Chapter 2742: The Capital (Part 98)

The noisy hall fell silent. For a single instant, even the faint crackling of charcoal in the braziers could be heard with perfect clarity.

Everyone had known Leng Ningyun would come tonight, ever since word spread that Shuntian Prefecture would unseal Delong. Yet knowing this did nothing to calm the tremor that passed through their hearts.

The harbinger of doom had finally arrived.

Leng Ningyun was fair-skinned and refined in manner, unfailingly polite in all his dealings. Though his accent could be difficult to parse, he always spoke with measured calm—no one had ever witnessed him lose his temper.

By all accounts, such a scholarly figure should have nothing to do with "doom." But since his safe return, that gentle smile had taken on a sinister cast in everyone's memory.

No one understood this better than Manager Shen. He had believed Leng Ningyun dead and buried. Even if the man somehow returned, surely he would be broken, dejected. Never had Shen expected him to come back brimming with vitality—not merely returned, but reopening for business.

If he dared to reopen, he had cards left to play. This was what troubled Manager Shen most. Leng Ningyun knew Shen's hand clearly; Shen knew nothing of his.

After all, the man had the Kun behind him.

Leng Ningyun entered the hall and immediately felt the warmth envelop him. He smiled. "How wonderfully warm it is in here!"

The servant beamed ingratiatingly. "The fire's been burning since last night, awaiting your arrival, gentlemen!"

"No wonder there's not a single snowflake on the roof—they've all melted," Leng Ningyun remarked. He unfastened the ties of his cloak and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. The sable-trimmed feather-gauze garment slid from his frame, caught instantly by a quick-eyed servant who backed out of the room with it.

A single glance confirmed that all eight managers were present. In the past, he had always attended with the minor peers, arriving only just before nightfall. Today marked his first appearance at the major peers' gathering. A quiet satisfaction stirred within him: the capital's banking landscape would be rewritten from this day forward.

Manager Cao had already risen to greet him. Leng Ningyun hurried to return the gesture. A flurry of bows and pleasantries followed as they exchanged New Year wishes. Then everyone took their seats according to rank.

Servants immediately brought fragrant tea. This was neither Longjing nor the Fujian jasmine so common in the north, but Songluo tea from Korea—drawn from the King's own reserves, extraordinarily precious.

The capital's wealthy loved exotic rarities from distant lands. The pleasure house had spared no expense.

Just as they prepared to speak, servants arrived bearing fruit. Fruit was hardly rare in the capital during winter—the ice cellar trade had spawned a profitable sideline in preserved produce.

Fruit merchants would purchase large quantities when fruits were in season, selecting only those with flawless skins for storage in ice cellars. Come winter, they brought these out to sell at several times the original price. But these were mostly hardy varieties—native apples, hawthorn, and pears. Ever since the Shanhai Five Routes had expanded their reach into the north, however, truly out-of-season fruit from Hainan now arrived in continuous shipments via refrigerated vessels cooled with blocks of ice.

When these genuine tropical fruits first appeared in the capital, the wealthy households had gone wild with enthusiasm. Even a bunch of grapes or a single banana commanded a price of one tael; a pineapple or watermelon fetched three or four. Every shipment sold out the moment it arrived.

Pleasure houses were notorious money pits—naturally, they feared no expense. The fruit served here was authentic "Qiongzhou fresh fruit." As for who controlled Qiongzhou nowadays, no one bothered to ask.

Large plates of milky glass held emerald and crimson watermelon slices, golden wedges of pineapple, and plump purple-black grapes. After long hours in the heated rooms, everyone's mouths watered at the sight. The matter of Leng Ningyun could wait—first, they would moisten their parched throats.

"This Qiongzhou fruit is truly refreshing," Qiao Wannian praised. "The climate there is warm year-round with no winter to speak of, so naturally they can grow watermelons and grapes. But why is the flesh so succulent, so fine in texture, the juice so abundant, so sweet on the tongue? No watermelon I've tasted anywhere else compares..."

Seventeenth-century watermelons were already widely cultivated, but their texture and sweetness fell far short of the specially bred varieties from the old timeline.

"And you can hardly find any seeds in this watermelon—remarkable, truly remarkable!" Manager Lu laughed, spitting out a few pale seeds. "The fruit is fully ripe, yet the seeds remain immature! How on earth was this grown?"

"That's why they say the Kun possess ingenious arts that steal the very work of heaven and earth!" Qiao Wannian sighed. "What a pity."

"A pity for what? Are you hoping the Kun will come fight for the court?"

"If matters had been handled properly back then..."

Manager Cao cut him off immediately: "No discussing state affairs!"

"Yes, yes, I won't discuss it!" Qiao Wannian said hastily. He turned instead to engage Leng Ningyun. "Manager Leng, you must have been terrified by your ordeal! Fortunately, you escaped safely—congratulations are certainly in order."

"Indeed," Leng Ningyun smiled. "Thanks to the efforts of the escort masters. Otherwise, I'd have been picked clean—bones and all!"

