Chapter 2743: The Capital (Part 99)

Manager Shen burst into raucous laughter. Manager Qin joined in with a few hollow chuckles, but the expected chorus of mockery never materialized. Sensing something amiss, he pressed on awkwardly: "Pipe dreams, mere pipe dreams..." He forced out several more laughs.

But the hall remained deathly silent. After a prolonged pause, Manager Cao finally spoke: "Manager Leng raises a fair point. However, word on the street is that Delong teeters on the brink. If you're proposing to borrow using Delong notes as collateral, I'm afraid our peers simply cannot accept such terms..."

"Manager Leng," Qiao Wannian interjected abruptly, "everyone says you're about to collapse. Lending to you under these circumstances—no house could justify such a decision. If you fail to hold on and go under, won't these borrowed notes become worthless scraps of paper?"

Manager Shen exhaled with relief. At last, someone was backing him up. The others had been playing dead until now!

Leng Ningyun replied evenly, "If Delong truly does get run into the ground, possessing this 'waste paper' may prove worth its weight in gold someday. It might even serve as a protective talisman."

These words sent a chill rippling through the hall. Everyone fell silent, mulling over the implications.

Until now, their greatest concern had been Delong's backing. Suddenly they realized: Delong's most powerful backer was the Kun!

Everyone tacitly acknowledged Delong's connections to the Kun, but the Kun had always seemed so distant from the capital that their influence couldn't truly reach here.

Now, reconsidering—the Kun might not march on the capital themselves, but if matters turned ugly, dealing with this small gathering wouldn't prove difficult for them. Whatever Leng Ningyun's standing among the Kun, crushing Delong had cost them at minimum two or three hundred thousand taels.

However wealthy the Kun might be, they wouldn't dismiss two or three hundred thousand taels as trivial...

And considering his safe return from the south—that probably wasn't something a handful of escort masters could have accomplished alone.

Manager Shen forced a contemptuous sneer: "Nonsense! Utter absurdity!"

Logically speaking, Leng Ningyun's words were indeed preposterous—truly "nonsense." Yet coming from him at this particular moment, there was nothing laughable about them whatsoever.

The hall remained silent. No one else ventured to speak. Qiao Wannian nervously took a pinch of snuff. Somehow it tickled his nose, and he unleashed a tremendous sneeze.

The sneeze shattered the awkward stillness. Manager Yuan spoke up suddenly: "We are all peers—by rights, we should lend a hand." He rose slowly from his seat. "Our humble establishment has limited resources and tight capital. We cannot provide timely assistance. But perhaps this will suffice—we still hold approximately twelve thousand taels in Delong notes. Consider that our loan to Manager Leng. These were issued by Delong originally, so surely Manager Leng won't disdain them."

"Most appreciated." Leng Ningyun rose and bowed.

Manager Shen grew extremely agitated. Though Manager Yuan's words sounded magnanimous, he was actually withdrawing from the run. Moreover, most of those twenty-odd thousand taels in Delong notes had been purchased at a steep discount—his actual cost was under three thousand taels.

He was about to object when Manager Cao spoke up hesitantly: "Ah, this is difficult indeed. Our shop also holds over ten thousand in Delong notes. We've been worried something might happen! Since Manager Leng is assuming responsibility, let our Delong notes count as a loan as well—please don't disdain them, Manager Leng."

"How could I disdain notes from my own establishment?" Leng Ningyun smiled graciously. "Thank you, Manager Cao, for supporting our humble house."

With these two taking the lead, the others followed suit, pledging ten or twenty thousand taels each, all offering their Delong notes as loans. By rough calculation, the total came to nearly ninety thousand taels. Leng Ningyun was secretly astonished: these Shanxi fellows had truly come prepared! Without this gathering, when they opened tomorrow, merely redeeming these notes would have put him in desperate straits.

Thank goodness for the Senate... In that instant, Leng Ningyun fully appreciated the care extended from Lingao. Though time had been short and he didn't yet know precisely what the Foreign Intelligence Bureau and Reconnaissance Division had accomplished, the results spoke for themselves.

Thinking of this, his mood brightened considerably. He turned his gaze toward Managers Shen and Qin.

Though there was no direct evidence, Manager Shen's behavior throughout the evening clearly implicated him in this affair.

Now, with a hint of mockery, Leng Ningyun inquired: "I wonder what Managers Shen and Qin think?"

Manager Shen could never have anticipated this. What had seemed a certain victory had taken such a catastrophic turn! He half-suspected everyone had been hexed—or had ingested some drug from Leng Ningyun. He was about to leap up and denounce them all when Manager Qin tugged his sleeve and whispered urgently: "Don't be rash! Something is amiss!"

These words snapped Manager Shen back to his senses. Leng Ningyun possessed no drugs, and they weren't under any spell. Rather, the others must have struck some private deal beforehand! Perhaps this entire gang had already sold him out!

Manager Shen's hands and feet went cold. For a moment, he couldn't think of what to say. Numbly, he heard Manager Qin beside him conceding: "I also hold over ten thousand in Delong notes. We'll forgo the interest..."

