NCCnovel Chapter 255 Guangzhou's ATMs
Chapter 255 Guangzhou's ATMs
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Liu Ye chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you betray Miss Liu Ru. You're overthinking it. Ancient brothels also served as social venues for the upper class, and they weren't just places for prostitution, just like the high-end clubs in our time. Just like we discuss business over drinks, many things in ancient times were also settled over drinks, except that they often chose brothels."
Liang Xiaoming said "Oh," his expression a mix of disappointment and delight, "Then when are we leaving? I'll go back and tell the craftsmen that even if I'm not home, the cannon-casting process can't be delayed."
"Not so fast. I still need to go to Guangzhou to withdraw some capital from the money exchange and take it to Jiangnan."
The next day, Liu Ye arrived in Guangzhou aboard the "Far Voyage" under the escort of the guards, and went straight to the Gao residence.
Upon arriving at the main gate, Liu Ye noticed that the character "Gao" on the plaque had been replaced with "Duan," and couldn't help but exclaim "Huh!" Duan Mengrou really had high aspirations; she was unwilling to depend on a man and wanted to be a strong woman and establish her own household. After all, this was a feudal society where men were superior to women. Once the Duan family's sign was hung up, apart from marrying into the family, probably no one in the entire Guangzhou would be willing to marry this female manager.
The servants at the door recognized him and quickly and respectfully ushered him inside. After settling down in the flower hall, Liu Ye, holding a cup of fine Fujian Tieguanyin tea, asked, "Is Duan Mengrou not in the mansion?"
A servant hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Master, Miss Duan stays at the money exchange during the day and will only return when the lanterns are lit. Please wait a moment, Master, I will go and fetch her back right away."
Liu Ye nodded inwardly. He had come to Guangzhou suddenly without prior notice, and Duan Mengrou couldn't have prepared anything in advance to put on a show. It seemed she usually worked at the money exchange. Regardless of her abilities, at least her attitude was proper and professional.
"Okay, go quickly, I have something important to discuss with her."
The money exchange wasn't far from the Duan residence. Half an hour later, Duan Mengrou hurriedly returned and performed a deep curtsy.
"Why didn't you inform me in advance that you were coming to Guangzhou? I could have made some preparations to welcome you and give you a proper welcome."
Liu Ye waved his hand, "Forget it, the master isn't one to care about these formalities. He values your work performance. There's no need for such empty gestures. Tell me, how's the money exchange been doing these past few months since it opened?"
Duan Mengrou replied, "Even if you don't come, I plan to go to Lingao to report by the end of this month. The detailed accounts are still at the bank and I didn't bring them with me, so I'll just give you a rough overview first, how about that?"
"Okay, tell me about it," Liu Ye said with a smile.
Duan Mengrou began to report on the bank's performance as if reciting a familiar story: "In the first half of the three months since the bank opened, thanks to Shi Yue's matchmaking and the governor's words, some of the city's top wealthy people gave face to the governor's office and deposited a lot of silver. This also encouraged other people who were watching to join in, so the income was quite substantial. A total of 286,400 taels were deposited, but most of them were current accounts, and those wealthy people only deposited for a symbolic month."