After a hearty meal at Wangyue Tower, Liu Jin took Zhu Houzhao to Oil Street to check out the sales of kerosene and gasoline.
Kerosene, diesel and gasoline are lighter product oils obtained by dry distillation of petroleum. They are also the most important combustion oils and are related to the development and use of internal combustion engines.
The internal combustion engine has just come out, and petroleum refining has just come out. Many products produced from petroleum refining are now sold as lighting oil.
Only when internal combustion engines enter production and daily life on a large scale will the demand for oil increase rapidly.
Liu Jin estimated that it might not take too long. At the current development rate, it might take two or three years for Ming Dynasty's demand for oil to surge.
“Look at the big money-making projects for us in the future.”
Liu Jin took Zhu Houzhao to an oil store selling kerosene and gasoline. There was a long queue in front of the store, and a large number of people were queuing up to buy kerosene and gasoline.
"Is it the oil business you told me about our partnership last year?"
Zhu Houzhao looked at the long queue in front of him, smelled the familiar smell of gasoline, and suddenly remembered.
"Yes, that's it. In the future, internal combustion engines will be used more and more, and the demand for oil will be greater and greater. Naturally, we need to make arrangements early, otherwise how will we make money?"
Liu Jin nodded, and then curiously asked an uncle standing in line: "Uncle, what are you queuing up to buy?"
The other party looked at Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao. The two people in front of them saw who was the young master, and he quickly said: "You two young masters, we are queuing up to buy kerosene and gasoline."
"Kerosene, gasoline?"
Liu Jin pretended to be confused and asked: "What's the use of this?"
"Of course it is used for lighting. In the past, whale oil was used for lighting. This whale oil is getting more and more expensive. Even if it is expensive, the key is that even if you have money, you can't buy it anymore. It is becoming less and less."
"Fortunately, now that kerosene and gasoline are available, they are cheap and easy to use, so everyone is now switching to kerosene and gasoline lamps."
"It looks like the business here is pretty good, right?"
Liu Jin nodded slightly and continued to ask.
"Not only does it look good, it's simply very good."
"A lot of people are buying it because it's cheap. People used to be reluctant to light up lights at night, but it's different now. With kerosene and gasoline, everyone is more willing to light up lights at night. The capital is brighter at night.
.”
"You can buy a big barrel for a few hundred coins, but whale oil is very expensive. A barrel costs 2 taels of silver."
"That's it, thank you uncle!"
After listening to this, Liu Jin generally understood.
The main reason why kerosene is so popular is that it is cheap. As for gasoline, it is easy to evaporate and is not suitable for lighting. It is most suitable for burning cars.
"It seems like it's still a good deal."
Zhu Houzhao touched his chin and said.
"It's just the beginning. The brightness of lighting oil is not very high. That means a lot of lighting is needed in big cities. In rural areas, people basically work when the sun rises and rest when the sun comes in, and basically don't need it at night.
illumination."
"But the cities in Ming Dynasty are getting bigger and bigger, and the population is getting more and more. The lighting oil alone will be a huge market, not to mention the situation after the large-scale use of internal combustion engines."
"What I'm worried about now is that there's not enough oil."
Liu Jin said as he walked into the oil store. The waiter wanted to stop Liu Jin, but when he learned Liu Jin's identity, he quickly informed the shopkeeper and welcomed Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao inside. .
“I’ve met my boss~”
Shopkeeper Wang bowed respectfully to Liu Jin and the prince. Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin were the owners of Daming Oil Company. Everyone in the company knew this, but he did not expect that Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin would come back to the oil store one day.
"How is the sales of this oil?"
Liu Jin nodded slightly, and then asked about the sales situation of kerosene and gasoline.
“It’s very popular and very easy to sell.”
"Because our oil is sold very cheaply, people in Beijing now come to buy our kerosene and gasoline for lighting oil."
"Whale oil is too expensive, and candles are also expensive. The key is that the candles are not bright enough, and our kerosene and gasoline are the cheapest."
Shopkeeper Wang also quickly said: "Now, this small store alone sells more than 2,000 barrels of oil a day, and the entire Beijing-Tianjin area uses more than 10,000 barrels of oil a day."
"Ten thousand barrels of oil?"
"How much is this barrel of oil?"
When Liu Jin heard this, he was slightly surprised. This barrel of oil was very large in later generations. No matter how much oil was used in the Beijing-Tianjin area, it would not be said that 10,000 barrels of oil were used a day.
