Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 174 0169 [Business Opening]

In the Northern Song Dynasty, the location of Tokyo City was still determined by "so-and-so square", but the lifang system has actually been abolished, and official documents all record "so-and-so square".

The official charcoal field contracted by Zhu Ming is located in the left military chamber in the south of the city.

There used to be military camps here, but now there are only civilian houses left. The soldiers of the Imperial Army are no different from ordinary people.

In the area of ​​Zuojunxiang in the south of the city, the local and foreign population is estimated to be more than 3 people, and they are Ju Ming's main customers.

When Dean Zhu was about to arrive in the capital, Zhu Ming's shop opened.

Tai students also moved to Chengnan Campus, only 10 minutes away from "Tanhua Coal Line".

Today happened to be a holiday, Chen Dong, Zhu Song, Gou Long Ruyuan and other imperial students, a total of dozens of people came to join in... Although they didn't have anything to buy.

I saw a plaque hanging on the main entrance: Tanhua Coal Company.

There are several signs outside, with the words "Honeycomb briquettes, cheap and burnable", "also sell coal stoves of various colors", etc.

Early in the morning, people have already started queuing up to buy coal.

This is not because Zhu Ming is engaging in promotional activities, but because the Carbon Coal Department has rectified the market, auctioned off many government-run shops, and reached an oral agreement with the Tokyo Tanco Bank to reduce the prices of all coal shops today.

In the inner city, the uniform price of coal is 7 yuan per catty.

In the outer city, the uniform price of coal is 6 Wen per catty.

Outside the city and the suburbs, the unified price is 5 Wen per catty.

Where the people buy coal, the government and the charcoal bank have no control.However, if it is a store delivery, it must not exceed the scope of business, otherwise it will be jointly suppressed by the government and the charcoal bank.

That is to say, if Ju Ming delivered the goods to his home, he could only deliver them in the left army compartment in the south of the city.

"What does the sign say?"

"Tanhua Coal, the official store has been converted into a private store. I heard that Tanhua Lang bought it."

"Hey, what are briquettes?"

"Where are the briquettes?"

"It's written on the sign."

"..."

People who buy coal are chatting while waiting.

Coal is an absolute seller's market in Tokyo, and it depends entirely on the government and charcoal banks to maintain commercial order.For Shengdou Xiaomin, they will be happy if they can lower the price, and if they insist on selling it at a high price, they can only grit their teeth and buy it.

It's still pretty good now, even if you only buy one catty, the store can't refuse to sell it.

A few decades ago, at least one scale (15 catties) had to be bought.

A piece of the door panel was removed from the inside, and two men came out to finish removing the door panel.

Coal stoves and briquettes were moved to the door and placed neatly.

Zhu Ming rode over on a horse, and Bai Chongyan and Min Zishun also came to join in the donkey cart.

Bai Sheng was holding a wooden board, and Shi Biao was holding a hammer and firecrackers in his hands.

There was a crackling sound of firecrackers, and Zhu Ming ordered: "Put the board on!"

A poem was written on the wooden board. Ju Ming's calligraphy skills were limited, so he asked Chen Yuan to write for free.

Bai Sheng nailed the wooden plank to the wall of the doorway, and Chen Dong read: "Cutting out the chaos to get black gold, the deepest storage of yang and harmony. The fire is ignited to rejuvenate the spring, and the flood furnace shines through the night. The heart. I hope that the common people will be full and warm, and work hard to get out of the mountains.”

Zhu Song clapped his hands and praised: "I hope that the common people will be full and warm, and work hard to get out of the mountains. Good poems and sentences are worthy of Mr. Zhu's handwriting!"

The common people don't care about the many, they just squeeze forward.

They came to buy bulk coal, most of them bought one scale directly, and some simply bought two or three scales, for fear that the price would rise again one day.

"Buy a scale of charcoal, and you will receive 75 coins!"

After the waiter finished weighing the charcoal, he shouted at the top of his voice, and the shopkeeper began to collect money and register.

The shopkeepers and assistants of the coal shop are all recruited in their own compartments, and contracts are signed through intermediaries.

It must be a permanent resident with a family, and neighbors must be asked as guarantees to prevent them from stealing property and running away.

