Chapter 96 Warning (Part 2)
Since the Chanyuan Alliance, since the annual coins that need to be delivered to the Liao Kingdom include cloth and silk, becoming an imperial merchant in the weaving industry has always been a tangled issue. thing.
The demand for three hundred thousand pieces of silk every year is not a small amount. If it is not broken into parts, it is impossible for any cloth merchant to eat it. And even if it is divided into parts, the court still gives large numbers one by one. However, with such a huge demand for cloth, it was impossible for the imperial court to offer a truly high price for the purchase. This was not a luxury item, and the price was often even lower than what was available on the market.
Every year, some precious silks and satins are purchased by the palace. This is the price of luxury goods. Of course there is a profit, but compared to 300,000 horses, the demand is not large. . Becoming an imperial merchant will definitely bring certain privileges, so for large merchants, some merchants will spare some time to take orders related to Sui coins, make small profits but quick turnover, or simply ignore making money and use some of the privileges given by the imperial court to develop other places. business.
The Su family's background is still a little insufficient in this regard. Of course, there is no problem in taking on a small part, but if you take the initiative to ask for it, it will be quite troublesome. The Su family itself has a large amount of business that needs to be maintained. Once the royal order is taken, they will not care if you need time to buffer or anything. The goods must be delivered when the time comes. If you want not to affect the already saturated business supply and demand relationship, the Su family Sufficient supply capacity must be guaranteed in advance.
In other words, you are required to prepare new workshops and new sources of raw materials in advance. These businesses do not provide much profit and may bring certain privileges, but the energy spent in expanding these new workshops will itself make the Su family The expansion ability has truly reached saturation, and privileges are given to you, but you have no energy to expand.
On the other hand, if you can take over part of the business of old cloth, and you have a better kind of cloth, the palace will also release the demand for some precious silks and satins, and this small part of the profit will be A little more. Everyone wants this part of the business, but except for a few nationally famous rare silk fabrics, the rest of the cloth merchants who want to donate their precious silks have to pack up a portion of the unprofitable old cloth, plus It is difficult to make profits purely from the miscellaneous expenses that go into all kinds of joints. This is just a way for super large merchants with enough money to expand their business after obtaining privileges.
There are many large cloth merchants like this in Bianliang area. Although Jiangning is also a place where the weaving industry flourishes, the business of Huangshang is basically fixed by a few medium-sized cloth merchants. They switched to this area, but it is quite prosperous. , the status in Buhang is no different from that of Wu, Xue, and Su families. Of course, some will be shared occasionally. It's not that it's always the medium-sized cloth merchants who take over the New Year's cloth business, but those who become imperial merchants end up only being medium-sized. The reason is that the pressure on New Year's cloth is too great and the profits are not high.
To solve this problem, the best way is actually to improve technology. Xi Junyu can probably feel some of Su Tan'er's efforts in this area. He has been working hard for several years, and he probably has some clues in front of him, but now, the problem has arisen...
" In the past few years, if you could further reduce the cost of cloth and improve efficiency, you would have no problem taking over this business... Of course, there will definitely be jealous people in a year or two, but the problem is that since last year, the relationship between the Liao Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom has become tense. Now both of them are waiting for the war to start. Once the war starts and the two tigers fight, I will. The DPRK will definitely send troops, and they will definitely not send new coins to the Liao people in the future. The 300,000 yuan of cloth will have to be eaten by myself..."
"But if there are no more annual coins, all the imperial merchants will receive are the silks and satins sent to the palace. The Xue family and the Wu family must be following up now. We may be able to defeat the Xue family, but we cannot defeat the Wu family. Family, they have connections in the palace and are very familiar with the adults in Zhizhi Mansion. I know that you have spent some effort in preparation in the past few years, but the most important thing is that the odds of winning are no longer high in this situation. Still in terms of year-old cloth, you offer No matter how good the silk is, the demand in the palace is not high, but they don't want it if you add Suibu, and you have invested a lot of new workshops, and all of them are gone in one fell swoop. But if you don't prepare a new workshop, if Suibu is still Another year of demand, what should we do..."
After Xi Junyu said this, Su Tan'er was silent for a long time before speaking: "Isn't the issue of yearly cloth as difficult for the Xue family as it is for the Wu family? ?”