The banquet continued until the second watch before dispersing. Entertainment abounded—songs and dances, comely young men and women serving wine. Everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly, all except Manager Shen, who had no appetite and no interest in the beauties attending him. He barely endured until the festivities concluded. The madam arranged for his favorite girl to stay the night, but Manager Shen had lost all desire. He forced himself through the expected pleasantries with his peers and was about to depart when Leng Ningyun suddenly blocked his path in the foyer.

"Manager Shen, how fares Manager Qiao of your establishment? He hails from the Pingyao Qiao family, after all. If you fail to look after him and something untoward occurs, you might find yourself hard-pressed to explain, don't you think?"

Manager Shen replied through gritted teeth: "Whether I can explain myself is none of your concern!"

"So—he's met with an accident?"

Manager Shen's expression froze. "What nonsense!" he muttered. With that, he abandoned any pretense of sparring with Leng Ningyun. He hurried into his sedan chair and called out, "Back to the shop!"

When Leng Ningyun returned to the residence, Wu Kaidi greeted him with a bow of congratulation. "Master, you truly possess remarkable talent! A few words brought them all to heel!"

"Not at all, not at all." Leng Ningyun changed his clothes and washed his hands in the copper basin a maid brought, then dried them with a towel. "How could I possess such ability? Tough talk requires capital to back it. First, the Senate now commands respect across the seas—they must consider their futures. Second, the Special Reconnaissance Team likely gave them quite a shock these past few days."

"I cannot imagine how formidable this Special Reconnaissance Team must be..." Wu Kaidi was practically prostrating himself in admiration. "Someday I should truly like to witness them with my own eyes."

"There will be opportunity." Leng Ningyun smiled. "Go summon everyone."

Once assembled, he addressed his assistant managers: "You two—first thing tomorrow morning, take these two lists to each Shanxi House to collect payment. Bring plenty of escorts and guards."

Though Xiao and Wei had displayed "full confidence" in public, they actually had no inkling what would happen after opening on the sixth. Now, taking the lists and examining the figures, their faces lit up with surprise and a measure of disbelief.

"Master! Is this genuine?" Assistant Manager Xiao ventured to ask.

"Of course it's genuine. These are the amounts each manager personally agreed to at the banquet last night. Handle it promptly. I've set the reopening for the eighth, and tomorrow the notices must be posted."

Though no notes had been exchanged on the spot, in business, a man's word was his bond—no one would renege on commitments made publicly.

Assistant Manager Wei said, "All Delong notes? These two lists together total almost one hundred thousand taels!"

"That's what they pledged."

"Goodness—they nearly swept every Delong note off the market! Had they rushed us all at once tomorrow, we would have been finished..." Assistant Manager Wei mused. "There are probably notes from out of town included as well. Under normal local transaction volumes, we'd see at most half this amount."

"When you consider it, this crisis represented their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Without such a major upheaval, how could they have gathered so many Delong notes so quickly? All purchased at thirty, forty, even twenty percent of face value. Many of our customers suffered losses—some perhaps lost everything!" Leng Ningyun sighed heavily. "We bear some responsibility for this."

"Those who sold Delong notes lost faith in us. They deserved their losses." Assistant Manager Xiao was dismissive.

"You cannot think that way. Those of us in finance all have our disclaimer scripts, and the sums we handle are so vast that we easily forget money is money. That won't do! We employ customers' money; we profit from customers' toil. Though gains and losses are daily business, we must never take money lightly."

Assistant Manager Wei studied the lists several times before saying quietly, "Xia's isn't listed here..."

"If they're absent, so be it. One house alone cannot make significant waves." Leng Ningyun appeared unconcerned.

"We originally held one hundred fifty thousand. Eunuch Yang withdraws one hundred thousand tomorrow, leaving fifty thousand. Mr. Li provided another thirty thousand—so eighty thousand taels stand ready for immediate payment." Chief Accountant Liu calculated aloud. The total borrowed from the peers amounted to one hundred twenty thousand taels. Though all in Delong notes that couldn't be used for exchange, it at least eliminated equivalent liquidity, sharply reducing the run pressure Delong faced.

"...By this reckoning, even if there's a run after we reopen, our current reserves are more than sufficient. Our outstanding notes total only around three hundred thousand. Now one hundred twenty thousand have returned; Eunuch Yang's withdrawal tomorrow accounts for another one hundred thousand. The remainder, even if everyone demands payment simultaneously, amounts to merely one hundred thousand."

When Chief Accountant Liu finished, everyone present visibly relaxed. Though Leng Ningyun had been encouraging them, with occasional bits of "good news," the capital shortage had been undeniable. Now Manager Leng had pulled teeth from the tiger's mouth, compelling the Shanxi Houses to lend such a substantial sum. Delong was safe.

After everyone dispersed, Wu Kaidi lingered, still troubled. He asked, "Master, Manager Shen of Xia's refused to lend money. Could that mean..."

"You're correct. He's deeply implicated in this affair. I probed him about Manager Qiao today, and his expression changed completely. In my estimation, Manager Qiao has likely been silenced."

(End of Chapter)