Darkstone Code-Chapter 763 - 0761 Big Problem
For more than a week, the Gafura Financial Index has fluctuated up and down, much like the battle between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, entering into a stalemate.
In the short term, it seems there won’t be much progress. Whether it’s the Prime Minister or the Minister of Finance, it seems difficult for either to deliver a fatal blow.
Both sides seem to have fallen into a special situation where they can’t turn back, yet moving forward is equally challenging.
The entire nation’s upper echelons are focused on this, and some people no longer have the initial certainty that the Prime Minister will achieve ultimate victory, thinking that there might be changes.
These changes stem from the Minister of Finance’s "ruthlessness," who never leaves a retreat for himself. Even other nobles, when facing such a Minister of Finance, choose to concede.
It’s not very worthwhile to completely fall out with the Minister of Finance over a relatively small matter, and even some nobles in the Prime Minister’s camp are not so firm anymore when facing the Minister of Finance’s demands.
After all, the loss brought by investigating companies is too great.
Just as people believed the "battle" between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance would last until the end of the year or even after, something seemingly insignificant utterly changed the course of events.
In the morning, the supervisor of the Imperial Royal Bank’s loan department woke up, washed up, and was reading the newspaper while having breakfast. The Royal Bank starts work at half past nine, so he had enough time to enjoy a beautiful morning and everything delightful it brought with it.
Newspaper reports had long since lost their novelty, such as news of a finance official being found with issues and having been arrested, awaiting severe legal punishment.
Or a listed company suspected of fraud was fined heavily and had its stock suspended for a month.
Initially, people were attracted by such "exciting" confrontations, but now, they had become somewhat boring.
He turned a page, reading about similar things. Both parties continued to apply pressure, but it seemed hard to achieve stunning effects.
Soon, he picked up another newspaper, "Ledu Daily," which since exposing the Yuanrong Capital scandal, had become a heavyweight publication.
Whether a publication is heavyweight isn’t determined by them saying so, but by its subscription volume demonstrating it.
In Gafura, only newspapers with a total national subscription exceeding one million can depict a golden wheat stalk in the bottom right corner of the front page to prove their influence.
"Ledu Daily" seized this opportunity, splitting the newspaper into two parts: one on current affairs and the other part with previous content of girls, wearing or not wearing clothes.
Initially, many believed this approach would fail, thinking those who read current affairs news wouldn’t appreciate girls in the newspaper, nor would those interested in the girls want their money spent on current affairs news.
Unexpectedly, "Ledu Daily’s" revised format succeeded. They used light blue and light green backgrounds to distinguish content, creating an intuitive overview.
More importantly, they hit the market’s nerve—most who enjoy current affairs news are men, so this was a newspaper born specifically for men!
After reading current affairs news, looking at those girls is a nice way to relax.
Like the supervisor, his wife sat opposite him without noticing that he was looking at those young, pretty girls rather than some dull news.
"Are you laughing?" his wife asked uncertainly, "I’ve never seen you react this way. Is there some interesting news?"
The supervisor snapped back, shaking his head, flipping a few pages forward, "No... I’m not sure if it would count as interesting for you."
"A man bit a dog and was taken to court by the dog’s owner."
His wife showed the perfect expression, "My God, that’s terrible..." She said, then returned her attention to the fashion magazines in front of her.
The supervisor restrained his expression, continuing to look at the beautiful girls in the newspaper, suddenly wanting to do some good.
He may not be able to help all the girls, but at least he could help one.
After a while, he rolled up the newspaper, tucked it under his arm, kissed his wife, and prepared to go to work.
Checking for dust on his car in the yard, his neighbor was also preparing to go to work.
Whether in Gafura or the Bail Federal, whether society and people acknowledge the existence of classes, they certainly exist.
For instance, there are no poor people in upscale communities because the residents would refuse any poor moving in, and if someone went bankrupt, they would also ask that poor household to move out quickly.
This ensures a unified class within the community and also considers security for property and personal safety.
