A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 649 Dividends
It’s midsummer and we’re back to Longqiao.

Wu Huaiyu hadn't been back for a long time and found that there were a lot of changes.

The original wooden bridge has been replaced by a stone bridge, and now stone barriers are added on both sides. There are 140 pillars on both sides, and 360 eight stone lions stand on the pillars.

The stone bridge is taller, and a new Dragon King Temple is built on the river slope under the bridge on the north side. It is dedicated to the black dragon, which is the black dragon in the Black Dragon Pool under the stone bridge. Legend has it that this black dragon was originally the child of the old Dragon King of Jinghe River. My son, he used to be naughty and flooded many fields and villages. He was furious and punished by the Emperor of Heaven, and was finally demoted to Baiqu.

"Now Longqiao is even more lively than Sanyuan County. Not only is there a market on weekends, but there are also many merchants passing by from north to south on weekdays. The shops and workshops built along the river here are so lively,"

In the past, Longqiao was very dilapidated after the war. Later, the Wu family built the Wujia Fort, which made it stand out from the crowd. But now, industry and commerce have flourished here, and it has become the largest town in Sanyuan County.

There are many workshops. The Longqiao Academy funded by the Wu family has now become a famous school in Weibei.

"We now have a nickname, Longqiao Little Chang'an."

Little Chang'an is not just shouting. Zhao Yi, the head shopkeeper of the Wu family, accompanied Huaiyu and his wife while shopping, "Our Wu family has also invested a lot of money here. The trade of salt, tea, cloth, silk, medicinal materials and grains is large. In addition, there are Ironware, papermaking, donkey and horse markets, etc.
Medicinal materials from the northwest are gathered and roasted here, cloth from the south is rolled and dyed here, and tea from Bashu in Shannan is also processed here.

"In just half a year this year, the amount of medicinal materials transported and sold in Longqiao has exceeded [-] tons."

The Wu family attracted large quantities of medicinal materials from all over Guanlong to this place, where they were carefully processed and distributed, and even made into various patent medicines for sale. Countless medicine dealers came to purchase them.

There are also many cloth shops here, and more and more cloths are shipped and sold every year. In addition, the business of iron wood, oil knee, catering, pastries and groceries is also booming.

The Wu family took the lead in developing medicine, tea, wine, salt, and paper here. In addition, markets for cloth, silk, iron, wood, paint, etc. have also formed and scaled.

"Our location is good. It is the only way to go north from Chang'an. Since the imperial court regained Shuofang, this road has become more and more lively. Now that the Turks are attached, this trade road will be more prosperous in the future."

Huaiyu asked carefully and discovered another reason for the prosperity of industry and commerce here. In addition to the convenient transportation and the leadership of the Wu family, the Wu family also protected those small and large businesses who opened business in Longqiao without having to worry about being shut down. You don’t have to worry about being bullied by local snakes even if you are squeezed by officials.
Moreover, the Wu family has always been friendly and cooperative with other merchants, maintaining a win-win attitude of cooperation, and can even provide those merchants with cash flow convenience, and the interest rate is much cheaper than in places such as Chang'an or Xianyang.

So now more and more businessmen are coming here. Not only are there businessmen who open shops, but there are also many businessmen from all over the country. There are fairs on double occasions, there are also temple fairs in Black Dragon Temple, and there are also several large fairs.

Being close to the capital city of Chang'an and guarding the main traffic roads are only the basic conditions. The Wu family operates the town here and can enjoy the shade under the big trees.

There are herds of cattle and horses at the street market every day, as well as tea and silk department stores from the mainland supplying the border areas, green salt, woolen cloth, medicinal materials, and leather goods shipped from Longyou in Shuofang, as well as jars, pots, cups, dishes and cups produced near Gyeonggi. bowl.There are also all kinds of dried fruits and mountain products, all available.

Hard to imagine.

Merchants, low-income businesses, and miscellaneous industrial and commercial businesses are subject to suppression wherever they go, and may even be exploited in various ways. Everyone also hopes that there will be a limit, and at least some stability.

