Chapter 389:1 Have to Work Hard Too
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When Zhao Huai wanted to cultivate pearls, it immediately attracted everyone’s discussion. “You’ve never cultivated them before. What if you can’t cultivate them well?”
“That’s right. If they die, you will still have to mortgage the house!”
Zhao Huai had dozens of taels of silver on hand. Even if the Imperial Court did not lend him money, he could completely take the risk. Moreover, he could also raise fish while raising pearl clams.
He could not guarantee that he could raise the sea clams well, but it was easy to raise fish!
Following Bai Wutong had broadened his horizons. There was nothing bad about what Bai Wutong suggested.
Besides, just the word “pearl” made him feel that he could definitely earn money.
Zhao Huai smiled and said, “Since the Great Empress said that we can cultivate, it will definitely succeed. If you don’t want to live such a good life, 1 still want to live it!”
“The opportunity is right in front of us. If we miss it now, it will be too late for regrets in the future!”
When Zhao Huai said this, the people who were originally hesitant became even more uncertain.
His wife was pregnant again, and Lin Lei was still in primary school. In the future, he would still have to attend secondary school, university, and with a new house, he also had to buy all kinds of furniture.
Lin Hu’s work at the quarry was strenuous, but he did not earn as much as the other technicians.
Lin Hu also wanted to create a good environmental condition for his wife and son. Just as he was about to learn some skills and change jobs, he encountered Song Benhua promoting pearl farming.
If he wanted to become a pearl farmer, he had to invest at least ten taels of silver. Every year, he had to pay interest and sea contract fees. When he earned the profits from the pearl harvest, he still had to pay taxes.
When Elder Lin’s family arrived at the southern frontier, in order to get more houses, Elder Lin agreed to split up.
Along the way, Elder Lin had almost spent all the silver. Most of the remaining silver was also distributed to the eldest branch.
Lin Hu and the third family branch did not even get a tael of silver.
Fortunately, the house was allocated by the Imperial Court. In addition, the couple worked hard. Occasionally, their son would bring back some things from the wetlands by the sea to help the family, so they had saved up almost five taels of silver.
As long as they contracted a piece of the sea, the products from the sea would belong to them. Not only could they raise sea clams and fish, but there would also be all kinds of seafood, sea vegetables, and so on at the seaside. The interest expected by the Imperial Court every month was also not very high. It was like a piece of good news that had fallen from the heavens. Lin Hu said a few words to his wife, who hurriedly urged, “Hurry up and sign up! Don’t be too slow!”
After Lin Hu and his wife weighed the pros and cons, apart from those who were too conservative, everyone rushed forward to sign up.
Song Benhua’s stall was packed. He had no choice but to get someone to maintain order and line up.
When Elder Lin heard the news and rushed over with his eldest son and second son, the registration queue was already more than 100 meters long.
He was burning with anxiety. When he saw his third son at the front of the queue, he hurriedly wanted to cut the queue.
In the end, before they could approach, they were sent to the side by the patrolling soldiers in charge of maintaining order.
Elder Lin stomped his feet and shouted at Lin Hu, “Help your eldest brother and second brother signup too!”
Everyone around immediately expressed their displeasure. The patrolling soldier said to him directly, “Each person can only sign up for one household.”
Elder Lin’s eldest son and second son immediately panicked. “We’re all family. Can’t we raise them together?”
The questions they raised were also questions that other people present, who were afraid of the risk and wanted to share it with their families, wanted to ask.
Song Benhua explained, “You can discuss the joint cultivation in private, but the contracting rights to the sea area can only be handled by one person.”
The contracting rights of the sea could only be handled by one person. This meant that whoever had the contracting rights would occupy the dominant position in the joint cultivation.
If one clearly knew that he could earn money, so why should he give it to others? Moreover, since ancient times, the greatest taboo in doing business was for a family to do business together. It was difficult to order family members around, yet they would still want the largest piece of cake.
Lin Hu glanced at his father. His two brothers were looking at him like wolves and tigers.
His wife pinched him hard. His heart skipped a beat, and he did not know how to deal with it later.
Many people did not manage to register their names for cultivating pearls, and some were shocked that the Imperial Court could borrow money to people.
The Imperial Court’s interest rate was actually so much lower than that of the bank!
If they could borrow more from the Imperial Court and slowly repay with their monthly salary, they would be able to buy more houses.
Just as everyone was asking Song Benhua if they could borrow money from the Imperial Court even if they did not cultivate pearls.
Bai Wutong introduced a new policy on banks.
Unlike banks in the past, not only could banks lend money, but they could also save money for everyone.
The more money one saved in the bank, the more interest he would receive every month or year.
They had never thought that a bank could really have money to make money. Everyone ran to consult President Ma, who was in charge of the bank.
President Ma introduced the bank’s business in detail. It was mainly divided into three main categories: firstly loan, secondly deposit, and thirdly investment.
If an individual wanted to take out a loan, they had to satisfy one condition. Firstly, they had to have enough proof of a.s.sets, and secondly, they had to have good credit score.
If there were no a.s.sets, a fixed salary could also be used as collateral.
Apart from personal loans, there was also a kind of business loan. As long as the company established by an individual or the intellectual property rights could be certified, they could also take out a loan.
If the bank was unwilling to provide those loans, they could only mortgage their a.s.sets.
There were many ways to save money. There were mainly two ways to target the commoners: deadline deposits and demand deposits.
The interest on deadline deposits was far lower than on demand deposits. If a deadline deposit was taken out midway, the interest would be calculated based on rates of demand deposits.
Regarding investments, President Ma explained simply. If the bank chose a project that could earn money, everyone could partic.i.p.ate in the investment. If they earned money, it would be much more than interest. If they lost money, they might lose everything. It was equivalent to investing in stocks in the modern era.
Among the three major businesses, everyone valued savings the most. Was depositing the silver in the bank really like what President Ma had said? Would they be able to get back their princ.i.p.al amount and interests?
If the Imperial Court took advantage of them, wouldn’t they have nowhere to cry?
President Ma explained patiently, “This is a bank established with the Great Empress’s credibility. Don’t worry, everyone. If you are missing even a copper coin, you can report us.”
It was impossible for the Great Empress to lie. Everyone immediately returned to deposit their private savings quickly.
The earlier they saved, the more money they would earn!
Everyone did not need to spend money on the houses a.s.signed by the Imperial Court. They only needed to contribute and do their job well.
However, it was extremely expensive to buy a villa made of steel bars and cement alone.
Wu Ji and the two children were only given a villa. Wu Mengyao wanted to be like Zhao Lanzhi and not be afraid of rumors and decide about her own marriage.
If Wu Hao got married in the future and she had to live under the same roof as her sister-in-law, it would definitely be inconvenient.
She also wanted to buy a house of her own, but she did not have any extra money. As soon as the bank loan policy was introduced, she immediately went to the design inst.i.tute to issue a work certificate as requested. She wanted to use the loan to buy a house.
She couldn’t afford a detached house alone, so she should be able to buy a two-bedroom residential house.
Wu Mengyao worked as a fashion designer in the design inst.i.tute. Her monthly salary was one tael of silver, and there was an additional bonus and commission, so she met the highest loan standards.
Wu Mengyao only spent five taels of silver as deposit to book a two-bedroom house.
The moment she signed the contract, she smiled happily and thanked Bai Wutong sincerely.
Apart from Wu Mengyao, Lin Yue had the intention to take out a loan.
He liked to read storybooks. With the emergence of the printing technique, he wanted to take the opportunity to set up a printing bureau.
Qingfeng was about to marry him. He had to work harder..