Villager of Daming

Chapter 1319 Buying Ice Loans Earthquake in Beijing (Five Other Chapters)
The big box contains samples of certificates of honor and military medals. Different certificates and medals are awarded according to different merits.

There were a lot of words of praise written on the certificate, the only thing missing was a seal, Zhu Yuanzhang's seal. It's not that Xiaqiao Village is incapable of making seals, now all the seals of the court are made by Xiaqiao Village.

A large number of fake and one real imperial seal are also kept in Xiaqiao Village as Zhu Yuanzhang is not confident about other places.

"Yichang, please make a few seals and stamp them yourself. I don't have the time, and the seals I have on hand cannot be used by you."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought of a lazy way, that is, Xiaqiao Village supplied special paper and cloth for imperial edicts, including silk.

This means that it would be very easy for Xiaqiu Village to make a fake imperial edict, and no one would be able to tell the difference.

"All right! Then I'll send the new seal to His Majesty."

The head of the village agreed that there was no need to be pretentious at this time, and that they could make a few more and everyone could stamp them together, and also attach photos and stamp them.

In addition to certificates of honor and medals given to others, keep two identical sets in different places for backup and record.

If someone who has received a military medal loses something, they can search for it and get a replacement, but it is more troublesome as they need to find a warehouse according to the number.

All medals are made of gold, with a pattern on the front and the words "Da Ming Heavy Industry" written on the back.

If they were lost, the two backups were still made of gold. The richer the craftsmen were, the more valuable the materials would be.

If ordinary people make contributions, they will be given money when they are awarded medals, and then they will be given a bronze medal. If you lose it, they will give you a bronze medal instead. If they give you a gold medal, they will be afraid that you will sell it and come back to ask for it back.

"Not bad!" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the certificate and medal, approved of the material, and put the things down: "You don't need to give us the used seals, you can keep them and use them next time."

He said he believed in you, Xiaqiu Village, and that after using it, he would keep it for himself. Should he destroy it or keep it?

There are two anti-counterfeiting methods for seals. One requires viewing with a magnifying glass, and the other is to use fluorescence on part of the ink pad.

Generally speaking, no one dared to forge a fake seal for the emperor, so the special paper blocked everyone. If one could forge that paper, then one could forge counterfeit currency with some effort.

"Call them over!" The problem of the medal was solved, and Zhu Yuanzhang called for people.

Upon receiving the news, Ming officials, Nahachu, Qiqili and others rushed to the artillery testing site by car.

People from the Jurchens also came, including Tu Yajie and Wang Zhangyi, the leaders of the two tribal alliances. The small tribal leaders in the alliance are now very honest.

Tu Yajie smiled as soon as he saw Hanhan. He was good at throwing sticks, but it depended on who he was competing with. After competing with Hanhan, he felt that guns were better.

His flying skewers are not as fast, far or accurate as Hanhan's. Hanhan's skewers can even turn.

Now Tu Yajie is practicing revolver, the Iai type.

When we arrived at the place, we didn't know what to do. We just talked about eating and didn't mention any other activities.

"Gentlemen, our Ming Dynasty has recently made some cannons that are inconvenient to transport and not very useful. Let's see if it's worth making more today."

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke into the microphone without the need for anyone to pass on messages.

Everyone: "..."

They know that it is right to listen to the opposite of what they say. It is useless. Why do you do that?
"Get ready!" Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care what they thought.

He led the way to the platform and handed each person a telescope. The artillery had a minimum distance and it could not be too close. Other artillery needed to reduce the propellant and the rocket launcher needed to have a large elevation angle.

If the target is too close, there is no need for a cannon. The target must be at least one kilometer away. If you want to hit it closer, you need a resistance ring, which is not available at present.

There are actually smaller rockets with a range of several hundred meters, but Zhu Wentian doesn't want them. Why use a rocket launcher for a range of several hundred meters?

At present, all artillery is controlled within the maximum range of six kilometers, which is sufficient. Any larger range will require further improvements in the future. The longer the range, the more difficult it is to manufacture.

Today's demonstration is at a distance of one kilometer to three kilometers. The shells are different, but the rocket launcher shells are the same, so just adjust the elevation angle.

The time is too short, otherwise we could make different rockets, including launch tubes.

The officials knew that the main topic had arrived, so they stood still and held up their telescopes. They could see cannons and many other tubes not far away.

There are five rocket launchers, each of which can fire six rounds at a time, and thirty other guns in total. There are only thirty-five heavy weapons in total, which seems like a small number.

