Twenty thousand taels of silver. This amount stunned Li Wanming for a long time. She even lost her appetite at lunch.
What? Was opening a pawnshop so money - consuming?
Her previous largest investment was the main store of the Li Family Wine Shop on Changming Street, which cost no more than five thousand taels in total.
Now, someone was asking for twenty thousand taels right away...
Li Wanming felt that she was still inexperienced.
After Xiao Jingnan said that, he remained calm. He ate his lunch leisurely.
He even had the mood to comment on Sister - in - law Liu's cooking skills, saying that her skills had improved a lot recently and that she could even make tofu taste like meat...
Li Wanming tapped on his bowl. "Aren't you worried about so much silver?"
"I'm not worried. I've seen how you've come this far, wife." Xiao Jingnan put down his chopsticks and pointed at the sky. "You're blessed with good fortune. You have the protection of the gods."
The weather was fine, so they were having lunch in the yard.
In the past few months, Xiao Jingnan's complexion had improved a lot. His skin was as fair as mutton - fat jade.
The bright mid - day sun shone behind him, creating a colorful halo.
With his snow - white skin, black hair, red lips, and white teeth, in his extreme beauty there was also a hint of calm certainty and compassion, as if he were really a god descending to the mortal world.
Li Wanming was dazed by the sight. Her face blushed slightly, and she lowered her head to eat. "What gods? I think your old habit of talking nonsense is starting again..."
"Brother - in - law, Sister - in - law, there are a lot of people outside. They said they're looking for you!" Wu Yao suddenly rushed in in a hurry.
Li Wanming was stunned. "Looking for us? Why would they look for us?"
Now the business of the Li Family Wine Shop and the academy was on the right track, and the negotiations for the three shops in the bet were still in progress. The contracts hadn't even been signed yet. Why were there so many people looking for them?
Wu Yao said anxiously, "I don't know. They just said they're the bosses of various commercial firms and banks in the capital! Uncle Zhong is dealing with them in the Qinghui Hall and told me to come and call you right away!"
Xiao Jingnan's eyebrows twitched slightly.
A moment later, he stretched and slowly stood up. He reached out his hand to Li Wanming. "Let's go, wife. Your god of wealth has arrived."
"God of wealth?"
Li Wanming didn't understand.
Xiao Jingnan smiled. "Wife, don't you want to know what it means to borrow money by your own ability? You're about to find out."
...
Regarding the shops and the funds, Li Wanming's prediction of the direction was correct, but she underestimated herself.
The three businesses she took on in the bet with the Imperial College: the sealed - up pawnshop, the inn where someone had died, and the cramped paper - making shop... were indeed the last things the bank bosses wanted to touch.
However, in any business, the most important thing was the person doing the business.
Li Wanming had opened an unknown wine shop on Changming Street within a year. Later, she established a women's academy, which even attracted the daughters of the grand tutor and the prime minister to enroll, and invited the number one scholar to be in charge...
All these proved her strength.
It also proved her background.
Although taking on these three unlucky shops was part of a bet with the Imperial College... being able to compete with the director of the Imperial College just showed that she was no ordinary person.
Moreover, Li Wanming herself came from a well - off family.
She was the daughter of the General of Xuanwei, the adopted sister of the General of Yunhui, and through her husband's family, she had connections with the Princess Chengping and the Cheng family of Langya...
As they walked towards the Qinghui Hall, Xiao Jingnan explained and analyzed things to Li Wanming along the way, finally making her fully aware of her own strength.
However, when they reached the door of the Qinghui Hall, Li Wanming was still shocked by the bustling noise inside.
The huge Qinghui Hall was full of people.
They were all the bosses of major shops, and even included the managers of the two largest banks in the capital.
In other words, all the most prominent figures in the business community of the capital were here.
Li Wanming turned to ask him, "Am I really that amazing?"
Xiao Jingnan was also a bit stunned. He touched his nose and calmly said, "Maybe... I am that amazing?"
