noffsinger Chapter 436: Exchange Begins
Chapter 436: Exchange Begins
"If anyone has any opinions, just raise them directly!"
A reporter stood up, holding a border district ticket in his hand.
"Chief of Staff, these Border Region Banknotes in our hands can be exchanged for food. What can you, the People's... Renminbi, exchange for?"
Wang Meng slapped his forehead. He had actually forgotten about this. No wonder the people were unhappy? If the RMB could not be exchanged for anything, wouldn't it be worse than waste paper?
Wang Meng waved his hand, and the soldiers brought out a large box and a few tables.
In full view of the public, gold bars were carried out one by one.
"Everyone, you see, for every banknote printed by the People's Bank of China, we will deposit an equivalent amount of gold in the vault! Therefore, as long as you take RMB to any branch of our People's Bank of China, you can unconditionally exchange it for an equivalent amount of gold!"
Wang Meng's words shocked everyone at the scene. He was the first person who dared to say such tough words!
"Chief of Staff, can I now exchange the Border Region notes in my hand for RMB, and then directly exchange them for gold?"
"Of course, you can change it now! But you have to think about it. It's not convenient to spend a small piece of gold!"
"It's better to hold gold, otherwise if the RMB becomes toilet paper like the French currency, wouldn't I lose a lot?"
Wang Meng didn't explain either. When it comes to his life and property, the more you explain, the more he will feel that you are harming him!
"President Zhang Jiaao, the next task is handed over to you!"
Now no one cares about the unveiling ceremony of the People's Bank of China. Wang Meng and Zhang Jiaao simply pulled off the red cloth, and the ceremony was over.
Zhang Jiaao marked the ratios of exchanging border area bills for RMB, gold, and grain, and hung them in various corners of the People's Bank of China.
Immediately afterwards, the bank's door was opened and all the counters were opened, ready to receive people who wanted to exchange RMB or gold.
In sync with the People's Bank of China's head office in Pingshun, the branches or outlets in various county towns also fell into unprecedented confusion in the entire Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and Pingshun area.
Some people took their border area tickets and exchanged them for food.
Some people took the border area tickets and exchanged them for gold.
Some people took border area tickets and exchanged them for RMB.
However, there are still some people who do not exchange anything and just hold on to their border area tickets and wait and see what happens.
Zhang Jiaao kept his promise and exchanged the border banknotes according to the exact ratio after verifying their authenticity. He also set up special windows at the entrances of various branches to explain to the people coming and going how to identify the authenticity of RMB.
After five days, about half of the total issued border area notes were exchanged. Fortunately, their gold reserves were hundreds of times the border area's grain reserves, so the exchange was stress-free.
The printing factory controlled by Lin Shubing was also working overtime, continuously supplying RMB to various branches.
Wang Meng handed over the RMB exchange business to Zhang Jiaao, and the mint to Lin Shubing, while he himself organized a propaganda team to go door to door to explain the policies to the people.
Wang Meng sent two propaganda teams to almost every township, one stationed at the entrance of the township government, and the other roaming around the entire township.
Although the news of the exchange had already been widely publicized through radio, newspapers, and big-character posters, Wang Meng was still afraid that some people had missed the news.
Since the exchange began, Wang Meng would go to the People's Bank of China headquarters every night.
"President Zhang, you collected a lot of border area bills today, right?"
"That's right. The common people exchanged their Border Region notes for gold. Only a small portion was exchanged for RMB. Alas, it seems that everyone is scared of the legal tender!"
Wang Meng shook his head helplessly. The French currency was depreciating too fast. It took less than ten years for the price of a cow to increase from one hundred yuan to one hundred yuan for an egg.
How can ordinary people trust these banknotes when the rate of depreciation is faster than a diving? It is better to exchange banknotes for gold!
"President Zhang, everything is difficult at the beginning. Let's wait a little longer. Perhaps after a while, our RMB can be circulated normally."
President Zhang instructed his men to bring today's account books while also asking them to count the border area bills.
"Chief of Staff, please take a look! This is today's account book!"
Wang Meng opened the account book, turned directly to the last page, and looked at the results.
"Hmm? Or are there some people who exchanged their border area bills for RMB?"
"Yes, it was our Governor Jia who took the lead in exchanging the currency, and then government officials, the National Defense University, Pingshun University, Pingshun Academy of Sciences, and the soldiers of our independent column followed suit and exchanged the district notes in their hands for RMB!"
"At critical moments, we still have to rely on the support of our government agencies, troops and directly affiliated enterprises! However, most of these people's salaries were paid in US dollars before, so they don't have many border area bills in their hands, and the impact is not great. However, as long as they spend boldly, ordinary people will soon follow suit!"
Speaking of this, Zhang Jiaao came up with policies to stimulate the circulation of RMB.
First, regulations are issued that no organization or individual may refuse to accept RMB for any reason.
Second, ordinary people can enjoy a 10% discount when using RMB to make purchases in companies, factories, and shops owned by the Pingshun government and the Independent Column.
"Chief of Staff, these two policies are beyond my scope of responsibility, but I can guarantee that if these two policies can be strictly implemented, they will definitely help promote the circulation of RMB!"
"Okay, I will immediately hand these two policies over to Jia Gui to implement, and they will take effect immediately! In addition, in order to stabilize prices and prevent the people from being instigated by traitors to loot supplies, tomorrow we will double the amount of supplies to all regions that use RMB!"
Facts have proved that Wang Meng was not worrying too much. After learning that Pingshun was printing RMB, Peanuts in Chongqing immediately ordered the Military Control Commission to secretly sabotage the issuance and circulation of RMB and make it ruined and discredited!
Although the power of the RMB has not yet exploded, with the precedent of the independent column growing stronger step by step, he will never allow himself to make the same mistake again.
"Damn it! How shameful! The Eighth Route Army is making trouble, but why is the Independent Column joining in the fun? Let them come up with a solution immediately! The Independent Column has grown into a towering tree in military terms, and we cannot let them suppress us economically!"
Hundreds of secret agents of the Military Control Commission set out from Xi'an overnight and rushed to the areas controlled by the Independent Column and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, preparing to launch the most rampant attack on the RMB the next day!