Eldest Young Master Ximen hastily walked out of the curses he had written and panting with rage, he quickly walked along the street. After walking for a while, he suddenly felt that the scenery in front of him was familiar. He suddenly realized that he had actually run back home. Just now at Ye Family's shop, he was angry and vexed, but now that he thought about it carefully, he realized that in the end, he was still afraid of that Zhou Qingfeng, and did not dare to go to the yamen alone to complain.
The Ximen clan had lived in Fushun for one or two hundred years and could be considered as the local tyrant. Their family had been bailiffs for generations, so they knew very well that it was common for there to be no way to lodge a complaint against the government. Young Master Ximen recalled Zhou Qingfeng's fearlessness, and he subconsciously felt that he definitely wouldn't be able to bring down Zhou Qingfeng by himself.
"That little thief Zhou still wants me to report him. He must have bribed that person in the Fushun Qianhu Institute. If I really impetuously report him, I will definitely fall into his evil scheme. "Eldest Young Master Ximen was thinking of an idea, and suddenly, he saw several strangers walking out from the entrance of his house. His mother, who usually never showed her face in public, actually took the initiative to send him to the door and even cried.
"Mother, what's wrong with you?" Ximen Ai hurriedly stepped forward. His mother immediately cried out, "Son, your grandfather passed away a few days ago and your father also fell ill with typhoid. Currently, there was no medicine available in the city. Only the medical center in the western part of the city was efficacious. But when I sent the butler to ask, the people in the medical center said, 'The beds with fifty taels of silver have been sold out, and now there are only beds with five hundred taels of silver'. "
When Eldest Young Master Ximen heard that his father had fallen ill, he wanted to squeeze out a few drops of tears, but when he heard that he had to pay 500 taels of silver to be sent for treatment, he stomped his feet and cursed loudly: "Now that there is a major epidemic in the city, doctors should use their benevolent heart to save the common people from the water and fire. It's fine if you don't waive the consultation fee, but how can you take advantage of this opportunity to extort money? This traitor surnamed Zhou is so hateful. His medical center is clearly taking advantage of the opportunity to exploit the entire city. "
Ximen Ai's mother continued to cry, "When your father fell ill, your uncles no longer showed their faces. I sent someone to borrow money from them, but they wouldn't even let me in. I was worried that your father wouldn't be able to hold on for more than a few days, so I wanted to sell some of the family's property. The people who just arrived were Wong Yuanwai's men from the city. It's just that they've lowered the price too much. "
Zhou Qingfeng's feast wasn't just for him. Wang Kai and Wong Yuanwai were quick to act. Zhou Qingfeng needed a large amount of cash for turnover purchases, while Wong Yuanwai took the opportunity to buy various industries at low prices. It was just that Wong Yuanwai's subordinates had lowered the price too much. It was not even half of the usual price.
In order to accumulate his first pot of gold, Zhou Qingfeng could be said to have created many tragedies. Ever since he came back from the Female Zhenren's territory, he had a deep hatred for living under someone else's roof. In order to make himself stronger quickly, he became unscrupulous, even to the point of implicating the innocent.
As for the local evil gentry like the Ximen family, they had long been on the blacklist of Xu Bing's investigation of the whole city. After the reputation of the medical center in the west of the city became famous, in order to increase the profit margin, Xu Bing herself ordered to increase the exploitation of these local evil forces — Want to exchange 50 taels of silver for a life, dream on! Give me 500 taels.
Now hearing that his mother wanted to sell the family property to save his father, Ximen Ai suddenly hesitated for a long time — His father was of course important, but if the family property was gone, what was the use of his father's life?
"Mother, don't be in a hurry to sell the family property. I still have a way. Maybe I can let the people of the medical center in the city come to cure my father without spending a penny." Ximen Ai first stabilized his mother, turned around and ran out. His mother asked him 'Who are you going to see', and he shouted 'I'm going to see Ma Chaitou' without looking back.
The Ximen family was the bailiff of Fushun, and above them was Ma Chaitou who was in charge of the area in the south of the city. This was similar to Han Gui who was in charge of more than a dozen streets in the west of the city. Ximen Ai was originally worried that he would be rejected again, but he didn't expect that Ma Chaitou's house was crowded, and there were many people who came to visit in the living room.
Ma Chaitou was in his forties and was a strong man. His cultivation was at the second layer of muscles and bones, and with the support of the prestige of the official, his strength could double. His living room was full of people who came to complain, and without Ximen Ai asking, he knew that these people's situation was similar to his own, they were all harmed by the forces in the west of the city.
Some of their family members died, some of their property was seized, and some of their business was affected. In particular, the latter was the most hateful — Zhou Qingfeng had money in his hands and began to recruit all kinds of talents. Not long ago, he gathered a group of accountants and had a large number of cheap people at his disposal, so he actually began to lend money at usury.
Usury was a black-hearted business that killed people without paying for their lives.
But how could Uncle Zhou's usury be called usury? It was called a small loan for residents, it was quick to lend money, and the collection was also very humane. It didn't matter if they couldn't pay back the money, Uncle Zhou provided all kinds of discount services, including human trafficking.
Eldest Young Master Ximen didn't even have time to complain about his family's misfortune, when another brother beside him knelt in front of Ma Chaitou, crying and shouting: "A new silver shop has opened in the west of the city, and at first we only thought that they were doing a business of eliminating gold and converting silver into gold. Later, they continued to increase their business, doing things like pawning and mortgage. A few days ago, they finally began to lend money. "
Ancient currency issuance was a joke, it lacked an efficient currency issuance and recycling organization. Because the value of gold and silver coins was too high, and copper coins were too heavy to carry, both were inconvenient to use, so in daily life, a large number of very fine precious metal particles would be produced. 'Eliminating gold and converting silver' was a process of re-casting large pieces of metal currency.
