Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 99 Figured it out
Outside the south gate, Hu's butcher shop.

There are three large doors, and there are six or seven pieces of pork in front of the door.

It was just dawn, and not many people came to sell meat.

There were no guests for a while, and Father Hu's mouth began to chatter.

"Be careful when doing things. Even though we are butchers, we will all think that we are rough people. Can rough people do business? Are you so big?!"

"Stinky boy, don't look at you as a scholar. Compared with your old man, you are still far behind in calculating and collecting accounts."

"Look at you. In one month, you have lost thirty Wen. Thirty Wen, in the past, could buy a liter of rice."

A few days ago, Hu Quan's accounts in Shiyue were short by [-] Wen, and his father had been nagging him for almost five days.

Hu Quan stared at the meat case in front of him with his head down, without saying a word, he couldn't help thinking of the previous time.

At that time, with a meeting ticket of several thousand taels in hand, it was only a few taels of silver, without frowning.

Now it’s good, I have to deal with the black and black money making that I don’t know how many hands have been transferred all day long. For the sake of three coppers and two coins, I have to talk to some old women for a long time, and they refuse to spare the price. Gu even cursed and was unhappy, so he forgave the price, and his father kept nagging and scolding after returning home.

At that time, I walked around the elegant Qinhuai brothels all day long, socialized with famous prostitutes, listened to Nanqu, watched beauties, and smelled millennium makeup. Shouting, seeing traffickers and pawns, smelling blood and sweat.

These are simply two worlds.

"If you are like this, how can I trust you to hand over the shop in the future? If the shop fails in your hands, you will make me suffer."

Hu Quan couldn't help feeling an unknown fire in his heart, and suddenly raised his head and shouted fiercely: "Okay, isn't it just dozens of big boys!"

When Hu Wanguan saw that his son dared to yell at him, he was stunned for a moment, and then said angrily: "Okay, your wings are hard!"

As he said that, Hu Wanguan was about to come over.

Hu Quan suddenly trembled, his father's prestige was too deep, this old butcher had a bad temper, and was very rude, he beat children hard, and he was often beaten since he was a child.

Suddenly seeing the meat cutting knife on the meat table, Hu Quan picked it up by mistake.

……

Nobile Tower.

"My father even asked someone to write a letter!"

Putting the letter paper in his hand on the table, Yang Chao couldn't help frowning.

Early this morning, Wang Xiao sent someone to invite Yang Chao, saying that his father Yang Yong had brought a letter.

It was the guy from the Wang family who delivered the goods.

My father wrote that he planned to leave in early December.

Starting from Hangzhou at the beginning of December, it will take a few days on the road, and it will be almost the Chinese New Year when I return to Nanjing.

I sent my family to Hangzhou, because Yang Chao was worried about Xu Zhongxiao's conspiracy, but Xu Zhongxiao was also afraid of Yang Chao, so he hid in Beijing. Yang Chao thought about it, and there should be no danger in letting his family come back for a new year.

I don't intend to reply to stop it.

"Brother Kang, how are you doing recently?"

Wang Xiao invited Yang Chao to come for a gathering, and with Kang Hui, the three of them were together, eating the delicious dishes prepared by the chef, and drinking some wine.

Kang Hui was rather worried: "To tell you the truth, the signboard has gone out, and no one knows about Jinchai Building. But we don't have any girls in bed here, and we don't have famous prostitutes in the house. There are not many customers. There is nothing to show for it." Things. If you treat guests to a banquet, others will either go to a restaurant or another brothel."

Yang Chao nodded. He can understand that Jinchai Building has just risen, and it is a new operating model. It is not so easy to cultivate its own customer base. Brand building takes time to incubate, just like wine, the longer it is, the more mellow it will be .

But Yang Chao is also reflecting on it. He originally created pure music and pure art performances, but now it seems that there is a problem.

Yang Chao had to admit that he had a high opinion of the artistic accomplishment of Ming Dynasty literati.

It is true that these people are good at playing with words. They basically understand stereotyped prose, and they can rhyme in poems and lyrics. Although it is not so easy to make a masterpiece with substantial content and deep feelings, it requires extremely high cultivation and skills. Talent, but to write some fluent poems, the vast majority of people who pass the exam and even show talent can do it.

Literature is a kind of art, so Yang Chao thinks that these scholars are also proficient in other arts. In fact, he is confused by the elegant life of literati and scholars who often hang around brothels and listen to music. In fact, most of them don’t understand it at all Rhythm, visiting brothels is a kind of popular culture in the Ming Dynasty. If you don't go, you will be despised.

After a rough thought, you can actually understand that in order to obtain fame, which scholar has not spent ten years in poverty, all his energy is spent on reading, how can he have time to cultivate other hobbies and cultivate other artistic accomplishments?

It is Yang Chao himself, who is just a boy student who has not yet passed the examination of a scholar. He has great privileges at home. Conditions, let them study the temperament.

Those who really understand this are those who already have fame, and after being admitted to Jinshi, they spend a lot of time in the officialdom without thinking about politics, such as Qian Qianyi and Ruan Dacheng. Those who really understand music and are good at it can be called everyone.

There are also those nobles who can live a rich life without relying on imperial examinations and can be officials, those descendants of Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da, Liu Bowen, etc. In fact, the honorable men represented by Xu Qingjun in Nanjing City Your son is indeed a recognized big player.