The reason why the Wu family is so famous and attracts so many people is
The first is Tongtian of the Wu family.

Wu Huaiyu's meritorious status and power were not as high as the heavens for the people of Sanyuan, but for the entire Tang Dynasty, they were indeed as high as the heavens.

There is almost no other person who can be as powerful as the Wu family, but can also be polite to businessmen and miscellaneous people.

The Wu family values ​​credit,
Cooperation is about win-win and mutual benefit, but the way most of them do things is actually to take advantage of others.

It’s good to leave some dregs for soup. Just like Li Yuan, the king of Lujiang. He liked a businessman’s property and directly asked people to donate it. Not only did he take away most of the property, but he even wanted to rob his wife if he liked him. How dare you say anything? If you complain, you will be killed directly, and you will lose both human and financial resources.

Compared with their unsightly appearance, and even their greedy behavior, the Wu family behaves extraordinarily righteously. Although in Wu Huaiyu's view, only win-win cooperation can last long, and long-term cooperation will be more stable and the income will be more guaranteed. It's business talk.

Just like lending and collecting interest, it is written in black and white, and the conditions are clearly stated in advance. There will be no deception or fraud. Normal methods can also yield great benefits, so why bother to play those tricks.

But in today's general environment, the Wu family seems to be very rare.

As the head of the Wu family, Zhao Yi understands this very well. He, who was originally from Chang'an City, was extremely humble, but he had to sworn brother Zhao Xin recommended to work with Mr. Wu. Along the way, in just a few years, , Zhao Yi is now extremely wealthy and can be considered a person of some status even in Chang'an.

In the workshops and firms run by Wu Huaiyu, as long as those who have passed the apprenticeship period, regardless of the shopkeeper or the clerk, have a share, that is, they have dividends. Dividends are paid every three years, and they can also borrow money at ordinary times. Different positions and seniority can get Different stocks have different dividends.
The better the business, the more profits they make, and the more dividends they pay out.

But no matter how hot the business is, the agreed-upon stock will be as much as it should be. Wu Huaiyu never said that the business is too good and the profit is too much, so he should pay less if he doesn't do what he says.

Wu Huaiyu felt that this was appropriate. After all, he did not invent the whole thing. In fact, many aristocratic families had already had this model, but not many were as trustworthy as Wu Huaiyu.

The Wu family is very generous and polite to their shopkeepers and clerks, and even to their apprentices, not to mention the merchants they work with.

Just like the prosperous pharmaceutical industry here in Longqiao, the Wu family will also choose many pharmaceutical companies to cooperate. There are partners in the upstream and downstream links, and they will keep enough profits. When doing business, the Wu family will never think of one family monopolizing the benefits, and everyone will work together. Make money, and this business will grow bigger and bigger.

Once a cooperative supplier is determined, it will not be replaced easily. However, if any supplier commits fraud, passes off quality products, etc., they will be removed from the list and will not cooperate in the future.If those partners encounter operational problems or temporary capital turnover problems,

The Wu family will also help. If they can, they will help. If they want to borrow money, they will also give very favorable interest rates.

Even these cooperating merchants, whether they are owners or shopkeepers, can ask the Wu family for help if they encounter some disputes or even commit crimes. The Wu family will not allow them to bend the law for personal gain, but as the Wu family, if they encounter injustice , the Wu family helps to say hello, or comes to ask, for many people, that can solve the injustice.

Within half a year, Longqiao relied on these to transport [-] loads of medicinal materials from all over the country.

If the Wu family were to fight alone, they would definitely not have such great capabilities in the pharmaceutical industry alone.

Scale will definitely bring cost advantages and expand market share, which is very cost-effective.Wujia Qianjintang started with one store in Dongshi, and then opened another in West Market. Now, from Guanzhong to Longyou, to Henan, Hebei, Hedong, Shannan and other places, it has opened hundreds of branches, and it has expanded so rapidly. , is not simple.

