Chapter 238 Loan
After Zhang Haomin left, Chen Jue went to Chen Tao's Ministry of Agriculture and talked to him about the current grain storage issue.

"This year, the Ministry of Agriculture must make arrangements so that people, in addition to planting normal grains, must plant some high-yield crops such as corn, sweet potatoes, taro, pumpkin, etc. to prevent disasters!" Chen Gu emphasized again at last.

Now the per capita arable land area is sufficient. Even if the highest-yield rice is only 300 to 500 kilograms per mu, five mu of land per capita is enough for food. The only thing to be afraid of is famine. When the government is unable to provide relief, it is a very good choice to let the people prepare for self-rescue in advance.

Moreover, coarse grains are also food. Even if there is no famine, if people cannot finish eating them, they can be used to feed livestock.

Chen Tao smiled and said, "This is a small matter. Even if we don't talk about it, the people in the corners of the fields and in front of and behind the houses will plant some fruits and vegetables to prepare for famine. Even though the government has allocated them five acres of land, they will not let go of some corners."

Chen Gu couldn't help but laugh. This was true. After all, our nation is an agricultural nation. Farming is engraved in our genes. When we see a vacant space, we will think about planting something there.

It was the countless famines that made everyone fear starvation in their bones, and the only way to avoid starvation was to grow more crops.

"The Ministry of Finance will open money houses in every market town and provide a certain amount of loans to the people at a low annual interest rate of 5%. The people who have just received land have a weak foundation and may have to work hard to collect seeds and farm tools.

But now that we have a money house, we should be able to solve their urgent problem of silver and money turnover. In this case, we might as well take a bigger step, such as breeding some chickens, ducks, piglets and lambs in advance, or even buying some large livestock such as cattle and horses to sell to them.

What do you think?" Chen asked.

Chen Tao frowned and thought for a while, then said, "That's good, but I'm afraid it will increase their risk."

"There are risks, but as long as they are well controlled, there is actually not much risk. For example, each person can buy a certain number of chicks and ducklings. A family can buy one or two pigs and sheep. Several families can buy one cow or horse together, or if there are many people in a family, they can buy one individually. Then the risk will be much smaller!" said Chen Gu.

Chen Tao thought about it and asked, "Then can my Ministry of Agriculture make money?"

Chen Gu raised his eyebrows upon hearing this and said with a smile: "Sure, the money earned can be used for research, or used to distribute to officials of the Ministry of Agriculture as bonuses, but once the purpose is to make a profit, the taxes that should be paid cannot be reduced.

And it's best not to do anything tricky. If I find out that your Ministry of Agriculture dares to collude with the Ministry of Taxation, don't blame me for taking ruthless action against you. Don't think that I can protect you just because I am the recorder.

Lao Nian is already forming a Jinyiwei! "

"You actually formed the Jinyiwei?" Chen Tao couldn't help but be shocked. The notoriety of the Jinyiwei was really deeply rooted in people's minds.

"Don't worry, they only have the power to investigate, not the power to enforce the law, and there is no imperial prison. Besides, as long as you behave yourself, the Jinyiwei will naturally have nothing to do with you!" said Chen Gu.

Chen Tao sighed and said, "Power will grow and develop on its own, and you will definitely not give the Jinyiwei the power to enforce the law. Will your descendants not give the Jinyiwei the power to enforce the law in the future?"

Chen Ke naturally couldn't guarantee that his successor was capable. If he was not capable, he might delegate the law enforcement power to the Jinyiwei for convenience and trouble.

After all, it would be much easier to command a dog if you only have one dog.

"Why think so much?" Chen Gu smiled and said, "Each generation has its own responsibilities. We just need to do our own things well. As for what the second generation does, that is their business.

If we really can't do it well, it won't matter whether there are Jinyiwei or not." "That's true!" Chen Tao couldn't help but smile. After all, Chen Jue was still young, and it was too early to think about his successor.

With the support of the money houses, spring ploughing went very smoothly. A 5% interest rate was absolutely considered very fair in that era. No matter if the money was borrowed to buy seeds, farm tools, or pigs, cattle, sheep, or horses, it was impossible to earn only 5% in a year.

Even if they unfortunately died, the losses they suffered were within the tolerance of the people.

The government also promised that if there were any reasons why the loan could not be repaid, not only could the debt be deferred for three years, the interest rate would be reduced to 3%, and the loan could be borrowed again, with the interest rate for the second loan being 3%.

You can even borrow three times or four times. If you are unlucky enough to need to borrow a fifth time, you won’t have to pay interest then.

In short, the government will support you indefinitely, and it will not be over until you are supported.

Of course, this is only a basic loan used for ordinary production and daily expenses, so the loan limit for each person is 20 taels of silver, and the limit for a household is 100 taels of silver.

Such a preferential policy naturally won the support of all the people. The money shop had just entered the market town for half a month, and more than 200 million silver coins were in urgent need.

Zhang Haomin hurriedly ran to find Chen Gu, saying that there were only more than 50 million taels of silver left, and asked Chen Gu whether to tighten the mortgage quota.

"It seems that the rural population that farms here is only about 20 million, right?" Chen Gu frowned and asked, "Could it be that all of them are coming here to borrow money?"

"You don't think that ordinary citizen would have surplus food at home, do you?" Zhang Haomin asked in surprise.

That is to say, all the ordinary people came to borrow money, and more than 200 million was simply not enough!

"Then no one will deposit money in our bank?"

"It's not that there aren't any, but compared to the number of people who are borrowing money, it's just a drop in the bucket. Because it's not just the rural population that's borrowing money. People in towns and cities also want to start small businesses. There are also people who come to borrow money. We can't treat them differently, right?"

Chen Gu stroked his chin and thought for a while, then said, "Let's introduce paper money, and at the same time let the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Taxation take back the paper money. In addition, the government will introduce grain at a fair price, which can be purchased with paper money."

Chen Gu's plan to launch paper money was not hindered because it was backed by the Ministry of Agriculture's poultry and livestock and the Ministry of Taxation's taxes and grain. Whether it was used by ordinary people as loans or distributed as salaries to officials, everyone accepted it happily.

It’s just that after accepting it, they will spend it right away.

However, with the circulation of paper money, the money houses were finally able to make ends meet. After all, silver would not disappear out of thin air. It just flowed into merchants and circulated among various government departments.

The continuous mortgage loans from money houses have left many people who have made money with nowhere to go. Instead of just keeping the money to collect dust, it would be better to put it in a money house to earn some interest, which is still some income.

(End of this chapter)