Jinyi champion

Chapter 351

Zhu Wanjian finally returned home.

She was glamorous when she left, but she was sloppy when she came back, her shirts and collars were all greasy, and she hadn’t had a woman to take care of her for more than half a year. Zhu Wanjian was lucky if she could bring herself back to Anlu safely. I want to pick up the soles of my shoes and beat this unworthy son.

"Mother, there is still no news of the elder brother. No one in Jinyiwei is willing to talk about him. Even if they make contacts up and down, they still can't find any useful clues. Later, the family refused to send money, and no one gave letters... Mother no Could it be that you deliberately didn’t give me any money in order to let me come back sooner?”

Zhu Wanjian's tone was full of complaints.

I was in the capital to inquire about my brother. I was living a happy and carefree life, but suddenly the supply at home was cut off, dragging me from heaven to hell. Is it interesting to go back and forth like this?

Butler Liu hurriedly said: "Second Master, you may not know that in the middle of this year we took over the collapsed house business of the Third Madam's house..."

"What? We won the third child's business? Then you must have made a lot of money, right?"

Zhu Wanjian's eyes widened when he heard this, and they were full of greed.

Butler Liu said with a bitter face: "In the beginning, I did make a lot of money. After all, I had the help of Xu Hanxu, the new brother-in-law who knew the state... But at the end of summer, there was a sudden flood for some reason, and our warehouse was completely destroyed. It was flooded and suffered heavy losses... Zhu's family even had to sell their land to barely plug the hole, and the business of the collapsed house plummeted..."

Zhu Wanjian said angrily: "How do you manage the business? You can't do it without me...you bunch of wimps."

Zhu Jiashi listened for a long time, his face was gloomy: "You are back, and I have something to do for you. Do you know about the popularity of colored glaze beads in the capital?"

"Uh?"

Zhu Wanjian was a little puzzled, "I heard it, didn't it mean that it was a tribute from the Western Regions?"

"Nonsense, what kind of tribute from the Western Regions is the tribute from King Xing's mansion... You went to the capital, and you didn't even forget what the workshop at home does for a living?" Zhu Jia said angrily.

Zhu Wanjian waved his hand: "It is said that the glazed beads are crystal clear and have a natural color in the middle. It is said that they are made of Tianshan spar for thousands of years, so they are very valuable. It is not easy for high-ranking officials in the capital to get one... Those broken colored glazes in our house..."

Butler Liu hurriedly reminded: "Second Master, we have recently acquired a group of new craftsmen, with their help, the glazed beads have basically been imitated... Look, this is a sample."

With that said, Steward Liu handed Zhu Wanjian a few beads.

Holding it in her hand, Zhu Wanjian was shocked: "It's almost the same as the legendary glazed beads. Where did the craftsmen come from to have such good craftsmanship? We... we are going to get rich."

Zhu Jiashi said: "You don't have to ask where the craftsman came from. Now there is one person, Su Xigui, who used to do business with the third daughter-in-law, who happened to be in the local area. You and Lao Liu went to say hello, and by the way, give him the glazed beads we produced. Take a look and negotiate a price with him."

"Su Xigui? I don't want to go...I just came back from a long journey and I'm very tired..."

When Zhu Wanjian heard that he was going to negotiate with Su Xigui, he immediately felt uncertain.

In the beginning, he was the one who sent Su Xigui to the local prison, which caused a lot of trouble later on. He knew Su Xigui's character very well. He was definitely an extremely shrewd businessman with a strong background, and he really didn't want to suffer from that.

"If you are told to go, go, go back to the room and wash up, clean yourself up before you go to meet people... If you can't handle the errands at home, I will ask you to go to the Nine Sides to defend the territory , day and night with the yellow sand."

The old lady threatened fiercely.

Zhu Wanjian's face suddenly collapsed: "I knew it would be no good to come back. I'll go take a shower and change my clothes first... By the way, I've come back from a long way, and I haven't seen my mother-in-law and my child yet, so how unkind!"

