The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 465: Huge Profits
Soon, all the hot dishes were served, including delicacies from land and sea, fine wines, and everything else. Jia Lian estimated that the cost of this table would not be less than fifty taels of silver, which was a lot of money. However, he couldn't figure out what he could do to deserve Jia Huan's flattery.
"The weather is cold, the wine needs to be heated up before it tastes better." Jia Huan said as he placed a pot of wine on the stove next to him.

Jia Lian then noticed the stove. It looked strange and different from the common ones. However, at the moment, his mind was focused on the "big business", so he didn't think too much about it. He just said, "What kind of big business is Huan'er talking about? Just tell me directly. There's no need to keep us in suspense."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Second Brother Lian, eat something while it's hot to fill your stomach first." After saying that, he started eating by himself, and Jia Rong also ate with hearty mouthfuls.

Jia Lian had not had breakfast yet and was indeed a little hungry. Seeing the delicious food in front of him, he started to eat. After all, he had been a housekeeper for many years and had some social composure. Since Jia Huan was deliberately whetting his appetite, he pretended not to be in a hurry. In the business world, the more anxious you are, the easier it is for you to be forced to lower your price. Only by remaining calm can you get a good price.

After a while, the wine was hot. Jia Huan picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for Jia Lian himself. He smiled and said, "Huan'er was young and ignorant. I had a very unpleasant quarrel with my second sister-in-law. I would like to apologize to my second brother Lian."

Actually, Jia Lian's character is not bad, he still has a conscience, as can be seen from the incident in the original novel when Jia She forced him to buy Shi Daizi's ancient fan. Jia Lian also knew that it was his wife Wang Xifeng who bullied Jia Huan first, and the latter fought back. So when Jia Huan took the initiative to apologize, he felt a little embarrassed and waved his hand and said, "Your second sister-in-law was also wrong. I also advised her to stop at the beginning, but your second sister-in-law has a strong personality, so she made a big fuss. Let the past be the past, and there is no need to mention it again."

"Brother Lian's broad-mindedness is truly admirable. Huan'er would like to toast you." Jia Huan raised his glass happily.

Jia Lian hesitated for a moment, but raised his glass to accept the toast, and drank it all in one gulp. With Jia Huan's current momentum, even a fool could see that he had a promising future. He would most likely pass the imperial examination next spring, and he was also on good terms with the Seventh Prince, so there was really no need to have a grudge against him. It would be good if the feud could be resolved.

After three rounds of wine and five kinds of dishes, and with Jia Rong's interjection, they talked more and more, and their relationship became more harmonious. At this time, Jia Lian finally couldn't hold it in any longer and asked first: "What is the big business that Huan Geer just mentioned?"

Jia Huan pointed to the honeycomb coal stove next to him and said with a smile: "That's it!"

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, "Brother Huan, you are trying to tease me. What kind of big business is a stove?"

"Of course one stove doesn't count, but with this one it does." Jia Huan used tongs to pick up a piece of red honeycomb coal from the furnace.

Jia Lian exclaimed softly, "What kind of charcoal is this? No, charcoal can't be burned like this, with so many holes in it."

Jia Huan said, "This is coal."

Jia Lian shook his head and sneered, "Impossible, how can burning coal be smokeless? Moreover, coal is very pungent. Huan'er, don't lie to me. You have never eaten pork, but you have never seen a pig run away."

Jia Rong interrupted with a smile, "Second Uncle Lian is wrong this time. This thing is indeed made of coal."

"Really?" Jia Lian was skeptical.

Jia Huan took out a piece of unburned honeycomb coal from a cloth bag beside the stove and said with a smile, "If Second Brother Lian doesn't believe me, you can take a closer look."

Jia Lian took the pliers from Jia Huan and examined them carefully. He saw that they were pitch black and indeed smelled like kerosene. He asked in surprise, "Is it really made of coal?"

Jia Huan nodded and said, "Of course it is made of coal. Why use charcoal? It's totally unnecessary. This is called honeycomb coal. It is not only easy to burn and lasts long, but also almost smokeless, just like burning charcoal."

Jia Lian's heart beat faster when he heard this. He was not a rich and idle man like Jia Baoyu who was ignorant of economic affairs. He was the general manager of the Jia family's daily affairs over the years, so he knew the value of this thing very well. This was because the cost of coal was much lower than that of charcoal. The reason why people burned charcoal instead of coal was entirely because coal was difficult to burn and produced a lot of smoke and odor. If these problems were solved, the effect of burning coal would be the same as that of burning charcoal, and everyone would naturally be happy to burn coal. Not to mention anything else, the charcoal used for heating in the mansion every winter alone would cost thousands of taels of silver. Wow, this was really a big business.

"Brother Huan, how much does your honeycomb coal cost?" Jia Lian asked in a deep voice, suppressing his excitement.

Jia Huan knew that this person was knowledgeable and smiled, "The cost of one piece is about three cents. Three pieces of honeycomb coal can burn for about two hours."

Jia Lian's pupils shrank sharply when he heard this, and he blurted out, "Really?"

