In the Gu family's house in Jiankang, Gu Changchun and other clan members were sitting in the hall.
"The three million taels of silver from Shiba Niang have arrived..." Gu Changchun said in a deep voice. Since returning from the capital, his spirits have improved. Although his eyes are still cloudy, he is already firm inside.
Everyone looked slightly happy and chatted in low voices.
“I don’t know when the remaining silver will arrive…”
"Yes, our bank is still being run on. Three million taels can't last a few days..."
"Let's all raise money again..." Huang Shiying said, "No matter what we do, we have to survive for five days... It's up to everyone whether we live or die this time..."
"Always prepare for the worst in everything, Patriarch, what should I do if Shiba Niang's money cannot be reached, or is not enough?" an older man asked with a worried look.
This is everyone's worry. Although the scene of four big boxes of money flashing in the hall is still deeply engraved in everyone's hearts, Gu Shiba Niang is a teenage girl after all. If something happens to her...
"Grandpa Clan..." There was a shout outside the door, and two people rushed in running and staggering, "Coming, coming..."
Gu Changchun stood up suddenly, with unconcealable nervousness in his voice.
"What's coming?" he asked.
"Silver...silver..." The visitor wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, "Miss Eighteen's silver has been delivered..."
This sentence made the depressed atmosphere in the hall suddenly boil.
"Let's go..." Gu Changchun took the lead and walked out quickly.
When everyone stood at the door, they saw two large carts pulling in silver boxes.
"This is two million taels..." Gu Changchun said tremblingly, waving his hand, "Okay, quick, divide it into each semicolon..."
"Grandpa Patriarch..." The visitor handed over another letter, "This is a letter from the young lady..."
Gu Changchun hurriedly reached out to take it and opened it eagerly, his expression changing involuntarily.
"This...this..." His voice hesitated.
"What's wrong?" Huang Shiying and others asked from behind, their faces suddenly looking worried.
"Look, what she said is too..." Gu Changchun handed the letter to them for circulation and sighed, "This is too risky..."
After reading the letter, everyone looked hesitant.
“All semicolons are not closed?”
"Send the interest to those large investors who haven't redeemed their money yet?"
"You also told those large investors who need to withdraw money that they can make arrangements in advance?"
"How is this possible?"
"We simply don't have enough...the less people mention us, the more opportunities we have..."
"This...we are worried that there are too many people to exchange silver, so why are we still rushing to ask for people to exchange it?"
"Absurd and ridiculous..."
"Her little kid doesn't understand how to give orders..."
"Clan leader, friendship belongs to friendship, but we can't let her do whatever she wants..."
Everyone talks to each other as one.
"Stop arguing." Gu Changchun raised his hand to stop everyone and said in a deep voice, "I promised the Eighteenth Mother at the beginning that this is her money, how to use it, how to do it, everything will be at her command..."
Because the Gu family's bank was on the verge of collapse, and the entire Gu family was on the verge of collapse at any time. If Gu Shiba Niang hadn't taken action this time, they would have started to be detained by the government to verify their property.
Even a dead horse must be treated as a living horse doctor, so he had to give it a try. After some calculations, survival became the highest pursuit, and everyone soon reached an unprecedented consensus.
"Chief, we listen to you." They said in unison.
"Then follow what the Eighteenth Mother said in the letter." Gu Changchun turned around and looked around at everyone, "Ten days, as long as we survive ten days, our Gu family will have a narrow escape..."
Soon, all the banks of the Gu family were filled with dazzling silver. The guys who had been slow to move no matter how much they scolded them seemed to be full of food all of a sudden. They quickly accepted the banknotes one by one with a full smile. Send out a lot of money.
At the same time, those large households who had deposited large sums of money at Gujia Bank received this year's interest in cash, and at the same time, they were presented with an advance payment slip stamped with the seal of Gujia Bank.
Several branches that had closed their doors and posted signs of closure have also opened their doors, and anyone who wants to withdraw money is welcome.
This sudden series of actions shook up the rumors that Gu's bank was out of money.
"This is called acting with a stone mortar on your head..."
In the private room of the best inn in Yangzhou, Xin Chaoyang and Gu Shiba Niang sat opposite each other.
"Of course this is not about saving face and suffering... one is to stabilize people's hearts, and the other is not to let outsiders see what one's background is..." he continued with a smile.
"Thank you." Gu Shiba Niang raised her eyes and looked at him, smiling slightly.
"You're welcome, it's not like I came up with the idea for nothing..." Xin Chaoyang said with a smile.
"Pay based on results, I remember." Gu Shiba Niang nodded and said.
Xin Chaoyang smiled, took a sip of tea by himself, looked at Gu Shiba Niang, whose eyes were still solemn, and suddenly asked: "Those words you said to your cousin, which one is true and which one is false?"
Gu Shiba Niang lowered her head to drink tea.
"What's important about whether it's true or false? What's important is the result..." She replied calmly.