"If there is still one year's demand for cloth, they plan to hold on to it without adding any chips. They will give up part of the market share first. If troops are sent out next year or the year after, and they fall out, they will hold on to the silk and satin. Business, take the royal merchant privileges, and then get your market share back. But you are improving the loom, you are taking risks, and you have invested too much. If it were a few years ago, of course I would support you, but now I may not do so openly. win "However, this is no longer a profitable business, so it's better to get out as soon as possible." He sighed, "This is not a mistake in your calculation, but the opportunity is right, and there is nothing you can do about it..."
In the past, it was because of the old age. The relationship between the imperial merchants is not a fragrant steamed bun. For large merchants who are really capable of swallowing it, they can become bigger, but for the Su family or smaller merchants, it is a burden or even poison. Just when Su Tan'er wanted to take action, another war was about to begin. She saw hope that Suibu might be gone. The Xue family and the Wu family also came to fight, and the Su family's investment turned into a joke.
After listening to Xi Junyu's words, Su Tan'er frowned slightly and shook her head: "Shopkeeper Xi thinks... what will happen after this war?"
"Huh?" Xi Junyu was stunned for a moment, and then said, "After the fight..." When he said this, he suddenly understood what the other party meant: "You..."
"I have been here since I was born. From the beginning, I gave the coins every year." Su Tan'er lowered her voice. "Some things are disgraceful to say, but they seem like endless things. Of course I also hope that we can defeat the Liao people. But... we have never won. The Battle of Tan Yuan more than sixty years ago Alliance, the Blackwater Alliance seven years ago, now there is another Jin Kingdom, and it will be difficult to fight How about it? If the two tigers fight and die together, that would be fine, but would that really happen?"
Su Tan'er shook her head: "Everyone says that the Liao people are barbaric and cruel, and the Jin people are vulgar and uncivilized. , speaking of my Wu Dynasty, it is the Yangtang Dynasty, I... I also like to hear this When I was a kid, I couldn't help but clap my hands and laugh when I went to the teahouse to read the book. But if it's true... I don't believe it. There are smart people everywhere. If we can't beat them, it just means they are better than us. If you are strong, you have to recognize it..."
"You will recognize it. Only those who lose can win back. I am a businessman. If you lose, you lose. If the money is gone, it is gone. It is useless to give excuses to others. Only if you know what they do, they will not lose, and you will know how to guard against it. Only by looking at him and giving myself the shortcomings can I see myself clearly. The Liao Kingdom could still force us to sign the Blackwater Alliance seven years ago, and the Jin Kingdom can now fight with the Liao Kingdom. When they fight, will no one really care that there is a Wu Dynasty watching next to them? "
“Now when I visit teahouses and restaurants, I listen to what the talented man in the humanities talks about. Talking about how the Wu Dynasty wants to reap the benefits of the fishermen, how barbaric, vulgar, stupid and brainless the Liao Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom are, and how we talk about how to provoke the two countries to fight... I am a woman, if I were in the Liao Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom, I would not They are so short-sighted. Our dynasty has been oppressed for nearly a hundred years, but they are still here. We are so happy to say that the other party is a stupid beast. How could we be oppressed by a group of stupid beasts for so long? Maybe it is because these scholars and talented people talk about the story of our warriors from the Wu Dynasty defeating the barbarians from the Liao Kingdom all day long. So weak..."
Her expression darkened: "If there really is a fight, the best result is of course that both of them will suffer losses, and I won't have to give any money anymore. By then, the improved loom will still be useful. But there are other consequences. , the Liao Kingdom won, and under the pressure of raising an army to investigate, our court The amount of annual coins given to the Liao Kingdom needs to be increased. If the Jin Kingdom wins, will they not want the annual coins? I heard that a large part of the friction between the Liao and Jin countries is because the Jin Kingdom wants to do business with me, Dawu. . It is also possible that if the two countries stop fighting, our Wu Dynasty will not only To give the Liao Dynasty coins, you have to give them to the Jin Kingdom at the same time, but... it is impossible for them to give me the Wu Dynasty coins..."
"I also hope that our country can win. If there is a chance When the Japanese army launches a campaign, the government will definitely come to the house to ask for money. Grandpa and father We are already prepared. But if we cannot win in the end, then... what should we do..."
Xi Junyu stood aside for a long time. The situation in Jin Liao is now tense, and the whole country is saying that the two tigers will fight each other. With one injury, Wu Chao had a chance to breathe. No matter how bad the outcome is, it will not be worse than the current situation. Unexpectedly, Su Tan'er had such thoughts. Should she be said to be too pessimistic or too sober. Looking back on this woman's previous behavior, she found that her soft appearance was indeed extremely tough. Really... He was trembling slightly inside... It was so admirable.
