But he could not guarantee that his successors would be able to do the same.
Thus, Yang Zhenshan currently does not have a precise plan for the future development of Chongshan Town Bank.
"Therefore," Zhang Qingsong was somewhat nervous, the uncertainty ahead meant that the Chongshan Town Bank would eventually open branches in Liaodong.
Well, he misunderstood Yang Zhenshan’s uncertainty.
Yang Zhenshan picked up his tea, took a light sip, and said: "Rest assured, even if Chongshan Bank wants to expand into Liaodong, this Marquis will make use of your Zhang family’s Datong Bank. By then, we will certainly not let your Zhang family suffer too much loss. This is my promise!"
Datong Bank is the largest bank in Liaodong, and with such an advantage, there is no need for Yang Zhenshan to oust Datong Bank completely; he can fully utilize Datong Bank’s advantages to develop Chongshan Bank, and could even potentially absorb Datong Bank.
Hearing this from Yang Zhenshan, Zhang Qingsong’s anxiety slightly eased. Although Yang Zhenshan did not say that Chongshan Bank would not expand into Liaodong, his promise not to let the Zhang family suffer big losses significantly comforted him.
Yang Zhenshan’s credibility is very high, especially in the eyes of the merchants in Tenglong Guard; his reputation was absolutely top-notch.
Zhang Qingsong believed in Yang Zhenshan’s promise.
Later, the two discussed the interbank transaction between Datong Bank and Chongshan Bank, and eventually, Yang Zhenshan called Li Hai to discuss the details with Zhang Qingsong.
Actually, the transaction between Chongshan Bank and Datong Bank also had a benefit: Chongshan Bank could leverage Datong Bank’s experience and staff.
The Zhang family from Liao’an has a 300-year legacy, and Datong Bank has been in operation for 300 years; it can be said that Datong Bank is the most professional bank in Liaodong, and working with them could fill many gaps for Chongshan Bank.
With the support of Datong Bank, Chongshan Bank could also get on the right track faster and more comprehensively, aligning perfectly with Yang Zhenshan’s plans.
On the 20th of the first month, suitable for: wedding, traveling, head shaving ceremony, trading, market opening, moving, construction, earthworks. Avoid: lighting lamps, fasting ritual, burial.
Inside Chongshan Pass, the Chongshan Bank reopened on this auspicious day.
The first opening of Chongshan Bank was only for issuing bonds, and after the bond issuance ended, the bank was essentially in idle state, with only two workers present for customers looking to verify the authenticity of bonds or to carry out fair bond transactions.
In essence, the previous Chongshan Bank was basically like being non-existent.
Now, Chongshan Bank was opening again, and it also started new services.
Amidst noisy gongs and drums, a sign was hung outside the bank’s door stating grand opening offers, exchanging Silver for silver notes cost-free, no management fees for deposits at the bank, and interest was also provided.
In addition, eight workers were outside shouting to attract customers.
For a moment, many people were drawn to the bank.
Many were discussing the contents written on the sign.
One middle-aged man in a blue shirt couldn’t help asking: "Is it true that your bank does not charge any fees for storing Silver?"
"Of course, not only do we not charge fees, but we also offer interest, three percent annually!" the worker hastily replied upon hearing the question.
"Really or not? You aren’t fraudsters, are you!" the middle-aged man was a bit skeptical.
He had never heard of any bank giving interest on stored Silver.
Even though three percent annually was low, it still shattered his previous understanding.
"A fraudster, haha, this gentleman must be jesting. Our Chongshan Bank is a bank operated by the General Mansion of Chongshan Town, supported by Marquis Jing’an, Marquis Yang himself!"
"Our bank’s vault is the General Mansion’s vault, our bank’s guards are all soldiers from the Camp!"
The worker, pointing to the patrolling soldiers nearby, boasted proudly.
The surrounding onlookers also chimed in: "Yes, yes, I remember last year many people came here to exchange bonds, those sold by the General Mansion!"
"Yes, they say those bonds have now increased by fifty taels of Silver!"