Therefore, Yang Chao's original plan to attract high-end customers with pure art can only be high-ranking and few. Maybe he can attract one or two nobles, but this is not what Yang Chao wants. One or two nobles cannot support the operation of Jinchai Building. , and it is impossible for Jinchai Building to have a place in Nanjing, or even lead the trend.

Yang Chao wanted to make the Jinchai Building a benchmark for the Qinhuai River, and let those bright buildings see that brothels can be run well without sleeping with others.

So this is a directional error in his own plan, the route is not right at all, no wonder Kang regrets his poor execution.

So Yang Chao comforted: "Brother Kang, don't worry. Take your time."

Kang Hui sighed: "Brother Yang, why don't we buy some pretty fans, with the signboard of Jinchai Building, people will come at high prices."

Yang Chao resolutely refused: "Brother Kang, Jinchailou doesn't do flesh and blood business, and Jinchailou is different from other brothels."

Yang Chao’s development blueprint for Jinchai Building is a combination of the National Center for the Performing Arts and high-end clubs. Although it seems that the model of the National Center for the Performing Arts seems to be a bit problematic now, Nanjing does not have so many high-end potential customers, but Jinchai Building does not do skin. The business is unshakable.

Yang Chao doesn't believe that the aesthetics of scholar-bureaucrats is so unbearable. If they don't know how to appreciate authentic and pure music, Jinchailou will introduce operas and dances that are both refined and popular. Not uncommon.

"Brother Wang, how are you doing here?"

Wang Xiao also has a part in running the Jinchai Building. He is in charge of the social club.

Wang Xiao smiled wryly and said, "I've brought over a lot of rich businessmen, but they're all talking about business, and they're all treats for my younger brother."

Yang Chao demanded that the accounts of Jinchailou should be clear, and that public and private should be distinguished. Even if Kang Hui and Wang Xiao were here to treat guests, they had to pay the bills, because Yang Chao couldn't guarantee that Wang Xiao would use the name of developing customers for Jinchailou. Feast his business partners here and develop customers for himself.

Yang Chao said: "I believe you will not lose money."

Wang Xiao said, "That's true."

Yang Chao said: "Don't worry, I can guarantee you here, as long as time goes by, everyone will see the benefits of the Jinchai Building as a social place. But I have seen the guests you invited, and I found that only the groceries with you You only invite customers related to the shop, that’s not a good thing.”

Wang Xiao smiled awkwardly: "Public and private considerations, public and private considerations!"

Yang Chao said: "It's not the way to balance public and private affairs. And it's a waste of those connections. I've heard people say that I'm a broker, I never thought about being a broker, but you can consider doing it. To help those wealthy merchants, in Jinchai Building If you make a big deal, Jinchai Building will have one more client. And you can also earn commissions, and when you do it, it’s not you who help people, someone will beg you for help.”

Wang Xiao pondered for a moment: "I can think about it, the grocery store is a mess, and there is nothing I can do about it."

Wang Xiao had to concentrate on Wang Yihe's grocery store, because this store was really bad.

This grocery store has not been in operation for a long time, less than ten years in total, and it was founded by Wang Xiao's father, Wang Yihe, with the idea of ​​operating north-south and east-west goods through Nanjing, a large commercial port.

It's a pity that the Wang family's foundation in Nanjing is too shallow. Since eight years ago, the peasant army has entered the Jiangnan area, and later pushed it to Huguang, and retreated with the officers and soldiers. Although it did not gain a foothold, it affected the shipping on the Yangtze River. To a certain extent The circulation of goods was blocked online, which greatly affected Wang Yi and the grocery store's business of turning goods.

Therefore, from its opening to the present, this shop has been tepid, with a lot of money invested, but not much profit.

When Wang Yihe handed over the shop to Wang Xiao, it may not be because he had the idea of ​​giving up the shop, and at the same time gave a reward to the bastard Wang Xiao who had made great contributions.

Of course, through the last political meeting, Wang Xiao had established relationships with many wealthy businessmen in Nanjing, which was also one of the reasons why Wang Yihe handed over the Nanjing industry to Wang Xiao.

The Wang family doesn't need to care about this shop, Wang Yihe doesn't need to care about this shop, but Wang Xiao has to care about it, this is the capital of his life.

Wang Xiao's prosperity and wealth in the second half of his life may have to rely on this shop, because his father, Wang Yihe, died, and he basically didn't even get a share of the family property.

For a family of officials and eunuchs like Zhang Pu, as a concubine, Zhang Pu would not be able to share the family property, let alone a family of merchants like them, when the brothers from the direct descendants could give him a sip of soup, it would be considered conscientious.

Therefore, Wang Xiao was under great pressure and was extremely dedicated to his work. During this period of time, he devoted himself to this large-scale shop that had not improved.

But without the strong capital of the Wang family for him to operate, Wang Xiao seemed to have lost a lot of aura in the past, probably because the things he did and spent in the past belonged to the Wang family, but now it is his own, so he is timid about doing things.

Yang Chao was about to boost Wang Xiao's morale, when a tortoise suddenly came in and reported that someone was looking for Yang Chao by name, saying that he was Yang Chao's friend.

The person who came was Hu Quan, wearing dirty rough clothes, with blood on his hands and face.

The first sentence said: "Brother Yang, I figured it out."

(End of this chapter)