"Master, there is a friend of yours who wants to see you!"
The steward's words interrupted Chen Guangfu's train of thought.
A well-dressed middle-aged man walked in. Chen Guangfu looked up, was startled, and said in surprise: "Oh, is it you?"
The visitor’s name is Kong Xiangxi.
Back then, when Chen Guangfu was looking at stalls at the St. Louis World's Fair, Kong Xiangxi was studying at Oberlin College in Ohio. He used his summer vacation to visit and got acquainted with Chen Guangfu. They were both in foreign countries, and the two young people hit it off and had a good conversation.
.It has been nearly ten years since that separation.
"Brother Yongzhi, my brother Yongzhi!" Chen Guangfu was overjoyed and held Kong Xiangxi's hand: "We've been apart for ten years. After ten years, I think about brother Yongzhi all the time. Why do you have time to see me today?
Already?"
Kong Xiangxi smiled and said: "I heard that Guangfu was prospering in Shanghai, so he came here to beg for food."
Chen Guangfu laughed "haha": "Brother Yong, you are kidding me again. Others will have no food to eat, and your Kong family will have no food to eat? Come, come, sit down."
They served good tea and asked all the servants to show up: "What is Brother Yong doing now?"
"What can I do? I just got a job in the government, and now I can be regarded as wearing the skin of Zhang Dangguan." Kong Xiangxi said with a smile.
Seeing that Kong Xiangxi was looking around, Chen Guangfu didn't ask much.
After chatting there for a while, Kong Xiangxi took out a stack of money from his bag and put it in front of Chen Guangfu.
"Brother Yong, what does this mean?" Chen Guangfu asked doubtfully.
"Where to deposit money?" Kong Xiangxi looked very strange: "Your brother Guangfu runs a bank. I have 10,000 yuan here. I have to trouble you to open an account for me and deposit it with you."
Chen Guangfu had a complicated look on his face, but then he said with a hint of truth: "If brother Yongzhi is not afraid that my bank will collapse, I will go and handle it myself tomorrow morning."
Kong Xiangxi also smiled slightly: "I'm sorry to bother Guangfu, but the name on this account cannot be opened to me. This is someone else who asked me to deposit it in Shanghai Commercial Savings Bank."
"Oh?" Chen Guangfu felt strange: "Whose name is it?"
Kong Xiangxi took a sip of tea and said casually: "Wang Hengyue."
"Oh..." Chen Guangfu said "oh" smoothly, and suddenly his expression changed: "Which Wang Hengyue is it?"
Kong Xiangxi smiled lightly: "In addition to the president of the Republic of China, who else is Wang Hengyue?"
Chen Guangfu trembled.
Wang Hengyue? Wang Hengyue, the President of the Republic of China, wants to deposit money in his own bank?
"Why, aren't you welcome?" Chen Guangfu put down his cup: "The President is in Shanghai right now. He heard about your brother Guangfu and the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank from somewhere, so he specifically asked me to deposit 10,000 yuan here.
Think of it as some support from the president for national finance..."
"Wait, wait..." Chen Guangfu thought for a moment: "Brother Yong, tell me honestly, what are you doing in the government now?"
Kong Xiangxi smiled again: "The Chief Financial Officer of the Republic of China government..."
Chen Guangfu took a breath of air.
He never expected that his former friend would now transform into the Chief Financial Officer... Then he would have to think carefully about the purpose of his visit today.
"There is no official appointment yet, and it will take about a month before it is announced." Kong Xiangxi himself seemed nonchalant: "The government has promulgated a series of economic plans, including those related to the banking industry. Qin Guangcheng recently served as the director-general of agriculture and commerce.
, who concurrently served as the president of the National Economic Development Federation, immediately promulgated many issues regarding the rectification and protection of the banking industry. Therefore, it can be seen that the country attaches great importance to the banking industry and is determined to do a good job in finance..."
After a brief pause, Kong Xiangxi continued:
"Shanghai is a place that attracts national attention. There are many banks here, both Chinese and foreign. The competition with each other is very fierce. It can even be said that Shanghai is a benchmark for national finance!"
Chen Guangfu nodded thoughtfully.
Kong Xiangxi continued: "However, under the suppression of foreign banks, private banks like Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank have very little room for development. It is even said that survival is very difficult. If there is a slight mistake, there is no room for recovery. For example, this time I
I heard that Brother Guangfu encountered some trouble..."
Chen Guangfu was silent for a while and did not deny it.
Indeed, our own Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank has encountered some troubles.
I never imagined that Shanghai Bank would encounter a run on banks... This is what bankers are most afraid of. Hu Xueyan, who was very popular at that time, fell into the run on banks, ruined his reputation, and finally lost his life.
It’s all paid for...
At the end of August 1920, there was heavy rain in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River and Han River surged. The embankments at the confluence of the Yangtze River and Han River burst, and the Han River infiltrated into the urban area of Hankou.
