unclear

Chapter 480 Gathering 2
"This thing is usually tight, but also magically tight. It's called sesame oil. It's light green in color and doesn't smell very strange. After it's lit, it's smokeless, dust-free, bright, and has a faint fragrance. What's even more amazing is the price. It is no different from ordinary lamp oil, but unfortunately the output is not high.

My younger brother spent a lot of time and effort to get the exclusive rights to Quanzhou Fucheng. This is also thanks to the prefect of Quanzhou who knew something about my younger brother during the provincial examination. Otherwise, how could my family be comparable to those big merchants with our money? "

Huang Daozhou took a sip of tea and slowly talked about participating in the bidding meeting. When he talked about how he won the bid, he stood up and bowed to the south with his fists clasped in his hands. He was extremely grateful to the prefect who spoke for his company.

"Oh, it's a loss, it's a big loss this time. If I had known this, I would have waited a little longer. If I could get the Jinjiang specialty, wouldn't it be a huge profit!"

As soon as he heard that Huang Daozhou's family had won the bid for a Quanzhou franchise, the middle-aged Juren's face was full of envy and jealousy, and he regretted that he should not have come to the capital so early. His name is Zhuang Jichang, a native of Jinjiang, Fujian Province. He passed the national examination five years ago and this is the second time he has come to Beijing to take the exam.

Zhuang Jichang's family is relatively well off. He used to do business in Southeast Asia. After the New Deal was promoted in Fujian and Fuzhou became an open port, he also followed the example of Guangdong and built a factory to specialize in processing rice and sweet potatoes. Business was good, and most of the products were purchased by the Navy.

At the same time, the family's seagoing ship was not idle. Although it no longer sailed to Nanyang, it found a new route, taking the cargo designated by the navy to Annan-Da Nang, and then transported wood and rice back from the local area. With their family's relationship with the Navy, the chances of winning the bid are very high even if they don't dare to hold on to it.

"It's a coincidence that the Jinjiang County monopoly fell to Brother Zhuang's house. Alas, the lucky ones don't have to be busy."

"Oh! And such a good thing, it seems that my uncle still has some discernment. Come on, waiter, serve three or five of the best dishes here! I'm going to treat you today. I won't come home until you're drunk! "As soon as he heard that his home had also won the bid, Zhuang Jichang's mood suddenly changed, his chest thumped loudly, and his loud voice could be heard from half a building up.

"Brother Jing Shuo, Youxuan, what do you two mean by bidding?" The two of them chatted quite happily, and sometimes they even used their hometown dialect, which made the other three people feel a little like a monk. Puzzled. Song Yingxing was the youngest and most curious, so he couldn't help but ask questions.

"Hey, it's run by the navy. Every time there is something new that needs to be sold, it needs to be publicized in the state capital. The one with the highest price will get it." Zhuang Jichang's excitement had not passed, and he explained the general content of the tender without hesitation. come out.

"...In this case, if the buyers collude privately, there will be no profit!" Yuan Chonghuan frowned more and more as he listened. The form of bidding was somewhat similar to that of the Song Dynasty.

The advantages are obvious, and it can be sold at a high price, but the disadvantages are also obvious, and it is easy for buyers to join forces to calculate. Especially merchants in Fujian and Guangdong are naturally resistant to outsiders. Even if they don't look at each other on weekdays, they will share the same hatred when they meet outsiders.

"Collude in private? Yuan Yuan has misunderstood. The items flowing out from the navy are rich and powerful, and no one will turn a blind eye. Besides, the navy is a friendly person. If the inside story is known, the whole family will be killed. Being hung on the city wall doesn't make sense, it really doesn't make sense."

Zhuang Jichang cannot agree with this speculation 100%. Yes, businessmen in many places in Fujian have some xenophobic habits, not including the navy. One is that he can't be offended, and the other is that every time he sells goods, he is the only one who sells them. Even if you raise the winning bid price a lot, you can still make a good profit.

"In fact, more than half of the merchants who participated in the bidding can win the bid, so there is no need to compete too fiercely. The navy will divide the exclusive rights into many parts according to states and counties, and each family can only buy one place. If the cross-border sale is discovered by the prefectural and county officials, Not only will the goods be confiscated and fined several times the amount, but future bidding qualifications will also be cancelled." Seeing that Zhuang Jichang's explanation was not comprehensive enough, Huang Daozhou added a few more points. Obviously, the two of them are already familiar with and accustomed to this sales method, and agree with it, and don't think there is anything wrong with it.

"What if the merchants collude with the government and take away all the good places privately?" Zhang Chun has a boring personality and has been listening to other people's stories until now. However, his thinking was also more rigorous and he found the key point in no time.

"When the Navy is selling, they will post notices in advance, indicating the bidding quantity, and will also publish the winning bid amount and merchants in the "Business Daily", which is called supervision. If anyone discovers any malpractice for personal gain, they can report it to the prefecture or county, or they can directly report it. Go to the Fantai Yamen to complain. If that fails, you can also go to the Nanyang Governor's Yamen to file a complaint.

In fact, even if the Navy does not invite bids and directly gives the exclusive rights to someone, outsiders will have nothing to say. That's someone's unique secret recipe, and it all depends on who you give it to and who you don't give it to. I'm content with making some money along the way. "

There are different views on this issue. First of all, the Navy has no obligation to lead everyone to do business. Secondly, if the Navy wants to engage in favoritism and malpractice, it does not need to do so. Tendering is essentially a gift, a free business. How much you earn depends on your ability, and if you lose money it has nothing to do with you.

"It's a pity that there is no navy in my home!" Everyone understood now, and it was Song Yingxing who spoke first.

"Chang Geng, your family runs a big business. Fengxin porcelain clay and feldspar are famous all over the world. I heard that Liuguangzhai uses them." There is a saying that beauty is only in imperfections. Zhuang Jichang guarded the navy all day long and didn't think it was too precious. On the contrary, it was It’s nice to look at other people’s stuff.

"My little brother's family is just a shareholder, not a master." Song Yingxing shook his head, stretched out a finger and poked upwards.

His great-grandfather was the censor of Zuodu. His family was quite well-off in the local area, and he had close contacts with people in the public sector. After hearing the news that the imperial court allowed joint ventures to set up factories, he also invested some money in mining locally.

"Yes, my younger brother's family has also invested in a woolen mill. Although there is no income at the beginning, as long as it lasts for a period of time, the income will still be good, which is much better than farming. This is also thanks to the blessing of the Holy One. If it were not for His Majesty's promotion of the New Deal , just relying on farming, there have been frequent droughts and floods in recent years, and I am afraid that many people will starve to death."

Zhang Chun also had some feelings when he heard several people at the same table talking about joint ventures to set up factories. His home is in Tongzhou, Shaanxi, not far from Xi'an. In the past two years, someone wanted to build a wool spinning factory and took a fancy to the Zhang family's wasteland near the river.

The family members discussed it and decided that the land was left by the ancestors and could not be sold, but it could not refute the government's reputation, so they might as well use the land to become shares. Unexpectedly, I got it right, and the profit was more than the best paddy fields.

(End of this chapter)