Then, while Li Wanming was walking in, he quickly whispered to Lu Ping, "What's going on? I only told you to tell Auntie to use my father's name to say hello to the banks so that Wanming wouldn't be looked down upon when borrowing money. Why are there so many people?"
Lu Ping was also very surprised. "I don't know! I conveyed your words to the princess. She only said that she knew and told you not to worry. She didn't say it would be like this..."
Xiao Jingnan thought for a moment and sighed. "Auntie probably wanted to help Wanming gain support and make a splash. Well, Auntie meant well. Let's just play it by ear."
As soon as Li Wanming stepped into the Qinghui Hall, the enthusiastic managers came up to greet her.
"Why didn't you come to us when you encountered difficulties, Mrs. Cheng?"
The manager who spoke was surnamed Lin. He was a kind - looking middle - aged man.
He was the manager of the largest bank in the capital. He had a red face and was a bit plump, looking like a person who lived a comfortable life.
Another bank manager standing beside him, Manager Wu, also said, "We're all in the same business circle in the capital. We're like half - colleagues. Now that you need funds for turnover, just ask us."
Manager Wu was a bit older, thinner, with gray hair and a well - groomed beard. He looked like a well - maintained immortal.
The managers of other shops also chimed in, "Yes, in business, it's normal to borrow money for capital turnover. It's no big deal. We should help each other."
Li Wanming was a bit flattered. "Mine is just a small business..."
"Mrs. Cheng, you're being too polite." Manager Lin interrupted her. "We're all doing business in the capital. When someone encounters difficulties, we should always give a hand. Otherwise, what are we banks for?"
"Yes," Manager Wu also said. "Moreover, Mrs. Cheng is going to open a pawnshop. This is not a small business. If it's done well, it might be a very profitable business in the future."
They were clearly used to working together, cooperating with each other seamlessly.
Li Wanming looked at the people in the room, thought for a moment, and simply said, "Since you all said so, I won't hide it from you."
"I made a bet with the Imperial College and need to take over three shops: the Changxing Inn, the Wanfu Pawnshop, and the South City Paper - making Shop. Each of these three shops has its own problems."
"Someone died in the Changxing Inn, and it's said to be haunted. The Wanfu Pawnshop was involved in a lawsuit and was sealed up by the government. As for the South City Paper - making Shop... well, let's not talk about it."
"These three are the unluckiest of the unlucky shops. I'm afraid there are no shops with worse business in the whole capital. I'm not confident about taking over these shops."
"Moreover, I'm running an academy now, and I don't have much money on hand. If I borrow money from you, I'm afraid I can't offer a very high interest rate."
Manager Lin quickly said, "Mrs. Cheng, what are you saying? If we didn't know your current situation, we wouldn't have dared to come today. Your bet is for three months, so the borrowing period probably won't exceed three months. The interest for short - term loans is usually not high."
"Yes. According to the usual practice, the interest for a three - month loan is three percent. Mrs. Cheng is straightforward. Since this is our first cooperation, we want to make friends with you."
Manager Wu paused and glanced at Manager Lin. "Manager Lin and I have discussed it. We'll only charge you one percent interest for this loan. How about it?"
One percent interest...
Li Wanming was stunned.
Although she had never borrowed money, she knew the rules of money circulation in the capital.
The normal interest rate for bank loans ranged from three to six percent. If it was a usury loan on the black market, it could even reach twelve percent.
One percent interest... This was an extremely low rate in the lending system of the capital.
Li Wanming asked several times to make sure she heard correctly and that they didn't say it wrong.
Both Manager Lin and Manager Wu said that they believed in her business ability and wanted to make friends, so they offered her such a favorable condition.
The managers of other commercial firms kept chiming in, persuading Li Wanming to accept the offer. Some even said, "If the money from these two banks is not enough, we can also lend you ours..."
Li Wanming was startled and quickly said, "That's enough! That's enough!"
Come on.
If the money from the two largest banks in the capital wasn't enough for her, what kind of huge business was she going to do, like mining mountains or smuggling military weapons?