When the news came, Chen Guangfu's heart tightened. Hundreds of thousands of tons of salt stored in the warehouse in Hankou by the Bank of Shanghai as deposits were constantly exposed to rain and flooding. The water situation was urgent, and letters and telegrams kept coming, which shocked Chen Guangfu.
On August 28, the water in the Wuhan River reached 55.6 feet, and the lower floors of the warehouses of the shipping companies in Hankou were all flooded. The salt, hundreds of thousands of pounds of salt, was lost in the ocean! In just one flood, the Shanghai Bank lost nearly 100,000 pounds.
Two million.
One wave ends, another wave rises...
In this troubled time, some people who covet the Bank of Shanghai have begun to take action.
"Hankou lost millions of yuan, bonds lost more than 20 million yuan, and Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank is about to go bankrupt."
Such rumors spread like wildfire, and customers panicked, fearing that their hard-earned savings would be lost, and they rushed to Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank to withdraw their deposits.
Early in the morning on October 28, there was a huge crowd in front of the Bank of Shanghai, and a large amount of reserves that had been prepared on weekdays were withdrawn.
At first, Chen Guangfu didn't pay much attention to the squeeze, and responded to the squeeze calmly, hoping that the rumor would be disproven. Unexpectedly, after three days, the squeeze not only did not stop, but intensified, and the deposits withdrawn reached half of the total inventory.
Chen Guangfu, who was usually steady and experienced, felt uncertain at this moment. The turbulent crowd and the scrambling eyes suddenly gave him a cold feeling on his back, and he couldn't help but shiver all over. He seemed to see Hu Xueyan's sad and desperate look.
expression......
As a last resort, Chen Guangfu had no choice but to ask for help. He first thought of his best friend, Zhang Jiaao, who was the general manager of the Bank of China at the time.
After receiving the call, Zhang Jiayao immediately ordered all branches of the Bank of China to do their best to support the branches of the Bank of Shanghai, and allowed the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank to borrow 800,000 yuan to meet the withdrawals and deposits.
In order to save his brothers, Zhang Jiaao really went all out. He ordered a special position to be opened and cash was used to support him. He ordered people to transport boxes of cash from the Shanghai Bank of China on Renji Road to the Shanghai Bank on Ningbo Road, and placed them among those who were busy withdrawing deposits.
In front of the depositor's eyes, boxes of cash continued to arrive, temporarily driving away the doubts in the mind of the depositor. Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank deliberately piled large amounts of cash on the business counter and in conspicuous places in the corridor, piling up like small
of Silver Mountain.
But the mastermind behind it was unwilling to give up, and new rumors spread again.
"Zhang Jia'ao pretended to be a public official for personal gain and will be investigated soon; Bank of China and Bank of Communications no longer support Commercial Bank, and Commercial Bank must collapse this time; Chen Guangfu's wife and children have already gone abroad, and he himself may run away one day."
It has just been a quiet day, and the craze for squeezing has started again...
This time, the road outside the Shanghai Bank was crowded with people. Customers were all vying for the first place, banging on doors and windows, shouting at the sky and fighting for the land. They were simply not caring about life and death, and what they held in their hands was just a few dozen yuan, or a deposit certificate of two to three hundred yuan.
.
Depositors who have not yet withdrawn their money are as if they are bereaved, and they even threaten to hang themselves in front of the merchant store if they fail to withdraw their money today.
The negative effects of starting a one-yuan deposit unfortunately appeared at this critical moment.
Chen Guangfu begged his grandfather to sue his grandmother, but all the money he finally got was withdrawn in no time. No matter how much money he borrowed, it wouldn't take long for him to get all the money left. Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank was in danger of going bankrupt!
Chen Guangfu was already in despair over this matter. If he could not raise enough funds tomorrow, he would really have no choice but to find a rope to hang himself.
Is what the foreigners say really accurate? Is it really not possible for the Chinese to run their own banks?
At this time, Kong Xiangxi mentioned the matter, and Chen Guangfu suddenly ignited hope: "Brother Yong, you are the chief financial officer, and you also know the current crisis of Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank. Look..."
"I can't help you, and neither can the government..."
Kong Xiangxi's words made Chen Guangfu's heart sink to the bottom of the sea. He smiled bitterly and pointed at the ten thousand yuan on the table: "You know that my bank is about to close, but you still want to send the money in?"
"I said, this is not my money, it is the president's money. You must not be mistaken about this." Kong Xiangxi smiled slightly and said calmly: "Besides, although the government cannot help you, but
There is someone who can help you."
"Who?" Chen Guangfu suddenly ignited hope again.
"President, Wang Hengyue!"
Kong Xiangxi's answer made Chen Guangfu stunned: "This... what is the difference between the president and the government?"
"The president is the president, and the government is the government." Kong Xiangxi stood up with a smile and glanced at Chen Guangfu: "The president asked me to tell you that the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank will continue to operate as usual tomorrow. In your most desperate situation,
When the time comes, there will naturally be people who will help you get through the hard times."
As he said that, he cupped his hands and said, "Brother Guangfu, let's see you tomorrow!"
Chen Guangfu was stunned, not understanding what Kong Xiangxi meant at all!