With the order, the artillery fired.

A rocket launcher fired first, and six rockets whizzed out, blasting the scarecrows on the ground away.

Other artillery fire followed, the ground shook, and flashes of fire appeared at the locations of the explosions.

"Extend the fire!" Another order came, another rocket launcher fired, and the other guns adjusted their firing angles and followed suit.

Amidst the roar, the shells were pushed forward like plowing the fields all the way to a distance of three kilometers.

The scarecrows on the ground were in a miserable state. They were covered with a layer of paper, and as the artillery fire spread, none of the paper on the scarecrows was spared from being hit.

When the last shell fell and exploded, the exercise stopped and could not be extended because the barrel could not bear it.

"Yichang! I'm not saying anything bad about you, but your skills are not good enough! We agreed to be able to reach a distance of fifteen miles, but now we're only six miles away, so we have to stop.

The artillery had to be cooled down while firing. It was already difficult to transport the artillery, and it would be disturbed while firing.

If a war really breaks out, can our Ming army rely on the current artillery to gain an advantage? Can it? "

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and complained to the head of the village, as if his weapon was not good.

"Your Majesty, we know we were wrong and will improve in the future!" The head of the village bent down and said sorry!
other people:"……"

For some reason, they felt insulted.

Especially Nahachu and other former Northern Yuan people, like the thousand-man captains and ten-thousand-man captains who had been blown up by explosives before, found that the Ming army was merciful.

If I had faced such an attack by weapons at that time, I would have been torn to pieces long ago. The artillery just now easily hit the target six miles away. How could I see the enemy at a distance of six miles without a telescope?

The key point is that His Majesty said that we can fight for fifteen miles. What team will not be defeated when encountering this situation?

"Alright, alright! We forgive you, but the craftsmen have worked hard, so they should be commended!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied with the cooperation of the village head, this was exactly the effect he wanted.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your forgiveness! Your Majesty, shall we move on and have our meal?" The head of the village looked grateful.

"Hmm!" Zhu Yuanzhang hummed.

Everyone went to another place to eat. The officials of the Ming Dynasty smiled, and Nahachu and the others also forced smiles.

Qi Qili slowed down his pace, came to Nahachu's side, and lowered his voice: "Now we understand! The further we go, the more we will lose to the Ming...our Majesty's good army."

"As if you could fight before! You could only plot against an eagle! After you killed the eagle, you were chased all the way from Taiyuan Prefecture to me."

Nahachu looked down on him. Anyway, he was safe now and his sister had become the Princess of Qin. Looking at his sister's happy expression, he knew that Prince of Qin Zhu Chong was capable in all aspects.

It’s just that she’s not pregnant. I asked my wife to ask her sister, and she said she should have another baby next year, otherwise she won’t be able to do anything once she gets pregnant.

According to the requirements of Xiaqiu Village, it takes one year from the beginning of pregnancy to the time when one can have sex again after giving birth.

If something goes wrong, it will take even longer to cut open the abdomen and take the baby out.

"Let's get married later!" Qi Qili curled his lips, looking disapproving.

For dinner, we chose a building that overlooks the market. There was a new air conditioner installed there, and an extra floor was added. Important figures like Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the top floor.

Start eating now, take a break when you are tired, and continue eating until tomorrow night.

The singing and dancing never stopped, and the palace maids and eunuchs took turns performing.

The main courses are served slowly, one after another. The number of side dishes is not counted, they will be served at any time depending on what is available in the kitchen.

It’s hot now. Yesterday was the beginning of the dog days of summer, and today is the second day of the dog days of summer.

The summer solstice begins on June 22nd in the Gregorian calendar, and the third Geng day is the first day of the dog days.

June 28th was the year of Yimao, the month of Renwu, the day of Gengchen, the first Geng day.

Ten days later it is the second Geng day. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches have a cycle of ten days.

Counting from June 28th, the second Geng day is July 8th, and the third Geng day is July 18th, which is the first day of the Fu period.

The second dog days begin on July 28, and the third dog days begin on August 7. Today is the beginning of autumn, August 8, the third day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar.

"Is it so good here?" The fifth brother Zhu Su looked at the increasingly larger market and shook his head. The people of Xiaqiu Village did not buy many vegetables from the market.

"Your Highness Prince Wu, this is a boutique effect," Zhu Wentian said.

“It doesn’t matter whether people in Xiaqiu Village buy things or not, both those who sell things in the market and those who buy things will work hard to maintain the reputation of boutiques.

