Since the alliance of Chanyuan, because the annual coins that need to be delivered to the Liao Kingdom include cloth and silk, it has always been a tangled issue for the weaving industry to become an imperial merchant.
The demand for 300,000 silk fabrics every year is not a small amount. If it is not broken down into pieces, it is impossible for any cloth merchant to eat it. And even if it is divided into zeros, the imperial court still gives large numbers. However, with such a huge demand for fabrics, it is impossible for the court to give a real high price for acquisitions. This is not a luxury product, and even the price given is often lower than the market.
Every year, some treasures such as silk and satin will be purchased by the palace. This is the price of luxury goods. Of course, there are profits, but compared to 300,000 horses, the demand is not large. Becoming a royal merchant will definitely have certain privileges, so in terms of large merchants, some merchants will spare their spare time to take orders for year-old coins, with small profits but quick turnover or simply do not consider making money, and use some privileges given by the imperial court to develop other places. 's business.
The background of the Su family is still not enough in this regard. Of course, it is no problem to undertake the next small part, but if you take the initiative to ask for it, it will be quite troublesome. The Su family itself has a lot of business to maintain. Once the royal order is received, they will not care if you need time to buffer or something. When the time comes, you must have the goods. If you want to not affect the already saturated business supply and demand relationship, the Su family It is necessary to ensure sufficient supply capacity in advance.
In other words, you are required to prepare new workshops and new sources of raw materials in advance. These businesses do not provide much profit, and may bring certain privileges, but the energy spent on expanding these new workshops will itself make the Su family Your ability to expand has really reached saturation, and you have the privilege to do so, and you don't have the strength to expand.
On the other hand, if you can take over some of the old cloth business, and you have a better cloth, the court will also release a part of the demand for precious silk and satin, and this small part will earn a little more. Everyone wants this part of the business, but except for a few kinds of nationally famous rare silk fabrics, the rest of the cloth merchants want to donate their precious silk, and they have to pack a portion of the unprofitable old cloth share, plus It is very difficult to get through the miscellaneous expenses of various joints, and it is difficult to make profits purely on this.
There are many large cloth merchants in the Bianliang area. Although Jiangning is also a prosperous place for the weaving industry, the business of Huangshang is basically fixed by several medium-sized cloth merchants. It is no different from the Wu, Xue, and Su families, and of course it will be shared occasionally. It's not that medium-sized cloth merchants always go to buy and sell old cloth, but they become royal merchants. In the end, they are only medium-sized. The reason is that the pressure of old cloth is too great and the profit is not high.
To solve such problems, the best way is actually to improve technology. Xi Junyu can probably feel some of Su Tan'er's efforts in this area. This effort has been done for several years, and it is estimated that there are already some eyebrows in front of him, but now, the problem has emerged...
"In the past few years, if you could further reduce the cost of the old cloth and improve the efficiency, you would have no problem with this business... Of course, there will be jealousy in a year or two. But the problem is that starting last year, Liaoning The relationship between the Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom is tense, and now one and two are waiting for the war to start. Once the war starts, the two tigers will fight, and our dynasty will definitely send troops. The cloth, the loss can only be eaten by oneself..."
"But if there are no more New Year coins, the royal merchants will only receive silk and satin sent to the palace. The Xue family and the Wu family must be following up now. We may be able to win the Xue family, but we can't win the Wu family. Family, they have a relationship in the palace, and they are very familiar with the adults of the weaving house. I know you have spent some time preparing for the past few years, but now in this situation, the odds of winning are not high. The most important thing is Still in the aspect of old cloth, no matter how good the silk you present, the demand in the palace is not high, but they don't want to join the old cloth, and you have invested a lot of new workshops, which will be hollowed out all at once, but if you are not prepared The new workshop, if the demand for year-old cloth is still there for another year, what should we do..."
After Xi Junyu said this, Su Tan'er was silent for a long time before speaking: "The question of Suibu, isn't it as difficult for the Xue family as for the Wu family?"
"If there is still another year's request for the cloth, they plan to hold on, and they will give up part of the market share first, and they will send troops next year or the year after, and they will take the silk business and take the With the privileges of the royal merchants, you will get the market share back. But you are improving the loom, you are taking risks, and you have invested too much. If it was a few years ago, I would of course support you, but now you may not be able to compete on the bright side. , this is no longer a lucrative business, so it's better to get out as soon as possible." He sighed, "It's not your miscalculation, but the time has come, and there is no way..."
