Chapter 224: Setting up a subsidiary company to specialize in jewelry
"Madam is back?"
"Welcome madam."
"Yeah, I've long heard that Chongming's cloth is better than our Songjiang cloth. Thank you, Madam, for the cloth."
In the Wenzhe Garden, the servants and maids saluted and thanked Zheng Haizhu.
Then, everyone looked at Dong Erya tacitly.
Dong Erya was Mrs. Zheng's first confidant recruited from the Zhenjiang Canal. She had been serving Han Ximeng since she became pregnant.
The wives and maids of the Gu and Han families, although secretly they were saying that this Shandong girl who used to work as a coolie had bad luck, they still looked up to her as a more and more famous person.
What's more, this time the young master did such a stupid thing, it spread all over Songjiang Mansion. After Dong Erya accompanied the young mistress back from Chongming, Dong Erya must know better than anyone what the situation was between the host and the hostess in the Wenzhe Garden.
I must rush to talk to Zheng Haizhu.
Dong Erya still smiled naively, as if the subtle atmosphere surrounding him did not exist, and said to Zheng Haizhu: "The young master and the young mistress are both in the garden today."
Zheng Haizhu dusted off the dust on his body and said with his usual expression: "After I went back to the house and washed up, I went to their courtyard to talk. I asked someone to grate the Chongming pumpkin I brought, mix it with sesame oil, salt and vinegar, and send it over.
Give the young master and young mistress a taste."
Dong Erya said with a smile: "Young Master is in summer, so she will definitely like this. Then I will go and report to Young Master and Grandma that Madam's carriage and horse have arrived home safely."
Zheng Haizhu said a dull "hmm".
The servants and ladies also dispersed and continued their work.
Although they were surprised by the simplicity of the conversation between the two, they also felt a little relieved from their anxiety.
Dong Erya still put Gu Shouqian, the head of the family, first, and Mrs. Zheng actually talked to her in a gentle manner.
There were spies in Madam's firearms factory, and her generals were killed by Jurchens. Today is Madam's first return to Wenzhe Garden after the dust has settled, but she doesn't seem to be angry with Young Master Gu.
The servants and servants of the big house always hope that their homes will be beautiful, and they will look more elegant when they go shopping on weekdays. Madams like Zheng Haizhu, who was ordered by the imperial court to have an apartment in Wenzhe Garden, have the same scenery as the Gu family, and the servants do not want Mrs. Zheng to be with her.
Gu Zhaien broke off his righteousness.
Zheng Haizhu took a break, changed into a more decent dress, and went to the courtyard of Gu Shouqian and Han Ximeng.
More than a month ago, when Han Ximeng was in Chongming thinking about the Jenny spinning machine and Song Yingxing, she encountered a Jurchen spy who almost bombarded Zhuangzi. She quickly decided to leave Chongming.
"Azhu, when I escaped from the bandit village, Shouqian protected me like that in the rumors. Now he must have become the laughing stock of the whole city. I have to go home, at least to make it look like the eldest lady of this family.
Still there.”
From Han Ximeng's gloomy face and tired tone, Zheng Haizhu fully understood the emotions she had not put into words, anger, helplessness, guilt, and hesitation.
The couple had an old friendship with her, Zheng Haizhu, and their relationship had changed from a master-servant relationship to a close friend relationship.
No matter how stupid the husband was, which indirectly led to the death of Wu Bang Bang, she, Zheng Haizhu, couldn't yell at Han Ximeng like the heroine of the brainless novel: Kick him and live with me.
Not only can't you do this, you also have to calm down and think about how to manage the aftermath.
Gu Shouqian is just like Mu Zaohua in Hetuala in the past. They are not evil in nature, but they have a reckless or naive side in their character, which makes them almost fall into a trap or have already fallen into a trap during a certain journey in life.
At this moment, Zheng Haizhu, who entered the couple's main courtyard, caught a glimpse of the two red-painted toilets in the corner that had just been washed and returned.
One is brand new and one is slightly older.
Zheng Haizhu then understood that the couple were probably sleeping in separate rooms, and Gu Shouqian should be sleeping in the study.
The servants were quick and ready to serve the delicious shredded pumpkin with mung bean porridge.
Gu Shouqian walked out of the study, describing Qing Jian and haggard, and cupped his hands to Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng, Shou Qian is stupid and stupid. I feel sorry for you, let alone General Qi and Mr. Wu."
Zheng Haizhu stared at Gu Shouqian, sighed, and said in a deep voice: "You are still sorry, Miss. You can be fooled by anyone, how can you be fooled by Han Xiying?"
Gu Shouqian lowered his head wearily.
He asked himself that it was definitely not because of any lustful thoughts that he fell in love with Han Xiying, but Miss Zheng was right. His so-called soft-heartedness was a deep harm to his wife.
The door curtain rang softly, and Han Ximeng took his son Gu Zuoyou's hand and stepped out of the threshold.
Gu Zuoyou took the rice paper and carefully looked at his mother's face. Then he ran to Zheng Haizhu and said in a sweet voice: "Aunt, the oriole I drew is for my mother to embroider. She just finished it."
