February 1893, 68 Wall Street, Sanjiang Bank.

Mr. Greg Okafor should have been very proud.

As the general manager, Sanjiang Bank has become the largest bank in the western region in less than 10 years under his management, and has moved its headquarters to Wall Street, which is qualified to sit on an equal footing with famous financial industry leaders such as Morgan and Citigroup.

But at this time he was not happy at all, and looked out the window with concern at the long queue waiting to be paid.

He knew that such long queues also appeared in every branch of Sanjiang Bank in the United States.

As a veteran financial practitioner, this situation made him shudder.

Okafor's strong pectoralis major muscles could not give him any sense of security at this time.

"What are you doing at the window, come, drink tea."

At this time, the only voice that could make him feel reassured came from behind.

Chen Jianqiu, dressed in a loose cloth robe, sat on a wooden chair and brewed kung fu tea with great interest.

In the tea wash on the side, the first undrunk tea liquid is poured, and the green steam is wafting, and the fragrance is refreshing.

Okafor turned around and walked to the coffee table, took a cup of tea handed to him by Chen Jianqiu with both hands, put it to his lips and took a sip.

"How's that, isn't it? The best Biluochun, shipped from the East, is a pity that it is last year's aged tea, and before this year's Qingming Festival, I see if they can collect a little, there are many people who are counting on it. ”

The guest in Chen Jianqiu's mouth refers to little Aster.

He was now very fond of tea, and under his influence, there was also a group of wealthy people and politicians in the upper echelons of New York who indulged in the tea ceremony.

Okafor drank the rest of the tea from the teacup and placed it on the table.

He looked at Chen Jianqiu worriedly:

"Boss, since the federal government promulgated the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, more and more of our customers are selling their assets and redeeming them into gold, I am afraid that the pressure on the bank will be very great!"

Okafor's "Sherman Silver Procurement Law" is exactly the same as what Chen Jianqiu heard at the Silver Association a few years ago.

Advocates of associations and the double standard system are marketing their ideas through a variety of channels, pressuring the president through Congress.

Eventually, Cleveland was forced to sign the bill.

He doesn't want to see the Democratic Party fall apart during his term.

The federal government began to buy silver in large quantities and issue paper money.

But the battle-hardened Americans are not so easily fooled.

The move was seen as a form of abandonment of the gold standard.

As a result, a large number of property owners began to sell their assets in exchange for gold.

And the same behavior, Chen Jianqiu did it a few years ago, and he has now hoarded tens of millions of dollars of gold in his hands.

"I let you control the authorization and scale of credit a few years ago, and you didn't say anything at the time, and you must have complained in your heart that I was conservative, right?"

Chen Jianqiu's two fingers pinched the teacup, tasted it slowly, and said slowly.

"Still, I'm worried." Okafor was still a little worried.

Despite its strong gold reserves, he feared that Sanjiang Bank would be greatly affected.

"It's an opportunity, winner takes all, rest assured, we won't be the one who falls."

Chen Jianqiu finished drinking the tea in the teacup and began to pour the second cup.

At this time, Silas walked in through the door with a bag in his hand.

"Mr. Chen, are you looking for me?" He glanced at the fidgeting Okafor and the complacent Chen Jianqiu, and then began to look at the office.

This is the first time that Sanjiang Bank has been here since its headquarters moved to New York.

The furnishings and décor of this office look like an oriental style, with paintings and calligraphy hanging on the walls, and wooden oriental-style furniture in a very elaborate orientation.

"Coming?" Chen Jianqiu took out a new tea cup, lifted boiling water from the stove beside him with his right hand, and poured it on the tea cup.

After scalding the tea set, Chen Jianqiu poured another cup of tea into the tea cup.

"Come, tea." He gestured to the wooden chair opposite.

Silas sat down, placed the bag beside him, and took the teacup as she took it.

"How much stake do we have left in Pacific Railroad?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"It's less than 10 percent."

"What about the Santa Fe Railroad?"

"About 15 percent of the way, Mr. Hawke of the Philadelphia Railroad Company bought most of our shares."

Silas blurted out.

He has been operating this thing for the past few years, so he can't be more familiar with the data of these things.

"On the third Friday of April, give me all the rest of the shares." Chen Jianqiu finished drinking the second cup of tea.

Silas and Okafor were stunned, and they looked at Chen Jianqiu at the same time.

"This will bring great volatility to the market!" Silas reminded solemnly.

About 10 percent of the shares of the two railroad companies may not seem like much, but if they are reduced and sold at the same time, it will make quite a wave.

Chen Jianqiu smiled.

He began to pour himself a third cup of tea:

"Yes, but what does that have to do with me?"

More than two months later, Washington, April 22, the third Friday of April.

Mr. Carlisle, then Minister of Finance, gave regular interviews to various newspapers in the east.

Carlisle is a gray-haired Democrat who likes to pout and always looks unhappy from afar.

He was known for his honesty and integrity, which made him not like a politician.

Because of this, he was so well-known in the party that he was able to take up the post of finance minister.

"Mr. Carlisle, is it rumored that a large amount of gold is flowing from the country to Europe?" A journalist raised his hand and asked, "Allegedly, some European companies are beginning to refuse to accept payments in dollars and demand the use of gold." ”

"This is normal business practice, and we have no way to control the choices of European companies." Carlisle leaned back on the couch with her hands resting on the armrests.

"There are also rumors that Europeans have been peddling silver to the US government, which is directly leading to a further decline in the price of silver, is there such a thing?" Another reporter asked.

"The government buys silver from the market under the Silver Purchase Act, but it doesn't ask where it comes from." Carlisle's expression didn't change much, and he looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"And Mr. Carlisle, what do you think of the recent hoarding of gold?" The third reporter asked.

If Carlisle answered the first two questions calmly, the question made the finance minister's face change sharply.

His mouth seemed to purse slightly.

"A lot of newspapers in the country are irresponsible, over-reading government policy, and our silver purchase bill doesn't mean that the federal government will abandon the gold standard."

"These rumors are full of malice, but a lot of people believe it, and IMHO, this is irresponsible behavior, and I don't see any reason to lose too much confidence in the dollar."

The finance minister's answer seemed to carry a lot of personal emotion.

"These behaviors are badly oriented, and if everyone asks for gold with dollars, the gold in the treasury is simply not enough to exchange."

The interview scene instantly became silent.

Everyone is reminiscing about what Carlisle meant by this sentence.

Eventually, it was a New York Times reporter who raised his hand.

"Mr. Carlyle, what you just said, can I understand that the government's gold reserves are no longer enough?"

None of the reporters present, including him, expected any positive answers.

But Carlisle is tired of the intrigues within the Democratic Party and the stupid Congressmen who are spewing in Congress.

Plus, he's not very good at lying.

So, a word was shattering.

"Yes, the government's gold reserves have fallen to a rare low. I can't say how much, but we are indeed facing a crisis! ”

This sentence stunned all the reporters present.

Their pens were quickly recorded in their notebooks, and the news would soon be disseminated through their respective newspapers throughout the East, and throughout the country.

And just as Carlisle was being interviewed by reporters.

On the New York Stock Exchange, Silas sold all his shares in the railroad company for Chen Jianqiu.

On the same day, the stock prices of the two railway companies plummeted.

(End of chapter)