Today's first customer came out with 15 catties of coal on his back, but he saw Tan Hualang lighting a fire at the door, and he couldn't help but stand by and watch.

After igniting with wood shavings, a few more wood chips were put in, and then strange briquettes were stuffed in.

The briquettes were full of holes, and after waiting for a while, nothing seemed to respond.

Zhu Ming placed a clay pot and mixed well water into the pot.

The people who had something to do at home turned around and left after observing for a while.More people gathered around, wanting to know what Tanhualang was doing.

"The water is boiling, the water is boiling!"

someone shouted.

Zhu Ming picked up the iron lid and covered the furnace mouth.

There was a lack of air inside the coal stove, and the charcoal fire immediately became smaller, but the water in the pot was still boiling, but not as much as before.

There is no need to explain too much, many people understand that this kind of stove can control the heat!
Finally someone couldn't help asking: "Tanhualang, how did you sell this stove?"

Zhu Ming said: "A one-core stove costs 80 renminbi, a two-core stove costs 100 renminbi, and a three-core stove costs 150 renminbi. Ordinary people can buy a single-core stove for cooking. Two-core and three-core coal stoves are sold to restaurants and restaurants. , the charcoal fire can burn more vigorously.”

"How do you sell these briquettes?" Someone asked again.

Zhu Ming said: "Eight Wen coins each, and each weighs two catties."

There is no regulation on the price of briquettes at the charcoal store. After all, they are all made of leftover materials, and the small quantity does not affect the market.

"Da da da da!"

Hou Xuan came on horseback, and smiled all the way: "My brother Chenggong, I heard that your store opened, and I'm here to give you a congratulatory gift!"

His father, Hou Meng, is the Minister of Zhongshu (Deputy Prime Minister). Although it is difficult to exercise actual power under the constraints of the traitor party, his honorable status is still there.

The family thief is rich!
Gifts are also very expensive.

Two servants of the Hou family actually brought a bonsai, small pines and cypresses coiled on top of strange rocks.

Because of Song Huizong's Huashi Gang, the price of Jiangnan's strange stones has skyrocketed, and the price of this small piece of stone in front of him is more than a hundred guan.It's also made into a bonsai, don't even think about buying it if you don't have two or three hundred strings!

Zhu Ming couldn't laugh or cry when he saw it: "This is a coal shop. I put it in the shop and it was blackened in ten and a half months."

"Then take it home and display it," Hou Xuan squeezed over, staring at the stove and said, "This thing is interesting, how much does it cost?"

Someone just gave an expensive gift, but Zhu Ming didn’t have the nerve to accept the money, and said, “Just take it, it’s not worth much. Just remember, when you burn the stove in the house, you must open the doors and windows.”

Hou Xuan laughed and said, "Who doesn't know in Tokyo? If the doors and windows are closed, the charcoal poison will not go away."

Zhu Ming began to explain how to use again: "The lid of this coal stove has a small window, and the size of the window can be changed. If the lid is closed, the window is sealed, and the holes of the coal balls are staggered, it can burn in the dark all night without extinguishing. Open the window hole a little and you can cook food on a low heat. A small hole makes a low fire, a big hole makes a big fire. If you want the biggest flame, take the cover off completely."

Hou Xuan felt more and more surprised: "Can you still control the size of the flame? It must be handy when making tea."

After observing for a while, Hou Xuan picked out a stove and twenty briquettes for the servants to take home for use.

Seeing that someone wanted to use this thing, a crowd of onlookers asked: "Can the stove be paid on credit? I sell food in the night market. This kind of coal stove is convenient to use, but I don't know how long the coal briquettes can burn. I bought ten briquettes and went home. It is cheaper than coal, so I bought the coal stove. If it is not economical, I will return the coal stove.”

Inside and outside of Tokyo, the customers of shops selling daily necessities are basically neighbors, and credit is a very common behavior.

Although Zhu Ming didn't know this person, in order to open up sales, he still said: "Although you can go on credit, the coal stove can be returned within three days. After three days, you can no longer return it."

In a short while, nearly a hundred coal briquettes were sold, and the stove was tested on credit. The customers were all small vendors selling food.

Such vendors are estimated to be the main force of briquette consumption within half a month.

Also, they are free advertising.

People coming and going, seeing them using honeycomb coal, couldn't help but inquire about the situation, and the number of customers gradually increased.