I’m arranging the silk thread.”
Zheng Haizhu touched his head and praised: "The painting is good. Is it the brushwork taught by your father?"
Gu Zuoyou quickly glanced at Gu Shouqian again and said: "Yesterday, my father taught me a whole day. I drew a lot of wings alone. Erya said that I can open a braised food shop."
Zheng Haizhu showed off her beauty and knew it well.
Allowing the precious son to spend a day in his father's study kept the couple's affection alive.
Sure enough, Han Ximeng walked up to Gu Shouqian and Zheng Haizhu. He did not have a cold expression, but said solemnly to Gu Shouqian: "Even if I believe that you are just a good-hearted Bodhisattva and did not drink Han Xiying's ecstasy soup, I will not forgive you."
Ah Zhulai has to say it himself."
Gu Shouqian said hurriedly: "I can save it, save it! I bought iron tools and cattle for Chongming, and sent summer clothes and horse materials to Mr. Qi's place. I just want to make up for my mistakes. I beg Ah Zhu..."
Han Ximeng said: "No amount of money can buy Mr. Wu's life, nor can it stop the Tatars from coming to Jiangnan to taste the sweetness."
"Okay," Zheng Haizhu stopped the two of them with warm words, held Gu Zuoyou on his lap, hung a herbal sachet made of Chongming fine cloth around the child's head and neck, and then said again, "The matter is now over, there is no point in going back.
I came here today just to look forward to the future with you. Privately, I hope you can still be a good couple. Publicly, if the young master and the young lady want to go outside Songjiang, I have a place to go, which must be controlled by myself.
Today I’m here to listen to your thoughts.”
Gu and Han were relieved when the topic was changed. They were also grateful for Zheng Haizhu's magnanimity, so they expressed their willingness to hear the details.
Zheng Haizhu said bluntly: "I asked Yan Xuanfu to buy a seagoing ship. I also found a dental shop according to the rules of Songjiang Prefecture and arranged a ship guide. In the future, I can enter the port to sell sea food."
Gu Shouqian asked inquiringly: "Isn't this ship affiliated with Haoming Trading Company?"
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, yes, after all, he is one of the few educated and enlightened people in this world. Although Gu Shouqian has not been in business, he is not stupid. He listens to the words and in a moment he can hear "I asked Yan Xuanfu to buy it."
The amount of information contained in a "ship".
"That's right, the ship's surname is Zheng, and his surname is only Zheng. I made it clear to Brother Yan that because he only has the surname Zheng, he will not participate in the sea and land sales of Haoming Trading Co., Ltd., a joint venture between me, him, and Mao Wenlong, but will create a new one.
Category. Do you still remember that when I was in Taiwan, when the lady asked if I wanted to participate in Haoming Trading Company, I declined? "
Hearing this, Han Ximeng suddenly realized: "Now you want me and my wife to take charge of your business with only the surname Zheng?"
Zheng Haizhu said: "Partnering is also possible, but it is better for you to live overseas instead of us hiring a shopkeeper."
After Zheng Haizhu finished speaking, he looked at the eyes of the couple.
Han Ximeng was surprised and did not refuse.
Gu Shouqian's dark look just now was completely wiped away. Now that the city was full of rumors and ridicules, he had no face to go back to face Sun Yuanhua at the firearms factory that originally made him think his painting skills could be used, and left.
, is indeed a way out of desperate situations mentally.
"Miss Zheng, where are you going and what are you selling?" Gu Shouqian asked.
"Go to Champa, open a trading company there, and collect gems from Ceylon, Mengmi, and Golconda."
Champa is the southern part of Vietnam, Ceylon, Mongmi, and Golconda are respectively Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and India in later generations, producing high-quality sapphires, rubies, and diamonds.
Zheng Haizhu had already started thinking about this business when he saw the exquisite gold- and gem-inlaid jewelry of the ladies in Prince Lu's Mansion in Yanzhou.
With the efforts of her and a group of outstanding people, during the Ming Dynasty naval battle, the Ming army gave Hong Mao a hard lesson, not only making the ships of the Dutch East India Company act in accordance with the rules set on the negotiation table, but also letting the Chinese ships go
The routes in Nanyang are much safer.
Champa, a kingdom located in South Vietnam with a good seawater port, relied on the power of the Ming court to compete with North Vietnam for many years, and treated the Ming people with great courtesy. In recent years, the king of Champa also sent troops to assist the Sultan of Malacca in fighting the Portuguese invaders, so Zheng Haizhu
We are confident to establish a maritime trade base in Champa, receive goods from several major jewelry producing areas in Southeast Asia, and transport them back to Songjiang for inlays.
High-end jewelry has an aesthetic threshold. Zheng Haizhu originally aimed at the upper class, so this business needs to be done by Gu Han and his wife, who have been exposed to high-quality art since childhood and are familiar with the aesthetic tastes of the rich and powerful.
Today, Gu Shouqian, a noble son of the scholar class, can ask "what kind of goods are sold", and he has passed another level of examination.
He did not go to travel around mountains and rivers to recite poems and paint. From this moment on, he slowly entered the role of a businessman. This was Zheng Haizhu's expectation for him and Han Ximeng.