"Ah Yi, I have worked hard for you in the past few years." Wu Huaiyu wanted to give him a special reward, a direct reward of [-] yuan. "Alang, the dividends I am getting now are a bit too high, and there are also all the bonuses during this New Year." The reward is really scary." "According to the agreement, you deserve it. The better the Qianjin Hall's performance, the more dividends you will receive."

"Alang, a strong and long-term laborer, his salary for a year is only ten shi of wheat and millet, plus two seasons of clothes and shoes. In the past, the price of grain was several hundred yuan per dou of rice, but now it is only twenty or three yuan per dou of rice. The young man would not dare to take so many shares as dividends. Ah, please reduce it again,"

Zhao Yi took the initiative to ask for another reduction, and was satisfied with a hundred pounds of wheat a year.

"Ayi, although a long-term worker only earns ten shi of grain a year, half of wheat and millet, and two seasons of clothes, I have always said that, running a business and shop is different from farming. A young and strong man A long-term worker, working hard to cultivate the land, can only cultivate forty or fifty acres of land for the landlord, and the landlord must provide cattle, farm tools, seeds, etc., and his salary for a year is reduced to the output of ten acres of land."

Huaiyu settled accounts with Zhao Yi. The benefits that a long-term worker can create for the landlord are actually only the amount of his wages. He does not bear the risks, and the long-term worker is not responsible for the disaster and the failure of the harvest.

But doing business is different;

A junior clerk actually only earns about ten shi per year in the Wu family store. With long service, the salary for a good job is higher, but the clerk generally does not exceed [-] shi per year. Shopkeepers at all levels need to pay Higher.

The dividends given by the Wu family to top stock are part of job performance dividends. When the shop makes money, the shopkeepers will receive part of it according to the pre-agreed ratio.Earn more and get more points, earn less and get less points, and if you don’t earn, you won’t get any dividends.

The majority of the dividends belong to the owner.

In today's money-making shops like Qianjintang, especially those in Chang'an, junior clerks can get about [-] yuan per account period, senior clerks may get [-] yuan, and shopkeepers at all levels can get even more.

Nowadays, food is cheap and money is expensive. A bucket of rice only costs [-] to [-] yuan. Ten thousand yuan can buy [-] to [-] shi of rice. One accounting period is three years, which means that one year's dividends are worth ten times the salary.

As for the shopkeepers, there are even more. The dividends of the top shopkeepers can be ten times or even twenty times that of the junior clerks. The top shopkeepers can get up to [-]% of all employees' shares.

This dividend is astonishing, but in total, the shopkeepers and waiters only get [-]% of the net profit, while the boss accounts for [-]% of the net profit. What Zhao Yi can get in Qianjintang is actually [-]% of the total dividend. of two.

Zhao Yi used to be in charge of many industries, but now that his business has grown, he concentrates on taking charge of Qianjintang.

There is one general manager for each line of industry, and each branch of each line has a general manager, a second shopkeeper, a third shopkeeper, etc.

Zhao Yi, the general manager of Qianjintang, seemed to get 80.00% of the dividend, but Wu Huaiyu got [-]%. What's more, Zhao Yi couldn't get a share of the semicolon's profit, but Wu Huaiyu still got [-]%.

There are also many salt, tea, wine, soap and many other industries such as Baoyu Tang, Bingyu Tang, etc. Wu Huaiyu shares [-]% of the profits. This [-]% of profits is what is left after deducting all expenses and costs, even the part for expansion and opening of new branches. net income.

Zhao Yi Qianjintang's head office's dividend of about one hundred dollars a year felt that it was too high, and he always proposed to reduce the salary of the owner and the shopkeeper.

"Ayi, Qianjintang's business is booming, and it can bring huge profits every year. It can even stimulate the cultivation and processing of medicinal materials of the Wu family, and there is a lot of profit. The reputation of the main office will be boosted, and the semi-colon will also be able to promote it. You have worked so hard, This dividend is all deserved.”

"The Wu family's business has expanded so much in the past few years and the business has been so good. You and the other managers and shopkeepers have made great contributions.

Our Wu family has always been rewarded for meritorious deeds and paid for debts.

Otherwise, why would everyone be working so hard day and night?

