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Chapter 647 Uninvited Guest

His family has been running a bank in Venice for nearly a hundred years. Although it cannot be said to be a household name, it is well-known in northern Italy and northern Spain. It has served as an economic advisor to many nobles, including the royal family, and has accumulated rich experience and means.

The banking industry in the Ming Dynasty was only in its infancy, but the emperor was as familiar with banking business as himself, or even more.

Every time he encountered a problem, he would ponder for a long time but still could not find a suitable solution. After listening to him, the emperor only needed to blink his eyes and think about it, and he could quickly come up with targeted measures.

Some of these moves can be called brilliant, and can even be called driving the entire industry forward. If they were put in Europe, they would be regarded as gods by many bankers.

Sometimes Oyani even felt that the emperor was just pretending to think. Most of the time, he might have a solution before he even finished listening to the question. He just didn't say it too quickly to make the process seem more reasonable or to protect the self-esteem of his subordinates.

If a person is born with a keen sense of money and a talent for being a banker, it cannot be denied. But the Ming emperor had too many talents, not only in economics, but also in mathematics, geography, astronomy, history, language, mechanics, navigation, and military affairs. He was even a very good doctor and fashion designer.

After being exposed to it for such a long time, the only thing that can be called mediocre about him is literature and art. He doesn't like dance and drama, and is not good at poetry and painting... No, he seems to be a musician, and he specially asked the skilled craftsmen in the palace to make several unprecedented musical instruments.

There were horns made of curved brass tubes and buttons, dozens of keys mounted on a large wooden box, and seven or eight small drums of different sizes. When he had nothing to do, he would ask the eunuchs and palace maids to play. The emperor was also a part-time composer, conductor, and performer of some musical instruments, which sounded unique.

Facing such a boss, you can work, learn and enrich yourself at the same time, get a good salary and have considerable power, which should be very fulfilling.

However, the endless workload and heavy responsibilities every day make me feel a little breathless. I feel a great sense of urgency. It is really a mixture of pain and happiness.

This time he rushed to Guangzhou from Songjiang Prefecture because he received an order from the emperor, requiring him to set up a branch of the Sun-Moon Bank in Manila as soon as possible, and then conduct foreign exchange business in several large coastal cities based on the Sun-Moon gold and silver coins.

It sounds simple, as if as long as we prepare the currency, print the bills of exchange, calculate the exchange rate, and solve the currency transportation problem, we can proceed smoothly.

In fact, it is not the case. If you want to make currencies of various countries circulate in Manila, you must develop a complete set of safe and efficient procedures. First, you need to train new and old employees according to the procedures, contact and run-in with the navy responsible for escort business, and then carry out effective publicity to let merchants fully understand the details and benefits of the new business, so that it can be put on the table.

Silva had already gone to Manila, where he was mainly responsible for training employees and contacting the navy. He stayed in Guangzhou with more than a dozen accountants, calculating the estimated cash flow and reserve amount of each Sun Moon Bank day and night to avoid bank runs and malicious runs.

"I've said before, no visitors today!" Just after taking a few puffs of her cigar, there was a knock on the door. Oyani shouted impatiently without even raising her eyelids.

"Madam, it's a Mr. Wang who wants to see you. He has this..." The door was slowly pushed open, and a young woman flashed half of her body in and raised her right hand. There was a small dark golden sign hanging on her finger.

"Asshole... You should know him, right?" Although the distance was a bit far and she couldn't see the decorations and words on the sign clearly, Oyani still sat up straight, cursed in her heart, and asked calmly. This young girl was nominally her assistant, the general manager assistant and secretary of Sun Moon Bank. In addition to helping her with work, she was also responsible for her daily life. In fact, she was a palace maid, the eyes and ears that the emperor had forcibly placed beside him.

It is said that these palace maids and eunuchs were selected from the people to enter the palace at a very young age, with a status similar to that of slaves, and they served the emperor's family. They were pitiful, hateful, and terrifying, following the emperor around every day and reporting to him regularly.

"Madam, the badge on my waist says it's Zhu Sanshiliu, a centurion from the Statistics Department. I grew up in the palace and was a member of the Cuju team. I have never seen this person!" The palace maid who called herself La Mei faced her boss's questions that were full of dissatisfaction and ridicule, and she answered them neither humbly nor arrogantly, without any emotion.

In fact, even if she was criticized several times more harshly, she would not feel wronged. Having been able to grow up in the palace, she has already experienced the warmth and coldness of human nature and endured all kinds of ridicule. There are only a handful of people outside who are more vicious and cruel than the old eunuchs and the head nanny.

"Hmph... Since you are sent by His Majesty, then please invite me!" Oyani not only knew what kind of organizations the Statistics Department and the Cuju Team were, but also had some understanding of them. Since the emperor's spy had come, she had to meet him even if she didn't want to, but due to her personality, she was still saying strange things.

"Yes, ma'am... would you like tea or cocoa?" La Mei still had that expression of "I won't respond to anything you say" and mechanically performed her duties as a secretary.

"You don't have to do anything. Just stay here and record it as a witness!"

The biggest difference between women and men is not the body but the control of emotions. Even though Oyani became a close minister to the emperor, she still couldn't control her emotions when she got angry. In order to vent her dissatisfaction, she even ignored the necessary etiquette.

"Forgive me, ma'am. I should avoid this kind of situation." Oyani could ignore it, but Lamei couldn't. She knew what the Statistics Department was, and it was best not to listen to conversations of this level.

In fact, the Emperor did not ask me to be a spy. He only sent me to take care of and serve her because this woman was a Western woman who was unfamiliar with the rules of the Ming Dynasty and held a high position.

"If I say yes, then it's okay. The emperor asked you to obey my command 100%, right?" But instead of accepting the well-intentioned reminder, Oyani backed down and used the emperor's golden words to threaten her.

"...Yes, sir!" La Mei was helpless now, as the emperor had indeed said so at the beginning.

"Dear Mrs. Silva, good evening, I hope you have a nice day!"

After a while, under the guidance of Lamei, Wang Datou walked silently on the thick carpet to the door of the room. He stood in the corridor through the half-open door, took off his hat, touched his chest with one hand, bent down slightly and saluted.

"It was fine before, but it's very bad now. If you have anything to say this time, please tell me quickly. I'm very tired these days and need to go to bed early!" Oyani sat behind the desk, arms folded across her chest, responding while lighting a cigarette. Her tone was stiff, and the three words "I'm annoyed with you" were clearly engraved on her face.

(End of this chapter)