"A barrel of oil weighs fifty kilograms~"
Shopkeeper Wang replied again.
"Fifty kilograms of oil per barrel, the Beijing-Tianjin area uses 500,000 kilograms of oil a day?"
Liu Jin was slightly shocked when he heard this. The amount of oil used must be too much.
"Sir, half a million pounds of oil is not too much."
"Residents don't actually use much oil for lighting. The real oil users are factories, workshops, commercial streets, restaurants, hotels, brothels, teahouses, etc."
"At night in these places, the lights are brightly lit, and there are countless lamps lit. A large amount of oil needs to be burned every day. In the past, whale oil was not very economical. Now the price is cheaper, but it is not Take it easy."
"When the oil lamp is lit at night, it shines brighter than during the day."
Shopkeeper Wang also explained with a smile.
I also muttered in my heart that this owner is a bit strange. The more he sells, the better, and the more money he makes, but he still thinks that the amount of oil used is too much. It is really strange.
"With such a huge amount of oil, is there not enough oil at the refinery?"
Liu Jin thought for a while and nodded slightly. He rarely went out to hang out at night, but he still knew that the lights on Zhuque Street were brightly lit at night. Where the dignitaries in the capital gathered, almost every doorway would light up at night. When lights come, it is inevitable to light some lights in the front yard.
It is impossible to save money. If you are not willing to light a light at night, how can you be considered a wealthy person?
What's more, it doesn't cost much to light a lamp, so it won't save any money.
As for those who need to open for business at night, it is natural to light up the lights. Otherwise, who would come to your place in the dark?
"It is indeed not enough. The supply of goods from the refinery is becoming increasingly insufficient."
"It is said that the oil production from refining is not enough. Oil is only available in the Luyan area of Shaanxi and Gansu, and the output is relatively small, and transportation is not easy, which means that the current oil production cannot keep up."
"Originally, the commercial bank was said to be planning to open branches in big cities such as Nanjing, Songhu, Ryukyu City, Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Nanyang Crescent City in the south to sell our kerosene and gasoline."
"But because oil production is not enough, now we can only do it in the Beijing-Tianjin area."
Shopkeeper Wang nodded and replied.
"Branches must be opened, and they must be opened in all major cities in Ming Dynasty."
"If oil production is not enough, we will find ways to increase production, or find new oil fields to mine. Kerosene is such a cheap thing, but it is the best lighting oil for ordinary people."
Liu Jin thought for a while and said.
It is true that the Ming Dynasty did not produce oil, and its oil storage capacity was very small. The only big oil fields were the Daqing Oil Field in Liaodong, and there were also some large oil fields in the Western Regions.
As for other places with oil, the oil production is very small, and it is not easy to exploit.
"Daqing Oilfield~"
"This is a big oil field, and it's right here in Liaodong, relatively closest to the Beijing-Tianjin area. I actually forgot about it, and then I asked someone to buy the land here, and then slowly
Mining slowly.”
Thinking of the Daqing Oilfield, Liu Jin's eyes sparkled with gold again. This was a super large oilfield that had been exploited for decades in later generations, and its oil production has always been large.
Once you occupy this large oil field, you can count your money while lying down and drive slowly. It won't be a problem if you drive it for decades or hundreds of years.
"This oil store of yours is not in a good location."
"I think it would be better to move next to the main road and separate it from the oil stores that sell cooking oil. Moreover, cars now also refill gasoline. It is inconvenient to drive in to refuel. Driving on the roadside should be convenient for cars.
Come on, this is better. In terms of safety, we should also think of more ways to strengthen management and prevent water leakage."
Liu Jin looked carefully at the oil store in front of him. The oil store was not large in scale and the management was average. The key was that it was opened here on the oil street. This always felt like it was not feasible.
This gas station is mixed with a gas station that sells cooking oil. It is neither fish nor fowl, and it is not convenient for cars to refuel. This gas station that sells kerosene, diesel and gasoline needs to be developed in the direction of a gas station and built on the roadside to make it convenient for cars to refuel.
"Yes, boss, I will discuss this matter with the trading company later and implement the young master's wishes."
When Shopkeeper Wang heard this, he quickly and respectfully replied that although he didn't understand why he was doing this, as Liu Jin said, you just need to execute it and don't need to understand it.