From Chang'an to Luoyang, from Yizhou to Yangzhou, from Hangzhou to Guangzhou and then to Jiaozhou, and even beyond the Great Wall and deep into Lingnan, isn't it because there will be rewards for the efforts?
Look at how many medicine shops there were in the east and west cities. It took us four years to surpass hundreds of them and become the number one in the industry. Isn’t it because everyone knows that the harder they work, the more dividends they will receive?
If you have worked hard for several years, from apprentice to clerk, you only get a few stones of food a year, who will work so hard?
We have agreed a long time ago that my Wu family is the owner. I have contributed the capital and I will make the general decisions, but you will be responsible for the day-to-day operations.

If you share more, my Wu family will actually share more, so don’t think you have too much money and are afraid to take it.There is a lot of money, and it is earned by everyone. The costs are also deducted, and what you get is pure profit.

Even though we have expanded rapidly in recent years, a large part of our income has been directly used for expansion and has not been used for dividends.

Not to mention that it can be discounted to [-] yuan a year, even if one day, the dividend of the top stock of you, the general manager, can reach [-] yuan a year, I won't feel bad at all. "

Although the shopkeepers can get [-]% of the dividends from their shares, they only have the right to dividends and no ownership rights. Even this is just the right to dividends from the job. Once you leave the job, you will no longer enjoy the dividends.Even if you are senior, you will at most receive one more period of dividends after your death.

Moreover, this portion is net profit, and even operating income, after operating costs are deducted, will be divided into semicolons. These are also included in operating costs and not included in dividends.

"Alang, although many wealthy and powerful families have always had this kind of wealth distribution, but no one has ever been as generous and generous as Alang."

"Money is earned by everyone, so naturally everyone shares it,"

Huaiyu asked Zhao Yi to accept the reward of [-] yuan, "You can take more concubines. You are still young. You should have more children. Only if the population is prosperous can the family business last for a long time. You are the first old man to follow me and work for me." , I can’t lose you.”

Fan Xuanfu and Li Qing accompanied Huaiyu and listened to what he told Zhao Yi. The two women did not interfere in the slightest when their husbands distributed dividends to the shopkeeper and the clerks, and even gave Zhao Yi a reward of [-] yuan at a time.

Only with sacrifice can you gain. The Wu family has expanded so rapidly in recent years. It is precisely because of this trick that they are always at their best. They work hard and work very hard. Everyone not only earns wages by working for the boss, but also earns dividends for themselves.Moreover, the Wu family's good reputation has now spread, and it has attracted many outstanding people to join their service.

It seems that the Wu family gave up a lot of profits, but in fact it was the Wu family that made more.

Fan Xuanfu is the housekeeper and knows all these things very well, but Li Qing, who grew up in the Yongkang Palace, doesn't know the details behind it.

Looking at the golden waves of wheat on the plains on both sides of the Qinghe River, Fan Xuanfu was not too happy. Now there is basically no profit from growing wheat and grain. If the Wu family buys land and keeps slaves to build a village to grow grain, it will be even worse. Everyone will suffer even more losses. Zhuangzi now mainly relies on breeding, raising pigs, cattle, chickens and ducks, raising silkworms and weaving cloth, or doing some agricultural product processing to make a little money. But the initial investment of buying land, slaves, cattle, farm tools, etc. to build the Zhuangzi is too big. Wujia Industry and Commerce In addition to using the money earned to continue expansion, the remaining money was basically invested in the bottomless pit of the manor and fields.

"Next year Zhuangzi in Sanyuan might as well plant cotton or medicinal materials. He will still lose money growing grain," Fan Xuanfu said.

Huaiyu smiled and said, "This is the best fertile land in Guanzhong. If you don't grow wheat and cotton, you will be attacked by a group of people, and you will drown in your saliva. You should grow wheat on the plains. This is the best irrigated land. Cotton should be planted. Go to dry plateaus, or in the future, simply plant them in newly developed frontier areas with vast land and sparse people, and grow more sweet potatoes and potatoes on the plateau to raise pigs."

(End of this chapter)