Li Hu's worries are very reasonable, because this is the original intention of the black housekeeper.

Being "dragged away" by the butler does not only mean "incompetence" and "punishment", it also means that a fat and oily position has been vacated.

The black butler has been coveting this position for a long time.

The Kong family became the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River, all thanks to the Tushan Porcelain Kiln.

First, the black steward's father assisted Kong Pugao's father to expand the small porcelain kiln, and then the black steward assisted Kong Pugao to buy the entire "one mountain, two ridges and one trough" land in the Huangjiaoya area.

This land contains a large amount of porcelain clay, and there is a natural Tushan Lake in the middle. It is surrounded by ravines, abundant water, and numerous coal mines, which provide material security for the firing of porcelain.

The efforts of two generations turned this entire area into a porcelain kiln base, and even the place name was changed to "Tushan County".

It is said that it was the efforts of two generations that assisted Kong Pugao to become the richest man in Jiangnan. The black housekeeper should be able to become the chief shopkeeper of the Kong family.

It turned out not to be the case. Kong Pugao made a servant who was always around him, who was good at getting things done, and who could write and do calculations, become the butler.

The position was high, and his feet were floating. The black butler watched him rise, and finally waited for him to fall.

Now that the position of the big butler has finally been vacated, the black butler will naturally have to perform well and try to get the position.

The black butler has no idea where the former big housekeeper failed, but there is at least one thing: the cost of each action is too high.

Like his father, Kong Pugao is a person who doesn't like high-cost transactions.

To put it bluntly, it means "picking".

Trying to figure out the master's thoughts is what every ambitious servant has to do. A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier.

How can there be a slave who doesn’t want to be a master?

The black housekeeper tried every means to create opportunities for reading and literacy when my father was still alive, so he also read a lot of books.

Thinking of those historical celebrities who appeared in generals and generals, the most obvious thing that Black Butler can feel is that each of them is very good at figuring out other people's thoughts.

Only by correctly understanding the master's mind and knowing what the master is thinking can we take the correct approach when facing what the master tells us to do.

Then, the more you know about your master, the more you will know what he is thinking, what he is planning, and what he is going to do next.

Based on the joint speculation and summary of the family head by two generations of him and his father, Black Butler formulated a method to deal with the Sanshun Escort Bureau, hoping to achieve the goal of ascending to the throne through this matter.

At this moment, the black butler is reporting to Kong Pugao.

"Everything is ready, head of the family. I will try my best to get things done without spending any money!" the black butler promised.

Kong Pugao: "Can it be done without spending money?"

Kong Pugao is not a miser. He does not like the high cost of doing things. He pursues the principle of "seeking profit", and the money that should be spent must be spent.

In his opinion, the annexation of the Sanshun Escort Agency is not a big deal, and there is no need to spend a lot of money to "smash" the Escort Agency over.

Otherwise, how much money can an escort agency have? He just wants those boats and sailors.

If he really needs to spend money, he can invest in setting up a shipbuilding workshop by himself.

However, in this case, not only will the investment be large, but the results will be slow, the key is that it is difficult to obtain technical talents, and it will be easily monitored by relevant departments.

Furthermore, regardless of whether the shipyard can be run or not, just applying for "shipbuilding office management" is easy enough to be manipulated by the Ministry of Industry or the Ministry of War, and he has no high-level official backing.

The reason why Pingjian was able to open a shipyard was because he used Thousand Machine King's "Building License".

Qianji Wang devoted himself wholeheartedly to the construction of Daxuan boats. When he wanted to get away, he got a license, but he couldn't get out.

This "boat building license" is a "high-cost" matter for Kong Pugao.

But annexing a ready-made small escort agency is not worth investing a lot.

Now the black butler said he could do it without spending a penny. Although he was tempted, he was also very skeptical.

Black Butler: "Master, it's like this: Our Kong family has two ferries. The younger one has a friend who is from the Yan Gang, and the Yan Gang also has two ferries;

As long as these four ferries conduct "serious and careful" inspections of Sanshun Escort's fleet, it will be enough to prevent them from delivering goods on time;

If there is no conflict, they fail to deliver goods on time, and if the sign is damaged, the small company will publicize it well so that they will no longer have business.

However, a conflict is very likely to occur, and we can seize the goods and sue their owners to the government... They are not far away from closing the store and redeeming the store."

Well, this method is feasible and does not cost a single soldier, but...

Kong Pugao looked at him: "You have a good relationship with the Salt Gang? Do you know the gang leader?"

This is what Kompugao cares about.

Since ancient times, the salt and iron bureaucracy has been a bureaucracy, and after Emperor Daxuan ascended the throne, the old and new bureaucracies were at odds with each other and merged with each other. The officialdom was not to say corrupt, but at least muddy.

They often take advantage of their monopoly on the salt trade for personal gain. The price of salt is extremely high and the profits are very generous.

Among the wealthy businessmen like Kong Pugao in the Jiangnan generation, there are many who started out as rash people. It would be best if they could join forces to traffic in illegal salt for personal gain.

But they sell private salt, and the cost is too high. They need to recruit officials to get salt, but Kong Pugao doesn't need it. The money he recruits for one official is enough for him to open two salt wells. How good is it to sell it yourself!

Even if you want to become bigger, you should annex forces like the "Salt Gang" instead of cooperating with others, which costs money!

What the Salt Gang is doing is exactly what he is also doing. As the saying goes: "Enemies are enemies in the same industry." But Kong Pugao values ​​​​the guys in the Salt Gang who have their heads in their belts.

Not only do they have a large number of people, but they can also sell "private salt" to various places.

"Cats have their own catwalks, rats have their own rat lanes." The terminal sales capabilities of these people are what Kong Pugao needs. If he can control the Salt Gang, in other words, if he is the leader of the Salt Gang, then his wealth will be

Will go to the next level!

His current salt wells produce more than 200 kilograms of salt per day, and the salt price in the area with the cheapest price is 40 cents per kilogram. If he opened hundreds of wells... he would still make money without buying salt!

The black butler didn't expect that his master would be interested in the boss of the Salt Gang, but the one he knew was just a junior member of the Salt Gang, who was only responsible for registering ships at the ferry.

I couldn't help but murmur: "I don't know him yet... However, if the head of the family needs it, I will find a way to get my friends to help introduce me... I just don't know if my friends can do it."

Kong Pugao is no longer interested, and the little people at the bottom cannot move up to the big level.

But the little people have the abilities of the little people. Kong Pugao asked: "What is that friend of yours doing at the ferry?"

The black butler immediately became energetic: "He and his brother both know some words, so they are responsible for registering ships at the ferry, and sometimes they also help keep accounts and so on."

"How much benefit does your friend want?" Kong Pugao asked. This is the cost. Who would help in vain?

The black butler smiled flatteringly: "Hey! It's about a feast of wine!"

The cost is indeed not big, quite low.

Kong Pu nodded lightly: "Yes, I understand. Let's go and do it."

There is one thing that the black butler has not mentioned yet, and that is the advance payment of 20,000 taels.
Chapter completed!