had specifically sent Baoyu.

"The silver is all ready." Leng Ningyun offered a pleasant smile. "I'm relieved to have finally proven worthy of Eunuch Yang's trust."

"Indeed, indeed." Baoyu's tone dripped with flattery. "I told Eunuch Yang: Grand Manager Leng is completely reliable, handles everything properly. Truthfully, there was no need to withdraw this silver at all. But Eunuch Yang finds himself with an urgent need. No choice, no choice."

"Shall I have it loaded onto mule carts and transported to the residence immediately, or...?"

"No rush. Eunuch Yang has instructed that we first take a look and verify everything. Just going through the process, you understand. Ha ha, ha ha." Baoyu gave a few dry laughs.

"Very well. That's only proper."

Leng Ningyun led him to the rear courtyard without delay. A hundred silver sheaths lay arranged in neat rows. During the Ming-Qing era, large quantities of silver weren't transported in boxes but rather in logs sawn in half and hollowed out through the center. Fifty-tael ingots would be placed end to end and fitted inside. Each sheath typically held ten ingots—one thousand taels. Once filled, the halves were joined together and banded with iron hoops. No matter how roughly handled—bumped or dropped—they would never come apart.

The sheaths all lay open, and the courtyard glowed with silver light. When Baoyu walked in, his legs went weak beneath him.

"Please inspect, Third Brother Bao."

Baoyu had never seen so much silver heaped together in one place. He felt his very soul swaying. He barely steadied himself before beginning his inspection.

Leng Ningyun watched with cool detachment. Normally, verification was merely a formality. Large transfers from banks never involved fraud—to do so would destroy the institution's reputation beyond repair. That Baoyu was being so thorough clearly indicated specific instructions from Eunuch Yang.

Has our bank's credibility fallen this low? This Eunuch Yang will need to be dealt with carefully later.

Still, the "father-son discord" offered an opening—an opportunity to bring down Little Eunuch Yang when the time was right.

After Baoyu finished his inspection, Assistant Manager Wei immediately ordered the sheaths sealed with iron hoops and stamped with official seals. Baoyu returned the deposit slip. Leng Ningyun had it canceled and discreetly slipped a red envelope into his hand.

"Thank you for your trouble, Third Brother Bao."

"Not at all, not at all." Baoyu actually appeared embarrassed. "I'm not being nosy. When you take someone's rice, you do their bidding. Please don't take it to heart, Manager Leng."

"Even blood brothers keep clear accounts. This is nothing." Leng Ningyun spoke with great sincerity. "I hope Third Brother Bao will look out for me in the future."

This wasn't mere courtesy. For such an important matter, Eunuch Yang hadn't dispatched one of his personal junior eunuchs but rather Baoyu, a mere servant—indicating the man's rising status in Eunuch Yang's household. He would prove useful many times over in days to come.

"I wouldn't dare presume. Wherever Manager Leng needs me, I'll do my utmost." With that, he took his leave. Assistant Manager Wei directed the clerks to load the silver onto carts, one after another, to be escorted by Heliansheng to whatever location Eunuch Yang designated.

"These father and son eunuchs are truly unrighteous. They collected several thousand in commission on a hundred thousand taels, then less than two months later, they want it all back—and still charge interest!" Assistant Manager Wei grumbled. "They might as well rob us outright!"

Leng Ningyun smiled. "These power-drunk eunuchs simply rob money in different ways. We'll tolerate them for now. Before long, he'll be coming to deposit again."

On the eighth day of the first month, 1637, Delong Bank in the capital finally reopened amid great public attention. Leng Ningyun had ordered extra ten-thousand-character firecrackers. Several hundred strings of them dyed the entire street red.

The deliberately festive atmosphere couldn't mask the underlying tension of Delong's opening. Shuntian Prefecture, along with Wanping and Daxing counties, had dispatched large squads of runners early to maintain order. Magistrate Liu of Shuntian even came in person, setting up his desk on the steps of a shop across the street.

"Post the proclamation!"

The large official proclamation was posted, immediately drawing a crowd of onlookers.

A considerable throng had been waiting at Delong's door since early that morning, having heard the news of the reopening. They packed the street in front so densely that if the runners hadn't constantly shouted to clear a path, the entire thoroughfare would have been completely blocked.

Inside Delong, though the clerks had been briefed and knew the greatest threat had been eliminated, seeing the sea of heads outside, the less experienced among them still drew sharp breaths.

"Assistant Manager Xiao! This—the Master said there'd be no problem, right?"

"What are you worried about? The Master handled those Shanxi fellows. Outside are just small depositors with at most fifty taels in notes. What's there to fear?"