Everything in this market is the best. It is very convenient for people who don’t know how to choose vegetables. Of course, such people usually have money.

When you move to another place to be a fief, I will build you a boutique supermarket, provided that the income of the people in your fiefdom is increased first."

Zhu Wentian suggested changing the location, but Zhuozhou was not a good choice. Fengyang was Zhu Yuanzhang's hometown, and there were too many old ministers there. Whoever went there would be depressed.

"Hmmmm!" Zhu Su forgot about the effect; he only cared about changing places.

"Don't worry, think about where you're going first! Develop the economy there before you go there and take up residence there."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Lao Wu. He kept nagging about this matter. It would be easy to change it, but where could he change it to?
"Father is right! No rush!" The fifth brother smiled.

The fourth brother Zhu Di next to him looked through the telescope: "The shaved ice stalls are crowded. It's hot. I hope no one gets heat stroke. Tea and mutton soup should also sell well, although drinking hot things can also easily cause heat stroke."

Zhu Di used to believe, like everyone else, that drinking mutton soup and hot tea in summer would make him sweat and cool off.

In fact, if people are about to have heatstroke, the more they drink this, the worse it will be. It is best to drink cold water and stay in a cool place.

The well water is cold, so when you see free mung bean water, don't be polite, drink it quickly to replenish potassium and salt at the same time. If anyone is willing to add some sugar, that would be even better.

The little guy Zhu Xiongying raised his telescope to look: "Let's change their equipment! They really use a plane to shave the ice, which is unhygienic. I remember they used the shaking kind."

As he said this, he looked at Aunt Ling'er? Aunt? He remembered that there was a good thing, which was hand-cranked, but now it's electric.

"Okay! Let's call it Xiongying Shaved Ice Machine. If you order 100 pieces of ice, you will get a hand-cranked shaved ice machine for free."

Ling'er responded to the emperor's grandson that she had become very proficient in these methods and would never cry again because of buying a piece of rock candy.

"Ah! Okay!" Zhu Xiongying didn't understand the ins and outs. He felt that as both an aunt and an aunt-in-law, he could definitely not be wrong.

It depends on how you look at this title. From the perspective of her father Zhu Biao, Ling'er alone is Zhu Biao's sister, that is, aunt.

If it's Hanhan's place, then it's aunt.

Through her mother, Hanhan is her uncle and Ling'er is her aunt. When it comes to talking to the Crown Princess, they are sisters, so Ling'er is her aunt.

Anyway, you can call it whatever you want, it doesn’t affect the intimacy between each other.

"Sister Ling'er, what's the profit of a piece of ice? How much does a hand-cranked ice shaving machine cost?"

Princess Qin Gege Haji is not a child, she considers the cost issue.

"The ice produced by our ice factory is normally provided to others in the following specifications: 95 centimeters long, 17 centimeters thick, and 36 centimeters wide.

The specific gravity of pure water ice is 0.9. If we calculate the weight by volume, a piece of ice is 104.652 kilograms, which is our new unit of measurement, that is, one kilogram and five hundred grams.

At four degrees Celsius above zero, one cubic meter of pure water is one thousand kilograms, one ton.

The cost of ice making includes equipment depreciation cost, labor cost, storage and transportation cost, energy cost, material cost, natural loss cost, etc.

There is also a technical cost, which was never calculated before. From now on, it must be included to encourage more technicians to research new technologies.

In terms of comprehensive cost, a piece of ice weighing about 50 kilograms costs 80 cents. The technical cost is high. Without the technical cost, 20 cents would be enough.

As for sales, it depends on whether it is wholesale or retail. The more you buy, the cheaper the price will naturally be.

If you buy one piece individually, it costs 400 wen, and one pound of ice costs 4 wen. If you buy 10,000 pieces at a time, I can reduce the price to 2 wen per pound for you.

The technical cost of that hand-cranked ice shaver is not high and it is very easy to imitate. You can learn it just by taking a look at it.

It mainly depends on the cost of materials and the labor cost during production. Two hundred coins are already good, so let’s just say it’s two hundred coins!
There are gear structures inside, so if the materials don't meet the standards, it won't work. We also offer a lifetime warranty! If it's broken, bring it to us and we'll fix it.

We don't charge extra for replacement parts because the things we produce will not break down for ten or eight years under normal use.

Once it breaks down, by then our technology will be more advanced and the cost of repair parts can be as low as one-tenth of the previous cost.