In the past, because of the relationship between Suibu, Huangshang was not a fragrant bun. For the big merchants who really have the ability to swallow them, they can become bigger, but for the Su family or smaller merchants, it is Burdens and even poisons. Just when Su Taner wanted to make a move, he was going to fight again. Seeing hope, Suibu might be gone, and the Xue family and the Wu family also came to fight, but the investment of the Su family became a joke.
At this moment, after listening to Xi Junyu, Su Tan'er frowned slightly and shook her head: "Treasurer Xi thinks... What will happen after this war?"
"Eh?" Xi Junyu was stunned for a moment, and then said, "After the fight..." When he said this, he suddenly understood what the other party meant: "You too..."
"Since I was born, New Year coins have been given every year." Su Tan'er lowered her voice, "Some things are disgraceful to say, but they seem to be endless things, of course I also hope , we can defeat the Liao people. But... we have never won, the Tanyuan Alliance more than 60 years ago, the Heishui Alliance seven years ago, and now there is another Jin Kingdom, what will happen to the fight? Two tigers fight and die together, of course, but is it really like this?"
Su Tan'er shook her head: "Everyone says that the Liao people are savage and cruel, and the Jin people are vulgar and vulgar. When it comes to my Wu Dynasty, I'm the Great Heavenly Dynasty. I... I also like listening to this story. I went to the teahouse to hear books when I was a child. , I can't help clapping my hands and laughing. But if it's true... I don't believe it. There will be wise people everywhere, we can't beat them, it can only mean that they are stronger than us, so we have to recognize them... "
"Those who can admit defeat can win back. I'm a businessman. If you lose, you will lose. If you lose money, you will lose. It's useless to make any excuses. Give excuses to others. If you know what they do, they won't lose. Only when I know how to guard against him and leave my shortcomings to myself can I see myself clearly. Shopkeeper Xi, the Liao Kingdom could still force us to make an alliance with the Black Water like that seven years ago, and the Jin Kingdom will be able to fight with the Liao Kingdom at this time. At that time, did no one really care that there was a Wu Chao watching?"
"I go to teahouses and restaurants now, and listen to that humanistic man talking about how my Wu Dynasty was going to take advantage of the fishermen, how barbaric and vulgar, stupid and mindless the Liao Kingdom and Jin Kingdom, how to provoke their two countries and how to kill people... I am Women, if you were in the Liao Kingdom and Jin Kingdom, you wouldn't be so short-sighted. I have been bullied for nearly a hundred years, and they are so happy to say that the other party is a stupid beast, and we will be bullied by a group of stupid beasts for so long. Is it? Maybe it's because these scholars keep telling the story of my martial arts knights defeating the barbarians of the Liao Kingdom, that my dynasty is so weak..."
She looked gloomy: "If there is a fight, the best outcome is of course that they really lose both, and I don't need to give any new year coins. At that time, the improved loom will always be useful. But there are other outcomes. , the Liao Kingdom won, and under Xingshi's guilt, I have to increase the New Year coins for the Liao Kingdom. If the Jin Kingdom wins, will they not want the New Year coins? How can it be so good? I heard about the friction between the two countries, Liao and Jin, A large part of it is because Jin Guo wants to do business with Da Wu. It is also possible that when the two countries go to war, my Wu Dynasty not only has to give the Liao country year-old coins, but also Jin Guo at the same time, but only... They cannot give me Wu Chao. The coin thing happened…”
"I also hope that I can win the dynasty. If one day the army is dispatched, the government will definitely come to the house to ask for money, and my grandfather and father are ready. But if I can't win in the end, then... what should I do..."
Xi Junyu was stunned for a while. Now the situation in Jinliao is tense, and the whole country is saying that if two tigers fight, one will be injured, and Wu Chao has a chance to breathe. No matter how bad the result is, it will not be worse than the current situation. Unexpectedly, Su Tan'er had such an idea. Should she be said to be too pessimistic or too sober. Recalling this woman's previous behavior, her behavior was indeed extremely rigid under her soft exterior. It's really... His heart trembled a little... It's so admirable.