Even so, Assistant Manager Xiao himself wasn't confident. True, he and Assistant Manager Wei had collected nearly a hundred thousand taels of Delong notes from the seven Shanxi Houses on the list without any obstacle. Adding what Manager Leng had raised, handling the counter should pose no difficulty. But the sight of a hundred thousand taels of gleaming white silver carted away yesterday still pained him.

If only they could have delayed that withdrawal a few more days.

Though his heart churned with anxiety, he had to feign calm. Manager Leng might well be watching him from somewhere! So he shouted orders loudly at every station, nitpicking everything, insisting that not a single speck of dust remain on the counter.

Seeing the shop ready inside and the runners positioned outside, he bellowed: "Open!"

At his command, two apprentices opened the side door and began removing the door panels.

The crowd outside immediately surged forward, swarming toward the entrance. Among them were women and elderly folk. The Shuntian and county runners immediately cracked their long whips in the air, forcing the crowd back.

In the pushing and shoving, people were knocked down, crying out as others trampled over them.

Magistrate Liu, seated on the steps, quickly dispatched his men to direct the runners in separating the crowd, leaving only a single passage—entering on one side, exiting on the other. They also held back the later arrivals, admitting them in order. Only then was some semblance of order maintained.

"Pass the word," he ordered. "Anyone leading trouble or inciting the crowd is to be arrested on the spot and put in the cangue for public display!"

Under this forceful suppression, order at the entrance was finally established. But the depositors still jostled frantically, pressed chest to back, nearly crushed together. Many women—whose husbands were working elsewhere and couldn't return in time to redeem their deposits—disregarded propriety and squeezed into the queue. Some took advantage of the chaos to harass them. Others had their shoes trampled off or their hairpins scattered; still others fainted from the crushing pressure. The queue became a cacophony of crying, cursing, the runners' shouts, the whoosh of swinging whips, and cries of pain from those struck.

From the lattice window on Delong's second floor, Leng Ningyun sighed in silence. He was no longer worried about the run, but the chaos unfolding below truly pained him.

Nine out of ten in line for redemption were the capital's small property-owning citizens—people with a few taels to deposit for interest, hoping to supplement their household expenses. This money, to great households, amounted to merely an ink stick, a jar of "Nanyang fresh fruit," a piece of jewelry... But to these people, it represented blood and sweat saved over many years.

If the bank truly collapsed, who knew how many of them would drown themselves or hang from rafters!

He summoned Assistant Manager Wei and had him take some apprentices outside to set up a temporary shelter with a stove and hot sugar water, giving the elderly, the weak, and those who had fainted a place to rest.

"Tell Assistant Manager Xiao: all clerks on duty, all windows open. Get through these two days, and then we'll treat everyone to a proper feast."

Having made these arrangements, there was actually nothing more to do. Leng Ningyun hadn't slept properly in days, yet he felt no fatigue. He simply sat on the second floor and watched.

Fortunately, with redemptions proceeding at full speed, the crowd gradually thinned. By noon, no more people were arriving. The amount of silver and notes redeemed remained within estimates.

Assistant Manager Xiao didn't dare relax. He kept all the windows open, having the kitchen prepare more buns and meat pies to send to the counter so the clerks could eat while working.

The anticipated large redemptions never materialized. The largest note was only five hundred-odd taels; most were five or ten tael small deposits and notes. Not until the afternoon did someone come to redeem large notes all at once—and even then, it amounted to only five thousand-odd taels.

As silver was paid out, the queue shortened. By closing time, the redemption crowd had dispersed completely. Everyone's suspended hearts finally settled back into their chests. Assistant Manager Wei came out to thank the runners for their hard work, pressing a red envelope into each of their hands.

During the evening accounts, the total redeemed for the day came to only thirty-nine thousand-odd taels. Checking the deposit records, apart from deposits from "related enterprises" like the Shanhai Five Routes, ninety percent of fixed deposits had been redeemed. Over sixty percent of outstanding notes had returned. The remaining silver was more than sufficient.

From Leng Ningyun down to the lowliest apprentices, no one had felt like eating throughout the day. They'd subsisted on mantou and flatbread with strong tea while tallying accounts. When the books finally balanced, a wave of relief swept through. The whole place filled with joy. Leng Ningyun immediately ordered the kitchen to prepare a lavish late-night meal.

"No drinking allowed, but otherwise enjoy yourselves. Just don't stay up too late—we can't miss tomorrow's business."

"Don't worry, sir! We won't miss a thing!" Assistant Manager Wei was elated. Never mind anything else—his one hundred and eighty taels annual salary, plus year-end bonus, was now completely secure.

Leng Ningyun returned to the inner residence, quickly washed up, and went to bed. The moment his head touched the pillow, he was snoring.

(End of Chapter)