Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 379 Raw Silk Puzzle
Being able to raise such a son, Zhang Baoshan, who is an old man, will naturally not be far behind.Zhang Baoshan has been helping his father Zhang Songxian manage the family business since he was an adult, and he is considered a good hand in the business field, but this time, he was firmly given by Lin Qizhao, who is 7 or 8 years younger than himself. Dazed eyes.

A month ago, Lin Qizhao found Zhang Baoshan and proposed to buy all the raw silk underwritten by the Zhang family at a price 10% higher than the market price, as much as he wanted.This is a price that makes Zhang Baoshan very excited and even a little unbelievable.You must know that the sales of raw silk at this time are no longer comparable to the past. Although the sales volume is increasing day by day, the price has been falling again and again. It is difficult to sell at a good price under the suppression of foreign businessmen from various countries.

Nowadays, foreigners are becoming more and more smart in their import and export trade. Every year, raw silk goes on the market around March. At this time, except for purchasing a small amount of raw silk to maintain the operation of the silk reeling mill, all major foreign companies are in the wait-and-see stage. , there are very few large business deliveries.Moreover, foreigners have also learned the threshold in recent years. They know the rules of Chinese shopping malls, three-day checkout, and the end of the year, which requires a large position. They deliberately want to "kill the pig" until the end of the year. Only then will they make a move to buy the raw silk in the hands of Chinese merchants at a low price.Because raw silk cannot be stored for a long time, it will turn yellow and become rotten after a long time. Merchants in the south of the Yangtze River have to accept the price of foreigners at this time.

There is a condition for Lin Qizhao to offer such a generous price, that is, the Lin family will only pay half of the funds, and the rest will be paid in the spring of next year.Zhang Baoshan had dealt with the Lin family for many years, and knew that the Lin family started out as a bank with a solid foundation, so he had no doubts about the strength and credibility of the Lin family.But after all, the amount is too huge, even half of it is as high as more than 600 million yuan, and it is difficult for the Zhang family to raise such a large amount of funds for turnover.

After several rounds of bargaining, Zhang Baoshan and Lin Qizhao finally reached an agreement. Lin Qizhao bought the raw silk in Zhang Baoshan's hands at a price 7% higher than the market price. He paid 7% of the raw silk purchase price, and the remaining 3% would be paid in the spring of next year, with the Lin family's bank as collateral. .

In this way, although the price is a little lower, it is much higher than that of foreign companies, and the Zhang family does not need to pay too much money in advance, and the corresponding risk is much smaller.

The agreement was reached and both parties signed and pledged. Not only did all the raw silk in the Zhang family's warehouse in Shanghai belong to Lin Qizhao, Zhang Baoshan also bought a lot of raw silk and sold it to Lin Qizhao, taking advantage of the Zhang family's powerful position in Nanxun.This was originally a deal that Zhang Baoshan thought was the most cost-effective, much more profitable than doing business with foreign merchants, and he felt a little bit sorry.According to the market conditions in previous years, the price of these raw silks would decrease as they were placed in Lin Qizhao's hands. However, Lin Qizhao seemed indifferent, which made Zhang Baoshan really puzzled.

However, in just one month, the price of raw silk in Jiangnan suddenly skyrocketed. The reason was that grain production in all parts of the country was generally reduced. The imperial court had the idea of ​​turning mulberry fields into rice fields.And Liu Kunyi, a high-ranking official in Jiangsu, seemed to have no choice but to try to implement it in one or two counties.

When the news came, Zhang Baoshan almost dropped his jaw on the ground in surprise. Could it be that Lin Qizhao is a fairy who can predict the future?

It is not terrible to be able to predict the future, but what is terrible is that this young man has such great courage and means. According to the information obtained by Zhang Baoshan, now about 3500% of the raw silk in the entire south of the Yangtze River is concentrated in the hands of Lin Qizhao.This is simply too shocking. Although the Lin family is also a famous family in the south of the Yangtze River, it is very difficult to mobilize such a huge amount of funds in a short period of time. That is at least [-] million yuan. How did Lin Qizhao do it?

What's more, Lin Qizhao made such a gesture that he made it clear that he wanted to compete with foreigners.Hu Xueyan, a red-capped businessman, did the same thing back then, but in the end, he was completely defeated and his family was ruined.It's only been a few years, has this Lin Qizhao forgotten?If the wind direction of the imperial court suddenly turned around again, and the strategy of abolishing mulberry and promoting agriculture was stopped, the price of raw silk would definitely plummet. The raw silk in Lin Qizhao's hands alone would be enough to make the Lin family breathless for decades .Given that Lin Qizhao has only studied foreign ink for a few years, how could he dare to do this regardless of life and death?
But one thing, Zhang Baoshan still understood, at least for the time being, Lin Qizhao had made the right bet, the price of silk had skyrocketed and there was no raw silk available in the market, so foreign businessmen had to come to Lin Qizhao.The crux of the problem now is how much foreign businessmen will pay, and what price Lin Qizhao wants.

However, before Zhang Baoshan asked, Lin Qizhao's words completely shocked him again.

