Thanks to the favor of Tianzun, the huge rural water conservancy facilities built by the government, and the excellent seeds provided by the Northern Botanical Garden and the Northern Seed Company, the total grain output on the east bank this year has increased to a certain extent on the basis of last year. The three-tier network of grain depots established by the National Reserve Grain Depot in various regions, counties, and townships has also begun to operate at high speed, and they are holding the brand-new silver dollars that have just been stamped and manufactured by the Dayuhe No. 1 Mint, and openly buying all kinds of grain in the hands of the peasant households: wheat (60 percent of the total), corn, soybeans (20 percent), and small quantities of sweet potatoes and potatoes -- these miscellaneous grains will be pulled back by the state-run Dafeng Food Company to make vermicelli.

Ordinary peasant households, the state grain reserves, and the Northwest Reclamation Bank, which provided financial services to both, constituted the bottom part of the East Coast economy, that is, the vast rural economy. This part of the economy is dominated by agricultural activities and is relatively local, and although it has some characteristics of commercial agriculture, it is still a socio-economic system of the pre-capitalist era on the whole.

At the top of the East Coast economy is a highly capitalist socio-economic system consisting of the state and a small amount of private capital. Specifically, the upper class produced all kinds of necessities and means of production, and monopolized the trade in agricultural products, and the entire rural natural economy was completely subordinate to the capitalist economy at the top.

Between the bottom economy and the upper economy, not to mention the clear distinction, but the difference is still huge, and the table is in terms of currency, that is, there is a huge difference between the currencies of the two peers. In the underlying rural economy, copper coins and silver coins of various denominations are more common, and paper one-year and two-year bank acceptance bills are rare. The recognition of the people is not very high; But in the upper industrial economy. The most common is naturally bank acceptance bills of various denominations (many of which are large denominations). These bills of exchange circulate back and forth between businesses and individuals, and are constantly endorsed, while coins are rare.

The connection between these two types of monetary systems is probably carried out through several channels, such as trade payments for the export of special products (agricultural products) and imports of consumer goods, public expenses (taxes, assessments for water conservancy construction, special defense expenses, etc.), and payment of wages (part-time work in agricultural off-season, usually on construction sites). In between, the National Grain Reserve, local department stores, the construction team under the Ministry of Communications and the State Administration of Railways, and the Northwest Reclamation Bank.

However, with the influx of Ming immigrants, especially some merchants and small landlords who had a small fortune in the original Ming Kingdom came to the east coast either actively or passively. Financial activity in the vast rural areas began to sprout and gradually developed. At present, there are signs of the germination of private finance, mainly in two areas: one is the Xiling area, which is dominated by the so-called "Qingzhou Gang" businessmen in Luoqia County; The other is the South Duck Lake area, which is dominated by a group of immigrants from Jining, Shandong Province in Xihu County, a large agricultural county, and the local Ming people call it the "Jining Gang".

After entering the East Coast with a small amount of gold, silver, jewelry, and jade, these people gradually put down roots in the local area, and then opened mobile grocery stores, specifically avoiding the large syndicate chains, the more powerful towns and towns where the East Coast department stores were strong. Go into the vast hinterland of the countryside and sell all kinds of daily necessities to local farmers, and buy surplus commodities (mainly grain) from the farmers. Occasionally there are some wool, leather, animal fat, etc.). Over time, they developed a very close relationship with the local farmers, and their credibility grew. At this time, many hawkers who had completed this first step of accumulation (capital accumulation and relationship accumulation) began to transform, and they began to give small loans to some farmers who were in urgent need of money, such as Shao Yuanyi of Mucaoling Township, Xihu County.

Of course, Shao Yuanyi immigrated to the East Coast penniless and had no original funds. His capital accumulation is all based on part of the patent rights to invent aspirin drugs, as well as some high income from practicing medicine and selling drugs, but in essence, he is the same as those peddlers, with the same funds, the same connections, and the same good reputation among the people. Their loans take various forms, some are cash loans, some are sold on credit, and some of them even run some bills of exchange discounting business, which makes people look at it very amazingly.

Shao Yuanyi has now built a small shed in his yard and opened a kind of "financial institution" similar to a pawnshop. Grain, leather, livestock, wood and even chickens, ducks and eggs sent by farmers can be pledged here in exchange for much-needed cash. According to the business norms, it is difficult to pledge these messy things in the Northwest Reclamation Bank, so these farmers can only find rich people in the countryside and obtain funds in the form of underground pawnshops.

