"Crack and snap~" As Li Xiu personally threw some bamboo tubes stuffed with saltpeter into the fire, a sound of firecrackers immediately broke out. This is the real firecracker. It is usually only set off during the Chinese New Year. However, today the bank opened, Li Xiu deliberately made these firecrackers in order to be more lively.

It was already midday, and it was the most lively time in the West City. The traffic of people in the Fangmen was also huge. After hearing the sound of firecrackers in front of the bank gate, it attracted many people's attention. Then someone carried several large signs and stood in front of the bank gate. The signs were all about the bank opening some business, and there were special officials who loudly interpreted the above content to the people around them.

Li Xiu had already released the bank's affairs before, so many people already knew what banks used for, especially in the business circle, which caused a lot of discussion, because banks have two businesses that are very suitable for them, one is that banks can borrow from private individuals, and the other is that banks can deposit money.

When doing business, there are times when there is a temporary inversion, which is also the most troublesome thing for merchants. In order to deal with this situation, merchants generally make friends in the mall. When there is a problem, they can also find someone to lend some money. This also leads to merchants from all over the country generally joining groups based on regional backgrounds. For example, merchants who are also local in Chang'an will form a trading company, and when they encounter problems, they can borrow money from the trading company to turn over.

However, borrowing money is not a glorious thing after all, and borrowing money from others is kindness and righteousness to lend it to you, and it is their duty to not lend it to others. Of course, when you can't borrow money, you will lose your face, and secondly, you will not be able to solve the problem. Many merchants suffer great losses because they are unable to turn around for a while. Many people even risk borrowing the temple's immortality warehouse. However, they later suffered huge amounts of interest and their families were eventually destroyed.

Changshengku's main business is lending, and it is a usury that is profitable. Later generations described usury as "seven out of thirteen returns", and if you borrow seven out of thirteen returns, you will get a net profit of six points. From this, we can see that the explosive profit of usury is more barbaric than the usury in later generations. Because this industry has no regulations at all, the court does not pay attention to this, so Changshengku's lending can reach seven out of thirty returns, or even reach the point of seven out of thirty returns, and one cent of the capital is exchanged for a lot of profit, which is enough to make anyone crazy.

Banks also operate loans, but Li Xiu naturally could not be as crazy as Changshengku. In fact, he also learned about the operation of banks in later generations. According to the types of lending, time limits and other reasons, different interest rates were given. Of course, this interest rate was higher than that of banks in later generations, but it was much more conscientious than Changshengku, which was also the most attractive thing for merchants.

In addition to lending, bank deposit business is also very attractive to merchants. This is a feature of the Tang Dynasty. When merchants do business, they must need a large amount of copper coins. These copper coins naturally need to be stored in a place. Local merchants are easy to deal with, and just build warehouses at home. However, merchants from other places come to Chang'an to do business. It is inconvenient to carry so many copper coins, and it is not safe to do so. In Chang'an, merchants who live in restaurants are often stolen.

However, now that we have a bank, we can solve the big problem of foreign merchants. When we come to the bank, we can deposit the money directly. When we need it, we don’t even need to withdraw it. We just need to take the customers to transfer money. It can be said that this not only ensures the safety of their property, but also ensures their personal safety. After all, wealth is touching and a lot of money is carried by our side. They not only need to guard against thieves, but also guard against someone who seeks money to kill them. This also makes many people even have to open their eyes when they sleep.

Of course, now the bank has only opened one, and it is impossible to carry out foreign exchange business in other places, otherwise it will be more attractive to merchants, so they don’t have to risk taking a lot of money on the road. Even if they spend money to hire an escort agency, they may not be able to ensure the safety of their property.

"Mr. Prince Concubine, the situation is wrong. People outside have been around the door for a long time, but no one has come in. Could it be that no one has come to the door today, right?" At noon, the weather became a little stuffy. Xu Jingzong asked with sweat on his forehead. The bank was placing many ice basins, which made the temperature inside the bank not high. However, the bank had been open for a long time, but no one came in, which made Xu Jingzong a little anxious.

"Don't worry, ordinary people always need some time to accept strange things, so it's normal that no one comes in today!" Li Xiu said calmly at this time. Banks are a new thing after all, even if they are very attractive to businessmen, but as the saying goes, the first person to eat crabs is a hero. Now the bank is the delicious crab, but that hero has not appeared yet.