In recent years, banks in the south of the Yangtze River have been greatly injured by the life-and-death battle between Hu Xueyan and foreign merchants, and they have been squeezed and constrained by foreign firms in terms of capital allocation.The Lin family, who started their business as a bank, deeply felt that the future of the bank was worrisome, and they had always had the idea of ​​investing funds in the textile industry. They had cooperated with the Zhang family on raw silk several times, but such a big deal like this time was still a first. Once.

At this moment, looking at Zhang Baoshan's shocked and helpless expression, Lin Qizhao naturally understood what Zhang Baoshan was thinking, but he just smiled slightly, put down the account book in his hand and said, "Brother Dingfu still remembers our agreement a month ago, My Lin family paid [-]% of the raw silk payment, and the remaining [-]% will be delivered in the spring of next year. The market for raw silk is bullish right now. I plan to count the remaining [-]% of the raw silk as a cooperation between our two families, and we will split the money we earn in the future. If we lose money, we will still follow the original agreement. I wonder what brother Dingfu wants?"

Zhang Baoshan has followed his father in the shopping mall since he was an adult, and he is very clear about the business.Hearing what Lin Qizhao said, he immediately understood that it was Lin Qizhao who handed over half of the remaining [-]% of the raw silk profit to the Zhang family, and for the Zhang family, it was only a profit but not a loss. He was immediately surprised and confused.

"Currently the price of raw silk keeps rising, Zihua (Lin Qizhao's word) has a unique vision this time, and he will definitely make a lot of money. How can he hand over the benefits?"

Lin Qizhao didn't answer his question directly, but asked, "Brother Dingfu is an expert in raw silk trading, tell me, how far will the price of raw silk rise, and I can sell the raw silk in my hands?" ah?"

Zhang Baoshan was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Lin Qizhao to ask such a question.He thought about it in his mind, based on his experience, in the past, foreign firms had to lower the price of raw silk by [-]% to [-]% before giving up. However, this is not always the case, it still depends on the strength and relationship.Given Zhang's status in the raw silk industry and the relationship he has established with foreign firms over the years, foreign merchants will not push too hard, and this will not be the case for other silk merchants.

However, this year's market has changed, and the initiative has shifted from foreign merchants to silk merchants. If it is true, as the rumors say, next year the imperial court will implement the strategy of abolishing mulberry and promoting agriculture, and the production of raw silk will drop sharply. The price will naturally rise sharply.

However, to what extent it will rise, he is completely unsure in his heart.What's more, the imperial court's policies have always been unpredictable, and they can't see clearly. What is settled today may be completely overturned by a decree tomorrow.Besides, this strategy of abolishing mulberry and rejuvenating agriculture is simply tossing about nothing. If it is really implemented, it will only be harmful to Jiangnan's economy.Fortunately, most of the Zhang family's business direction is now in the salt industry, so it won't hurt the fundamentals for a while.

Thinking of this, Zhang Baoshan could not help but kindly remind Lin Qizhao, "Zihua, in my opinion, if the price of this raw silk increases by another [-] to [-] percent, it will be ready to sell. What if the imperial court's policy changes again one day?" Come back, if you don’t abolish Sang Xingnong, the raw silk will be thrown into your hands, and the foreigners will definitely suppress the price fiercely, and Hu Xueyan fell on it back then.”

Lin Qizhao glanced at Zhang Baoshan, nodded calmly and said, "Brother Dingfu's words are not unreasonable, and I will explain to Brother Dingfu today that the matter of abolishing sang and promoting agriculture is not feasible at all, and the court will definitely not." That’s how you ruin your fortune.”

Zhang Baoshan suddenly wondered if he heard it wrong, and looked at Lin Qizhao with wide eyes, but Lin Qizhao didn't look like he was joking, and he was shocked. "Zihua is not joking. Now that you understand that it is not feasible to change the mulberry and promote agriculture, why do you buy a large amount of raw silk on the market? I heard that about [-]% of the raw silk in the entire south of the Yangtze River is in your hands."

Lin Qizhao chuckled, waved his hands and said, "Where are there so many? The raw silk in my hand is no more than [-]% to [-]%." As he spoke, Lin Qizhao's eyes flashed, and he said with a strange smile: "Brother Dingfu, why don't you Ask, how do I know that it is not feasible to abolish mulberry and promote agriculture?"

why not ask?How can an outsider inquire about such a matter involving commercial secrets?Zhang Baoshan shook his head with a wry smile: "Zihua doesn't have to be a fool. I see that you look confident, and Xiang must have a plan in mind. If it doesn't get in the way, please tell Zihua frankly, and let me How much do you understand this in your heart?"

Lin Qizhao stood up and looked out the window, seeing that there were no other people waiting, he just felt relieved, sat back on the chair and said in a low voice: "I'll explain to Brother Fu, but I have something to say first, among which Your interests are related to your wealth and life, and if it comes out of my mouth and enters your ears, there must be no third person to know."

Seeing Zhang Baoshan solemnly nodding his head, Lin Qizhao said slowly: "To put it bluntly, this is a game for foreigners. Over the years, foreigners have suppressed the price of my raw silk in Jiangnan too much. If things go on like this, Jiangnan's The raw silk industry is bound to face a crisis of decline, so we must find ways to reverse this situation. Just a few days ago, I went to Beijing with Mr. Sheng Xuanhuai to jointly establish a bank. When I met with the emperor, I talked about the raw silk in Jiangnan. This idea is The emperor finally settled down"

(End of this chapter)