Watching the common folk gradually disperse, Main Bookkeeper Zhou wiped the sweat from his brow, let out a long sigh, and said, "Thank goodness the Master notified the Jincheng depositors in advance and had them centralize their savings, otherwise this crisis..."
Xia Huai'an stood on the steps, his gaze sweeping over the empty street, and shook his head. "Even without the depositors' funds, we could have weathered this storm." He turned to look at Main Bookkeeper Zhou, his voice steady. "The people were merely misled; they do not truly mistrust the bank, but were frightened by rumors. As long as we let them witness the bank's strength, their confidence will naturally return."
Main Bookkeeper Zhou pondered for a moment and nodded. "The Master is right. If a truly critical moment had arrived, we could easily have contacted several large households, had them publicly deposit massive sums of silver, and manufactured the illusion that 'the bank is fully funded' to stabilize public sentiment first."
Chapter 217