But even so, in Xi Junyu's heart, he still holds the idea that the Wu Dynasty will not get worse. To improve the loom, take over a large number of old cloth business with the spare power, reduce the cost and increase the profit, this is indeed the most upright conspiracy. But this kind of profit won't last long. Generally speaking, the unique secret method of printing and dyeing or needlework can often be maintained for a longer time, but the improvement of the loom will be spread out in less than a year or two. Anyone with a heart will know that when everyone improves, the profits will still be washed down. Many times, it takes a lot of effort, but it is often not pleasing.
He opened his mouth and was about to say these words, when a sudden applause sounded next to him, and a figure clapped his hands in the darkness on the other side of the corridor. Just now, Su Taner's words were serious, but Xi Junyu didn't pay attention to his surroundings. At this moment, Juan'er said in surprise: "Uncle, why are you here?"
The person in the darkness over there was Ning Yi, with an oil-paper umbrella in one hand, and a pair of rustic-looking mountain goods, dried hare or something in the other. He smiled and gestured to the back, which was in the direction of the small square where the carriage was parked: "I was waiting for dinner, so I went to the kitchen to have a look, just passing by and remembered that there was something on the carriage that I didn't take... Ah, this is Xiaochan's villagers gave it to Geng Huyuan, just take it as a favor, so as not to be led by the guy who sorts the carriage, and then comes over, you can hear the voice."
He smiled and pointed at Su Tan'er: "You're wrong, you're not patriotic."
Xi Junyu originally planned to say a few words about this matter, but when he heard Ning Yi first say this, he frowned slightly. This fellow is also a scholar. The guy who likes to tell the story of martial arts warriors defeating the barbarians of the Liao Kingdom is no different. From a logical point of view, what Su Tan'er just said is very reasonable, but it cannot be generalized with the changes in business.
He turned his head and saw Su Tan'er next to him couldn't help but burst out laughing. Such a smile was extremely rare in Xi Junyu's impression, because in the vagueness, the woman behind her seemed to be laughing as well, which was different from the one in front of her. The Su Tan'er merged into one.
She just smiled like that, and turned her head a little irritably, but her eyes were still on Ning Yi, her tone was slightly annoyed, but she was not coquettish, just like a natural joke like a friend: "Xiang Gong..."
At the same time, in another part of the city, in the Qinhuai River Bay under the heavy rain, a figure knocked on the door of the stilted building with lights on. When Nie Yunzhu opened the door, he saw Yuan Jin'er, who was hugging her body and was soaked by the rain.
She was wearing thin cotton pajamas and pajamas when she jumped out of the Golden Wind Tower today. It was raining heavily all the way, and the clothes in the lights were attached to her body, making it even more transparent. Of course, in the eyes of Nie Yunzhu, who is also a woman, this way The state of her only made Yuan Jin'er more petite and weaker. The usually young and lively girl showed a smile at this time, reached out to touch the rain on her face, then lowered her head and shook her long hair like water plants, splashing all over, and then yawned.
"Ah... Sister Yunzhu, I'm amazing, almost... uh, I swam all the way from the Golden Wind Tower, even if that's the case... Heh, I really want to sleep, where is your room, Sister Yunzhu? I'll just sleep on the floor now…”
She yawned wildly with one hand over her mouth, and then coughed a few times. It seemed that she was already sleepy. Nie Yunzhu was just stunned for a moment, and immediately reached out and hugged her: "No, you have to take a hot shower first. Water bath... walnut, hurry up and heat up the hot water... "
"Well... I won't take a bath... The water is so bad, I'm almost soaked into a steamed bun... Hehe, Sister Yunzhu, you are so warm..."
Yuan Jin'er was soft in her arms, wrapped her arms around her neck, closed her eyes, muttered a smile, then wiped her face on the shirt on Nie Yunzhu's shoulder a few times, and leaned there contentedly. , was about to fall asleep. Then, a voice came from the rainstorm: "Miss, Miss..."
Button, who was also almost soaking wet, hugged a small package and chased after him.
Not long after, Nie Yunzhu looked at the naked woman with a wry smile, hugging her quilt on her bed and sleeping, probably knowing the ins and outs of the matter...