If Eldest Young Master Ximen didn't listen, he wouldn't have known that thief Zhou in the west of the city had unexpectedly stretched his hand into such a profiteering business.
The crying man continued to shout: "The interest rate of the silver shop 'Lending at any time' is much lower than ours, and they give out a lot of money. They sent people everywhere to spread the news, making the whole city know about it. In just one day, there are actually people who are willing to borrow money from them to pay off our debts. We can't even make money. "
When it came to usury, there was no good fruit to eat. In ancient times, there was no financial supervision, and all kinds of interest compounding methods made the borrowers absolutely unable to get away. Often, they would borrow one tael of silver, and after a month, they would have to exchange it for two taels of silver.
Right now, Zhou Qingfeng was engaged in 'one tael of silver for a mouthful of medicine', which created a great demand for money. Why did he let those usury make money, he might as well do it himself.
Under the threat of typhoid fever, the number of people who went to the medicine shop in the west of the city to ask for medicine was innumerable. But there weren't many people who had the ability to pay. Most people couldn't afford this amount of money, and many lending shops in the city were very happy when they heard the news. They had long sharpened their knives and were ready to slaughter the fat sheep — who knew that Uncle Zhou would make a 'fish eat two fish', selling medicine at a high price and lending at a low interest rate.
Blocking someone's path to wealth was like killing their parents. The reason why the loan sharks had such a big reaction was because the interest rate of the small loans Uncle Zhou had opened was too low. With Xu Bing, the criminal police officer, around, Uncle Zhou was forced to lock the annual interest rate at a maximum of 100%, and the monthly interest rate was less than 10%. This interest rate was really too good at this time. Other loans were really rolling like donkeys, and the interest rate was several times higher.
"That damned 'Lending at any time', not only do they lend at a low interest rate, they also collect extra money from the market at a monthly interest rate of 3%. Many greedy small families actually believe in their bewitching soup, and one after another, they take out their own money and deposit it. " The lending man continued to cry and complain. At this moment, he even hated the low interest rate more than he did just now.
'Low interest rate loans, high interest rate to attract savings', Uncle Zhou was self-taught in this matter. Since the loans had been made, there was no reason not to absorb savings.
But when Eldest Young Master Ximen heard this, he was shocked and asked, "Saving money with interest? How can this' Lending at any time 'make the common people send their money to it? Aren't those stupid people afraid of losing all their money? "
In ancient times, usury was common, but savings were not common. There was no other reason, because it was difficult for merchants to guarantee their credibility. Those who could do this business were big businessmen with deep wealth like Wang Kai. But even so, there was often no interest in saving money, and they had to pay.
The crying lending man also scolded, "Those small families have no knowledge, and when they heard that there was interest in saving money, they were fascinated. Many people heard the news and went to the west of the city to inquire, and many people came back to talk about the good things in the west of the city.
It was said in the market that the owner of 'Lending at any time' was a good person, and he had cleaned up the west of the city. He also said that 'Lending at any time' had a good capital and a big foundation, and a medical center made a lot of money every day, so it was absolutely not short of money.
There was also something about relatives having a discount, and they could get more interest. Deposit within five days of opening, and the monthly interest would be doubled. Anyway, there were all kinds of tricks, and those greedy fools were fascinated, and they rushed to send money. "
Eldest Young Master Ximen was even more stunned, but his heart was beating fast. He asked in a low voice, "How much money did the 'Lending at any time' in the west of the city make?"
"It was just opened yesterday, and I heard that on the first day, it absorbed five to six hundred silver taels. Today, I sent someone to take a look, and the entrance of the shop was crowded with people, and all of them were anxious to deposit money. It is estimated that one to two thousand silver taels can be deposited today. "The lending man said.
Ah …, in just one or two days, so much silver was absorbed from the hands of the common people in the city, what would happen in the future? Wouldn't they make a lot of money?
Eldest Young Master Ximen asked again, "This' Lending at any time 'is so bold, who is behind it?"
Everyone in the living room pricked up their ears, and even Ma Chaitou, who was sitting on the seat of honor, had a look of attention on his face. It was impossible to do such a big business without a bit of background.
The lending man sighed and said, "I heard that there is Wang Kai and Wong Yuanwai behind the scenes, and the owner of this' Lending at any time 'seems to have climbed up to Lord Li and Zhao Zhongjun in the city. It is also said that their background is not limited to this, and there is also Liaodong Ye family involved. "
Once this was said, everyone in the living room sighed. Most of them came here because they were oppressed by the forces of the west of the city, and specially came to find Ma Chaitou to discuss. Who knew that they would hear such news, and they were really depressed.
Eldest Young Master Ximen was even more dazed, and just remembered the encounter in the Ye family shop in the morning. That evil thief Zhou was really not afraid of him suing, and now it seemed that even if he sued, he wouldn't be able to. The group of people in the living room made requests to Ma Chaitou, and quickly find out the background of the forces of the west of the city. If they really had the support of Fushun Li Yongfang, then they really couldn't do anything.
The complexion of Ma Chaitou was also ashen, and after comforting them with a few words, he served tea and sent them off. And after waiting for Eldest Young Master Ximen and others to leave, he once again entered a closed door attic in his backyard, and said through the window: "Brother Gui Ci, I am afraid the matter is as you think, it is really not good. The power of Zhou Qingfeng in the west of the city is getting bigger and bigger, and that fellow Wang Kai is really unreliable. Wanting to get rid of him is getting more and more difficult. "
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