Jia Huan nodded and said, "It can basically be done. I have tried it. If you don't believe me, you can take it back and try it for a few days, and then we can talk about business." Jia Lian silently calculated the result in his mind. He was shocked to find that the cost of burning coal was more than half lower than that of burning charcoal. In other words, taking the Rongguo Mansion as an example, five or six hundred taels of silver could be saved in one winter, which was hard-earned money.

Jia Lian couldn't sit still anymore. There were many families like Rongguo Mansion in the whole capital. If they all switched to burning this kind of honeycomb coal, the money saved in one winter would be considerable. If ordinary families also switched to burning this kind of coal, the money would be astronomical. Wow, they're going to get rich!!!

Jia Lian was almost shaking with excitement, but he still remained somewhat sober. He looked at Jia Huan in confusion and said, "This is indeed a big business, but why doesn't Huan do it himself?"

Jia Huan had obviously expected Jia Lian to ask this question, and he answered calmly, "This business has considerable profits, but the investment is also huge. I am afraid I am not capable of doing it alone. Besides, I have to take the imperial examination, so I have no time to manage it, not to mention that it is not convenient for me to show up."

Jia Lian nodded secretly. This explanation was reasonable. Jia Huan was destined to pursue a career in officialdom, but an official was keen on business affairs. If this got out, it would have a bad reputation and would be very embarrassing.

At this time, Jia Huan continued, "As the saying goes, good things should be kept within the family. After much thought, I think that Second Brother Lian is the most suitable person to run this business. Second Brother Lian is well versed in economic affairs, and he is fair and respectable in his work. He is steady and reliable, and he also has considerable connections. I really can't think of anyone else who is more suitable."

Jia Lian felt a little embarrassed by the praise and subconsciously straightened his back. He had never expected that Huan Lao San would think so highly of him. He coughed and said, "Brother Huan, you flatter me too much. How do you want to cooperate?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Everything is difficult at the beginning. It's not a good idea to make it too big at the beginning. How about this? I will pay one thousand taels, and Second Brother Lian will pay one thousand taels..."

Jia Rong hurriedly smiled and said, "Uncle Huan, can your nephew also give you a thousand taels? Haha, I want to make some money."

Jia Huan nodded and said, "No problem. We will each contribute 1,000 taels, a total of 3,000 taels of silver to test the waters first, and then decide whether to increase investment and production depending on the situation."

Jia Lian was a man of insight after all, and was certain that this thing could make a lot of money, so he said readily: "I have no objection to this, but how should the shares be divided? Should we divide it equally among the three of us?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "Of course it's impossible. After all, I came up with the idea, and I invented the stove and honeycomb coal. I also have the formula and production method of honeycomb coal."

Jia Lian frowned and asked, "How does Huan-ge-er plan to divide it?"

Jia Huan stretched out his left thumb and little finger and said calmly, "I take 60%, Second Brother Lian takes 30%, and Brother Rong takes 10."

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "Huan'er, you are definitely not joking. We all contributed the same amount, so why do you take 60%? That's 20% more than Rong'er and I combined?"

Jia Huan said confidently: "As long as I have the secret recipe, no one else can make it."

Jia Lian said angrily: "You can't ask for such a high price, can you? It's too unfair."

Jia Huan smiled calmly and said, "Brother Lian, please be patient. Everything in this world has a price, except for technology. Just imagine, if it weren't for me, would Brother Lian have thought of making money in this way? Even if he could, he couldn't do it without the corresponding technology. To be honest, I have the idea and the technology, and I am not short of capital, so I don't need to rely on others. The reason why I found Brother Lian to cooperate is to make concessions for the sake of brotherhood. If you want to find other people to cooperate with, you may find them if you spend some time. For example, Feng Ziying is a very suitable candidate. In terms of personal connections, Brother Feng has more than Brother Lian."

Jia Lian sneered, "It's true that Master Feng is suitable, but he is doing well in the army and may not have the time to take care of this for you. Besides, running a business is not something that can be done with just ideas, skills and capital. It also depends on whether the person doing the work has the ability to run it. But I am fully confident!"

Jia Huan nodded and said, "An outstanding manager... A manager is indeed very important, so I gave Brother Lian an extra 20% of the shares. Otherwise, why did Brother Rong only get 10% and Brother Lian got 30%? To be honest, I have roughly estimated that the capital has a population of one million. Even if each person consumes ten pieces of honeycomb coal per year, the profit is 300,000 taels. Of course, the entire business in the capital cannot be monopolized by our family, but even if we give a 10% discount, there are still 30,000 taels. In this way, Brother Lian can get a net share of 9,000 taels a year."

Jia Lian's heart was beating fast. You know, the rent collected by the Ning and Rong mansions from the farms every year only adds up to about 10,000 taels of silver. If this business is successful, wouldn't his income be equal to the annual rent income of the two mansions? The key is that Jia Huan is relatively conservative, so his income will only be more, not less. If he expands his business to other cities, it is possible to make tens of thousands of silver a year.

Jia Rong's heart was beating faster at this time. He originally just wanted to earn some pocket money, but after hearing what Jia Huan said, he realized that even if he only held 10% of the shares, the profit he would get would be considerable.

(End of this chapter)