"Pah," Han Ximeng opened the nanmu jewelry box that Dong Erya had moved out, took out a gold hairpin inlaid with precious stones, and asked Zheng Haizhu, "Is this Meng Mi's ruby you mentioned?"
Zheng Haizhu took it and said with a smile: "After I went to Prince Lu's Mansion, I realized that this should be a tourmaline. The Three Treasures eunuchs brought back a lot of it after they went to the West, but compared with rubies, they are not valuable. This statement offended Miao A
That’s too much.”
Gu Shouqian waved his hand indifferently. This golden hairpin was a wedding gift from Miao Ruiyun to Han Ximeng. It was said to be a reward from the queen, so Zheng Haizhu would add that sentence at the end.
Han Ximeng rubbed the tourmaline that looked like blood glaze on the gold hairpin and sighed: "When I first went to Taiwan, I already felt that the world was much broader. In fact, Taiwan is even wider to the south and west, and the products are even more amazing, right?"
Zheng Haizhu smiled: "Compared with this house, Songjiang Mansion is very big. Compared with the world on the other side of the ocean, Songjiang Mansion is very small."
Gu Shouqian mustered up the courage to look at his wife: "I am willing to go, let's go together."
Han Ximeng's eyes towards her husband were no longer cold this time, but she asked a very practical question: "Who will serve my mother-in-law?"
Zheng Haizhu said: "There are servants and servants in Wenzhe Garden, Suzhou has no shortage of servants, and my Zhuangzi in Chongming has also begun to build tile-roofed houses and courtyards. I will take care of Young Master Gu, your father-in-law, and Miao Atai locally."
There is a plus.”
The three of them talked about some more details, and then Zheng Haizhu asked about another matter. On the day when he was kidnapped by the Jurchens and taken to Sheshan, how did Gu Shouqian go to Suzhou with his mother Lu?
…
Wang Yuesheng returned to the familiar Nanjing.
This city has witnessed the integrity of her Fang family ancestors as scholars, and also recorded her years of living by the Qinhuai River as a joke.
Today, when walking into Biao Zhong Temple, Wang Yuesheng felt that rather than her supporting Miao Ruiyun, it was better to say that Miao Ruiyun was holding her hand and giving her comfort.
She was nervous because she wanted to meet the real owner.
"Miss Wang."
The man in front of the monument turned around and greeted her pleasantly.
Wang Yuesheng hurriedly bowed his head to give blessings.
In her mind, the mindset formed by long-term teachings transformed into a solemn scene. She and the man in front of her both transformed into Academician Fang and Emperor Jianwen.
The sense of solemn etiquette between the monarch and his ministers made her feel excited and proud from being embarrassed a moment ago.
That was something Miss Zheng couldn't give her.
How nice Miss Zheng is, how much I respect her and trust her, but Miss Zheng does not have royal blood.
And she, Wang Yuesheng, is a descendant of the great Confucian scholar.
Serving the emperor and savoring the sweetness of the courtesy of the king and his ministers have been the true source of joy for scholars of all ages.
It can also completely wash away her sense of shame that she once lived in the world of prostitution.
As the incarnation of a courtier, Wang Yuesheng did not dare to raise her head and look at the person in front of her. She only heard Shen Yue's voice again.
"This is my first time back to Yingtian. As soon as I entered the city, I thought about offering a stick of incense to Scholar Fang." Zhu Qianyu said slowly.
The sweetness that Wang Yuesheng felt was once again added with a layer of honey.
At this moment, there were not many tourists visiting Biao Zhong Temple, and the guards dressed as salesmen were nearby. There were no other people waiting to hear their conversation, but Zhu Qianyu did not call himself "I", he used "I".
And insisting on using "Yingtian" instead of Nanjing seems to add a footnote to the sense of closeness in the same enemy.
Zhu Qianyu signaled the guard behind him who was disguised as a scholar to come forward, pointed to the bundle in his hand and said: "Yue Sheng, it is my Zhu family's good fortune to find you. You are indeed very capable. The princess said that you have already sent it to the firearms factory." We have hired a few craftsmen. If you have merit, you will be rewarded. You are a refined scholar. Rewarding gold and silver would be too vulgar. I cut a harp and gave it to you."
The bookboy presented the piano wrapped in an ordinary blue Songjiang cloth cover. When Wang Yuesheng took it, he felt as if he had fallen into a sweet dream.
Miao Ruiyun looked at her and reminded her: "Yue Sheng, thank you."
"Ah...slave, I would like to thank you, Your Highness. How can I be so virtuous and talented that I have to do it with your Highness's own hands..."
Zhu Qianyu was expected to be flattered by this fairy-like beauty. But he would not spend any time looking at this face any more. He was not one of those poor scholars who had never seen the world. He could do anything in the countryside and win the beauties of Qinhuai and look at her with a smile. Overjoyed.
His time is precious.
"Yue Sheng, please go back to the inn and rest. The princess and I have something to discuss."
Zhu Qianyu still said to this descendant of Fang Xiaoru in a calm and gentle tone.