After you have used it for ten years, there is a better device, why do you repair it? Most people who have bought equipment will buy newer equipment.

We can exchange your old items for new ones, and you can get 20% of the sales price of the new items, because the net profit of new items is more than 50%!
The purpose of exchanging old items for new ones is to encourage you to spend money, without caring whether the items you get in return are valuable.

Once the replacement is almost complete, we will continue to upgrade the products and the profit will not change.

If you order one hundred blocks of ice at one time, we will give you three cents and fifty cents per pound, which is a discount of fifty cents per pound. One hundred blocks is five thousand coins.

You must pay the full amount. If you don’t have the money on hand, we can give you an installment loan. Contact the bank, and the bank will…”

Ling'er patiently explained to Gegehaji the issues of cost and sales. Anyway, selling ice was very profitable.

Nowadays, people try to make less profit. Otherwise, Yingtian Prefecture cannot store ice in winter and has to transport ice from other places. How much will it cost?
"It turns out that selling ice is so profitable!" Gegehaji was surprised and quickly ate some shark fin that tasted like vermicelli to calm his nerves.

The whole thing about shark fin is the soup. Shark fin itself has no taste. It mainly comes down to the texture, and other things are used for seasoning.

"We know about it, second sister-in-law." Prince of Jin Zhu Gang also got married and lived a sweet life with Xie Qiaoer.

They both didn't want children. He could have palace maids before that, but Xie Qiao'er couldn't find a man before that.

Xie Qiaoer was in a happy moment, but once she had a child, it would be over!

However, Zhu Gang did not need to wait for his second brother to have a child before he could have another child, which was different from taking a concubine.

"Selling ice! They are all three cents and fifty cents a piece. No one buys the four cents a pound. Several people selling shaved ice will form a partnership. They will simultaneously pay a deposit of 100 yuan and withdraw money while selling.

Just let us know when picking up the goods and we will deliver them for free, just like Ju Bi Qi.

Reservation means that they can cancel at any time. If they don't want it anymore, the remaining money will be returned to them. There are no late fees or handling fees. However, the ice they took before will be calculated at four cents per pound.

If you buy 100 blocks of ice and get a hand-cranked ice shaver for free, I believe many people will pay for it separately because the bank loan interest rate is not high.

Currently it is only 10% a year, and the normal savings on ice is 0.45 cents, or 12.5%.

Therefore, in order to prevent people who buy ice cream from owing money on interest, we let the bank maintain an interest rate of 10% for them, and then pay the interest first and then the principal.

Otherwise, if we pay them equal installments of principal and interest, the interest rate will not be 10%, because the principal also needs to be repaid when repaying in installments.

They are really afraid that they will embezzle the money they earn to other places and then cannot get bank loans, so they restrict their loans.

For example, I can increase the down payment ratio, or rent their hand-cranked ice shaver for ten cents a month. Sister Ling'er, is this okay? Rent it!"

Zhu Gang made a decision as he was talking. When he realized something was wrong, he turned to look at Ling'er. He didn't like calling Ling'er sister-in-law.

Ling'er had no objection and nodded gently: "Your Highness Prince Jin is right!"

"It's settled." Queen Ma said. She looked at her five sons. The more she looked, the happier she became. They were all well-educated!
These five are her biological children. The sixth is born to Concubine Hu Chong, Zhu Zhen, who is now eleven years and four months old.

Zhu Zhen had not yet established his own government, but even though he was crowned a king, he still received dividends from the business of Xiaqiao Village and lived a very comfortable life, but he could not get close to women.

Zhu Zhen is also learning at this moment, including the princess. As long as she grows older, she will learn about the business of Xiaqiu Village.

There are also Zhu Gui, Zhu Zi and Zhu Qi. Historically, Zhu Qi lived to be two years old in his lunar age, and now he is very healthy and jumping around.

The younger Zhu Tan was also made a king, but he was still too young to have his own palace.

Zhu Chun was unlucky because he was not born when a bunch of kings were conferred titles in 1370. He was one year late.

But it doesn’t matter. Even if I don’t become a king, I can still get dividends from the business of Xiaqiu Village.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very capable in this regard. He was almost seventy years old, in 1395, and he was still able to have children. The last one was his daughter, Princess Baoqing.

Zhu Yuanzhang was born in 1328, and his last child was born in 1395, which means he was still able to...

"There will be an earthquake in a few days. How are we prepared?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked, thinking of something important.

(End of this chapter)