……

……

When Su Xigui told Zhu Hao to meet him, Zhu Hao was busy in the laboratory.

After that, Zhu Hao directly met Su Xigui in the courtyard of the laboratory.

"Master Zhu, this is a sample of glazed beads given to me by the Zhu family. Take a look..." Su Xigui took out a glazed ball and handed it to Zhu Hao.

Zhu Hao took it and looked at it carefully: "It smells like that...it's not easy!"

Su Xigui said: "Now that the Zhu family has come to my door to discuss business with me, and they also said that these glazed beads will be supplied to me for a hundred coins each. What choice do you want me to make? If this thing is sent to Liangjing, it will be worth it based on the current value. In other words, at least one can sell for a few taels of silver..."

Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Such a good business, why is Su Dongzhu hesitating? Do it!"

"Master Zhu, aren't you talking out of anger? I came to you just to tell you...the formula of this glazed bead is no longer a secret. You don't need to keep it private. Why don't you just give it to me and I'll do it myself." No one can be cheaper than the Zhu family, right?"

Although Su Xigui valued profits, he was principled.

After agreeing to cooperate with Zhu Hao, and knowing that Zhu Hao and the Zhu family are in conflict, then they must not ruin the business alliance between the two parties for personal gain.

"Su Dongzhu, let me be blunt. In fact, I gave them the secret recipe of the Zhu family... Seeing that they imitated it for a long time but couldn't get the point, I was in a hurry, so I found someone a few days ago and made a few detours." I sent them to the Zhu family. The craftsmen of the Zhu family were trained by me. They already had certain skills. Under my secret guidance, their glazed beads will soon be on the market..."

Zhu Hao was full of smiles, making Su Xigui puzzled.

"This……"

Su Xigui thought about it for a long time, and finally realized, "Master Zhu, do you want the glazed beads to depreciate quickly? No, even if this is a tribute from King Xing's mansion, you don't want to sell it privately, and you can't give the secret recipe to him. The Zhu family... the Zhu family makes money, is it good for you?"

Zhu Hao smiled and said, "You can't forget your roots in life, I'm just such a real person."

Su Xigui almost spit on it.

You told me not to forget the original?
The Zhu family has suffered so much in your hands, others don't know, but I, Su, don't know it all?Let’s just say that you made a plan in summer to sublease the warehouse to the Zhu family, flooding the Zhu family’s warehouse and losing so much money.

There is a conspiracy!
"Master Zhu, why don't you give me some pointers, I really don't understand."

Su Xigui showed an attitude of humbly asking for advice.

Zhu Hao got up and said, "Su Dongzhu, I have been very busy recently, and I don't have time to greet you for a long time. Oh, by the way, do you have a purchase channel for straw cotton? I have some spinning machines and weaving machines here. When it comes out of the machine, a large amount of grass cotton is needed, and it is best to have a long-term and stable purchase channel."

In Chinese history, cotton was divided into three types: silk cotton, kapok and straw cotton.

Silk floss is made of silk, which is a specialty of China and has existed since ancient times.

Kapok, also known as red cotton, hero tree, and Panzhihua, is a large deciduous tree, and the cotton produced is mostly used for fillings such as bedding and clothes.

Later, "cotton" was commonly referred to as grass cotton.

Grass cotton was introduced to the mainland at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, that is, in the middle of the [-]th century. There were two routes, the North Road and the South Road, namely the Western Regions and the Lancang River Basin. Huang Daopo actively promoted spinning machines and looms, and grass cotton gradually entered the homes of ordinary people. The Yuan court once set up a "Kapok Lifting Department" to collect cotton cloth from the people.

The promotion of straw cotton in China is more due to the decree issued by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang: "Every farmer with five to ten acres of land should plant mulberry, hemp, and cotton with half an acre each, and more than ten acres."

Since then, grass cotton has gradually replaced mulberry in various places and has become the number one economic crop.

