The Founder of the Great Financial Family

"Placer gold is also gold, but it's not usually used in the form of placer gold. It's easier to transport and is usually processed into gold coins to ensure a certain amount of value to each coin. You guys know about gold coins, right?"

"Of course, we know!" The third child, Joshua, answered most confidently, 

"When you say gold, don't most people usually think of gold coins? But what about them?"

"Who would make the gold coins?"

It was the second child, Andrew, who answered.

"Hmm… goldsmiths? Goldsmiths usually make gold coins,"

Although they were young, they weren't ignorant. 

Rockefeller smiled lightly and continued his words, 

"That's right. Goldsmiths usually produce gold coins with an imperial license. Silver is a currency managed by the territory's lord and circulated in that area, but not gold. The imperial family standardised gold coins, and only a few blacksmiths who have permission from the imperial family can make gold coins. For convenience, a goldsmith is assigned to each province and distribute the gold coins they make to that area,"

It was then that Joshua, who realised Rockefeller's intentions, began to react with a bright face, 

"Then can we sell placer gold to the goldsmith? That person has nothing to do with the lord, right?"

"Right. They are master craftsmen with an imperial license. Although they aren't completely unrelated to the lord of each territory, they aren't directly managed by them either. So from our position, it's worth at least trying to sell a portion of our gold secretly,"

Joshua looked convinced, but Andrew still had an expression of doubt on his face. 

"Rockefeller-hyung, is there really no problem if you do that?" 

Rockefeller gazed at him as he shared his concerns, 

"In the end, he's also someone running a business in the lord's land, right? So it's not like he's unrelated to the lord,"

"There will be some form of relationship with the lord. However, from their point of view, they wouldn't feel the need to tell the lord about a small deal they made with us because those people are extremely profit-orientated. Contrary to popular belief, goldsmiths aren't sincere and moral people. They're the type who can even make a deal with the devil if there's profit in it for them," 

"With the devil?" 

When the mention of the devil was made, his younger siblings looked a little surprised and frightened. 

‘Well, they are kids in the end,'

Rockefeller was fully aware of the depravity of goldsmiths who were at the same time being viewed as professionals trusted by everyone. Someone had to prove their trust and competence to the imperial family to do goldsmithing with the imperial license. 

You have to prove the sincerity with which you have lived and your loyalty to the imperial family – a lot of that is based on the tax you've made and moral issues.

‘Even in the imperial family, if they think you have moral problems, they won't let you be a goldsmith. Making and distributing gold coins is a trade based on trust.'

However, the morality in question showed the pure gold content of gold coins and the sincerity in the taxes paid to the imperial family. 

The imperial family did not interfere beyond that, so there was no need for morality in what happened outside that sphere. 

‘And that's why the first money and finance-related businesses were born,'

If goldsmiths were as kind and sincere as everyone thought, would they have lent gold coins to others and charged interest as well?

According to the Church's doctrine, it was sinful to receive interest from others. 

Ironically, goldsmiths are recognised by the imperial family for their sincerity and trust. Still, they were actually the people who fell to hell by doing an interest-based money-making business. 

That was why there were very few cases where nobles did such things, and there were many cases where wealthy commoners would throw the prospect of hell to the dogs and pursue the profits right before their eyes and make that their main line of business. 

In the first place, the people who were goldsmiths were those types of people, so Rockefeller thought it was possible to trade with them secretly. 

And he explained this thoroughly to his younger siblings. 

"You understand what your hyung has been saying so far, right? They are not good people, but rather, they are people who fall to hell because they're in the money-lending business," 

As he explained this to his younger siblings, they started to worry about strange things. It was the connection between goldsmiths and falling to hell. 

"Rockefeller-hyung, then aren't we going to hell too?" 

Since they were still young children, he realised they believed in heaven and hell and a world after death. 

Both Andrew and Josh looked frightened, and even the fourth child, Leo, who rarely spoke out, said, 

"We can't go to hell," 

Rockefeller laughed lightly and began to soothe his siblings,

"Did you know this? Heaven or hell, all you need is money to go,"