567: Text Note, Let's Do Business (Part 2) [Request a Monthly Pass]
Shen Tang selectively ignored the word "smuggling".
After all, the government is engaged in "smuggling", and it doesn't sound good if word spreads about it.
No matter how unrestrained and free-minded she is, she still wants to cherish her feathers on the surface, pretending to cough lightly: "Why, you don't want to?"
She had done a lot of research on the smuggling of cloth, salt and grain. The local snakes whose houses were confiscated had piles of account books. After looking through them, she realized that this business was originally tightly controlled by them. They paid the benefits to the government. Establish a relationship with Yongguguan, and then the merchants under the sect are responsible for doing business. If merchants from other places want to get a share of the pie, they have to pay several times or more than ten times to go to the dock with local snakes.
Profits are exploited layer by layer.
Even so, you can still make a lot of money in just one trip.
This shows how huge the profit is.
And now, factory direct sales...
Ah, bah, the government is in trouble.
"No, no, no, no -" the merchant shook his head faster than a rattle and stammered, "I think about it, I want it very much!"
Shen Tang smiled: "Then do you have a charter?"
Although she chose the other party, the salt seller's ability was not up to her expectations, so she didn't mind changing to a better one.
The merchant in front of him is the salt seller who Shen Tang accidentally rescued when he went to Shiwu. The latter has not returned home yet simply because the merchants on that trip were robbed of all their goods by Shiwu refugees and he was penniless. He could follow him. When Shen Tang returned to Guan, his ancestors protected him.
Back in the pass, Shen Tang didn't care about him.
He could only stay and do odd jobs to make ends meet.
Prepare to save some money before going back.
This blow did not completely discourage him in his middle age, because he knew that his family was still counting on him. As long as his life was not lost, relying on the contacts and business experience he had accumulated over the years, he might be able to seize an opportunity. Can make a comeback!
I carried this belief through two or three months.
but--
He never expected that the opportunity would come so quickly.
When he heard that the county guard was looking for him, he was frightened. He tremblingly thought about whether he had offended the other party in the past. Until he saw the familiar face again and heard the other party ask him if he was interested in going to Shiwu again. Shang, he was confused.
He is confused, but he is not stupid.
In a blink of an eye, I had an idea.
He has been smuggling in Shiwu for many years, even in the most dangerous Western Region. He cannot say that he knows much about this business, but he can definitely be said to be an old horse who knows the way. Listening to the salt seller's talk, he became more and more confident, and gradually became very proud. Standing up, Shen Tang raised his hand.
"I just want to ask you how much profit is there?"
The salt seller looked embarrassed: "It's hard to say."
Shen Tang asked in confusion: "Why is it so hard to say?"
The salt seller had to explain it carefully.
Everyone knows that salt is as good as gold.
Salt, like iron, was the royal court's special business.
According to the law, if a pound of salt is made privately, the toes must be chopped off, and the amount is huge. However, the Geng Kingdom is in chaos, and the control of the royal court makes it impossible for them to really hold this piece of salt in their hands. As a result, the private salt market is flooding, and the price varies. one.
Salt traders used to buy low-priced private salt everywhere in order to maximize profits - the price of salt near the production area was relatively low, and if it was resold elsewhere, the profit could easily increase more than ten times. In some places, there was even a salt shortage, and the price could still rise again. Much more.
A pound of coarse salt can easily sell for hundreds of dollars.
If Shiwu is the most salt-deficient place, and some tribes directly trade gold, how about one tael of gold and one tael of salt?
Even though Shen Tang knew that this business was profitable, she was shocked by what the salt seller said. She thought about it and ordered someone to bring something.
Shen Tang asked: "What do you think of this salt?"
This is produced from salt wells.
She immediately sent the salt lump to the government office. She tried the taste and finally found that there was no bitter taste of the coarse salt used before, and it was closer to the table salt in her memory. With a wave of her hand, she divided the salt lump into two parts and sent a small portion to the government office canteen. , tell the chef not to feel bad about salt, no matter how bitter it is, it won’t hurt your tongue! Use it for cooking in the future!
The remaining income from the government office will be divided into official salary slips.
Use refined salt to replace the previous coarse salt, and also give a very generous salary increase - doubling the weight of salt in the salary. If the official's family has a large population and consumes a lot of salt, the official can also use his usual overtime hours to exchange for a certain amount of salt. Refined salt.
The salt seller opened the silk covering in confusion.
He was completely stunned at the first glance, because the salt in front of him was white and crystal clear, and the grains were clearly defined. He took courage, carefully twisted a few grains and put them into his mouth. The salt grains actually melted in his mouth, and the salinity was moderate, not as high as he expected. It's bitter, but has a bit of umami flavor.
Better than any refined salt he had tasted before!
“It’s the best!”
The salt seller must be sure of the value of this salt!
"Jun Shen, how dare you, how much does this cost?"
"The cost? I haven't calculated it in detail yet, but it's not difficult to make them, the output is not small, and the cost is not high. I have no other requirements, I just need you to sell them for ten bucks! I won't let you either It's a waste of time. The caravan escort, food, clothing, chews, and even the goods will be arranged by the government office. If you go to the merchants, you will be promised 10% of the profits as labor expenses."
"What do you think?"
Shen Tang originally wanted to give 20%.
However, the value of this salt seller was less than half of Xu Jie's, and considering Shiwu's profit, Chesou changed the price to 10%.
Giving 10% is not stingy.
Really not stingy.