By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, wearing grass cotton clothes had become a common phenomenon.

However, annual grass cotton is mostly planted in Jiangnan and other places, and Anlu is located in Jiangbei, where there are not many cotton planted. If Zhu Hao wants to buy grass cotton fabrics in large quantities, he must have a fixed purchase channel.

Su Xigui nodded and said: "Cotton is available everywhere in the world. It can be bought everywhere like official salt and tea. It is only used for folk household weaving. You need to weave large quantities of cloth... Listen to my advice, it is better to weave silk and satin. profit."

Su Xigui looked down on the cotton cloth business at all. In his eyes, silk was more high-end and elegant.

Zhu Hao laughed and said, "I weave cloth just for fun. Where can I find so much silk for me to weave? It's better to use grass cotton with a large quantity."

"Okay, I will transfer the goods to Anlu in the future, and I will add a batch of straw cotton for you, all of which are fine cotton produced in Lingnan... Then, since you have no objection to the matter of Zhu Xiaozhu, the glass beads, I can Just start doing business with the Zhu family... Don't be offended, if you think it's inappropriate, just tell me, I can stop doing business with them at any time."

Su Xigui was still not at ease, so he hurriedly asked Zhu Hao what he meant.

Zhu Hao smiled and said: "It's okay, before the glazed beads are not rotten on the street, make a quick profit, or because I am the one who provides the glazed beads to the palace, I want to earn all the money."

"Rotten street? Hehe!"

Su Xigui murmured, wondering if there was some big conspiracy hidden behind Zhu Hao.

Unfortunately to no avail.

But he still wants to do business with Zhu's family. After all, buying a glazed bead for [-] coins, and transporting it to the two capitals will result in a huge profit of more than ten times, no matter how you look at it.

……

……

The Zhu family's glazed bead business started in full swing.

In a remote alley in Anlu City, a man with an unshaven beard and sloppy clothes came in from the courtyard door. Inside the door, a guard in Jinyi Xiaoqi was about to go forward to salute and give a speech, but before he approached, a pungent smell came Come.

Mixed with the smoky smell of alcohol, and the stench from the body that has not been bathed for many days.

"Zhu Qianhu."

Small flag salute.

"Why are you here again? Is there something wrong?"

Zhu Wanhong sat down in front of the ancient well, threw a wooden bucket into the well, and brought up half a bucket of water. Without using any other utensils, he poured a few gulps directly at the mouth of the bucket, and half of his front was wet with cold water.

Xiaoqi felt chills when she saw it, in this winter... Zhu Qianhu, you are very heroic.

"It's like this. I reported to you some time ago that glazed beads were popular in the capital. They were first paid as tribute to King Xing's mansion, and then as His Majesty's imperial treasures. Many people collected them in the capital, and this created a trend. I don't want to think recently, Anlu Zhu's family ...it is the Zhu family where you live, which is manufacturing glazed beads in large quantities, and transporting them to various places in Daming for sale through different channels..."

When Xiaoqi reported here, Zhu Wanhong suddenly picked up the wooden barrel and slammed it on the ground viciously, and the wooden barrel was split in half.

"Oh, look at my temper, I can't hold it back, what should I drink tomorrow?" Zhu Wanhong regretted it after the fall.

Xiao Qi tremblingly asked, "Zhu Qianhu...you...why are you angry?"

Zhu Wanhong sneered endlessly: "Are you stupid, or are you stupid? The glazed beads were tributed by King Xing's mansion, pretending to come from the Western Regions, and then Zhu's family manufactured them in large quantities, telling others that the colored glaze beads from King Xing's mansion came from Zhu's family?

"The Zhu family was ordered by the late emperor to move to Anlu to monitor the Prince Xing's mansion. They don't take the initiative to pay tribute to the Prince Xing's mansion when they have the orb? Do you think the Zhu family is loyal to the court or to the Prince Xing's mansion?"

(End of this chapter)