But even so, in Xi Junyu's heart, he still held the idea that the Wu Dynasty would not get worse. Improving looms, using the spare power to take over the business of a large amount of old cloth, reducing costs and increasing profits, this is indeed a most upright conspiracy. But such profits won't last long. Generally speaking, unique secret methods in printing, dyeing or stitching can often be maintained for a longer time. However, with the improvement of looms, the methods will be spread in less than a year or two. Anyone who cares will know that when everyone improves, profits will still be wiped out. Many times, despite all the efforts, it is often not pleasing to the eye.
He opened his mouth and was about to say these words when a sound of applause suddenly sounded next to him, and a figure clapped his hands in the darkness over the corridor. Su Tan'er's words just now were serious, but Xi Junyu didn't pay attention to his surroundings. At this time, Juaner said in surprise: "Uncle, why are you here?"
The person in the darkness over there was Ning Yi. He was holding an oil-paper umbrella in one hand, and two rustic-looking mountain products, smoked dried hares, etc. in the other hand. He smiled and gestured towards the back, which was the direction of the small square where the carriage was parked: "I was waiting for dinner, so I ran to the kitchen to have a look. I happened to pass by and remembered that there was something left on the carriage... Ah, this It was given to Geng Huyuan by a fellow villager of Xiaochan, so I took it as a favor to prevent the guy who was packing the carriage from taking the sheep away. Then I came over and heard voices. "
He smiled and pointed at Su Tan'er: "You are wrong, you are not patriotic."
Xi Junyu originally planned to say a few words about this matter, but now he heard Ning Yi say it first Thinking of this sentence, I frowned slightly in my heart. This guy is also a scholar. Even if his article is good, he is no different from the guy Tan'er said who likes to tell stories about the knights of the Wu Dynasty defeating the barbarians of the Liao Kingdom all day long. From a purely logical point of view, what Su Tan'er just said makes perfect sense, but it cannot be generalized with the changes in business.
He turned his head and saw Su Tan'er beside him couldn't help laughing. Such a smile was extremely rare in Xi Junyu's impression, because vaguely, the woman behind her seemed to also He smiled and became one with Su Tan'er in front of him.
She just smiled like that, and turned her head angrily, but her eyes were still on Ning Yi. Her tone was slightly angry, but it was not coquettish, it was just a natural joke like a friend: "My husband... ”
At the same time, in another part of the city, at the Qinhuai River Bend under the heavy rain, a figure knocked on the door of the stilted building with lights on. When Nie Yunzhu opened the door, he saw Yuan Jin'er hugging her body and being soaked by the rain.
She was wearing thin cotton pajamas and pajamas when she jumped out of Jinfeng Tower today. She had been caught in the heavy rain all the way, and the clothes stuck to her body in the light, and they seemed to be transparent. Of course, in the same room In the eyes of the female Nie Yunzhu, this state only made Yuan Jin'er smaller and weaker. The usually youthful and lively girl showed a smile at this time, stretched out her hand to touch the rain on her face, then lowered her head and shook her long hair like waterweed vigorously, causing water splashing everywhere, and then yawned.
"Ah...Sister Yunzhu, I am so powerful, almost...well, I swam all the way from Jinfeng Tower, even like this...ah, I really want to sleep, Sister Yunzhu, yours Where is the room? I can just sleep on the floor..."
She covered her mouth with one hand and yawned wildly, then coughed a few times. It seemed that In a sleepy state, Nie Yunzhu was just stunned for a moment, and immediately reached out to hug her: "No, you have to take a hot bath first... Hutao, hurry up and heat the water..."
"Well... I don't want to take a shower anymore... The water tastes so bad that I almost turned into a steamed bun... Hee, Sister Yunzhu, you are so warm..."
Yuan Jin'er softened in her arms, put his arms around her neck, closed his eyes, and murmured a smile. Then he wiped his face on the clothes on Nie Yunzhu's shoulders a few times, and leaned there contentedly. , he was about to fall asleep. Then, another voice came from the heavy rain: "Miss, Miss..."
Kuan'er, who was also almost soaked, hugged a small package and chased after her.
Soon after, Nie Yunzhu looked at the naked woman who was sleeping on her bed with her quilt in her arms with a wry smile. He probably knew the whole story... ********* *******
Two chapters done! ! ! Eight thousand words today^_^
(End of this chapter)