"Dang Dang Dang Dang!"

There was a sound of gongs, and Guirou, the first car of the Charcoal Bank, came to congratulate Ju Ming on his opening with a few owners of the Charcoal Bank.

These people are not only competitors but also collaborators, and they have to form a group to fight against the government, and the relationship is usually quite harmonious.

"Zhu Xianggong, good business!" Che Guirou smiled and cupped his hands.

Zhu Ming smiled and said, "Happy together, happy together."

Che Guirou has also contracted the official shop this time, and it can be regarded as opening another branch.

Coal shop owners greeted each other, and finally turned their attention to coal stoves and briquettes.

These guys have a good sense of smell and quickly realize something isn't right.

They carefully observed the usage, each bought a stove, and bought a lot of briquettes, intending to take them back and study imitation.

When the briquette market matures, it is estimated that the price will be re-priced.

After working until noon, Zhu Ming took out money to treat guests, and ate at a restaurant in the south of the city. Of course, Chen Dong and other imperial students also participated.

Everyone has gifts, so Zhu Ming is not allowed to spend money.

As the evening approached, Ju Ming watched the coal shop close, feeling unspeakably happy. This was his first property in Tokyo.

I don't expect this business to make me a rich man, at least it can meet my daily expenses. This is the confidence of being a clean and honest official!
A few days later, sales of briquettes increased significantly.

The small vendors in the left army compartment in the south of the city, whenever they need to light a fire, switch to briquettes one after another.

Because small vendors found that this kind of stove is too convenient.

When there are many customers, turn on the fire, and when there are few customers, turn on the fire.There are no customers for the time being, just close the lid, and the dark fire can burn for several hours.

They don't call honeycomb briquettes, and they praise "Tanhua coal" whenever they meet.

In and around Tokyo, other coal shops have also launched imitation products one after another.In order to open up the market as soon as possible, "Tanhua" is also used as a prefix.

For a while, Tanhualu and Tanhua Coal became popular all over the city, and Ju Ming still couldn't sue his colleagues for trademark infringement.

After small vendors, more and more common people use briquettes for cooking water and cooking, because it can save money.

Even the coal poem that Zhu Ming copied was widely spread, and Zhu Nine Poems became Zhu Ten Poems.

Occasionally, Zhu Ming rode his horse for a stroll, and saw that there were honeycomb stoves in front of several teahouses in the city.You only need to grind the tuancha into powder in advance, and you can order tea with the cooking pot on the stove at any time.

This scene makes Ju Ming quite happy, he has changed the daily life of the people in Tokyo.

"The daily use of the common people is the way!"

It was another holiday, and Chen Yuan gave a lecture in the yard: "The Tanhua stove and Tanhua coal are the embodiment of turning Tao into use. If firewood wants to burn, it must have the flow of energy. Put it into the furnace. The hole of the Tanhua coal is for ventilation. The lid of the Tanhua furnace is also used to control the fire... With this thing, it can save money for the people. If you study this kind of things a lot, you will be able to save countless people for the people. !"

Ju Ming sat by and listened, unable to correct the mistake, because he didn't know how to introduce the concept of oxygen.

Chen Yuan believed that it was a kind of "anger".

When the air circulates, it is angry, which can be ignited to support combustion.

If it is not circulated, it is dead air, which cannot be burned.For example, if the candle is covered with a lid, the candle will be extinguished. This is because the air flow is blocked, and the vitality becomes dead energy.

If the wind is too strong to blow out the flame, it means that the anger is too strong and the flame cannot bear it.

People breathe and survive, but also rely on anger.

Hmm... A very simple cognition, similar to the Western concept of phlogiston.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

There was a sudden knock on the door, and a quick knock.

Min Zishun's servant went to open the door, and Hou Xuan stood outside the door, followed by Fatty Zheng and Yuanyi Zheng.

"Da Lang, Mr. Zhu has entered Beijing!" Zheng Hong shouted.

Zhu Ming hurried out: "Where is it?"

Zheng Hong said: "Outside the Donghua Gate, Mr. Zhu asked us to come and look for you first. It happened that Brother Hou was watching the fun, and Brother Hou was very enthusiastic, so he brought us here."

(End of this chapter)