"Okay, okay, okay! The small promise will be completed!" He was afraid that if he was a second late, Shen Tang would change his mind.
In all conscience, neither his father nor mother were as generous as Shen Tang! They were just forcing wealth into his mouth!
Even though it was only a 10% profit, one trip made more than the three or five trips he had made in the past - because he made all his hard-earned money as a businessman! He needed to take the hired guards everywhere to collect salt, and thousands of After all the hard work, he arrived at Longwu County, and then took out a lot of real money to pay homage to the local snakes. He received a special "salt quotation document" from them and was released at Yonggu Pass.
When entering the Shiwu territory, you still have to pay for things to do, so you tighten your nerves every day, hoping that you will be lucky enough not to be robbed by the refugees.
After a trip, I still need to do some favors when I come back.
What he actually got was not much compared to what he earned, but Shen Jun directly eliminated many unnecessary expenses for him.
Longwu County belongs to Lord Shen.
With a piece of paper, Yonggu Pass will let you go.
The key is that this is still an exclusive business.
There are no competitors, and the salt is only in your own hands. If the tribe is short of salt and crazy, why don't you grab the salt and take the lead?
The salt seller was satisfied, and so was Shen Tang. She finally saw the dawn of debt-free life, and her face was filled with joy: "That's very good, very good! Then you can wait another half a month and wait until you have enough money." With only a few pounds required for the trip, we can order all the people and horses to go on the road."
The salt seller went away with great gratitude.
When Gu Chi learned about this, he frowned.
"Isn't 10% too much?"
It's nothing to give Xu Jie 40% of the profit. This person can be used in the future and maintain the relationship without losing money. In addition, there is a melee between big and small forces in the customs and the private salt market is chaotic. The profit is not as big as Shiwu. If you don't have strong connections and business routes, you can't even think about it. Make money safely.
Forty percent is very reasonable.
But a mere private salt merchant...
Giving 10% is too high.
“A bit more, but worth it.”
Shen Tang smiled and said: "Quan should be buying his experience. Except for him, everyone else is ours. It is convenient to 'steal from others'. With his familiarity with Shiwu, he can also act as a guide and lead our young people." The younger generation is familiar with Shiwu...isn't it just right?"
Shen Tang was not prepared to let the salt seller continue to work. Once he became familiar with the business, he would cross the river and burn the bridge.
Anyway, the initiative lies with you.
Shen Tang put down his pen and saw a well-sealed letter in Gu Chi's hand. His eyes lit up and he said, "Annotated?"
Gu Chi nodded: "Just arrived."
Fresh and hot.
He wanted to know the answer as soon as possible, so he acted as a messenger and personally escorted the letter to Shen Tang.
"Let me see."
Open it and see ten lines at a glance.
Shen Tang's brows were filled with visible joy, and he chuckled: "Let me tell you, the annotations are very popular with me."
Xu answered.
To show his sincerity, the silkworm seeds and leaves she needed were sent to her at double the price, at a discounted price based on the friendly price. If it weren't for the fear of being criticized, Xu Jie would have even wanted to give it away for free.
But it was enough for Shen Tang to see his attitude.
Gu Chi agreed with this, but was slightly unhappy: "This person is very knowledgeable, but - he is too tactful."
This is true for Wu Xian, let alone Shen Tang?
Shen Tang laughed at him.
"You're a bit of a scumbag."
"Scumbag?"
She explained: "Those who play with other people's feelings and are unfaithful are scumbags if they are men, and scumbags if they are women."
Gu Chi showed an expression like a subway grandpa and said unfairly: "...Chi, why are you playing with Xu Wenzhu's feelings?"
Shen Tang couldn't hold back his laughter: "Wen Zhu's attitude is a bit ambiguous. He is like a person who has a fixed partner and has a deep love for Wu Zhaode, but cannot withstand the offensive of a third party and wavers several times. Well, We are the third party."
"We have obviously benefited from him and hope that his every move will be as we expected, but you also think that his vacillating behavior is a bit 'disloyal' and you don't like it. Look, does he look like a scumbag? Try harder He uses various methods to seduce good people, and when he obeys them, he despises good people for not tightening their belts..."
Gu Chi: "..."
It's better if the Lord doesn't say it, but if he says it——
I seem to be a bit scumbag.
Shen Tang sighed: "A gentleman does not care about his heart when it comes to his deeds. There is no perfect person in the world. The annotator is just an ordinary person, so there is no need to demand anything harsh from him. Besides, he is under Wu Zhaode and can help us so much. It is really not easy." As the head of the Xu family, it is not easy to have to worry about a large family."
She quite liked this boy who gave away money. He talked less and worked more. If he hadn't belonged to Wu Zhaode early, she would have wanted to use a hoe to poach him. Moreover, his cousin was still working under her account, and the boy worked hard without complaining.
When Gu Chi heard this, he looked enlightened.
"The master's mind is beyond the reach of Chi."
The manufacturing and sales of salt were roughly arranged, and then all she had to do was wait for the gold to fly into her pocket. Shen Tang couldn't take any time off, so she counted on her fingers what else she had to do: "By the way, a woman with experience in mulberry silkworm production. Have you found everything?"
"We've found everything."
The row houses dedicated to raising silkworms have been built for a while.
"Where are the skilled craftsmen?"
Gu Chi said: "I heard Wuhui mention it two days ago, and everyone is already waiting at the craftsman's workshop near the official office."
Why look for skilled craftsmen?
Naturally, it is to optimize textile machinery. With only slight improvements, it can be more efficient than the current machines.
