The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 200 The Crown Prince's Prestige is Too High, It's Time to Suppress It
The continuous autumn rain extinguished the sweltering heat of the capital.

However, compared to the receding heat, the burning desire in the heart of Chen Wuliu, a clerk in Daxing County, could not be extinguished.

In just half a month, he earned a full fifty taels of silver!

You have to understand that even though he was a squad leader in Shuntian Prefecture and could occasionally do some underhanded things, the income from that was far too little.

After all, there are just too many giant Buddha statues in the capital.

A slight misstep could lead to utter ruin.

Not to mention, many things were already resolved before he even had a chance to get involved.

Now, this matter requires neither his intervention nor carries any risk, and he can still earn a considerable amount.

Just thinking about it makes me ecstatic!
At first, he wasn't very motivated to attract deposits to Yuqing Bank, but once he learned that Yuqing Bank's deposits offered interest and that the interest was guaranteed, he became interested.

He didn't have much money, just over twenty taels of silver.

His biggest worry was that someone would sneak into his house and steal his money.

If it gets stolen, all his hard work over the years will be for nothing.

But he couldn't bear to deposit it in a money shop.

Because depositing silver in a money exchange requires paying a fee.

He didn't have much money, just over twenty taels of silver, and he couldn't bear to spend it if he had to pay extra every month.

Now, Yuqing Bank not only has the backing of Yuqing Palace, but also pays interest on deposits, which surprised and delighted him.

However, an even bigger surprise was yet to come.

When he tentatively recommended this type of deposit to the people around him, he discovered that some people actually did deposit it.

Moreover, he actually does receive a commission.

This immediately boosted his enthusiasm.

In just half a month, he had earned fifty taels of silver.

Of course, he also attracted 5,000 taels of silver in deposits to Yuqing Bank, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Those people he persuaded to deposit their money not only had their silver in a safe place, but they could also earn interest.

They should be grateful to themselves.

If it weren't for them, they wouldn't have been able to deposit the silver at all.

Yuqing Bank has stated that it does not accept deposits from ordinary people; only money introduced by their sales representatives can be deposited.

This must be a perk that the county magistrate requested for the crown prince.

Otherwise, why would the Crown Prince give such a good thing to us?

"Old Chen, let's go for a drink!" Just as Chen Wuliu was thinking about who to ask for deposits, someone suddenly grabbed his arm.

He looked up and saw a familiar face: Li Tiechi, the headman from Wanping County next door.

Li Tiechi had studied martial arts and was usually very arrogant. Chen Wuliu felt that this fellow practitioner was haughty and didn't think much of him.

Although Chen Wuliu was unhappy, there was nothing he could do.

After all, they weren't from the same government department, and their positions were similar.

Now that Li Tiechi was dragging him to drink, Chen Wuliu began to have some doubts.

On a normal day, you'd be lucky to miss out on this kind of meal.

But right now, he was focused on making money and had no interest in arguing with Li Tiechi, so he said in a deep voice, "Boss Li, I have something to do later."

"Just tell me what's on your mind."

“We’re all honest guys, there’s no need to beat around the bush or hide anything.” Li Tiechi chuckled and said, “Old Chen, it’s lunchtime now, let’s eat something first.”

"Don't worry, I promise I won't interfere with your important business."

As he spoke, he pulled Chen Wuliu toward the tavern.

Li Tiechi's hand was like a pair of pliers; Chen Wuliu couldn't break free no matter how hard he tried. Helpless, he had no choice but to follow Li Tiechi into the tavern.

Both men were dressed like gang leaders, so how could the restaurant owner dare to neglect them? In the blink of an eye, he diligently served them two cold dishes and a pot of wine.

Looking at the fragrant roast chicken, Chen Wuliu's mouth watered.

Li Tiechi had already filled his glass to the brim and said, "Chen, let's have a drink, brothers."

Although Chen Wuliu didn't know what Li Tiechi was planning, the atmosphere had already been built up, so he had no choice but to raise his glass.

After the two of them downed a drink, Li Tiechi said, "Hey Chen, you're really not being fair! When there's a lucrative business opportunity, why do you only think of Lao Xu and not me?"

Upon hearing Li Tiechi's explanation, Chen Wuliu immediately understood.

He tore off a chicken leg in one go, and said while eating, "I just thought you, Boss Li, were busy!"

"It's just busywork, what's there to be busy about?"

At this point, he turned to Chen Wuliu and said, "Old Chen, you know me. I don't dare to do big business, and I have a lot of children at home."

“Your eldest nephew is approaching marriageable age, which requires money. As his uncle, you should help him out.”

"As long as you let me help you find people to deposit money, I dare not say more, but I can bring you six thousand taels of silver in half a month."

"what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Wuliu's eyes lit up with excitement.

If they could recruit Li Tiechi into their group, he would receive a substantial commission, at least fifteen taels of silver. Li Tiechi, on the other hand, would earn over forty taels – a win-win situation!

"Old Li, now that things have come to this point, as your uncle, I can't just stand by and watch my nephew go unmarried, can I?"

Chen Wuliu raised his glass, grinning from ear to ear, "Come on, bottoms up!"

After a few rounds of drinks, the two changed the subject and started chatting about trivial matters.

Li Tiechi sighed with envy, "Old Chen, you have no idea how envious our brothers are!"

"Not only do you have His Highness the Crown Prince personally overseeing the government, but you can also participate in the newly opened bank's deposit-taking program. Most importantly, you get interest on your deposits! This is the first time I've ever heard of such a novel thing!"

"With the Crown Prince and the Ministry of Revenue vouching for it, this matter is naturally true."

Chen Wuliu spat out a chicken bone and lowered his voice mysteriously, "But don't be jealous. Who told our county magistrate to be surnamed Nian? He's Nian Meiren's cousin, and His Highness the Crown Prince, out of love for his wife, will naturally take special care of him!"

As he spoke, he suddenly became serious and said, "If you ask me, you'd better hurry up if you want to attract deposits! I heard that of the three million taels, you've already reached more than two million. If you wait any longer, you might not even be able to find a way to do it, even if you have the money in your hands!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tiechi stood up abruptly, not even bothering to drink his wine: "Old Chen, you eat first, I need to hurry and check on those two families I've already contacted!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already walked out quickly, and before leaving, he didn't forget to slap a piece of silver on the table.

Watching Li Tiechi's hurried departure, Chen Wuliu quickened his pace in eating. In this lucrative business, first come, first served; every penny counts!

Meanwhile, in the study of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Qianxi was intently reviewing the account books of the Yuqing Bank.

It clearly stated: Fixed deposit of 2.15 million taels, term of one year.

This means that the crown prince can access this huge sum of money at any time.

Just as he was deep in thought, another report was presented—a report on the harvest of the sweet potatoes that the Crown Prince had tried planting.

Looking at the two documents, Emperor Qianxi frowned slightly, thinking to himself: The Crown Prince's prestige is too high; perhaps it's time to appropriately curb it.
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(End of this chapter)