In addition to the "pawnshop", Shao Yuanyi also set up a pure cash loan business in his study, and it is also the kind of unsecured cash loan that is difficult to obtain approval in the bank. Since Shao Yuanyi lives in the countryside all the year round, he knows very well who can and who can't borrow, whose loan can be recovered, and whose loan cannot be recovered at all. When this is done in a targeted manner, the risk of non-performing loans is greatly reduced, which is an advantage that large financial institutions such as banks do not have.

"Bonds for the construction of the Northwest Railroad issued in 1646?" Sitting in his study, Shao Yuanyi held a piece of paper in his hand and looked at it over and over. The "piece of paper" is indeed true, and the Ministry of Finance had publicly issued hundreds of thousands of yuan of five-year and ten-year construction bonds to the whole society before the construction of the Northwest Railway, and this "piece of paper" should have been purchased at that time, and it was an anonymous bond, so it changed hands in the private sector.

"That's right, sir." Sitting opposite Shao Yuanyi were two men of European descent, one of whom was older and looked like he had been naturalized in the East Coast for some years, and the other was a young man who had come to the East Coast to work.

I saw him looking at Shao Yuanyi nervously, speaking in a language that Shao Yuanyi did not understand, while the middle-aged man next to him was in charge of translation: "This is paid to me by Mr. Valentino, I worked for him in a logging camp for five years, and then he paid me twenty silver dollars and such a railway construction bond." I didn't want it at the time, but he was impatient, and his men threatened me, saying that everyone was like that. But I didn't know that this bond would not be paid until the end of next year, and now Laojunmiao Township is recruiting immigrants for three months, and this month is the last month. This time, it only costs five yuan per acre of land, and the church can apply for nationality for us, and also provide housing mortgage loans for everyone, so I don't know when I will wait until next time if I miss such a good opportunity......

By the end, the young man from Scotland was almost in tears. Yes, the reclamation activities organized by the church have always been considered an excellent opportunity. Not only does he have a relatively cheap house, but even his wife has a church to help him, which is very cost-effective. If you miss such a time, you will not only miss the opportunity to farm for a year to earn money, but also of course lose the opportunity to obtain these benefits.

Speaking of this, the middle-aged man next to him also said a few words helpfully: "Ferguson has been cutting trees in the lumberyard for five years, and he has been working diligently, and he has not violated any labor discipline, he is really a very good young man." In the past, because he worked in the mountains and old forests, he did not learn Chinese much, and his oral skills were lacking. But now he takes time out to study every night, and he is very attentive, and the village master Wang has praised him, saying that he is the most improved person in the 'Huaxia' language class. This is a rare opportunity, I hope Dr. Shao can help, the bank has run out of loan quota this month, and I can't make a mortgage. My family's money was spent a while ago, or I would have to help little Ferguson. "The middle-aged man is also from Scotland, so he takes good care of the young man.

"Hmm......" Shao Yuanyi pondered for a while, then sighed and said: "I am also from here, and I understand that the opportunity is rare, of course I will not miss your future." Well, boy, I'll give you some discount this time. Your bond has a face value of $100 and is payable on December 31, 1651 at the rate of 4.5% per annum, payable on January 1 of each year. The interest for this year (1650) seems to have been taken by your Monsieur Valentino, so there is one more interest to be paid on this bond. Well, I won't say more, I guess you also understand the true value of this bond......"

After saying this, Shao Shude motioned to his wife to take out 92 silver dollars from a wooden safe, counted them and put them in the hands of young man Ferguson, and said: "Since you choose to die as this railway construction bond, then according to the rules, 92 discount payment, there is 92 yuan in cash, take it, this bond will have nothing to do with you in the future, and all the rights and interests will belong to me alone." This is a preferential price, and the convenience of others is convenient for yourself, take the money and go to Laojunmiao Township to report to it. It's the middle of February, and there's not a lot of time, so let's go, boy! ”

After the young man Ferguson carefully counted the 92 silver dollars in his hand and confirmed that they were correct, he smiled gratefully at Shao Yuanyi and said, "I am very grateful, respected Doctor Shao, Tianzun will take care of you." ”

Shao Yuanyi smiled slightly, and calmly accepted the other party's gratitude. This business is not very profitable for him, but as the saying goes, it is convenient for others and oneself, and for private money lenders like them, a good reputation is also necessary. It's not just about how others think of themselves, but also about how government officials perceive them as private microlenders who activate rural markets and facilitate the circulation of money. Once the perception is bad, then many things will not work so well in the future. (To be continued......)