The White-haired Queen

A man in his fifties, dressed elegantly, stood up, bowed, and said, "I am Zhao Wei, the head of Wenxuan Pavilion. Since the death of the previous emperor, there has been no progress in the classics, history, and literature of my pavilion. No one has copied them, no one has repaired them, and no one has compiled them. Alas! Without salary or income, they all go to the wealthy families to write for others, to private schools, or to the streets to write letters for others. This is the sorrow of scholars!"

After saying this, he burst into tears and cried.

Helpless, Wen Lanyue could only comfort him: "Master Zhao, I know your difficulties. I promise to give you priority."

Zhao Wei wiped his tears and snot and said, "I understand the princess..." He immediately corrected himself and said, "Oh, the host's difficulties, but we are really at the end of our rope."

Wen Lanyue nodded and said, "I completely understand. Once I understand everything, I will give you a plan. Pavilion Master Zhao, please take a seat first."

After Zhao Wei sat down, a man in his fifties stood up and said, "I am Ma Chao, the leader of Wenhui Pavilion. Our pavilion is losing talent. My former colleagues are scattered in various friendly countries. Some of them have gone into hiding and become citizens of friendly countries. But recently, it seems that the news has become more frequent..." Ma Chao began to be a little evasive.

Wen Lanyue nodded, as if she had understood the situation, and decided to talk about it later.

At this time, a man in his forties stood up and introduced himself, "I am Su Qing from Wenxin Pavilion. My pavilion is responsible for collecting intelligence. We have Xichun Tower, Shihua Garden, Xiaoyao Gate, Tea House and other places. Each place has also achieved profitability and can be arranged by the owner at any time."

When Wen Lanyue heard this, her eyes immediately lit up and she asked hurriedly, "Do you have the account book?"

Zhao Wei clapped his hands. At this time, the young man dressed as a scholar came over with a box in his arms and introduced himself, "I am the deputy owner of Tingfeng Tower, Lin Yuanzhi, the shopkeeper of Liuwen Pavilion. The account books of Pavilion Master Su are all here."

Wen Lanyue couldn't help but say happily, "Very good." She picked up a book and flipped through it. Her eyes were almost smiling into slits. It was really like a sleepy person finding a pillow - what she wanted.

Wen Lanyue continued, "When will everyone give me the budget of how much silver your cabinet needs, and I will arrange it for you later."

As soon as the voice fell, everyone took out their budget lists. Wen Lanyue couldn't help but exclaimed in his heart: "Good guys, it seems that everyone came prepared."

When I took it and looked at it, I was dumbfounded. The amount of money they wanted was not small. There was no problem in dividing the money, but after dividing it, I would soon face the problem of having no money.

He began to mutter in his heart: "I am a PhD in finance, am I just a passing god of wealth? Do I have to give all the money to everyone after it passes through my hands? No, no, I can't do that. I have to make money make money, otherwise it will always be Wenxin Pavilion saving other pavilions, and Wenxin Pavilion helping other pavilions. This cycle will be endless."

Thinking of this, Wen Lanyue said, "I see that everyone's budget list should be at least for half a year or a year."

The master said, "Yue'er, the budget of Tingfeng Tower is a three-year budget. The carriages are slow, and it would be time-consuming and labor-intensive to transport a year's budget, so the previous emperors have always used a three-year budget."

When Wen Lanyue heard the three-year budget, it was even worse. Not only could the money not be circulated, but it was also labor-intensive, time-consuming and difficult to keep.

So, Wen Lanyue said, "In that case, let's arrange a budget for everyone for one year this time. For the rest, I will stamp the private seal of Tingfeng Tower and give everyone the contract."

As soon as he finished speaking, the pavilion masters began to talk at once.

"You are still too young and inexperienced to change the routine at will."

"Can a contract be used as money?"

"If you use the contract deed to get or send silver, the cost of one time becomes three times. Isn't that even more uneconomical?"

"You are still too young and you don't think things through."

……

Seeing that everyone's voices had quieted down, Wen Lanyue said slowly: "If you have any opinions, just tell me directly, but please listen to me first." After saying that, she motioned for everyone to be quiet with both hands.

Then he said, "I plan to use this money to open my first bank." Then he raised his voice and said, "I promise that within a year, we will have banks in every major city."

"What is a bank?"

“What is a big city?”

When Wen Lanyue heard this, she felt that she had laughed a little. She was influenced by the TV dramas of the 21st century. The words she spoke were neither Chinese nor Western, neither modern nor ancient. So she changed her words and said, "As the name suggests, a bank is a place to store money. A big city is a provincial capital. When the time comes, you can take your contract and go to your provincial capital to withdraw the money."

"What if the contract is lost or stolen? Our budget will be gone?"

"Aren't you afraid that someone will forge our contract and claim it?"

"Can we open money houses in every provincial capital within a year?"

"Why do people want to deposit money in our bank?"

"Why should a bank gain your trust?"

……

Wen Lanyue smiled and said, "It takes time to do these things. I will open a bank and guarantee that I can exchange your contracts and deeds. At the same time, I will pay you some coupon interest. For example, everyone knows that one tael of silver is equal to one thousand coins, one hanging coin or one string of coins. If you deposit one tael of silver in the bank, you can get 1,100 coins after one year, which is one tael of silver plus one hundred coins. Are you willing to deposit it?"

Lin Yuanzhi smiled and said, "I'll take the lead."

Wen Lanyue gave him a grateful look.

Mo Jiang, the head of the Cultural and Creative Pavilion, said, "It's a good deal, but what if we need to use it early during the trip? How can we solve the problem?"

Ma Chao, the head of Wenhui Pavilion, asked: "Will the contract be forged? How can we prevent it?"

Wen Lanyue smiled and said, "You will lose the face value interest, but not the principal. The face value interest will be calculated after one month's deposit. For example, the face value interest for one month is one tael of silver and 10 coins... As for anti-counterfeiting, this is a good question. There are many anti-counterfeiting measures, such as paper, ink, and seals... There are always more solutions than problems, and we will solve them step by step."

Zhao Wei, the head of Wenxuan Pavilion, said, "Master, can I receive a quarter's budget and then receive the rest when I need it?"

Wen Lanyue smiled and said, "Sure. If anyone is far from the capital, I still suggest that you get at least a budget of half a year or a year. This way, it won't delay you from carrying out your own business. As I said, it takes time to get things done. But as long as you bring the contract to Liuwen Pavilion, Deputy Building Master Lin guarantees that you will be paid at any time."

……

Finally, the pavilion masters all decided to accept a budget for half a year.

After the budget was finalized, Wen Lanyue took out the blueprint of the wall clock that he had spent the whole night drawing, handed it to Mo Jiang of the Creative Pavilion, and said, "Master Mo, look at this wall clock, can your Creative Pavilion make it?"