The wealthy won’t lament losing a hundred dollars, but the poor might kill for ten.
What kind of people live in what kind of community, that’s the rule of society.
"Hey..." the neighbor greeted.
The supervisor stopped what he was doing, walked to the low hedge, and greeted back, "Good morning."
The neighbor smiled, offering a cigarette. The two men, separated by a low hedge less than a meter tall and half a meter wide, gathered to smoke.
After a few puffs, the neighbor suddenly asked, "I heard a rumor recently, you know, I always hear lots of such news."
The supervisor nodded. This neighbor was a stockbroker who had worked his way up from the bottom, identified as upper-middle class, always making money, just varying amounts.
Such people are well-informed, as the most important thing in the financial sector isn’t having unique insights, but knowing someone willing to share secrets.
The neighbor flicks his ash, looking like he was joking as he asked, "I heard the banks don’t have money now, is that true?"
The supervisor paused for a second after hearing this, then burst out laughing, "My God, that’s such an amusing story, the bank doesn’t have money?" His tone and expression were somewhat exaggerated, "That’s a great joke, the bank is out of money."
The bank being out of money, if that isn’t a joke, what is?
Everyone knows banks are the wealthiest institutions, with all sorts of savings and corporate accounts, even the Empire Treasury is a bank account. How could a bank possibly have no money?
The neighbor sighed with relief, "It’s best if it’s a joke, I wouldn’t want that day to really come, it would be a disaster."
The neighbor, saying this, extinguished his cigarette. He had greeted the supervisor specifically to discuss this matter, and now that he had gotten the answer he wanted, there was no need to stay.
It can be said this is reality, but it’s also the most common life.
"I’m off, the stock market recently isn’t the same, want to play golf this weekend?" he said while heading to his car.
The supervisor pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement, "No problem, just call me then."
High-end communities often start social interactions with neighbors, then spread to the entire community.
After agreeing to play golf on the weekend, the supervisor returned to his car, preparing to drive to work as if nothing had happened.
After checking the rearview mirror and tires, he drove slowly along the community road, greeted the security guard at the gate, and merged into traffic.
He didn’t know why, but he recalled his neighbor’s joke again and couldn’t help laughing, "Who would be so bored to say the bank has no money!"
But then a flash of insight passed through his mind, and he instinctively slammed on the brakes—a reflex, like someone tightening their fist when nervous. It’s dangerous to do that while riding a motorcycle.
With one brake slam, followed immediately by a bang, the car behind rear-ended him. A middle-aged man got out, furiously, but the supervisor sat in his seat, unresponsive.
His gaze was unfocused and scattered, repetitively muttering what looked like a joke, "Bank has no money..."
Meanwhile, an employee at a branch of the Imperial Royal Bank in the Imperial Capital changed clothes, entered a counter in the lobby, and began preparing for work.
This was a girl who wiped the table in front of her, curiously eyeing the queue outside the bank, which was uncommon.
Her first thought was wondering if any nearby supermarket had discount promotions, generally causing more people to withdraw money.
Besides that, it was only during the school season you’d see so many people handling business.
While pondering why so many were queuing, the clock in the hall chimed, and the guard opened the door.
The people waiting to process their transactions entered in an orderly manner, with one client sitting in front of the girl.
"Pleased to serve you, sir, how may I help you?" she asked with a slight smile, believing respecting others wasn’t self-belittlement but a sign of cultivation, at least in her view.
The client handed over a deposit slip, looking somewhat nervous, "I need to withdraw money."
The girl took the slip, glanced at, and verified the security mark, then nodded, "Okay, sir, please wait a moment..."
She then picked up the phone to confirm, "How much is withdrawable from this account?"
The call wasn’t ended, and soon a definite number came through the earpiece. She looked at the man in front of her, "Certainly, that’s your right, please go ahead."
The man swallowed, "Everything, if possible?"
The girl seemed puzzled as to why he would ask, "Of course, that’s your right."
