The scene returns to Wang Zhenyu's study, where three foreigners are eating the local watermelon brought up by Song Fu. The watermelons are small and thin-skinned, and after being soaked in the cool well water, they are naturally sweet and refreshing. Wang Zhenyu also didn't avoid the topic and very naturally discussed bank-related matters with Chen Guangfu and the others.

  "Brother Guang, although the land of Xiangxi cannot compare to the prosperity of Ningbo, I have already integrated the resources of Hong Shang and am preparing to develop this place well."

  "I wonder what the General plans to do?" Chen Guangfu was just following along, but after having lunch with several parliamentarians and businessmen who were treating Ye Zuwen in the afternoon, he learned about this title of "General".

  Wang Zhenyu's throat was a bit dry, and he coughed before saying: "In this case, the three banks under the Xiangxi Development Company, Hongjiang Commercial Bank, Xiangxi Construction Bank, and Yuanjiang Development Bank are all still on paper. The integration plan for the major money houses has not been released yet. I plan to entrust three people to serve as the general managers of the three banks. I won't treat you unfairly in terms of compensation. After all, I understand the principle that it's hard to get started, and a 1% stake is necessary. The year-end dividend will be distributed, and the monthly salary will be listed according to the standard of our army's regimental commander. Do you think this is acceptable?"

  Chen Guangpu and the other two exchanged a glance, seemingly quite satisfied with this. Although they didn't know how much the battalion commander under Wang Zhenyu's command was paid each month, it was probably not low. After all, Wang Zhenyu himself was only a brigade commander.

  Chen Guangpu pulled at his sleeve and said, "It's our good fortune to serve under the great general, but I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse for the three banks. What about the scope of business? Who will coordinate management? And how much initial capital are you willing to provide?"

  No wonder he's a business person, directly asking about the key points. Although Wang Zhenyu isn't very familiar with the banking industry, he still has a clear understanding of the overall direction.

  "The Xiangxi Construction Bank is mainly responsible for loaning industrial construction projects, the Hongjiang Commercial Bank is mainly responsible for commercial project loans, and the Yuanjiang Development Bank is mainly responsible for transportation project loans. Other aspects of business can also be done.

  Currently, the qianzhuang (private financial institutions) will be merged into the Hongjiang Commercial Bank. So, it's settled that Guangfu brother will serve as the general manager of the Hongjiang Commercial Bank, and Han Zhang brother will take care of the Xiangxi Construction Bank for industrial projects.

  Gongquan brother, I read my big brother's letter and heard that you're interested in railway construction, so I think this Yuanjiang Development Bank can be handed over to you."

  The three of them had no objection to this arrangement and immediately expressed their willingness to work hard for Wang Shuai.

  "You and I will be colleagues from now on, I believe in your integrity, and I am willing to hand over the entire Xiangxi's purse to you. I hope our relationship can have a good beginning and end, and become a legendary story." Wang Zhenyu said with utmost sincerity, which moved Chen Guangfu and others deeply.

  Wang Zhenyu thought of Chen Guangfu's previous question and continued to answer: "The specific coordination and management issues are as follows. Above the three major banks, Zhengfu will establish the Xiangxi National Bank. This bank not only supervises all banks within the territory but may also issue currency in the future. The main business of this bank is policy-related and does not operate externally. The three of us will concurrently serve as vice presidents of the bank, and the president position will be held by Ye Lao. I will hold the position of chairman of the Xiangxi Development Company, so the company's president will also be held by Ye Lao. In the future, you can help Ye Lao handle banking matters together. For minor matters, Ye Lao can make decisions directly without needing to inform me."

  Ye Zuwen also nodded in agreement with the three of them.

  "In addition, the bank is currently in its infancy, which means that there are many things that need to be done and a lot of funds are needed for various constructions. Therefore, the bank's own investment will be very limited, so many difficulties need to be overcome by everyone's efforts. As for the capital, it will be relatively sufficient, with a total of 24 million yuan in shares among the three banks. Currently, the development company has 100 million yuan that can be allocated, and this money will be allocated to the three banks according to project needs. Specifically, you should complete the preparation work as soon as possible, and consider hiring professionals from Shanghai at high salaries. After the specific plan is drawn up, report it to Old Ye. I hope that by next month at the latest, the three banks can open one after another."

  Chen Guangpu and the other two quickly entered the corner, very naturally took out their notebooks and pens, and began to record Wang Zhenyu's words one by one. This action later also affected various circles of Hunan Western military and politics, whenever leaders gave speeches, they all started using notebooks and pencils or pens to carefully take notes.

  But when Frankee and others heard that Xiangxi Development Company had raised 100 million yuan, their eyes lit up instantly.

  As soon as they thought that the three of them would have the opportunity to take charge of China's current largest three non-state-owned commercial banks, Chen Guangfu and others, who were slightly excited, immediately stood up and bid farewell to Wang Zhenyu. They will return to their temporary residence to continue discussing how to carry out their work. In their view, the opportunity to make a big move has arrived.

  Now the only ones left in the study are our classmate Wang Da-shuai, Mr. Ye Zu-wen and three foreigners. Don't be surprised, Wang Zhen-yu's father-in-law Ye Zu-wen is a polyglot who can translate English, French and German, and he used to work at the Premier's office. As for the Belgian and Luxembourgish people, they speak French and German respectively.

