Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 741 Sun and Moon Bank Headquarters
The sedan chair carrying Wang Yingjiao gradually drove away, eventually disappearing into the bustling crowd. Gao Shiming turned and went back into the bank, waving to the crowd still surrounding him: "Disperse, disperse. Go back to work."

The crowd dispersed in response. They hadn't gone far when Gao Shiming's voice called after them again: "A-Kui!"

Everyone paused, but only A-Kui turned around and quickly walked up to Gao Shiming: "What are your orders, Master?"

“I need you to make a trip to Taijichang and…” Gao Shiming paused, momentarily forgetting the exact address of Guo Chenghao’s old residence, “and tell the doorman of the No. 17 property that the family of Minister Wang of the Ministry of Revenue might be coming to look at the property recently, and to ask them to be careful.”

"Looking at houses?" A-Kui was taken aback.

"He's in Beijing taking up his new post and is looking for a place to live. So I recommended property number 17 to him," Gao Shiming said with a smile.

"May I ask, sir, how much is room number seventeen worth?" Ah Kui asked cheerfully.

The Sun Moon Bank offered excellent benefits; as long as you earned a commission, everyone involved, from top to bottom, would share in the profits. Although Ah Kui was just a waiter, he could easily pocket five or six percent of the commission he earned from each tael of silver.

"You'll know once it's sold," Gao Shiming urged, waving his hand. "Go quickly."

"Yes, I'll go right away." Ah Kui replied, but chuckled awkwardly without moving. "However, if I may be so bold as to ask one more question, which room is number seventeen?"

Gao Shiming clicked his tongue and tried to recall: "It's located on East Chang'an Street, there should be a 'For Sale' sign at the entrance. Look carefully, you'll definitely find it." After saying this, he suddenly remembered. "East Chang'an Street, Taiji Factory, Unit B. There's only one property for sale over there."

"Alright!" Ah Kui then turned around and jogged out the door.

Gao Shiming brushed past A-Kui. He didn't go upstairs, but walked straight through the lobby towards the backyard. After Gao Shiming disappeared, the rustling sounds of conversation gradually filled the empty lobby again.

At the westernmost window, the man in the padded jacket looked at the still-swaying curtain and asked the clerk curiously, "Is that scholar-looking gentleman your boss?"

“That’s right.” The teller composed herself and looked at the man.

The man leaned closer to the counter, lowered his voice, and asked, "I heard it's a eunuch?"

"Of course!" The teller's response seemed to carry a hint of pride. "Our bank is a property of the palace, so naturally it is managed by the eunuch."

The man became even more curious: "What rank is he? Which eunuch?"

"A seventh-rank official! That's enough to be a county magistrate." The clerk straightened his back. His background in the palace and Gao Shiming's status as a seventh-rank official made him feel more prestigious than a minor official in his hometown county government.

The man clicked his tongue and asked curiously, "That old man in the red robe earlier, he seemed to have a peacock embroidered on his chest, could he be a third-rank official?"

"What third-rank official? That's the Minister of Revenue!" The clerk puffed out his chest, as if he were the Minister of Revenue himself. "The highest-ranking official!"

"Wow!" The man's eyes widened, and he asked with awe, "What's he doing here? Does he need to borrow money too?"

"Hey!" The clerk was getting impatient, frowning as he said, "Sir, are you here to pawn something or just to chat? One tael and two mace of silver," the clerk said, patting the sheepskin coat, "whether you want it or not?"

"One tael and two mace is really too little!" The man snapped back to reality: "Add a little more, give me one tael and five mace."

“That won’t do,” the clerk shook her head. “Your coat might not even fetch one and a half taels of silver if you tried to sell it.”

"Nonsense!" The man tugged at the corner of his coat and argued, "When I made this coat, the cost of the sheepskin and cotton alone was two taels!"

“The past is the past, and the present is the present. You know how many years you’ve worn this garment.” The sales clerk smiled and said, “How about this? Let’s compromise. I’ll give you a price of one tael, two mace, and five fen. Take it or leave it.”

"Three qian!" the man gritted his teeth. "One tael and three qian."

The clerk frowned and remained silent for a moment before saying, "Alright! I'll get the money for you right away." With that, she put the sheepskin coat behind the counter and called out, "Someone, please get this customer's receipt!"

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Gao Shiming walked through the corridor leading to the backyard, and the scene before him was very different from that of the restaurant in the past.

The warehouse that was originally used to store firewood has now been converted into a silver vault. The heavy elm wood door is covered with sheet metal and has three large brass padlocks. The window next to the door has been filled in with bricks and stones, turning it into a new wall that is a completely different color from the surrounding walls.