"Isn’t it? Last year, it only took one hundred taels to get a bond, now it’s at least one hundred and fifty."
"Alas, what a pity, I was so blind at the time, I didn’t even realize that these bonds could appreciate in value!"
Many people discussed the bonds issued last year, back then Yang Zhenshan was worried that the bonds wouldn’t sell, but later it was discovered that everyone welcomed these types of bonds.
What Yang Zhenshan did not expect was that the bonds now possess the properties of currency, and many merchants use them as Silver, just like silver notes.
This made the bonds even more popular, and several merchants even specialized in buying them, causing the price of the bonds to rise repeatedly, now reaching a hundred and fifty taels of Silver per bond.
The middle-aged man heard everyone around discussing the bonds and couldn’t help but ask his assistant, "Do you still have those kinds of bonds?"
The assistant laughed heartily: "They’ve been out of stock for a while, now if you want to buy bonds you can only find the merchants in the city!"
"So it is!" The middle-aged man looked around the bank, and then asked: "Do you have many branches?"
The assistant smiled, "Rest assured, sir, our Chongshan Bank will cover all the provincial and county cities in Chongshan Town within a month, and assistant generals and garrisons in all cities will escort our Chongshan Bank."
"In Liaodong, our Chongshan Bank has also reached a mutual offsetting cooperation with Datong Bank, as long as it’s our Chongshan Bank’s silver notes, they can be exchanged for Silver Coin at Datong Bank!"
The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up at the news, "Does that mean I can also use Datong Bank’s silver notes here to get Silver Coin?"
"Of course!" The assistant affirmed.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, the middle-aged man stepped past the assistant into the shop and then took out a stack of silver notes to hand over to the shopkeeper.
"I want to exchange for Silver!"
The shopkeeper was initially stunned, then took over the silver notes and began to examine them.
Alright, all silver notes from Datong Bank, totaling three thousand taels.
"Just a moment, sir!" the shopkeeper said, then called over an old master to check the authenticity of the silver notes.
This old master was from Datong Bank, specifically responsible for verifying the authenticity of Datong silver notes while also imparting some knowledge and experience about silver note authentication to the assistants of Chongshan Bank.
"These are all from the Jizhou branch’s silver notes, absolutely genuine!" the old master soon finished the examination and informed the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper slightly nodded, then turned to the middle-aged man, "Sir, the total is three thousand taels of silver notes, the examination was correct, right?"
"Correct!" The middle-aged man nodded.
The shopkeeper smiled, "Please wait a moment, sir, we need to arrange for someone to retrieve the Silver from the treasury, it might take around half an hour; you can rest in the VIP room in the meantime!"
"If sir wishes, you can also accompany our staff to retrieve the Silver, our treasury is inside the General Mansion!"
"Can I really come along?" The middle-aged man hesitated.
"Of course!" The shopkeeper replied.
"Then I will take a look myself!" The middle-aged man felt it was better to follow along.
The shopkeeper did not say much more, immediately found an assistant, and instructed him to go to the treasury to get Silver.
Once the assistant left the bank, he immediately summoned six soldiers to accompany them to the General Mansion.
The bank was located in South City, and the General Mansion in North City; although the distance wasn’t far, for such a significant amount of Silver, escort from the bank’s guard was necessary.
There were no surprises in retrieving the Silver from the General Mansion; although the bank’s treasury was located in the General Mansion, it was separate from the General Mansion’s treasury, with personnel specifically responsible, and was a separate building with just one door connecting it to the General Mansion.
The reason the treasury was at the General Mansion was merely to leverage the defensive strength of the General Mansion, not that the bank’s Silver belonged to the General Mansion.
The middle-aged man soon received the Silver, as all procedures were handled by the bank’s assistants and the treasury’s civil servants, he didn’t need to do anything himself.
Approximately half an hour later, the middle-aged man returned to the bank and received his own Silver.
Afterwards, he thanked the shopkeeper of the bank and left, but by the afternoon, he returned the Silver.
Not because there was a problem with the Silver, but he needed to exchange the Silver for silver notes, the silver notes of Chongshan Bank.