While talking, I suddenly heard a noise outside. Then a team of guards from the palace carried the boxes through the crowd and came to the bank's door. Then an old eunuch also came in and went into the bank to handle the deposit of money. This also caused people around to talk about it. After all, these people were obviously from the palace, and the seals from the palace were also posted on the boxes they carried.

After a while, the eunuch who had entered came out with the guards, but the box they brought was gone, and the people didn't say anything, and soon separated the crowd and left.

However, just as the people in the palace left, they saw some people carrying boxes to the bank. Judging from the clothes of these people, they should be slaves in other people's homes, and the boxes they carried were heavier than the other. Experienced people could tell at a glance that the boxes must contain copper coins.

In the bank, seeing Luo Yi coming in to save money outside, Xu Jingzong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but then he asked Li Xiu in confusion: "Mr. Concubine, why didn't you let the Eunuch Huang spread it in front of the door just now and tell the people outside that they even deposited the money in the palace to us, so that they will definitely win the trust of many people?"

"Haha, it is difficult to cultivate this thing overnight. And if Eunuch Huang openly claims that the money in the treasury is deposited into the bank, it will be a bit too deliberate. The first batch of customers of our bank are those merchants, and the merchants are the most suspicious, so it is better to be low-key. Anyway, these news will definitely be found out by those who are interested." Li Xiu said with a smile at this time.

As more and more people deposit money, banks become busy. These people deposit money are all officials and nobles in the court. They must have received a notice from Li Shimin yesterday, so they deposited the money from their families in the bank. Of course, it doesn’t matter how much they deposit, the key is to show their attitude.

Li Xiu's family also sent people to come, and Xu Jingzong's family, and he actually asked his wife to bring people to save money in person. A woman appeared in the bank, which naturally caused a lot of sensation. At the same time, some people inquired about it, and the bankers did not deliberately conceal it, so soon it became known that the entire Tang Dynasty court, from the emperor to the officials, all came to the bank to deposit money.

As soon as this news came out, it immediately caused a huge sensation among the crowd. Li Shimin's blessing, although his methods of ascending the throne were not glorious, but thanks to the unfavorable foreign wars over the years, the promotion of high-yield crops has made the people live a prosperous life. Therefore, Li Shimin's appeal among the people is also very strong. Now even he deposits the money from the treasury into the bank, which naturally makes many people trust the banks more.

When it was almost noon, the first customer who was not an official finally came into the bank. Li Xiu and Xu Jingzong stood upstairs and could easily observe the activities in the hall. When this person came in, they immediately attracted their attention, because most of the people who had saved money were slaves from various families, but the only person who came in was dressed in a merchant dress. In addition to him, there were two people dressed up by him, each carrying a box more than one foot long in his hand.

I saw that the businessman was about thirty or forty years old, but his hair and beard were a little gray, his face was very haggard, and his eyes were a little red, and he looked like he hadn't slept for several days.

"Very good, this person should be the first real customer of our bank!" When Li Xiu saw this person, he couldn't help but nod and smiled. It can be seen from this person's face that this person must be in trouble, and it is related to money.

I saw the middle-aged businessman hesitating for a moment after entering the bank, as if he was afraid to go to the counter. However, at this time, a minor official immediately came forward to ask. Then the other party seemed to say a few words, and was immediately taken to the counter. He then communicated with the minor official on the counter for a while. Then the counter invited Mr. Zhangyan. Then the middle-aged businessman opened the box brought by the friend behind him and asked Mr. Zhangyan to identify the things in the box.

After a while, Mr. Zhangyan seemed to have identified the things inside, and then negotiated with the other party for a while. Finally, the two parties seemed to reach an agreement. Then the other party handled some procedures at the counter. Finally, the counter raised a heavy box from the inside, filled with strings of copper coins.

The middle-aged businessman took away the copper coins in person, and then asked the two friends to carry the boxes away. It seemed that he should have used the things he brought to the bank in exchange for the bank's loan. After all, the loan also requires collateral. This mortgage can be precious gold, silver and jewelry, or real estate such as houses, shops, etc.

Li Xiu was not interested in the things mortgaged by middle-aged merchants. What he was interested in was that when middle-aged merchants walked out of the bank with a box of copper coins, it immediately caused a lot of sensation, especially some people asked middle-aged people about the bank. After all, those who just entered were slaves from powerful families, and they didn't dare to ask more questions.
Chapter completed!