Next to the silver vault, the former grain warehouse has been converted into a pawnshop, where various pledged items are neatly displayed. Antiques, paintings, jewelry, and other valuables are displayed in the display cases against the wall, while the central area is filled with farm tools, clothing, and other everyday items. Each item is labeled with a numbered wooden tag, corresponding to one of the ledger entries.

In the center of the courtyard, neatly stacked timbers that had recently arrived were laid out, and several craftsmen were squatting in the shade, taking a midday rest. These materials were for the renovation of the innermost private room on the second floor. That private room was originally the restaurant's largest "Listening to the Rain Pavilion," which was now to be converted into a document storage room. According to the plan, not only would the floorboards be reinforced to support the load, but dozens of shelves would also be added to store the ever-increasing volume of documents and archives.

Gao Shiming went straight to the accounting room in the west wing and pushed open the door. Inside, Gao Shiming's godson, Gao Yingqiu, the deputy bank manager in charge of accounts, was engrossed in writing something at his desk, while two old scholars who were hired to manage the accounts were huddled together checking the accounts. Upon seeing the newcomer, the three of them immediately stopped what they were doing and got up to greet him.

Gao Yingqiu stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "Son greets godfather."

"Greetings, Master." The two old scholars bowed respectfully.

"No need for formalities, let's get back to work." Gao Shiming walked to the head seat and sat down, his gaze sweeping over the ledgers spread out on the table.

Gao Yingqiu quickly stood up, dusted off the dust on his front, and called out towards the door, "Someone, bring tea—" "No need," Gao Shiming raised his hand to stop him, "I'll leave after a while. Tell someone to prepare a sedan chair."

Gao Yingqiu immediately changed his tune: "No need for tea, prepare a sedan chair for the master!"

"Yes!" The servant outside the door responded and left. Gao Yingqiu then picked up his teacup and walked to Gao Shiming's side: "Where are you going, Godfather? Is there anything I can help you prepare?"

Gao Shiming had no desire for water, so he waved his hand to signal Gao Yingqiu to put down his teacup: "Minister Wang from the Ministry of Revenue just arrived, and I need to go to the head office now. Quickly bring me last month's financial report, so I can respond if the head office asks any questions."

Gao Yingqiu didn't move, but winked at the old scholar to the left of the main desk: "Minister Wang of the Ministry of Revenue? Is the godfather talking about the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Wang Yingjiao?"

Gao Shiming nodded, his wandering gaze finally settling on the document Gao Yingqiu was writing.

The old scholar silently handed over a blue ledger. Gao Yingqiu put down his teacup, took the ledger, and asked softly, "Minister Wang just submitted his request to see us the day before yesterday, why is he suddenly here?"

Gao Shiming rolled up his sleeves and tapped the table a few times: "Every single one of our tasks is related to the Ministry of Revenue, how could he not come?" As he spoke, he picked up the official document that Gao Yingqiu was writing and examined it closely.

“Godfather,” Gao Yingqiu said knowingly, placing the ledger in the designated spot, “Now that Minister Wang is here, shouldn’t we start levying a ticket tax?”

"That's why I had to report to head office; we can't let the Andingmen branch beat us to it," Gao Shiming put down his documents and looked up at Gao Yingqiu. "Why is the treasury short another tael of silver?"

“We’ve always been short of cash,” Gao Yingqiu said with a wry smile. “The monthly salaries of those officials outside the capital are mostly two, three, or four taels of silver, which they can exchange as soon as they receive the silver notes. Even if someone comes to exchange a silver note with a value of more than five taels, they still need one tael of cash. There was a seventh-rank official who exchanged his last two one-tael silver ingots with seven one-tael silver notes. If we don’t request cash, the counter will have to make do by cutting silver into pieces again.”

“Hmm,” Gao Shiming nodded, picked up his pen, and signed the document at the end. “Hurry up and add the rest of the content; I’ll take it to head office later.” After finishing, Gao Shiming stood up, offered his seat to Gao Yingqiu, and handed him the brush. “Don’t forget to use the seal.”

"Yes." Gao Yingqiu quickly took the pen and sat down to continue filling out the application for transferring cash.

Gao Shiming picked up last month's financial statement and flipped through a couple of pages. Suddenly, he said, "When you're free later, send a letter to the Western trading company in Nanxunfang and ask their manager to come to the bank to see me tomorrow morning."

Gao Yingqiu paused for a moment, then resumed writing. "Yes."

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The sedan chair carrying Gao Shiming slowly passed through Zhengyang Gate, the carrying poles creaking rhythmically with each slight bump. Occasionally, vendors carrying their wares and ordinary people chatting would peek through the gaps in the curtains, but the further north they went, the fainter the atmosphere of the marketplace became.

As they turned the corner and approached Dong'an Gate, the sedan chair paused briefly. While the city guards checked the waist tokens, Gao Shiming saw the dragon flag fluttering in the wind atop the city tower, gleaming golden in the afternoon sunlight.