  The first to speak was Franki, the representative of the Belgian bank that claimed to have discovered the gold mine. He was a Belgian eager for success, and the Belgians' most successful transaction in China had been their previous deal with Governor Zhang Zhidong regarding the Lu-Han Railway. The profit from that business was astonishing, and if he could emulate it, he would certainly be rewarded by His Majesty the King upon his return home, perhaps even being granted a noble title by the illustrious monarch.

  Based on this idea, Frankie, who was already a bit abnormal, felt that the more calm and composed Wang Zhenyu was, the more he thought this person was his Zhang Zhidong.

  "Respected General Wang, delighted to meet you. Please allow me to extend the warmest greetings from Huabei Bank to you and your family." Actually, foreigners also attach importance to necessary courtesy and greetings.

  "Wang Zhenyu responded with a natural and polite smile: 'I wish your business will be booming and prosperous, and your wealth will be rolling in!'"

  After the pleasantries, Frankie immediately returned to his true nature as a Western businessman: "Dear General Wang, we hope to establish a cooperative relationship with you and make our own contribution to the development of human society. Specifically, I am very interested in your Xiangxi Great Development Plan. From the content, this should be the project with the highest investment value and social benefit that I have seen in this era. Let's imagine it together, turning a barbaric, desolate, and backward place into China's most modern and prosperous region. Such a brilliant idea requires sufficient courage, wisdom, and of course, money."

  Wang Zhenyu looked at Frankie, who was full of passion: "Yes, Mr. Frankie, you're absolutely right. I'm very interested in knowing what valuable advice you and your bank can offer for this great plan that is full of social benefits."

  Franky tapped the table lightly and said, "Funding, dear Wang, we Belgians can provide funding for your project. Of course, this is all on the premise that your project has investment value."

  Wang Zhenyu was speaking when Ye Ziyuan's personal maid, Jingxiang, walked in with a plate of winter dates. Everyone immediately stopped talking. After Xiaoyue married Song Haomin, Wang Zhenyu had planned to let the young couple end their service work and live a more realistic life. However, Ye Dajie still needed someone to serve her, so Ma Xicheng chose 14-year-old maid Jingxiang to serve 16- or 17-year-old Ye Ziyuan. The guards were afraid of Madame's fierce reputation and did not dare to block the maid who was sent to deliver winter dates. This phenomenon made Wang Zhenyu frown, it seemed that there were still huge loopholes in the work of his personal guards, he would have to inform Zhao Dongsheng about this later. The next day, the two guards on duty tonight, Zhao Dongsheng's nephew Zhao Songyang and younger brother Zhao Chong, were personally executed with 20 military sticks by Zhao Dongsheng, all the guards who witnessed the punishment were terrified...

  Let's not talk about this, Wang Zhenyu ate a winter jujube and had Zhu Cihang hand over the latest draft of the Xiangxi Grand Development to Ye Zuwen. Then, with great interest, he watched three foreigners listen to his father-in-law brag.

  Foreigners heard a burst of cheers, more than 500 kilometers of railways, an annual output of 10 million tons of steel mills, textile mills, soap factories, hydroelectric power stations, ordnance factories, cement plants... ...and a model city that will surpass Qingdao - Anjiang.

  "Good heavens, this is just like building a new Luxembourg." Felix, Consul of Luxembourg in Hankou and commercial agent of the Arbed steel and equipment company, was the first to exclaim.

  "This is impossible, a model city even more beautiful than Qingdao, this is impossible, General, you are joking too much. You know that our German Empire's capital Berlin is inferior to Qingdao in some aspects. How can you...". The straightforward German Hans raised his doubts on the spot.

  Only Frankie did not respond immediately, he was still carefully studying the plan book full of great ideas, and his mind was also tense estimating how much funding such a large-scale plan would need to support. Unlike Hansen, Frankie basically agreed with the feasibility of this plan book, but whether it was the railroad or the steel mill, it would take a relatively long period of time to see results.

  Frankie is different from Felix, he plays with capital, and what he considers is profit, that is to say, if he lends money to this young-looking general, how much profit can the company get and whether the money can be safely recovered is what he needs to consider. As for whether the plan itself is feasible or not, it is only a consideration item for the safety aspect of the latter, and not a decision-making item for the former.

  Wang Zhenyu ignored the surprise and questioning, smiling as he looked at Frankie, who was playing the role of Zheng, waiting for his words.

  Frankie said in a low voice, "General Wang, have you ever calculated how much funds are needed for such a large-scale plan? And if our Huabi Bank can provide loan support to the General, what benefits can we get besides interest?"

  "Gentlemen, plans are just plans, they can never keep up with changes. I've never worried about how much money I'll spend, my only concern is whether the money I earn can cover what I need to spend. Mr. Frankie, compared to the total investment in Xiangxi development, I'm more concerned about how much support your Hua Bi Bank can provide me? As we all know, input and output are directly proportional, the more you put in, the higher the output, so naturally, the more money, the better. Of course, when it comes to harvesting, our friends' interests are also something we will strive to protect. So, dear Frankie, how much help can you offer me?"