"Those bandits are truly despicable. Who knows their background—to be so brazen right here at the Emperor's feet!"

Qiao Wannian's words were mere courtesy, but Manager Shen's face betrayed unmistakable discomfort.

"Absolutely! The authorities surely won't tolerate such madmen. I believe they'll be caught and brought to justice soon!"

"Yes, they had far too much audacity!"

"Without executing a good number of them, they won't know their place!"

...

The other managers added their agreement. Whatever their feelings about Leng Ningyun personally, as men of property themselves, they felt a natural kinship when it came to kidnapping—there but for fortune's favor went any of them.

Manager Shen's expression grew darker still. Though he tried to conceal it, Manager Cao—that thousand-year-old fox—saw through him instantly. He silently cursed Shen as dishonorable.

Though none present were innocent souls, colluding with bandits was something Manager Cao strongly disapproved of. He had heard vague rumors that Manager Shen was "unclean" in this whole affair. Today, seeing the man's expression, he became certain Shen was involved.

Breaking one's vows to indulge in meat was one thing. But failing to get any meat while ending up reeking of the attempt—that earned only contempt.

After these pleasantries had run their course, Manager Cao felt it was time to address the business at hand. After all, Delong remained a member of the guild. As chairman, he ought to show some concern.

"Manager Leng, having escaped this disaster—is Delong reopening tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow we'll open for business as usual." Leng Ningyun spoke without hesitation. "This time, because of my troubles, the shop was sealed for many days. The losses have been heavy. If we don't reopen now, I'll likely have to pack up and leave."

"Heh, surely Manager Leng jests." Manager Cao smiled and continued. "About opening for business—are you fully prepared?"

"No one is ever fully prepared in business..." Leng Ningyun deliberately sighed. "To be honest, our funds are tight."

Everyone was stunned. They had expected him to boast about his flush reserves, perhaps even deploy an "empty city stratagem" to bluff them. None had anticipated such candid admission of financial strain.

"Oh? I've heard that outside opinion of Delong isn't favorable." Manager Shen raised the point deliberately.

"Yes, I've heard the same. Many major depositors are planning to withdraw and redeem their notes the moment Delong opens. There may well be a run. And if your funds are tight, should you fail to pay out, you'll face troubles difficult to resolve."

Though this touched on running him out of business, both men spoke the truth rather than slander. Every eye in the hall fixed upon Leng Ningyun's face.

"Having suffered outside for so many days and then been sealed by the authorities, naturally there's concern among our clients. But fortunately, with the banking guild's support, I'm confident I can turn danger into fortune and weather this storm."

Everyone was stunned once more: what kind of approach was this?

Seeing their bewildered faces, Leng Ningyun continued at a leisurely pace. "If Delong is run into the ground, I'll certainly lose face. But the banking guild won't look particularly good either."

"How strange. If your shop fails, what has that got to do with us?" Manager Qin sneered.

"All fifteen of us in the banking trade, all operating under the Emperor's feet—all for one, one for all. Why distinguish between yours and mine?" Leng Ningyun smiled, utterly unconcerned. "Speaking of which, I came early today precisely regarding this matter."

Manager Shen was about to speak, but Manager Cao cut him off, saying pleasantly: "Whatever Manager Leng requires, please speak freely. Whatever the guild can help with, we'll certainly make the effort."

"Manager Cao is too kind!" Leng Ningyun said. "As the guild is well aware, Delong's funds are tight. Once we open, we may struggle to manage. I would like to request the guild's assistance—perhaps some short-term lending."

Dead silence filled the hall. No one had expected Leng Ningyun to open by asking to borrow money.

It was true that short-term lending among peers in the money trade was commonplace. There were same-day clearings and loans lasting a year or even eighteen months. Naturally, they had all conducted such business with Delong before.

But given Delong's current situation—not merely precarious, but with relations toward the major peers that were, if not outright hostile, certainly far from harmonious—

Not kicking them while they were down already represented some respect for "past sentiment." To expect loans to weather a run? That was pure fantasy.

Sure enough, Manager Cao immediately looked troubled. "This... I'm afraid there may be... some difficulty..."

"Oh? What difficulty?" Leng Ningyun pressed. "As I understand it, at the beginning of the year all houses have loose funds. Lending ten or twenty thousand taels each shouldn't pose a problem. Cash or notes—either is acceptable."

His attitude was aggressive—nothing like the modest gentleman and scholar of before. Manager Shen grew secretly alarmed. Seeing Manager Cao hemming and hawing, he couldn't help interjecting: "Whether our funds are loose or tight is none of your concern!"

But Leng Ningyun ignored him entirely. He simply continued: "This lending won't be empty words. I'll pay interest at double the highest previous daily rate, calculated by the day. Delong will issue notes to everyone as guarantee. In just seven or eight days, Delong will redeem them in full. As for the loan itself, cash or notes from any peer will do—interest calculated the same."

(End of Chapter)