Shen Minghua couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it. He continued to pour out his grievances to Shen Heqing, bad - mouthing the Shen family and talking about his miserable life in the Shen family. His tale was truly heart - rending.
Even though Yan Mingli had heard it before, he was still moved by the emotions: "Your father just ignores you. He doesn't deserve to be a father!"
"Your grandmother actually looks down on your mother. It's really too much!"
"Your grandfather even insinuated that you're not as smart as your elder brother. Do the Shen family members have no ability to speak straightforwardly? They keep insinuating all the time."
Shen Haiyan nodded silently. Although Shen Minghua had exaggerated a lot, Yan Mingli's last sentence was right. The Shen family just loved to speak with hidden meanings.
After this outpouring of grievances, the relationship between Shen Minghua and Yan Mingli grew much closer.
Gathering his courage, Shen Minghua asked the question that had been on his mind: "Can I call you Mingli? Mingli, are you a relative of the Mu family? Why do you live in the Princess Mansion?"
Shen Haiyan saw the change in Yan Mingli's expression and got excited at once. He sighed softly and thought to himself, "Oh no! It's going to be a noisy journey."
Soon, the topic shifted from Shen Minghua's complaints about the Shen family to Yan Mingli's love story.
Shen Heqing watched expressionlessly as Shen Minghua and Yan Mingli huddled together, whispering to each other. He couldn't help but speak up: "Is this the right time to talk about this?"
"Minghua, aren't you afraid that the Shen family will come out unscathed?"
Shen Minghua looked up, confused: "Wouldn't it be a good thing if the Shen family comes out? I didn't scold them to their faces. If the Shen family is safe, I'll still be a young master of the Shen family. Everything will go on as usual. No, it can't be the same. I'll coax my mother to hide the money and not let the Shen family spend it."
"Brother Heqing, why do you look so serious? Are you in a bad mood?"
Shen Haiyan helped to cover up and fooled Shen Minghua: "It's all because of that old hag. She deliberately tested my elder brother, and then... my elder brother was unhappy because he felt that he wasn't trusted."
Shen Minghua nodded in sudden understanding. He comforted Shen Heqing to take it easy, saying that after all, the old Mrs. Shen's favorite grandson wasn't him.
The carriage soon stopped.
The bank was in a narrow alley, and the carriage couldn't get in. The four of them got off the carriage and walked there on foot.
The four entered the alley and made a few turns before they saw the bank at the end of the alley.
Shen Minghua had been here to withdraw money before and was experienced. He told Shen Heqing to put the wooden hairpin in his chest, while he himself held the token of the second Mrs. Shen.
Shen Heqing followed behind Shen Minghua, sizing up the bank with his peripheral vision.
Compared with other banks in the capital, this one was much smaller. There was only a burly man in the shop.
The man was eight feet tall and bare - chested, playing with an iron block.
Seeing someone coming, the man got up to greet them: "Two noble guests, are you here to deposit or withdraw money?"
Shen Minghua handed the token in his hand to the man and reported the secret password: "......Shopkeeper, I've spent all my money. I'm here to withdraw some more, 300 taels."
The shopkeeper was familiar with the second Mrs. Shen. After all, he had been in the bank business in the capital for so many years, and the second Mrs. Shen was the most frequent customer. Out of respect for an old acquaintance, the shopkeeper advised Shen Minghua: "Your uncle doesn't earn money easily. Your mother always spends frugally. But you, you just withdrew 1,000 taels, and you've spent it all in just a few days."
Shen Minghua didn't feel offended. Instead, he explained to the shopkeeper: "I understand. This time the situation was special. I spent that 1,000 taels as soon as I got it. First, I paid back the silver to my friend, then I bribed some people for my mother. With the remaining dozens of taels, I bought some gifts to thank my friend for taking me in. I didn't waste the money."
"By the way, Uncle, according to my mother's old rule, I'll give you an extra 10 taels of silver to thank you."
The shopkeeper took out a stack of silver notes and 300 taels of silver in cash from the box and asked: "Do you want silver notes or silver in cash? You're even more generous than your mother. You're giving me an extra 5 taels of silver."
"Silver notes. I want silver notes from a big bank." Shen Minghua had no experience last time and got silver notes from a small bank. "The restaurants don't recognize the silver notes from small banks. They're afraid I'm a fraudster."
Shen Minghua flattered the shopkeeper a few more times. Seeing that the atmosphere was right, he asked carefully: "Uncle, I'm curious about one thing. What's so special about our bank? My mother and my grandmother both deposit money in our bank, which means our bank is really good. But why haven't I heard of it before?"
The shopkeeper counted out three 100 - tael silver notes and then put away the other silver notes and silver in cash. Hearing Shen Minghua's question, he glanced at Shen Heqing.
Shen Minghua quickly explained: "This is my elder brother. We're very close. He's here to withdraw money for my grandmother. He has the secret password and the token."
After Shen Heqing presented the token and said the secret password, the shopkeeper was a bit less on guard and reminded them: "Kids should mind their own business."
"I can tell you two, but you have to bring in a new customer who must deposit this amount of money in the bank and not withdraw it for five years."
The shopkeeper stretched out his palm and gestured in front of them, meaning 500,000 taels of silver.
Shen Minghua looked at Shen Heqing. The latter wasn't curious about the bank. He just wanted to withdraw money.
"Withdraw money? How much? There's a limit to the silver notes and silver in the capital. We don't support withdrawing all the money at once." The shopkeeper's tone turned sour at the thought that Shen Heqing might withdraw all the money.
Shen Minghua recalled the stack of silver notes he had just seen and the silver in cash, roughly estimating the amount. He exclaimed: "200,000 taels?"
The Shen family had actually deposited 200,000 taels. No wonder Haiyan called her the old hag. He wasn't wrong!
The shopkeeper said unenthusiastically: "Okay, you want to withdraw 200,000 taels, right? There's 10,000 taels in silver in cash. You have to take it away by yourselves. Do you want to call someone to help?"
Shen Heqing realized something was wrong. He quickly covered Shen Minghua's mouth and explained: "He's just talking nonsense. I want to withdraw 10,000 taels. I'd like silver notes. May I ask how much silver there is in total? The shopkeeper can take 100 taels of silver, just like Minghua, as a thank - you."
The 100 - tael thank - you fee perked the shopkeeper up a bit. He took out 10,000 taels of silver notes and handed them to Shen Heqing, and then reported the total amount of silver deposited by the old Mrs. Shen.
This number made Shen Minghua jump up: "Where did that old hag get so much money?"
Shen Heqing still had a bit of sense. He put the silver notes in his bosom and then pulled Shen Minghua out.
At the door of the bank, Yan Mingli saw the two of them coming out and immediately stepped forward: "How was it? How much money?"
Shen Heqing made a gesture, and Yan Mingli also jumped up in shock: "How much? Did the Shen family rob the national treasury?"
Shen Haiyan walked over. Before he could ask, Shen Heqing told him to shut up: "Don't ask. I'm afraid you'll jump up too."
"What do you mean? I won't jump." Knowing that both Shen Minghua and Yan Mingli had been shocked and jumped up, Shen Haiyan showed disdain and firmly said that he wouldn't lose his composure.
Shen Heqing was very helpless. He sighed: "1.5 million taels of silver."
Even though Shen Haiyan had been mentally prepared, he was still shocked: "Did Shen Qingshan rob so much money? He's a brute!"
"Even if he embezzled all the disaster - relief money, there wouldn't be this much!"
Shen Minghua said faintly: "Maybe it's because they only take in and never spend."