After the license plates were checked and the sedan chair was allowed to pass, it slowly entered the imperial city.

Upon entering the imperial city, the scene changed instantly. Majestic vermilion palace walls stood tall, their glazed tiles gleaming. The sedan chair traveled north along the moat of the Forbidden City, the river's emerald green waters reflecting the upturned eaves of the corner towers. Occasionally, patrols of imperial guards would pass by in formation, their armor clanging with a resounding clatter.

As they passed the North Flower House, the melodious sound of bells drifted from afar, startling a flock of birds perched on Wansui Mountain. The sun gradually slanted westward, casting ever longer shadows of the palace walls. By the time the sedan chair landed in front of the old Duzhijian (Imperial Academy) office, the setting sun had already eclipsed the stone lions under the eaves. Gao Shiming lifted the sedan curtain; the blue-covered account book in his hand was warm from his continuous reading.

Gao Shiming stepped over the sedan chair poles and casually handed the account book to the head sedan chair bearer: "Hold this for me."

The sedan bearers hesitated for a moment, then quickly took the sedan chair with both hands, subconsciously straightening their clothes, thinking they were about to go inside. But they saw Gao Shiming gazing up at the newly hung "Sun and Moon Bank" plaque above the door. The plaque was carved from fine cedar wood, with silver characters on a black background, gleaming golden in the setting sun.

Gao Shiming carefully tidied up the official robes he had changed into before leaving home—first smoothing out the wrinkles on the front of the robe, then straightening the ivory tag at his waist, and finally adjusting the brim of his hat to the perfect angle.

After tidying up, he extended his hand to the sedan chair bearers. The bearers then realized what he meant and respectfully returned the account book. Gao Shiming put the book into his pocket and stepped onto the stone steps.

The headquarters still retains the layout from the time of the Director of the Imperial Household Department. A three-bay, five-bay gable-roofed gate connects to a long corridor, at the end of which is a newly renovated hall and a courtyard with newly bricked walls. The courtyard is spotless, and several bonsai trees of pine trees, unseen for over a century, are displayed under the eaves on both sides.

This once-degenerate "lowest-class government office," reduced to merely clearing roads for officials, is now bustling with eunuchs and clerks. The sounds of abacuses, writing, and whispers emanate from the various duty rooms, seemingly restoring the atmosphere of its earlier days when it "managed the transfer of various departments within the inner palace."

Gao Shiming walked through the main hall and went straight to the east wing of the second hall. The office of the deputy director of the General Affairs Bureau, who was in fact the second-in-command of the Sun Moon Bank headquarters, was located here. Gao Shiming stopped in front of the slightly mottled wooden door, straightened his sleeves, and then gently knocked on the door.

A gentle yet slightly hoarse voice quickly came from inside the door: "Come in."

Gao Shiming pushed open the door and stepped into the duty room. The duty room was small, and the furnishings were so simple that they were almost shabby—the four white walls were unpainted, the furniture was made of ordinary elm wood without any carvings, and there were no ornaments. The only eye-catching thing was a large character hanging on the wall next to the main desk, which read "Upright and exemplary in conduct."

The four large characters were written with vigorous strokes and rich ink, but there was no signature or seal. However, Gao Shiming knew that this was a piece of calligraphy that Li Fengxiang, the deputy director of the General Affairs Bureau, had obtained from his ancestor Wang An. The allusion comes from the "Discourses on Salt and Iron": "If you want your shadow to be straight, straighten your appearance; if you want your subordinates to be honest, start with yourself."

Just as Gao Shiming was surveying the duty room, Li Fengxiang, who was sitting behind the main desk, also looked up. This former Left Vice Director of the Imperial Academy was the only elderly man who remained in the original office after the abolition of the Imperial Academy. He had a thin face and gentle eyes, completely different from the figure Gao Shiming remembered who always bowed and avoided him.

Gao Shiming couldn't help but sigh. Once upon a time, their statuses were worlds apart—Gao Shiming, a high-ranking official, was the Junior Supervisor of the Inner Secretariat of the Directorate of Ceremonial, almost a step away from becoming the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, while Li Fengxiang was merely an obscure Junior Supervisor of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Back then, whenever they met, Li Fengxiang would always step forward and respectfully kneel in obeisance, even speaking with his eyes lowered cautiously. Now, times had changed, and their positions had been reversed. Gao Shiming had no time to reminisce about his past glory. He quickly composed himself, a perfectly measured smile spreading across his face, and strode forward to meet him.

Although Li Fengxiang was no longer as humble as before, his nature remained unchanged, and he was not arrogant. Seeing Gao Shiming approaching, he immediately stood up to greet him.

"Your subordinate, Gao Shiming," Gao Shiming said, as he lifted his shirt and knelt down. "Greetings, Deputy Director Li!"

(End of this chapter)