The coins minted by the system were not given away freely — they all came at a cost of production.
There were four denominations: the smallest was a gray one-jiao coin, then a red one-yuan, a green ten-yuan, and a red-violet hundred-yuan. All four had landscape paintings on their reverses. The one-jiao note featured a bird's-eye view of the planned Taoyuan Village on its face. The one-yuan showed an aerial view of a grand and magnificent city. The ten-yuan displayed a map. The hundred-yuan depicted a cross-section of a spherical surface, as though a globe had been sliced open.
Jinyi's ten-day wage came to two hundred and forty yuan — two hundred-yuan notes and four ten-yuan notes.
Jinyi explained, "These banknotes are something the master has issued purely for everyone's convenience. For now they're pegged to copper coins — one copper coin to one jiao."
"Paying wages in paper is easy, and paper is easy to carry and spend. Of course, anyone who isn't comfortable with it can go to the bank at any time and exchange it for copper coins or silver."
"We're not forcing anyone. Use whatever you prefer."
"From now on, collect your wages from our head of finance, Jinxiu."
"We should lead by example and start using the banknotes ourselves."
"All right, everyone has their assignments. Come find me anytime if you have questions. Back to work, everyone. Meeting dismissed."
The currency system was of the utmost importance. It would not merely make life more convenient for everyone — its significance ran far deeper than that. Used wisely, the gains it could bring would put a mere bottle of Immortal's Bliss to shame.
The three young women left the village committee building together. Several horse-drawn carriages were waiting at the entrance.
"Jinwen, Jinyuan, see you tonight." Jinxiu climbed into one of the carriages and called to the boy holding the reins, "Xiao Jiu, to the bank."
"Yes, Sister Jinxiu." Zhao Jiu, standing ramrod-straight, acknowledged her and led the carriage away.
A horse-drawn carriage cost around ten taels of silver, which the Zhao family could easily afford — they kept quite a fleet of them.
The three households of Sun, Wang, and Li who had been living on the estate had since moved out. The middle courtyard now housed more than a dozen young maids, some purchased by Jinyi, but most sent by village families to serve in the household. Jinyi's own four attendants had originally all been bought as little serving girls by the master, yet the prominence they now enjoyed was plain for everyone to see. To say that every family with a daughter in service harbored no particular ambitions — Jinyi wouldn't believe that for a second. But most such hopes were likely to come to nothing, for Jinyi kept her guard up around maids who still had parents and family. Those who shared her own circumstances — bought girls with hard lives and no one to rely on — earned a bit more of her trust. Even so, she did not allow any of them to wander freely into the rear courtyard. Anyone who broke the rules was shown the door immediately. In the past while, two maids had already been dismissed from the estate. If anyone did something truly outrageous — trying to seduce the master, for instance — then her entire family could pack up and leave as well. Fortunately, nothing of that sort had happened yet. Or had it, without her knowledge?
She still had faith in the master. If he were the lecherous type, a man of his current means could surely have filled the estate with concubines by now.
The front courtyard served as temporary lodgings for the young men Jinyi had recruited. Everyone still lived in the main compound at the back, but the older ones took turns coming to work in the estate — running errands, driving carriages for the women, and the like. These were the people who would form the backbone of the Zhao household in the years to come. They couldn't be kept cut off from the world. What the Zhao family needed was not single-minded foot soldiers.
…
From this moment forward, everyone who worked for the Zhao family and Taoyuan Village would receive their wages in banknotes.
Rolling out the paper currency did cause a bit of a stir at first. A small number of people refused to accept it. But the majority took it in stride — or rather, what they were accepting was not the piece of paper itself, but their trust in Master Zhao as a person. The value of currency lies in credit. Strip away that credit, and the stuff isn't even fit to wipe yourself with. Since using the currency was not compulsory, the handful of holdouts took their banknotes straight to the bank to exchange them. Once they saw that the exchange went through without a hitch, the unrest subsided.
…
At the entrance to Taoyuan Village, a horse-drawn carriage came rolling slowly forward, led by a driver, with four minor officials in dark uniforms following behind.
In the official hierarchy, the seventh rank was the county magistrate, the township elder ranked ninth, and the clerks below them held no rank at all. The highest authority in any township was the township elder, whose duty was to promote moral instruction — though in practice, the main business was tax collection. These elders were invariably men of wealth and standing, local landowners and gentry, though they still required appointment from higher up. The position was effectively held for life, unless one died, became incapacitated, or fell out of favor with one's superiors. Township elders drew no salary; those who held the post were already men of means. What they sought was prestige and certain privileges.
"Master, we've arrived at Taoyuan Village."
The elderly man dozing inside the carriage opened his clouded eyes, lifted the curtain, and started in surprise.
The clean, orderly two-story buildings lining both sides of the road stretched all the way to the edge of his vision, and for a moment he thought he had somehow ended up back in Qingniu Town. The street wasn't as busy as Qingniu Town, and the road wasn't nearly as pitted and rutted — if anything, it was broader and more open.
"Is this really Taoyuan Village? Are you sure we haven't taken a wrong turn?"
His attendant was equally uncertain. The place looked nothing like the village he had imagined. To call it another town didn't seem quite right either — something was missing.
That was it: people. A proper town wouldn't have so few. The streets were far too quiet.
"Master, look at the stone marker over there. It clearly says Taoyuan Village."
"Ah, then we're in the right place. Let's go in. Ask around and find out who's in charge here — whether it's that grain merchant from out of town everyone's been talking about."
"Yes, Master." The attendant leading the horse continued forward. They had gone half the length of the street before they spotted any figures and found shops open for business.
On either side were establishments selling wine, grain, cloth, meat, prepared food, and one bearing the sign of an inn. The two most imposing buildings stood three stories tall, a full floor higher than the rest, with much grander frontages. One bore an enormous signboard that read: TAOYUAN VILLAGE BANK. The other was equally grand: TAOYUAN VILLAGE COMMERCIAL STREET LEASING CENTER.
"Master, what on earth is a bank? And a leasing center?"
"I haven't the faintest idea."
"Let's go in and have a look."
Elder Wu climbed down from the carriage and approached the entrance of the leasing center, where a young lad in a plain gray hemp robe came forward to greet him. Though the boy's clothes were ordinary, they were spotless and unfrayed, the cut fresh and well-proportioned, and his whole bearing was bright and full of energy.
"Welcome, sir. Are you looking to rent a shop, or is there something else I can help you with?"
"I've never been here before. I just came in to see what this place is about."
"Then allow me to give you an introduction. Any of the vacant shops along this street is available to rent, with the first three months free of charge."
"You look like a man of considerable means, sir. You're surely not hurting for a little rent money — but then again, who's ever complained about having too much money burning a hole in their pocket? Shall I walk you through the rental rates? And if you haven't decided what sort of business to run, we'd be glad to make some recommendations."
"Taoyuan Village is just getting on its feet, sir. People are pouring in, wages here are generous, and the spending potential is enormous. The future looks very bright indeed."
Elder Wu thought to himself: this boy may be young, but he certainly had a smooth tongue and a pleasant way of speaking. He found himself drawn into conversation before he knew it.
After quite some time, he finally emerged — but he left a tael of silver behind. He had rented a small shop. Despite the three-month rent-free period, the young man had made a perfectly sound argument: a deposit was a contractual guarantee that protected both parties.
He nodded to himself, though he still hadn't quite worked out what sort of business he intended to run here.