It's possible to practice magic this way, right?

"I have a way to collect the scattered gold coins in the hands of minor nobles and commoners."

Dongfang Xiu and Hillcart asked at the same time: "What method?"

“Open a bank.”

"Open a bank?"

Lin Li replied: “That’s right.”

Dongfang Xiu asked: "What is a bank?"

Lin Li had noticed before that there were no banks or similar institutions in this world.

This is probably related to the world's form. This is a world where all power belongs to itself, so the gap between the rich and the poor is huge. Most of the coins are concentrated in the hands of a very small number of people.

Ordinary people may not be able to save much money in a year.

The rich and powerful all have space equipment, which makes it very convenient to use gold coins, which are quite bulky. The powerful people think that it is safest to keep money on their bodies.

So the world is still using gold coins, and there are no banks.

Of course, this is just Lin Li's guess, the specific reason may not be that simple. Anyway, there are indeed no banks now.

Lin Li thought for a moment before saying, "You all know those people who lend money and borrow money in the casino."

"I know, but what does this have to do with the bank you mentioned?"

Lin Li said: "This bank is similar to those loan sharks, except that it's completely the opposite."

"A moneylender lends money to others and then collects the principal and interest."

"Banks let others lend us money. After a certain period of time, they will collect the principal and interest from us."

Dongfang Xiu frowned and thought after listening to it. After a while, he said, "Let the people lend us money? This business is not easy to do. If it goes wrong, we will lose a lot of money."

"Losing money? There's no such thing. Banks are not like those loan sharks who charge sky-high interest rates."

"And they don't lend us money, they deposit it with us. It's like saving money."

"Saving money is different from borrowing money. The interest on saving money won't be very high. Just giving them a few percent back a year is enough."

"The key is that we must ensure that all citizens only deposit money into the bank and do not withdraw all the money they have deposited."

"Deposit money but not withdraw? How do they live? And how can we make them willing to lend us money?"

Lin Li smiled and said, "It's not that we won't take it, but we won't take it all. Just let them have enough money for a short period of time."

"As for how to lend us money, it's also very simple. You can just ask the Empire to come up with a new policy and issue a new currency. Use the previous metal currency to exchange it. And open up the deposit function. Anyone who deposits money in the bank can receive different interest rates based on time."

"This period can be years, months, or even days. It can also be divided into fixed and demand deposits. The interest rate given is different for different periods of time."

“Why change the currency?”

"It's just convenient for cash collection. In fact, whether it's gold coins, silver coins or copper coins, they are not very convenient to carry. They take up space and are extremely heavy."

Hillcart's eyes lit up and he said, "I understand. You want people to put all their extra money in this bank and only keep enough for a short period of time."

Dongfang Xiu also said: "In other words, we only need to pay some interest to allow others to deposit their excess money with us. Although this money belongs to others, it is in our hands and we can use it at will."

Lin Li said: "Yes, that's it."

Dongfang Xiu added, "And our bank can also lend money. Nowadays, those loan sharks are all thugs and gangsters who will use any vicious means to collect debts. With the support of the empire, we can come up with formal loan terms."

Hillcart said: "But it also depends on the other party's ability to repay. For high-value loans, it is best to have items as collateral."

Look, this is all applicable to other situations.

Lin Li continued, "As for the new currency, I suggest using lightweight paper instead, but it must be marked with magic anti-counterfeiting marks. Don't let others forge it."

Dongfang Xiu frowned again and said, "Paper? Isn't it too easy to damage? And we have to do magic anti-counterfeiting. We have to use magic paper, which is not cheap."

Lin Li also knew that using magic to prevent counterfeiting was indeed very expensive, but the harm of counterfeit money was too great and must be eliminated.

"It's not necessary to use magic paper, as long as we can prevent counterfeit money."

Hillcart said: "We can only issue small-denomination banknotes, and large-denomination banknotes can be issued with special magic certificates. This certificate is magically anti-counterfeit. In this way, even if there are counterfeit banknotes, the losses can be kept to a minimum."

Look, the checks are out. As expected of a big businessman, he has a smart mind.

Lin Li said: "If we want to open this bank, we have to open it in all the cities of the empire at the same time, and it is best not to open just one bank."

"As for the Yunyi Empire, we can open an Imperial Central Bank in the name of the Empire, and then your three major families can open one each. Your interest rates can be different, giving the public a sense that you are competing with each other. This will motivate them to save money."

Dongfang Xiu smiled and said, "Bank, what a good idea, what a good idea. If this bank can be successfully opened, it can indeed make a lot of money without causing any loss to the people."

Hillcart also said: "In order to mobilize the enthusiasm of the people, we can give a higher interest rate at the beginning. As long as not everyone comes to the bank to exchange gold coins at the same time, we can make ends meet with our current funds."

Lin Li said: "Yes, that's right, but the preliminary preparations are very troublesome and take a lot of time."

"But those big chambers of commerce and noble families may not obediently exchange their gold coins for the new currency. Moreover, they may imitate us and open banks."

Dongfang Xiu sneered and said, "Imitation? Haha, as long as they dare to open it, I can make them bankrupt. In the end, strength is still the key to success in this world."

Is he planning to rob a bank? But if he really robs a bank, no one can stop him.

In fact, Lin Li was wrong. Dongfangxiu didn't need to rob. With their business strength, it was not difficult to create a chamber of commerce or a noble family. All they had to do was make them lose money and then spread the news that they had no money.

In this way, people who deposit money with them will panic and go to them together to exchange gold coins or ask for their principal.

This can be absolutely fatal when the business is losing money.

At this time, Hillcart suddenly said, "So we received the money, but others didn't lose money, right?"