Xin Chaoyang smiled and poured a cup of tea by himself without asking any more questions.
"The IOU for a loan of one million taels of silver has been drawn up. Is the young master even making a special trip to avoid me defaulting on the loan?" Gu Shiba Niang asked.
"I don't trust you when such a big thing happens." Xin Chaoyang replied.
Gu Shiba Niang raised her eyes and glanced at him.
Xin Chaoyang smiled, "I came to Yangzhou to open a semicolon..."
"Which sentence is true?" Gu Shiba Niang asked with a faint smile.
"What's important about whether it's true or not?" Xin Chaoyang laughed, "What's important is the result."
"The result is very good. Three doses of medicine before the New Year." Gu Shiba Niang raised three fingers and shook them at him. "This is a preferential treatment for borrowing money and eliminating the interest. Of course, the medicine fee should be calculated as it should be..."
"Thank you, thank you..." Xin Chaoyang smiled, "Of course, of course..."
Gu Shiba Niang stopped talking, and the room fell into silence.
"Baba Niang, what are you going to do next?" Xin Chaoyang asked without any intention of leaving.
"Wait, what else can we do..." Gu Shiba Niang replied, leaning on the back of the chair.
After coming by boat and carriage in the snow, and spending days entertaining major drug dealers in Yangzhou to build momentum, she could no longer hide her tiredness.
"Eighteen Mother..." Xin Chaoyang couldn't help but call softly.
"Young Master, please excuse me for not sending him far." Gu Shiba Niang said lightly.
"You're looking more and more like a great pharmacist... But that's not enough. Not to mention that if it were your master, Master Xiaoliu wouldn't be able to say this even if he were here..." Xin Chaoyang said with a smile.
"That's different..." Gu Shiba Niang breathed out softly and glanced at him, "I appreciate your love..."
Xin Chaoyang pursed his lips and smiled. He didn't say anything and had no intention of getting up. Instead, he looked at Gu Shiba Niang again, with a trace of pity flashing in his eyes.
"Eighteen Mother..." he called softly again.
Gu Shiba Niang hummed and looked at him, "Please tell me."
Xin Chaoyang looked at her, smiled, and shook his head, "It's okay."
Gu Shiba Niang glanced at him without showing any emotion or anger, then looked away.
"Eighteen Mother..." Xin Chaoyang spoke again.
Gu Shiba Niang sat upright and looked over, her eyebrows showing anger.
"Then I'll take my leave first." Xin Chaoyang said with a smile, stood up, and left without waiting for her to say anything.
Lingbao then came over from the side and handed her a hot towel.
Gu Shiba Niang took it and gently applied it on her face for a moment.
"Lingbao, let's go." She stood up and said.
"Where to go?" Lingbao asked hurriedly.
"We've done what we need to do here, now go back to Jiankang," Gu Shiba Niang said, taking a deep breath and smiling bitterly, "Besides, if we stay any longer, we won't have money to pay the bill..."
Lingbao lowered his head silently and answered yes.
There was a little excitement when Gu Shiba Niang entered Jiankang. Gu Changchun personally sent someone to pick her up. Naturally, the Jiankang drug dealers who got the news did not lag behind. There was also a group of people who followed Gu Ba Niang into the Gu family mansion. A closely guarded car, the carriage passed by, and a mark was pressed on the road, indicating that the contents of the car were very important.
This was the first time that Gu Shiba Niang came back since she left that time. The treatment was completely different from when she came from Xianren County. Everyone smiled respectfully wherever she went.
"Miss?" Lingbao noticed something strange in her expression and thought she was tired, so he asked in a low voice with concern.
Gu Shiba Niang raised her hand and gently wiped away a little water from the corner of her eyes. This is the heart of the world, the feelings of the world, whether you are obedient or resentful, struggling or humble, it is always here, watching coldly, life and death for generations. Death will never stop.
Watching the car loaded with silver drive into the backyard, Gu Changchun finally let out a breath and looked at the girl sitting quietly drinking tea.
"Eighteen Niang, the five million taels of silver are about to be used up. Look..." Someone couldn't help but ask first.
"How many more are on board?" Gu Shiba Niang asked with a smile.
"There are still 20,000 taels left in the total number..."
"I still have five thousand taels..."
"I only have ten thousand taels here, but someone has already advanced it..."
Everyone looked at Gu Shiba Niang eagerly.
"There's no rush," Gu Shiba Niang smiled and put down the tea cup.
"The Eighteenth Mother is tired, let's go and have a rest first." Huang Shiying said. Without waiting for anyone to say anything, he stood up and led the way. "You haven't lived in your house for a long time, and it's too late to clean up. Come to my place coldly."
"That's disturbing Third Grandma..." Gu Shiba Niang said with a smile, stood up, and was no longer polite. She walked to the door and looked at the hot, restless and anxious eyes in the room and stopped again, "By the way, in a few days, If you still have some money, you should go to the pier. Let's send someone to keep an eye on it."
