The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#395 - New Luck

“I want to withdraw the three million six hundred thousand taels of silver that Mr. Nanzhai has deposited here. I believe the Taiping Bank wouldn't want this money to continue lying in your vault, right?”

Hearing Lu Jing's request, Manager Qu couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief. “Great Hero Lu, you possess Mr. Nanzhai's token and handwritten letter, which grants you the right to dispose of these three million six hundred thousand taels of silver. Therefore, it is naturally acceptable for you to withdraw them all. However, three million six hundred thousand taels is not a small sum.

“If you want to withdraw it all in silver, you'll have to give our bank a few days to prepare. Also, I don't know where you plan to transport this silver. If it's far away, we'll need to contact the escort agency and horse transport company in advance…”

Lu Jing interrupted Manager Qu, saying directly, “What suggestions do you have if I want to withdraw it today?”

“Well, Taiping Bank does offer similar exchanges. We can convert the silver into gold and jewelry, or even antiques and calligraphy, which are more valuable. However, the price will likely be slightly lower than the market price. And to be honest, even if three million six hundred thousand taels were converted into jewelry and calligraphy, it would still require several carriages.”

Lu Jing quietly waited for the other party to continue.

As expected, Manager Qu paused and then continued, “If Great Hero Lu still trusts us, I can help you convert this money into silver notes.”

Lu Jing frowned upon hearing this. “What's the difference?”

“There is a difference. Please listen to my explanation. The silver notes I'll issue to you this time are small denominations, ranging from one hundred to five hundred taels, which are the most widely circulated Taiping Bank silver notes on the market. Moreover, they are unregistered, recognizing the note but not the person, making them almost impossible to trace.

“However, there are also disadvantages. Once lost or damaged, the bank will not be liable for compensation. After all, we can't verify whether the customer truly lost it or is falsely claiming a loss, or whether someone else picked it up.”

Lu Jing thought for a moment, “Then exchange it for these unregistered silver notes.”

“In that case, you can receive the money in at most half an hour, Great Hero Lu.” Seeing that the matter was settled, Manager Qu planned to personally fetch the silver notes for Lu Jing.

But unexpectedly, the latter said again, “Wait, now that we've finished discussing the three million six hundred thousand taels of silver, it's time to talk about the lost two hundred thousand taels, right?”

Manager Qu was slightly stunned.

Seeing the expression on the other party's face, Lu Jing also raised his eyebrows, saying with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, “What? Even now, you still want to tell me that this matter has nothing to do with Taiping Bank?

“When I heard you say that before, I found it very absurd, because as far as I know, Mr. Nanzhai hasn't touched this half of the jade pendant for over forty years. If there really was a problem, it must have been caused by Taiping Bank. It's just that at the time, I wasn't sure whether this was the act of certain people within the bank or the intention of your owner, so I decided to make a trip myself.”

“But on the way, there was something I couldn't understand, and I would like Manager Qu to enlighten me.”

“What is it?” Manager Qu was slightly alarmed, but still said in a deep voice.

“Suppose, suppose Manager Qu, you weren't lying, and there really was such a person who used some means to steal half of the jade pendant from Mr. Nanzhai's hand and learned to imitate Mr. Nanzhai's handwriting, thereby deceiving Taiping Bank. Then, I ask you, why did he only withdraw two hundred thousand taels of silver from the bank in the end?

Manager Qu heard the threat in Lu Jing's words, sighed deeply, “The two hundred thousand taels of silver are indeed no longer in Taiping Bank, but what you said also makes sense. This time, it was indeed our Taiping Bank's negligence, and we should bear this part of the loss.

“How about this, I will exchange another two hundred thousand taels of silver notes for Great Hero Lu, to replenish Mr. Nanzhai's savings with us.”

Lu Jing knew that this was almost Taiping Bank's bottom line. He did want to take advantage of this matter to demand a huge compensation for himself.

However, martial world affairs, in the end, still have to be reasonable.

The key is that he doesn't have any substantial evidence in his hand that can prove that Taiping Bank is indeed related to the group of people who attacked him earlier.

He can find the loopholes in the story Manager Qu told earlier and threaten the other party with Taiping Bank's reputation to cough up the inexplicably missing two hundred thousand taels of silver, but if he demands more hush money, then Taiping Bank can also bite back, saying that Lu Jing is framing them for money.

Then there will be a war of words between the two sides.

Of course, if Lu Jing is really unhappy, he can also overturn the table.

But he is not a member of the Demonic Path after all, and this is not the Wild West of America, where he can rob whoever he wants. If Lu Jing does not plan to change camps in the near future, then the basic rules still have to be followed.

Therefore, the final solution was settled like this. Lu Jing helped Han Shan Ke get back all of his savings in Taiping Bank, which can be considered worthy of the other party's kindness in making pills for him.

As for whether Han Shan Ke has deposited silver in other banks, and whether these silver will be discovered, it is not Lu Jing's concern.

In the end, Manager Qu issued Lu Jing a full ten thousand silver notes totaling three million eight hundred thousand taels.

And according to Lu Jing's request, she exchanged them for pearls worth seven hundred taels, and one hundred taels of cash. The silver notes alone filled two large sacks.

Fortunately, this weight was nothing to Lu Jing. He felt like he had returned to his days as a porter in the Green Bamboo Gang, carrying a sack on his shoulder and striding out the door.

After going out, Lu Jing did not rush back to Heng Ji Coffin Shop, but first found a place with few people, put down the sack, and then turned to look at the black cat beside him, curiously asking.

“What kind of luck did you absorb from that guy surnamed Li just now?”

Logically speaking, this guy was already full today and was not very interested in ordinary luck, but it did remember helping Lu Jing change his fate. Originally, it had its eyes on Princess Fu'an.

However, Lu Jing thought that the two sides had known each other for a while, and Princess Fu'an and Gu Caiwei also had a good relationship, so he couldn't bear to do it. It wasn't until he met Li Guanshi in the bank again that the black cat's reaction became very strong.

So Lu Jing opened his mouth and stopped Li Guanshi, who was about to go out.