This sentence suddenly made the room boil. Gu Shiba Niang smiled and followed Huang Shiying.
After leaving, he didn't go out to rest. He saw that his savings kept decreasing, and more and more people came to ask for money. Even Gu Changchun couldn't sit still. He came several times, but it wasn't the Eighteenth Mother who was there. After taking a shower, I fell asleep…
"She was injured..." Huang Shiying said tactfully.
With the strong return of Gu Shiba Niang, news about her has spread widely among the clan. The thrilling story of the Great Medicine Society is the most popular story.
Gu Changchun sighed, "This time...it was her who worked hard..." He shook his head gently again, "I didn't expect...I didn't expect...it was her who worked hard this time..."
Huang Shiying nodded silently.
"However, the deadline for the government to withdraw money is coming soon. This is a big sum..." Gu Changchun said in a deep voice after dispelling the complicated emotions in his heart and facing the major events today.
"Okay, I'll talk to her when she wakes up." Huang Shiying nodded.
Gu Changchun stopped staying and stood up to say goodbye. As soon as he walked out of Huang Shiying's house, several elders from the clan ran towards him.
Gu Changchun coughed heavily, and the old men blushed slightly and stopped their feet.
"Clan leader, someone from the government is here..." they whispered with a bit of panic.
Gu Changchun's feet couldn't help but feel weak, coming...
"What are you afraid of? It's not like you don't have money..." He took a deep breath, glared at a few people, straightened his clothes, "Let's go..."
Entering the hall, they saw only one man standing tall, wearing casual clothes instead of official uniforms. When they saw Gu Changchun coming in, they saluted each other with a smile.
"Mr. Lu, I'm so lazy. I'm going to pack up the money and give it to you..." Without further ado, Gu Changchun said proactively.
Mr. Lu smiled and waved his hand, "No hurry, no rush..."
Gu Changchun only thought his words were polite.
"The prefect said that when spring comes, we can just pay it together with the spring seed money issued by the imperial court..." Mr. Lu continued.
Gu Changchun was stunned immediately, thinking that he heard wrongly, and couldn't help but ask again.
"That's right..." Mr. Lu said with a meaningful smile, "Don't worry, please rest assured, Mr. Lu."
Gu Changchun finally understood and couldn't help but tremble all over. This was because the government deliberately let them go and did not participate in the run, leaving them a few months. Don't underestimate these few months, that is The difference between life and death.
"Thank you, sir...Thank you, sir..." Gu Changchun was a little bit embarrassed and couldn't help but hold Master Lu's hand and said tremblingly.
"Others don't care what the old man says, but when little Gu speaks, can we still believe him?" Mr. Lu patted Gu Changchun's hand meaningfully and whispered.
At this time, Mr. Gu's words are useless, so Mr. Gu...
"It's... it's Yu'er..." Gu Changchun couldn't help but ask.
"Yu'er?" Mr. Lu was startled, then shook his head and smiled, "It's Mr. Gu Hai and Gu Hanzhi..."
"Brother Hai?" Gu Changchun was stunned, a little surprised and a little unexplainable.
"We, the prefect, once had a teacher-student relationship with Grand Scholar Li..." Mr. Lu said in a low voice, sighing with deep meaning, "... Your Excellency has always felt guilty..."
Bachelor Li was the examiner who Gu Hai risked his life to support without offending Zhu Chunming and the emperor, and almost died for it.
Gu Changchun was a little absent-minded. He thanked Mr. Lu again and personally saw him off, and sat down alone in the hall. He sat there until the night enveloped the entire hall without moving at all.
Gu Yu from Yangzhou got the news soon. In fact, he knew all the news about Gu Shiba Niang and the Gu family.
He was still sitting in the large and comfortable Taishi chair in the study, but his expression was not as relaxed as before. He frowned slightly and tapped his fingers on the table. When the night came, he suddenly sat upright.
"It's a beautiful idea. I don't think you will take advantage of it all." He whispered, then raised his voice and said, "Come here."
A guard immediately came in silently from outside the door and bowed his head in response.
"Go, give the order, the boat can launch into the river." Gu Yu said slowly.
"Yes." The guard didn't ask any more questions and immediately turned around and left.
Three days later, all the money in Gu's bank account was used up. Although there were fewer people running on the bank, there were still people coming to exchange money. Everyone who had never seen Gu Shiba Niang was really anxious.
"No matter, let's go to the warehouse to get the money first. Miss Eighteen is here for us anyway..." someone said, stamping his feet.
Before he finished speaking, he heard a burst of shouting outside the door.
"Master Yu has found the cargo ship. Master Yu, the delivery ship has arrived at the dock. There are goods and money. Go and pick it up."
The crowd roared, no longer caring about looking for money from Gu Shiba Niang, and swarmed towards the dock.
"It's done..." After receiving the news, Gu Shiba Niang sat down on the chair, her eyes that were red from the sleep finally closed.